“Guardrails” — Accessible, policy-relevant research is more important today as the federal government degrades science and exposes Americans to unnecessary risks. Credible research has become part of national security. (Lyrics)

“Gotta be Done with Intent” — 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)

“Pay Walls” — During the paper publication era, the best sources for credible research were those academic or “peer-reviewed” journals. Journals have now become privileged academic websites hidden behind paywalls. This could be the Act 1 Finale when someone hires me to write a Broadway play about crime research. Someone tell Lin-Manuel Miranda. (Lyrics)

“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)

“An Issue Like Few Others” — Many politicians don’t really try to reduce 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.

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

“Citizens United” — When did money become the main factor driving political elections in the United States? Ask Constitutional scholars and legal writers. One nefarious SCOTUS case made everything suddenly much worse. (Lyrics)

“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)

Observations About Things in General

“Old Age” — There are important things to learn about aging before you’re actually old. I’ve started to learn many of them myself. (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)

“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)

“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?” — Listening to other people’s conversations or watching talk shows, you hear a lot of “likes” these days. It seems like an unconscious habit for many. My wife and I play a game: “count the likes.” A good score, but hardly rare, 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)