Silicon Valley Moms Blog

Like Moths to Fame?

What do you get when dozens of moms who have recovered their kids from autism are at a dinner with celebrities . . .  in the midst of an historic battle over light brown apple moth (LBAM) aerial spraying?  ACTIVISTS! I and these moms attended a comedy show and auction on Friday night to benefit San Francisco autism organizations, such as The Ryder Foundation. We worked the celebs in the room as best we could.

These moms are not crazy "fringe" moms. Among the eight in our group that night, were five who founded non-profit organizations. These are intelligent moms whose research led them to believe autism is indeed treatable. They have the recovered kids to prove it. They know not to let the California Department of Agriculture pull the proverbial wool over their eyes without an independent environmental impact report on CheckMate, the LBAM spray.

These moms have experience going against the grain. Parents who choose biomedical treatments are constantly on guard from those who don't know the strict program, which can include a wheat and dairy free diet and sometimes heavy metal chelation. According to the Autism Research Institute treatment ratings, two-thirds of parents who have tried biomedical interventions say it helped their child.

... and I was inspired

Anyone who knows me in real life, knows that I am a pessimist when it comes to politics.  That sentiment has served me well in my life so far.  In my (conscious) life time, I have yet to be affected emotionally by anyone in the political arena... not even my father.  I have seen news coverage of people crying when President Kennedy was assassinated but felt strangely unaffected myself.  I have heard people talking about how [insert some political leader's name] pushed them to volunteer/change their life/change their perspective.  Me?  Nothing.  Nada.
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For me, they are all just ... politicians; selfish, scums of the earth waiting to pounce on the unsuspecting mass and steal our hard-earned money away from us for their own purpose.  Ok, maybe not that bad but you get the picture.  Unadulterated cynic, that's me and most politicians I've come to know have not disappointed me one bit.

Until yesterday morning, with my morning cup of mocha, when I read Obama's speech, did my carefully crafted  wall crumble ... and I could not stop the tears from rolling down my face.

"A More Perfect Union"

I am thirty one years old and for as long as I can remember America has been governed by President(s) Bush Sr., Jr., and President Clinton.  The first time I was able to vote in a presidential election was in 1996, President Clinton's second bid for office.

I'm being completely honest when I say that up until a few months ago I knew very little about the voting process and politics in general.   I voted for upcoming presidents sometimes.  I voted on local issues less.  I couldn't be bothered, really.  I'd become pretty tired of the same old-same old that has been going on in the Oval Office for so many years.

I've often felt as if I was in the middle of a large lake, in a raft, without any paddles.

But then Barack Obama stepped into the spotlight and onto the campaign trail. And I became inspired. I remember watching Barack Obama give the 2004 Democratic National Convention Keynote Address.  I was stopped in my tracks, silent, intently focused on the TV in front of me.

....That is the true genius of America, a faith --  a faith in simple dreams, an insistence on small miracles; that we can tuck in  our children at night and know that they are fed and clothed and safe from harm;  that we can say what we think, write what we think, without hearing a sudden  knock on the door; that we can have an idea and start our own business without  paying a bribe; that we can participate in the political process without fear of  retribution, and that our votes will be counted -- at least most of the time....

After listening to his keynote address I knew that this was a man whom I wanted to see more of.   A man who could do big things for our country.  For the first time I felt hope.

San Jose colleges have banned discriminatory blood drives

Three San Jose colleges have suspended on-campus blood drives as a stand against the federal ban on allowing gay males to donate blood. According to the SJSU President, the federal ban is in direct conflict with the university’s policy prohibiting discrimination. 

The ban on donation from gay men has been around since 1983, when AIDS first emerged in the United States.  Many campuses have protested the ban on donations from gay men, but this is the first time an administration has taken such a drastic action against it. Of course, students could go elsewhere to donate blood, but campus blood drives can be essential to a community's blood supply. According to some statistics I’ve heard, 16 to 20 percent of blood comes from college-aged donors.

It's important to consider, though, that all donated blood is screened for HIV anyway.  And that the new cases of HIV are on the rise in other groups as well.

Stand by your man … AS IF! Even Tammy Wynette would back off.

cross posted from our sister site, New York City Moms Blog.......

What’s more disgusting than a lyin’ no good, cheatin, hypocritical, political man? Their wives that stand by looking dumbfounded as their unfaithful husbands apologize to the public. Do these women have no pride?  We’ve seen the scene many times before. Eliot Spitzer’s wife joins a long list of deer in the headlight ladies. It’s like a scratched DVD, the same scene plays over and over again with different faces.  Why must Silda Spitzer stand there in her pristine suit as he gives the cameras a whopping 60 second of his time? He slept with prostitutes as old as your daughters for the past year! And you stand there like its no big deal? What exactly is the message of “standing by your man.” Well, for me it means you support your husband even though his actions are grotesque. Spitzer got tripped up in the laws he created to bust prostitution rings. The Irony is FIERCE! (as my project runway hero Christian would say)

Click here to continue reading this post on New York City Moms Blog.....

This Whole Campaign Looks a Lot Different to an Eight-Year-Old

....cross posted from our sister site, DC Metro Moms Blog.

Trying to explain our electoral process to an eight-year-old is like trying to help your child make sense of why the boys who like you in the classroom pick on you during recess.

It's all a bit inscrutable.

What's even harder is trying to help a second-grader grasp that while the election coverage that mommy is addicted to has been going on since before she started this school year, that things won't be over until she's settled into next year's school routine.

"But WHY?" is PunditGirl's continual response when I try to explain why we don't have a new President yet.  We had this discussion after the New Hampshire primary:

PunditGirl: "But who won last night?"

Click Here to continue reading this post on DC Metro Moms Blog.

Get OVER Yourself Ralph Nader

Warning: this is a very partisan post.

There he goes again.

I can not believe Ralph Nader is running for President AGAIN.

How stupid is he?  His ego is so huge he doesn't care that all he will do is help elect a Republican? That's what happened last time.  I remember in '04 walking the dog daily past a neighbor who's car had a Nader sticker, cursing to myself: "Tell me you honestly don't believe that only some nutty wing of the Democrats, Independents, etc. that would never in a million years cast a GOP vote are the ones you'll get? "Plus maybe some spite votes. The Green Party doesn't even want him.

And then he goes and picks former San Francisco Supervisor Matt Gonzalez as his running mate?

That'll get the whacko vote.

Sorry for spewing, but this really makes this Silicon Valley Mom mad. ALL CAPS AND BOLD MAD.

Taboo behavior? I don't think so

Is talking politics taboo? Well-brought up girls are taught never to talk politics at dinner parties, at work, heaven forbid with strangers. Maybe I wasn't brought up right, or maybe that particular lesson didn't sink in, I don't know, but I find it hard to respect that particular rule...especially when we have HISTORY MAKING CHOICES available. I'm certainly NOT teaching my kids that political debate is taboo, quite the opposite. We're often talking politics at the dinner table and have even made predictions of who'll get each nomination.

I recently went online, ordered a lawn sign and ten pins of my favorite candidate to share with any friends and family who'd wear them. How do you like my pin? I'll ask friends whom I know are from across the aisle, just to get the conversation going, cos I firmly believe taboo or no, we aught to be talking about the issues, getting people fired up about this historic election year and hopefully getting those slothful "my vote doesn't count" folks out to the polls... and you know how they react?

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?

How do you explain politics to a six-year-old?

My daughter and I have many interesting conversations during our ten-minute walk to school in the mornings.  She's been following the primaries on a high-level, six-year-old kind of way, so I was surprised at the passion she showed during a conversation we had a couple of weeks ago:

Pea:  Why are there so many Obama signs on people's lawns?  Doesn't anyone want to vote for Hillary Clinton?

Me:  Oh, lots of people want to vote for Hillary, honey, maybe they just don't want to put signs out on their lawn.