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
Warnings.
The experts are giving us clear advice this Thanks giving: stay home, don’t have your family visit. Their warnings are laced with equal parts concern and incredulity that people would do such dangerous things as fly right now. In some … Continue reading
Micah
My sister the Trump supporter texted me last night. We didn’t talk politics; instead we talked about my nieces and how my grand-nephew was entering first grade and how that seemed absolutely impossible and how he looked like the Red-Headed … Continue reading
Elections checklist, update (reprise).
I was planning to run this on October 1st, but lost track of time, given everything else that is going on. Mail-in ballots have already gone out in a lot of states. (Sorry to spam you, but this information is … Continue reading
Farewell, RBG.
I don’t know what I could say that others have not said better. I will miss her, and her pragmatic support for women and LGBT+ rights. (She performed the first same-sex marriage at the Supreme Court.) She fought the good … Continue reading
Small victories.
I am not sure I have mentioned it before, but I have tremors. In the past couple of years, they have gone from moderate to significant. (Both typing and eating have become difficult, although still possible. Between tremors and recurrent … Continue reading
Just four years ago… We were a nation that valued truth telling … before Donald Trump. We were a nation of laws… before Donald Trump. We were a nation that believed in the Constitution and separation of powers… before Donald … Continue reading
Decisions, Decisions.
One of my goals for today was to clear out my overstuffed closet so I can put things in there without having to exercise my biceps. Then I had he notion to clear out my similarly stuffed bookshelves. The Terry … Continue reading
Happy Birthday to the Red-Headed Menace! I can’t believe you’re all grown up.
Trumpsters.
I have been struggling with my feelings about several of my relatives. I feel they are good people, who have been there for me when I needed me. They are against the death penalty. They have never expressed racist comments … Continue reading
Elections Checklist
I will be repeating this several times before the election: Make sure your registration is up to date NOW. If there are problems, or if you have changed your name, address, or party affiliation since you last registered, reregister ASAP. … Continue reading
Just stuff.
Sometimes, when everything is going to hell, it’s important to remember what good there is in your life. So, in more or less random order… Hamilton. The Avengers movies Fantasia (& Fantasia 2000) Disney+ Art Amazon (don’t judge me) Facebook … Continue reading
The best thing since…
On Saturday I baked my third batch of bread. Each batch makes two loaves. Because they have no preservatives if they don’t get eaten quickly they mold, so we gave a loaf to the Red-Headed Menace and his Really Smart … Continue reading
Broken.
I can’t really identify the last straw. Maybe it was the Administration deciding to have hospitals send COVID-19 data to HHS instead of the CDC. Maybe it was the threats leveled at schools who don’t physically open in the fall. … Continue reading
Guilty Pleasures.
In 2017, I spent four days in a Spanish hospital, laid low by pneumonia (my second bout in three years — one of the reasons that my family will not let me go to the grocery store). When I got … Continue reading
Relativism
I need to stop reading Facebook. It’s bad for my blood pressure. It’s not my friends but sadly some of their friends which cause me such heartburn. Usually these days it’s about wearing masks. Some of my friends have friends … Continue reading
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