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
Request of Facebook and Twitter followers…
So… I am on a social media diet for a little while, as well as reducing my news intake, all for my mental health. Yes, we need to pull together and fight, but I can’t just now. I hope to … Continue reading
Salem, 2017.
Chester Arthur is one of America’s less memorable commanders-in-chief. Most people, myself included, would before this week have simply remembered him as the guy with the great muttonchop sideburns. But Arthur oversaw reform of the machinery of government, turning what … Continue reading
Seen any good movies, lately?
I have been seeing a lot of movies over the last couple of months. I haven’t written reviews for any of them. (Admittedly, after the election I didn’t feel up to writing anything….) So herewith are my reviews, even though … Continue reading
Customization.
I am playing around with customizing this blog, so the look may change randomly for a little while. I am currently playing with randomized header images, which is why every time you click on the blog it has a different … Continue reading
QOTD.
Tim Fouts of the country a cappella group Home Free, about the Westboro Baptist Church: “I personally prefer ladies, but I’d kiss a dude to piss them off.” (He also said, “I’m not celebrating those misguided idiots, I’m just happy … Continue reading
Movies: facing the past.
On Tuesday, I saw Hidden Figures, about three African-American women who fought bigotry and misogyny to become important figures at NASA. It’s a great movie, and a story that needs to be told. And, like Selma, I found it difficult … Continue reading
Quote of the day
“Our democracy has been hacked.” Al Gore. (Yes, I know that it is also the tag line for the show Mr. Robot, but Gore said it first.)
A cautionary tale. Sort of.
It was a late night in September, and I was restless. I was also stoned on pain medication. That’s a bad time to buy things. Unfortunately, the Internet can’t tell you “Hey, it sounds like you need to go get … Continue reading
I cannot write about the election. This hurts. The anger, the grief, the fear all cycle in and around, swirling into each other. I have privilege. I can pass for whatever the reactionaries want me to be: a late-middle aged … Continue reading
Vote.
I usually write this post on Election Day, but I will be busy. I go to work at 5:30 a.m. and leave, hopefully, at 8 p.m. It might work later — a lot of other people will do so, until … Continue reading
An Open Letter to The Republican Nominee.
Standard disclaimer: See sidebar. These are my views alone, not those of my employer, for whom I am in no way authorized to speak. I do not identify them, but I know what the Internet can do. Dear Mr. Trump: … Continue reading
I could vote for Trump.
Today, when all hell has broken loose for the Republican Party, a lot of my friends on social media are asking why so many conservatives have announced that they are appalled by everything The Donald says and does but are … Continue reading
My soundtrack.
I can’t write about politics today. I know for whom I am going to vote, and many, many others are writing far better than I could about the dangers of electing a narcissistic, xenophobic, ignorant bully to the most powerful … Continue reading
Naivete.
In my friend Jane’s Facebook page a extremely conservative college classmate of hers stated, in regard to voter ID laws, “Why would someone refuse to show ID unless they were going to cheat?” Why, indeed? Maybe because… They are an elderly … Continue reading
Jim Wright, one of my go-to bloggers for intelligent analysis, writes, with bitter sarcasm, that we “won” after 9/11. But for people for whom sarcasm is not a native language… We didn’t win. When the first soldiers were deployed to Iraq, … Continue reading
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