Who I am…
I am a lawyer, former mother of teenagers, and a quixotic seeker after and champion of factual truth.
I make the best damn brownies you have ever had that are not regulated by the federal government.
I love movies, Broadway, and intelligent conversation.
I think in song lyrics and movie and television quotes.
I believe in the use of proper spelling, punctuation, and grammar even in text messages. I am willing to debate the use of the Oxford comma, if you know what the Oxford comma is. It also makes me very happy if people use the subjunctive mood when appropriate.
I have been told I intimidate people. I am really just a fluffy-centered teddy bear. Really.
- It's all my fault. No, really. The views expressed in this blog are mine and mine alone and in no way whatsoever represent the views of anyone else, including any past, present, or future employer.
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Words to live by ….
“He has told you, O mortal, what is good; and what does the Lord require of you but to do justice, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God?” Micah 6:8.
“Pray for the dead, fight like hell for the living.” Mary Harris (“Mother Jones”).
“Don’t boo. Vote.” Barack Obama.
“Man’s capacity for justice makes democracy possible, but man’s inclination to injustice makes democracy necessary.” Reinhold Niebuhr.
“No one ever thinks of themselves as one of Them. We’re always one of Us. It’s Them that do the bad things.” Sir Terry Pratchett.
“Damning facts are still facts.” Steven C. Holtzman.
“If you don’t stick to your values when they’re tested, they’re not values — they’re hobbies.” Jon Stewart.
“Darkness never sustains, even though it sometimes seems it will.” Doctor Who.
“Writing is a form of mischief.” Stephen Sondheim.
“An idea is not responsible for the people who believe it.” Don Marquis.
“If you can see your path laid out in front of you step by step, you know it’s not your path. Your own path you make with every step you take. That’s why it’s your path.” Joseph Campbell.
“Truth is our strongest ally, our biggest weapon, and our best defense.” Me.
“Reality has a well-known liberal bias.” Stephen Colbert.
“The opposite of war isn’t peace, it’s creation.” Jonathan Larson.
“We live through times when hate and fear seem stronger.
We rise and fall, and light from dying embers
Remembrances that hope and love last longer.
And love is love is love is love is love is love is love is love;
Cannot be killed or swept aside.”
Lin-Manuel Miranda.“If I can’t dance, I don’t want to be part of your revolution.” Emma Goldman.
“No matter. Try again. Fail again. Fail better.” Samuel Beckett.
“I believe that the God who made (among other things) light, and space, and number, and time, and the spiral curve of Fibonacci numbers, must be acknowledged to understand more than I do about why there’s pain in the world.” Teresa Neilsen Hayden.
“No, it’s not fair. You’re in the wrong universe for fair.” John Scalzi.
“Liberals got women the right to vote. Liberals got African-Americans the right to vote. Liberals created Social Security and lifted millions of elderly people out of poverty. Liberals ended segregation. Liberals passed the Civil Rights Act, the Voting Rights Act. Liberals created Medicare. Liberals passed the Clean Air Act, the Clean Water Act. So when you try to hurl that label at my feet, ‘Liberal,’ as if it were something to be ashamed of, something dirty, something to run away from, it won’t work, because I will pick up that label and I will wear it as a badge of honor.” Lawrence O’Donnell
“So keep fightin’ for freedom and justice, beloveds, but don’t you forget to have fun doin’ it. Lord, let your laughter ring forth. Be outrageous, ridicule the fraidy-cats, rejoice in all the oddities that freedom can produce. And when you get through kickin’ ass and celebratin’ the sheer joy of a good fight, be sure to tell those who come after how much fun it was.” Molly Ivins.
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Author Archives: Pat Greene
The Turning.
December. Hanukkah starts tonight, and it’s a little more than a week until the Solstice, less than two until Christmas. Darkness draws in ever closer. The gentle black nights stretch longer and longer until they snap. The turning of the … Continue reading
Almost but not really fruitcake.
I don’t like fruitcake, at least not most traditional fruitcake. I was tinkering around with my pumpkin-date bread, and wondering if I could make something that resembles fruitcake. Well, it has fruit in it, but it’s not fruitcake. It is, … Continue reading
The Al Franken Dilemma.
I love Al Franken. I have always loved Al Franken. One of my favorite lectures ever was the talk he gave on his fight against Fox News. (Hunt down The First Amendment Project; one of their episodes contains part of … Continue reading
Dear Alton Brown, I cheered when Food Network ran The Iron Chef Gauntlet. I grinned when Stephanie Izzard won against the Iron Chefs. I love the new format for Iron Chef. The Iron Chef Showdown reduces the amount of time … Continue reading
All done.
[See sidebar disclaimer. These opinions are my own, and my employer — or recent employer — has nothing to do with them.] To paraphrase H. H. Munro, it was a good job, as jobs go; and as jobs go, it … Continue reading
Just stuff, Halloween edition.
Although work is not nearly as grueling as last November (not even completely full time, some weeks — it’s an off-year election), it’s still work, and I’m writing even less than I was before this month. Sue me. You know … Continue reading
Treachery.
I have talked about my love of the ocean. The wild exuberant Pacific, the solemn Atlantic. The exotic Caribbean. The gentle Gulf. The Gulf is my ocean, the waters I grew up in and near. The ocean I love more than … Continue reading
Democracy. I love it.
Standard disclaimer: See sidebar. These are my views, not those of my employer, for whom I am in no way authorized to speak. I am writing from my experience working for an elections division, a worker bee who gets to … Continue reading
Just stuff.
The fact of the day: did you know migraine symptoms can mimic a stroke? I didn’t. Hence an overnight visit to the E.R. (In all honesty, I wasn’t going to go, but the Rocket Scientist threatened to call an ambulance.) … Continue reading
Does Trumpism come from the South?
[I have been sitting on this post for literally a few months — I have not been able to get it into any sort of shape that I am happy with. However, since I have told several people about it, … Continue reading
An open letter to Lawrence O’Donnell.
Dear Mr. O’Donnell: I have waited a few days before writing this letter, hoping that I would become more eloquent or the words you spoke on Tuesday less upsetting. Neither has happened. Although I do not watch your show all … Continue reading
I may be posting here more. I am currently on hiatus from Facebook, so the little pieces I drop over there I will be dropping over here instead. The aftermath of mass shootings is stressful for everybody. For me, the … Continue reading
“Against one perfect moment, the centuries beat in vain.” Sir Terry Pratchett, Thief of Time. A wood bench on a sidewalk overlooking La Jolla Cove. Seventy-one-degree weather. Warm late afternoon California sun and a cool gentle Pacific breeze. Toddlers and teens … Continue reading
Sometimes the world is a wonderful place: the flea collection of the Natural History Museum in London has its own Twitter feed .
Irma.
A few years ago, The Weather Channel had a series called It Could Happen Tomorrow, about natural disasters which, because of their unusual nature, would have potentially disastrous effects. One show was dedicated to the scenario of a Cat 3 … Continue reading
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