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Yes, it's shocking!
We admit it. It takes a lot to shock us these days. Five days to elect a Speaker of the House? Crazy, but just another day in the new reality. Shirtsleeve weather in December? Getting to be routine. Veterinary tranquilizer mixed with fentanyl the new street drug? Alarming, but far from shocking.
A House is a Home
Turning a key for the first time to open the door of a house that is all yours — not a rental, not your parents’, not a pad shared with roommates — well, that feels pretty special.
Use it or Lose it
As the likes of Herschel Walker and his aggrieved son throw slings and arrows at each other while simultaneously singing Donald Trump’s praises, it can be tempting to question whether our election process is worth our time.
Who is Caring for Us?
A dear friend is lying in a hospital bed in a local rehabilitation facility after falling and fracturing her pelvis and shoulder. She is totally immobilized, unable to stand, walk, go to the bathroom, even roll over or use the commode. She is in constant pain.
Turning Rage Into Action
As we try to reckon with the reality of life after Roe v. Wade, we feel obligated to become well-informed about the options that remain available to our sisters living in states where surgical abortions will no longer be legal.
The Future Was Plastics
Those of us who live in Massachusetts can get a bit self-satisfied, okay, smug, about our state’s superior progress and positions on important issues. Take, for example, the right to choose. The undoing of Roe v Wade will not overturn the legality of abortion in Massachusetts. Here, the right to choose to continue or terminate a pregnancy is assured. And then look at guns. Massachusetts outlawed the sale of AR-15-style guns and, in 2021, a bill was filed to prevent the manufacturing of such weapons in Massachusetts, thereby encouraging Smith and Wesson, the country’s second largest gun manufacturer, to relocate its headquarters in Tennessee.
Must-See Television
Watching the January 6 hearings is must-see television, as frightening and disturbing as the images and testimony are. Nothing conveys the gravity and scope of what transpired more than viewing these hearings, where all the information is presented together, with new evidence and first-person narrative to put it all in perspective.
Fewer Guns = Fewer Deaths
This week’s attack in Uvalde, Texas was the 199th mass shooting of 2022. That averages 10 such attacks a week, according to Gun Violence Archive, an independent data organization. The Archive defines a mass shooting as an incident in which four or more people are shot or killed, excluding the shooter. In Uvalde, 19 children and two adults were killed, the deadliest incident so far this year. It should be noted that other groups, such as …
Warning: Your EV Comes With Risks
President Biden, as part of his effort to reach zero emissions economy-wide by 2050, has set a goal of 50% electric vehicle (EVs) sales by 2030. To reach this level of EVs will be a giant leap from last year, when electric vehicles represented only 3% of US new auto sales, but we already see the trend moving upward.
Trust in Media 2022: Where Americans Get their News and Who They Trust for Information
A recent Economist/YouGov poll surveyed 1,500 American adults on their trust in specific news organizations and media personalities, and where they consume information. The Weather Channel is the most trusted outlet by both Republicans and Democrats (52%). The next three most-trusted media organizations are PBS - 41%, BBC - 39%, and The Wall Street Journal - 37%.
Give Us Your Tired, Your Poor….Sometimes
Since the inception of Leading Ladies, humane immigration policies have been among our priorities. Because of a zero tolerance policy during the last presidential administration, thousands of children were separated from their parents at our southern border. Hundreds have since been reunited, but far from all.
He Tweeted What????
Dr. Jeffrey Lieberman was suspended two weeks ago as chair of the department of psychiatry at Columbia University, asked to resign as the executive director of the New York State Psychiatric Institute, and fired as psychiatrist-in-chief at Columbia University Irving Medical Center/NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital.
How's YOUR neighborhood's health?
President Biden’s administration last week expressed again its commitment to fighting the environmental hazards that disproportionately affect Blacks, Latinos, and other people of color in this country. However, the president and his team are reframing the problem as one that affects poor communities, rather than people of color. In other words, race is being taken out of the conversation.
Luxury tax on tampax golf club memberships or viagra
The aisles in the supermarkets and CVS are full of seemingly endless brands of tampons and sanitary napkins. Our televisions blare ads with “tests” comparing the absorbency of the different products. For most of us, the biggest challenge has always been deciding which menstrual product to choose.
Our families are in trouble
One of us has a son who lives in Brooklyn with his wife and their three-year-old daughter who was diagnosed with Covid last week, along with the rest of her class. Say goodbye to day care for another few days as Mom and Dad struggle to work from home, barred from even using the elevator to go outside from their sixth floor co-op with their active toddler. Day care teachers kindly provided online circle time and projects for the little ones. Try leaving a three-year-old alone to make binoculars out of paper towel tubes. Papa to the rescue!
Why is this controversial?
This week, we celebrated Martin Luther King Day. Some of us listened to his famous “I Have a Dream” speech; maybe we did an act of community service in his honor; or perhaps we did some shopping at the ubiquitous online sales dedicated to his name.
Where were you when?
Those of us of a certain age often ask or are asked, “Where were you when Kennedy was assassinated in 1963?” For those younger, the question is, “Where were you when the Challenger exploded in 1986?” And, for those still younger, “Where were you when the planes hit the World Trade Center in 2001?”
What could have been different?
Once again, our eyes are glued to the tv and newspapers, as we absorb the details of yet another tragic killing in a school. And, once again, we shake our heads, convinced, perhaps this time more than ever, that the deaths could have been prevented.
Whatever Happened to Civics Class?
Before November’s Election Day, we wrote about the importance of voting in local elections. We stressed the important role that local officials such as mayors, school board members, sheriffs, and state representatives have in making decisions that affect everything from the curricula taught to our children to the way our criminal justice system works.
Thanksgiving Redux
What will your Thanksgiving look like? Will you be getting together with family and friends for a festive meal that includes lots of orange-colored side dishes filled with sweet potatoes, squash, pumpkin, cinnamon, nutmeg, and cloves? Will you be accommodating gluten free, vegetarian, and lactose intolerant guests in your menu planning? Will your excitement at getting together again after last year’s Zoom holiday be diminished by some anxiety about potential political disagreements among family members?