Author Archives: Harry Katz

My Own Words

Posted on October 23, 2020

If you’re looking for something to distract yourself from the dismal spectacle of the Senate confirmation of Supreme Court nominee Amy Coney Barrett, you might find solace in My Own Words, a collection of essays, articles and speeches by the … Continue reading →

Posted in Books, Law and justice | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment

The Socrates Express

Posted on October 3, 2020

How about a little philosophy, just to lighten things up? Over the last few months I’ve been reading serious books about serious topics: climate change, racism, misogyny, injustice at the US Supreme Court, and autocratic threats to our democracy. I … Continue reading →

Posted in Books | Tagged , , , , , | Leave a comment

RBG

Posted on September 19, 2020

Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg died yesterday at 87 from metastatic pancreas cancer. The tributes have been overwhelming, including this New York Times review of her life and career by Linda Greenhouse, and this post by Amy Howe, a reporter for … Continue reading →

Posted in Law and justice, Reflections | Tagged , , , | 2 Comments

All Hell Breaking Loose: The Pentagon’s Perspective on Climate Change

Posted on September 12, 2020

Those tree-hugging liberals over at the Pentagon just don’t get it. They don’t understand that climate change is a hoax and the Trump White House doesn’t want to hear about it. They keep working away, defying Presidential directives, studying and … Continue reading →

Posted in Books, Energy, Environment | Tagged , , , , , | 3 Comments

Supreme Inequality: The Supreme Court’s Fifty-Year Battle for a More Unjust America

Posted on September 5, 2020

Supreme Inequality By Adam Cohen Penguin Press, New York, 2020 The Supreme Court is not your ally. The Supreme Court does not protect the weak, the poor, or the downtrodden. The Supreme Court will not save us from Donald Trump. … Continue reading →

Posted in Books, Law and justice, Politics | Tagged , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Down Girl: The Logic of Misogyny

Posted on August 23, 2020

Down Girl: The Logic of Misogyny By Kate Manne Oxford University Press, New York, 2018 On August 11, 2020, Joe Biden chose Senator Kamala Harris to be his 2020 running mate. Within minutes, Trump and other Republicans launched misogynist and … Continue reading →

Posted in Books, Politics | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

A Burning

Posted on August 2, 2020

A Burning By Megha Majumdar Alfred A. Knopf, New York, 2020 Faced with a difficult moral choice, would you do the right thing?  What if doing the right thing might cost you your job or the chance of a promotion?  … Continue reading →

Posted in Books | Tagged , , , , , | Leave a comment

Homeland Security Was Destined To Become A Secret Police Force

Posted on July 26, 2020

Masha Gessen, author of Surviving Autocracy (my review), writing about the Portland protests in The Nee Yorker on July 25, says, “… we are watching the perfect and perhaps inevitable combination of a domestic-security superagency and a President who rejects … Continue reading →

Posted in Law and justice, Politics | Tagged , , , , , | Leave a comment

Surviving Autocracy: Can American democracy survive Trump’s autocratic transformation?

Posted on July 17, 2020

Surviving Autocracy By Masha Gessen Riverhead Books, New York, 2020 Most people in the US today have never lived under a dictatorship. Maybe we’ve heard stories from our parents or grandparents who immigrated from such places, but we don’t have … Continue reading →

Posted in Books, Politics | Tagged , , , , , , , | 5 Comments

White Fragility

Posted on July 11, 2020

White Fragility By Robin DiAngelo Beacon Press, Boston, 2018 “White Fragility” sounds like a paradox. How can whites be fragile when we’re supposed to be the largest and smost dominant segment of US society? As author Robin DiAngelo explains it, … Continue reading →

Posted in Books, Law and justice, Politics | Tagged , , , , , , | Leave a comment