The Inscrutable Glamour of Melania Trump’s Mother

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 Jan. 11, Rhonda Garelick, distinguished professor of English and journalism at SMU Dallas, for a piece about the late Amalija Knavs, the mother of Melania Trump, and her quiet but certain influences on members of the First Family. Published in Garelick’s New York Times ‘Face Forward’ column under the heading:  The Inscrutable Glamour of Melania Trump’s Mother: http://tinyurl.com/4t87ucs2 

Throughout the Trump presidency, Amalija Knavs — mother to first lady Melania Trump — was something of a mysterious figure. Mrs. Knavs, who died earlier this week, rarely made public comments or gave interviews. Striking and perfectly coifed, Mrs. Knavs was a recurring but almost entirely silent presence during the Trump presidency, much like her daughter.

Mrs. Knavs and her husband Victor appeared often in the background of photos of the first family, accompanying them on trips to places like Camp David or Mar-a-Lago, and attending special events. And there’s something startling, even uncanny about photos containing both the Trumps and the Knavses: The two couples look like mirror images of each other. Mr. Trump and Mr. Knavs, just two years apart in age, have similar physiques and stature — even hair styles.

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1948 U.N. declaration is the sanity we need now

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Dec. 11, Rick Halperin, the director of the SMU Dallas Human Rights Program, along with John Vernon, law professor SMU Dallas Dedman School of Law, for a commentary advocating that world leaders reconsider and recommit to the tenets and spirit considered 75 years ago when the United Nations Declaration of Human Rights was drafted.  Published in the Dallas Morning news under the heading 1948 U.N. declaration is the sanity we need now: https://tinyurl.com/37u87eay 

It is hard for most Americans to fathom the wounded state of the world as it was in October 1945.

The Northern Hemisphere was in ruins. Europe, the Soviet Union, much of Asia and particularly Japan were coming to grips with the utter devastation wreaked by World War II during which 70 million people, mostly civilians, were killed.

In 1945, there was no understanding of the Holocaust, which had claimed the lives of 17 million people, 6 million of whom were Jewish. Two atomic bombs had been dropped late in the war on Hiroshima and Nagasaki, Japan, unleashing the atomic age. All of this had come on the deadly heels of World War I, which had claimed at least 20 million lives, half of whom were civilians.

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The quiet feminism of Norman Lear’s middle-aged women

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Dec. 7, Rhonda Garelick, distinguished professor of English and journalism at SMU Dallas, for a column about the shows created by the late Norman Lear that celebrated everyday women. Published in Garelick’s Face Forward column in the  New York Times under the heading The Quiet Feminism of Norman Lear’s Middle-Aged Women: https://tinyurl.com/3crjzy7f 

Amid the 1970s television landscape selling obvious sex and youth, Norman Lear understood the magnetism of older everyday women.

Mr. Lear, who died on Tuesday at 101, has long gotten credit for being the first to train the television spotlight on issues of racism and class, war and poverty, to create plots centered on hot-button feminist issues such as equal pay or abortion. He deserves all of those accolades. But little has been said about the much quieter feminism expressed simply through his choice of leading ladies and the characters they portrayed.

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Does the Second Amendment protect the right of abusers to own a gun? We’re about to find out.

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Nov. 15, Natalie Nanasi, an associate professor at SMU Dallas Dedman School of Law, for a commentary evaluating the arguments brought before the U.S. Supreme Court as they consider a petition to strike laws that presently prevent domestic violence abusers from possessing guns. Published in The Hill under the heading Does the Second Amendment protect the right of abusers to own a gun? We’re about to find out: https://tinyurl.com/y5p8kyfj 

The U.S. Supreme Court heard arguments last week in U.S. v. Rahimi, a case that will determine whether a federal law that keeps guns out of the hands of domestic violence offenders is constitutional. In a country where an average of 70 women are shot and killed by an intimate partner every month, the outcome is a matter of life and death.

Before we begin, however, we must better understand how Zackey Rahimi became the focus of the case, and how and why it advanced to the Supreme Court.

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Listening to Lady Bird Johnson, in Her Own Words

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Nov. 14, Rhonda Garelick, distinguished professor of English and journalism at SMU Dallas, for a column about the newly released Hulu documentary on the late Lady Bird Johnson, “The Lady Bird Diaries,” which focuses on her White House years. Published in the New York Times ‘Face Forward’ column under the heading Listening to Lady Bird Johnson, in Her Own Words: https://tinyurl.com/yx52wdv8 

Lady Bird Johnson embodied contradiction, cloaking her gravitas in Southern charm. Even her name made that clear. From infancy onward, Claudia Alta Taylor (born in 1912) was known to everyone as Lady Bird, a lighthearted, whimsical nickname — invented by her nursemaid — that belied her grit, intellect and ambition. Now, a new documentary on Hulu, “The Lady Bird Diaries,” focuses on her White House years and captures the surprising influence and power that this gentle, smiling woman wielded over her husband.

Based on 123 hours of private audio diaries recorded by Mrs. Johnson (and embargoed until her death, in 2007, at 94), the film is told from the first lady’s point of view, and largely in her own recorded voice — a honeyed Texas drawl — interspersed with contemporaneous news footage. There are, however, virtually no outside perspectives or critiques offered. The film takes us inside Mrs. Johnson’s mind and keeps us firmly there.

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Can a tax credit increase the number of kidney donors?

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Nov. 13, Michael Davis, economics professor at the Cox School of Business, SMU Dallas, for an op-ed advocating that more people donate kidneys to save needy dialysis patients, and explaining the personal and national positive ramifications of doing so. Published in the Dallas Morning News under the heading Can a tax credit increase the number of kidney donors? https://tinyurl.com/3s44jd9f 

I just read a fascinating essay written by a guy who donated his left kidney to a total stranger.

Really.

He had himself examined by a team of super-competent kidney specialists who confirmed that he had two good kidneys and was otherwise in great shape for a surgery. Once he got that news he said, “OK, slice me open, take whichever one you like and give it to whomever needs it.”

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When abusers have guns, everyone is at risk

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Nov. 6, Natalie Nanasi, an associate professor at SMU Dallas Dedman School of Law and co-author Kelly Roskam, director of law and policy at the Center for Gun Violence Solutions at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, for an op-ed advocating that the U.S. Supreme Court uphold laws prohibiting domestic violence offenders from possessing guns. Published in The Houston Chronicle under the heading When abusers have guns, everyone is at risk: https://tinyurl.com/4b9n5af9 

You wouldn’t want Zackey Rahimi to be your neighbor, much less your boyfriend. In December 2019, he grabbed his girlfriend, knocked her down, dragged her to his car and hit her head on the dashboard while shoving her inside. Just a year later, he fired multiple shots into the home of someone he had sold narcotics to, twice shot at the driver of a car he had gotten into an accident with, shot at a constable’s vehicle, and fired multiple shots in the air after his friend’s credit card was declined at a Whataburger.

Most would also agree Rahimi isn’t someone who should have access to a gun. His girlfriend filed for and was granted a domestic violence protective order (DVPO), which under federal law meant Rahimi was prohibited from possessing firearms. Now he’s claiming it’s unconstitutional to prohibit him, and others subject to DVPOs, from possessing guns. In March 2023, the 5th Circuit Court of Appeals agreed, and on Tuesday the case went before the U.S. Supreme Court.

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Before Goop, There Was Suzanne Somers

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Oct. 16, Rhonda Garelick, distinguished professor of English and journalism at SMU Dallas, for a column on the late Suzanne Somers who launched a career with her sitcom role in “Three’s Company,” from which loyal fans then followed her into fitness and business adventures. Published in the New York Times “Face Forward” column under the heading Before Goop, There Was Suzanne Somers: https://tinyurl.com/5xtmkxpa 

Of all the sunny blondes of the 1970s, Suzanne Somers was the sunniest. She had the face, the figure, the hair, the smile, the giggle, the wiggle, and enough good humor to make her breakout “dumb blond” character on “Three’s Company” lovably watchable rather than cloying or offensive.

Being a bombshell can bring a certain level of success, but it takes a special kind of charisma and drive to remain famous for more than 50 years. Ms. Somers’s alchemy derived from a combination of innocent sex appeal, nostalgia (for the pop culture ’70s fun she represented) and a canny understanding of the American cult of personality.

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Cassidy Hutchinson’s Subtle New Style

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Oct. 8, Rhonda Garelick, distinguished professor of English and journalism at SMU Dallas, for a column on the not-so-subtle changes in style and demeanor that Trump insider Cassisdy Hutchinson manifests now that she’s moved past the Jan. 6 Committee interrogation setting and ventured into the world to publicize her new memoir, “Enough.” Published in the New York Times “Face Forward” segment under the heading: Cassidy Hutchinson’s Subtle New Style: https://tinyurl.com/4htxzkmt 

After Cassidy Hutchinson’s history-making testimony before the Jan. 6 committee last year, threats to her personal safety compelled her to leave Washington, go into hiding and eschew all public appearances. Now she’s back, in a big way, publicizing her new memoir, “Enough.” And for her book tour, Ms. Hutchinson has been refining her style.

On camera during her testimony, Ms. Hutchinson’s style was muted and tailored (she wears the same look on her book jacket). A blowout, blazer, fitted black pants and black top, tiny circle diamond necklace, and a white manicure. Her Zara jacket was white, too — a color associated with purity, the suffragists; the color of the Capitol building that had been breached and sullied on Jan. 6.

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There are 2 sides when it comes to extending the child care tax credit

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Oct. 8, Richard Alm and co-author Michael Davis, both attached to the Cox School of Business at SMU Dallas, for a piece explaining why an apparent spike in child poverty rates reported in U.S. Census data was actually related to pandemic and post-pandemic adjustments in the child care tax credit. Published in The Hill under the heading There are 2 sides when it comes to extending the child care tax credit: https://tinyurl.com/6w5zexdv 

When good economists meet for beers, they never argue about whether the pitcher is half empty or half full. That’s because they know that the same bit of data can often be described in different ways.

Consider the new Census data that showed the child poverty rate was 12.4 percent in 2022.

Shocking! Wasn’t 2022 at least an OK year for the economy? Wasn’t unemployment near record lows? Why can’t we keep kids from slipping into poverty?

Those are good questions. Child poverty is bad in the present and leaves long-term scars.

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