Mindblown: a blog about philosophy.
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Book Review: Homeless: A Day In The Life
“Someone who’s warm can’t understand someone who’s cold.”——Alexander Solzhenitsyn. This book really brought back the old times of my being homeless. The one very big difference is that this man, who calls himself ‘our friend’ throughout the book, is not an addict. This story is totally engrossing, as he travels through a northwestern city and…
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Harvard Square Cafe Will Provide Jobs, Training to Homeless Youth in Cambridge
Two Harvard students have signed the lease for a cafe that would employ homeless youth in Cambridge. Breaktime is a cafe that has a mission beyond serving coffee and scones; the plan is to provide job training and stable employment for Cambridge’s economically insecure youth. Harvard undergraduates Tony Shu and Connor Schoen teamed up to…
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Once again, counter-protesters outnumber alt-right rally in Boston
Counter-protesters outnumbered the alt-right on Saturday. All photos by author. Repeating the scene from last summer, over 300 counter-protesters showed up to outnumber members of the so-called “alt-right” — the umbrella term for a collection of white nationalists, neo-Nazis, and internet-immersed right-wingers — at a rally held in Boston’s City Hall Plaza on Saturday. The counter-protesters…
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Thank you for supporting our cookout!
Photos by Erika Hinton We didn’t let the rain spoil our cookout on August 11! Our vendors, board members, and supporters joined us inside the basement of the Old Baptist Church to welcome our new executive director, Mimi Bouchouar. Thank you to everyone who stopped by and showed support!
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Sick and Tired of Bullies? Me too.
I’ve always hated bullies. There’s something about them that triggers rage inside of me. I’ve encountered them all my life in a variety of places: school, work, even in activism. My stepfather was a bully. He abused my mother for years, even after their divorce, until her best friend and I put an end to…
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Boston progresses in goal to end chronic homelessness, despite large inflow over last two years
In a roundtable with the press on August 16, the City of Boston announced that their effort to house the chronically homeless population is seeing results, reducing the population by 20 percent since 2016. Since 2016, the city of Boston has housed 580 chronically homeless individuals — the start of Mayor Martin J. Walsh’s “Boston’s…
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MC5 Guitarist Marks 50 Years of Kicking Out the Jams With Tour, Autobiography
It’s been 50 years since The MC5 burst onto the Detroit rock scene with their groundbreaking sense of rebellion and their loud- and at that point, unheard of stage presence. The Motor City quintet’s music has gone on to influence countless punk, rock and metal musicians over the last half century, and guitarist Wayne Kramer…
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Looking For An Exit
The sun it rises early To play tag with the breeze When shadows start dancing To the rhythm of the leaves. The morning silence is a mystery In echo’s we can’t tell. For echo’s all ring hollow Like pebbles in a well. While you’re busy looking down at me For things I didn’t do, Be…
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Health Care Advocates Call New Insurance Rule Bad for Consumers, Providers
Photo Courtesy of Franchise Opportunities A new health insurance rule is being called another blow to people with pre-existing conditions. On Wednesday, the Trump administration released a new rule that allows insurance companies to expand the sale of short-term insurance plans that don’t cover the health benefits deemed “essential” by the Affordable Care Act. Cheryl…
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Boston City Council Opens Discussion On PILOT Payments From Tax-Exempt Institutions
Boston City Council led a packed hearing on Thursday, August 3, discussing the successes and shortcomings of the city’s Payment in Lieu of Taxes (PILOT) program. The program — in which Boston asks nonprofits with tax-exempt property to make voluntary contributions equal to about 25 percent of their property values — has been criticized by…
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