April Reign

Speak your mind even if your voice shakes

poverty

Mothers

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An interesting article at Women’s Enews on mothering and the value placed on it. While much lip service is given to the undertaking, little is done to actually support those choosing to have children.

(WOMENSENEWS)–The news media loves stories about highly educated mothers opting out of rewarding careers to stay at home with their young children.

Anecdotal evidence unsupported by serious research is also constantly drumming home the idea that women consider themselves the best providers of child care. For example, a 2006 Salary.com survey of what mothers do “on the job” leads with the headline “Dream Job: Stay at Home Mom.” Although the survey claims that equal numbers of working and stay-at-home mothers participated, quotes from the happy, at-home mothers dominate the report.

For instance, working mothers are “horrified” at the thought of hiring strangers to care for their children, they believe that mother’s care is “priceless” and that motherhood is the “greatest job in the world.” It’s easy to stay on message: Women must choose between work and family.

But the opposite message is sent to low-income mothers.

The recent debate over the welfare-to-work provisions of Temporary Assistance to Needy Families–or welfare–captures this difference. Congress did not debate the best means to provide even minimally adequate day care to the children of single parents. Instead they wondered whether or not the required hours of paid work should be increased!

Why does popular sentiment portray some mothers as virtuous when they drop out of the labor force to care for their families, while others are responsible only if they work for pay outside the home?

With Mothers Day coming up and the usual platitudes running rampant trying to get you to spend spend spend to show mom how much you love her, and with the forced pregnancy folks all creamed up about Bushie and company and their anti choice stance, I thought it might be interesting to see just how much mothers are valued once those sacred womb contents are born. [Read more…] about Mothers

Don’t feed the pigeons..er people

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feedthem.jpg
Surreal bizarre or dreamlike

One might expect to read an article such as this.

Today Eric Montanez, 21 was honoured for his work in helping the homeless. Reporters filmed him Wednesday as he served “30 unidentified persons food from a large pot”.

Locals say they are impressed with this young man’s initiative and good works.

However this is the true story

MIAMI (Reuters) – Police in Florida have arrested an activist for feeding the homeless in downtown Orlando.

Eric Montanez, 21, of the charity group Food Not Bombs, was charged with violating a controversial law against feeding large groups of destitute people in the city center, police said on Thursday.

Montanez was filmed by undercover officers on Wednesday as he served “30 unidentified persons food from a large pot utilizing a ladle,” according to an arrest affidavit. The Orlando area is home to Disney World and Universal Studios Florida.

Utilizing a ladle. My Gawd the absolute horror. 16 to base 16 to base, we have man in possession of ladle here, request backup immediately, hungry people are being fed, move the terror alert to orange.

the rest is here: Rueters

International Women’s Day

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IWD

I struggled with what to write today. Which subject seemed to have the greatest importance.

In the end I felt there was no subject that had greater importance. They represented different cultures, different concerns, different areas (work, school, motherhood, reproductive rights) different focus (success stories and stories that show how much work is still required) and I realized that I couldn’t anymore choose a topic of greater importance than I could choose a woman of greater importance. [Read more…] about International Women’s Day

You want it when?

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Unfamiliar it seems with reality, Canada’s New Government™ has once again proven their incompetence.

Under questioning by NDP MP Irene Mathyssen, Monte Solberg, Minister of Human Resources and Social Development finally admitted yesterday that none of the 70 million dollars earmarked for soup kitchens and shelters will be spent until or after April 1st.

Naturally in Canada in winter shelter is not a priority concern. People can do without food.

Harpers’ government has placed quite an emphasis on April 1st.

We can only hope that on that day we will learn this government has been nothing more than the practical joke it appears to be .

Star link

Meal subsidy for the poor

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In a Star story today

Dr. David McKeown and members of Toronto’s board of health want the province to increase social assistance rates to include a “nutrition allowance” to help the poor pay for healthy meals.

Dr. Mckeown points out that a basic food basket for a family of four costs $538.43 a month.

Contrast this with the amount given to MPs to cover four days a week of food expense.

This means MPs in Ottawa four days a week during the time the House of Commons sits can get more than $17,000 a year in the form of meal money to use to pay their mortgages. And it is absolutely, unquestionably and inarguably wrong.*

*Garth Turner:The meals-for-mortgages scam [Read more…] about Meal subsidy for the poor

Smile you’re on Deadbeat Camera

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The Ontario government has decided to post your picture and personal information if you don’t pay up on your child support.

the website will include names, physical descriptions, last known addresses and occupations.

While I am unsympathetic to those who can and simply refuse to pay child support, there can be legitimate reasons why support payments have fallen behind. And we all know that the government is famous for mistakes.

They do apparently rely on the permission of the person owed the money, however, many people involved in these situations are quite adversarial and so might consider the smack at a former spouse before all else.

I think we are becoming far too comfortable with the idea of stealing peoples privacy “for the greater good”.

Cameras everywhere, more and more stringent ID requirements, less privacy and fewer civil rights.

These are easy targets, of course, who doesn’t want parents to fulfil their obligations? But if we do not protect the rights of those who we may feel do not deserve them, we set up easy inroads to take away the rights of those that we feel do.

We may agree that it is easier to prosecute if a crime has been captured on video. But do we agree that all our movements should be recorded?

Where does the line between defence and offence blur?