Chicago Moms Blog

Vote for Mom

This year's election is bringing all types of new sub-groups to the table.  Whether it be Wal-Mart Women, Waitress Moms, Rehab Republicans, Security Moms or Pocket Book Moms, one thing is clear: women are the vote to get by each candidate in 2008. 

While "Soccer Moms" may be so 8 years ago, the new names only solidify that the groups have become more complicated and more difficult to define.  Polls are showing that soccer moms and security moms are uniting and the typical Republican/Democrat vote spread will not look the same as it did 4 or 8 years ago.  Whether it be issues on the economy, the war, health care or the environment, many people are straying from their old ways of thinking and looking for a new place to land (this mama included).  Whether it be reading Momocrats, MomsRising or learning about the new I Remember Mama Voting project, moms are more involved than ever in politics and in this country we call home.  I have yet to find any solid Independent mom blogs (or Republican for that matter), so if you know any let us know in the comments!

The media are constantly looking for more and more information on what we moms think, and taking this survey can help get your voice heard in what you're thinking now and come November.  A recent iVillage survey showed that only 37% of women have decided who they will vote for, and more and more people are scrambling to sway us towards their way of thinking.  What issues are most important to you?

Taking a Stand

This week, I will be making history.  Not only will I be going to Washington D.C. for the first time ever, but I will also be marching the streets of the city and the steps of the Capitol in demonstration and protest.  We are flying out, leaving all three boys behind, and taking a stand.  My husband and I will be holding up signs with pictures of our two boys with autism, and like thousands upon thousands of others, we will be making a statement that we have had enough. 

Welcome to St. Marys, Mr. Clinton!

I just heard the news that former President, Bill Clinton will be in my hometown of St. Marys, PA today (Thursday)!  This is EXCITING news for my itty bitty home city!  After speaking with more people about his visit, I  realize why the Clinton party may be heading into our pretty little city and the surrounding cities and towns, possibly because of a few remarks that Barack Obama made in San Francisco the other day?  Now, I've been in my own little world these days, what with starting a full-time job and whatnot, but I have searched around and found this post over at Politico.com that has captured, in full, Obama's remarks on small towns in PA and the Midwest.

Even though I have my opinion, I am not going to comment on Barack's remarks right at this moment because I need to educate Mr. Bill about St. Marys!

The cost of war

No, I'm not talking about lives lost. I'm talking about money. Read The $2 Trillion Nightmare and tell me George W. Bush isn't the worst President in U.S. history.

Afraid to click? Know that, for what we spend on war each day, we could pay for:

58,000 additional children in Head Start
Pell Grants for 160,000 low-income students
The annual salaries of nearly 11,000 additional border patrol agents
The annual salaries of 14,000 more police officers

Imagine how much we could invest in environmental protection, green energy and incentives for reducing emissions! We could fund universal health care for the uninsured!

On top of that, it is believed that the $2 trillion estimate is too low. With the cost of care for returning veterans, we'll end up paying $3 trillion. For what?

Cross-posted to Marketing Mommy

March 4th for Child Care & Head Start

Today we March Forth for Child Care!

Get your lobbying fingers ready and let's fight hard for child care and Head Start. The National Women's Law Center (NWLC) has a campaign going on that we should all jump on.

Access to child care and Head Start is vital to women's economic well-being and the ability of their children to succeed in school. The Bush administration’s proposed FY 2009 budget would continue the administration’s long-standing pattern of freezes or cuts to child care and Head Start. Under its proposed budget, 200,000 low-income children and their families would lose child care assistance, and 14,000 children would lose Head Start.

We Need YOUR Story

Women Employed is an Illinois organization that has been working on paid family leave for years and is now focusing in on paid sick days - FOR ALL. But they need our help. They need stories from YOU, every day women and men, who have struggled with either no sick days at all or maybe your child became very sick after you used up your paltry sick day allotment. Either way, please share your story.

The proposed Healthy Workplace Act (HB 5320) will:

• Allow employees to earn up to 7 paid sick days per year, accrued hourly for every 30 hours worked.
• Provide leave: 1) for an employee’s own illness; 2) to care for the illness of an employee’s family member; or 3) for medical appointments.
• Require employers who do not already provide at least 7 paid sick days to pay for this standard employment benefit when needed by their workers.

Share your story about how paid leave would help your family or business.

RECAP! Parents At The Polls

RECAP!

Mix Moms, Parenting and Politics and you come up with some very "interesting" conversations! Today, the contributors of Silicon Valley Moms Blog, Chicago Moms Blog, DC Metro Moms Blog, and New York City Moms Blog had the presidential election on their collective minds (and really, unless you are living under a rock, who doesn’t?). We were blogging about the candidates we support (and those we don’t), the issues that are important to us, talking politics with our kids and significant others, and how our role as parents impacts our choices at the polls. Join as a we recap the day with links to all the posts that went up on all four sites - on the very hot topic, Parents At The Polls..... and of course, feel free to comment on the posts.  

Silicon Valley Moms Blog

• Grumbling About Gender Bias 
• Still Tied?  I Finally Decided To Vote For Obama
• It's All About The Sticker 
• Hassle Free Absentee 
• Birth Of A Liberal 
• How Do You Explain Politics To A Six Year Old? 
• More About Hillary

DC Metro Moms Blog

• Do I Get A Sticker? 
• The Questions Not Asked 
• Why I'm Not Voting For HRC 
• How I Disenfranchised Myself
• Virginia Primaries Are Strange
• I Finally Know Who I Am Voting For
• Obama For President

NYC Moms Blog

• Reluctant Single-Issue Voter 
• Go Girl 
• What To Expect From A Candidate, Lowering The Bar

Chicago Moms Blog

• Raising A Citizen 
• Yes, Please, Take Your Child To Vote 
• Am I Being Punished For My Choice?

Am I being punished for my choice?

Super Tuesday arrived and I was going to vote come hell or high water. Hell didn't come but the high water did. I swear, if we get any more precipitation around here, my house is going to float away.

The weather was so nasty last Tuesday and the bug seemed to sleep extra long. I actually had to wake her up to make sure I was able to get out and vote. Fortunately, our voting place is right down the street at our fire station (literally, I can walk there). I was afraid we may have to wait in a long line, so we left the house prepared. We had carrots and dip, milk, goldfish, cheese sticks and the DVD player. Oh yeah, I was ready. Well, we got there and happened to be second in line, so I didn't have to break out much of the toddler survival kit.

Yes, please, take your child to vote

I didn't think twice last week about taking my son to vote with me on Super Tuesday. For one, I had no babysitter, so if he didn't accompany me to the polls, I wouldn't have been able to vote. Second, I'm a firm believer that our wonderful country, the world's largest democracy, gives us the right to vote and we should exercise it.  It saddens me that we rank 140th in voter turnout when compared with other countries.  Yes, this factor may be due to difficult registration process or confusing literature about where and when to vote, but if you just take 10 minutes to go to your local Secretary of State you can change your address, register to vote and take an ugly driver's license photo in less than 15 minutes.

I was actually excited for Super Tuesday, a day where I could start showing my son the beauty of the Democratic process.  Who says voting booths are no place for kids?  I think my son, chomping on his well-worn blanket was a welcome site for polling officials. They welcomed him openly and sent us to a

Raising a citizen

My husband & I like to joke that we are raising a candidate.

We take her with us to vote (this photo is from Super Tuesday), I've taken her to door knock for Congressional candidates, she knew the phone bank script for an Aldermanic campaign last year, and we talk to her about politicians we see on TV or in magazines. About a year and a half ago we were in a doctor's waiting room and I pointed to the cover to TIME magazine and said, "That's our next president."  I was only half joking, but more seriously explained that the smiling man was our Senator.