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By Zac Juhnke The attacks on Tim Walz’s service record are overblown; however, he opened himself up to them. Let me explain from my perspective. I enlisted in the Minnesota National Guard on December 16, 2000; four days after my 17th birthday. While I always considered myself patriotic, I am not
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By Bill Merritt I grew up in Georgia during the Civil Rights era and have some experience with the way open primaries can go awry. One of the first ballots I ever cast was in the 1966 gubernatorial primary. Being Republican I, naturally, cast it in for Democrat Lester Maddox. It wasn’t an open
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Or rather: most of us are partially right, but some of us are more right than others
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By Elias Leventhal The abysmal mental health of modern teenagers seems to be on a lot of people's minds. It's a constant presence in the news cycle, a disturbing rumble underneath the higher-pitched whines of the current crises du jour. Commentators have proposed scores of possible causes: social
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By Maureen Elyse Gilbert This essay was originally published on Marueen’s blog, “Notes from a Midlife Crisis,” and has been lightly edited from the original. "You're so vain. You probably think this song is about you." - Carly Simon Dear America, It’s been almost two years since our breakup. I
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By John Randolph When I was a kid, I was terrified of spiders. My darkest moment came while on fifth grade summer vacation at my friend Jack’s cottage. We had lugged his raft — a sturdy, homemade bundle of wood and foam and cordage — from winter storage to the beach and launched it into the lake
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By Mo Perry This piece has been slightly edited from Mo’s substack, The Unfurling, where it originally appeared. My eye’s been twitching for weeks. I’ve been putting myself in an uncomfortable space on purpose. My eye twitches, and I let it twitch. I notice it — there it goes, mid-conversation —
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By Sarah Rugheimer Canada is widely known for its multiculturalism, its universal healthcare, and its hockey obsession. Many regard it as the friendly northern neighbor of a much more flawed country. But is it really so friendly? Canada has a little-known law that includes some of the most eugenic
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By Anonymous in California “Don’t let your karma run over your dogma.” I heard this cheeky saying on the radio when I was in high school, and immediately laughed then tucked it away in the back of my mind to pull out at an opportune moment. Of course, back then I thought I’d be using it on someone
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By Jonathan Kass You are programmed to want children. You’re past thirty now and the cajoling from your genes is becoming increasingly difficult to ignore. Do it, they wheedle. Everyone likes you. The world needs more people just like you. That may be true, you think. You have always been a sucker
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I can’t open Instagram anymore By Preeti Kulkarni I can’t open Instagram anymore. Every time I do, I see a line of infographics reposted by various well meaning acquaintances, designed to spread awareness about the various evils plaguing our society but that always feel one-note and performative. I
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By Barney Adams I read Tangle daily, and remembered that the word “entrepreneur” was mentioned along with the announcement that the publication welcomed essays from its readers. Without thinking (a natural reaction), I thought. “I am an entrepreneur, I like to write… why not grace them with a