Spparsons
@spparsons.bsky.social
Retired attorney and law professor. Author of legal textbooks. Lifelong observer, student, and wonderer. Believer in what's to come. Lover of peace, quiet, music, poetry, and all that is beautiful. Committed to liberty and justice for all.
Anybody got a rake?
November 9, 2025 at 1:17 PM
Anybody got a rake?
Found the remains of a squirrel feast on our bench this a.m. I don't mind really, but sure wish they would clean up after themselves.
November 2, 2025 at 9:47 PM
Found the remains of a squirrel feast on our bench this a.m. I don't mind really, but sure wish they would clean up after themselves.
Is there anything more striking in the fall than than a ginkgo tree in all its glory? Maybe a flaming red dogwood.
November 1, 2025 at 1:03 PM
Is there anything more striking in the fall than than a ginkgo tree in all its glory? Maybe a flaming red dogwood.
Autumn views in East Tennessee
October 31, 2025 at 2:47 PM
Autumn views in East Tennessee
Red and yellow maples strut their stuff in an East Tennessee fall.
October 31, 2025 at 2:42 PM
Red and yellow maples strut their stuff in an East Tennessee fall.
Deer finding fodder beneath the oak trees in late October.
October 30, 2025 at 2:08 PM
Deer finding fodder beneath the oak trees in late October.
Reposted by Spparsons
79. American citizen.
September 28, 2025 at 5:07 PM
79. American citizen.
A Minnesota youth hockey league wanted to clear the ice after games. Christians flipped out. open.substack.com/pub/friendly... Highlights serious problems with fundamentalist Christians in our society: entitlement, disregard for the needs of others, and a kneejerk persecution complex. Dangerous.
A Minnesota youth hockey league wanted to clear the ice after games. Christians flipped out.
A new policy meant to speed up down time between kids' hockey games got twisted into a culture war battle
open.substack.com
September 28, 2025 at 5:53 PM
A Minnesota youth hockey league wanted to clear the ice after games. Christians flipped out. open.substack.com/pub/friendly... Highlights serious problems with fundamentalist Christians in our society: entitlement, disregard for the needs of others, and a kneejerk persecution complex. Dangerous.
Ezra Klein Accidentally Shows How the Media Brought Us Trump www.arcdigital.media/p/ezra-klein.... Excellent to highlight the incredible failure of American media and how it enabled Republicans to drag us into the abyss.
Ezra Klein Accidentally Shows How the Media Brought Us Trump
The prominent liberal pundit made up a fake version of Charlie Kirk to praise, laundering his reputation the way a lot of mainstream media launders MAGA
www.arcdigital.media
September 18, 2025 at 2:50 PM
Ezra Klein Accidentally Shows How the Media Brought Us Trump www.arcdigital.media/p/ezra-klein.... Excellent to highlight the incredible failure of American media and how it enabled Republicans to drag us into the abyss.
Empire-Shaped Vs. Cross- Shaped open.substack.com/pub/joashpth... A reminder for people to mourn the cruel murder of Charlie Kirk while standing in solidarity with the marginalized groups that were the target of his dehumanizing rhetoric.
Empire-Shaped Vs. Cross- Shaped
Justice In The Lectionary: Feast of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross
open.substack.com
September 14, 2025 at 4:55 PM
Empire-Shaped Vs. Cross- Shaped open.substack.com/pub/joashpth... A reminder for people to mourn the cruel murder of Charlie Kirk while standing in solidarity with the marginalized groups that were the target of his dehumanizing rhetoric.
www.friendlyatheist.com/p/the-initia... Worth a read.
The initial report from Trump’s "Anti-Christian Bias" task force reveals... nothing
From deleted Easter posts to phantom candle bans, their evidence of Christian persecution is nothing but a pile of petty grievances
www.friendlyatheist.com
September 8, 2025 at 1:12 PM
www.friendlyatheist.com/p/the-initia... Worth a read.
Reposted by Spparsons
Chief Justice Roberts says the rule of law is eroding like we've rarely seen. Maybe he should've thought of that before ruling the president is above the law. You don't get to burn the house down and act shocked it's on fire.
August 27, 2025 at 10:26 PM
Chief Justice Roberts says the rule of law is eroding like we've rarely seen. Maybe he should've thought of that before ruling the president is above the law. You don't get to burn the house down and act shocked it's on fire.
Reposted by Spparsons
Nothings says summer like a blooming bed of zinnias.
July 30, 2025 at 10:02 PM
Nothings says summer like a blooming bed of zinnias.
In rural America there is nothing prettier than a freshly mown field with baled hay. What does it suggest? Fecundity? Order out of chaos? Successful partnership with nature? Sufficiency? Tranquility? Beauty? All of the above, I think. Our 8 acre field yielded 27 bales in this mid-summer cutting.
July 29, 2025 at 1:09 PM
In rural America there is nothing prettier than a freshly mown field with baled hay. What does it suggest? Fecundity? Order out of chaos? Successful partnership with nature? Sufficiency? Tranquility? Beauty? All of the above, I think. Our 8 acre field yielded 27 bales in this mid-summer cutting.
The lushness of summer in the American Upper South: a wall of blooming hydrangeas and a crown of burgeoning crepe myrtle.
July 20, 2025 at 9:38 PM
The lushness of summer in the American Upper South: a wall of blooming hydrangeas and a crown of burgeoning crepe myrtle.
Nothing prettier in a summer garden than the Rudbeckia hirta, more commonly known as black-eyed Susan.
July 20, 2025 at 5:40 PM
Nothing prettier in a summer garden than the Rudbeckia hirta, more commonly known as black-eyed Susan.
It's mid-summer in the American South. It's hot. It's humid. It's steamy. It's sticky. In other words it's time for....okra.
July 20, 2025 at 4:03 PM
It's mid-summer in the American South. It's hot. It's humid. It's steamy. It's sticky. In other words it's time for....okra.
This is Crocosmia. Native to the grasslands of Eastern and Southern Africa from Sudan to South Africa, it grows just fine here in East Tennessee. This variety is called Lucifer for obvious reasons. Suitable for those who don't mind seeing all you know what break loose in their summer gardens.
June 29, 2025 at 6:15 PM
This is Crocosmia. Native to the grasslands of Eastern and Southern Africa from Sudan to South Africa, it grows just fine here in East Tennessee. This variety is called Lucifer for obvious reasons. Suitable for those who don't mind seeing all you know what break loose in their summer gardens.
Coneflowers. Gorgeous. In their presence, just be quiet and enjoy.
June 29, 2025 at 6:06 PM
Coneflowers. Gorgeous. In their presence, just be quiet and enjoy.
Stare down in the front yard this morning. He's looking at me like I'm trespassing, and I'm explaining to him who pays the property taxes.
June 18, 2025 at 3:28 PM
Stare down in the front yard this morning. He's looking at me like I'm trespassing, and I'm explaining to him who pays the property taxes.
When the crepe myrtles bloom, you know it's summer in East Tennessee.
June 11, 2025 at 6:11 PM
When the crepe myrtles bloom, you know it's summer in East Tennessee.
It's June in the Upper South, U.S.A. and here clematis is King...not you know who.
June 4, 2025 at 9:41 PM
It's June in the Upper South, U.S.A. and here clematis is King...not you know who.
Coneflower in an East Tennessee summer garden let's you know in orange and white that it's rooting for the VOLS!
June 4, 2025 at 5:50 PM
Coneflower in an East Tennessee summer garden let's you know in orange and white that it's rooting for the VOLS!