Elayne Clift
'They didn't know how capable us women were, did they?'
Elayne Clift (elayne-clift.com) has written this column about women, politics, and social issues for almost 20 years.
The gifts of Black culture, creativity, and science
Contributions are an essential part of our national history
Elayne Clift (elayne-clift.com) has written this column about women, politics, and social issues for almost 20 years. BRATTLEBORO-Each February, National Black History Month, we remember an essential part of our national history. It's one that includes the racism that led to slavery, oppression, segregation, violence, and the marginalization that...
Welcome to the New Gilded Age
Today’s robber barons and their elite political allies not only steal dignity and hope, they conspire against fair and forward-thinking while serving their own selfish purposes
Elayne Clift (elayne-clift.com) has written this column about women, politics, and social issues for almost 20 years. BRATTLEBORO-It's déjà vu all over again. The robber barons are back. The wealthy have their cottages by the sea in the Hamptons, in international mansions, and at Mar-a-Lago instead of Newport. Their...
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Women are still treated as chattel
Elayne Clift (elayne-clift.com) has written this column about women, politics, and social issues for almost 20 years. BRATTLEBORO-Throughout the ages it's been true. Now, here we go again. Sexism and misogyny 3.0. With the second reign of Donald Trump, women will continue to be ignored, excluded, trivialized, objectified, assaulted, shamed, and afraid. In the truly old days women became chattel when nomadic societies ceased to be mobile and agrarian. Before yielding to land ownership, life meant that everyone in the...
That place where anxiety and numbness meet in despair
Elayne Clift (elayne-clift.com) has written this column about women, politics, and social issues for almost 20 years. BRATTLEBORO-Usually around this time I begin thinking about writing my cheery Christmas letter to share the highlights of another year in the life of our family. This year is different. I'm still trying to grasp what just happened and what it will mean for all of us. My initial reaction to the results of the presidential election was blurted out in staccato texts...
In good company
Elayne Clift (elayne-clift.com) has written this column about women, politics, and social issues for almost 20 years. BRATTLEBORO-As Vice President Kamala Harris has proven since she began campaigning to become president, she is no neophyte in the world of politics, as some proclaim. Nor is she a potted plant: She has an amazing presence, a strong intellect, an impressive resume, and refreshing charm as she campaigns calmly and with dignity. Harris joins a distinguished group of accomplished women who precede...
We’re living in a dystopian tech world gone mad
Elayne Clift (elayne-clift.com) has written this column about women, politics, and social issues from the earliest days of this newspaper. BRATTLEBORO-Remember what it was like before our lives were ruled by algorithms, artificial intelligence, autopay, QR codes, social media, virtual chats, usernames and passwords? I remember when you could go to a store and a well-trained person would be on hand to assist you if you couldn't find what you were looking for. My dad owned a small haberdashery in...
What’s at stake with the election in November
Elayne Clift (elayne-clift.com) has written this column about women, politics, and social issues from the earliest days of this newspaper. BRATTLEBORO-Let's get right to it: The shocking decision about presidential immunity by the Supreme Court has us non-Trumpers in a place of deep anxiety and overt fear. We know that our lives and our kids' futures will be forever changed by a court that has become so outrageously biased and openly political that it is not hyperbolic to charge them...