Personal: Finding a Better Home for My Poetry

I’ve moved most of my poetry to Tumblr for more flexibility—Medium’s daily limits were too restrictive. Over half is already transferred, and formatting feels much easier. I’ll continue posting poetry on my personal site alongside personal stories, though I’m not sharing the link since those posts are deeply personal and part of my process of working through past experiences. Some of my more vulnerable poems haven’t made the move to Tumblr or Medium—I still prefer to keep them in a quieter space for now.

Beyond the Barriers: Security and Segregation in Gaza

While listening to an interview with David Petraeus on Iran International (run by Iranian opposition), I was struck by his mention of the “gated communities” concept for post-war Gaza (17:37). As the former commander of Multi-National Force – Iraq during the Iraq War, Petraeus oversaw various security strategies, including the implementation of walled-off neighborhoods designed to control movement and reduce violence. However, it appears that the U.S. military ultimately abandoned the idea, likely due to growing resistance from Iraqis, who viewed the barriers not as security measures but as a form of forced isolation.

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A Socialist, Feminist, and Transgender Analysis of “Sex Work” (2020)

The question of women’s liberation is central to any revolutionary project, and thus so is the question of “sex work.” Esperanza Fonseca’s contribution, although coming from a Maoist political orientation with which we often have differences, [1] makes the stakes of this debate crystal clear, as she combines personal experience, public policy research, and historical materialism to argue that Marxists cannot uphold what she calls “sex-trade-expansionary feminism.”

Content Warning: Descriptions of rape.

The right of the subordinated classes of men to buy access to women’s bodies has been used historically to break class solidarity in order to maintain the dominant social relations of the time. This was true in feudal Europe and remains true today: when proletarian and petit bourgeois men get to buy women too, they develop a false consciousness and build solidarity with bourgeois men of their own gender rather than aligning with women of their own class. And because the overthrow of capitalism is only possible by the overthrowing of the bourgeoisie, prostitution serves two great purposes: (1) allows bourgeois men access to a reserve army of women for their pleasure, and (2) prevent class consciousness and thus helps stop the proletariat from organizing as a class.

A Socialist, Feminist, and Transgender Analysis of “Sex Work” (2020)

Be Careful What You Say

How honesty leads to the trauma of unnecessary psychiatric hospitalization

Picture a soul in turmoil, wrapped in the suffocating embrace of despair. In the sanctuary of a therapist’s office, they finally find the courage to voice the unspeakable: 

“Sometimes, I think about not being here anymore.” 

The words hang heavy in the air, a testament to the crushing weight of their pain, loneliness, and emptiness. This confession, born from a place of vulnerability and trust, should be the beginning of a deeper healing journey.

During these intense emotional struggles, it’s important to understand that thoughts of escape, including suicide, are a common human response to overwhelming pain. There’s a vast chasm between contemplating an end to suffering and actively planning to end one’s life.

Be Careful What You Say

Baltimore Bridge Fallout to Extend Coast-to-Coast in Cargo Shift

The bridge collapse Tuesday that shut the Port of Baltimore and closed a major highway will cause weeks or months of transportation disruptions in the Mid-Atlantic region and accelerate a shift of cargo to the US West Coast as importers and exporters try to avoid potential bottlenecks at trade gateways from Boston to Miami.

Baltimore Bridge Fallout to Extend Coast-to-Coast in Cargo Shift

Academic Study Finds that One of the Four Largest U.S. Banks Could Be at Risk of a Bank Run

The systemic threats to the U.S. financial system were not remedied when Congress passed the watered-down Dodd-Frank financial reform legislation in 2010. While that has been evident with each Federal Reserve bailout of the mega banks and their derivative counterparties, the threat has now gained increased urgency for Congress to confront as a result of a new academic study. A team of four highly-credentialed academics at four separate universities present compelling evidence that one of the four largest U.S. banks, with “assets above $1 trillion,” could be at risk of a bank run.

Academic Study Finds that One of the Four Largest U.S. Banks Could Be at Risk of a Bank Run