February 2021

I often say that I experienced sexual violence twice, once through the act of sexual violence and again through the aftermath: denied support, countless instances of victim blaming and disbelief, and a lack of accountability to my perpetrator. While victim blaming is often mistakenly diminished to being an anomaly or an indication of individual ignorance, it is undoubtedly institutionally instigated.

We should never forget what insurrectionists did at the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6. With President Trump’s encouragement, overwhelmingly white men and women stormed the building, hunted for elected officials, flew the Confederate flag, erected a gallows and killed a member of the Capitol Police.  We should also not forget what we saw, as they sported such disturbing and bizarre iconography –from KKK tattoos, Holocaust denial tee shirts and QAnon costumes to Pepe the Frog flags to crusader crosses. More pernicious due to its very ordinariness, however, was their display of every type, style  and color of “tactical” or paramilitary apparel and gear.

Only a few weeks into the new Biden-Harris administration and 48 years after the landmark Supreme Court ruling in Roe v. Wade, Connecticut stands at the precipice of change. The time is now for our state to take the lead and advance reproductive freedom for all. If 2020 has taught us anything, it is that anti-choice extremists will stop at nothing to push their unpopular, ideologic agenda, even here in our own state.

Our nation’s electoral systems desperately need attention, something which became even more evident when a violent mob stormed the U.S. Capitol on January 6. Partisans disagree about what needs reforming and why. No single measure by itself will put us back on track. However, the time has come in Connecticut to consider a simple, feasible and nonpartisan reform that has been gaining momentum across the country: Ranked Choice Voting.

Gov. Ned Lamont has publicly stated his opposition to the Killingly Energy Center fracked-gas power plant construction sought by NTE, a Florida-based private equity firm.  The actions of this administration’s Department of Energy and Environmental Protection Commissioner, Katie Dykes, don’t match up with either the governor’s opposition to the plant or with his clean energy policy for Connecticut.

Mark Twain wouldn’t be caught dead at Guantanamo. This month marks the 20th anniversary of the first Iraq bombing by U.S. forces. There are many lasting consequences of that attack; one is the Guantanamo prison. February is also the anniversary of Samuel Clemens’ first use of the pen name “Mark Twain.” Yes, there’s a connection.

Zoning reform groups, such as DesegregateCT, are introducing legislation that would make many of the changes that we in the private sector need in order to do so. Our state legislators must rise to the occasion and pass comprehensive zoning reform to protect Connecticut’s future. We need to be more flexible and creative in our approach to housing. Zoning should boost that creative flexibility, not block it.