Author: Joanne Corey

Please come visit my eclectic blog, Top of JC's Mind. You can never be sure what you'll find!

SoCS: Love

Linda’s prompt for Stream of Consciousness Saturday this week is “love.” I’m assuming she chose that prompt for today because it is Valentine’s Day and love is in the air.

B is making individual beef wellingtons for dinner with tiramisu for dessert, leaving the cocoa sprinkled on top off my portion because I can’t have it. (Update: photos here https://joannecorey.com/2026/02/18/one-liner-wednesday-valentines-food/)

Meanwhile, I will be spending the day resting after yet another medical test and a physical therapy session yesterday. If I’m lucky, I’ll manage to make vigil mass this afternoon. I’m hoping that a down day today will make if possible to get through a two and a half hour Madrigal Choir rehearsal tomorrow.

In short, I’m not doing anything special for B this Valentine’s Day.

And he is perfectly okay with that.

B and I met and became friends when I was in my first year in high school and he in his second. By the wonders of our history teacher, Miss Stewart, who seated us in alphabetical order, we were near each other. Within a couple of years, we were high school sweethearts. We married a few weeks after I graduated from college and will celebrate our 44th anniversary this spring.

Our love for each other is an integral part of who we are and who we became, given that we have been growing together since our early teens.

B doesn’t need me to have a special Valentine’s Day gift for him to assure him of my love.

He knows my love for him is who I am and I know his love for me is who he is.

I will, of course, enjoy the special dinner he is making.

And the lemon blueberry scones currently in the oven for breakfast.

But I live B’s love every day and that is the real Valentine’s Day gift that is with us for life.

I hope that love finds each of you today in whatever form it may take for you.

One-Liner Wednesday: solar vs coal in India

“…it’s actually cheaper to build a new solar farm in India than to simply keep buying the coal for an existing coal-fired power plant.”
~~~ Bill McKibben, sharing the good news that India is turning decisively toward renewable electricity over fossil fuels

Join us for Linda’s One-Liner Wednesdays! Find out more here: https://lindaghill.com/2026/02/11/one-liner-wednesday-laughter/

SoCS: life chapters

I often think of my life in chapters.

They aren’t sequential or in blocks of time, though.

It’s more that they are organized topically.

For example, in my volunteer life, there are chapters around church, social justice advocacy, environmental causes, and school curriculum and committees when I was a parent.

In music, there is the church music and organ chapter, composition, and choral music, starting in high school, then Smith College both as a student and alum, decades with University Chorus at SUNY-Binghamton, and now with the Madrigal Choir of Binghamton.

In my personal life, the chapters are very long. Some as a daughter, granddaughter, and sister are life-long. Even though my parents and grandparents have all passed away, being a daughter and granddaughter is forever, as is being a sister.

Another long chapter which is ongoing is with my spouse B, who I met early in high school. We will celebrate our 44th anniversary later this year. I think that part of the reason we are who we are at this point is that we were able to grow and change together over all this time.

And then, there is my writing life, with chapters for school, what I think of as utilitarian writing like doing commentary, blogging, and poetry.

Two chapters that remain close to my heart are as a mom and, for the last 8 and a half years, a grandmother. Those chapters are the most forward-looking. I don’t think of my daughters’ and granddaughters’ stories as sequels to mine because they are their own authors but I am honored to be a chapter in their own books of life.
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Linda’s prompt for Stream of Consciousness Saturday this week is “chapter.” Join us! Find out more here: https://lindaghill.com/2026/02/06/the-friday-reminder-and-prompt-for-socs-feb-7-2026/

One-Liner Wednesday: facts

“Facts are stubborn things; and whatever may be our wishes, our inclinations, or the dictates of our passion, they cannot alter the state of facts and evidence.”
~~~John Adams, second president of the United States

Join us for Linda’s One-Liner Wednesdays! Find out more here: https://lindaghill.com/2026/02/04/one-liner-wednesday-i-hates-the-bots/

hearing differently

Those of us who attend Christian churches that follow the common lectionary are hearing 1 Corinthians 1:26-31 and Matthew 5:1-12a (the Beatitudes) this Sunday.

These passages struck me differently this year because of what we are seeing in Minnesota and across the country where people are standing up to the powerful for the sake of justice and mercy.

In I Corinithians, we hear “God chose the weak of the world to shame the strong.”

In Matthew, we hear:
“Blessed are they who hunger and thirst for righteousness,
for they will be satisfied.
Blessed are the merciful,
for they will be shown mercy.”
“Blessed are they who are persecuted for the sake of righteousness,
for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.”

I know it will be a long haul and take a lot of work and witness, but these passages give me hope that the millions of us – of all faith traditions or none at all – who are not powerful individually will be able to re-establish a society that respects human dignity and rights for all the people.

end of #JusJoJan26

I don’t have enough brain to manage Stream of Consciousness Saturday this time, but I will do a final Just Jot It January post.

I’m relieved to have made it through the month posting every day. I wish I could say that I will continue to do so but I know that I can’t manage it. I’ve also got a bunch more medical tests and appointments coming up in February, for which I’m grateful, but they also take time and energy.

Sending thanks to Linda for convening Just Jot It January once again and to the blogging community participants who have contributed prompts and posts to the effort. I’m honored to be in your (virtual) company.

And, as always, thanks to all of you who took time to visit Top of JC’s Mind. Leisure time and attention are in short supply for many of us and I appreciate your including me in your day or evening.

(Even though, it’s the final day, you can still join in the fun of Just Jot It January. Find out more here: https://lindaghill.com/2026/01/30/the-friday-reminder-for-socs-jusjojan-2026-daily-prompt-for-jan-31st/.)

JC’s Confessions #34

the sin of being American

In the first few seasons of The Late Show, Stephen Colbert did a recurring skit, then a best-selling book, called Midnight Confessions, in which he “confesses” to his audience with the disclaimer that he isn’t sure these things are really sins but that he does “feel bad about them.” While Stephen and his writers are famously funny, I am not, so my JC’s Confessions will be somewhat more serious reflections, but they will be things that I feel bad about. Stephen’s audience always forgives him at the end of the segment; I’m not expecting that – and these aren’t really sins – but comments are always welcome.

I’m guilty of being an American.

In the opening blurb for JC’s Confessions, I say that things I write about here “aren’t really sins” but this post will be an exception.

In Catholic theology, there is such a thing as social sin.

From the Compendium of the Social Doctrine of the Church  

#118 Certain sins, moreover, constitute by their very object a direct assault on one’s neighbor. Such sins in particular are known as social sins. Social sin is every sin committed against the justice due in relations between individuals, between the individual and the community, and also between the community and the individual.  
~~~from the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops’ website

Although this is a society-wide, structural sin, it mires all of us in the evil being done in our name and with our tax dollars. One needn’t look far to see the injustices being perpetrated on individuals, families, groups of people, and entire countries by the Trump administration, despite millions of us protesting against it and numerous findings of illegality by the courts.

Despite my own objections and (tiny) actions, I still bear responsibility for this sin. The truth is that I have benefitted from this system, in ways that others cannot. For example, my Italian grandparents and Irish great-grandparents were not considered “white” when they arrived in the United States, but their descendants with our pale skin and American accents found it much easier to fit into our society and find opportunities for education and employment. While it seemed that the United States had made progress in recognizing and redressing discrimination and prejudice against people of color and immigrants, those gains are being obliterated by the current administration on a massive scale.

One of the many insidious things about the current state of affairs in the United States is that too many people are not recognizing the responsibilities we have to each other as communities, as a society, and as a nation. While I happen to have a faith tradition that supports this viewpoint, in our democracy, our responsibilities to one another are the foundataion for everything. Our Constitution begins with “We the People.” It’s about all of us, not just the powerful or wealthy or Christian.

The Trump administration in its policies has made clear that they don’t consider themselves to be serving all the people, instead catering to the rich in economic and regulatory matters and punishing in any way possible millions of people who are immigrants, of color, LGBTQIA+, non-Christians, Democrats, women, liberal, progressive, residents of Democrat-led cities or states, experts in their field, or anyone who doesn’t support their agenda in some way.

Somehow, while I can see and acknowledge this sin and my part in these systemic injustices, those currently abusing their power in government, business, and communities refuse to accept responsibility for their actions, instead blaming those whom they victimize while excusing their own unethical behavior. A recent, outrageous example of this is the ICE/CPB aggression against protestors who are peacefully exercising their First Admendment rights, while Trump pardoned nearly all those who had participated in the violent insurrection at the US Capitol on January 6, 2021.

The Catholic Church does offer ways to seek absolution for our sins but these focus more on personal sin, not social sin. One aspect of seeking forgiveness for sins is that you are supposed to avoid committing that sin in the future, an impossibility with social or structural sin.

I realize that many of you, if you have managed to read along this far, may disagree with the entire premise of this post, reasoning that I’m not responsible for the actions of my government and society that I oppose. You may even be inclined to offer forgiveness. I do appreciate that sentiment and thank you for your support. Even more, I thank you for whatever way you help your neighbors and uphold human dignity.

We are all in this together.
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This post is part of Linda’s Just Jot It January. There is still time to join us! Find out more here: https://lindaghill.com/2026/01/30/daily-prompt-jusjojan-the-30th-2026/. The prompt for today is “cinnamon.” It’s one of my favorite spices and you may be wishing I’d written about that instead…

prompts or not

Linda and the Just Jot It January blogging community kindly provide daily prompts to help people generate posts.

And I often go off and do my own thing…

Today, though, the prompt is “prompt” so I’m going with it.

I had hoped to write a post in my occasional JC’s Confessions series but that will take a lot of brainpower that I don’t have today. I’ve had a couple of medical appointments this week that need follow-up of various kinds and I’m struggling with some pain issues, not helped by the very cold weather we are having this week.

So, thank you, Linda and everyone, for the prompt today.

Write on!
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To find out more about how to join Just Jot It January, visit here: https://lindaghill.com/2026/01/29/daily-prompt-jusjojan-the-29th-2026/

One-Liner Wednesday: snow

We only got about a foot so can’t compete with Linda’s One-Liner Wednesday photo, but click on the link to check it out – and to join in with One-Liner Wednesday and/or Just Jot It January.

positive movement?

Vote for Democracy #54

Like millions of others in the US and around the world, I’ve been horrified by the actions of federal agents from ICE and CBP in Minnesota, Maine, and many other locations.

It looks like the massive outcry and protests after the murder of Alex Pretti in Minneapolis and the obvious lies from administration officials about it may finally have moved the Trump administration to rein in some of the terror they are inflicting.

Greg Bovino, who has been termed “commander-at-large” of Customs and Border Protection, has been on the ground directing operations in Minneapolis; he will now be leaving the state. Trump is sending Tom Homan, his border czar, to Minnesota to head up ICE/CBP operations there. It’s not that I trust Homan, who, among other things, was instrumental in the unconscionable family separation policy in Trump’s first term, but, at least, he was saying that investigations into the deaths of Renee Good and Alex Pretti needed to happen before conclusions were drawn, as opposed to Bovino, DHS Secretary Noem, Vice-president Vance, and other administration officials who immediately labelled the victims as “domestic terrorists” who deserved to die.

Trump has also reportedly had productive conversations with MN governor Walz and Minneapolis mayor Frey, which is a good sign, although surprising after Trump vilified them repeatedly over the last several weeks.

It seems that Trump and his administration may finally be realizing that the majority of the country opposes the unlawful arrests and violence that ICE and CBP have undertaken. The vast majority of court cases have been decided in favor of plaintiffs, not the government, although, shamefully, the government lawyers have lied to judges and defied their orders on many occasions. While many Democratic officeholders have opposed Trump’s actions, finally some Republicans are speaking out, as well. Chris Madel has dropped out of the Republican primary to be governor of Minnesota because of the ICE/CBP assault on his state by the Republican administration.

I believe, though, that the greatest credit for this pullback goes to the people of Minnesota, who refused to be cowed even by violence against them. They organized to watch out for their neighbors and bring them food and supplies when it was too dangerous to go out because ICE/CBP were taking people off the street if they were people of color or speaking a different language, even if they were citizens or had legal status. They protected schools and students. They blew whistles to warn if agents were in the area and filmed agents’ activities to document what they were doing. They held a general strike to protest what was happening. They held many rallies, marches, and vigils, even though Minnesota winters are very, very cold. Their persistence, strength, and goodness are a great service to the nation and a great example to other locations under threat.

No one knows if this will be a turning point and Trump administration will stop their lawless campaign against immigrants or not, but it seems that Trump at least realizes that his actions are condemned by the majority of the country.

There has been a lot of discussion, however, that large-scale deportation is only part of the plan – that the real endgame is to militarize our cities and interfere with or suspend the November elections.

This possibility was made explicit when Attorney General Pam Bondi sent a letter to Gov. Walz, demanding concessions, which included handing over complete voter data to the federal government. In the United States, state and local governments are responsible for running elections, not the federal government. It is feared that the Trump administration would use such voter data to try to suppress the votes of people who are unlikely to vote for Republicans. Trump has also threatened to invoke the Insurrection Act to deploy troops in Democratic-led cities and states, which is not allowed in general under the Posse Commitatus Act. Having the military patrolling would suppress votes as eligible voters, especially people of color, would be afraid to go to their polling places.

I hope that this will be a pivot point and that Congress and the courts will be able to stop the abuses of the Trump administration. Perhaps there will be impeachments or resignations of some of the administration leaders responsible for these abuses.

The ordinary folks of Minnesota have been resolute in defending our rights and the common good. May their resolve, action, and compassion inspire members of Congress to do the right thing and uphold their oaths of office.
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Join us for Linda’s Just Jot It January! Find out more here: https://lindaghill.com/2026/01/27/daily-prompt-jusjojan-the-27th-2026/