Brandon McGinley

A very Pittsburgh scene: a promontory of old coal mine waste at a wonderful nature area preserved and maintained by @AlleghenyLandTr, with the cemetery where Andy Warhol rests in the background. https://t.co/88gYgDYsy0

Remedial social interventions are "like bailing out a sinking ship with a teaspoon. It’s certainly better to reduce harm than not to — but if everything is harm reduction, we are fighting a losing war against the forces of chaos." https://t.co/mjPOYpCwxo

"There is no anonymity at BTO: To be without a name is to be without an identity and a purpose — and, most importantly, without someone who cares enough to know your name. Anonymity also means impunity, which breeds recklessness." https://t.co/YjZblilryc

"Ms. McNulty ... is providing remedial training in how to live in a society, for young people who lack stability in the first and most important society of the family. And she’s doing it in a wider context that is actively working against her." https://t.co/YjZblilryc

“Never since that summer day in 1682 when William Penn sailed up the estuary...has there been a more complicated and abstruse circumstance than right now.” I talked to the inimitable Bill DeWeese to understand how to break through Harrisburg's gridlock. https://t.co/QDnd2C4o3A

"But while sunshine may be the best disinfectant, it can also burn. Some aspects of politics, just like certain garden plants, do not benefit from direct sunlight. They can only thrive when veiled in shadow." https://t.co/QDnd2C4o3A

The bridge a few hundred feet from our parish is dropping hunks of metal into the valley below. I wrote about what happens when people lose trust in the institutions that are supposed to keep us safe: https://t.co/phmGPXE2F7

When you see a crumbling piece of infrastructure and think, "oh well, *they* wouldn't leave this open if it were actually unsafe," you must remember that there is no *they*. https://t.co/phmGPXE2F7

"There’s no better time than now to take stock of what’s really necessary, to seek out organizations and people who can use what we don’t need, and to relieve ourselves of the burden of property that weighs us down more than it lifts us up." https://t.co/lwD39qJ4S5

My Christmas column reflects on the work of making holiday magic happen, and what it tells us about the vocation of parenting: https://t.co/fqE3tCmCk6

I wrote about multiple tragedies that have resulted in the death of children in Pittsburgh in recent weeks: https://t.co/a7rvzoIobS

From field to family room: a tree’s story in four parts (and about five hours) https://t.co/QQ6x04df3u

“Places that embrace liberalism late — think Ireland over the last decade — tend to do so with almost violent enthusiasm. In the gospel of progress, the only hell is to be left behind.” https://t.co/EwgEV8Zaq3