Of Cowardice and Connecticut

Of Cowardice and Connecticut

Tough laws stall To no avail, Risky guns Are still for sale. After the biggest massacre at an elementary school since 1927, President Barack Obama at first assured those of us in Connecticut that America needed to reconsider its gun laws. It was just that now...
Turning our Tears into Action

Turning our Tears into Action

A movie theater in Aurora, Colorado. A Sikh Temple in Wisconsin. A shopping mall in Oregon. A political event outside a supermarket in Tucson, Arizona. The streets of big cities like Chicago. And now an elementary school in Newtown, Connecticut. When will the madness...
The New Agenda on Guns We Need after Newtown

The New Agenda on Guns We Need after Newtown

I’m glad I retired five months ago. Think of it: I was spared writing about the presidential election, an event so vacuous it made reality TV seem interesting. If there was any serious discussion of an important national issue — global warming, our obesity...
Our Nuclear Insecurity Complex

Our Nuclear Insecurity Complex

Back in July, an 82-year-old nun and two fellow peace activists breached the security at the Y-12 nuclear weapons facility in Tennessee. The red-faced federal officials who subsequently promised thorough oversight proclaimed they had “no tolerance” for...
Isolation on Both Ends of the Line

Isolation on Both Ends of the Line

When Martha Wright’s grandson went to prison more than 20 years ago, she learned a stark lesson about the cost of maintaining ties with a family member who is incarcerated. Beyond the isolation and deep wound of being separated from a loved one, there’s...