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: Social Issues
An open letter to Alexander Coward
Dear Dr. Coward: I found your letter to your students about why you would not be participating in the one-day strike by workers at the University of California intriguing. Like them, I am a product of top-tier educational systems. Like … 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
Random thoughts.
I realize that my posts the past few days have been rambling and somewhat incoherent — certainly not my best work. (See previous post on things I am thankful for: hydrocodone.) Writing does give me something other than watching television … Continue reading
Guy Fawkes Day Randomness
It’s day celebrating the patron saint of Anonymous. It’s two days after the great fall, and I have spent most of the day in bed on opiates. Part of this is that I have been sleeping a lot, but more … Continue reading
“Poverty is Mainstream in America”
This is a very important piece about poverty in America. Read it. Share it with friends. I’ve always supported efforts to help the poor, even before I read this. What shocked me is how widespread poverty is. All of this … Continue reading
How did we become this?
It is day 15 of the shutdown. All because Tea Partiers hate Obama and what to destroy the ACA. I read the news. (Less and less, I do admit.) I worry about how we’re going to make it if this … Continue reading
The ACA explained in under seven minutes
[from the Henry Kaiser Family Foundation]
[Note: I should put a disclaimer here: any opinions on this blog about the Affordable Care Act and/or Covered California are solely my own and do not reflect the opinions of my employers.] The job is starting to get to … 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
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
Sometimes you have to laugh to keep from crying.
There are times when the jokes are just too easy. Except for the horrible impact on women’s reproductive rights, of course.
Still not there yet.
I am still trying to come to grips with the Steve Landsburg piece on letting people die enough so that I can write a cogent analysis of it. Part of the issue is that I am busy doing other things, … Continue reading
Steve Landsburg is a Menace to Society, Part 3: Dying.
[Parts 1 and 2.] This post is going to be disturbingly short. Having read Steven Landsburg’s piece in Slate “Do the Poor Deserve Life Support?” from 2006, I am so outraged and appalled as to be incoherent. His entire argument … Continue reading
Steven Landsburg Is a Menace to Society, Part 2: It’s my body, not an asset to be exploited.
[Warning: rape triggers.] There is a misguided belief out there that anything can be questioned if it is done in the name of academic enquiry. Wrong. There are questions that, simply by the asking, demonstrate callousness or disregard for … Continue reading
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