Author Archives: helenaworthen

Day after SuperTuesday March 3, 2020 Which is two days after our son Jake’s birthday, by the way. Last night Joe and I attended a DSA Bernie Watch Party at a venue near the West Oakland BART station called 7West.  From what I could tell driving through the neighborhood in the dark, it has gentrified likeContinue reading “The Day After SuperTuesday”

Helena Worthen 510-828-2745, helenaworthen@gmail.com Start with this, if you are worried about how long this message seems to be: Why Bernie will win: “Look at the structure of my campaign” I’ve been watching a lot of CSPAN ever since the Kavanaugh hearings so I’ve seen some moments that didn’t make headlines. One was Bernie exitingContinue reading “What about Bernie?”

I am writing this on November 15, nine days after the mid-term election. Ballots are still being counted. There are still 7 contests for seats in the House of Representatives that are “too close to be called,” two in California, two in New York, one in Texas, one in Mississippi, and one in Utah. BothContinue reading “Good news, overall”

It has rained on and off and then on again, hard, and the ground is saturated so the water runs right into the river. This is what the Old Swimming Hole looks like. We told Lorenzo about this and he asked if the New Beach was gone. We said we would go look, as soonContinue reading “New Beach is gone; new New Beach will show up when the river goes down”

The election is day after tomorrow. I remember how I felt after the 2016 election. In 2018, I am much better prepared. I think a lot of people are better prepared. I have never seen mobilization like what I have seen in the last year. Never — not even in the 1970s against the VietnamContinue reading “Tuesday Nov 6: no matter what happens, we will be fighting on different ground”

This beautiful old house, perhaps the most elegant in the town, once looked out through three majestic maples across a sloping field down to the West River. There is an el in the rear that you can’t see, so the house is even bigger than it looks. It was owned by the Tewskburys. Mrs. Tewksbury,Continue reading “Small Government”

So how would a revolution actually start?  Our daughter, an ER nurse who thinks ahead, has been reading the New York Times Op Eds post-Kavanaugh. She asked this question. I don’t think it will start before the election on November 6. Everyone is too busy. But first, a word from our sponsor:  This is notContinue reading “So How Would a Revolution Actually Start in the US?”

It’s been nearly two months since I’ve posted. What could I say that wasn’t bad news? But now the Brett Kavanaugh hearings have happened and all hell has broken loose.  Women protesting all over the place, occupying offices in government buildings, clamoring for the white boys in charge to listen to their stories and payContinue reading “The Mansion of the Kavanaughs”

That’s a line from Fan Shen — said by Kuomingtang reactionaries to scoff the idea that Mao’s revolution could ever really happen. First annual Tommyfest.  Musicians from all over the area brought their instruments and jammed.  Four men went off into a quiet place to play. Big wind, lightning, trees down; bursts of rain. TheContinue reading “Can the Sun Rise in the West?”