GUEST POST by MICHAEL STEINMAN I am 73. My white hair, tentative gait, and blue cane say so to others even when I don’t. No one snarls, “Hey, Gramps! Move it!” but even well-meant acts can be ungentle reminders. On New Year’s Eve morning I visited my local supermarket, paid for my groceries, and began to lift a heavy [...]
Pat Taub
For two hours on January 1st, watching the inauguration of New York’s new governor, Zoran Mamdani, I felt hopeful for the first in a long time. I was inspired by the populist speech of the new Public Advocate, Jumaane Williams. Moved by Mandy Patinkin singing “Over the Rainbow,” accompanied by fifth graders from Staten Island’s PS [...]
Pat Taub
Ageism is discrimination against elders because of their age, targeting women more than men. Ageism is a ubiquitous force in a woman’s life, first surfacing in childhood when little girls listen to fairy tales about a mean old witch, personified in Snow White and Hansel and Gretel, setting the stage for a lifetime of disparaging older [...]
Pat Taub
2025 was a dark year. Disturbing news became routine: ICE terrifying migrant communities; the gutting of critical federal departments, like Education and the Climate Research Center; mean-spirited cuts to food stamps, heating allowances, and Head Start; rolled back protections for gay, lesbian and trans individuals. Casualties from Israel’s [...]
Pat Taub
This past weekend I drove to the mall for holiday gifts. Entering TJ Maxx, I was flabbergasted by the towers of holiday merchandise, which spilled over into the narrow aisles, making for tricky navigation. Overwhelmed by this crass commercialism, I made a few purchases and raced to my car. Back at home, over a cup of tea, I revisited past [...]
Pat Taub
In my wildest dreams I never imagined my elder years would be spent in a Fascist state where our basic rights are disappearing at lightening speed. Feeling depressed and at a loss for overcoming my despair, I remembered, when feeling out of sorts as a girl, my father would affectionately suggest, “Think positively.” Since I’d [...]
Pat Taub
GUEST POST By LISA SAVAGE In the type of bloated, belligerent rhetoric that is his brand, 47 called a group of six Democratic Party congressmen and women out for “SEDITIOUS BEHAVIOR, punishable by DEATH!” Their offense: making a video aimed at active-duty military personnel urging them to disobey unlawful orders. Presumably this is in [...]
Pat Taub
I’m not just referring to a kitchen sink loaded with dirty pots and pans and stacks of dinner plates smeared with gravy. The big messy part is family relationships. It’s that time of year when the internet is overrun with articles on how to avoid dinner table conflicts or sparks with combative relatives. What if I suggested that you [...]
Pat Taub
It’s 2050 and my great granddaughter opens my journal to November 16, 2025: Citizens of Gaza are trapped in water-soaked makeshift tents. Shivering children wade in mud up to their knees; their mothers wail, “This is worse than death.” There are few men left. I’m consumed with worry that these children will freeze to death as Israel [...]
Pat Taub
I’m grateful to the early 19th century feminists who took the bold step to sew pockets in their clothing. While pockets were standard in men’s fashion, women had to fight for the right to have pockets in their attire. Pockets were seen as the exclusive providence of men where the objection to pockets in women’s clothing was viewed as [...]
Pat Taub