Before I start, let me say the world is messy right now. It is messy to think. It is messy to write. But I continue in defiance, with hope for our liberation. It is July 4. What better time to wonder about the MAGA (Make America Great Again) movement that openly...
supreme court
Supreme Court Ruling in Stalking Case Hurts Victims
Stalking is a social and public health emergency. Unfortunately, the Supreme Court’s ruling in Counterman v. Colorado makes things easier for abusers and harder for victims. A form of gender-based violence, stalking affects more than 13 million people annually in the...
The Rogue Court’s Reactionary Radicalism
This Is a Catastrophe. I am finishing the writing of this piece shortly after the July 4 holiday. This is significant — to wonder who this country is now, and before. I began writing it while riding the bus into NYC from Ithaca, NY, on Friday, June 30, while the last...
Warhol, Art, and Capitalism Before the Supreme Court
The Andy Warhol Foundation has lost its suit against photographer Lynn Goldsmith. The Supreme Court’s May 18, 2023, ruling positioned the decision as a defense of lesser known artists against famous ones. The majority argued that Fair Use was not applicable when...
The Racism of American Capital Punishment
The death penalty in America always incites controversy. Last year, Alabama took three hours to administer their lethal injection drugs. Idaho had to pause an execution for the lack of those drugs. And two people on death row were exonerated. The larger long-term...
The Supreme Court Deals Three Devastating Rulings in One Week
New York State Rifle & Pistol Association v. Bruen On June 23, in a 6-3 decision in New York State Rifle & Pistol Association v. Bruen, the Supreme Court struck down a 109-year-old New York state law that requires gun owners who want to carry a handgun outside...
The Failures of Post-Roe Mainstream Media
The mainstream media have failed the public in their coverage of the historic overturning of Roe v. Wade. They have buried the lead and mislabeled the positions of the so-called warring sides. Here are some recent headlines: From a local CBS affiliate in Illinois,...
Aria for Cindy and Lament for the Post-Roe United States
On Friday, June 24, in a 6-3 decision, the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade. This day also marks exactly four months of fighting in Ukraine. Both are wars, entangled and unsettled. These conjunctions offer a way to fashion a mosaic of connections, rather than...
Damn the Court; This Is Not What Democracy Looks Like
I could wait to fully try to clear my head and calm my heart but that might not happen soon enough, and this moment “we” are in is urgent. For friends who say they have lost hope I am reminded of what I have said too often in these last few years. Hope is not an...
Tears of Joy and Hope Turn to Tears of Despair
Nearly 30 years ago, I was in the kitchen on the phone with my obstetrician. My husband, Tim, on the other side of the house, heard me scream with joy. Life-altering news made me cry. I was going to be a mom to a daughter. And the baby, yes, at that point it was my...