Where the Saviors Are
"K-I-D!" Coach Murphy bellowed from the pool deck at swim meets when I would ask him how our team was doing. "Don't WASTE my time with that. Go swim your heart out and get me a BETTER score."
So I'd refasten my
Caitie Whelan
A Few Essential Words to Understand this Moment
If there's one thing politicians love it's getting elected.
And if there are two things politicians love they are getting elected and then talking about what they're doing in elected office with words that make zero sense to the people who elected them. Words
How to Go On Offense When the Powerful Want Us On Defense
"This will be our reply to violence," wrote New York Philharmonic conductor Leonard Bernstein after President Kennedy was assassinated, "to make music more intensely, more beautifully, more devotedly than ever before."
The night before, Mr. Bernstein had led the Philharmonic in Mahler’s Second Symphony, known
Two Words Good Politicians Don't Hear Enough Right Now
My inbox is a big mountain of demands, the Congressional staffer told me. Make a statement about this now, introduce this bill, join that caucus, just plain stop the madness. And the kicker, she continued, is when we do what someone asks of us, nine times out of 10, we
A Strategic Way to Make Your Voice Heard with Congress (From Someone Who Used to Work There)
First, let's address the elephant sitting in many rooms right now: Congress still matters.
Yes, they pass an unadmirable number of bills (1-2%), making it hard to figure out what the combined 535 members (100 Senators, 435 House members) of this august body do most of the time.
Ways to Win the Day Right Now
When I drove by the assisted living facility on a cold, lightless February day, a group of residents, some in wheelchairs, some with walkers, were posted on the corner waving homemade signs: "HONK FOR PEACE!"
The word win comes in part from the Old English winnan meaning to
How to Stop Giving the Powerful More Power + Build Up Our Own Instead
Years ago, I knew a woman who worked at a muscle magazine. She told me that before photoshoots, some bodybuilders would inject a kind of filler into their muscles to temporarily make them look bigger.
It's very dangerous, and very effective. It creates the appearance of strength, though
How to Meet the Chaotic Moment with Greatheartedness
Most winter Mondays, I pull into the gym parking lot a little before 5pm, grab my sneaks, and hoof it through the cold towards the glowing outdoor light by the entrance. This past Monday, though, there was no glowing outdoor light. Which was the first time I'd noticed
A Gentle Guide For Hard Times
This is a noisy season, isn't it? Rapidly accumulating headlines on top of posts on top of podcasts on top of people at the gym saying, "Can you believe that they're going to..."
We couldn't be blamed in this young year for
The Fascinating Marriage of Politics + Policy
Hello Dear Reader!
I'm off for the long weekend, but I rummaged around in the archives and plucked out this favorite for you!
Wishing you all good + gentle things in the days ahead,
Caitie
The Fascinating, Often Dysfunctional Marriage of Politics & Policy
Wheat grown in Kansas, shipped