“Academia” — Most of my career has been in research, but I don’t call myself an academic. I never wanted to fit the academic model. I always thought research should be practical, freely accessible, and understandable for non-academic audiences. (Lyrics)

“Attribution Error” — Elected officials love to claim responsibility for crime drops, attributing positive changes to their own efforts. Exactly how do so many Governors and Mayors produce similar crime declines at the same time? Such questions don’t seem to trouble them. (Lyrics)

“Cause and Effect” — I’ve had many research clients in my career. Some fund us to evaluate a policy or program, but then it turned out they didn’t really want objective research. They wanted support for their preconceived ideas. (Lyrics)

“Prevention is the Key” — I spend my days thinking about the effectiveness of crime prevention strategies. I wish lawmakers would get serious about it, and not just make up stuff for their campaigns. (Lyrics)

“How They Make Our Rules” — The firearm violence rate in the U.S. is a stain on our international reputation. It doesn’t have to be this way, but we’ll have to reduce the influence of fools and their money on our political system. (Lyrics)

“Ya Gotta Do The Work” — When you work in the field of public safety research, you learn that most politicians don’t know much about crime stats. Many don’t seem to care whether or not their statements about crime are true or even reasonably accurate. (Lyrics)

“Guardrails” — Policy-relevant research is even more important today as the federal government targets science and exposes Americans to various risks. Credible research is part of national security now. (Lyrics)

“Unit of Analysis” — Working in public safety research, you learn that simply deferring to the strongest statistical evidence has a price. It creates a bias for explaining social problems through the lens of individual defects rather than social-structural factors. (Lyrics)

“An Issue Like No Other” — Many politicians don’t try to reduce or prevent violent crime. They use the issue to motivate their voter base. (Lyrics)

“Policy Must be Factual” — I’m disturbed by how many social policies are designed for political purposes, without concern for research or facts. Or worse, policymakers are happy to make up their own facts. (Lyrics)

Thoughts About Politics in the U.S.

“Grotesquer” — The last of my ancestors to immigrate to the U.S. arrived in the 1820s. Some came to New York City in the 1600s when it was still New Amsterdam. I would feel ashamed if they were here to see what is happening to the country lately. (Lyrics)

“America’s Coming Back” — It is still possible to feel optimistic about the future of America. Resistance to authoritarianism rebounded in the moron’s second term, as he was making more obvious mistakes. Some so transparent that even Republicans saw them. (Lyrics)

“Just So Stupid” — It’s embarrassing to know that videos of U.S. politicians can be seen and heard around the world. Because that means other countries know what we did here. (Lyrics)

“WTF?” — The effects of the 2024 presidential election are appalling. The worst part is that we did it to ourselves… albeit by a very slim margin. (Lyrics)

Observations About Things in General

“One Animal” — We’ve spent way too much energy dividing human beings into groups based on physical features. But, even in the U.S., some things are getting better — very slowly. (Lyrics)

“New York City” — Seems like there is always tension between New York City residents and inexperienced visitors. I thought I’d help out with some advice. You know — in a song. (Lyrics)

“A Human Invention” — I cherish the values I learned from my parents as they practiced their faith. But when people take religious stories literally, I worry about humanity’s future. (Lyrics)

“Boomer” — America’s “Baby Boomers” (born 1946-1964) have been living longer than most people in the country, which means we’ve seen more politics. It’s been bad before, of course, but never this bad in our lifetimes. (Lyrics)

“Like, Ya Know?” — New York City is densely populated, so we easily hear other people’s conversations when walking around. My wife and I play a game while walking in front of a chatty group: “count the likes.” A good score would be 4 likes in a single sentence. (Lyrics)

“Always Notice the Price” — Smoking weed, drinking, and using other stuff can be fun when we’re young, but the goal should be to stop as soon as possible. Because there’s a price. (Lyrics)

“The Secret of Old Age” — There are things to learn about being old. I’m beginning to learn some of them myself. (Lyrics)