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Saturday, May 7
Moms At The Office
by
Linda Thieman
on Sat 07 May 2005 11:20 PM CDT
 Moms At The Office
Martha Burk, Ph.D., Tompaine.com
Martha
Burk is author of Cult of Power: Sex Discrimination in Corporate
America and What Can Be Done About It, just released from
Scribner. She chairs the National Council of Women’s
Organizations.
Every
year on Mother’s Day we stop to thank our moms with gifts and
adoration. As individuals, we love our mothers dearly, but as a society
we don’t give much of a flip for motherhood. The state of mothers
in America is worse than it’s ever been.
Close to
three-quarters of all moms with children between the ages of 6 and 18
are in the labor force. Even though a large majority of mothers
in the country now work outside the home, we are lost in the ‘50s when
it comes to family policy. As a nation, we’ve got to grasp the fact
that working mothers are the norm, not the exception. Too much of
corporate America is still operating on the “organization man” model,
with the built-in assumption that someone else will take care of the
kids and household so dad can work unlimited hours. It’s the same
old mindset — men own the jobs, women own the kids. And Congress
isn’t helping. Despite the rhetoric of “no child left behind,”
plenty of children are left home alone, because we have no national
child care. It’s not even on the horizon.
When
President Clinton signed the Family and Medical Leave Act in back in
1993, the United States lost the distinction of being one of the only
two industrialized countries in the world without some form of leave
for emergency care of sick children or elderly parents. Yet a
dozen years later, we’ve made no progress toward national paid leave.
And states, strapped for cash because of tax cuts, don’t want to fill
the void — even though it doesn’t cost that much. California alone offers
some paid time off — 55 percent of salary up to $728 per week — with the
tab being picked up by workers themselves at an average cost of only
$27 per year.
(Click here to read the complete article.)
Happy Mother's Day from the Blog for Iowa blog team - Trish, John, Molly, Chad, Caroline, and Linda.
Action Alert: Contact Your County Auditor ASAP for VVPAT
by
Trish Nelson
on Sat 07 May 2005 11:01 AM CDT
 ACTION ALERT: Contact Your County Auditor ASAP for VVPAT in Iowa
**PLEASE PASS THIS ON***
VVPAT
can still be saved before the legislature adjourns. We need the
county auditors to get behind it. We are asking everyone to
contact your county auditor. Ask them to state their position on
VVPAT.
There are two questions to ask:
1.
Are you in favor of including the statewide requirement for a
Voter Verified Paper Audit Trail (VVPAT) in the HF 644 elections bill
still currently before the legislature?
2. If VVPAT is included in the HF 644 elections bill would you support a yes vote for passage?
Tell
your auditor you want them to support a bill with a voter verified
paper audit trail. Take note of their answer and then take two
actions: (1) let us know your county and if your auditor is for
or against: e-mail us at saveballot@yahoo.com; (2) then write a
letter to your local paper and express your support of VVPAT.
Click here
for the e-mail address of your County Auditor. Then call or send
a letter and cc: the largest newspaper in your county/area.
Click here for Iowa newspaper e-mail addresses
Click here for more information on verified voting
 Click here to receive action alerts from Iowa Rapid Response
Loebsack Shifts Campaign Gears
by
Linda Thieman
on Sat 07 May 2005 07:09 AM CDT
 Loebsack Shifts Campaign Gears
A Message from David Loebsack
Dear Friends,
I hope this message finds you well. I just want to update you on how the "exploration" is going.
First,
let me thank all of those who have already been sending e-mails,
talking to friends, setting up gatherings, etc., on my behalf.
This is all pretty impressive given that I am truly still only "testing
the waters."
So far,
I have managed to get to several Dem central committee meetings and
work on honing a message of change for Iowa Congressional District
2. I fully realize it is not enough simply to say we need to
replace our current congressman. I also have to talk about
critical matters such as jobs, health care, education, and Social
Security. The primary point to make at this point is that what is
needed are leadership and consistency on matters critical to the people
of District 2.
I have
also been calling on legislators and other elected officials in the
district and I have talked with several leaders of groups that are
critical to the success of the Democratic candidate in the second
district.
During
May, I have several meetings already scheduled throughout the district
but I am of course looking for more to add to the schedule. I
will be teaching until the end of May, so that will limit somewhat what
I can do but I am determined to listen to as many folks as I can as I
work towards a decision as to whether I should attempt to climb this
mountain.
I have
also been advised by many, many folks that although I have not yet
declared my candidacy, I should be actively seeking contributions at
this point. Some of you have already contributed and your support is
very much appreciated!
But now
I am at a point where I am truly looking to build the coffers so that
when a decision to go forward is made, we will have demonstrated strong
and determined grassroots support for a real change in this district.
Yesterday, I set up a post office box for contributions and correspondence via regular mail. The address now is Loebsack Exploratory Committee, P.O. Box 81, Mt. Vernon, IA 52314.
I look
forward to hearing from you soon. And, as always, keep working
hard for change as we work to take back Congress and the presidency
from the right-wing of the Republican Party!
Take care and hopefully I will see you soon.
David Loebsack
Loebsack Exploratory Committee
P.O. Box 81
Mt. Vernon, IA 52314
Home E-mail: dloebsack@mchsi.com
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