Here we go again. Another news cycle focused on powerful men's inappropriate and abusive sexual behavior, ranging from Arnold Schwarzenegger's secret child from an affair, to Dominique Strauss-Kahn's alleged rape of a woman in NYC. Both have histories of sexual harassment complaints lodged against them. Before Arnold, it was Tiger...

Less than two weeks ago, I was sitting in a hotel room in India when the international news focused on a breaking story: Salman Taseer, the governor of Punjab Province in Pakistan, had been shot and killed by one of his own security guards. He had been an...

Have you noticed that the holiday shopping season has started earlier than ever this year? While spending may boost the economy, how much more "stuff" do we all really need? Are there better ways to express our love and gratitude to the people we care about? You bet there are!...

Too often when we think about human trafficking, and sex trafficking in particular, we think of it as a problem "out there." But this year, for the first time, the U.S. State Department included the U.S. in its annual report on trafficking, admitting that it is a grave...

Shortly after signing SB 1070, Arizona Governor Jan Brewer signed HB2281 targeting Ethnic Studies programs, even after the measure was condemned in a report issued by United Nations human rights experts. "State schools chief Tom Horne, who has pushed the bill for years, said he believes the Tucson school district's...

Tired of all the commercials for flowers and diamonds for Mother's day? Mother's day has become big business. This year, US consumers are expected to spend $14.6 billion dollars on Mother's Day -- second only to the December holiday season.

But do we really value mothers in...

Two weeks ago I participated in the eleventh annual White Privilege Conference. The WPC is a profound, life-changing experience. One of the many reasons people return to the WPC year after year is the opportunity it provides to meet hundreds of other committed social justice allies struggling with...

Another April 19, and what have we learned? Today is the 15 year anniversary of the Oklahoma City bombing, which left 168 dead and many others injured. The attack was the worst act of domestic terrorism in our nation's history.

While many saw the attack as a single act...

Helen Thorpe's Just Like Us: The True Story of Four Mexican Girls Coming of Age in America has been named one of the five best books in the West for 2009 , and just days ago, one of the best books of 2009...

Sorry to be such a scrooge, but let me tell you about my day...

I woke up and turned on my favorite morning show. I learned new recipes for the favorite holiday drink--egg nog; tips on how to decorate for the holidays on a budget by trimming the mantel and...

Last Friday, the FDA approved the Gardasil vaccine for use in boys and men ages 9 to 26 years old. When I heard this news, I was surprised. My daughter received the vaccine from her physician, and I had always thought of this as a "cervical cancer vaccine." The...

I have often wondered how it is that Jews can be conservative Republicans, so I found it interesting to read Norman Podhoretz' flipping of that question in his "Why are Jews Liberals?" He bemoans Jews' tenacious support of Democratic political candidates and the Democratic platform. He decries those Jews...

Where does all of my time go? My house is a mess, the laundry needs folding, my work is piling up, and yet I am busy all the time. I have decided to start documenting how I actually spend my time each day, so maybe I won't feel like I...

In his recent column "Class, not 'Race,'" in The Nation, Eric Alterman attacks Professor Gates for playing the race card, arguing that "nothing that took place on his property that day gave him cause for this suspicion." This observation reveals more about Alterman's lack of understanding of race...

Is health care reform the full answer to improving the health of Americans? Since good health entails much more than just having high quality health insurance, what other issues do President Obama and other policymakers need to consider? The current government and media focus on health care provides an opportunity...

AAAARRRGGGGHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Okay, now that I got that out, let me tell you about how I spent my day today. Today, the day marked in bold red letters on my calendar: Work on Research. Today, a day my daughter is at camp, and I had planned on getting lots of work...

AAAARRRGGGGHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Okay, now that I got that out, let me tell you about how I spent my day today. Today, the day marked in bold red letters on my calendar: Work on Research. Today, a day my daughter is at camp, and I had planned on getting lots of work...

Isn't it just amazing how so many conservative columnists and talk radio hosts are suddenly outraged by racism? Editorial writers and politicians who have never before joined the battle against racism are suddenly speaking out! And why?

...Is it because they are sick and tired of the fact that white...

Bullying is on our minds these days. Bullying in schools, bullying in the workplace, let's face it, bullying is a problem in all organizations. But lately some of the "reporting" I'm reading does more to contribute to the problem than help us redress it.

For example, in the New York...

Just last week, an eleven year old boy in Springfield, MA killed himself because he could no longer withstand his classmates taunting him and calling him gay. Carl Joseph Walker-Hoover would have turned 12 today, which is also the annual Day of Silence, when students in schools across the...