Commentary
Fighting anti-trans legislation is suicide prevention
I’m trans. This year I turn 30, and my teenage self would be beyond surprised — not just at the joys that fill my life, but the fact that I’m alive at all. I’m part of the last generation that didn’t quite have the language for the feelings that flooded us as kids. I didn’t […]
The GOP is the gallows party
“I’ve said we need to build more gallows.” Those words were spoken last month by a Republican state senator from Arizona, Wendy Rogers, at a white nationalist rally. The topic was the execution of political enemies. “If we try some of these high-level criminals, convict them and use a newly built set of gallows, it’ll […]
Voting is free speech
When we think of freedom of speech, the spoken word is usually what comes to mind. But the First Amendment of the federal Constitution (and, hence, Article II, section 7 of Montana’s Constitution) also protect symbolic speech. Symbolic speech is non-verbal action that clearly conveys a specific message to anyone who sees and reads it. […]
Even mild cases of COVID-19 can leave a mark on the brain, such as reductions in gray matter
Researchers have been steadily gathering important insights into the effects of COVID-19 on the body and brain. Two years into the pandemic, these findings are raising concerns about the long-term impacts the coronavirus might have on biological processes such as aging. As a cognitive neuroscientist, I have focused in my past research on understanding how […]
Welfare is no substitute for a child tax credit
Those in Congress who are blocking President Biden’s proposed child tax credit — a monthly federal stipend for families with children of up to $300 per child — have been making a curious claim of late. They’ve been saying that there is already a highly effective cash assistance program for low-income parents and kids: Temporary […]
Dear Rep. Herrell
I am not a person who normally peruses the headlines of Fox News. Yet last week, I clicked on a link: GOP lawmaker says U.S. should offer asylum to Canadian truckers after Trudeau’s ‘heavy-handed crackdown.’ I was lured in by the novelty of any GOP lawmaker suggesting the U.S. offer asylum to people and the […]
City of ABQ and APD continue relentless displacement of unsheltered communities
As affordable housing across Albuquerque is being snatched up by real estate tycoons looking to turn our homes into AirBnBs and desert-oasis retreats for Netflix crews and other tourists, a hostile, classist mindset is taking root in our city. Houselessness — the act of being unsheltered — is being demonized more and more as the […]
A tech wall at the border is just as dangerous as a physical one
Six years ago, when Donald Trump was campaigning for the presidency, the border wall emerged as a major theme. As he constructed a platform based on deep anti-immigrant sentiment, the “big, beautiful wall” was a ridiculous campaign promise. Considering the actual logistical, financial and infrastructural demands of walling 2,000 miles while also getting the country […]
The games people play
Last week’s frustrating end to this year’s legislative session left election reformers, voting rights advocates and others wondering: how could this happen? How could one senator filibuster for over two hours, killing arguably one of the most important bills of the session: the New Mexico Voting Rights Act? And how, days earlier, could Republicans — […]
The U.S. doesn’t need to wait for an invasion to impose sanctions on Russia
As Russian military forces have deployed at the Ukraine border, U.S. politicians have been weighing new sanctions to deter an invasion. In the face of growing tensions, the Senate Foreign Relations Committee has been working to craft a new package of economic measures, with chair Bob Menendez anticipating proposing “the mother of all sanctions.” Though the package […]
Appointing a Black woman to the Supreme Court is not affirmative action
The distorted misinformation about affirmative action is once again raising its ugly head around the potential nomination of a Black woman to the U.S. Supreme Court. Before any qualified, likely overqualified, Black woman is nominated for the Supreme Court, her reputation is being tainted by the notion that the only reason she is being considered […]
What I learned from watching more than 500 Jan. 6 videos
I recently watched hundreds of videos from the Jan. 6 insurrection. Many of the stark moments from the attack on the U.S. Capitol are well-known — the battle at the west terrace tunnel, the shooting of rioter Ashli Babbitt, the desecration of the Senate chamber. But nothing provides the kind of granular and exhaustive understanding […]