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The Berkshire Eagle
December 29, 2018
On nurse staffing, Beacon Hill should heed Churchill
As nurses managed my care, my food, my every need alongside those of myriad other patients with myriad other, far more complex ones, I couldn't help but think of Question 1, the failed November ballot referendum that would have mandated nurse staffing levels by state law.

I voted for Question 1 because the primary organ of nurses' organized labor endorsed it, and I support organized labor. The measure's independently reached price tag, between $700 million and $900 million, did give me pause. But as I lay in a gurney, unable to turn over without doing mental barrel rolls, I kept returning to Churchill's words: "Make sure they have all they want" — "on extreme priority."
THE BERKSHIRE EAGLE
June 29, 2018
The press is free, but are we safe?
It's not just the president.

It's people on Facebook and Twitter who comment under our articles — as they inevitably will under this — that we are just a bunch of un-American liars.

It's my neighbor who, after learning I worked at The Eagle, innocently joked, "Well, I won't hold that against you."

It's my friends, even, not a Trump supporter in the bunch, who throw around "Fake News" like it's funny because, in the moment, it is.

All are the seeds of violence, intentionally or not.
Whole Foods Riverdale Park, Md.
THE DIAMONDBACK
April 23, 2017
Double byline with Tom Hausman
Photo by Julia Lerner/The Diamondback
A trip to Whole Foods
South Park was right. Whole Foods is fucking awesome. But it's also really, really sad.
THE DIAMONDBACK
July 9, 2017
Free speech matters more than feeling safe
I'm not some brash conservative asshole calling protesters snowflakes without strong character or arguing that offensive speakers contribute to a marketplace of ideas on the campus. That is, frankly, placating bullshit promulgated by university administrations to mask the fact that their hands are tied by constitutional law and wealthy conservative donors. Your feelings are valid, you're not a snowflake and I don't think Ann Coulter or Milo Yiannopoulos have much to add to our marketplace of ideas anyhow.

But that's not what matters.

To avoid a fascist dictator stronger than Donald Trump fancies himself in dreamland, these nutjobs must be allowed to spew their hate. Their freedom to do so outweighs any other concern.
THE DIAMONDBACK
October 9, 2016
The party’s over; With Trump, the GOP gives up its monopoly on values
I guess I shouldn't be surprised by your nominee, GOP.

For my entire life, you've told me I'm not man enough, not American enough, not strong enough. You've veiled it at times and you've painted it as a positive; something to build grit.

But now it's clear and obvious: You're the schoolyard bully of politics.