Thanks to the University Press of Kansas for inviting me to contribute to their blog series. I appreciated the opportunity to think more deeply about a question that continues to draw me in: How do we love and hate at the same time? This kind of thinking never gets done alone, and so I want... Continue Reading →
Any Good Thing March Writing Challenge Starts Soon!
You probably don’t write on an ancient typewriter, like the one in the picture above. Whatever works for you is great–but if you want to put some money on it, it’s even better. For the past three weeks, writers participating in the Any Good Thing Writing Challenge have been pumping out words–400 x 5 days... Continue Reading →
Life Hacks, Guiding Principle, Systems Wanted!
Last week, I shared some principles that (mostly) help reduce stress in my life. I'd love to hear yours. If you have a system, a life hack, etc. that you really, really love, let me know. I'll share it as part of a blog past here, and one participant will be drawn at random for... Continue Reading →
Quick Ideas for “Work-Life Balance”
Mostly, I think efforts on "Work-Life Balance" are stupid. Or, rather, deflective. They tend to be pitched to women (because men, in general, are doing less in terms of their "life"--less housework, less childrearing, less emotional labor, and less work at maintaining their appearance), and they are blamed for finding the arbitrary demand to work a... Continue Reading →
Things Donald Trump Has Ruined for Me
Donald Trump can be rightly blamed for ruining or attempting to ruin a lot of important things: trust in the Electoral College, public education, the environment, health care, free speech, women's lives. They are all far more important than my personal complaints, but, on this Presidents Day (a holiday that I once loved out of... Continue Reading →
Walls, Doors, and Rooms: Can Pro-Life and Pro-Choice Feminists Work for Women Together?
In law school, you spend a lot of time defining the walls of an argument, then finding the windows. What is the limit of the law? Is there an exception to that limit? It's tremendously fun (I think--tortes was my favorite class--but it may also be one of the reasons lawyers have such a high divorce... Continue Reading →
Follow-Up to Weber State Brown Bag
Content alert: religiously-justified violence against and neglect of children Thanks to the Weber State University Sociology and Anthropology Department for inviting me to speak at a brown bag event recently, focusing on family life and children and youth in Westboro Baptist Church. The students were eager listeners who asked great questions. At the time of... Continue Reading →
_God Hates_ Reviewed in BCM Newsnet
The Brethren Mennonite Council for Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender Interests (BCM) is one of the oldest American Anabaptist organizations serving queer believers and one that has been hugely important to some congregations I've been part of. It's a treat, then, to see God Hates: Westboro Baptist Church, American Nationalism, and the Religious Right get a short... Continue Reading →
Teaching in a Time of Trump: Teaching Resistance, Teaching Resisters
Thanks to the many of you who shared your book, film, and article selections; assignments; discussion starters; and more in response to my request for materials about teaching in the time of Trump. Here are some highlights: A homeschooling friend concerned about science has shifted how she and her junior high student organize their day,... Continue Reading →
UPK Meet-the-Author
University Press of Kansas has been great to work throughout the process of bringing God Hates: Westboro Baptist Church, American Nationalism, and the Religious Right to publication. Today, they've featured me in a meet-the-author profile. Thanks to Derek Helms for a great conversation about how my undergraduate years in central Pennsylvania helped prepare me to work with right... Continue Reading →