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
A couple of my lists…
Most annoying major characters in fiction: Holden Caulfield, Catcher in the Rye Cathy & Heathcliff, Wuthering Heights Marianne Dashwood, Sense and Sensibility Romeo & Juliet, Romeo & Juliet Valentine Michael Smith, Stranger in a Strange Land Chance the Gardener, Being … Continue reading
"Sensibility" and me.
I love Pride and Prejudice. It is one of my favorite books, and I reread it often. I do not have the same depth of emotion about Sense and Sensibility, however: in fact until two days ago I had never … Continue reading
Over at Lawyers, Guns and Money, Scott Lemiuex (“There are Many Life and Death Issues”, “All American Presidential Elections are Choices Between Evils”), Paul Campos (“Purity of Essence”), Erik Loomis (“Nobody is Sweeping Dead Muslims Under the Rug”), and djw … Continue reading
But Pachelbel’s Canon gets so booooring…
I was sitting at lunch today with a group of people when my phone went off. My ringtone set off howls of laughter. The melodious interlude that so amused my cohorts was… “The Super Chicken Theme Song.“ I used to … Continue reading
That’s what I get for signing him up for that philosophy class at the community college last summer.
According to The Red-Headed Menace, “hipsterism is the bastard child of transcendentalism and existentialism.”* *He made sort of a cogent argument for this position, but I was too bemused by the fact that he was trying to determine the philosophical … Continue reading
On hearing a segment on NPR about child-raising, and a child who kept asking “why?”, The Red-Headed Menace casually stated “that was me for about four years.” “Oh, no,” I replied. “That has been you for 16 years.” “No — … Continue reading
Bits of Italy.
I just returned from ten days in Italy. Ten days was far too short: my stay there had to be fitted around someone else’s work obligations and as a result there was too little time to spend on a country … Continue reading
Closing in.
Many people have “bucket lists” with numerous items on them. Go skydiving, visit every state in the Union, run with the bulls at Pamplona, that sort of thing. I have one item on my list. One, that’s it. I want … Continue reading
A tale of a city.
Venice is magic. It is seductive, charming, decadent, fun. The Piazza San Marcos glows in the late afternoon sunlight, relatively sparsely populated now that the basilica is closed and all the tour groups with the legions of Americans, Brits, Germans, … Continue reading
Lest anyone think that I am steadfastly ignoring both the commenter on the post before last and the Democratic National Convention, I am not. I am on a trip and wireless has proven spotty and energy finite. Besides, who could … Continue reading
I hate when people do this.
Sigh. Repeating a claim over and over does not make it true. Obama did not waive the work requirement for welfare. Edited to add: And then there is the new anti-Obama movie, 2016: Obama’s America. It grossed $6.2 million last weekend. … Continue reading
It is the first day of that days-long infomercial (but with less real content) that is the Republican National Convention. I have acquainted myself with enough of their platform to shake in my boots for my country — especially its … Continue reading
Today’s term of the day…
… from Matthew O’Brien of The Atlantic, quoting from David Roberts at Grist: we are living in a “post-fact world.” Yes, exactly. And I am a naif who happens to be very, very bothered by that. It’s not that there … Continue reading
The combination of my sons playing in the other room, and my occasional reviewing of the iconic 1996 version of Pride and Predjudice has given me an idea: Jane Austen D & D. “Roll 18, receive offer of marriage from … Continue reading
I said the other day that I was not posting political commentary at the moment. I have felt the need to articulate why, even to myself, until today I ran across this item by Erin Gloria Ryan over at Jezebel: … Continue reading
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