The government? That's us!
A few days ago, I wrote this reply to a recent column by C. Krauthammer in the Washington Post:I am a handicapped person. I was born handicapped as a result of an accident during my birth. I grew up in...
View ArticleTradition, guns, and country folks
My husband grew up deep in the cowboy country of eastern Colorado, on a wheat-and-cattle farm/ranch on the high plains near the Kansas border, 15 miles from the nearest small town. His parents were...
View ArticleNational Health Service: Why Not?
The folks in Britain are obviously proud of their National Health Service. It was a charming part of the tour through history in the opening ceremonies of the Olympic games. I suspect that they wonder...
View ArticleConservatives: Then & Now
Ted Cruz won a victory for the Tea Party in Texas recently, defeating the experienced Republican “establishment” candidate, David Dewhurst. A very conservative candidate was beaten by an even more...
View ArticleAn Old-Fashioned Idea
My maternal grandmother passed away many years ago, but I felt her presence while Ann Romney was speaking to the Republican National Convention last week. Although my grandmother was born in the late...
View ArticleGOP time travel: not so good old days
I’ve seen a number of wonderful commentaries on the conundrum of the current GOP stance on civil liberties: we want the government out of our lives, except where women’s reproductive issues are...
View ArticleDepressing News on Women’s Health
Yesterday’s excellent article by Sabrina Tavernise in the New York Times , titled “Life Spans Shrink for Least-Educated Whites in the U.S.” held some really depressing news. Four recent studies have...
View ArticleNote to Ann Romney: Yes, this is hard. It’s supposed to be hard.
Dear Mrs. Romney,Since my private secretary is off today (it being Sunday and all), I am composing this letter on my trusty word processor, rather than dictating it to be transcribed onto my usual ecru...
View ArticlePresidential Debate: Why I'm Disgusted
All right. I'll say it. Mitt Romney looked and sounded a lot smoother than our President in the debate last night. I give him points for being a better actor. Lest we forget, that's the quality that...
View ArticleSometimes you deserve to lose: an open letter
Dear Political Candidates--Now that the dust from the recent election is settling, and the members of the warring political parties--of all stripes, from Libertarian to Green, as well as Republican and...
View ArticleKosAbility: A Meeting with Saint Nicholas
Once upon a time long ago, in the America that is seen with such nostalgia by the far right in this country, I was a little girl growing up in Southern California. In those days I was struggling with a...
View ArticleKosAbility: When I met Saint Nicholas
This is the weekend before Christmas, and in honor of the season I am presenting a slightly revised version of a recent KosAbility posting. Everyone in our society who is not quite “normal” will...
View ArticleImmigrants & Working Women
In his recent Opinion column in the New York Times, Frank Bruni wrote about his Italian grandfather, who sneaked into this country (via Canada), worked hard, married an American citizen, eventually got...
View ArticlePaula Deen and Alec Baldwin
A proudly native Texan co-worker asked me yesterday, “Why can’t people forgive Paula Deen? She said she was sorry for her racist remarks. She’s a good friend of Oprah Winfrey. She never meant to hurt...
View ArticleWhat was wrong with Lawrence O'Donnell?
A bully is never a pretty sight, but that’s what Lawrence O’Donnell was last night during his interview with Anthony Weiner. Before this segment of the show, Mr. O’Donnell had asked his New York...
View ArticleEbola & Health care in Texas
In the past few days, we have seen the terrible side of health care in the state of Texas. The tragedy of Thomas Eric Duncan, the Ebola victim who received perfunctory and inadequate attention when he...
View ArticleThose Texas voting machines
I've just returned from early voting near my home in central Austin. While I was voting, a very strange thing happened.Just to be clear, I've never voted "straight ticket" anything. In the long-ago...
View ArticleI love Bernie, but I'm voting Hillary
This essay is dedicated to all those Bernie Sanders supporters who are absolutely sure that Hillary Clinton is a crook who has stolen the election from him. (I have many of them among my family and...
View ArticleAlabama and poverty
As I write this, we are waiting for the people of Alabama to choose the man who will fill the position that Jeff Sessions vacated when he joined President Trump’s cabinet. I recognize that many people...
View ArticleTexas primary election weirdness
There's a basic quirk to primary voting in the Lone Star State which people from elsewhere may not fully understand. I’m just going to give a brief rundown here, for the benefit of anyone who may be...
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