Thursday morning I saw a picture of Cho Seun-Hui looking like an action hero splashed across the front page of The New York Times and we've all seen the TV coverage. This week we have had a media feeding frenzy and frankly it endangers our kids. We've certainly been aware of the copycat effect fueled by intense media coverage of school killings since Columbine. But sadly, with the media, if it bleeds it leads….even when this almost certainly contributes to future tragedies:

This week I had the deep satisfaction of seeing respectful debate arise among MomsRising members about whether or not the Imus petition was within the MomsRising agenda. It's wonderful to hear our members speak passionately about our shared mission. I want to share the process by which we came to the petition because it is the product of an important dialog within MomsRising core team that brought us all to a deeper understanding of our work at MomsRising and our connection to each other. The outcome was the E-outreach we sent on Wednesday, the day the sad faces of the young women of the Rutgers Women's basketball team were on the front page of the New York Times. The discussion started Tuesday when one member of our team sent a query to all asking whether we should respond to the comments made by Don Imus. Many of us weren't sure that this issue had a strong enough connection to the MomsRising mission. Then Anita--new mom of a beautiful bi-racial baby girl--spoke. Her words were gentle but strong: this hurt her, as a mother. She was clear that she was ready to work for a culture that would not tolerate this kind of public entertainment, for soon her daughter would grow old enough to experience the indignity, the hurt. Our team has diverse voices and, as we dug in, we came to the conclusion that, indeed, as a voice for mothers and as mothers ourselves, we should speak up and condemn Imus'public humiliation of the young Rutgers women.

Being a stay at home mom or dad (SAHM or SAHD) means different things to different people. It took me the full forty weeks of pregnancy to think and journal about what it meant for me. My husband I decided together that I would stay with Minkie (the nickname for our daughter!). I wasn't sure how long I'd want with my baby before having to return to a job I wasn't sure I wanted. (It was a good job with great co-workers but I was ready for a change.) I knew I wanted to give the whole bonding thing as much time as possible. And I knew I have my whole life to work, but a limited time for me to interact with the baby while she was still a baby. Finally, my husband and I decided we're happy living very simply and renting a one bedroom apartment in order to live on one income. So, there it was- staying at home it would be.

This morning I nearly ran my mini van off the road when I saw a bumper sticker on the car in front of me: “Don’t vote for Hillary or she will make us all clean up our rooms.” This is the straw that broke this mother’s back. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Senator Hillary Clinton’s public embrace of motherhood has sparked a flurry of attacks on the work of mothers. Obviously, it is Pelosi and Clinton’s impressive professional skills, not their motherhood, that qualified them to break through the marble ceiling. Still, the devaluing of mothers’ work that has quickly become fodder for countless bloggers and journalists is infuriating. As a leadership consultant, I work with business leaders every day. I’m always struck by just how much their work corresponds to the daily work of a mother. Who else but a mother fosters compassion, negotiates conflicts, and teaches communication skills, cooperation, empathy, and decision making? Who else builds human capital for this country? Leadership skills cross over from home to work and work to home. Motherhood and leadership are not antithetical. In fact, a mother of three who is juggling schedules, managing a home, and keeping her children happy and cooperative has a lot in common with a CEO who puts out daily fires while fostering a work environment where each person feels motivated and valued. And yet somehow, even in the era of political correctness, it is still acceptable to reduce mothers to mere nose wipers.