Lynn Ungar

Lynn Ungar

@lynnungar.bsky.social

Poet, dog trainer, UU minister, contra dancer, singer, behavior analyst of politics and culture, expert at making things from what is available in the fridge. On Substack at @lynnungar.

778 Followers 250 Following 41 Posts Joined Nov 2024
11 months ago
April 5th

I don’t know how this all turns out,
and neither do you, 
but I have to confess it doesn’t look good. 
I wish we were headed
for a picnic, for a waltz in the park. I wish
we were not ruled by broken men
who want to damage everything
that they cannot possess. I wish
I could tell you what we do now.
The street is littered with the petals
of cherries that bloomed before 
the big wind came. Tonight 
there will be frost, and tender buds
will burn. But still, the woods 
are unfolding into green,
and just outside my door some frog
is bellowing for all he’s worth.
Who knows what happens next? 
All I can tell you is that the fields
are ablaze with dandelions
who have never known 
the meaning of defeat.

—Lynn Ungar  4-4-25
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11 months ago
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On Beyond Dunning-Kruger You might well have heard by now about the remarkable fact that Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth not only chose to discuss details of a military strike on Yemen over the commercial app Signal, but also ...

What is more Dunning-Kruger than Dunning-Kruger, such that it would explain how you would put the editor-in-chief of the Atlantic in a chat thread about plans for a bomb strike? lynnungar.substack.com/p/on-beyond-...

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11 months ago
Teaching the 10 Commandments So, there’s a bill before the Idaho legislature that would require that the Ten Commandments be posted conspicuously in all classrooms.

If Idaho succeeds in mandating that the 10 Commandments are posted in every classroom, what is the educational outcome that they are looking for? Here's a study guide.
substack.com/home/post/p-...

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11 months ago
Play Stupid Games, Get Stupid Prizes Well, we seem to have a pattern here.

The punishment mind-set says that if your punishment isn't working, you need to do it harder. How's that working with the whole tariffs thing?
substack.com/home/post/p-...

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1 year ago
The Really Big Picture The question of the day, the week, the last couple of months, is obviously WTF is going on here? One might ask this about a whole slew of things: all kinds of horrific executive orders, Musk’s taking ...

So what is the really big picture, the world view that underpins the current administration and the MAGAverse in general?
substack.com/home/post/p-...

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1 year ago
The Midas Touch Our oligarchs-in-chief would have you believe that everything they touch turns to gold—or at least gold plate, like Trump’s toilets.

What happens when your rulers have the Midas touch?
substack.com/home/post/p-...

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1 year ago
The Million Doodle March So, Trump is busy replacing everyone he can in the military, from the chairman of the joint chiefs to the JAGs who adjudicate military cases with unqualified loyalists.

What the world needs now is...a Million Doodle March.
substack.com/home/post/p-...

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1 year ago
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What do you strive for after you have already acquired far more than you can ever use?
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1 year ago
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An open letter to Mitch McConnell. Also an opera.
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1 year ago
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Hey, Mr. Zuckerberg, I have a suggestion.
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1 year ago
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Maybe what we need to do is not try harder, but try softer.
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1 year ago
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What if our tech oligarchs aren't really the best and the brightest?
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1 year ago
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How would you rename the so-called Department of Government Efficiency?
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1 year ago

I find it interesting that the same people who use religion as the justification for taking away rights from women and LGBTQ folks are saying that a sermon calling for compassion and mercy and humility and unity is too political.

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1 year ago
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Maybe what we need is to all get a little more queer.
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1 year ago
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What do toddlers and oligarchs have in common?
lynnungar.substack.com/publish/post...

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1 year ago

I honestly have no opinion about whether TikTok should be banned or not, but I find it hilarious that Trump got them to come back so that his inauguration could be broadcast on the platform. There is literally nothing that man does that isn't motivated by vanity or greed.

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1 year ago

It is my considered and professional opinion that if your religion is about judging and limiting other people while excusing and giving license to yourself, what you have is a crappy religion.

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1 year ago
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What does it really mean to be an influencer? Remembering the late, great Karen Pryor.
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1 year ago
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Remembering Jimmy Carter...with a hint of nostalgia.
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1 year ago
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What happens when the people in charge only know how to yell and object? Anyone remember the cats of Kilkenny?
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1 year ago
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There are two stories woven together to make the Chanukah story--two different miracles with two different meanings.
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1 year ago
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How do you think about the ethics of murdering the CEO of an egregious health insurance corporation? How do you feel about it?
lynnungar.substack.com/publish/post...

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1 year ago
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How would it have changed things if Glinda had decided to ally herself with Elphaba in the course of singing "Defying Gravity"? And what are we to do with privilege?
substack.com/home/post/p-...

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1 year ago

Where did the Democrats go wrong? Whose fault is it anyway?https://substack.com/home/post/p-152386008

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1 year ago

Was eating lunch at a restaurant with my parents when a cybertruck came through the parking lot, gunning its engine. Yes. You heard that right. An electric vehicle making a loud "vroom, vroom" noise. Just when you thought that toxic masculinity couldn't get any more pathetic.

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1 year ago
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What happens when the trolls are in charge?
lynnungar.substack.com/p/city-of-tr...

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1 year ago

What would happen if everyone just decided to use whatever public bathroom was most convenient? Then, if someone challenged your right to be there, you could just say: "Are you asking to see my genitals?"

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1 year ago
Inbox | Substack

All beings are working to get what they need. But what if you have more than anyone could possibly need?
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1 year ago

Looking forward to it.

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