“Young people today just don’t know how to work hard.”

“Too many teens and young adults have been spoiled. That’s why there are so many unfilled jobs in restaurants and stores.”

Because two of us have boarded jet planes for the first time in three years on extended vacations, we are offering an alternative to our usual missive: an annotated list of books to read, plays and movies to watch, and places to visit that may offer insights, stimulate thoughts and discussion, and encourage new activism.

We are not living in a democracy,” reproductive rights activist and women’s study professor Carrie Baker declared at the end of the Leading Ladies “Life After Roe v. Wade” Zoom event last Wednesday. “If you were ever going to get out and vote, this is the time,” she emphasized. Her strong statements capped an hour-and-a-half of some terrifying but elucidating information shared by Baker and the other panelists.

Tonight at 7pm, Leading Ladies is hosting a Zoom panel to discuss Life After Roe v. Wade with Professor Carrie Baker, a reproductive rights expert and activist; Krisitie Monast, executive director of HealthQuarters; and Sara Stanley, executive director of HAWC (Healing Abuse, Working for Change).

Have you had enough of misinformation? Have you heard or read something that seems unbelievable?

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.

The moms among us, particularly those who came to motherhood in the 80s and 90s, joined mothers’ support groups the way our mothers talked over their back fences. We met in each other’s homes or at the park or playground, at the Y or in a church basement. We talked about when or if we wanted to go back to work, even if we knew we had to; whether we loved or hated nursing and how we felt guilty for both; how our husbands were or were not disappointing us with their attempts at co-parenting; how we were going to be supermoms or if we even wanted to be; when we might ever get a full night’s sleep or feel sexy again.

A few weeks ago, we wrote about Plan C and the possibilities of providing pregnant folks with the medications to terminate unwanted pregnancies through at least the first trimester. With some ingenuity and commitment from organizations and individuals, we hope Plan C will be accessible to people in states where surgical abortions are becoming more and more difficult to obtain.

Who can forget Charles Dickens’ Oliver Twist? That endearing little boy who lived in a workhouse in London where there was never enough to eat and he plaintively asked, "Please, sir, I want some more" when he finished his bowl of watery gruel. Oliver and his mates hoped for something better in life when they became petty thieves for Fagin, but even Nancy’s kindness did little to change their lot.

Pew Research released its latest findings on the opinions of 5,074 American adults on several questions regarding how the government should support families.

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.

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.

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.

“What is Gender? Why Does It Matter?” Alex Myers, author, educator, and transgender activist tackled this subject as he shared his personal story and welcomed questions and comments during the Community Conversation at The Cabot last week. His presentation was so riveting that we decided to share some of the takeaways for those of you who couldn’t make it – and as reminders for those of you who were there.

Hot enough for you?

Get ready for more scorchers!

A new report by the Greater Boston Research Advisory Group (GBRAG) at UMass Boston, released last Wednesday, provides disturbing details about what we can expect in the not-too-distant future. The report, as described by WBUR, considers 101 towns and…

Discrimination. Harassment. Bullying. Ostracism.

These are some of the experiences our LGBTQ children frequently endure.Discrimination. Harassment. Bullying. Ostracism.

These are some of the experiences our LGBTQ children frequently endure.

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 …

How are you planning to celebrate Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month? If you are a white American, you probably have not given it much thought. Yet, just as Black History Month has raised the consciousness and understanding of those who are not part of the African American community, so does AAPI Month offer an opportunity to grow in appreciation and respect for the multiculturalism that defines our country.

Two memories came to mind immediately when the leaked Supreme Court decision about Roe v. Wade hit the news. One was of a story a friend told of an abortion she had in college in the late 1960s in Boston. She was picked up in a car, blindfolded, and taken to a basement where she could hear rats scurrying about. When the procedure was over, she was returned to her dormitory. She was frightened beyond words and thought she might die, either in that dank, cold basement or from some infection afterwards. Nonetheless, she felt this was her best option. She and her boyfriend were not yet ready to marry – they would a year or so later – and they had plans to enter the Peace Corps for two years once they did.

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.