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Barry, sorry for all the bleak articles. But thank you very much for your kind words! I am very grateful that you read my newsletter week after week. (There’s a long-running joke among longtime subscribers that my reading habits trend gloomy / harrowing. I’ll be on the lookout for more joy!)

And yes: Our mascot Arlo is indeed holding a yellow highlighter in his right paw. But knowing him, he might prefer a mustard squeeze bottle.

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Also, I just realized the dog in the header is holding a yellow highliter and not a yellow mustard squueze bottle. Duh!

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I started the day treating myself to an Article Club read. A treat I often keep for the weekend. Bleak stuff! Yikes. Epecially the pieces about democracy. Well worth reading, but sheesh!

Then I turned to my other fave, the NYT's Well newsletter and a great piece about not falling into the ‘cynicism trap,' and I thought to myself how glad I am that I have AC to keep me grounded and informed about social trends, no matter how depressing, and how your commitment to providing such thought-provoking feelings exemplifies this idea in the cynicism trap article that 'The world isn’t a perfect place, but it isn’t all bad either' because I think you are helping me be a 'hopeful skeptic' who think critically about societal problems while recognizing how kind and generous others really are.'

Reflecting as I often do, on your comments about juxtaposition of articles and common themes.

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