Tess Gerritsen’s The Keepsake is the sixth book in the Rizzoli & Isles series. I have read each of the first six books in the series. While I have enjoyed all of them, The Keepsake is my new favorite.
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My Life
Reviewing Good Kids, Bad City
Kyle Swenson’s Good Kids, Bad City is one of those books I read knowing it will infuriate me. I read it because I can’t think about this kind of injustice and racism enough. As a lawyer, I want so badly to respect the law. As someone who has learned enough to realize people enforcing, prosecuting, and judging the law as well as the law itself are too often not worth respecting, I can’t stop being disappointed. Far too often the “justice system” is really the injustice system. Way more often than many white people want to admit the reason the “justice system” becomes the injustice system is the color of the defendant’s skin.
Reviewing Goliath
Wishing to understand more about the history between the Israelis and Palestinians, I researched books to read. None of the lists I found listed Max Blumenthal’s Goliath. None of the lists also contained books that I believed tried to show the Palestinian side of the story. Frustrated, I asked a friend who knows more about this history than me to suggest some books. One of his suggestions was Goliath.
Reading Goliath I found myself looking up Israeli laws and news stories about different events. The picture painted of Israel by Max Blumenthal was not at all what we are taught to expect. Checking some of the things he covers, convinced me of the soundness of his work and the misunderstanding of reality many Americans have regarding Israel. In order to demonstrate what I’m saying, I will cover some of the laws I learned about from Goliath.
It has Been a Year
A year ago today was my first day working for the city of Portland, Oregon. It’s hard to believe it has been a year. In some ways, it has flown by. In other ways, it has seemed slow. Sitting here a year later, I can honestly say it has been a wonderful year!
Personal Updates for March 17, 2019
It looks like spring is finally trying to spring. I won’t say it has sprung, because cool rainy weather may return this week. At least we have had a few nice days lately.
Beto is an Empty Suit
Our long national nightmare is over. Thankfully, we now know, as if there was any doubt, Beto is running! What we don’t know, other than his ego, is why Beto is running. America doesn’t need an empty suit with little experience, a moderate record, and an unwillingness to take many stands. In honoring Beto’s announcement, I’m going to make a second donation to Bernie Sander’s campaign. A commitment to progressive ideals and a willingness to fight for universal health care, at least a 15-dollar minimum wage, and more is what matters.
Reviewing Republican Gomorrah
Max Blumenthal’s Republican Gomorrah highlights the hypocrisy, connects the sleazy dots, and demonstrates the true character and history of the Christian right and its hold over the GOP better than any book I have ever read.
The Omar Double Standard
We have to begin by making one thing that should be obvious but apparently isn’t clear: criticizing Israel doesn’t make someone antisemitic. Israel is a government. It does not represent all Jewish people. Questioning governmental policy shouldn’t be seen as attacking an entire religion.
The Convenient Liar is Worse Than the Pathological Liar
Many people, certainly including me, focus on the staggering amount of lies Donald Trump tells daily. We all want to believe he is a true outlier. People, including me, regularly discuss how America has never had a liar like Trump in government.
It’s true America has never had someone in government who lies as often as Trump Lies, but most of his lies are insignificant. On the other hand, there are volumes of evidence to indicate politicians with substantially more respect than Trump, I know that’s a low bar, have lied about extremely substantial things.
Reviewing Change of Heart
Jodi Picoult’s Change of Heart was a good read, but I didn’t like it as much as I liked the other Pocoult books I have read. The focus on religion, which may be interesting and sometimes educational for others, was too much for me.