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
Viva La France!
Viva la France! While not my favorite European country (Spain holds that honor) I have always loved France. And the French people have now justified my belief that, on the whole, they’re smarter than Americans. (Yes, I know, I’m being … Continue reading
Sometimes, I just need to cry. For those times when reading the front page of the Washington Post won’t cut it (news inspires more fear than grief), I have The Playlist. As of Monday, I have a new addition to the … Continue reading
Ohio.
May 4th has come to be referenced in popular culture as Star Wars Day. (“May the Fourth be with you.”) The day holds a deeper, darker, and more important significance, though. On May 4th, 1970, twenty-nine members of the Ohio … Continue reading
“Subaru.”
On Facebook, someone pasted a video of a bison stampede in Yellowstone, with the caption asking people to describe the video in one word. My word? “Subaru.” Last summer, the entire family (including the Not-So-Little Drummer Boy, visiting from New … Continue reading
The smell of hope.
I have been buying spices from Penzey’s for years. Originally, the Rocket Scientist would have layovers in Minneapolis when he had trips to D.C., and he always brought back spices Penzey’s and clothes from Lands’ End. Then a Penzey’s store … Continue reading
Keeping despair at bay.
This is going to be one of those most cliched of blog posts: a post about how hard it is to blog right now. My impassioned rant about Bernie Sanders notwithstanding, I struggle to write these days — not that … Continue reading
Bernie Sanders: Self-Appointed Progressive Gatekeeper.
I really wish I could not write about Bernie Sanders. I would love for the self-aggrandizing not-a-Democrat to just crawl back up to Vermont. He’d do a lot less damage to the Democratic Party and, more broadly, the progressive movement, that … Continue reading
Signs.
Today I went to the March for Science Silicon Valley in San Jose. I had a great time. I had also gone to the Women’s March in January. The vibe there was fierce, and angry. Today it was determined and … Continue reading
Saleswoman of the day.
I went into Starbucks for a Strawberry Acai refresher, when my eye caught the picture of the “Unicorn Frappacino.” The young lady behind the register saw me staring at it in horrified fascination, and urged me to get it, saying … Continue reading
Today’s political musings, in very bad free verse.
It isn’t as though it was ever easy. The things in the rear-view mirror always appeared larger — and clearer — than any of us ever want to admit. We’re human. Humans crave certainty. We crave surety and simplicity, and … Continue reading
The Stories In the Wine, Part III.
See “Stories in the Wine,” and “Stories in the Wine, Part II.” Jenna switched the channel yet again. CNN to MSNBC to the broadcast networks, cycling through them obsessively. The only one she skipped was Fox News, out of habit … Continue reading
Minor victories.
In my last post, I wrote about the tremors. I have brown spots down my shirt right now from trying to carry a half cup of coffee to my room. Not good. In the past I have loved jewelry making. … Continue reading
A letter I really should send.
Dear Professor: You may wonder why I stalked out of class today. It wasn’t for a doctor’s appointment – I had one, but not until later. Nor was it because my medicine was making me nauseated, like I told you … Continue reading
Movie review: Beauty and the Beast (Spoiler free)
I saw movie Beauty and the Beast tonight, and some observations forthwith: In the battle of the singing Emmas, it’s Watson 1, Stone 0. And hey, Dan Stevens is pretty good, too! When existing musicals add new songs (to get … Continue reading
Gallimaufry.
Gallimaufry…. isn’t that the BEST word? That’s because I have the BEST words. I sometimes even use them. (I bet Donald Trump doesn’t know this word. Hell, I had to Google it.) ******** It’s finally happened — I’ve been … Continue reading
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