Laura McTaggart

Nonprofit consultant

The author's older daughter (left) at work, and her younger daughter (right) during her semester abroad. (Courtesy Laura McTaggart)

The clock is ticking. It's time to write my annual holiday letter

The author (middle) with her younger sisters on Christmas in 1976. (Courtesy Laura McTaggart)

Commentary

Life

Opinion

[J]udgments like this ruling interrupt the momentum of progress and embolden bigots who delight to see an esteemed institution deciding in their favor.

The Supreme Court doesn’t think my daughter deserves to be safe

Supporters wave a pride flag in front of the U.S. Supreme Court, Oct. 8, 2019, in Washington. (Manuel Balce Ceneta/AP)

Boston

Business

Crime & Justice

Health

News

Politics

The author, at age 3, reading a book with her mother. (Courtesy Laura McTaggart)

If I finally look up from my book and realize hours have passed, my foot is asleep and I’m getting a sunburn, that is a good beach read.

The best beach books have 5 things in common

A couple reading on the beach. (Getty Images)

Books

It’s viscerally hard to accept gratitude for taking baby steps when you’ve seen your colleague leap fearlessly into the abyss.

I guess what I really want -- but can no longer have -- is more time with my shipmates, reminiscing and laughing together. 

What I really want on Veterans Day

People watch the Cherry Blossom Festival Veterans Day Parade on Nov. 6, in Macon, Georgia. (Michael M. Santiago/Getty Images)

Georgia Prepares For Midterm Elections

This disconnect between civilians and the military weakens our democracy. 

It’s Lonely Being A Veteran

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I'm A Veteran, And I Stand Up For The Right To Take A Knee

In this Oct. 2, 2016, file photo, from left, San Francisco 49ers Eli Harold, Colin Kaepernick, center, and Eric Reid kneel during the national anthem before an NFL football game against the Dallas Cowboys in Santa Clara, Calif. (Marcio Jose Sanchez/AP)

Colin Kaepernick 1 Year Later Football

Donald Trump

race

Sports

...we had The Talk that every parent dreads: I explained the difference between federal and state taxes.

Pretty soon, I really will only be needed in case of emergency.

Emergency Contact: A Mother's Lifelong Job Description

Laura McTaggart on a mother's life-long role as her child's primary emergency contact. (Cameron Kirby/Unsplash)

family

As we celebrate historic firsts, however late they come, we should demand to know what took so long.

U.S. Army First Lt. Shaye Haver, center, and Capt. Kristen Griest, right, pose with other female West Point alumni at last Friday's graduation. (John Bazemore/AP) 

The women were ready. It was the men who were not.

Women, War And Male Acceptance

Women have historically reached military milestones as soon as barriers against them were lifted. They were ready. It was the men who were not. But the tide may be turning. In this photo, U.S. Army Capt. Kristen Griest, left, of Orange, Conn., stands in formation during an Army Ranger School graduation ceremony, Friday, Aug. 21, 2015, at Fort Benning, Ga. (John Bazemore/AP)


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policy

Security

The Donald presumably knew what he was talking about when he expressed his affection for people who were not captured -- he spent the duration of the Vietnam war comfortably among them.

John McCain is greeted by President Richard Nixon, left, in Washington on Sept. 14, 1973. (AP)

McCain's first public comments in response to Trump’s remarks had the serious, above-the-fray tone of a person whose feathers cannot be ruffled by a billionaire sporting a bad hairpiece.

Does Being A POW Make You A Hero?

Laura McTaggart: "In the case of John McCain, the word in all its weighty glory hardly seems enough." Pictured: John McCain is administered to at a Hanoi, Vietnam, hospital as a prisoner of war in 1967. Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump criticized Sen. John McCain's military record at a conservative forum Saturday, July 18, 2015, saying the party's 2008 nominee and former prisoner of war was a "war hero because he was captured. I like people who weren't captured." McCain spent 20 years in the Navy, a quarter of it in a Vietnamese prisoner of war camp after his jet was shot down over Hanoi during a bombing mission Oct. 26, 1967. (AP Photo)

McTaggart-McCain-Banner

Media

Election 2016

if philanthropists gave only to basic needs, we’d have no museums, orchestras, or universities.

Harvard's Largest-Ever Gift Draws Ire

Harvard’s wealth allows it to offer tuition assistance at levels many universities can only dream of.

In Defense Of John Paulson's $400 Million Gift To Harvard

John Paulson, seen here in a 2011 photo, has given Harvard its largest-ever gift, of $400 million. (Mark Lennihan/AP)

Laura McTaggart

Recently published

The clock is ticking. It's time to write my annual holiday letter

Cognoscenti

The Supreme Court doesn’t think my daughter deserves to be safe

Cognoscenti

The best beach books have 5 things in common

Cognoscenti

What I really want on Veterans Day

Cognoscenti

It’s Lonely Being A Veteran

Cognoscenti

I'm A Veteran, And I Stand Up For The Right To Take A Knee

Cognoscenti

Emergency Contact: A Mother's Lifelong Job Description

Cognoscenti

Women, War And Male Acceptance

Cognoscenti

Does Being A POW Make You A Hero?

Cognoscenti

In Defense Of John Paulson's $400 Million Gift To Harvard

Cognoscenti