All Blog Posts

10/16/07

Jim Johnson, the owner of Johnson Moving and Storage and a self-described conservative, also knows firsthand about the benefits of a family-friendly workplace. After attending a talk by Joan Williams, author of Unbending Gender, Jim decided that his company would define individual jobs according to goals rather than just by the hours worked and where the job was done. Now, a quarter of his employees are off-site or virtual workers. Many others work flexible hours to fit their family or personal schedules. Jim's company now enjoys low rates of turnover and a higher quality workforce.

MomsRising Together

Donna Norton

10/15/07

Missing from most news reports on the debate over the State Children's Health Insturance Program (S-CHIP) is one reason why getting an override on the president's veto will be tough: tobacco money. Tobacco campaign contributions, that is. The legislation pays for expansion of the children's health program with an increase in tobacco taxes, by increasing the levy from 39 cents to $1 a pack. Problem is so many members of Congress take tobacco campaign contributions. Overall, the industry has sunk nearly $25 million into federal elections since the 2000 elections, according to the Center for Responsive Politics. Nearly 80 percent of that cash went to Republicans. (Indeed, President George W. Bush himself took more than a quarter million from tobacco interests for his two presidential elections.)

MomsRising Together

Nancy Watzman

10/13/07

We are very excited about the birth of FamiliesRising.org! But before we tell you exactly why, we’d like to introduce ourselves. We are representatives of a subset of involved dads and moms who practice equally shared parenting. This means that both parents, in an intact family, share equally in breadwinning, housework, childraising and recreation time. No one parent rules the home; no one parent has the primary career. Both parents have deep intimate relationships with their children, and both have equal say in tending their childhoods. And both parents place a high value on time with each other, time to pursue hobbies, time to do what matters most to each individual. Right now, we are working to raise awareness of this lifestyle – its joys and challenges – through our website and blog at www.equallysharedparenting.com . We are looking forward to doing so through FamiliesRising.org as well.

MomsRising Together

Marc and Amy Vachon

10/11/07

Jeffrey Toobin is talking about The Nine. I want to talk about The Fifteen. To override President Bush's veto of the SCHIP -- State Children's Health Insurance Program -- bill, only 15 Republicans need to move their support over to the Democrats.

MomsRising Together

Joanne Bamberger

10/10/07

For the next two weeks, we have to pull out all the stops for the State Children's Health Insurance Program -- we need to get a 2/3 majority vote in the House and Senate to override the president's veto. Your letters and stories are an essential piece of this work! Send your personal story about children's health care to Congress here (don't worry, if you don't have a personal story about children's health care, you can still submit a letter - it is written and ready to go! All you have to do is hit "send"): http://salsa.democracyinaction.org/o/1768/campaign.jsp?campaign_KEY=14806

MomsRising Together

Kristin Rowe-Finkbeiner

10/08/07

I’m 28 years old, just married in February, and my husband and I would love to start a family… some day. But both of us are at points in our careers where a family just doesn’t make sense. He’s starting his own business, which is rapidly taking off, and I’m doing this exciting work in policy advocacy with MomsRising. We both think that this is the time when we can take a few risks with our careers. Anybody who works for a nonprofit, especially a new one, knows that the work is both rewarding and hard. And, starting a new business is no small task. Both take long hours, the ability to get up and go at a moment’s notice, and of course, something like financial security, but not the kind that makes you feel really good about bringing a new life into the world. Not yet, anyhow.

MomsRising Together

Katie Bethell

10/06/07

Last night tens of thousands of people--including many MomsRising members--gathered at rallies around the nation to protest President Bush’s veto of federal funding for SCHIP, a program providing health insurance for children in need. We're making a difference together! Now that the rallies are done, we need you to to email a letter to your Congressperson urging them to override President Bush's veto.

MomsRising Together

Kristin Rowe-Finkbeiner

10/04/07

Join a local rally near you to protest the president's veto! Click here to find a rally near you. *Yesterday morning the president vetoed a bill to provide funding for the State Children's Health Insurance Program (SCHIP). As a result, 6.6 million children could lose health care coverage beginning November 16 and millions more who need health care coverage won't get it at all. With his veto, the president ignored bi-partisan support in congress and the overwhelming support of the American people. It's time to stand up (literally!) against this outrageous decision and call for Congress to overturn the president's veto.

MomsRising Together

Kristin Rowe-Finkbeiner

09/27/07

If you’ve had a kid in high school, you know this. If you have a little one, you’ll know it soon enough. It’s the lunchtime ritual. When that noon bell rings, the teenagers come barreling out of their classrooms, divide up, and head to their group’s designated spot to eat lunch. Well, maybe they actually eat something, but mostly they just hang out together. When they look back on their high school days, it’ll probably be these lunch spots and the memories formed there that they remember most.

MomsRising Together

Mary Olivella

09/21/07

Have you ever been denied a job or a promotion because you are a mom? A new study shows that mothers are 79% less likey to be hired than others with equal resumes. Share your story so we can build understanding about why this is so damaging to families and must be stopped. Share your experiences here: If you're on the homepage, then just click the blog title above, or click on the "Read full post" link below to get to the blog page for sharing.

MomsRising Together

Kristin Rowe-Finkbeiner