The next phase of our long-haul struggle for a radically different world will be extremely ugly and extremely consequential. The danger we face The special danger stemming from the 2016 capture of the Republican Party by white nationalism and Trump’s drive toward a racialized authoritarian state has given rise to…
Works in Progress
The question of my political work following the November 2018 elections is a difficult one for me to answer, as US electoral politics rarely have any direct impact on what I do, and certainly not mid-term US elections. An exception, in my case, was the November 2016 elections, which led…
County commissioner elections don’t always generate the interest that a hotly contested race for mayor or state representative might. Yet county government actions are consequential: many decisions about criminal justice, housing, public health, and environmental protection fall to county government to resolve. Land-use planning as a key county duty Buried…
I’ve never been tear gassed before. The smell is similar to fireworks and the effect is explosive—and effective. I immediately wanted to get as far away as I could from the noxious source of burning eyes and throat. I was in Paris when France’s “yellow vest” (gilet jaune) movement shut…
Reading the news lately about mankind’s continued assault on the earth’s climate can easily leave one feeling disheartened. The Trump administration’s attack on science, its reflexive support of fossil fuel industries, and its total denial of the climatic consequences of business-as-usual, is nothing less than immoral abdication of our responsibility…
Today we recognize that disasters are increasing in frequency and intensity. “Disaster” is the result of and a catalyst for expansion of oppressive systems. Disasters have influenced movements, fragmenting them from trauma and organizing to respond in new ways. We have a responsibility to understand our role before, during, and…