I’m often horrified at what this country has become, especially because it didn’t start with Trump. It might very well end with Trump but it began before the U.S.A. was a country, when we decided owning slaves was okay because… Read More ›
Election
THE CALM BEFORE THE STORM
An early autumn New England Friday. It’s still mild and the seasonal burst of colors is as slow as the Red Sox bats this year. It’s calm but you know it’s just a matter of time. We’re six weeks away… Read More ›
EARLY VOTING IN A SMALL TOWN
By “here,” I mean pretty anywhere in the valley. Basically, anyplace in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts which isn’t in the ring designated as “greater Boston” is just a mark on the map. Voting early requires two things. The first is… Read More ›
DEAR BLACK PEOPLE – FROM THE SHINBONE STAR
By Denise Shabazz Dear Black People, A year ago, I was compelled to write to white women who voted for Donald Trump even though their interests were not clearly aligned with the Grab-Them-by-the-Pussy-in-Chief. I was angry at them then, and now I’m… Read More ›
I HATE THE NATION WE HAVE BECOME
Fandango’s Dog Days of August #19: HATE I hate the country we have become. I hate what 45 has done to us. I hate this world that is not even a shadow of the America in which I grew up… Read More ›
DEMOCRACY GOES VIRTUALLY POLITICAL
I’m not so much a news junkie as I am an election junkie. I’m fascinated by elections. I have been since I watched my first election which was Kennedy-Nixon. It was 1960 and I had just turned 14. Little did… Read More ›
LETTER TO AN OVERSEAS FRIEND – LIFE IN THE CRAZY ZONE
Bonnie passed at the beginning of June. We were doing what we swore we would NOT do, which was keeping her alive when it was obvious that she was really gone. At least she was (mostly) physically healthy until the… Read More ›
DONE. FINISHED. KAPUT. FINITO.
I know I’m voting for Biden. I’ve supported every candidate in whom I believed including many that are no longer in contention. I’ve written my heart out. If the American people are too stupid to vote for someone who might… Read More ›
TRUMP MAKES ME MEAN – BY ELLIN CURLEY
I don’t consider myself a mean spirited or a vindictive person. I avoid conflicts with others and I don’t think about revenge when someone slights me. My friends and family consider me a nice, decent, even sweet person. I even… Read More ›
SO MANY FLOWERS ARE GONE – Marilyn Armstrong
When I started writing Serendipity eight years ago, I was enthusiastic and full of energy. Undisciplined. All over the place. Writing too much, leaping from subject to subject. Angry one day, mellow the next. Ranting about the wrongs of the… Read More ›
A SWITCH OF REALITIES – BY TOM CURLEY
Marilyn asked me to dig this one up from the archives. It took me a while to find it. It was written quite a while ago. If I didn’t tell you this you would swear it was brand new. Unless… Read More ›
WHAT ABOUT THE ELECTION? – Marilyn Armstrong
Georgia’s primary the other night was a warning to all of us of what may be coming. In the course of writing this blog, I’ve had direct communications with several real-life historians and all of them have said exactly the… Read More ›
DEAR REPUBLICAN SENATOR – By musingsofanoldfart
Dear Republican Senator As an independent and former Republican (and Democrat) voter, I try to read and watch several validated news sources. They are validated, as they try to get it right and print retractions when they don’t. I also… Read More ›
LET’S SWAP REALITIES – By TOM CURLEY
Hard to believe this was originally written more than two years ago, eh? It’s like we’re in another reality. Not a parallel reality. Just some weird place we never imagined we could ever be and most of us are still… Read More ›
ONCE UPON A TIME, WE HAD A GOVERNMENT – Marilyn Armstrong
For the past couple of weeks, Garry and I have been watching (again) all 7 seasons of “The West Wing.” Aside from being a brilliantly written show, it clarifies where we are as a nation. That we are fighting exactly… Read More ›
A PLAGUE? REALLY? – Marilyn Armstrong
The world is bizarre, though I think we have now passed any concept I’ve ever had of what bizarre means. I was afraid if Trump lost, the Secret Service would have to carry him bodily from the White House. I… Read More ›
LIES AND DREAMS – Marilyn Armstrong
I am now old enough and have been through enough elections with all the speechifying and promises that I know how it works. We finally settle on a candidate and quickly learn the promises made during an election process are… Read More ›
A GAY PRESIDENT – Rich Paschall
Is America ready? by Rich Paschall Let’s just say that you have a candidate for president that appears very likable, as political candidates go. He’s young and charming and smiles a lot. In this age of coarse political discourse, that… Read More ›
GOVERNMENT GAMES – Marilyn Armstrong
In my neighborhood, my right-hand neighbor hates cops. He doesn’t want to pay for them. The guy on the left resents school taxes. He never had kids. Never wanted them. He doesn’t want to pay for education none of his… Read More ›
WORLD SHARING WHILE WATCHING THE IOWA CAUCUSES – Marilyn Armstrong
Share Your World 2-4-2020 This year, politics is more critical than I ever remember it. To be fair, though, I’ve always been fascinated by our elections, debates, primaries. How they work, how people make their decisions. This year in Iowa,… Read More ›
OUR WORLD BALANCED ON THE HEAD OF A PIN – Marilyn Armstrong
Garry was a working reporter for more than 40 years, so you have to figure I have an interest in the news. I never watched all the news. I didn’t think every shooting or fatal car accident was news. Just… Read More ›
THE HOW AND WHY OF IMPEACHMENT – Reblog – THE SHINBONE STAR
As much as you may view this as politics, it is also education. Impeachment is a complicated business with a single motive: to protect the American Constitution. I can see all the sides of this impeachment. I understand why Nancy… Read More ›
STAYING MOTIVATED – BY ELLIN CURLEY
There’s an interesting strain in Jewish history. When Jews are persecuted, killed, locked in Ghettos or severely discriminated against, as in most of our history, we stick together. We stay strong and united. We cling to our traditions and our… Read More ›
I SAID I WOULDN’T BUT I DID IT ANYWAY – Marilyn Armstrong
I said I wouldn’t donate money to anyway, but I sent $6 to Elizabeth Warren. I couldn’t help myself. I have so little money to give to anyone, it’s always a hard choice. Despite having no money, I try to… Read More ›
