by Ann Bibby

Earlier this week my husband called me from work to let me know that my retirement was at stake. Specifically, AIG was in danger of failing and my 403B just happens to be managed by one of their companies. The account I have is very small. I had to suspend all retirement savings when my late husband went on Medicaid because retirement accounts that aren’t employer-funded and can be withdrawn from before age 55 are considered income according to the eligibility rules. If AIG had gone down in flames, which I honestly believe it should have been left to do, I wouldn’t have lost much. Possibly I wouldn’t have lost anything because there are state and federal laws that protect some types of individual retirement accounts.

This little scare got me thinking however.

The media talks about billions upon billions of debt mounting up at a dizzying and horrific rate, swamping brokerages and banking institutes alike, and the U. S. government meanwhile hands out loans to companies in equal dollar amounts, and at some point we began to ask, where is this money coming from? Is there really that much money left to be found in the treasury? Or in the world?

And the answer, it turns out, is no. There isn’t that much money because money in the the 21st century - as it has always been really - is born of debt.

Money is debt. Read the rest of this entry »

Aaaaaand….here we go with Canadian election madness.

A consortium of television networks has once again decided not to let the Green Party participate in the nationally televised debates for this election.

I call bullshit.

The consortium announced on Monday (as reported at the National Post):

Three parties opposed the Greens inclusion in the debate, the consortium said in a news release, “and it became clear that if the Green party were included, there would be no leaders’ debates.”

(Three parties, meaning everyone but the Liberals, I should add.) The Green Party has a lot of support in Canada, and it deserves to be heard by the same audience as the other three major parties, as well as the Bloc Quebecois. Over 660,000 Canadians voted for this party in the last federal election. Does it sound right to you that they are being excluded?

I want to hear Elizabeth May take on Harper and Dion and Layton…she’s earned the right. It’s undemocratic to shut her out.

If you agree, head on over to Demand Democratic Debates, a site the Green Party has set up to allow Canadians to join in their fight to participate in the nationally televised debates. The petition will be sent to the presidents of the major Canadian networks, the Canadian Broadcast Standards Council and the Canadian Association of Broadcasters. There you can sign a petition demanding Ms. May be heard at the debates. There’s also a section for bloggers, where you can grab a badge to help the Green Party’s efforts.

(For a concise run-down of where each party stands with respect to environmental issues, head on over to BlogHers Act Canada to read my post, Go Green or Go Home: Canadian Election 2008.)

(Cross-posted at Assertagirl.)

by Ann Bibby 

I don’t like to admit being a feminist at all. So much about the movement still seems exclusive to me.

My generation grew up between the second wave and the third. Victims of the “having it all” ideals of our elder Boomer sisters, but without the benefits of  our younger Gen X sisters who grew up in a system that on the surface seemed to have leveled out the playing field.

I don’t believe that we have “come a long way” or that the gains made benefit women who fall outside the white-collar, college educated, upper-middle class category.  I think that in some instances feminism threw the baby out with the bath water.

But I do believe there is no reason for the sexism that still exists when it comes to politics or the way career women are portrayed in the media. And I think the “mommy war” debate is counterproductive. It is past time for women to  steer clear of it. Read the rest of this entry »

Ooh, ooh, I saw her speech! No, not in Denver, not even live. Bedtime and a 17-YO broken TV prevented that. But no matter, there’s always the computer (for when the house is quiet). If you didn’t catch her, you can read her speech here or listen to it here. Either way, well worth it. I was glad that she referenced an earlier speech of her husband’s where he summarizes so well the importance - and promise - of citizen involvement in our government:

Barack stood up that day and spoke words that have stayed with me ever since. He talked about the world as it is and the world as it should be. And he said that all too often we accept the distance between the two and settle for the world as it is, even when it doesn’t reflect our values and aspirations.

But he reminded us that we know what our world should look like. We know what fairness and justice and opportunity look like. And he urged us to believe in ourselves, to find the strength within ourselves to strive for the world as it should be.

There it is, mamas, the raison d’etre for my grassroots activism, for me speaking up. Because I (like you, probably) see the failings for American families, and am working hard to improve them. Because I, too, see how it should be, and we think that’s how it can be. And boy would it be a whole lot easier to move from is to should with Obama in the White House! Read the rest of this entry »

As an Oregonian, it’s really not OK to admire California all that openly. But I’m not a native Oregonian and I used to live in California, so why not? Truth is, I often look to my south and envy their public policies. The paid family leave! The stricter auto emissions! Sigh.

I am grateful that they are willing to go out on a limb - with their ginormous economy - and set strong policies that the rest of our legislatures apparently can’t quite pass. Or something. But my usually deep admiration is crumbling this week as the good folks in Sacramento are flat-out missing the boat on a slam dunk: bisphenol-A. Right. They’re on the cusp of not banning it. Read the sad story here.  You heard me: NOT banning it.  And we’re not even talking for everyone, this just covers the little guys, 0 to 3.

The bill in question is Senate Bill 1713, and it. needs. our. help. NOW. Live in California? Know someone who does? Perfect. ‘Cause it’s time to pick up the phone, mamas, and call your legislators. Because if California can’t do it, frankly, who can? And if California doesn’t do it, it makes me realize (again) how insane this whole thing is. How infuriating, how crazy. And why? It’s the lobbyists, silly. So call. Email. whatever works for you. ‘Cause we mamas gotta be our OWN lobbyists. Speak Up, Moms. This is our chance.

PS - Check out what Fake Plastic Fish has to say about all this. She’s right there, watching the spin machine works its California magic. Spinning the pro-family policies right out the Assembly doors.

by Ann Bibby

A single mother in Winnipeg is fighting to regain custody of her children. She alleges they were taken from her by Manitoba’s child and family services agency because of her political beliefs. Read the rest of this entry »

The Maternal Is Political: Women Writers at the Intersection of Motherhood & Social Change
Edited by Shari MacDonald Strong
Seal Press
352 pgs, $15.95
ISBN: 1-58005-243-6

Something definitely changes when you become MOTHER. Besides all the physical,emotional and mental aspects; the sleepless nights, cranky babies, the thought of being able to fit into your pre-baby jeans. You become more aware of the world and your place in it, of what is happening around you. You see things with a mother’s eye. One of the essays, In Albania, by Mona Gable, captures this new view absolutely. Here she recounts her time in Albania as a reporter during the Kosovo conflict-Balkan wars with the new eyes of a mother: “The lens of motherhood would filter everything I was to witness…..”. Read the rest of this entry »

So maybe you’re not a federal employee like I was until last week. Shoot, maybe you don’t even know a federal employee (we’re nice, really). So why e-mail or call your U.S. Representative and ask that she vote for paid parental leave for federal employees? Aside from the whole helping others thing, which is pretty compelling on its own, this is important because it’s a critical first step toward paid family leave for all employees in this country.

Speak Up, Moms! The U.S. House of Representatives votes this week - Thursday, 6.19.08 - on a bill to allow four weeks of full paid parental leave for federal employees. Wow. It’s about time our government set an example in this area. There couldn’t be a better time to e-mail your U.S. Representative with one easy click (all possible with a sleeping babe on the lap!).

Better yet, pick up the phone, mamas, it’s worth the extra effort. To find your Representative’s phone number, just enter your zip code here. If you’re a little nervous to call, do it after hours and leave a message. It still counts! You could simply say: “Hi, I am your constituent and strongly urge you to vote YES on HR 5781, the Federal Employees Paid Leave Act of 2008. Thank you for supporting working families.” Read the rest of this entry »

by Ann Bibby

Although it shouldn’t be so, John McCain’s views on women’s issues like fair pay and birth control access aren’t as widely known as they should be. In fact McCain’s positions and thoughts about women are outdated enough that I find it hard to believe more isn’t being said.

Pundit Mom posted a great piece with must read links the other day on McCain’s missing (deliberately) the vote on the Lily Ledbetter Fair Pay Act and his opinion that women who want equal pay consideration should simply update their skill sets.

And here’s a video from The Real John McCain which sums up his views on birth control options which in a McCain presidency would amount to none.

I personally believe that Mom activists have a much better chance of having their voices heard because of their motherhood status. Given that we would like decision makers to take us seriously when we ask for or speak out against something, chances are we could make them take notice if we speak as mothers rather as activists.

A few days ago, a group of young people presented murals painted by mothers and children to members of Congress, calling for stronger climate leadership. The murals serve as a sharp reminder to Congress that the American public is ahead of their elected representatives on the issue of climate, and are demanding that Congress step up with strong, science-based policy.

One Sky

“We’ve only got one sky, and we’ve got to make sure it stays clean for our children,” said Gillian Caldwell, mother of two and campaign director for 1Sky, a new collaborative national campaign of more than 60 diverse organizations.

But what led moms and children to make these murals? Read the rest of this entry »