A few days ago over on my Facebook page I shared the story of the school district that took away a blind child’s cane and replaced it with a “pool noodle.” The cane technically belongs to the school district, and when the bus attendant reported that he was waving it in the air and potentially…
Today in the Chronicle of Higher Education I have a profile of Michael Roth, the president of Wesleyan University. I’m interested in his work as a public intellectual and defender of the traditions of liberal learning. There are lots of other people who make similar arguments (which is not a criticism. They are GOOD arguments!)….
In Texarkana on Monday, a woman called 911 (click for the call) at around 2 AM to report a person in her garage. The woman was frightened and said that she heard banging on the windows from the person in the garage. A police office came to investigate, and found an African-American man holding something in…
I had a new piece at the Chronicle yesterday about offensive speech and academic freedom. Deborah O’Connor, a Florida State lecturer, resigned after saying some really nasty things on a public Facebook page. In my piece, I compare her speech to the un-hiring of Steven Salaita, a case on which I’ve written a lot over…
Congress just passed the Death in Custody Reporting Act of 2013. You can read the text of the bill here. It’s supposed to get departments to regularly report data on deaths in custody, which is badly needed (it’s shocking how hard it is to get that data). In a public Facebook post, activist Leroy Moore says: You…
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…