Why I'm Running
This Isn’t the America My Father Died For
Op-Ed, originally published in the Chattanooga Times Free Press February 13, 2017 A long time ago,...
10 Things About Me
I’m a progressive candidate running to represent District 26 in the Tennessee House of...
Why I’m Running: The Hero
I don’t remember my dad, but he was my hero. Dad was a med-evac pilot in Vietnam. He was shot down...
From the Campaign Trail
Masters and Disasters
Two governments tackle public health In May I knocked the door of a hospital administrator who...
Fear Factor
How political narratives drive our laws Last December, I was sifting through sweaters at T.J. Maxx...
Why Not Both?
On being happy and business friendly, and MYODB I’ve spent the last week soaking up Gov. Tim...
Reproductive Rights
No Excuse for Ignorance
Last week the Washington Post ran a cover story about Allie Phillips, the Clarksville mom who had...
Reflections on the 2023 Women’s March, from the front line
If you’re a progressive woman in Tennessee, maybe you participated in your local women’s march on...
Lose Your GPS—And Go There
I’m navigationally challenged, so last week I gave myself an extra half hour to canvass Fairfax...
Health Care
String Theory Revisited
Last year I wrote a newspaper op-ed called “String Theory,” about our state government’s habit of...
Democratic Policies Save Lives
“In an ideal world, politics and health would be independent of each other and it wouldn’t matter...
Governed by the Cheese Touch
If you were in elementary school in 2007 or you had a child in elementary school in 2007—I fall...
Gun Safety
Mad Moms > The Gun Industry
Since last year’s mass shooting in Nashville, the Covenant School moms have been front and center...
Video Evidence
Plenty of viral videos came out of last year’s special legislative session on gun violence, where...
Mind Your Manners
After the Kansas City shooting—the latest chapter in a uniquely American story of anguish and...
Public Education
Do You See What I See?
Let’s play connect the dots. Dot 1: Tennessee’s public schools are chronically underfunded. We...
“Well, I’m a teacher . . . so.”
I get that response a lot (usually accompanied by an apologetic shrug) when I’m knocking doors in...
Book Banners Don’t Tread Lightly
Back in April, when the debate on school book bans was sweeping the country, a survey of...
Economy
A Titanic Loss
As a long-suffering Titans fan, I’ve been looking forward to the season ahead and thinking back on...
Bad Faith
Governor Bill Lee tweeted out something interesting last year: “Government isn’t the answer to the...
Home Depot and Hamster Wheels
Home Depot founder Bernie Marcus, the billionaire Republican donor, claims that “socialism” has...
Democracy
We’re Number 50!
Tennesseans apparently have lost their right to medical privacy. First Tennessee’s attorney...
Who’s “Fringe” Again?
Last year when Gloria Johnson announced she was running for Marsha Blackburn’s US Senate seat, the...
Take an Extra Day, Nonzombies
It’s been obvious for quite some time that we’re at risk of losing our democracy, and that a lot...