Thanks for nothing — exit polls show that 55% of white women voted for Trump in 2020, even more than the 52% who did so in 2016
Exit polls show that 55% of white women voted for Trump in 2020, even more than the 52% who did so in 2016.
To those white women, I say: your internalized misogyny is poison. Your prioritization of white supremacy and fear of those who are different from you over the literal safety and health of our country is poison. You have been drinking and sowing poison from a man who hates women, despises people of color, and mocks people of different abilities. When Trump said he was getting your husbands back to work, did you hear him? Do you know that women are more than half of college graduates and more than half of the workforce? When the credible sexual assault allegations piled…
Or, the things I don’t miss and what I’ve gained.
I have embraced my existence within my house, where I have been sequestered for more than a year. This includes keeping our family quarantined during COVID-times, and my maternity leave after the birth of my second child. I was already bunkered down in caregiving mode before the pandemic began its meteoric tour through the world. Here’s the thing- I don’t want to socialize anymore.
COVID has brought out my inner creativity, and my inner curmudgeon.
I have a giant pile of delicious books on my nightstand waiting for my hungry eyes. I have a note pad full of story ideas and grab at precious time to work on them whenever I…
TRAVEL. CALIFORNIA
From the beaches to the majestic redwoods
Driving the Pacific Coast Highway in California is an essential American road trip worth doing at least once in your life. I’ve done it twice — once with a friend in a muscle car and a broken heart and once in a rented sedan with my husband, mom, and new baby boy and it was amazing both times.
My grandmother did it for her honeymoon in her third marriage. It’s iconic and eternal, until California burns or falls into the sea.
The Pacific Coast Highway runs from the palm trees and missions of San Juan Capistrano in Southern California all…
Murdered politicians and a seizure of power
There’s an alternative world in which the January 6 coup attempt is a successful bloody massacre. Where sitting representatives are lined up and assassinated, live on social media. Where female Democratic leaders are degraded and assaulted to the cheers of the crowd and the sounds of bullets firing in marble halls. Where Senator Mitt Romney is hanged for speaking his conscience and Vice President Mike Pence is kicked into a coma by jack-booted Proud Boys in Auschwitz fan gear. Where Confederate flags and white power insignia are hung over oil paintings of our founders and a working guillotine is installed…
Turns out cutting plastic rings to save sea turtles isn’t going to cut it.
As kids in the ‘80s and ‘90s, environmentalism meant turning off the water when you brushed your teeth and cutting rings on soda packs, so sea turtles didn’t choke. It meant watching Captain Planet on Saturday mornings: earth, air, fire, water, and inexplicably, heart, all joined together fighting the powers that would pollute. When we got a little older, it meant recycling, sorting different kinds of glass and packaging so that they could be remade into playground mats and backpacks.
Travel. Scotland. History.
From a luxury wedding venue to a nightmare prison.
Castles dot the Scottish landscape like iconic monuments to living history. Visit Scotland estimates that there were once more than 3000, or one for every 100 square miles of the country.
These beautiful landmarks are currently off-limits to tourists due to COVID-19 restrictions, but dreaming of castles is still allowed and should be encouraged.
Several years ago, my husband and I went to Scotland to attend a wedding. Neither of us had been before, and so the discovery was the name of the game. …
Norway Adventure
Hunting the Aurora Borealis in Northern Norway
I had a fantasy of being cozy and warm, wrapped in a blanket with my hands around a steaming mug, looking out over the icy fjord and enjoying a spectacular light show Nature put on just for me. My husband and I joked about the difficulty we would face trying to sleep through the electric green fury that would surely light up the sky every night of our stay in Tromsø, Norway. Turns out, we were wrong about pretty much every aspect of how one experiences the Northern Lights.
The optimal time of year to see the lights in Norway…
Or, what not to do when visiting the “Conch Republic.”
Key West, Florida has a glow about it. A drunk-around-the-edges, tropical flora rich, 10,000 cruise ship visitors a day kind of glow. It’s both elegant — with lovingly-painted million-dollar gingerbread houses — and delightfully trashy, with bars and music spilling out raucously into the streets.
From drag shows to cover bands of every stripe, Key West is vibrant and full of things to see and do. Since getting locked in a cemetery at night isn’t likely to be at the top of your list, read on to discover how NOT to do that.
Confident roosters and artfully-dressed locals wander around…
The lion’s share of the blame is squarely on Trump, Fox News, and everyone pushing the false stolen election narrative.
After the armed insurrection of January 6, there will be plenty of pearl-clutching disavowals about the angry white mob that pillaged the Capitol building was somehow “misguided” or “seeking expression for their real grievances.” They will be painted, by Democrats and Republicans alike, as extremists, who engaged in violence outside the bounds of legal obligation and social allowance. The pro-Trump rioters who stormed the building, sent our elected representatives scrambling for cover, and looted offices and artifacts alike, are indeed extremists. …
Business and Travel
From Dubai to San Jose, the remarkable to the hum-drum.
This week I’ve been thinking about business travel and the solitary, important role that breakfast plays in those days on the road.
Unlike lunch or dinner, which tend to be work-related activities where you are dining with coworkers, clients, or partners, as a business traveler you’re usually on your own for breakfast.
It’s an opportunity to reflect on the trip, explore some aspects of the local cuisine, and mentally prepare for the day ahead. That was my experience during the years I spent traveling extensively for an international non-profit organization.
I stepped back from that job in 2019 to temper…
Lara Henneman
Telling stories 🖋️ Politics 🖍️ Parenting 🖊️ Travel.
