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Juan Matute's avatar
James Harr's avatar

To Dr. Richardson, and all of these intelligent and erudite commenters, thank you SO much for bringing me the clarity I so desperately crave in these times. I’ve been reading your newsletter since late last fall and it has been the one thing I so eagerly await each morning.

If I may: my father, John Ensor Harr, passed away in November of 2004. He was an amazing man who not only served his country in World War II (although not in combat), but also as a dedicated civil servant for many years. While working to obtain his MA, and finally his PhD (in Political Science and Public Administration no less!) he was an Attaché d’Embassy in Tel Aviv and Bonn, a research associate for the Herter Committee in ‘62-‘63, and was Director of the Office of Management Planning in the US Department of State. He enjoyed a great many other public service and civic activities as well, and was an amazing writer on top of all that (‘Dark Eagle’, a novel of Benedict Arnold and the American Revolution, was his magnum opus).

I bring my Dad up in remembrance of him and his amazing achievements in light of the upcoming Fathers Day holiday, but also as he is the one I think of, each and every day since his passing, regarding how much he has missed. He would have been SO proud of President Obama. And would so revile the current situation with the buffoon in Chief we have now. My Dad taught me what it meant to embrace all people and to think progressively and intelligently. I so miss the opportunity to discuss these events with him. I am an educated man but nothing even close to what my father achieved. I have always had difficulty discussing politics with anyone, and that is why I write this, my inaugural comment, today to express my gratitude to all of you who do it so well for me. Thank you!

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Tim Boone's avatar

Thanks for doing this! Your email is the best source of sanity to touch each morning. As a two tour Army Special Forces disabled Vietnam Veteran, and a nearly 50 year career in applied behavioral science and leadership, as well as an amateur American History buff, I find your discussions highly informative. Your patriotism helps me remain proud of what America should stand for!

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