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
One of those days. What’s worse, I had already gone to the Starbucks which is our pre-shift meeting place, to get some writing done. I will be stuck here for hours, unable to work. I will also have to explain … Continue reading
Vaccine idiocy: it’s a first world problem, unfortunately.
I can tell the measles epidemic has hit the big time: politicians are weighing in on the issue of vaccination. Rand Paul says that parents should be able to choose, and that he knows many cases of children who have … Continue reading
Restructuring, not reform.
“Pension reform.” The words have been floating around the national zeitgeist for several years now. Politicians such as Scott Walker (or, more closer to my home, former San Jose mayor Chuck Reed) have fanned the flames of public angst over … Continue reading
Today’s rant.
[This has been reposted from Facebook: FB friends, you can skip this. Of course, you can skip anything I write, but in this case you won’t miss anything.) Here’s the deal: The First Amendment protects EVERYONE. Christians, Jews, Muslims, Buddhists, … Continue reading
Space tragedy week.
I did not have a chance yesterday to write a new post for the Challenger disaster anniversary. Today is the anniversary of the Apollo 1 fire, and February 1 is Columbia. I thought I would link to some of the … Continue reading
A white woman looks at Selma. For what it’s worth.
[Yes, there are one or two spoilers for Selma in this post. Also, before you comment, please read the entire post.] Last week a friend and I went to see Selma. She grew up in the South, as I did, … Continue reading
Pop culture games.
I have been playing a couple of pop culture games in my head lately, and would like to have other people play along. 1: How different can they be? I have been thinking about directors and the disparate movies they … Continue reading
Things seem at times overwhelming right now. I have not been writing about them, though. I wrote a piece on Charlie Hebdo which I haven’t published — it’s kind of late to do so now. Many people said what I … Continue reading
Just a thought….
I hope to do a full review of it in another post, but I do think that every person who is of voting age and who did not vote in either of the last two elections should be dragged to … Continue reading
The best lines from tonight’s State of the Union address: “I don’t have any more campaigns to run. I know, because I won both of them.” And… “I have two words for any member of Congress who truly thinks you … Continue reading
Movie reviews.
In the past week I have seen three different movies, with three different experiences. The first was Mr. Turner, the biopic about the painter J.M.W. Turner. Even before the movie began, I knew I was in for a comfortable time. The … Continue reading
Dear Universe: you can stop now. Really.
“God gives you nothing you can’t handle.” Far too many people, including my late mother. In the last twelve months, my family has endured (in order of importance): The death of my mother and the Rocket Scientist’s father. (The latter … Continue reading
Poor Parenting.
This morning the family and I went to Starbucks. I was not looking my best: the events of the past few days had caught up with me. My hair was not neat, and at the best of times I am … Continue reading
R.I.P.
My father-in-law, Jack Glass, died on New Year’s Day. We had known he did not all that much time left — he was suffering from pneumonia after being hospitalized for a stroke. He had spent a lot of time in … Continue reading
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