The Real Low Down on Friday the 13th Here’s a little known fact, which I learned during my studies of Women’s Spirituality: the number 13 was originally a lucky number. Thirteen was considered the most essentially female number — the average number of menstrual cycles in a year is 13. Thirteen is also the approximate number of [...]
Pat Taub
Horrible News Week This week has been one where I’ve been royally challenged by all the depressing news: the Supremes’ Ruling to allow gerrymandering to proceed is a major blow to free elections; the horrific stories of migrant kids in concentration camps being denied medical care, soap, toothbrushes, outdoor exercise, etc.; Pelosi’s [...]
Pat Taub
Mother’s Day Actions Sunday is Mother’s Day and peace and justice groups are marking it with actions to support mothers in jail and migrant mothers whose children were taken from them when they crossed the border into the US. For the third year in a row Black justice groups have organized “Black Mama’s Bail Out Day,” raising bail [...]
Pat Taub
Social Action on Vacation As part of my Palm Springs vacation I accompanied an old Codepink buddy, Janet Weil, to the office of State Representative Raul Ruiz to do a letter drop off encouraging the Congressman to vote for HR 1, a bill supporting Medicare for all. Janet is a resident of Palm Springs and was lobbying as a member of Progressive [...]
Pat Taub
Given all the ageism and sexism smacking older women in the face aging can be a dismal state for many women. Mary Pipher to the rescue! In her new book, Women Rowing North, Pipher makes the case for a happy old age. She declares, “Happiness depends on how we deal with what we are given.” Piper interviews older women from all walks of [...]
Pat Taub
California Vacation Lucky me, I’m writing from sunny Palm Springs, CA where I’m vacationing, and escaping the snow and ice. I’m particularly grateful to be in a warm clime as Maine anticipates a heavy snowfall this weekend. This is my first time in the desert. I love the full sun but miss the ocean—a first world complaint to [...]
Pat Taub
Happy Solstice! Today marks the first day of the Winter Solstice. Ironically, it’s rain and not snow, which is gracing my city of Portland, Maine. The temps are in the low ‘50’s, feeling more Spring-like than Christmassy—another reminder of global warming. My little tree, which resembles a bush more than a Christmas tree greets [...]
Pat Taub
The Craziness Mounts Egads, what a scary week: pipe bombs delivered to Trump’s major targets while he responds by blaming “fake news” rather than recognizing his hate speech is the real impetus for the growing hate in our country—but what else is new? It will be interesting to see if the bomb scares create a midterm backlash [...]
Pat Taub
Will She or Won’t She? Tension over Brett Kavanaugh’s confirmation mounts. The Senate just voted to move the Kavanaugh hearing out of committee, readying it for a floor vote on Saturday. Senator Collins’ office has reported that she will make her decision on Kavanaugh by 3:00 this afternoon. I’m not holding my breath, expecting [...]
Pat Taub
Sickening Hearings Watching the Republicans try to railroad Kavanaugh through the Senate hearings on his qualifications to be a Supreme, where almost unbearable. What’s really outrageous is the way Maine’s Senator Collins is defending him against recent evidence he purged himself more than once. Mainers, keep up the pressure and keep [...]
Pat Taub