Women's March San Francisco

I've read right wingers' posts accusing liberals of being "special snowflakes" who can't handle losing the elections. The best rebuttal that I've read: Okay, so liberals are special snowflakes. Do you know what happens when a million snowflakes get together? You get A STORM. Watch out. Winter is Coming.

Yesterday, the first Winter Storm happened. I'm talking about the Women's March. On January 21, the day after Trump's inauguration, about half a million people marched in Washington DC to support women's rights, equality, diversity, and inclusion (and yes, to voice their opposition to Donald Trump). They were joined by millions more in hundreds of cities across the US and the world. In the Bay Area, where we live, there were 3 marches to choose from: Oakland, San Jose, and San Francisco. The Pea and I originally planned to attend the San Jose rally, but when it turned out she needed to go to San Francisco to buy pointe shoes, we decided to attend the San Francisco march instead. Armed with our pink pussycat hats, rain jackets, and rally posters, we headed up to the city to add ourselves to the headcount of people who wanted to be a part of something big. Boy, what a crazy, amazing, inspiring experience it was!

Thanks, Trump

Countdown to 2020 ElectionsCountdown

So the day I've been dreading since November 8 has arrived: Donald Trump's inauguration. It's going to be a long, frustrating 4 years. I've already begun the countdown to the 2020 elections. But what to do in the meantime? For starters, I'm attending tomorrow's Women's March in San Francisco.

A roller coaster of emotions

Two weeks ago, I mailed in my ballot. I was excited. The world was full of hope and change. The past 18 months had been a nightmare of homophobia, xenophobia, and misogyny. My mood rose and fell with Hilary Clinton's standing in the polls, but on the whole I felt confident. I meticulously researched every candidate and measure on the ballot because I wanted to do my civic duty. I was indifferent to a few measure and unsure of others, but I had no doubt that I was on the right side of history with my choice for president.

Painting the town RED for Marriage Equality

Today was one of those rare IRL -- In Real Life -- days.  I spent the entire morning on a field trip, chaperoning The Pea's 6th grade class around Chinatown.  I spent lunchtime watching old episodes of Modern Family (after months of being on the library's waiting list for the Season 3 DVD, my turn had finally come up!).  I drove the boys to soccer practice, and while they were at the field I took The Pea to Home Depot to choose paint colors for her room.   I checked my email, Twitter and Instagram feeds throughout the day, but for some reason didn't get around to checking Facebook until almost 6PM.  So I was totally unprepared for the sea of red that covered Facebook today.

Arguments against legal same-sex marriage (and why they're nonsense)

Finally, President Obama has taken a stand and voiced his support for gay marriage.  No, not gay marriage, just marriage -- marriage for everyone, regardless of race, religion, economic status, or sexual orientation.

I've long been an advocate for marriage for all, despite my Catholic upbringing. And no matter what your religious beliefs are, I'm hoping you'll agree that the law should allow any two consenting adults to wed.  If you keep in mind that we're talking about marriage as a legal contract, I don't see any arguments against it!  Here are all the usual reasons people oppose same-sex marriage -- and why I don't think they matter:

Speak Now for Kids

Change is a-comin', people, change is a-comin'. And no area in the US needs change more than the healthcare system. Despite its shortcomings, I am personally for universal healthcare. I can see that it's probably a long way away, given the paranoia over socialism in this country and the entrenched interests of the giant insurance companies. But surely, people, we can agree to insure children?

Congress is drafting legislation right now that will impact health care for all Americans. One of the things I like best about President Obama's ambitious healthcare plan is the mandate to cover all children. But with everything else going on -- the financial crisis, the situation in Pakistan, Sarah Jessica Parker's twin babies -- there's always a danger that the issue could fall off the table. And that's where we come in. It's up to We the People to make sure that Congress knows how important this is!

Speak Now for Kids is a grassroots movement to ensure that children's needs are included in health care reform. It's sponsored by the National Association of Children’s Hospitals (N.A.C.H.)and it's a movement that I'm happy to speak out for.

So how can you speak out? Visit Speak Now for Kids:

1) Learn about the campaign.
2) Tell Congress that you are a champion for children's needs in healthcare reform.
3) Spread the word via Facebook, Twitter, your blog or email.


Check it out: if my kids can Speak Out for Kids, then so can you.

Speaking of Twitter, you can learn more about the campaign and tweet with a representative from the National Association of Children's Hospitals on Wednesday, May 6th, from 9 to 10 p.m. EST. ResourcefulMom is hosting a #SpeakNowforKids SiteWarming Party -- click here to RSVP.

The Gay Queen - Beauty Queen Smackdown!

When I heard on the telly this morning that Miss California's views on gay marriage supposedly cost her the Miss USA title, I assumed that Miss California had strong pro-gay-marriage views and Middle America (as evidenced by the judges' scores) did not approve . I don't know why; maybe it's because everyone I know in Silicon Valley supports gay rights, and I thought Miss California would mirror California's liberal tendencies. I heard Perez Hilton's name mentioned and I thought he must be championing her, saying she was robbed of the crown because she supports gay marriage.

So when I heard the full story, I was surprised and saddened. Not because she stood her ground and stayed true to her religious beliefs, but because those religious beliefs are making life hell for gays who just want the same legal rights as everyone else. So many people cite the Bible and God's will as reason for their opposition to gay marriage, but that argument doesn't make sense because laws shouldn't reflect the views of any particular religious affiliation. They can ban gay marriage in their churches all they want, damn gays to hell in their speeches and whatnot -- that is their right according to the First Amendment (see, I still remember my US citizenship material!). But it's not fair to deny two people the same legal status and rights that are given freely to other people, simply because of their sexual preferences -- and because of other people's condemnation of said sexual preferences.

So yes, I was suprised. But then again, maybe I shouldn't be. After all, California did ban same-sex marriage last November. Living where we do, it's hard to remember that there are many more people like Carrie Prejean living in California. Despite all the boos she received for her answers, despite losing the crown, it's undeniable that Carrie Prejean reflects the views of a great many people in the US. But the fact remains that she did get boos. And she did lose the crown. So maybe things are changing.

The signs of our times

Home-made signs ruled at today's No on 8 rally at San Jose City Hall. Sure, there lots of the familiar, glossy "Vote No on Prop 8" signs. But the home-made ones were way better. Some were funny. Some were angry. Some were touching. All reflected the diversity of the people who attended the rally, and the real passion behind the cause.

My top three favorites:

(BTW, the "parents" in this little boy's sign happen to be two men. They were absolutely doting on him, just like any other parents, anywhere. With two loving parents, I'd say that little boy is going to do just fine).

Here's my vote, where's yours?

I'm really bummed that my US citizenship application did not push through in time for me to vote in today's elections (blame an interview appointment that conflicted with a trip abroad, a rescheduling notice lost in the mail, and the frustrating, inexplicable delays). But if I were allowed to go into a polling booth today, here's how I would vote:


Elected Officials:
President/VP: Barack Obama/Joe Biden
US Representative, District 14: Anna Eshoo
State Senator, District 11: Joe Simitian
State Assemblymember, District 21: Ira Ruskin
Judge, Office No. 8:
Santa Clara County Board of Education Trustee, Area 1: Grace Mah

Hmmmmm..... who should we vote for president in the most important election of our time? Let's see...... the war in Iraq needs to end .... we need a healthcare system that doesn't bankrupt people.... it's been proven that the financial markets actually DO need a bit of government intervention..... rich people need to help out the people who made them so stinking rich in the first place...... we need a leader who can restore the US's reputation around the world ..... the country needs a change from George Bush..... was there any doubt that I'd vote for Obama/Biden?

As for the rest.... I'd vote to keep the incumbents because haven't heard anything negative about their performance so far. And I'd vote for Grace Mah because I've seen her in action, campaigning for Mandarin immersion in Palo Alto schools, and I know this girl gets things done.



Below are the measures I support (I have left out a number of measures because I haven't done enough research on the issue to have an intelligent opinion one way or the other)

California State Measures:
Prop 1A: No
High speed trains sound great, but the need for local public transportation is much greater.

Prop 2: Yes
Yes, we're prepared to pay higher prices in exchange for better animal treatment standards. Besides, have you seen the state of chicken farms in China? Remember where the avian flu came from? Do you want to risk all sorts of diseases coming from crowded conditions like that?

Prop 4: No
This was a Really Tough One, I think the toughest of all. I'm Catholic and I'm pro-choice, but I'm against abortion (Wha-ha-hat? For explanation, I refer you to Joe Biden's brilliant, rational and compassionate defense of his pro-choice position, which is exactly how I feel). If my teenage daughter got pregnant I'd want to know about it so I could do everything I could to discourage her from getting an abortion. But notification is not consent. If The Pea really wanted to go through with it, there would be no way I could stop her anyway. Teens who will not or cannot tell their parents they are having an abortion will simply ignore this law and find a way to go through with it anyway. So they need to have access to safe and legal procedures. Yes, the measure does have an "out" that allows minors to bypass the requirement, but it requires spilling all your secrets to a judicial court, or telling Social Services that your legal guardian has molested you. Like any girl is going to opt for that!

Prop 8: No.
Let people live their lives the way they want to, they're not harming you! Whatever your religious views on same-sex marriage, this is a legal issue. Your church can say marriage is between a man and a woman and condemn all homosexuals to hell, it's their business. But that's church and this is state, and all couples should be treated equally under law. Otherwise, it's like having different water fountains, oh yes, they're both water fountains so why should you complain if you have to use your own water fountain and not mine? Even though my water fountain gives me cold, filtered water and yours gives you warm tap water, they're still the same......


Santa Clara County measures:
Measure A: Yes
Do I want to be in a hospital during a minor earthquake and have the ceiling collapse on me? Heck, no. I hated paying an arm and a leg for the seismic safety upgrade of our 1920's house -- but we did it anyway. When safety is at stake, it's an easy decision. And besides, we'd spend a whole lot more to rebuild the house.

Measure B: Yes
The Valley needs more public transportation, and the systems that already exist need to be connected. How else are we going to ease the congestion on our roads and pollution in the air?

Palo Alto city measures
Measure N: No
Sorry, I love the libraries, but it's just too much money in a time when there's not enough money to go around. I said yes on Measures A and B, and there's just not enough in our budget for Measure N. Sacrifices are being made all around, and this is a luxury we'll have to forego. Better yet, get rid of the branch libraries and concentrate resources on a single library (and yes, I'd be happy to drive from North Palo Alto to a single, new and improved Mitchell Park library).



For all you US citizens -- you don't know how lucky you are. You are in a privileged position to make a real difference in how your money is used, in how your state is run, in what direction your country takes. Heck, the US is such a powerful nation that your vote can even affect the way the world turns. So USE that vote! If you don't want, it, I'll gladly have it!

The sweet rewards of doing your civic duty

As if you needed an extra reason to vote..... go to participating Ben & Jerry's shops on voting day -- that's tomorrow, November 4 -- tell them you voted and they'll give you a free ice cream cone.

A message from the anti-US cities in the US

I've always known that the writers on the Silicon Valley Moms Group are smart, sassy and savvy. Here's a video that New York Moms Blog writer Amyhas posted on YouTube, speaking for all the people who live in the big-city, anti-American parts of the country (that only exist in Sarah Palin's mind):

MOMocrats giveaway

How's this for a cool giveaway -- you could win some cool Hillary/Obama/MOMOcrats swag! My favorite political moms, the MOMocrats, are hosting a Mother's Day giveaway

ENOUGH

Today I join hundreds of people at Blogswarm, thousands throughout the blogosphere, and millions around the world, in mourning the day that George Bush used the US Army to invade Iraq and throw the world into turmoil.

Five years. Five. Fucking. Years. I never ever swear on my blog but today I am angry.

I went through my photo archives to five years ago and found these photos of The Pea at her first rally. We attended an anti-war protest at the Civic Center in San Francisco, where we marched and chanted and voiced our objections to a war that, even then, we knew had no justification.

I look at the Pea, so young and small, dancing happily in the circle, and I think about the difference five years has made in our lives. The Pea is now in first grade. We have two more children. The economy has not been kind to us. We have gone through 3 job layoffs and live much more frugally than we did before. We certainly feel no safer than we did five years ago; quite the opposite, we encounter anti-American sentiment wherever we go.

I look at the people in these photos, and I wonder, how many of them have lost their jobs? Their homes? How many of them have family members that have ended up in Iraq? How many have lost lives due to this war?

And I wonder about the people who are not in these photos, the people who have suffered the most because of this war, the Iraqis. How many have had their lives torn apart since the war began? How many had children the same age as The Pea, but don't have those children with them anymore?

I am angry. George Bush and friends, you have a lot to answer for.

BlogSwarm on March 19th

March 19 marks the 5th anniversary of the start of Bush's invasion of Iraq. I'll be joining hundreds of bloggers throughout the world on Blogswarm, writing about our sentiments regarding the Iraq war. If you feel the same way, I encourage you to head on over to their site and sign up.

The latest Hollywood campaign

Obama's got Oprah, DeNiro, Clooney, Will.i.am, Scarlett Johanssen. Clinton's got Spielberg, Streisand, Bon Jovi, Quincy Jones..... Nicholson....




... and here's one YouTube filmmaker's answer to that:



Ya gotta love it when Hollywood gets involved in politics!

Just call me Ana Hussein

It doesn't matter whether you're a Democrat or a Republican, liberal or conservative -- all this nasty, fear-mongering showing Barack Obama in Muslim garb and emphasizing his middle name (Hussein) is downright childish. So I agree with the MOMocrats -- Bill Cunningham, you're grounded! -- and to show my support, I'm joining their "Just Call Me Hussein" meme.

Boy does it suck when people twist your name around. When I entered first grade, there were 3 girls with the same first name -- Ana -- in my class. My music teacher sought to distinguish us by adding our second names. One would be called Anna Maria, the second would be Ana Cristina. As for me? My second name is Cecilia, so you'd think my teacher would have called me Ana Cecilia. Nope. She chose Ana Cel.

WTF?? Why did I get stuck with the dumb name? You can imagine the ribbing I got from my classmates. I put my foot down on that one, but my horrible teacher would not let people call me by my real name, Ana. Or Cecilia. For some reason, she ended up calling me "Cecile" (not "SEE-sl" with a long e, "SEH-sl" with a short e). I didn't like it either, but it was better than Ana Cel. I signed all my test papers with my real name, but I was called Cecile all throughout grade school and high school. I still don't like that name. My old classmates still call me Cecile when they see me and I say I don't mind, but actually I do. It never felt like it was mine.

But for now, feel free to call me by my adopted name. For today, Ana Cel will happily answer to Ana Hussein. People think that because it's part of Saddam Hussein's name, it's a name to be ashamed of. But because it's part of Barack Hussein Obama's name, it's one I wear today with pride.

To meet more Husseins, click here.

Parents at the Polls

Good morning, America! Today is Voting Day over at the Silicon Valley Moms Blog. Posts all day will be devoted to how being parents affects our politics. With the primary elections heating up and the general elections looming in the distance, the stakes couldn't be higher. And go to the site to read my post about an interesting conversation I had with The Pea.....

Why the Edwards campaign went kaput :(

What a way to wake up in the morning -- first we hear that Highway 101, the main freeway of the Bay Area, is still half-closed due to yesterday's oil spill (meaning horrendous commuter traffic), then we hear that John Edwards is dropping out of the presidential race.

I'm sad, but not surprised. I loved the promise of change that Edwards' campaign brought -- and I mean real change, not just change in the ruling party or change of strategy in Iraq or change in focus, but change in the way the system works -- like ending the influence of corporations and lobbyists, a real commitment to education for everyone and healthcare for everyone. But in the end, I guess the status quo fought back and won. There were just so many things against him:

1) The news media. All along, the media has decided who gets to run or not by bestowing that most precious of commodities -- Media Coverage -- on the Chosen Candidates. No amount of money spent on ads in this state and that state can compare to the coverage that candidates get on CNN or Fox News or NBC. The media have covered every little blurb that passes for news about Clinton or Obama, while Edwards has had to fight for each and every second in the spotlight.

When you think about it, who runs these media organizations? Big corporations like GE, the same corporations that stand to lose a lot of influence if Edwards became president and made good on his crusade against excessive corporate influence.

2) The campaign finance system. Edwards was the only Democratic candidate who accepted public funding -- which means he is limited to spending only $50 million and he cannot accept private funds for the general election (I've read around the blogosphere that his campaign was built upon the support of small donors, in fact, 93 percent of the campaign's donations come from donors contributing less than $100).

I think it was an honorable, principled stand that sent out the message that he is not beholden to any special interest groups, and would not owe anyone anything once he became president. But unfortunately the other candidates did not follow his lead, and so had way more more to spend to get even more media coverage.

3) This silly system of staggered primaries. Why can't all states hold their primaries on the same day? What gives states like Iowa and New Hampshire so much influence over who gets to run for president? Why are their states any more important than other states?

It's such a distorted perception. These "early decision" states actually have a minuscule portion of delegate votes needed to win a primary election. Think of this -- so far, only 452 out of over 4000 delegates have been awarded. Because Edwards has only 16 of those 452 delegates, people think there is no way he could win, but with so many delegates yet to be awarded, he could still actually get 2025 votes needed to win. If everyone voted at the same time, that is.


As I said, sad but not surprised. Edwards fought a good, honorable fight. I just hope he keeps fighting to make sure the things he stands for stay in the limelight.

See my other farewell to the Edwards campaign on SV Moms Blog.

The Clinton Rally in Photos and Videos

Lines.....

And more lines...

Once you get in, all you see is people!

Here's the view we managed to snag (that's Nya Jade)

Here's the view after people got all excited

At least it's better than CleanBoy's view

But seeing Hillary was great

And listening to her was even better

The Pea knows who she wants to vote for

And we got to have a photo with Hillary (well, sort of)

Lessons Learned from My First Rally

With the memories of our meeting with Elizabeth Edwards fresh in my mind, it was with great excitement and expectation that I boarded the BART train to see Hillary Clinton in Oakland. Wow, another presidential campaign event! In a single weekend! How fun!

It turns out that expectations and reality were two very different things. In all honesty, we would have enjoyed ourselves much more had we known what to expect and been better prepared. To other campaign virgins out there, here are some lessons I learned:

#1. Whatever they might call it, it's a rally.
It was billed as a "family-friendly block party" with music, fun, food and entertainment. In my extreme naivete, I imagined a gigantic festival like the Palo Alto Festival of the Arts, with people strolling around, listening to music on several stages until Hillary came out on the main stage.

Welcome to the real world, bonggamom. The event was a political rally, pure and simple. Basically fourteen thousand people crammed together like sardines, with no room to do anything but stand up, patiently listening to the front acts (music and speeches), but basically waiting over 1 hour for Hillary to speak. Since the event was free and tickets giving closer access to the stage were only $20, I did expect a ton of people (Yes, we were naive, but not stupid). I just didn't expect them to try and fit all those people into a single city block. Maybe a spread-out crowd doesn't look as good on camera?

#2. Arrive early.
We had planned to arrive at least half an hour early so we could stroll around, find a playground for the kids, maybe get ourselves a snack at a food booth before the crowd started coming in (as I said, I was extremely naive). As so often happens when you have kids, the best we managed to do was arrive exactly on time. We found ourselves at the end of a security line, stretching out three or four blocks and growing every second. We spent forty minutes in line before reaching the security tables and entering the closed-off rally area.

By this time, of course, there was no hope of getting a good spot. Even with our $20 "VIP" tickets, the place was already so crowded that we barely managed to secure a crappy, faraway, squished-between-the-loudspeakers-and-the-lights view of the stage (which turned to no view at all once all the banners and posters were in the air).

#3. Do not bring your kids. Ever.
They said kids welcome, family-friendly. I wasn't expecting a bouncy house and crafts, but I did imagine some space to run around, ice cream vendors, perhaps a playground nearby. What I got was my children having to stand up in a sea of adults (claustrophobia, anyone?), loudspeakers blaring, for over an hour, with only a pen, paper, and three sheets of stickers to keep them amused.

My twin 3-year-olds in particular had no idea why they were there, no idea what to do and no idea how long it would last. When I hoisted one of them onto my shoulder, I was immediately reprimanded by a woman behind me who complained that she could no longer see. Wanting to be accommodating, I dutifully lowered him onto the ground where all he could see was legs and feet. After thirty minutes or so, he could no longer take it so we escaped to a spot with less people and absolutely no view of the stage whatsoever. But there was still the hunger (did I mention no food vendors?) and the boredom and the noise to contend with. Some choice quotes that he managed to scream into my ear:

Mama, I can feel my heart beating in my throat! (in response to the heavy bass)
Mama, I want to take the train home now!
Mama, this is never going to end!
Mama, I'm going to be here foreeeeeveeeer!

We weren't the only ones. All around I could see families who had fallen for the "Kids welcome" line. At best they were asleep in their parents' aching arms or slumped on the sidewalk with a bored expression, at worst they were having tantrums or panic attacks like my son. I suppose it was sort of a blessing to the adults around that no-one could hear them scream.

#4. Leave early. Especially if you did not follow Lesson 3.

That was the one thing we did right -- about three-quarters of the way through Clinton's speech, after we had had a chance to snap some photos, shoot some videos, wave our placards and cheer with the crowd, we began our retreat. We were still able to hear the rest of her speech as we moved to the back of the crowd, towards the train station, and we were able to beat the outgoing crowd. And our hungry, tired and sleep kids were able to get to bed a bit earlier.

#5. Do not underestimate the power of a great speaker or a huge crowd.
You'd think that under the circumstances -- after waiting so long, standing so close together that it felt like the Tokyo subway during rush hour -- tempers would be flaring. But the mood was generally upbeat. Everyone seemed content to wait patiently for Hillary to speak, ready to wave their banners and cheer. And the front acts were good, I'll give them that -- church choirs, singer Nya Jade, and political luminaries like Gavin Newsom, Barbara Lee, and Dianne Feinstein. The only people who looked disgruntled were the stressed-out parents and the anal woman behind me.

And Hillary herself did not disappoint. The woman certainly knows how to work the crowd. Edwards supporter that I am, I found myself cheering with the crowd. Her speaking points were so clear and concise that even my six-year-old daughter remembers what she said (On the way to school this morning, she raved, "Mama, she wants to end global warming! She wants the government to help sick people! And she'll be a good president because learned her lessons from her husband who used to be president! Can I vote for her?") At one point, she mistakenly referred to San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom as "Governor Newsom". Laughter, cheers. Quick and witty as ever, she quipped, "That's what he told me to say; I guess I can see why." The crowd absolutely lapped it up.

Which brings me to my last lesson.....

#6. Rallies can be fun!

Despite the difficulties we encountered, we're still glad we went and we'd do it again. Most of the difficulties we encountered came about because of our inexperience; next time we'll know better. We got to see Hillary Clinton, even though we had to squint to see her. We got to take her photo, even though the closest we came to her was having our photo taken with a lifesize cardboard replica of her. We got to listen to her and gather information that will help us make an informed decision next year.

Even though I've decided that children under ten don't belong at an event like this, it wasn't a total disaster. My six-year-old daughter was excited that she got to see and hear a potential woman president. My three-year-old son enjoyed rolling up his free Clinton poster to make a sword. Even his traumatized twin enjoyed raising his poster and waving it along with the rest of the crowd. And since ice-cream cones or funnel cakes were nowhere in sight, we treated them to the campaign button of their choice. And they are still raving about that train ride.

If anything, it made me appreciate even more the opportunity that I've had to meet Elizabeth Edwards with such a small group; how many people get a chance to do that without paying thousands of dollars? The experience leaves me raring to see the other candidates; preferrably at a more intimate gathering like the Edwards event (cmon, read out invite and meet with us!), but we'll settle for a huge rally like this Clinton event if that's what it takes. Just remind me to call a babysitter, okay?

Cross posted on the Silicon Valley Moms Blog