Nineteen years ago today, I was working at a building complex across the street from the World Trade Center. I was supposed to go to a meeting at my company’s WTC offices, but I decided I’d participate by phone instead. That was a stroke of luck, because that morning, 19 men — 15 of them…
In the News
RIP, Larry Kramer
Larry Kramer, a writer and one of the earliest AIDS activists, died today at age 84. You can read his full resume in the many obituaries that have been and will be published but, in short, Kramer was a co-founder of two AIDS activism groups — Gay Men’s Health Crisis, in 1982, which provided support…
Throwback Thursday: Jimmy Carter’s Bunny
Thanks to writer Anne Thériault for retweeting this PBS clip of swamp rabbits a-swimming. Swamp rabbits are shy creatures. This is the first time they've ever been filmed swimming. #NaturePBS pic.twitter.com/WZkdNcczlu — Nature on PBS (@PBSNature) April 9, 2020 This clip took me back to August 1979, when Jimmy Carter was two years into his…
Cuomo: Actions Speak Louder Than Words
I hope people “crushing” on New York Governor Andrew Cuomo were paying attention to the news today. The New York state budget is past due — the deadline was midnight — though this afternoon Cuomo said he’d reached a tentative deal with lawmakers. Under that deal, cuts to Medicaid are still on the table. You’re…
PSA: Tele-Health Links for New York City
New Yorkers! Right now, city officials are advising people to NOT go to a hospital unless it is a true emergency and you feel like you can’t breathe. The system is so overwhelmed that if you have mild or moderate COVID-19 symptoms (fever of over 100F, dry cough, fatigue, loss of sense of smell/taste), you…
Meet the Real Andrew Cuomo
Nature abhors a vacuum. With a torrent of lies, rather than leadership, coming from the White House, people who are craving guidance during a crisis have gravitated toward New York’s tough-talking governor, Andrew Cuomo. Maybe they’re being tongue in cheek when they say, “Cuomo for President!” After all, I’ve jokingly suggested funny cats and social-media…
Remembering the “Social Distancing” of AIDS
While I would have liked to spread some … … tonight, I just can’t. I’m as angry as an Italian mayor who sees people jogging and throwing house parties instead of staying in quarantine to slow the spread of COVID-19, the novel coronavirus. Italian mayor addresses his citizens about their irresponsible behavior (in a very…
The #Rotunda10: Membership Has Its Prisoners!
Six weeks ago today — on Wednesday, February 5, in the hours before the GOP-led Senate acquitted the impeached president without holding a proper trial — I sat down on the floor of the Capitol rotunda in Washington, D.C., with nine other women for a final act of protest ahead of the vote. Meet the…
Practical Accessorizing: Tiaras and Shields
Quick! Look at your fingers right now. Are you wearing any rings? An engagement ring and/or wedding band? Take them off! To avoid the novel coronavirus, you should be washing your hands more than Lady MacBeth, and that kind of scrubbing isn’t good for your fine jewelry. I never wear my rings at home, and…
Blogging in the Time of Coronavirus
At the beginning of February, I was saying to other activists that no one would take the failures of the American social contract seriously until we disrupted commerce. It’s all about the money here. (And petty inconvenience. People do hate a traffic jam.) Then it was like someone flipped the switch, Drake-style. 𝗙𝗹𝗶𝗽𝗽𝗲𝗱 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝘀𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗰𝗵….