Take a Deep Breath and Exhale

In an ordinary year, I probably would not even notice much of the hoopla around the Presidential Inauguration. But then – I have to admit that I spent most of yesterday watching the inauguration events. At the end of the day, I felt like I had taken a deep breath—and exhaled slowly—at last. After the … Continue reading Take a Deep Breath and Exhale

Why Can I Not Focus?

Cognitive Load Theory I feel like this article in BBC by Dr Christian Jarrett explains a lot about what my mind has been doing recently. More importantly, it offers solutions. If you feel like you’re in a state of constant mental fatigue, you should read this. Cognitive Load Theory discusses the idea that tasks are … Continue reading Why Can I Not Focus?

Imperfections of the Human State

If you have ALS, or if you know someone who has ALS, or if you are in need of a major injection of inspiration or a renewal of faith in the human race, you need to read this. If you have ALS, or if you know someone who has ALS, or if you are in … Continue reading Imperfections of the Human State

I Am That 74-Year-Old Grandmother

Yesterday’s ‘Questionable Statements about the Corona Virus’ award goes to Florida’s Governor DeSantis who said this: "If you're a 22-year-old working in food services, let's say at a supermarket, you would have preference over a 74-year-old grandmother. I don't think that that is the direction that we want to go." DeSantis wants Florida to ignore … Continue reading I Am That 74-Year-Old Grandmother

The Small Stuff

Some mornings it's the small stuff in the news that makes me crazy. President Trump has achieved his goal of destroying another environmental standard created in the prior administration. In a world where 790 million people do not have access to clean water, it's nice to know that some people will be able to wash … Continue reading The Small Stuff

You Don’t Have to Win

This Kurt Vonnegut quote just grabbed me this morning. I've felt so frustrated this past week. The overthrow of the government in Peru, the attacks on our democracy by a sitting president in the US. And I've been struggling with outlining the plot for my next book. My hero suffers from a need to do … Continue reading You Don’t Have to Win

Bloody Sunday

It should feel like a sad morning when we lose two Medal of Freedom award recipients - two of the many great people who gave their blood to make our country more like the home I want it to be. Rep. John Robert Lewis and Rev. Cordy Tindell Vivian both walked across that bridge in … Continue reading Bloody Sunday

Writing Make Believe

In the midst of ever increasing cases of Covid-19, the ongoing crisis of a culture that can’t decide if the lives of certain segments of the society really matter, the debate over the relative importance of statues of dead confederates, 130,000+ lives lost to the virus, and lives crushed out by boots firmly applied to … Continue reading Writing Make Believe

Not in the Same Boat

I can’t get this thought out of my mind. I read it somewhere I think. We may all be on the same storm, but we’re not in the same boat. With so many critically important things going on in the world lately, it keeps coming back to me like the song that you hear and … Continue reading Not in the Same Boat

My World This Morning

There’s something particularly jarring about opening your computer in the morning and seeing a screen displaying what appears to be a man bound and tied with rope being thrown into a river while an angry crowd looks on. It’s made more jarring by the juxtaposition of this image with an ad for an “essential” nonstick … Continue reading My World This Morning

Thoughts and Prayers

To all the politicians out there who are sending their thoughts and prayers in light of the latest mass slaughter of our nation's children, may I remind you that, while you may pray anytime you want in this country, as many of us are doing right now, we didn't send you to Washington to pray … Continue reading Thoughts and Prayers

Immigration & (IL)logic

I have days when I feel thoroughly confused by the rhetoric and fears thrown around on the subject of immigration. I hear that we need to reduce immigration to the US because immigrants take the good jobs away from Americans. So we should disallow highly educated immigrants who are skilled and qualified to fill the … Continue reading Immigration & (IL)logic

Bitty & Beau’s

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wrzz-sibpv0 I'm thinking that every time that I wake up feeling pissed or depressed or horrified about the latest loss of life from war, forced migration, generalized hatred, environmental disasters, gun violence, the general condition of the world, the latest hateful tirade from the president of my country or something else threatening to mess up … Continue reading Bitty & Beau’s

Don’t Mess with My History

Do we really need to remove the monuments honoring confederate "heroes?" Or do we need to use them to illuminate our history as it actually was, in a search for truth and understanding of our real past? President Trump has claimed that removing these statues represents the changing of history. But of course you can't change … Continue reading Don’t Mess with My History

Poverty in America

Having grown up being taught about the "American Dream," it's hard to wrap my arms around the reality of 41 million people living in poverty in my country. This UN observer, having investigated other countries in the past, now visits communities in the US where people have no income, no access to bathrooms, no place to sleep and no hope.

The UN's Philip Alston's "fact-finding mission into the richest nation the world has ever known has led him to investigate the tragedy at its core: the 41 million people who officially live in poverty."

“My role is to hold governments to account,” he said. “If the US administration doesn’t want to talk about the right to housing, healthcare or food, then there are still basic human rights standards that have to be met. It’s my job to point that out.”