Mindblown: a blog about philosophy.
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House Speaker DeLeo proposes $1 billion plan for climate change
Massachusetts House Speaker Robert DeLeo proposed a plans to help the state combat the crisis of climate change. DeLeo prepared a plan where a $1 billion environmental grant program would fund municipal efforts for building clean energy infrastructures and climate resilience programs. “We like that this has become an issue that leadership in the state…
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Dead Man’s Blues by Ray Celestin: A Book Review
Dead Man’s Blues is a fantastic book that takes the reader back to the wild Chicago of 1928 where the booze and drugs flowed freely. The city is controlled by Alphonse Capone, a man in the grips of tertiary syphilis. The disease is in its third, incurable, stage. Capone had syphilis for over fifteen years,…
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And the distractions continue
As if I needed more evidence of what I wrote in my last column; the last few days have been a “you can’t make this stuff up” type of week. First up we have one Jussie Smollett, the Empire actor who said he was jumped, beaten, had a noose planted around his neck and doused…
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Pilot Plan Begins in MA to Rate Addiction-Treatment Centers
Massachusetts will be the first state to participate in a new, national system to rate addiction-treatment programs. The Massachusetts Department of Public Health has approved being part of a pilot program developed by Shatterproof, a national nonprofit organization. Substance-use treatment programs will work with the health department and other state agencies on the pilot, which…
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The height of Kusamania
Yayoi Kusama, the artist behind the eye-popping, mind-bending, perspective-shifting mirror rooms, is as extraordinary as her art, a new documentary reveals. Heather Lenz, the director behind Kusama: Infinity spoke to The Big Issue Australia about the importance of highlighting Kusama’s work and the time and effort it’s taken to put it all together. The Institute…
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Pilot Plan Begins in MA to Rate Addiction-Treatment Centers
Massachusetts will be the first state to participate in a new, national system to rate addiction-treatment programs. The Massachusetts Department of Public Health has approved being part of a pilot program developed by Shatterproof, a national nonprofit organization. Substance-use treatment programs will work with the health department and other state agencies on the pilot, which…
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EPA Rule Increases Interstate Smog in New England, Lawsuit Says
Groups are suing the Environmental Protection Agency over their decision to rollback the “Good Neighbor” provisions of the Clean Air Act, which regulates interstate air pollution. In December, the EPA announced that states don’t need to comply with those requirements, saying power plants are already reducing air pollution. But the lawsuit alleges that decision puts…
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East Boston Residents Reject Racists and Rally for Immigrants
When xenophobic flyers appeared over the diverse neighborhood of East Boston, citizens responded by tearing them down, showing support for the local immigrant community that calls Eastie home. Days later, Centro Presente, a local immigrant advocacy group, held a fundraising benefit on Feb. 22 to support a member of the immigrant community affected by strict…
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Champion of the Underdog: An Interview With Dolly Parton
“As a writer, I have to leave my heart open,” Dolly Parton begins. “That’s why I have always said I never could harden my heart, even against hurt or anything. Because as a writer, if you harden your heart, you’re not going to feel all that emotion you need to feel, and you won’t be…
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Trump’s not our only problem
Over the last few weeks I’ve wondered, sometimes out loud, are we too focused on Donald Trump? It certainly seems like it. Ever since he announced that he was running for President, we as a nation have been obsessed with Trump. The media helped a lot with that, and they still do by making him…
Got any book recommendations?