During Women’s History Month, the tendency is to celebrate famous women in the arts and politics, often ignoring those less famous women who have made an indelible impression on our lives. This year I’m celebrating Women’s [...]
Pat Taub
“The great challenge . . . is to keep awake the part of you that knows . . . what it means to be alive.” The Marginalian, February, 22, 2026 Trump’s devastating takeover of the federal government has awakened many here and abroad to the perils the U S faces. Authoritarianism merges with fascism at home. Injustice and inequality grow. [...]
Pat Taub
GUEST POST by TOM SANTULLI Lord of the Flies, William Golding’s 1954 novel, was required reading for many of us growing into adolescence. It’s the story of a group of young boys, educated and known to one another, on a plane that crashes, landing them stranded on a desert island. They make desperate attempts to maintain civilization and [...]
Pat Taub
GUEST POST by TOM SANTULLI “We make meaning most readily in times of confusion and despair when life as we know it has ceased to make sense.” ~ Oliver Sacks Watching the chaos and suffering unleashed in this country and abroad by Trump – maniacal narcissistic amoral bullying – and his toadies, despair is my first reaction… fear, [...]
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
GUEST POST by TONI KIEF I’m a writer. During the pandemic, I learned what writer’s block truly meant. So out of frustration, I took an online class, and David Sedaris said I should walk. I found that silly, but then I took another class where Dan Brown told us to walk. So, I started walking. I live in a growing small town, where [...]
Pat Taub
Practically everyone I know is feeling overwhelmed by Herr Donald’s rapid-fire attacks on all we hold dear, which includes police state tactics in arresting migrants, gutting federal funds for housing, daycare, medical benefits, and public schools, while supplying bombs nonstop to perpetuate the live-streamed genocide in Gaza. In general [...]
Pat Taub
My heart is heavy as I take in the reality that Gaza is uttering its last breath. Israel is forcing starving Gazans further and further south luring them with food drop-offs, which have become death traps. To date 400 Gazans have been murdered rushing for a bag of flour. The handwriting is on the wall. The ethnic cleansing of Gaza is imminent. [...]
Pat Taub
I belong to a women’s group that formed in response to the genocide in Gaza. We came together for mutual support after feeling alienated from friends and family, who didn’t share our commitment for ending the genocide. At our gatherings, we exchange resources and share our stories while munching on Peace Pizza. At our last meeting one [...]
Pat Taub
GUEST POST by ELIZABETH LEONARD Did you know that at present approximately 140 million (!!) Americans live in poverty or one $400 crisis away from slipping into the financial abyss? In Waterville, Maine, where I have lived and worked for thirty years, I have been a local organizer with the Poor People’s Campaign: A National Call for Moral [...]
Pat Taub
GUEST POST by JANET WEIL “Who should decide how best to use the resources of the earth? What are the most effective ways to build a more sustainable future?” – Adam Rome, “The Genius of Earth Day” Three years ago, early in the global COVID pandemic, on the 50th anniversary of Earth Day, I wrote a guest blog post, a remembrance of [...]
Pat Taub