Words For the Wise

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In my Hudson Valley village, a 78-year-old Vietnam vet who has nearly spent half his life in jail goes into local drug court. It may be his…
"Words for the Wise" is back, intermittently for now. Paid subs are still turned off for now.
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Michael Balter

February 2024

January 2024

Payments paused…
“Words for the Wise” hopes to relaunch soon. Until then, no money will change hands.
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Michael Balter

December 2023

Hillary Clinton is back, in force. That’s not a good thing.
We reprint a piece published the day after Trump beat Clinton. It still hits the mark.
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Michael Balter

November 2023

Okay, boomer!
A boomer looks back and sees a lot of death and destruction. Looking forward, he wonders if it will ever stop and who will stop it.
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Michael Balter
3
A letter to readers...
"Words for the Wise" will be publishing less often, at least for for the time being.
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Michael Balter
3
An Israel-Gaza reading list
There is no contradiction between condemning the war crimes of Hamas and acknowledging that Israel is now committing war crimes too, on a massive scale.
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Michael Balter
1

October 2023

Poetry corner: Cancel my subscription!
"Words for the Wise" does not get many unsubscribe requests--just the opposite--but they do happen occasionally. Here are my unrepentant thoughts when…
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Michael Balter
2
It's not just the crime, it's the coverup. Tell the whole truth about #MeToo abusers or say nothing at all.
NYU quietly got rid of the late archaeologist Randall White nearly 30 years after he did serious damage to women in the field. A new obituary does…
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Michael Balter
Living in Gaza is a nightmare. Now it's Israel's nightmare, too.
No discussion of Hamas's war crimes is complete without discussing Israel's own war crimes and international law violations against Palestinians. But…
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Michael Balter
3
Another #MeToo victory, this time in Brazil. Paleontologists and other scientists and students are celebrating.
After two years of investigation, Brazil's UNIRIO university has dismissed serial sexual predator Leonardo Avilla. A brave fight by victims and their…
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Michael Balter

September 2023

Once more around on the "presumption of innocence." The concept is much abused.
"Innocent until proven guilty" does not apply in civil court, where many sexual assault cases end up. It's also irrelevant to whether Robert Menendez…
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Michael Balter
© 2024 Michael Balter
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