Questions On Nike, Colin Kaepernick, and Corporate Social Responsibility
September 9, 2018

I spend a lot thinking about whether or not for profit entities can be relied upon to be forces for social good, if they can be at all (see my post on impact investing, for instance). Thus Nike’s recent decision […]

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Business  / Musings  / philosophy  / Politics

The Problem With Most Impact Investing
September 8, 2018

Imagine I told you that by switching your money from one investment vehicle to another—with the click of a button!—you could not only earn the same return on your investment with the same level of risk as before, but also […]

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Capital Good Fund  / environment  / Musings  / philosophy  / Politics

Perfection
August 4, 2018

I had thought I lacked for time
And spent my days frantic,
As though life were a web
And death a looming spider, his
Approach inexorable, his mouth

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Musings  / philosophy  / poetry

The Problem With the Proverb About Teaching a Man to Fish
July 28, 2018

We’ve all heard the Chinese proverb, “Give a poor [wo]man a fish and you feed her for a day. You teach her to fish and you give her an occupation that will feed her for a lifetime.” It’s a great concept, one that is popular with those who are more free market-oriented–they like the notion of hand-me-ups instead of hand-outs–as well as with those who tend toward socialism, as they like the idea of empowering the poor.

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Business  / Capital Good Fund  / philosophy

Can Love Trump Hate?
July 22, 2018

This is an oversimplification, but one way to think about the Civil Rights Movement, especially from the mid-to-late 1960s, is that there were two philosophical approaches: Dr. King’s faith-based, inclusive, nonviolent strategy; and Malcom X’s Black Power, “the bullet or the ballot,” movement.

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philosophy  / Politics

Purpose
July 16, 2017

There is something to be said for purpose,
Is there not?
The lilac tempts the bee,
The politician seeks the voters’ approbation,
The poet pursues greatness;

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philosophy  / poetry

I am Suspended
June 25, 2017

Being a poet, and writing poetry, requires that one be capable of touching the taut, electric rope that connects the valleys and hills of Earth with the horizons and vastness of sky and space, and that one do so without recoiling from the pain or being overwhelmed by the view.

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philosophy  / Prose

Why Education As An Economic Development Strategy is Horrifying
March 18, 2017

Almost any debate about the need for improvements to America’s public education system, k-12 as well as community college and university, will include a comment along the lines of, “We need to do a better job of preparing our young […]

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Musings  / philosophy  / poetry

Police Shootings Are the Tip of the Iceberg
October 9, 2016

“We [who practice nonviolent direct action] are not the creators of tension. We merely bring to the surface the hidden tension that is already alive. We bring it out into the open, where it can be seen and dealt with. […]

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Musings  / philosophy

An Impertinent Question About Criminal Justice
August 8, 2016

I’m going to present two data points and follow them up with an impertinent question: “Despite being only 13 precent of the overall U.S. population, 40 percent of those who are incarcerated are black.” (American Progress) “Among black males born […]

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philosophy  / Politics