I’m supposed to be blogging for VINE Sanctuary right now. Instead I find myself sitting in seething stillness, wondering what to say. Lou is dead—disappeared in the middle of the night. A man who only days ago referred to Lou and Bill’s impending slaughter as “processing” now wants us to believe him when he says [...]
Wangari Maathai (1 April 1940 – 25 September 2011) Derrick Bell (November 6, 1930 – October 5, 2011) Marti Kheel (August 25, 1948 – November 19, 2011) Legal scholar Derrick Bell called his 1987 book on the persistence of racial inequality “And We Are Not Saved,” prefacing the text with this Old Testament quotation: “The [...]
Michelle Obama is a terrorist. That’s the only conclusion possible after a close reading of the Animal Enterprise Terrorism Act, which deems as “terrorism” any coordinated action, including speech acts, that in any way injures any “animal enterprise.” Let’s break it down: As has been widely reported, Michelle Obama is currently the figurehead of a [...]
The right-wing rhetorical flap over the nomination of Sonia Sotomayor to the Supreme Court puts me to mind of the failed nomination of Lani Guinier to the position of Assistant Attorney General back in 1993. As I wrote at the time, One minute, [Lani Guinier] was a respected law professor and Justice Department nominee; the [...]
I keep forgetting to mention that I’ve got an article in the Winter 2008 issue of Soho House Magazine. Entitled “Taekwondo in a Hijab: Muscular Feminism in Iran,” it looks at the achievements of a couple of Iranian sports stars in the context of the ongoing struggle for women’s rights in that country. The magazine [...]
Original entry here. I’ll add updates below as relevant news becomes available. 27 APR UPDATES: U.S. declares public health emergency; swine flu confirmed in Spain; global stock markets plumet due to fears of pandemic; European Union health officials warn against travel to the U.S. and Mexico. Tip to veg/AR organizations: Pork producers are already on [...]
As Will Potter says, “It was only a matter of time.” Four animal rights activists have been charged as “terrorists” under the Animal Enterprise Terrorism Act for the “crimes” of leafleting, marching, chanting, and chalking slogans on sidewalks. Read Will’s full report here and stay tuned to Green Is the New Red for updates. What’s [...]
I recently read a remarkable book about local legacies of lynching. Please visit the new Political Media Review to read my review. PMR is a project of the Transformative Studies Institute; the purpose of the project is to provide an independent clearinghouse of reviews of social justice media. There are only a couple of reviews [...]
