While I’m an elder, I hadn’t given a lot of thought to dying, that is until my brother, who’s 20 months younger, announced in...
Thinking About Death
While I’m an elder, I hadn’t given a lot of thought to dying, that is until my brother, who’s 20 months younger, announced in a recent late-night phone call that he had been diagnosed with Alzheimer’s. (To preserve my brother’s [...]
Pat Taub
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Family, COLD Weather, Cuba Travel, Gratitude & More
Upcoming Family Visit As I write I’m awaiting the visit of my oldest son, David, wife, Mel and kids, Jane (13) and Max (12) en route to Portland from Chicago to spend the New Year’s weekend with me. The bitter cold will limit our outdoor activities. I dug up a jigsaw puzzle and a checker game. Can I persuade the iPhone-addicted grandkids [...]
Pat Taub
Honoring WOW Guest Bloggers of 2017
As horrific as 2017 was, it offered a silver lining: successful women-led movements from the year’s opening DC Women’s March to the year’s end #metoo campaign bolster hope for 2018. A new emboldened sisterhood is emerging. Older women are part of this sisterhood, raising their voices to rail against ageism and sexism and to claim their [...]
Pat Taub
Boos for Collins, Holiday Memories & Record Poverty in the US
Boos for Senator Collins I was very proud of Mainers for the way they birddogged Senator Collins, urging her to change her vote on the cruel tax bill. In the end she voted for it, insisting that her amendment to restore health benefits would be added in 1918. This weak promise did not go down well with Mainers. Move.On is issuing yard signs [...]
Pat Taub
Women of Achievement in 2017
2017 was not a good year for racial justice, abortion rights, economic equality, the environment and peace, causing many to feel discouraged about the future. But if we adjust our lens, positive indicators for life getting better can be found among this year’s strong women-led efforts. Progressive women’s actions were on the ascendent [...]
Pat Taub
Political Madness, My Granddaughter, #metoo, Xmas & Ai Weiwei
Political Ups and Downs I’m proud of Mainers for not letting up on Collins, visiting her offices across the state and jamming her phone lines to insist that she vote against the Draconian tax bill. I’m proud of Alabama’s African American women, of whom 98% voted for Jones to establish his win against the pedophile Moore. But the repeal [...]
Pat Taub
I Hate Asking for Help!
Guest Post by Walker Thornton I hate asking for help. There is no one specific reason—a mix of not wanting to seem weak or vulnerable, and fearing I’ll be turned down. I was raised in the South, by a very traditional mother who wanted a pretty, sweet daughter. I was taught boys didn’t like girls who were assertive or too talkative. I [...]
Pat Taub
Mean-Spirited Politics, Broadchurch, A Portland Artist & Christmas
Mean-Spirited Politics Take Center Stage What a week for repressive politics! The horrid tax bill passes and then Trump trumps himself by proclaiming that US embassy in Israel will be moved to Jerusalem! Al Franken resigns while child molester Moore gains traction in Alabama! The silver lining in all this seems to be a renewed progressive [...]
Pat Taub
Be A Force for Compassion!
Imagine a runaway train charging from Washington, DC to California emitting hate from its smoke stacks, collecting more venom at each station. This is what life in in the United States has become under Trump. How do we stop the Trump Hate Express? We can start by practicing compassion, a proven antidote to hate. As Martin Luther King famously [...]
Pat Taub
The Horrible Tax Bill, Family Thanksgiving & A Crime Thriller
The Horrible, Horrible Tax Bill I’m on pins and needles anticipating today’s vote on the Draconian tax bill. I’ve phoned Senator Collins office til I’m blue in the face, urging her to vote against it. At the moment it looks like the bill will pass. Besides a big give-away to the corporate Fat Cats the bill includes an unfair tax on [...]
Pat Taub