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
Logic, schmogic.
An open letter to the privileged Texas Senator I heard on NPR today. You are not very bright, sir. The NPR story was about a Texas county sheriff who has taken the position that she won’t turn anyone over to ICE … Continue reading
And that, children, is why I went to law school.
It started with a road, and a neighborhood. I’ve been interested in historic preservation for most of my adult life. It’s a passion, really, arising out of my experience growing up in an area that was in the process of trashing … Continue reading
“What do you call that hairstyle?” “Arthur.”
February: not a fan. I’m ambivalent about Valentine’s Day, and since my kids are grown and we don’t have ski week to go on outings, President’s Day holds only mild promise. The weather has been miserable for the most part: … Continue reading
The story that just. will. NOT. die.
Standard disclaimer: See sidebar. These are my views, not those of my former 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 got … Continue reading
Meh.
Note to self, as I sit in the empty classroom: Always, but ALWAYS, check your email before you venture out in chilly 55 degree* moderate rain (heavy for California) on a highway that is nothing but red the whole way, … Continue reading
Far too many things are going on in the country right now. The media is stretched thin, I am sure. That said, I was disappointed that they spent as much time as they did (too much, really) on the National … Continue reading
Today’s efforts in defense of Democracy.
Calls to oppose Scott Pruitt as EPA head and Betsy DeVos at Education: Multiple attempts to call Senator Dianne Feinstein’s offices, both in California and D.C. The D.C. number just gave a busy signal, the California office number a “We … Continue reading
Why I marched.
A letter sent to Dianne Feinstein’s office, who was collecting stories about why women participated in the marches: I marched in the San Jose March, even though I have fibromyalgia and was only able to walk half-way. I marched for … Continue reading
No. Not anymore.
A lot of people — even people I care about and respect — call for we liberals to reach out and bridge the divide with the people who voted for Trump. Fuck that. As long as I can remember many … Continue reading
Ah, yes, the hallowed halls of Academe.
I am currently taking classes at a local community college, for reasons I don’t really want to go into right now, perhaps stupidly taking a full courseload (12 units for this semester). I am (re)discovering several things about myself: My … Continue reading
Dear David Brooks: It infuriates me no end, when people such as yourself state that the Women’s Marches were about “identity politics,” and that we’ll never see change in this country if we engage in “identity politics,” after telling us … Continue reading
The title of my blog (from Man of La Mancha, for those of you who do not follow Broadway) is to some extent appropriate. While in many ways my life has been pretty unremarkable (I really haven’t done anything of note), … Continue reading
More March humor.
Some other great signs from various Marches: “Dumbledore’s Army: still recruiting” “Donald Trump uses Comic Sans” “I’ve seen smarter cabinets at Ikea” “Now you’ve pissed off Grandma” Next to an elderly Japanese woman in a wheelchair: “Locked up by U.S. Prez, … Continue reading
The music of the waves.
See the line where the sky meets the sea It calls me And no one knows How far I’ll go… “How Far I’ll Go,” from Moana, lyrics by Lin-Manuel Miranda Long ago in a galaxy far, far… well, no, it … Continue reading
March… sanity.
Odd bits and pieces of the San Jose Women’s March: Proud parental moment of the day: when you text your eldest son about being at the San Jose March, and he texts back pictures of where he is in the … Continue reading
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