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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Category Archives: Justice
I have been worried about the increasing influence of churches in America in the past few years. This may seem odd, since religion — particularly Christianity, particularly Protestantism — has always had some level of influence in America. I find … Continue reading
Criminally Minded.
I’m watching 48 Hours, a show I almost never watch. I am usually quite skeptical of shows dissecting unpopular acquittals in criminal cases. Often such shows are simplistic and sensationalistic. The television producers take a single case, present as much … Continue reading
A few thoughts on the death penalty.
I have written before about my opinions about capital punishment, namely that it is morally indefensible. It turns out that more and more people are agreeing with me, such as the state legislature of Maryland. Earlier this year, in a … 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
Loving my neighbor.
I have been thinking the past few days about the Bible. In particular, about the phrase “love your neighbor as yourself.” I have heard far too many people say this who clearly have no idea of what it means. For … Continue reading
The Trayvon Martin George Zimmerman verdict is in. It should not have surprised anyone, really: whatever issues Florida has in the legal treatment of whites and minorities aside, the prosecution did not do a particularly good job at disproving Zimmerman’s … Continue reading
Sad. So sad.
In July, 2011, I wrote about the Aaron Swartz case. It was with sadness that I read that Aaron Swartz had committed suicide. From all I have read, Swartz was a sweet guy. He was only twenty-six, having done more … Continue reading
I can’t write about the Connecticut shooting yet. I have very strong feelings about gun control (I was part of the Million Mom March a few years ago), and right now my head is simply screaming “Why does this surprise … Continue reading
Outrageous.
The one broken election promise of the Obama Administration that has angered me the most is the (non)closing of Guantanamo. And today, the Administration unveiled plans to restrict access of detainees* to their counsel. Note, according to the story, … Continue reading
Justice is a difficult thing, sometimes
The New Jersey judge in the case of the Rutgers’ student who Tweeted his roommate having sex with another man has had to speak out in defense of his sentencing the defendant to 30 days in jail, 300 hours of … Continue reading
Justice v. Process
Recently I was watching a fascinating documentary on PBS, “Slavery by Another Name,” about forced servitude of African-Americans in the post Civil War South. The program covered convict labor, and how men would be arrested mainly to have their labor … Continue reading
How to tell if a piece of legislation may be important…
No the only way, of course, but… When your college-junior son texts you to ask if you are as “genuinely terrified” (his words, not mine) about the defense authorization bill as he is, the bill in question really is significant. … Continue reading
Stolen valor? or free speech?
There are a number of petitions before the Court that look to be quite interesting this term. There is a takings case from the 9th Circuit, and some Establishment Clause cases, and a couple of cases involving who can be … Continue reading
What about a *woman’s* right to live?
Every so often the House of Representatives does something which takes my breath away. And not in a good way, either. Yesterday, the House passed H.R. 358, the so-called “Protect Life Act.” You think H.R. 3, the bill that would … Continue reading
Collision Course, Revisited
In my first post on the subject of the case involving Fred Phelps, et al. currently before the Supreme Court, I stated that I could not figure out what way I wanted the Court to rule. Upon further reflection, I … Continue reading
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