"Pressure forces choices." ~Timothy Snyder Red State Democrats have learned a thing or two in the decades that we’ve been under Republican supermajorities. At the top of the list? That you only win a fight with MAGA when you go to toe-to-toe with them. Capitulation doesn’t work. They laugh at compromise; they call empathy weakness. … Continue reading Under Pressure: Forcing Choices
A few months back, some pundits who have spent decades and made millions advising Democrats told us all that we needed to settle down, step back, and “play dead.” We needed to stop worrying our pretty little heads about the incoming destruction, step to the side, “let” Trump fail – allow the GOP to defeat … Continue reading Fight–Everywhere, All At Once
When someone as consequential as Pope Francis (formerly Jorge Mario Bergoglio) passes, it causes us all to pause for a moment. To take stock of where we are, of who we are, and what we stand for. There’s a lot to review. But in a news cycle dominated by stories about Pope Francis, one stood … Continue reading Shared Humanity and Unconditional Value
About 20 years ago, they decided to do something. The land was dead. Brown, used up, dusty and gray. But it once had been a forest. Not so very long ago, it was lush and green and home to lots of animals and birds. It had been magnificent, once. Sebastiao knew, because the land had … Continue reading Taking Steps, Planting Seeds, It All Matters
The numbers differ. Some say 5.2 million. Others more like 3 million. But everyone can agree that on Saturday millions and millions of people poured out into the streets to scream and stomp and gnash their collective teeth. There were photos of folks in Oregon, and California, and Washington, and New York. Chicago, and Boston. … Continue reading Democrats. Democrats, Everywhere
All rise. The sound of young lawyers getting up from their seats in that massive Chicago convention center was like thunder. There were so many new attorneys being sworn in that day that we were asked to simply stand up in our seats so that we could take the oath right there, surrounded by our … Continue reading All Rise: It’s Time To Stand
Well, I hadn’t planned on talking about how infuriating it is to see incompetent men cosplaying at the highest levels of our government. But here we are. By now you’ve no doubt heard that senior officials in the Trump administration including the Vice President, the Secretary of State, the Secretary of Defense, the National Security … Continue reading Bumbling, Dangerous, Incompetent Fools
The first time I saw the old tree, I felt sorry for it. Obviously once a hulking, massive specimen, now it's buckled and broken and bowed to the ground. If you can imagine a tree with a trunk so wide that it would take two (or more) people with arms outstretched to reach all the … Continue reading Growing From the Broken Bits: My Favorite Tree
“We’ve never had this before – they do bad things, then undo some of the bad things, it’s hard to know what’s going on.” A dear friend and colleague lamented as I power walked through our local park. A 70 degree day in March can’t be wasted and I think better when I’m moving around. … Continue reading Shifting Ground and Bedrock
Instilling the will to fight “You should put sunflower seeds in your pockets so that they will grow on Ukrainian land after you die.” ~Anonymous woman in Ukraine, confronting invading Russian soldiers At the beginning, three long years ago, it was the Ghost of Kiev. The sunflower seed lady. The Battle of Snake Island. It was … Continue reading Leading and Inspiring the Free World
Small Deeds Done 