The Trump EPA wants to introduce a new rule: Its scientists can only use studies that make all of their data public. Continue reading
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Author Archives: Jill Richardson
The EPA’s war on science continues
The EPA wants to ban research that doesn’t violate the privacy of its subjects. That means less science—and fewer rules for polluters.
Why does Trump keep doing this?
Either our system is going to break, or Trump’s finally going to fail. It’s an exhausting drama.
Does Trump understand democracy? I’m really asking. Continue reading
It’s not about your straws or your light bulbs
Polluting industries want you to think the climate crisis is your fault, not theirs.
A few years ago, I had a cupcake problem. I’d go to the cupcake store almost daily and I’d eat at least one cupcake, sometimes more. Continue reading
Weapons of the weak
Americans are used to arguments about identity, but one of the most common coping mechanisms of impacted people is to remain silent.
As I navigate life as a queer disabled woman, I frequently think of Yale political scientist James C. Scott’s concept of the “weapons of the weak.” Continue reading
How do you celebrate a flawed nation?
To love America is to love the movements that have fought for centuries to make it better.
As the Fourth of July rolls around, I think plenty of us are eager for barbecues, corn on the cob, watermelon, and fireworks, but our feelings about our country are somewhat more complicated. Continue reading
Corporate pride is cheap
Churning out cheap rainbow swag during Pride Month is about marketing, not supporting LGBTQ people.
The satirical website McSweeney’s recently published a piece called “My Coming Out Story, Sponsored by Bank of America.” Continue reading
The disparity behind anti-abortion laws
Laws restricting reproductive freedom come out of a culture that doesn’t see women’s sexuality as equal to men’s.
In the past few weeks, my Facebook feed has exploded with posts about abortion. If you use Facebook, probably yours has too. Continue reading
The death penalty is getting crueler
A horrific new ruling would let states execute people in more painful ways, even when alternatives are available.
For years, most of the U.S. has been changing death penalty laws in the direction of phasing it out, or at least applying it in a more humane way. Continue reading
A Russiagate reality check
Donald Trump is bragging that the Mueller report did not prove he colluded with Russia during the 2016 election. Continue reading
Starving kids won’t help them study
Instead of looking at the real reasons students struggle, one Arkansas lawmaker wants to deny them school lunch funding.
An Arkansas lawmaker wants to cut school lunch funding for schools that fail to improve their students’ reading levels. Continue reading
Another billionaire presidential candidate who doesn’t get it
It’s human nature to be clueless about those with less privilege than you—which for billionaires includes nearly everyone.
Former Starbucks CEO Howard Schultz just announced he may run for president as an independent centrist candidate in 2020. Continue reading
The transgender ban is about bigotry and distraction
Trump's attacking service members to provoke the left, throw red meat to his base, and distract the rest from things like the shutdown.
The Supreme Court just paved the way for Trump’s ban on transgender people serving in the military to move ahead, at least pending other court challenges. The ban will harm the military and help no one, while doing nothing to address the nation’s real problems. Continue reading
A war on science, morals, and law
Many ‘scientific’ questions are more accurately considered moral questions. The Trump administration's approach to the environment fails on both counts.
A new report by the Union of Concerned Scientists accuses Trump’s Interior Department of “relentless attacks on science ranging from suppressing and sidelining the work of the department’s scientists to systematically refusing to act on climate change.” Continue reading
Why holiday-season arguments with relatives are so frustrating
Most of us think if everyone just knew the facts, they'd agree with us. Unfortunately, it doesn't work that way.
The weather has turned cool and crisp (or so I’ve heard . . . I’m in California, where it’s hot out and everything’s on fire). We’ve entered the time of year when soon we’ll get together with our loved ones, share a traditional holiday meal, and bicker over politics. Continue reading
The White House desperately wants this election to be ‘us’ vs. ‘them’
As the midterms approach, the administration is ratcheting up its attacks on anyone who isn't a straight, white, native-born Christian.
In the days leading up to the election, the news has been scary. “We” are under threat from all sides. “They” are threatening us. Continue reading
Sex and gender aren’t the same thing
The White House says its move to erase the civil rights of 1.4 million transgender Americans is "grounded in science." No it bloody well isn't.
Trump is having a problem with sex, and it’s not exactly what you might think. There are no Russian tapes, spankings with magazines, or confessions of grabbing anyone this time around. Continue reading
Voting matters, but staying engaged matters more
Real change means staying active long after Election Day.
After Brett Kavanaugh was confirmed, my Facebook feed filled up with people telling one another to vote in the midterms. “If you don’t like what’s happening in America, vote!” they said. Continue reading
The unbelievable cruelty of the GOP’s Kavanaugh charade
When I hear people shouting on TV that an assault in one's teens doesn't matter, it feels like they're shouting at me, too.
This past week, my private reality and the public reality playing out on the television have diverged. It’s hard to believe that I live in the same world as Senator Chuck Grassley, the Senate judiciary chair trying to Brett Kavanaugh onto the Supreme Court. Continue reading
Why women don’t report sexual assault
Delays should never be used to discredit accusers like Christine Blasey Ford.
When Christine Blasey Ford came forward to report that President Trump’s Supreme Court nominee, Brett Kavanaugh, sexually assaulted her in 1982, you could cue the response: Why didn’t she speak out then? Why didn’t she go to the police? Continue reading
Imagine our economy as a game of ‘Monopoly’
If you set up the board game like our actual economy, the poorest players quickly run out of money and the rich run away with the game. It's unfair, boring, and exactly what happens in real life.
As a sociology professor in a community college, I have my students play Monopoly. Only, I give them a special, rigged version. Continue reading
Here out West, ‘Smoke Season’ keeps getting worse
Addressing climate change costs money. Wildfires gobbling up our country—and seas swallowing up our shores—costs more.
Right now, much of the west is affected by wildfires. Continue reading
A war on regulations
Are we going to let interest group politics undermine public safety?
The incoming Republican government is waging a war against regulations. Continue reading
Stop calling harmful bigotry ‘religious freedom’
Anyone intolerant enough to disown a child is far less fit to parent than a gay person whose only ‘sin’ is living authentically.
Posted on March 3, 2020 by Jill Richardson
The Supreme Court is considering a case, Fulton v. City of Philadelphia, that once again pits LGBTQ rights against so-called religious liberty. In this case, one of the plaintiffs, Catholic Social Services, is arguing that it has the right to discriminate against same sex couples when placing children in foster care. Continue reading →