action history ideas pragmatic historian

Defenders of Democracy

Do not capitulate to the authoritarian in advance. I have heard this advice from pro-democracy experts numerous times over the past few months. It’s critical advice when faced with an incoming President who promises to be a vindictive dictator from Day One. In the United States, all of us hold the freedom of speech dear, especially the freedom to criticize our government officials, and this is one area, among many, where we should not capitulate.…

Continue reading

action challenge ideas law

We Have Been Pushed Far Enough – Turning Anger to Action

I have been heavy of heart and mind this week with the mass shooting at the Uvalde, Texas, elementary school, which followed a mass shooting at a supermarket in Buffalo, New York, which followed a mass shooting at a church in Laguna Woods, California, which followed a mass shooting …, which followed a mass shooting …, which followed a mass shooting …. There have been so damn many mass shootings in this country that one…

Continue reading

action challenge ideas observations

Whatever Happened to Anger Management?

Recently, my husband and I were watching an old episode of The New Detectives, a crime show that investigated actual cases, on Netflix. During a particular episode in which a guy was found to have killed an ex-girlfriend, it was revealed that he had been referred for anger management classes. Upon hearing that term, I realized that it seems to have faded away from public consciousness. It was a term that was used a lot…

Continue reading

action design tips

403 Forbidden & Alt Text

I have a habit of breaking WordPress websites and putting them back together again. I’ve done so at work a few times and with this particular site. When I say “break,” it’s not that I’m trying to make them completely inoperable. What I’m attempting to do is make them more efficiently operable, usually by combining two separate sites. A little over a year ago, when the pandemic first hit, I didn’t have the energy to…

Continue reading

action family ideas tips

Errand Hanging

This past week, my Eldest Son and his fiancĂ© came to visit for a day. There were a few errands I had to run the morning of the day they were heading back home and I wanted to spend as much time as possible with them, so I invited them along. It was fun! I’ve done this before with relatives, sharing errand-running time with them. I didn’t know there was a term for this until…

Continue reading