Journalist – Historian – Speaker
Last week Vice published my review of Marco Polo, the new series from Netflix. I genuinely enjoyed watching it, despite the problems, most of which revolve around a character named . . . Marco Polo. Marco Polo has all the makings of a great series. There’s intrigue, politics, battles, betrayals, assassins in the night, discussions …
Me giving side-eye to GW This is me and George Washington. The picture was taken yesterday, 12/11, when we visited the White House for a holiday party. It was a lovely party. Lots of food and drink. I got to see the president make a few jokes (take the paper napkins, don’t take the cloth …
In Georgia, a 6 year old with special needs was placed in handcuffs: When a Georgia mother arrived at her 6-year-old son’s school last week in response to a call that he was misbehaving, she was greeted by a shocking surprise: Her first grader was in handcuffs. Lakaisha Reid’s 6-year-old son Patrick is a special …
I have a meta-thesis about academic culture: It’s no worse than anywhere else, but we tend to think we’re better, and that’s where the problems come in. Usually I’m talking about race, class, or gender. We think we’re immune to the dominant trends of American society, so generally resist being told to change our ways. …
Louis Hayes is a Chicago area SWAT and CIT trained police officer trying to change certain core strategic approaches employed by police. He’s got a new piece up about “lawful but awful” cases, many of which involve disability. Hayes writes: What I read from activists’ and advocates’ intelligent responses (SPECIAL NOTE: intelligent) to many of …
I’m working on a book prospectus and writing some articles. I hope I can announce something real soon now. Oh, and there are things you can read: On ABLE for Al Jazeera America. On Eric Garner and disability/race/class/fat-hatred intersections for CNN. And blog posts. The Hypereducated Poor – Adjuncts in Elle Intersectionality – A look …
In Elle, Alissa Quart has a piece she calls The Hypereducated Poor. It explores the adjunct crisis by looking at the life of a Chicago-area professor, Brianne Bolin. She teaches composition. She has a son with cerebral palsy named Finn. I’ve met them both as we live in the suburb of Brookfield, though until this …
From Wikipedia: Intersectionality (or intersectionalism) is the study of intersections between forms or systems of oppression, domination or discrimination. An example is black feminism, which argues that the experience of being a black female cannot be understood in terms of being black, and of being female, considered independently, but must include the interactions, which frequently …
This is a resource page of people referring to Garner’s health as a justification for his death. I will write this up more fully, but just want to collect material here. From Mother Jones [update: whole interview here on CNN] “If he had not had asthma and a heart condition and was so obese, almost …
ABLE is likely to become law in the next few weeks, offering new tax-free savings accounts for people with disabilities. Here’s my article on the bill. Here’s the current language in the House with off-sets (who knew you could save 444 million by not funding erection pumps via medicaid?). Here’s a piece saying that Senator …