1. Introduction You cannot legislate compassion. It’s an aphorism wryly acknowledged in political and legal circles. You can pass laws telling people what to do, but you cannot tell them how to feel. In broad terms, it’s a good thing: We don’t
Blog
Should We Let Government Use Ghosts to Search Our Homes?
Recent news reports raise the specter of federal law enforcement agencies assigning ghosts to search people’s homes. The news came in the wake of President Donald J. Trump’s social media announcement on February 19: "… I will be directing the
10 Things Blind People Do That Annoy Sighted People
Let me confess at the outset that this title is totally deceptive. I don’t plan to list ten such grievances. The title was inspired by “10 Things Sighted People Do That Annoy Me,” a video posted by Molly Burke, a 32-year-old blind motivational
Birthday Cake, Petulance and Harvard
Three seemingly disparate events came together for me the other morning. One was the time my Harvard Law School classmates celebrated my birthday during Contracts class. The second was an unintended slight that became the subject of a Zoom meeting.
Trump Musings
Note: Transcription of the President’s musings aloud, as recorded on Susan Wiles’s iPhone when Mr. Trump, drifting off with his eyes closed, was unaware another person was in the Oval Office. It was the day before Ms. Wiles’s unexpected departure
An Artist Wife and a Husband Who Can’t See
I used to speculate what people thought of my wife Laura, an artist, being married to me, a husband who can’t see. Did some feel bad that I couldn’t appreciate her work and that she had a husband who couldn’t? How about when I attended an exhibit of
All Quiet on the Ilium Front
Why don’t leaders battle out their differences and claims between themselves instead of taking their entire nations to war? This question is raised in Erich Maria Remarque’s All Quiet on the Western Front, (1929), which I re-read last week. It is
Things Happen
REPORTER: “Why should Americans trust the crown prince, given U.S. intelligence findings that he approved Khashoggi’s killing — and with 9/11 families openly furious about his visit?” TRUMP: “As far as this gentleman is concerned, he’s done a
Revelation on a Steam Train
I said, “Can we open the window?” Sotto voce, Mum said, “The others probably want it closed.” It was the early 1960s. I was eight or nine and traveling with my family to England’s south coast in a steam train’s eight-passenger compartment. The
Forgiveness in a Divided Nation
In a moving speech at Charlie Kirk’s memorial service, his widow Erika said she forgives the murderer, Tyler Robinson. Although it could not have been easy, she was in a safe place to forgive because her views align with those of the present
Subway Encounter: A Story
Like most New York subway riders, I avoid the very last car because it is the likeliest to be nearly empty, an invitation to danger. But that afternoon, knowing I'd be using the rear exit at my destination, I negotiated my way along the strangely
Baby Bat: A Story
“Daddy, that book there.” “Which one, Jessie? Show me.” She pointed. “That one there, Daddy.” My three-year-old daughter hadn’t grasped that her Daddy's vision was fading. I saw a blur that was the line of books on the shelf, but I couldn't
A Wealth of Foreshadows
Graham Moore’s A Wealth of Shadows (2024) might truly be unique: the one novel of intrigue in which both heroes and villains are economists. It shows how Allied economists broke the code of Germany’s economic miracle, then created their own economic
Cockatiel: A Story
The Saturday morning the cockatiel appeared, Carol and a dozen other sketchers met at the public seating area they’d chosen for that month's session. The small town was behind them, and in front was the wide river that dominated the region. Scanning
Then They Came For Me
Note: this is a two-part post. In the first, I depict a personal crisis from the Vietnam War protest era. In the second, I reflect on the source of moral courage. 1 In my Connecticut high school sophomore year, our English
The Library of Congress and the State of Publishing Today
1 For most subscribers to this website, this post might seem like a tempest in someone else’s teapot. It is a complaint about recent changes in the Library of Congress’s talking book program designed primarily to benefit visually impaired people.
Superbloke: A Publishers’ Summary
Publishers’ summaries are promotions for readers looking for something new. You find them on Amazon, Audible, Goodreads and most other bookseller websites. Their most notable characteristics are cliches, exaggeration and urgency—altogether,
Intimations of Fireworks: A Brooklyn Heights Story
Anna was shocked to see police at the intersection where Pierrepont and Hicks Streets met. She would need to get by them in order to walk three blocks down Hicks to pick up Lettie, her nine-year-old daughter, from her friend’s home. It was a grayish
Memoir, Egotism and the Arrogance of “Inspirational”
1 To an outsider, I may not be recognizable as the same human being occupying a photograph taken of me when I was six. But I know that boy better than anyone else. 2 At long last, I’ve completed a childhood memoir, Courage Comes to You, that I
Open Season
Mike Johnson appeared blasé over concerns that Donald Trump is using his presidential power to help line his pockets, arguing that, unlike Joe Biden, the president does ‘everything out in the open.’ —— The Independent, May 25, 2025 1 This
Donald Trump Is a Socialist
Last week, Donald Trump threatened Apple with a 25% tariff if it failed to move production of the iPhone to the United States. In so doing, he revealed himself as a socialist. Socialism is generally defined as “a populist economic and
So Kind Of Like You Know I Mean
Beaton: Hey there, podcast and transcription land, welcome to Gab Talk. This is Fayer Beaton, your host. With me in the studio today is Ed Head, Mayor of our beloved Nossexville. Your Honor, what would you say are your principal
I Don’t Even Want to be a Friend: A Recollection
1 A girl named Emily, who sounded austere when she spoke in the high school social studies course we were both taking, made a point one day of walking with me to my next class. “Are you looking for a reader?” she said. It happened I was. We
Words That Betray Us, Politeness That Offends
Words and phrases that corrupt meaning slip into common parlance the way bacteria infiltrate the body. They can impair how we think and reason. Similarly, polite phrases can be messages of expectation that can, instead, frustrate and
Minority Within a Minority
Back around 1971, the parents who ran the Guild for Fairfield County’s visually impaired students, in Connecticut, arranged for a group therapy session for six high school students, including me. Each of us was the only blind student in our