Sorry

To my various readers (whoever you are) I apologize for not posting much, if at all, recently. My husband and I are working on a project, which I hope to be able to tell you all about soon. But we'll just have to see how it goes.

For now, though, I wanted to let everyone know that I haven't forgotten about this blog, and these issues mean very much to me.

Thanks!

Hillary in '08

I'm not big into national politics - I believe that most politics should be personal. By that I mean that how you live your life and raise your children should be your most important political acts, and that the process of voting and speaking out is merely a manifestation of your everyday political self.

All that said, I can't wait for Hillary to finally run for President in 2008. I'm not at all sure that she would win, though. I'm convinced that the fundamental problem that she has is the difficulty that men have in supporting a strong, assertive leadership role for a female in our society. If anything, she might be too right-wing for me, with her support of the Iraq war, although I think that is just to appeal to undecided voters in the center and to mollify the concerns that men might have in voting for her.

Every attack on Hillary is personal, and most of them are simply misogyny dressed up as a political argument. Even her personal life has been exemplary. She raised a wonderful, intelligent, beautiful, and outspoken child. When her husband (sort of) cheated on her - in what must have been the worst kind of humiliation a wife and mother could have been subjected to - she stayed with her husband and tried to work it out. This is the sort of thing conservatives always preach!

She is, simply stated, a survivor. Can there be anything more noble than her continued public service in the face of all the adversity she's had to endure? Hillary serves as a great role model for our young women, and I wish I lived in New York so I could vote for her in the Senate and when she runs for President in '08.

From the Files of the Department of Redundancy Department

They have a war on terrorism, a war on drugs, and a war on poverty. Why not a war on war? It seems to me that war and hatred are responsible for much of the suffering in the world; if we could make a concerted effort in this country to get rid of war - a war on war - we could really start to make this world a better place.

Who wants to join me and help fight the war on war?

Tails of the Self-Anointed

The car I drive these days isn't the same as in years gone by...and I no longer find it stylish to use the entire back end of my car to advertise my political leanings and worthy causes.

That said, my station wagon feels relatively naked without more bumper stickers that can raise awareness of my most cherished causes. I am proud to keep the Kerry-Edwards sticker on there, of course, to illustrate that I am not part of the crowd that elected W. And there's my "teach peace" bumper sticker, tastefully displayed on the other side, that shows my inclination to, well, teach peace.

But there are so many other causes that I can raise awareness of, through my humble means of transportation. But I worry that adding more stickers, even though they might raise awareness of other important issues like veganism and animal rights, would dilute the power of my original messages. So I am essentially paralyzed into inaction.

I'm trying to find ways around this conundrum. Any advice would be appreciated.

March Madness

It's a real shame that the television networks, our colleges, and even grown men are transfixed by the college basketball tournament that appears to be going on right now. It's all so silly - watching people cheer and yell for college students to throw a ball through a metal hoop. And after every game, there's a loser and a winner.

Why this overemphasis on competition? What ever happened to cooperation? It would be a wonderful day if the networks had great ratings for a show that had college students cooperating with each other instead of competing against each other. The new tournament could show the students building houses for the less fortunate, helping care for the environment, and maybe teaching inner-city children how to read.

Then everyone would be a winner!

Thanks for the Mammaries

Here's my first post, of what will probably be very many, regarding breast feeding, particularly breast feeding in public. There is nothing that highlights the hypocrisy of the patriarchy more than the prohibition on public breast feeding in this society.

Breast feeding is a natural, wonderful bonding experience between mother and child. It is the very purpose that breasts were designed for! And yet, you'll get hard looks the minute you start feeding your infant in the corner of your local coffeeshop.

Of course, it goes without saying that you can't walk three steps without seeing barely covered female breasts on every billboard, in every poster in a shop window, and advertising on the sides of buses in this society. Boobs, boobs, boobs, everywhere. But heaven forbid that you feed your child with those things. Sacre bleu!

Million Mom March

What ever happened to the Million Mom March? We should try another one, and try to get our voices heard by the decisionmakers in the federal government. With all the issues out there that unite mothers around the country, it seems like there's a lot of things for us to unite around and try to create some positive change through direct action, and shift a few paradigms in the process. It's just a thought.