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• Two Girl Scouts Won't Sell Cookies Because of the Orangutans

  Okay, for the record, I was a Girl Scout. I sold the cookies, I got the badges, I went to the camp. I was never super into it, nor did I hate it. It was just one of the activities I did growing up. I'm saying this because I want you to know I have no personal vendetta against the Girl Scouts, even though I keep reporting on the downsides of their damn cookies.   So two Michigan Girl Scouts are refusing to sell cookies, because they care about endangered orangutans. The cookies... Read More... Posted Apr 18 2008, 04:32 PM by Kelly Mills with | with 4 comment(s) Filed under: health, environmentalism, cookies, activism, Girl Scouts, green, palm oil, badges, species, rainforest, orangutans

• Pregnancy Discrimination Complaints On the Rise

  The Wall Street Journal reports that pregnancy-bias job complaints to the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission were up by 14 percent this year, and up by 40 percent from a decade ago. Employers aren't allowed to discriminate against the with child in hiring, firing, and lay-offs--which doesn't mean they can't do all those things to you, it just means they can't treat you worse than men. So essentially you have to prove that the actions were motivated by the fact that you were pregnant, which isn't always easy. While many women also assume... Read More... Posted Mar 29 2008, 09:31 AM by Kelly Mills with | with 1 comment(s) Filed under: pregnancy, wall street journal, employment, discrimination, activism, hiring, maternity leave, jobs, equality, firing, lay-offs, complaints, employers

• The Internet is Not the Devil

  It seems that every generation views bashing the up-and-coming one as a kind of sport, and this one is no exception. Where older folks once lamented rock music and long hair as markers of the end of civilization, now we have teenagers who are ignorant and narcissistic and spend so much time online that they can no longer interact with real people in the real world. Well, Emily Goldwasser at Salon isn't buying it, and she says the internet is not a danger and a disaster for our kids. She's responding in part to a phone survey of teens that showed a "stunning ignorance" of history and literature.  Boy, does she make some good points in this excellent article: She highlights... Read More... Posted Mar 17 2008, 06:31 PM by Kelly Mills with | with 1 comment(s) Filed under: youtube, education, research study, teenagers, internet, technology, blogs, Google, Salon, social networking, activism, writing, pop culture, survey

• Family Issues B-I-N-G-O

  Tonight's Democratic debates (which won't include candidate Jesus, whose platform is yet to be determined) should be some good, old-fashioned fun. Only two candidates and loads of acrimony. However, will Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton get the chance to talk about issues? They won't, say the organizers over at Moms Rising, the grassroots organization that works to get family matters at the top of every political leader's agenda. They've even made up a Moms Rising Presidental Debate Bingo cards, a kind of check list for you to verify which, if any, of these issues gets addressed. The group also encourages everyone to cast a vote for the following question to be asked at tonight's debate: Read More... Posted Jan 31 2008, 06:57 PM by Madeline Holler with | with 1 comment(s) Filed under: Democratic Party, California, maternity care, activism, moms rising, activism for women and children, maternity leave, debates, paternity leave

• Happy Meals Flunk Out of School

  On the one hand, I think it's great that a Florida McDonald's is withdrawing from a "Made the Grade" program, in which it rewarded Happy Meals to kids who got good grades. On the other hand, why was this going on at the school in the first place?  The decision to end the program came all the way from the executives at corporate headquarters half-way across the country -- not the school leaders. In a nutshell, here's what happened: a parent saw the jacket of her child's report card had the McDonald's golden arches ... Read More... Posted Jan 19 2008, 11:39 AM by Madeline Holler with | with 6 comment(s) Filed under: mcdonald's, marketing to children, marketing, florida, marketing junk food to kids, activism, marketing to kids, ad agency, grades for pay, advertising to children, grades

• Colorado Mom Takes on Big Food

  Parents of kids with food allergies know a type of terror that most haven't experienced. Watching your bundle o' joy turn beet red, stop breathing and, probably, convulse is a sight it's hard to get past. And you start to organize your life so that you never have to see it again.  Lafayette, Colorado's Robyn O'Brien knows that fear. When her youngest developed an allergy to eggs, O'Brien leapt into action, marketing products, speaking out about food allergies and writing a book. Which is great. Nothing like a little grassroots activism to spur more research into this potentially fatal condition. But -- how far is too far?   Read More... Posted Jan 10 2008, 03:30 PM by Adrienne Martini with | with no comments Filed under: colorado, autism, activism, ADHD, food additives, food allergies

• Armchair Activism: The MOTHERS Act Needs to Pass

  Read carefully, because this affects all of us: 800,000 American women each year suffer from the debilitating and horrible effects of postpartum depression.  Eight hundred thousand.  That is a staggering number, isn't it?  Equally shocking is that only 15 percent of these women will receive any assessment or treatment for postpartum depression.  That's why BlogHer, Postpartum Support International and Postpartum Progress are joining together to host a blog action day (next Wednesday, October 24th) in support of the MOTHERS Act - The Moms Opportunity to Access Help, Education, Research and Support for Postpartum Depression Act.  Women in this country are demanding that new mothers and their families are educated about postpartum depression, screened for symptoms and provided with essential services.  To show your support by the bill, call your senator next Wednesday (the more calls the better!), and blog for the cause.  The women of American need this bill to pass, and we need the acknowledgment and support of lawmakers to make that possible.  All it takes is a phone call and a blog post to do your part.  Posted Oct 17 2007, 03:33 PM by Alisyn with | with 4 comment(s) Filed under: legislation, women's health, postpartum depression, activism, mother bloggers, armchair activism, the MOTHERS Act

• Blog Action Day: Calling All Mommy and Daddy Bloggers

  On October 15th, bloggers around the net will form a united front to publicize a single, important issue for Blog Action Day.  This year that issue is the environment, and every blogger will write a single post, putting their own unique spin on the topic. The goal? To get as many people as possible talking and planning and working together, to find new ways of moving towards a better future for our planet. Blog Action Day is about mass participation, and we already know that mommy (and daddy) bloggers are a force to be reckoned with - when we talk, people listen. Putting Blog Action Day and parent bloggers together can only mean one thing - success!  Here are 3 ways in which you (and you, and you) can participate: Post an environmentally-related piece on your personal blog. Donate your day's earnings to the environmental charity of your choice. Publicize Blog Action Day!  Get the word out - via your blog, your friends, your family, your coworkers... Register your blog, and tell the world what you are doing to make the planet a healthier place, or what you think about global warming, carbon footprints, or the rise of eco-friendly consumer products - anything.  You don't have to be an activist to blog for this worthy cause.      Posted Oct 11 2007, 08:38 AM by Alisyn with | with 1 comment(s) Filed under: activism, daddy bloggers, mommybloggers, the environment, blog action day

• Tired of Toy Recalls? Sign a Petition!

  By now you know about the latest in a wave of toy recalls, one of which surely has affected you and your kids. There's a growing concern combined with a certain helplessness over the situation. What can we as a consumer do? Aside from making all our own toys (which has a certain element of satisfaction in it, actually), what to do? One thing would be to sign this petition with MomsRising.org. Read More... Posted Aug 05 2007, 03:04 PM by Karen Murphy with | with 1 comment(s) Filed under: toys, Momsrising, safety, petition, things fall apart, activism, recals, toy recalls

• Unleash Your Inner Activist: Fight Unequal Pay for Moms

  I had been working at my last job for about three years when the company hired someone in a peer position. I found out months later that he was making a good $10K more than me. At the time I was ticked off but ended up shrugging and saying to myself, "What can I do about it?" It turns out there is something you can do about it: MomsRising says "The Supreme Court's ruling in Ledbetter vs. Goodyear that discrimination claims must be made within 180 days after the pay is set is a major setback in women's rights. How many of us know what our co-workers make? In fact, many employers forbid employees from discussing their pay, making it all the more difficult to discover pay discrimination within the short time frame now required by the Supreme Court." A bill has been introduced in Congress that would reverse Ledbetter: H.R. 2831. It won't completely erase the pervasive discrimination that exists in the workplace, but it certainly will help. And moms need all the help they can get: mothers are 79% LESS likely to be hired than non-mothers with identical resumes! Not only that, but mothers make 73 cents to a man's dollar (as opposed to 90 cents for non-moms)! It's easy to do your part to fight this discrimination: send a letter to your congressperson by clicking here and tell them to vote YES on H.R. 2831.  Are you experiencing discrimination in the workplace, or do you know someone who is? You can contact the Center for WorkLife Law Hotline at  1-800-981-9495 or send an email. Posted Jul 28 2007, 08:35 AM by Karen Murphy with | with 1 comment(s) Filed under: mothers, moms, Supreme Court, activism, moms rising, H.R. 2831, equal pay for moms

• Car Seats Are Toxic. Oh No!

  I'm totally in a quandary now. I've gotten over the news and somehow managed to accept the fact that crib mattresses off-gas yucky chemicals and my son is breathing those chemicals on the off nights he doesn't spend in my bed (which is equipped with a foam mattress from Ikea that's clearly chock-full of its own chemicals), after all he has to sleep somewhere, but now I have to worry about his car seat? I think I need to go sit down a moment. Hang on.  Okay. I was going to take a couple of deep breaths but I think I'm afraid to now. But I like me some Huffington Post, and when I read something like "A new report released today by the Ann Arbor-based Ecology Center shows that chemicals including PVC, brominated flame retardants, and lead are found in car seats and can possibly lead to developmental and health issues in babies," I can't help but take notice. Say what? What are we supposed to do with this news? Kids have to be in car seats, there's no question about that, but now we have to worry about poisoning them while they're "safe" in their seat? There's something wrong here. Read More... Posted May 22 2007, 08:24 AM by Karen Murphy with | with 3 comment(s) Filed under: children, kids, health, car seats, activism, chemical sensitivity, toxic chemicals

• Online Activism for LGBT Parents

  It's so easy to become an activist nowadays when there's a cause you believe in. There are no more signs to make, and very little marching around in small circles is required. But you do have to have something you believe in (or want to fight against), because if you do, then activism is just a click away. Mombian has a bunch of great ideas about making a difference for the LGBT community by becoming an online activist that translate well into almost any cause. Here are some of them: 1. Email your politicians. Whew, that was easy, wasn't it? You can find pertinent addresses (and names, too, if you're like me and you're not quite up on who all your representatives are) at Congress.org. 2. Comment on parenting blogs and forums (like this one!). Use terminology that fits the theme of your particular perspective, if it's LGBT or something else. Help set people straight who seem to be misinformed. Help create community by putting yourself out there. 3. Participate in parenting social networks, like AtHomeDad.org, Café Mom, Dad Daily, Maya’s Mom (for moms and dads), Minti, Mothers Click, Mommy Buzz, and Parents Connect. By becoming more visible to the mainstream, LGBT parents can close the gap that many non-LGBT people see simply from ignorance. This form of online activism is a great way to bridge this chasm and to help people understand that we're all pretty much the same despite shallow differences. Posted Apr 20 2007, 08:57 AM by Karen Murphy with | with no comments Filed under: parents, LGBT, activism