Journalist – Historian – Speaker
Last night, a new story in the ever evolving evidence for the #CultOfCompliance and the dangers it poses to marginalized people when they encounter police went viral. A police officer in the Miami area shot a black man lying on his back with his hands in the air. The man, Charles Kinsey, is a mental …
There’s a disability-related twist in the Wisconsin Senate race. Ron Johnson, as I understand it, has advocated both for special-ed private-school vouchers and keeping the federal government from inspecting such programs. Russ Feingold is against vouchers and, if we’re going to have them, at least advocates for them being regulated. Wisconsin U.S. Senate campaign rivals …
By now you’ve heard about Melania Trump plagiarizing Michelle Obama. Omissions are as telling as inclusions. Consider the following: Here’s Michelle Obama. Absences highlighted, instead of copying. “Barack and I were raised with so many of the same values: that you work hard for what you want in life; that your word is your bond …
Last night, as you know, Melania Trump plagiarized Michelle Obama. Here’s a link. How does this actually happen? I’m assuming no speechwriter conspiracy. I’m also assuming Trump didn’t write it herself, despite earlier claims, because the campaign has since talked about her “team of writers.” When my students end up plagiarizing, it’s usually not due …
The White House is hosting a forum today on disability and criminal justice. They are announcing the “AVID prison project.” Here’s a press release with live-streaming information. Here’s a useful summary from the Center for American Progress. I’ll write more tomorrow, plan to watch the stream as much as possible, and will be engaged on …
This all started because noted cranky scold Stanley Fish wrote a New York Times piece chiding historians for having opinions about Donald Trump as historians. Here, read Erik Loomis take it apart over at Lawyers, Guns, and Money. Honestly, the original essay makes no coherent argument about why it’s not ok to use one’s expertise to …
There’s a new pro-lecture article in The Atlantic that, I think, makes the classic mistake of focusing on means (lecturing) rather than ends (what learning is taking place). Rather than rebut it, I once again recommend Derek Bruff’s “In Defense of Continuous Exposition” (P.S. He’s not actually defending it). There is, however, an argument that …
The Ruderman Foundation has just released a new white paper, in collaboration with actor Danny Woodburn, on people with disabilities on scripted TV. What they found wasn’t surprising, but it’s also not good. You can read the white paper here. Coverage from Variety here. An LA Times op-ed by the Woodburn and Jay Ruderman here. There are …
The Department of Justice is in Chicago investigating the police force, in hopes of eventually developing a consent decree to help reform the local police department. Consent decrees are a useful tool, though actually effecting change after such a decree is no simple matter. Yesterday, the DoJ took community testimony about policing in Chicago. They …
Reminder for Chicagoans: Tonight at 5 at Truman College – testify about police killings of people with disabilities. Stephon Watts; Laquan McDonald; so many more. Facebook event page here. ———————————— NOTE: Post below has been edited for tone and clarity (9:30 7/12) Police killed a man armed with a knife in Sacramento on Monday. It’s …