Published in Tell Your Story·PinnedMember-onlyOne by the little bitty babyI don’t throw up. I can, in all seriousness and without exaggeration, count on one hand the number of times I’ve vomited in my entire life. My kids often ask: if you had a superpower, what would it be? There are some good ones out there. Invisibility. Telekinesis. Becoming an…Creative Writing7 min read
Published in I Taught the Law·PinnedMember-onlySecondary Traumatic Stress (or: On the Dispersal of Brain Matter in a Kentucky Trailer)When a man’s head has been blown off with a shotgun, you’d expect there to be more of a mess. But a 12-gauge to the temple, at close range, can be surgically precise. I was a third-year law student, still in my 20s, when I learned that. Our clinic director…Mwc Work12 min read
Published in The Bigger Picture·PinnedMember-onlyTHAT COULD HAVE BEEN USThe true story of a tragic club fire that never happened — “Stumpy’s gonna breathe fire.” “Do what?” “Yeah, Stumpy’s gonna breathe fire. On stage.” A long pause. We stare at the road. “What the fuck are you talking about?” “Well, we don’t exactly know how he’s gonna do it yet, but there’s that middle part in ‘Godzilla’ where it’s just drums…Creative Writing12 min read
Published in History of Yesterday·4 days agoMember-onlyProhibition Then, Abortion Bans NowWhat can last century’s war on alcohol teach us about the current war on reproductive rights? — The Supreme Court’s decision in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization means that abortion services — used by at least 25 percent of all Americans who may become pregnant — have been criminalized in about half the country, or soon will be. …History6 min read
Published in I Taught the Law·Jul 20Member-onlyA Billion-Dollar IdeaEntrepreneurs: Are you looking for a way to start a business that helps marginalized people, thereby lending direction to your purposeless, empty life? I have a billion-dollar[1] idea that you can have for free. First, some background. If you’re familiar with criminal justice problems in the region or if you’re…Prison5 min read
Jul 5Member-onlyWhat’s worth celebrating on the 4th of July?On July 4, 1902, Teddy Roosevelt issued a general proclamation of amnesty to “the Filipinos who have been in rebellion” against American troops, so long as they would “recognize and accept the supreme authority of the United States in the Philippine Islands[.]” At the end of the Spanish-American War, Spain…History3 min read
Published in I Taught the Law·Jun 30Member-onlyPrepare for the New War on DrugsIn 2014, a Phoenix cop killed 34-year-old Rumain Brisbon. Police got a tip that Brisbon was selling drugs, so they went to find him. When Brisbon tried to pull what officers said they thought was a gun from his pocket, they opened fire. …Abortion4 min read
Jun 6Member-onlyDisplacementI missed you in bed last night. If you had been there I would have shifted as I always do, so that your head could fit on my lap as I type, situating the weight of my arm along the back of your neck so that you know I am…Nightmare4 min read
Published in I Taught the Law·May 26Member-onlyCan’t Afford Kids? Put That Baby in a BoxThe GOP’s policy solution for post-Roe social chaos: create infant drop-off locations all over the country — Beyond the occasional mass shooting, now as unremarkable as a traffic jam or a tornado, there isn’t much Big News out of central Indiana. So when a baby was deposited in a box affixed to the Carmel Fire Department last month, it was Big News. It has thus far proved…Abortion5 min read
Published in I Taught the Law·May 3Member-onlyWhat Happens Now?This is the question many of us are asking this morning, as we read what appears to be a frothmouthed Justice Alito’s draft opinion overturning Roe v. Wade in a case styled Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization. The reproductive rights movement has been diligently planning for this, and those…Abortion4 min read