Bob CollinsBut enough about me; now it’s your turn to run this blog for a day.
This is a Theft of the Blog Day, during which I encourage you to be the blogging creative class and share your essays and posts on a topic of your choosing.
The sky’s the limit. It can be a news story if you wish. Or it could be a personal story that something else in the news reminded you of, or it could simply be a movie review, an unfinished book with only one chapter, or you can cut and paste something you’ve already written on your own blog that you think should have a wider audience.
Post your essay/post below (alternately, you can email me directly) and if we can get a few, I’ll break each out into its own NewsCut blog post. Don’t worry; I’ll protect you from the trolls.
Need an idea? Here are a couple that might get you thinking.
St. Paul leaders urge witnesses to talk in wake of shootings
MPR’s Matt Sepic reports today that city and civic leaders are frustrated because witnesses and victims won’t talk about a Mounds Park shooting during a weekend of violence in the city.
Idea: When’s the last time you could have helped something or somebody, but chose not to?
After 17 times in treatment, this addict pins hope on new drug
Jon Collins’ series of interviews with people who are addicted to opiates and people whose loved ones have died from overdoses has been beyond sad and disturbing.
“There would be times that I would be driving to the dope man and I’d be bawling because I knew that I was worth more and there was something out there that was better,” his guest today said. “Yet I was sick, and I wanted drugs, and I was going to get what I wanted. I went to any length to get it.”
“We are definitely important people. We do bad things, but that doesn’t mean that we’re bad people,” she said. “We’re good people with a bad disease.”
Idea: Do you have a story about wanting to help someone with an addiction — or have you been addicted yourself? What keeps you from giving up?
1,000 Words: Voters thank Susan B. Anthony
This is from a quick blog post last night about people in Rochester, NY, who visit Susan B. Anthony’s grave every Election Day and slap “I Voted” stickers on her tombstone.
“I’ve never voted in my life because I left Albania when I was too young to vote. It’s been a long journey to citizenship, I don’t know what emotions it will be, but I know it will be emotional,” a professor at a nearby college said.
Idea: Who inspires you?
Why do girls tend to have more anxiety than boys?
The New York Times’ Well column carries the observation of a doctor that the pattern in his practice is unmistakable. Boys he sees are laid back and underachieving. Girls are hyperachieving and anxious. Why? And what can parents do to change it?
If your daughter is the girl sitting in her bedroom looking at other girls’ social media, maybe she shouldn’t be in her bedroom at all. In the typical American household today, when kids go home, they go to their bedrooms and aren’t seen again except perhaps for meals. That’s crazy. A family can’t be a family if the kids spend more time alone in their bedrooms than with their family members. Insist that your daughter, or son, do whatever they’re doing online in a public space: in the kitchen or the living room. There should be nothing in the bedroom except a bed: no TV, no PlayStation, no screens. That’s the official recommendation of the American Academy of Pediatrics.
Idea: What works and doesn’t work in your child rearing attempt(s)
All others welcomed! Good luck.
