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On Palestine, Israel, and Colonialism
The author, a human rights advocate, contextualizes antisemitism, its historical roots, and contemporary presence. The article criticizes Israel’s policies, despite the complexities involved in critiquing a Jewish state, relating them to American actions towards Native Americans. It highlights oppressions faced by Palestinians, likening Israeli policies to war crimes and colonialism. The author argues for punishment… Continue reading
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When Omitted Information Adds Fuel to Fires
“What’s in a name?” Shakespeare wrote that in Romeo and Juliet in order to frame the idea that naming is simply a convention. That the surname of his beloved did not matter because he was simply in love. And maybe Romeo was on to something about love and family and loyalty. Unfortunately, this isn’t always Continue reading
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Veteran’s Day and Elections
They were willing to walk through the checkpoints of armed soldiers, armored vehicles, and random searches of their person and belongings. They were willing to die to vote. Continue reading
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Exploring Figurative Language Across Cultures
Something that has always fascinated me is how figurative language can capture tiny chunks of culture. For example, in the United States when we want to say something is familiar to us we tend to say one of two expressions. (1) I can say/do that with my eyes closed; or, (2) I know it like Continue reading
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Easy and Secure Voting Options in Minnesota: A Guide
Recently, I was a poll judge for the state primary elections. One of the things that opened my eyes was the number of people who were concerned about the upcoming presidential election. Some expressed it directly by asking what measures the city and state were taking to ensure safety and security at the November general Continue reading
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Listening to Half American by Matthew F. Delmont: I will never view WWII the same.
I have read a lot of WWII history. A lot. Not only that, I grew up on the History Channel when they still showed actual history. But I haven’t had a book shake my core beliefs and values in the same way as when I listened to the audiobook version of Half American by Matthew Continue reading
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Nazis in the GOP
Trigger Warning: This post contains images of neo-Nazis and discusses topics of racial hate, murder, and violence. You can tell a lot about the meaning of language based on the supporters of that language. For example, recently, Jason Aldean made a music video for one of his latest songs that caused quite a bit of Continue reading
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Tornado Watches vs Warnings
As I was scrolling the Facebook reels during one of my insomnia fits, I ran across this video from April of a local meteorologist describing to her viewers the difference between a watch and a warning using this graphic. While I do enjoy tacos, and I think this graphic does a great job of explaining Continue reading
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Normalizing Workplace Violence in Schools
This is a bit of older news, but I need to share this. Apparently, getting shot at is now a part of our job description as teachers. According to the Denver Post, the lawyers representing the Newport News school district are trying to get her lawsuit dismissed by claiming that Zwerner, “is only entitled to Continue reading
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ADHD, Writing, Academics, and Work
Writing is hard for me. One of the excuses I often make for not writing is the dearth of information that already exists out in the world on the topic I wish to write about. But the reality is that writing is difficult with ADHD sometimes. Even when I want to write solely for myself, Continue reading
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Erasure Hidden in Plain Site
As I was driving my daughter home the other afternoon, I noticed some new signage along stretches of road in Carver county (see below) that immediately caught my attention. According to a press release on the topic, there are 10 signs located throughout Carver county. To me, the erasure of American Indigenous people couldn’t be Continue reading
The Life Argotic 