In the late 19th century, people protested against mandatory smallpox vaccines. Despite them, today we live in a world without smallpox. Continue reading
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In the late 19th century, people protested against mandatory smallpox vaccines. Despite them, today we live in a world without smallpox. Continue reading
Right now our nation still has two competing narratives about the 2020 election. Continue reading
If you are worried about critical race theory in schools, here is some advice from someone who actually teaches it. Continue reading
As the congressional investigation into the January 6 insurrection gets underway, we’re learning disturbing new details about Trump supporters’ violent attempt to overturn the 2020 election. Continue reading
The New Yorker recently published an article about the man who single handedly began the backlash against critical race theory, Christopher Rufo. It is enlightening. Continue reading
The state of Florida just passed a law that—to put it mildly—grossly violates academic freedom. Under the new bill, recently signed by Governor Ron DeSantis, students and faculty will be surveyed about their political views to ensure “intellectual freedom and ideological diversity.” Continue reading
Most of the news stories I see about Israel and Palestine focus on recent events. Continue reading
Even as the Biden administration commits to environmental justice, people in the Fifth District of Louisiana’s St. James Parish are mobilizing to stop a Formosa plastics plant accused of environmental racism in the majority-Black community. Continue reading
The Idaho legislature just cracked down on colleges teaching “social justice ideology.” They cut $409,000 from Boise State University’s budget and forced a number of “social justice”-related classes to move online and “asynchronous,” without any more live discussion. Continue reading
Bill Gates has a new book about climate change. Continue reading
Conspiracy theories like QAnon are outlandish, dangerous, and often absurd. So why do people believe them? Continue reading
President Biden recently became the first president to condemn white supremacy by name in an inaugural address. Then some Republicans got mad because, they say, it’s an attack on them. Continue reading
In the interest of stemming the QAnon conspiracy theories about Satanist pedophile rings in Hollywood, I’d like to share my experience with actual Satanists in Hollywood. The truth is so much more boring than the (completely false) conspiracy theories. Continue reading
Donald Trump won’t be around forever. But the political crises his attacks on democracy have caused will outlive his one-term presidency. Continue reading
This week my students turned in papers relating news articles to what they learned in class about parenting. Every single student’s paper is about how the pandemic is exacerbating pre-existing inequalities. Continue reading
I used to think the only thing that mattered about politicians were the policies they supported. Continue reading
Although the United States hails itself as a bastion of representative democracy, voting regulations suppress the vote even in a normal year—and even more so during the pandemic. Continue reading
Supreme Court Justices Clarence Thomas and Samuel Alito just issued a statement implying they may seek to overturn the ruling that legalized same-sex marriage. That’s a dire threat to civil liberties and families, especially after Trump’s nomination of a hardline social conservative to the court. Continue reading
This year marks the 100-year anniversary of the 19th Amendment, when women got the right to vote in all 50 states. Limiting voting to men at the nation’s founding was part of the legal doctrine of coverture, in which a woman was legally represented first by her father and then by her husband. Continue reading
Rory McVeigh wrote The Rise of the Ku Klux Klan, a study of the KKK in the 1920s, in 2009—long before Donal Trump became president. But it could almost be about Trump today. Continue reading
The Trump administration is apparently undertaking its latest effort to make 2020 more of a Kafkaesque nightmare than it already is. Yes, we’ve got murder hornets and a swarm of flying ants that can be seen from space over in Ireland, but maybe the scariest plague of the year is the president. Continue reading
However much half of this country hates the other half now, it’s only going to get worse leading up to November. I don’t look forward to it. Continue reading
When those of us who are white are asked to engage with anti-racism, we are being asked to do something emotionally difficult: understand how we have benefited from a system that disadvantages and hurts others, so we can help dismantle it. Continue reading
I can practically recite your Harry Potter books. I grew up in a family that felt like the Dursleys, and I began having chronic migraines at 14 so Harry’s scar hurting was very relatable. Continue reading
In some ways, this horrible pandemic has brought out the best in humanity. Continue reading
Meat processing plants are high risk for spreading COVID-19, and many are shutting down. Animals due for processing have nowhere to go, and they are being culled. Continue reading
Wisconsin might have just decided the November election for Trump at the expense of its own citizens’ lives. Continue reading
Many years ago, bestselling author Michael Pollan explained there’s a trade-off between efficiency and resilience. Continue reading
Social distancing is hard, and it’s not fun. Continue reading
Western medicine is predicated on the “germ theory of disease.” That’s what it sounds like: the theory that germs like bacteria and viruses cause disease. Continue reading
A year after Trump took office, Saturday Night Live did a sketch called “What Even Matters Anymore?” Continue reading
Do any Republicans still support democracy?
Republicans should heed Churchill's warning about appeasing authoritarians: “Each one hopes that if he feeds the crocodile enough, it will eat him last.”
Posted on November 8, 2021 by Jill Richardson
Investigative accounts of the Trump administration, like the recent Washington Post feature on the January 6 insurrection, routinely write about three kinds of conservatives. Continue reading →