Author: Elise Patkotak

As we draw closer and (thankfully) closer to the end of the Bronson administration’s term in office, I look back at the debris strewn path he is leaving behind, filled with destroyed reputations, demoralized employees and a homeless population he apparently plans to keep homeless, and wonder what he thought he was doing.

He was new to government. Perhaps starting at the top was not a good idea. Maybe he should have started closer to the bottom, so he’d have some appreciation of what working for municipal government is really all about.

For instance, most people will tell you that Continue reading →

Growing up, I was taught about the three branches of our government. (Legislative, judicial and executive for those of you who slept through civics class.) Of all three, the one that stood out as most untouchable, pure and high minded was the Supreme Court. We were taught that because an appointment to the Court was for a lifetime, it removed all chances to sway its decisions. This is because they supposedly had nothing to be swayed by. They had a job for life no matter what they decided on any given case. The idea that exclusive vacations, private jets and Continue reading →

Back in what many refer to as my misspent youth, I worked as a nurse in a Brooklyn hospital. The hospital was not in the best part of town and the ER saw a lot of homeless people, drug addicts, alcoholics… you get the idea, right? So, to achieve a momentary relief from the problem, the hospital had a program the nurses called Greyhound therapy. It was exactly what it sounds like. The powers that be bought patients a one-way ticket on a bus out of town. Pushing the problem off on some other locale was considered an ok thing Continue reading →

I grew up as a fat girl. Or maybe I wasn’t. All I know for sure is that my mother made me think I was. We shopped for me at Chubbettes and I still get email solicitations from something called Chubbies.

I’m guessing she didn’t mean to, but my mother left me with a lifelong eating disorder and an unshakable conviction that I was unattractive to men in my fat condition. By the time I was 21, I was so uncomfortable in my own skin that I snuck food into my bedroom even when I was living alone. And once Continue reading →

In my parents’ generation, nothing seemed more important than their children having a better chance than they had. So, they worked their butts off to make sure they could offer us the chance at an education that would lead to a better life. My mom and dad spent their entire lives in an apartment over their grocery store. They did this so that their children would be able to live in nice houses with lawns in the suburbs after they finished college and got the great jobs their education promised.

I think most, if not all, parents today still would Continue reading →

I recently found myself in the unfamiliar position of defending Governor Dunleavy. It was a short but wild ride. The issue at hand was Jeremy Cubas.

My friend was bemoaning the fact that because of resignations in Bronson’s and Dunleavy’s administrations, there is hardly a political hack left in municipal government. Well, she wasn’t so much bemoaning the fact as she was horrified by the reasons for the resignations.

I personally feel that the governor needs to take a good look at the people who are supposed to vet his appointees. Find the one who let Cubas slip by and Continue reading →

https://www.buzzsprout.com/2132961 Continue reading →

The latest podcast.

https://feeds.buzzsprout.com/2132961.rss Continue reading →

Tourniquets. The latest idea to come out of the Texas Legislature is to teach children in 4^th grade how to put a tourniquet on a bleeding classmate during an active shooting incident.

I wonder how many adults would have the presence of mind to do that. And how much guilt will that 4^th grader feel the rest of his or her life if that classmate dies because they couldn’t tie the tourniquet off with their shaking fingers.

So, we are teaching kids how to duck for cover, lock doors, hide in closets and either stop a classmate from Continue reading →

I like to think my dogs listen to me because they view me as the alpha dog. That’s what I like to think. Given that they only listen to me when I yell the word “TREAT!”, I may not be thinking right. Continue reading →