It’s been a rough season for the ladies. Ever since the release of those tapes–the ones that should have been the end of him but, somehow, weren’t–I’ve been going around with this sick feeling all the time, and I’m not the only one. It’s all made worse by the whirlwind first 2 weeks of this debacle of a Presidency; and the long line of white men parading into the White House to fill all the major Cabinet and advisory positions. Oh,... Read more
When he wasn’t picking fights with our allies; or Tweeting war threats in the middle of the night; or appointing a grotesquely unqualified Secretary of Education, or appointing a known white supremacist to the National Security Council; or de-funding the NEA; or dismantling the EPA… wait, I think I was going somewhere with this. Right. When he wasn’t busy with all of these other equally appalling and shady dealings, the new President promised to roll back the Johnson Act–the thing that... Read more
I read Animal Farm in high school. I learned that power corrupts; and absolute power corrupts absolutely. I read Lord of the Flies. I learned about scapegoating, and scarcity. And mob mentality. I read Heart of Darkness. I hate that damn book, and I had to read it 3 times. THREE. Twice in high school for two different teachers (who I felt could have done some better collaborative work in planning their curriculum, but whatever) and then again in college for a Victorian lit class. I... Read more
One sabbath while Jesus was going through the grainfields, his disciples plucked some heads of grain, rubbed them in their hands, and ate them. But some of the Pharisees said, “Why are you doing what is not lawful on the sabbath?” Jesus answered, “Have you not read what David did when he and his companions were hungry? 4 He entered the house of God and took and ate the bread of the Presence, which it is not lawful for any but the priests... Read more
Remember the good old days when people used to talk about TV shows they were watching? Fun times. How about a throw-back to the good old days… And speaking of good old days, I love This is Us. I love the flashbacks to the 80s, and the house that is full of things I had in my childhood home (I literally saw my parents’ old bedspread on this week’s episode.) I love the occasional twists and turns that make you sit up... Read more
Our new President has been busy. His tiny hands must be tired from signing all those executive orders. First there was the action affecting women’s reproductive rights on a global scale–which he signed, surrounded by a covey of white men, creating the most nauseating photo opp since that pic of the Trump family in the golden tower. (You know the one, with the giant lion thing? What even IS that??) In the same swipe of the pen, he rolled back regulations of the... Read more
Guest post: Dr. Kimberly Jones One of the first signs that I saw as we trekked into Washington DC for the Women’s March contained these iconic words: Give me your tired, your poor, Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free, The wretched refuse of your teeming shore. Send these, the homeless, tempest-tossed, to me: I lift my lamp beside the golden door. Since the election, I have despaired that our country has moved so far from this welcoming spirit… until... Read more
Despite the American flag shaped fireworks lighting up the sky, it is a dark day. There’s no denying it. But it’s important to remember that the incoming President, whatever hatred, aggression and ugliness he represents, is only one person. And he is a symptom of the larger disease, not the disease itself. America’s larger chronic illness is rooted in systemic racism, subjugation of women, greed, and fear of the other. These are the conditions that got this man elected President,... Read more
It’s kind of a fog, but from what I recall, we had a 3-year-old and a 1-year-old. 2 kids in diapers. 2 kids who needed naps at different times of the day, and who needed to eat every 2 hours or so. 2 car seats with complicated buckles to fumble in the triple-digit heat. The older one was a chronic thumb-sucker, and in part-time day care. So we were all sick, all the time. We’d pass it around, and by the time the last... Read more
I confess, not much surprises me anymore. After the election, I became a little despondent. That America could elect a known misogynist who has no respect for women; a man who stoked racial tensions for his own political gain, and then blamed the existence of those tensions on the first black President; a man with know political experience or proven track record in… well anything; a man who exploited the faith of millions of Americans by saying a few magic... Read more
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