Deborah Levine - Chattanooga Times Free Press

Levine: The 60-second smile

by Deborah Levine ·November 27, 2020

I'm addicted to watching TV news shows, especially "This Morning's Eye Opener: Your World in 60 seconds." It's everything I need to know in just one minute. We ran out of names for hurricanes predicted to decimate coastal lives and Trump's EPA prevents legal suits against polluters and allows drilling for oil in Alaska. The CDC warns us not to travel on Thanksgiving and the White House encourages rebellion against state-mandated masks. Trump plans to pull down troops from Afghanistan and may be bombing Iran. Defense experts freak out.

vector illustration/Pop art style comics panel mouth of man laughing out loud

Levine: Serving up rage and revenge

by Deborah Levine ·November 12, 2020

Joe Biden continues with a presidential transition while an enraged Donald Trump plants land mines and trip wires.

President Donald Trump speaks during a campaign rally at Laughlin/Bullhead International Airport, Wednesday, Oct. 28, 2020, in Bullhead City, Ariz. Trump is painting an apocalyptic portrait of American life if Democrat Joe Biden gets elected. The president claims that if the Democrat takes over, the suburbs wouldn't be the suburbs anymore, the economy would slump into its worst depression ever and police departments would cease to exist. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)

Levine: Come together over health care

by Deborah Levine ·October 22, 2020

COVID-19 cases are on the rise, and it's upsetting to see the rising number of hospitalizations in many states.

Deborah Levine poses in the Times Free Press studio on Thursday, Dec. 13, 2018 in Chattanooga, Tenn.

Levine: Eat that pizza now

by Deborah Levine ·October 8, 2020

In this week of chaos, I looked online for occasional moments of relief. I found fascinating videos of animals looking for food in all the wrong places: an escaped ostrich-like emu stopping highway traffic and a herd of elephants crossing a street into a village. But my favorite was a bear cub eating a delivery pizza on a doorstep in Colorado. I chuckled as he devoured the entire pizza.

Pi Day Pizza. Homemade Pepperoni and Cheese Pizza for Pi Day Event, top view, copy space. pi day tile pizza tile 3.14 / Getty Images

Levine: Ruth Bader Ginsberg’s daring legacy

by Deborah Levine ·September 24, 2020

The announcement of the passing of Chief Justice Ruth Bader Ginsberg came during the online services celebrating the Jewish New Year.

Photo by Jason Andrew of The New York Times / A mourner writes a message on a sign placed at a makeshift memorial outside the Supreme Court building in Washington on Saturday, Sept. 19, 2020, following the death of Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg a day earlier.

Levine: A nation in peril

by Deborah Levine ·September 10, 2020

Picture a huge auditorium with a color guard holding American flags and an immense portrait of George Washington.

Photo by Adam Rogan/The Journal Times via The Associated Press / Kyle Rittenhouse, at left in backwards cap, walks along Sheridan Road in Kenosha, Wisconsin, at around 11 p.m. on Tuesday, Aug. 25, 2020, with another armed civilian Tuesday night. Less than an hour later Rittenhouse, a 17-year-old from Illinois, is accused of shooting three other people, killing two of them, with at least two of the shootings captured on video by onlookers showing Rittenhouse as the shooter.

Levine: QAnon, COVID-19 and conspiracy addiction

by Deborah Levine ·August 27, 2020

QAnon has gone mainstream.

Photo by Matt Rourke of The Associated Press / In this Aug. 2, 2018, file photo, a protester holds a Q sign while waiting in line with others to enter a campaign rally with President Donald Trump in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania.

Levine: Women, voting and the $20 bill

by Deborah Levine ·August 13, 2020

As we celebrate the 100th anniversary of men granting women the right to vote, we should remember that it took two or three generations from the first women's rights conference in 1848 until that right was granted.

In this 1920 photo, women in Washington, D.C., sew stars on a suffrage flag as states ratify the 19th Amendment granting them the right to vote. Tennessee would be the 36th, and last, star on the flag as that number was what was needed to pass the amendment. / Photo from the Library of Congress

Levine: The naked Athena

by Deborah Levine ·July 23, 2020

At 1:45 a.m. last Saturday in Portland, Oregon, a naked woman emerged from the smoke and fumes amid an onslaught of federal police there as part of a militarized crackdown on protesters - over objections of local leaders.

Photo by Noah Berger of The Associated Press / Federal agents use crowd control munitions to disperse Black Lives Matter protesters at the Mark O. Hatfield United States Courthouse on July 20, 2020, in Portland, Oregon. Officers used teargas and projectiles to move the crowd after some protesters tore down a fence fronting the courthouse.

Levine: Racial justice is not political correctness

by Deborah Levine ·July 9, 2020

The giant earthquake over our African American history at Trump's Tulsa rally was followed by a tiny spotlight on Native Americans who protested against Trump's July 4th appearance at Mount Rushmore.