Rights and Democracy
Remembering Joseph and Mary on the U.S.-Mexico Border
This weekend in San Diego and Tijuana, I gathered with hundreds at Friendship Park, which spans both sides of the U.S.-Mexico border. We came together for the 24th annual Posada Without Borders, to remember those who lost their lives crossing the border, and to call...
After Moore, the Deluge
The defeat of Roy Moore in the Alabama senate race tells us something about voters. Women — especially black women — made the difference. Some 57 percent of Alabamian women voted against Moore, while 56 percent of mostly white men stuck with him. That also tells us...
Corporate Interests Are Warping the Internet
My identity was stolen this year. The perpetrator didn't open credit cards in my name or gain access to my finances. Instead, they used my name to submit a comment to the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) in support of repealing net neutrality rules. Those...
A Cruel Holiday Gift for Refugee Families
Two months after experiencing the devastating 7.0 magnitude earthquake that hit Haiti in January 2010, my dad finally made it back home to Boston. What had started as a holiday vacation turned into weeks of sleeping outside the family home in Haiti, fearful that it...
We Agree Assault Is Bad. Let’s Agree on How to Punish It.
Our national debate about sexual harassment and assault seems to be missing a bit of nuance. As a woman who's been sexually harassed and assaulted many times, here's how I see it. Sexual predators aren't the same as pigs. Roy Moore is a predator. His systematic,...
Is This the End of Free and Open Internet Access?
Free and open access to the internet is a virtuous democratic principle known as “net neutrality.” It means that it doesn't matter if you're a brand-name corporation or an unknown start-up, a billionaire or a poverty-wage laborer — you're entitled to equal treatment...
Big League Predators
The GOP Tax Plan Is Igniting a Movement for a Moral Economy
If you’re expecting a gift card from your boss as an end-of-year bonus, enjoy it this year because you probably won’t get one in 2018. The Senate tax bill would ban such rewards. Why? Because Republican lawmakers are determined to prevent ordinary workers from...
Everyone Hates This Tax Bill
As the Trump tax cuts fly through Congress at breakneck speed, one has to wonder: What’s the big rush? Surely a body known for gridlock and deliberation would want to hold hearings, interview stakeholders, and gather public input before restructuring the world's...
Our Social Structure is Rigged
“It's structure vs. agency,” my professor said to me, as if that cleared everything up. It didn't. It was my first week of graduate school in sociology, and I had no idea what he was talking about. Fast-forward three years, and I'm now teaching an into sociology class...
