Faced with a mountain of evidence demonstrating the significant health benefits of breastfeeding, a consortium of health experts and U.S. government officials is making an aggressive push for paid maternity leaves; longer maternity leaves comparable to the recommended length of exclusive breastfeeding; exemptions from welfare-to-work programs and welfare time limits for nursing mothers; insurance and/or […]

The board where I initially posted this is very progressive (what an oasis in Colorado Springs!), so you might imagine I got some pushback about my first (short) post. In addition, I wasn’t clear enough in my first post that my black box comment was an *addition* to the commentary at Feministe, not the […]

This post and the next one were originally written as a post on a local bulletin board — but I think the topic is important enough to cross-post here.
I think it’s fairly safe to assume that most of the moms on this board are pro-breastfeeding. Yes, breastmilk is what nature has designed as the best […]

Bitch Ph.D is hosting a great conversation about labels, speaking freely, and what it means (or doesn’t) to be liberal or conservative. Take a look.
I’ve had a post in one corner of my brain about this subject, but I’m finding this post to be much more interesting for now. Can’t we all just get […]

From the comments section on a recent post at The Happy Feminist:

I am reminded of a joke I heard once (from a Republican):
It seems Dubya takes his job more seriously than one might expect from his results. After one particularly hard day he says to himself, “If only I could be guided by the spirits […]

I discovered the “Carnival of Education” today (just what I need: more blogs to read), but find myself very frustrated with the hard-right stance that the host blog and many of the contributors seem to take.

Spotted on a bumpersticker:
THE BUSH DOCTRINE:
Speak unintelligibly
and hit people with a big stick.
*snort*

My online mommy group is probably the most calm online community I’ve ever known. Everyone is very supportive of each other. We’re friendly. We don’t argue.
Earlier today, a forward to the list pushed my buttons, and I responded in what I considered to be a reasonable manner. Instead of trying to […]

Jesus was a Liberal.
Rick had an interesting post talking about the need to be liberal in how we love each other. I agree with him. Here’s a snippet:
I even heard someone say, liberal Christians talk about following the teachings of Jesus but not about following Jesus. How can one follow the teachings of […]

Oh, get your mind out of the gutter. It’s much too crowded to do that! I’ll hop back into blogging with a political funny. I’m amused, anyway.
Via TalkLeft:
How many members of the Bush Administration are needed to change a light bulb?
The Answer is TEN…
1. One to deny that a light bulb needs […]

The top 10 “most conservative cities” in the U.S. according to the Bay Area Center for Voting Research:

Provo, Utah
Lubbock, Texas
Abilene, Texas
Hialeah, Florida
Plano, Texas

Colorado Springs, Colorado

Gilbert, Arizona
Bakersfield, California
Lafayette, Louisiana
Orange, California

No big surprises there, LOL. See the rest of the list here.

Before I had my daughter, I was pleased to learn that I could feed her wherever I deemed appropriate (or necessary) — that my ability to provide nourishment for my child was protected by state law. Effective April 23, 2004, Colorado protected a woman’s right to breastfeed anywhere she has the right to be. […]

I just watched most of a documentary on the History Channel called “Days that Shook the World.” As you’d expect, this episode focused on the bombing of Hiroshima.
I’ve never spent much time thinking about Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Those cities were just names in a history book, and the dates were just another annoying […]

Paul Krugman wrote the editorial French Family Values for today’s New York Times, and I think he gets it right.
He starts out with this:
Americans tend to believe that we do everything better than anyone else. That belief makes it hard for us to learn from others.
Wow. Those two sentences sum up so much […]

I didn’t write anything about it, but last weekend at the birthday shindig at my parents’ place, I really should have requested that the TV be turned off. It was mercifully silenced once dinnertime arrived, but until then, I allowed myself to be subjected to a good hour or two of hateful screaming and […]