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...

They shouldn't be surprising, yet they are so disturbing that one can't help but be stunned to read that "Nearly half of the 200 Boston teenagers interviewed for an informal poll said pop star Rihanna was responsible for the beating she allegedly took at the hands of her boyfriend,...

Is Obama Black? Biracial? And why do we care so much? A new book by George Yancey and Richard Lewis, Jr., Interracial Families: Current Concepts and Controversies, is a nice primer on the subject, and argues that an historical context is necessary for understanding why questions of racial identity are...

Michelle Obama's photo on the cover of Vogue has been the talk of the morning talk shows, where one host complimented her as "your everyday working woman" who really represents "the working class mom" in the US today. Michelle Obama as "Working Class Mom"? While the price tags on her...

I read with interest the blog by Myles Brand yesterday about the astounding lack of African-American head football coaches in intercollegiate athletics. In reading over the comments, it is telling that so many immediately focus on affirmative action. Never once did Brand mention affirmative action. How did white men...

While the election has been trumpeted as a triumph over prejudice, those declarations are premature. In numerous states, prejudice and discrimination against lesbian and gay people was further institutionalized. Arizona, California and Florida passed bans on gay marriage, while Arkansas banned gay couples from adopting children.

Taken as a whole,...

There, I said it, "I am racist!" But more importantly, I am anti-racist.

It is fascinating watching the news these days, as one stunned white person after another expresses their surprise that racism is still so pervasive. On various news programs over the past few weeks, I have seen...

Does it matter that McCain's family owned slaves? Does it matter that unlike his brother, he has not accepted invitations to meet their descendants, likely his relatives? These were the questions posed by a CNN newscaster interviewing Douglas Blackmon about his recent article "Two Families Named McCain" in the...

Why write a blog? Until a few months ago, I never read blogs. In our talk show culture, where everyone has something to say about everything, blogging seemed to me like just another venue for people to share every thought that crosses their mind.

We have turned into a...