This is the story of how I became a raging feminist before I was an hour old, how I lived with it for years (without knowing the source), and how I came to know it 55 years later. I offer this personal story not because it’s especially dramatic (it’s not) or as a role model […]
Women’s Public Authority
A recent podcast on gender identity, women’s public authority, and related issues led to a strange Twitter exchange between me and the guest, an attorney. The guest was one of the first in the U.S. (along with a co-author) to publicly alert the United Nations to the dangers for women and girls of substituting “gender” […]
Being 70 years old, I have observed or participated in many discussions in mixed company over the years, especially about public issues and philosophical questions. Such discussions take place in classrooms, meetings, parties, family gatherings, as well as on TV, radio, and social media. Over the years, in too many of those conversations I ended […]
So, a Tweet has gone viral reporting on a poll that asked academics why they remain in academia. Davis Kedrosky, who writes a newsletter on Economic History Research, posted the results of the poll (no link, context, or credit). People in his replies identified it as a Sept. 24, 2021 Twitter poll originating from Prof. William […]
Well, the listserv didn’t actually explode, not even metaphorically. The moderator ended the public discussion after four emails. From the archives and from the responses I got, I know there were at least three other people who (a) didn’t read my email clearly, and/or (b) don’t know (or won’t acknowledge) what’s going on with the […]
There are two items in this newsletter, one short, one long. The short item has some practical tips for preparing our Evanston land for the winter—and for next year’s growing season and beyond. The other, longer item contains some practical tips for rethinking our local, statewide, and national feminist strategy — a rethinking that is […]
We made a big mistake. I’m sorry; 20th century feminist strategy was way off base. On the other hand, to give my 70-year old self some slack, I never resonated with the mainstream feminist strategy of my generation — the Equal Rights Amendment. When it was passed by Congress in 1972 and sent to the […]
In a corrupt, confused, and outdated political system, implementation is always the hardest part of good public policy. I think this is why Evanston and other U.S. governmental units are having such public trust problems these days. In this situation, I find it helpful to spend time bouncing back and forth between the nitty-gritty — […]