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
Strike?
I usually read political blogs. This morning I started to, and just couldn’t. Reasoned political analysis can fail in the face of stomach-churning fear. I no longer feel the same shortness of breath, back of neck tightness stress about women’s … Continue reading
Best. Political. Ad. EVER. I don’t give money to candidates in states I do not live in, as I have enough difficulty supporting candidates on my home turf, but I would sure throw this guy a few dollars — and … Continue reading
We the People….
HAPPY CONSTITUTION DAY!! GO FORTH AND EXERCISE YOUR RIGHTS! Call your Senator’s office to let them know you want them to… work for a higher minimum wage, or federally mandated gun control, or whatever is on your political or ideological … Continue reading
Things are…. Okay, not so hot. Work has been occasionally problematic, and life in general kind of sucks. A friend of mine has a motto, “Nobody died, nobody is going to jail.” We’ve adopted it in our family, too. Normally … Continue reading
A few thoughts…
“All honest labor is honorable.” H.L. Greene, Jr. (a.k.a., my Dad.) Every day should be Labor Day. The good folks over at Lawyers, Guns, and Money have put together a set of labor day posts. Check ’em out. The people … Continue reading
I was wrong.
I have written about Aaron Schwarz before, both his original arrest and his suicide. I should have just talked to the Red-Headed Menace. He had not been paying attention to the case, and when I talked to him on Tuesday, … Continue reading
Sheesh, people.
I am working on a post on rape culture, and the way in which society aids and abets abusers and harassers, but it is slow going, primarily because I want to be thoughtful about the way that I approach the … Continue reading
Doing good.
I have finished my intensive, two and a half day training, and start work tomorrow, on a project that will take the next several months. I am now a Covered California Certified Educator. Hurrah! Just to define terms, Covered California is … Continue reading
Gmail and me.
In court filings, Google stated that individuals who send email to people with Gmail accounts have “no legitimate expectation of privacy.” This is not surprising. The surprising thing is that people — ok, some segments of the news media — … Continue reading
I went to a Straight No Chaser concert last Saturday. A trip on to iTunes to pick up some of their music (no, I didn’t buy all their CDs at the concert — just Under the Influence, the latest) also … Continue reading
There should be a special place in hell for parents like that.
I’ve not been following pop culture all that much lately. In any case, I do NOT keep up with the Kardashians. My brain only hazily registered that Kim Kardashian had had her baby. It was only a couple of days … Continue reading
It is 2:30. Three hours ago, I stumbled onto a post by PZ Myers at Pharyngula — the subject of which I’d rather not go into, if you don’t mind. Watching the train wreck in the comments was horrible and … Continue reading
Bits and pieces.
There is no day so bad a pint of Lagunitas Brewery Imperial Stout won’t make at least a little better. School starts tomorrow (okay, later this morning). The Red-Headed Menace is pulling his first all-nighter, writing a six-page paper on … Continue reading
John Oliver: “You’re allowed to root for the Yankees, you grew up in the Bronx…. you can’t just choose to root for the Yankees.”* Regis Philbin: “So why do you root for the Mets?” Oliver: “That’s because I’m British… I … Continue reading
College daze.
I am working with a placement agency. (Yes, I have a job, but it cannot hurt to keep options open.) They required me to submit a .pdf of my college transcript. Looking at it carried me back to one of … Continue reading
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