An Open Letter to my Senator about Uvalde, Tx.

Good morning to the staffer that's reading this, and to Senator Johnson: The first thing I want to say is that every time I've ever contacted your office for help with an issue (not often, but I have), you have been incredible. For every stand the Senator takes that I don't agree with, and there … Continue reading An Open Letter to my Senator about Uvalde, Tx.

Civilization on the endangered list: a brief meditation

What a ride! Collective whiplash is everywhere and trying to slow it down only does so much. We careen along, shedding whatever we can to lighten our emotional loads as we’re continously hit more and harder. It’s exhausting.   The police shoot a man in the back seven times in front of his children, which becomes … Continue reading Civilization on the endangered list: a brief meditation

Art for an anxious moment: remembering a childhood ‘friend’

Last night, I had two different sets of anxiety dreams. These days, you don’t even have to be asleep to have anxiety dreams. Between COVID-19, a critical mass of people finally starting to think about what it really means to come to terms with the US’s legacy of institutionalized racism, despite very real pushback from … Continue reading Art for an anxious moment: remembering a childhood ‘friend’

Anger tinged with hope: a WI election story from the bottom of the hill

For Wisconsin voters, shit didn’t just get real this past week. It rolled downhill, thanks to the cabal of legislators and judges who insisted the April 7 election run in business-as-usual fashion - in the midst of a pandemic. That meant registered voters who hadn’t receieved absentee ballots in time to return them postmarked by … Continue reading Anger tinged with hope: a WI election story from the bottom of the hill

Random Jewish American seeks Pen Pal: An open letter to Rep. Ilhan Omar

Dear Rep. Omar: I’ve been writing you a letter in my head since the second round of “She’s a raging anti-Semite!” hysteria, but this is the first moment I’ve had time to actually begin setting anything down on virtual paper.  Apologies in advance for the interruptions – our 11 am tickets to “Disney on Ice” … Continue reading Random Jewish American seeks Pen Pal: An open letter to Rep. Ilhan Omar

Covington students latest link in long, depressing chain: a post with images & an update

Update (January 24): I wrote this post on January 20th shortly after the first two videos were released. Rereading the post after all the other information occurred, I was pleasantly surprised to see how much I'd gotten right. I'm leaving the post as is and adding a couple of thoughts: The teen I named "Smirkboy" … Continue reading Covington students latest link in long, depressing chain: a post with images & an update

#RIR2018 exits stage left, chocolate cupcake flowers wave in the wind as #WJDisaggregation2019 makes its entrance

#RacistinRecovery 2018 is almost in the rear-view mirror. On that front, at least, I think I made some progress.  Professionally, I attended a pre-conference workshop on dismantling institutional racism in libraries, and was able to do that beautiful fusion of personal and professional when I took a six-week class called “Unlearning Racism” at our local … Continue reading #RIR2018 exits stage left, chocolate cupcake flowers wave in the wind as #WJDisaggregation2019 makes its entrance