MOMocrats

The 2008 Farm Bill: Food & Fuel

I'm no policy analyst, but I do eat and I try to give my child as many organic foods as we can afford, starting with organic milk (at $3.19 $3.49 $3.99!! a half gallon). For a lot of moms, organic milk is the "gateway drug", so to speak, that leads to more organic food in the overall family diet.

And I try to keep up with all the movements that have made me more politically aware about food, and eating: slow food, the organic food movement, locavores/eating locally (aka the 100-mile diet). It's our family's way of trying to eat more nutritiously, support local farmers, reward the use of fertilizers and insect control by means other than dangerous pesticides, and reduce the carbon footprint (miles traveled, for one) of the way our food gets produced.

Where individual consumer habits intersect with policy is the government's USDA Farm Bill (final version of the bill posted here, a summary of commentary here).

The cost of caring for aging parents: another issue to consider for same sex unions

Caleb* and Barry* have been in a committed, monogamous relationship longer than me and my husband. They're educated professionals with a mortgage. Barry---now retired---donates time to animal rescue, and Caleb is a teacher. They also both have aging parents who need assistance. About ten years ago, they decided to move from Massachusetts---the only state that recognizes same sex marriage---to Florida to care for their parents.

If they'd had any other choice, they might still have moved to Florida, because they love the warm and sunny state. They like growing orange trees in the backyard, and being near the coast.

They got married nearly four years ago in Canada. Caleb said, "My mother wanted us to be legit. Actually there are lots of legal reasons to sign those papers, mom wanted a ceremony and dinner, so we did it."

Unfortunately, Florida---which has a same sex marriage ban on the ballot this year---may not be as fond of them because they are a same sex couple.

But it's their home, and their options outside of Massachusetts and Canada are fairly limited.

"As we drive across the country, we are recognized as married, in a civil union, no recognized relationship, and unknown - not tested in the courts.  I can recall having four different legal statuses in one day as we drove across borders," Caleb said, recounting their trip across the US.

Currently, only four states allow civil unions and five states allow domestic partnerships. That creates challenges and trouble for same sex partners, but it also creates problems for caretakers of aging parents and can cost the state and taxpayers. 

John McCain, Crazy Like a Fox

As you've seen from LawyerMama's post, the John McCain campaign is, in political parlance, "reaching out" to a variety of progressive bloggers to participate in McCain's weekly conference calls.  I even got to ask a question on his bipartisanship proposal, getting him to acknowledge that he would appoint Democrats to his administration if elected.

Confused about how a true blue PunditMom and MOMocrat can dip her currently unpedicured toes into red waters?  As my husband likes to say, it's good to know the enemy!

Wait, isn't it a problem to talk with your enemies in McCain's book?  Sorry, I digress.

My point in writing some more about our invitation to talk with Senator McCain is this -- I know they aren't doing this in hopes of convincing people like me to vote Republican in the fall.  I'm sure they've done their research and know that's never going to happen.

They're casting for bigger fish.

Where's the Beef, Sweetie?

I went to school at the University of Michigan, a stone's throw from Detroit. My husband's family is from the Detroit area where the economy is really hurting. Many auto workers want to support a Democrat, but most people I know in that area are Republicans because that's who's been listening to them - or at least who comes across as such. Barack Obama had a real chance to throw some policy "beef" into the discussion when he toured auto plants, but he failed to address the issue, trying to put off those who asked.

To make matters worse, he called a reporter "sweetie," a novice move that could make him look not only condescending, but sexist. If he did that to me, I might consider a write-in vote in November, something I do not take lightly. This had better be the last time he makes a mistake like that. Take a look:

Go Read It: A Girl Named Stanley

Ellen Goodman makes a great suggestion to Senator Obama--that he start having a "gender conversation" with voting women of America who would otherwise support Senator Clinton.

I agree. Put it right out there on the kitchen table: let Obama show off what he knows about women's issues. Skeptical women may yet wonder, will he need spoon-feeding (so unattractive in anyone over the age of toddlerdom or younger than ninety-nine), or does he "get it" on his own? Support can mean 'not being an impediment', or support can mean 'taking proactive measures to ensure opportunities are yours.' Why is opposing "dumb wars" a women's issue (or a Latino issue too, for that matter)? How is the foreclosure crisis or the credit crunch a women's issue? The SCOTUS--a women's issue?

Does It Matter to You How West Virginia Votes?

It's another Primary Day in America!

Come on, you know you're excited to see what happens in West Virginia!

OK, so even with the all-day coverage, there probably aren't many people who are all that interested.  There's some serious election fatigue going on.

But I'm wondering today, what does it say if Hillary Clinton wins the West Virginia Democratic primary by the huge landslide that the pundits are predicting?

Whether we like it or not, I think that's a question that needs answering.

Many are eager to believe that we're a country not divided -- that there are more things that join us than separate us.  But a major landslide for Hillary Clinton in the state where my grandfather was born would say to me we have a much longer way to go before we're ready to join hands and sing in a spirit of harmony and peace.

Everyone got a good laugh out of SNL's Clinton parody about her supporters being racists.  And I have no doubt there's going to be a lot of insinuation about that for West Virginia voters.

But how about if we back up and think about why certain pockets of the nation are overwhelmingly for Clinton and others have been landslides for Obama.  Leave aside the easy, gut reaction that Clinton supporters are racists and Obama fans are enlightened progressives.  If we continue on that road, John McCain will surely be the next POTUS.

Real understanding and analysis shouldn't be that hard to find.  I know that doesn't make for good comedy or quick soundbites, but it sure as hell would create a stronger Democratic party.

So tonight, I'd love to hear Chris Matthews, Keith Olbermann, Anderson Cooper and Wolf Blitzer come up with some real political analysis. 

Come on guys -- it's not rocket science.  Surely you can find someone to talk about the real underlying currents of this election season.  Race and gender are the easy issues to talk about.  Dig a little deeper -- what you find could be pretty interesting.

Indiana Republican Mom for Hillary Clinton

I always love the international perspective on the 2008 presidential campaign I get from Justin Webb's America blog.  Justin is a friend of mine who also happens to be the BBC's North America editor.

Pretty much since the beginning of this presidential campaign, Justin has been traveling around the country to shed light on our process for his viewers and listeners in Great Britain.

Today, he's got a great post up called "Republicans for Hillary."

It's a quick video interview with "Darlene" from Indiana, a lifelong Republican and fan of George Bush.

She's voting Democratic today and she's voting for Hillary.

You go, Darlene!

NC NAACP Files With FBI, Department of Justice to Investigate Possible Voter Suppression

I've been following this story as it bubbled up from DailyKos (this diary in particular discusses the evidence for a cover-up of either wrongdoing or extreme incompetence) and Talking Points Memo. The story has been evolving on NPR (here and here) and was briefly alluded to in the Washington Post today.

At issue? A non-profit organization, Women's Voices, Women's Votes, designed to facilitate voter registration among unmarried women, was the source of illegal "robo-calls" that appeared to deliver erroneous information to African American voters and others in advance of the North Carolina Democratic Party primary. They've also contacted potential voters with registration packets that weren't well-timed to either the voter registration efforts for the primaries or the upcoming general election in November, 2008.

Genetic Nondiscrimination Bill Almost Law

On May 1, the House approved HR 493, the Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act (GINA). The bill would prohibit individual insurer from using genetic information to make enrollment or premium/co-insurance decisions. It also would prohibit employers from using genetic information in making hiring, promotion, or termination decisions.

The bill, Rep. Louise McIntosh Slaughter's (D-NY) baby -- or really, adolescent, since it has been 13 years since she first introduced the legislation -- passed the House, 420-3 on April 25.

Reps. Jeff Flake (R-AZ-6th), Ed Royce (R-CA-40th), and Ron Paul (R-TX-14th) were the three holdouts.  It passed the Senate 95-0.

Why is this bill so important?

Go Read It: Hillary's "Obliterate Iran" Remark and the Overseas Response

Maybe the one big piece of news that came out of the otherwise content-free ABC News debate was Clinton's stance on the "what-if?" situation where Iran uses nuclear arms to attack Israel. Clinton spoke about maintaining an "umbrella of deterrence" and that the U.S., under her lead, would "obliterate Iran"--with nuclear weapons, if need be--to protect our ally Israel.

It wasn't a mistake, she said it again when interviewed a few days later.

Contrast this with Governor Bill Richardson's more reasoned comments on Iran:

Clinton's remark disappeared into the ether, we were all so rightly annoyed at the overall vapidity of George Stuffin'envelopes and Chuck Gibson's moderation of that so-called debate.

But the international press certainly sat up and noticed--go read it here.