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Author: Kevin Donahue
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I am sad and frustrated to hear today that the Supreme Court of the United States chose not to hear a case involving women and children who came to this country in late 2015 from violence-plagued Central America seeking asylum. Some of these women and their children have been detained for more than 400 days…
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(This is an updated version of this post that also appeared at Vice in January 2018. The earlier one appeared at MensHealth.com.) The Super Bowl is broken—and not just because the insufferable New England Patriots keep winning it. No, the Super Bowl has a timing problem. The game starts late (6:40 pm ET), runs late,…
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A friend’s request on Facebook that others unfriend him was what brought it into focus for me — the idea that we’ve crashed into the limitations of social media, that Facebook as a platform and a tool is inadequate for what it’s attempting to provide, what it can’t provide. Last Saturday, as everyone in North America’s feed…
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So I’m sitting at work yesterday afternoon when I see a zig-zagging beam of light to my far left. A couple minutes later, I see it again. It happens maybe 5 times over 90 minutes. As I prepare to drive to a church meeting about an hour away, as I walk down a hallway, I…
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Virginia’s cousin Mary Plaine came (via train from Maryland) and visited us this weekend. We went to the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts, the Comcast Tower’s Christmas show, then visited the Christmas Village at City Hall. A very Philly Christmas to all! -Some rain, but hearts warmed being together and trying to feel that hope…
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What I’ve listened to on Audible this year. All the Harry Potter books, by J.K. Rowling. Yup, I started in January and by May I’d gone through seven books and reached Train Platform 9 3/4 with Ron, Harry and Hermione surrounded by little ones headed to Hogwarts (oops, Spoiler Alert—though judging by all the disbelief…
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The musical Hamilton has certainly piqued interest in the Founding Father who did the most among those who never became President—and was also the guy who introduced we Americans to the tawdry sex scandal (if only Gary Hart had delivered as complete and humiliating a public explanation as Hamilton did for his sleazy indiscretions). But…
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In the tumult of processing last week’s election, someone at church asked me Sunday morning who in the world could be the next Martin Luther King — the person who takes the lead on the hard road to a more perfect union—and the answer seemed so obvious. Barack Obama. He leaves the presidency a relatively young man…
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With the election of Donald Trump as President-elect, there is a lot of anxiety about what will happen to people living on the country’s margins, including those who have entered the country illegally to escape repression and violence elsewhere. If you live near Southeastern Pennsylvania and are looking for a way to join with others…
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Toward the end of today’s Million Moms March at Philly’s City Hall, one of the speakers asked every mom who had lost a child to gun violence to raise their hand, and the air went thick with hands. Then she asked for their names, and the air filled with voices and names. This plague of…
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The anniversary of my dad’s passing arrived this week and it was on my mind. Last week, during a mindfulness exercise with members of my church, we were asked to imagine someone who is suffering or has suffered, and he came to mind. At one point, Rev. Ken asked us to imagine the person in…
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It’s good to be home after a pretty scary week. On Friday, I had my second cardiac catheterization in the past 7 months, and I’m now the owner of two additional stents (that’s three total if you’re counting at home). The surgeon framed it not as a further deterioration but as a hopeful resolution to…
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