Mindblown: a blog about philosophy.
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Transitions
Have you ever been tempted to deck someone who responds to a struggle you were having by saying “every time God closes a door, he will open a window?” Arguments about the gender of God notwithstanding, you know how useless that advice is. Say you just lost a job, or a relationship,or a place to…
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Frankenstein in Central Square, Part One
They call me The Troll. I’m sitting here in the 1369 Coffee House on Mass Ave in Central Square. My guts feel a bit ropey. I ran out of junk a few hours ago and sent Moshe Dean out to find Ar Lain Ta. I’m so down that I’m contemplating rolling across the street and…
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Conflicted
As I watch with horror at what is going on in the Middle East, a few things come to mind; all of which are sad and somewhat emotional. I’ve never really understood the whole Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Let me repeat that I get the conflict — I do read. But this whole Palestinian state thing, I…
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Matt Ganem: The Voice of the Silenced
“I have a real bad history—I’m not a bad person, every crime I’ve ever committed was while I was on drugs.” “Any struggle makes you stronger if you overcome it,” Matt Ganem tells me. The man who sits across the table looks calm and collected, prepared to discuss his successful job, happy and healthy children,…
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New Report Says Challenges Remain Despite Decrease in Homelessness
WASHINGTON, D.C.—Since 2013, more homeless people have been living in permanent supportive housing and rapid re-housing than emergency shelters across the country, according to a new report released by the National Alliance to End Homelessness. This shift is largely due to the Homeless Emergency Assistance and Rapid Transition to Housing (HEARTH) Act, a bill that…
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Bill Languishes in State House while Homeless Youth Wait
BOSTON, Mass.—For many Massachusetts teenagers, the basics of a stable life – a bed, three meals a day, regular access to health services – are a given, and often easy to take for granted. However, for the more than 6,000 high school students who are homeless and on their own in one the nation’s most…
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Criminalizing the Homeless
As the New York Times noted in its 17 July 2014 editorial, “Shunting the Homeless From Sight,” the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit struck down the City of Los Angeles’ ban on citizens living out of automobiles. We all should be grateful for the wise decision of the Ninth Circuit, which…
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Cambridge Nonprofit Ending Service Program as HUD Cuts Funds
CAMBRIDGE, Mass.—Since 1990, Cambridge’s homeless population has had an ally in the Community Learning Center’s (CLC) Project LIFT program, which offers Adult Basic Education, GED, and ESOL classes to the city’s homeless adults. Students can be taken in and assigned an advisor immediately, not having to wait for the monthly intake and orientation. They can…
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Waste Not, Want Not: Food Recovery Grows Out of Massachusetts’ Waste Ban
In 2011, the Environmental Protection Agency reported that America generated 36 million tons of food waste and 96 percent of that food went directly to landfills or incinerators. In the same year, the EPA also reported that 14.9 percent of homes in the US did not know where their next meal would come from. Instead…
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Not Enough
A few weeks ago SCN celebrated its 22nd anniversary. Our annual gala as usual was great: good food, a great keynote speaker, an inspiring vendor photo exhibit. Just a great night overall. And as usual, several people who spoke thanked me for what I and other founders created. It is always moving when someone leaves…
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