Conversations with fellow social workers about the war in Ukraine suggests that beyond the obvious need for humanitarian relief, confusion reigns. While Russia's decision to invade its sovereign neighbor nation seems clearly wrong, an indefensible act of aggression, so seems the quick-and-easy conclusion offered 24/7 by mainstream media - i.e., that autocratic (and perhaps "unhinged") … Continue reading Social workers: What to think, where to stand, on the war in Ukraine?

If you feel as if little news can break through round-the-clock coverage of Russia's invasion of Ukraine, you're not far off. Surely one story getting far too little media attention is the latest report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPPC), just released on February 28. Unless the Ukrainian war spins out of control … Continue reading Believe it or not: The climate crisis is a bigger story than the Ukraine

I was, frankly, surprised to see retired Col. Larry Wilkerson, former chief of staff to Secretary of State Colin Powell, on MSNBC's Ari Melber's show two days ago. Wilkerson is a razor sharp analyst and critic of the dangerous, unconstitutional, and enormously expensive U.S. national security state, and appears with frequency on non-corporate alternative media … Continue reading In the blinding blizzard of Ukraine commentary, Larry Wilkerson offers sane and accurate perspective

The Mississippi chapter of NASW hosted an impressive Advocacy Day event last week. Participation hit a historic high, approaching 500 social work practitioners, students and faculty. Over three tightly packed Zoom hours, participants heard from NASW chapter leaders, progressive Mississippi legislators (yes, they do exist!), and two social work lobbyists. They reviewed the chapter's "support/oppose" … Continue reading NASW-MS hosted a successful digital Advocacy Day; now what?

Even regular and thoughtful news consumers might think that the most pressing issues facing the U.S. are Critical Race Theory and more generally how public schools teach history and social studies; the conservative "parents' rights" movement intent on banning books that might make students "feel bad" about themselves; the dangers of a resurgent "affirmative action" … Continue reading Leading news of the day: Phony vs. real

General Smedley Butler, a highly decorated U.S. Marines hero of the early twentieth century, is best known for his stinging antiwar screed, War Is A Racket (still in print, and still worth reading in its entirety). Less known is that Butler was also a true patriot who in Congressional testimony called out a 1934 conspiratorial … Continue reading History may not repeat itself, but it does rhyme. Social workers, beware today’s drumbeat of war!

Mississippi evidently aims to join the wave of red state legislatures prohibiting the teaching of "critical race theory" in public schools of any kind, even though legislative sponsors cannot either define CRT, or identify any educational program actually teaching it. (See https://mississippitoday.org/2022/01/21/every-black-mississippi-senator-walked-out-as-white-colleagues-voted-to-ban-critical-race-theory/.) No matter: the political rightwing wants to crow about suppressing discussions of race, … Continue reading CRT opponents fear the truth, because the truth is indeed “dangerous”

I feel annoyed every time I see a reference to "service" in honor of Martin Luther King Jr.'s life. Why? Certainly not because King himself was not a servant of justice. Indeed, just like the figure King followed, it was a service of ultimate sacrifice, service unto death. But King's variety of service was a … Continue reading It’s MLK Day, but why a “day of service” and not a day of “civil protest for justice”?

The Mississippi legislature seems hell-bent on achieving two major (and bipartisan) objectives - cutting incomes taxes and raising teacher pay. The time is right, according to the state's political leadership: The state is flush with (COVID-related) cash, the economy is doing (relatively) well, and sales tax revenue is flowing in significantly above projections. Everybody loves … Continue reading Mississippi social workers should beware a “generous” 2022 legislature

It becomes more clear every day that really bad things are going on in the American body politic. Even Joe Biden seems to get it, at last. After a year of silence on the Trump insurrection, punctuated by frequent encomiums to virtues of "bipartisan" governance, Biden's January 6th address called out Trump (albeit not by … Continue reading Social Work should help create a united front against rising American fascism