Venice has been slowly sinking into the sea over the centuries, requiring ever more work to sustain its fragile buildings, keep its canals clean, and reclaim habitable space for its residents. And for its scores of visitors. The former trading port has turned almost entirely into a tourist economy, one based on funneling people through […]
Category Archives: politics
Please Stop Telling Me What Women Politicians are Wearing
I’m interested in fashion, primarily as an abstract thing. Most of the clothes I really like aren’t designed for bodies like mine, and high fashion doesn’t really include people who dress like me or share my taste. But I love textiles, I love looking at clothes, I love seeing what’s in fashion, I read fashion […]
Why I’m Not In Love With Target
Oh, Target. The hip retailer everyone seems to love, especially progressives, particularly those in my age group, many of whom carry red cards and make regular visits to the giant company for oddments from toilet paper to scarves. They like to talk about how they’re making an ethical shopping decision, choosing to vote with their […]
Do Some Prisoners Matter More Than Others?
When I get into conversations with people about prisoner rights, the conditions in US prison, and specific prison reform issues—like getting rid of solitary confinement and addressing the health care gap in prisons—there’s always a significant elephant in the room. On the surface, many self-identified progressives support prisoner rights, at the very least opposing the […]
Notes from the Urban/Rural Divide: Yes, We Have Doors, and Yes, They Lock
I’ve always hated it when people leave a door open and someone says ‘what were you, raised in a barn?!’ Everyone knows you leave the barn door shut so the animals don’t get out, obviously, which is something city people never seem to grasp. (They also have an annoying tendency to leave gates open, apparently […]
Companies Cutting Hours to Avoid Paying Benefits? Not New.
This year, I’ve seen a number of people expressing shock and surprise about companies cutting worker hours or crafting contracts to keep hours to a minimum in order to avoid paying benefits. I am not a fan of turning up my nose and saying ‘and you’re acting like this is news?,’ but I would like […]
San Francisco Values
I always get a little chill of delight when politicians dredge up the dreaded ‘San Francisco values’ to describe some sort of horror of liberal thinking, a reminder of how depraved we libs are, running around naked in the streets rutting to the sounds of the Doobie Brothers. It’s a dogwhistle that comes up in […]
Sex Scandals and the Real News
Political sex scandals puzzle me. I freely admit that they always have. I just don’t have that much interest in anyone else’s sex life, no matter who they are, and having sordid details broadcast across the media doesn’t really do it for me. I don’t really hold politicians to a higher ethical standard than anyone […]
Why Is Service Work A Dirty Word?
In the summer between high school and college, I worked in a small bakery, working the opening shift, which involved getting there in the small hours of the morning, wrestling pastry, and dealing with cranky tourists all day. Later on, I worked as a retail clerk at a bookstore, and later still as a receptionist […]
So Sorry A Labour Action Inconvenienced You
This summer and again earlier this month, the Bay Area faced a complex labour negotiation as BART employees fought for better wages and working conditions, and eventually called for strike actions to underscore the fact that they were deadly serious about sticking to their mission. As is often the case in such situations, BART brought […]
