“Domestic Infant Suppliers” buckle up – by Deborah Levine

originally published in  The Chattanooga Times Free Press Writing about abortion is like leaping into a tornado, but here goes. I’ve always hated the idea of abortion, the term evokes pain and suffering as well as sorrow and mourning, whether you’re pro or anti-abortion. But I’ve advocated for giving women choice over their bodies since … Continue reading “Domestic Infant Suppliers” buckle up – by Deborah Levine

Culture Wars: Can artists win? – by Deborah Levine

Originally published in The Chattanooga Times Free Press    Why do we now say Kyiv instead of Kiev? It’s because Kyiv is the Ukrainian pronunciation and Russia’s invasion is a culture war.  Their disputes are old-as-dirt and Ukrainian Nikita Khrushchev tried to enable a Ukrainian revival with the transfer of Crimea from Russia. But, Soviet … Continue reading Culture Wars: Can artists win? – by Deborah Levine

It’s called war, folks – by Deborah Levine 

 Originally published in The Chattanooga Times Free Press In the days since Russia invaded Ukraine, we’ve tried to avoid World War III. There’s no doubt that the economic strategies are impressive. Putin is right to call out the sanctions as war. The Russian ruble has lost much of its value.  The Russian stock exchange closed … Continue reading It’s called war, folks – by Deborah Levine 

Ukraine’s aching pain: Cold War 2.0 – by Deborah Levine 

Originally published in The Chattanooga Times Free Press (First of 3 columns on Russia-Ukraine war) Back in 2019, my opinion column called, Don’t Underestimate Putin’sThreat, was published. I quoted Ukrainian-born comedian Yakov Smirnoff’s joke about how the KGB, Soviet Russia’s secret police, stood for Kiss Goodbye Your Butt. Today’s Russia is “…a world erupting with … Continue reading Ukraine’s aching pain: Cold War 2.0 – by Deborah Levine 

Playing the political discourse game – By Deborah Levine

Originally published in The Chattanooga Times Free Press  Remember those playground rumbles after school? “You’re wrong!” “No! I’m right and everybody knows it.” In case you’re wondering, this back-and-forth wasn’t between a couple of kids arguing over kickball. This was the former President and Vice President arguing over the United States constitution. Will this conversation … Continue reading Playing the political discourse game – By Deborah Levine

Turn up the heat on hate – by Deborah Levine

Originally published in The Chattanooga Times Free Press (As antisemitic fliers continue to appear in the Colleyville, Texas, neighborhood, it’s essential to reprint this article) Since the hostage-taking incident at the Colleyville, Texas, synagogue, my inbox has been full of articles, videos, and conferences on antisemitism. The outrage and worry isn’t surprising given that about … Continue reading Turn up the heat on hate – by Deborah Levine

Our climate crisis is now – by Deborah Levine

originally published in The Chattanooga Times Free Press  Looking to the Climate Change Conference (COP26) in Scotland, Britain’s Queen Elizabeth was overheard referring to the global all-talk and no-action as “irritating”. I grew up with British understatements so I knew that meant total disgust mixed with a few expletives. The Queen was irritated by folks … Continue reading Our climate crisis is now – by Deborah Levine

Second thoughts on banning books – by Deborah Levine

 (originally published as an opinion column for The  Chattanooga Times Free Press)  The banning of books has been around for centuries and America is no exception. We have banned books like To Kill a Mockingbird and Mark Twain’s Adventures of Huckleberry Finn. We banned 273 books in 2020 with more to come. But don’t the … Continue reading Second thoughts on banning books – by Deborah Levine

Facebook’s nasty smell – by Deborah Levine

originally published in The Chattanooga Times Free Press Some folks cried Death to Facebook while others turned to Twitter during the FB Blackout. Entertaining tweets welcomed newcomers and entertained us longtime Twitter-ists. “Is that (outage) before or after injecting bleach into the CPUs and shining a UV light in all the network ports?”  Others referred … Continue reading Facebook’s nasty smell – by Deborah Levine

Yummy or Yucky: from Halloween to Thanksgiving – by Deborah Levine

Every year, we struggle to resist the temptation minute to minute to sugar ourselves.  It begins with Halloween candy and proceeds to Thanksgiving dinner, exploding with holiday eating extravaganzas with the year’s tastiest foods. By the New Year, the scale shows our over-indulgence. It’s no coincidence that 12% of gym members join in January. Given … Continue reading Yummy or Yucky: from Halloween to Thanksgiving – by Deborah Levine