Socialcommentary

Linnea Ashley on January 7th, 2009

the thing is…it does more damage. not simply to property, although the blazing cars and crushed car and business windows show proof of that, but of lives. fourteen arrests so far and what does that mean for young brown people. livelihoods of folks who own property that has been destroyed.  resentment – on both ends […]

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Linnea Ashley on January 2nd, 2009

the rain wasn’t coming down hard but it was persistent. i draped my letter jacket, leather side down, on the soaking parking lot and squinted in the waning light looking for the locked lugnut so i could remove the flat tire. my sister had hit a curb and didn’t seem to readily recall how to […]

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Linnea Ashley on December 26th, 2008

I don’t think any politician is just like me. In fact, I pretty much assume that the lives they live are not just different but VERY different.   Point in fact, no one clamors to see me (let alone pays for that “honor”) when I visit a town. There are no signs with my name […]

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Linnea Ashley on November 11th, 2008

To the Editor: Re “It Still Felt Good the Morning After” (column, Nov. 9): Frank Rich and many others are hailing the election of Barack Obama as something transformational in the American electorate — the breakdown of centuries of prejudice and perhaps the creation of a new center-left coalition. Certainly an event that many of […]

Continue reading about the real truth is in the NYT

Linnea Ashley on October 27th, 2008

i hate myself even as i do it. "excuse me sister can i ask you a question." a quick nod no and i never even slow, never make eye contact. and my gut doesn't send me danger signals but i'm well trained. i don't talk to strangers. especially strange men. especially at night. and he […]

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Linnea Ashley on October 9th, 2008

yfla.wrap(“This multimedia content requires Flash version 9 and above.”, “Upgrade Now.”, “http:\/\/www.adobe.com\/shockwave\/download\/download.cgi?P1_Prod_Version=ShockwaveFlash”, “”);To view this multimedia content, please enable Javascript.i love the real version, but this change of lyrics made me laugh out loud.

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Linnea Ashley on October 2nd, 2008

A john in the midst of a service is not what I expected this morning. And by john I mean the kind with his pants down around his ankles not the kind that would give a legal reason to have your pants down around your ankles. But on a slightly gray Thursday morning, when the […]

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Linnea Ashley on September 3rd, 2008

I lamented to R today that this election, with all of the hype on hope, was exhausting. He responded: well, it’s supposed to be tiring… hope takes work. if the election were a foregone conclusion, then instead of hope there’d just be expectation. that doesn’t require any effort at all. 🙂 I hadn’t thought about […]

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Linnea Ashley on July 31st, 2008

yfla.wrap(“This multimedia content requires Flash version 9 and above.”, “Upgrade Now.”, “http:\/\/www.adobe.com\/shockwave\/download\/download.cgi?P1_Prod_Version=ShockwaveFlash”, “”);To view this multimedia content, please enable Javascript. it happens to all politicians…even obama…but you decide…

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Linnea Ashley on July 1st, 2008

Dear Senator Obama, The thing is, you can’t be change if you do what’s always been done.   I understand that circumstances change. I understand that winning is pretty much the point of running for president – or anything else. What I am having trouble understanding is why it is so difficult for you to […]

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