Category Archives: Social Activism

Election Day 2016: My endorsements and recommendations

Here are my endorsements and recommendations for Election Day 2016. President and Vice President If you’re still undecided, then I doubt there’s anything I could say that would change your mind. Suffice it to say that I wholeheartedly endorse Hillary Clinton and Tim Kaine, and I believe that any other vote would be irrational, immoral,… Read More »

The GOP does not have a monopoly on sexist political discourse

Author David Gerrold, who tends to attract a mostly left-leaning following, posted this link recently on his Facebook wall:       Here are some of the comments that were posted within a few minutes: “Nice cleavage…did she say something?” (In response to “Geez, what an airhead…”) “Look at the picture again, I don’t think… Read More »

“A message to my friends about Question 2, the Bottle Bill Update”

This is from my friend Phil Sego: Dear Friends, I’m asking my friends, neighbors, allies, and family to please vote YES on ballot question 2, update the bottle bill. If you care about litter, the environment, and saving money for our cities and towns, I urge you to join me in supporting this important ballot… Read More »

StoryPress: “Can we profit from your work product without compensating you?”

Much ado has been made recently about Lena Dunham’s intention to invite seven lesser known artists to warm up the crowds during her upcoming book tour, without actually paying them. More generally, it seems like there has been a growing backlash against the idea that it’s OK to offer artists “opportunities” for “exposure” without actually… Read More »

On the rationality and wrong of racism

After George Zimmerman shot Trayvon Martin, a narrative quickly emerged that Zimmerman “profiled” Martin, that he considered Martin suspicious merely because of the color of his skin and the fact that he was wearing a hoodie. Leaving aside the question of whether that narrative is accurate in the particular case of the Zimmerman / Martin… Read More »

MIT Peeps: Have you heard what JonMon is up to nowadays?

This post is mostly for the benefit of my fellow MIT alumni. Remember Jonathan Monsarrat? If so, then you may have gotten the same impression of him back at the ‘tute that I did, to wit, that he gave off creep vibes. Judging from what has been written about him online since then, he’s done… Read More »