This might be the teacher in me talking, but it really bugs me when I hear people discussing politics and someone says, “People are stupid,” or “Americans are stupid.” First of all, I don’t think anyone is stupid or incapable of thinking. Secondly, I think most people understand their own lives and how they feel…
This pandemic ain’t going nowhere, so it looks like a long winter of watching TV. Here’s a few things I’ve enjoyed over the last six months. American Barbecue Showdown (Netflix, 8 episodes) This is a standard reality TV show- there are challenges and eliminations and the rest of the fixings. But I enjoyed this show…
My girlfriend makes fun of me because I always stop at crosswalks, press the button and wait. I tell her I do that because I see people run red lights in Hartford almost every day. This morning was no exception. I took a walk to the ATM, and on the way back I watched a…
I was starting to feel slightly optimistic. Yes, it’s true that over 80,000 people had already died, but mourning the dead and being outraged at their deaths doesn’t preclude optimism. And as I watched Dr. Fauci’s testimony on Wednesday before Congress, I allowed myself to feel better. Aside from the usual political grandstanding, there were…
One of the most challenging aspects of the pandemic is trying to predict the future we’re going to face. So many aspects of our lives are going to be affected that it’s impossible to guess how things will turn out. But some things have already begun to change, in both big and small ways. I’m…
Obviously, the immediate concern regarding the coronavirus is preventing deaths right now. As I wrote in another piece though, it concerns me that the general approach to the coronavirus has been essentially week-to-week. Warnings about the virus came as early as last November, so there are few excuses for why we were so unprepared. Better…
I’ve been really down since all of this started, like many people. This pandemic is bad. But part of my anxiety comes from not knowing how bad the pandemic is- that makes it difficult to plan for the future, and allows my imagination to go to some dark places regarding all of this. That anxiety…
The inept federal response to the coronavirus pandemic, and the needless deaths of thousands of people, have gotten me back into writing about politics. My first piece back was about Bernie Sanders. While I still think it needed to be said, I don’t want to be negative all the time. This is a time where…
After reading Joe Biden’s unimaginative, business-as-usual op-ed in the New York Times, I wondered, “How has the progressive left come to this?” In the end, it was Bernie Sanders as the progressive representative against Biden, and to be honest, I disliked both of these candidates equally. My dream candidate, Stacey Abrams, didn’t run, and my…
This is a scene of fiction that I wrote. I don’t know where it’s going beyond this, but I wouldn’t consider it complete either. Any feedback would be great! “Okay, Ms. Anne. No, it’s fine. I was going next door anyway. Please, you don’t have to pay me back, it’s just a dollar. Okay….
