tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-574300303008890516.post6464754628293432942..comments2024-03-14T17:59:30.786-04:00Comments on [Birth Mother] First Mother Forum: It's a world wide revolution, folks Lorraine Duskyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18285341379272250245noreply@blogger.comBlogger104125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-574300303008890516.post-73101468309757746722016-11-25T09:50:57.971-05:002016-11-25T09:50:57.971-05:00Isn't it about time for another one of tRump&#...Isn't it about time for another one of tRump's infamous bankruptcies? Maybe he'll wait till January and bring the whole country done with him. And isn't it time for him to trade Melania in for a younger model? Maybe someone closer to Ivanka's age, or better yet, Tiffany's age. She is getting dangerously close to 50.NNGnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-574300303008890516.post-47978780455025240662016-11-23T19:02:41.249-05:002016-11-23T19:02:41.249-05:00I didn't want to be a 'feminist'. I di...I didn't want to be a 'feminist'. I didn't care whether I would be accepted or allowed in a 'man's' job, or with equal pay or anything else in that regard. <br /><br />What I wanted? To be a mother. To stay home, like my mother did and love her children. I wanted to be there with them and for them, to guide, to teach, and protect them. I just wanted to be a woman, wife and mother. <br /><br />The world had other ideas.Cindynoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-574300303008890516.post-55838264442664480102016-11-23T13:47:08.466-05:002016-11-23T13:47:08.466-05:00Hello NNG - i agree with most of what you say. I a...Hello NNG - i agree with most of what you say. I am probably wasting my time writing to Ivanka. But I have to try. Her story isn't complete yet. For myself, my beliefs, i can't give up on someone whose story isn't complete yet, and so writing to her is as much for me (or more) than for her. It is not easy for me but it is what i think is best for me personally.<br /><br />And I agree with what you say about Rump and his disavowals. He needs to condemn, and denounce, rather than disavow. But his head isn't right, and i don't think he is capable, even if he were to see the light, his head is too far gone. And I'm not relieved in the least that Steve Bannon has said he is not a white nationalist, but instead a nationalist, or an economic nationalist. He is indeed a fascist white-supremacist. I'm not Jewish and i don't understand the Jewish point of view, but all the Jewish friends i have in this country voted for Trump, and i can only guess that they must think that Steve Bannon's idea of Zionism is a good thing? But to me, it's just a way of saying that the Jews should ultimately go to their own country (Israel) after they have helped finance white people "take back" America (and by take back i mean that facetiously, these are not at all views i agree with, but instead are my opinions of what Steve Bannon aka Rasputin to the Trump family, is thinking and ultimately promoting.)Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16571106249207987994noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-574300303008890516.post-76285394672239842322016-11-22T11:53:24.727-05:002016-11-22T11:53:24.727-05:00Ivanka's speech at the RNC was all lies. tRump...Ivanka's speech at the RNC was all lies. tRump never said he supported any of the workplace policies or equality for women that Ivanka spoke about.<br /><br />Ivanka and her husband, Jared Kushner, are in such serious denial that they need a professional intervention immediately. Jared is from a prominent NY Jewish family and has family members who were killed in the Holocaust. Ivanka converted to Judaism and they are raising their 3 children in the faith. Yet they are willing to be a part of her father's administration which is giving powerful positions to known anti-Semites.<br /><br />It is clear that tRump is not genuinely disavowing neo-Nazis or the KKK. And while we're at it, let's not allow them to obscure who they really are by changing their name to the 'alt-right'. They are fascist white-supremacists. <br />Name not givennoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-574300303008890516.post-60063979324836359842016-11-22T08:45:16.449-05:002016-11-22T08:45:16.449-05:00Kaisa wrote:"Bernie is a bit of a backstabber...Kaisa wrote:"Bernie is a bit of a backstabber too"<br /><br />I agree.<br /><br />I think there were a lot of well-known liberal/progressives who were backstabbers, and I blame them in part for Hillary's defeat. People like Michael Moore(earlier comment left on 11/12/16 at 9:00 am), actress Susan Sarandon, and even writers like Barbara Ehrenreich.<br /><br />Bernie Sanders didn't seem to do a lot, imo, to help get HRC elected. He said he would not be a third party spoiler, and he kept that promise, but the convention was in July and he didn't start to stump for her until after Labor Day. Most of his efforts seemed rather lukewarm to me. His huge rallies, hordes of youthful supporters, and being the leader of a 'revolution' went to his head (which I guess it would for anyone). In November 2020, he will be 79 years old. A bit too long in the tooth, I'd say, to be president.<br /><br />Other backstabbers, imo, were those purists who had to vote their conscience and went with a third party candidate, who they knew didn't have a snowball's chance in hell of winning. It just seemed more honest to me if they'd voted for the P*Grabber-elect since they knew that's who their vote really went for. But they, like all of us, had to do what they felt best.<br />Robinhttp://www.allinthefamilyadoption.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-574300303008890516.post-12252705075939743542016-11-21T17:15:50.002-05:002016-11-21T17:15:50.002-05:00Bernie is a bit of a backstabber too. He wanted hi...Bernie is a bit of a backstabber too. He wanted his cake and to eat it too. And now that Hillary didn't win, he thinks it is okay to once again cause further divides within the party - kick em when they're down, i guess. I read that his wife ruled out his running in 2020, so he is causing waves without a real plan. Shame.Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16571106249207987994noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-574300303008890516.post-31748666779915784312016-11-21T17:14:05.866-05:002016-11-21T17:14:05.866-05:00i'll admit to joining the Northern Cali ACLU r...i'll admit to joining the Northern Cali ACLU recently, and signing up my husband and a few friends. I'm hoping to be more than just a member in name only and i want to volunteer my time - i don't know what that will consist of at the moment. But by joining i've upped their representation of adoptees, and i plan to make myself heard.<br /><br />I've also started writing members of the US congress and our own state assembly, but i don't have a lot of faith to tell you the truth. I'm contemplating writing Ivanka. She claimed that she worked on plans for women and children with her father. I think she should be held accountable to that, publicly, and by the media. So perhaps I should be writing the media. I wonder how much they really pay attention to Twitter and the like. Ugh I hate Twitter but it seems the only way to write some of these people anymore.<br />Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16571106249207987994noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-574300303008890516.post-51750361995769279042016-11-20T18:13:19.355-05:002016-11-20T18:13:19.355-05:00Planned Parenthood has been getting a large number...Planned Parenthood has been getting a large number of donations in Mike Pence's name. heheRobinhttp://www.allinthefamilyadoption.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-574300303008890516.post-56765184737413219402016-11-20T16:15:00.534-05:002016-11-20T16:15:00.534-05:00I couldn't agree more, Robin! I read that all...I couldn't agree more, Robin! I read that all organizations who oppose Trump's policies are getting a lot of donations--that's always the way. If Hillary had been the winner of the electoral college, the NRA would profit bit time. It wouldn't matter what she actually did; they raise money by scaring gun owners into believing they will lose their guns. Lorraine Duskyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18285341379272250245noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-574300303008890516.post-16017436622143551032016-11-20T11:15:18.133-05:002016-11-20T11:15:18.133-05:00The ACLU has received donations of $7.2 million si...The ACLU has received donations of $7.2 million since the election. I appreciate the sentiments but that sure is a whole lot of money that can also be used in the fight against adoptee rights. The ACLU seems to think everyone else has rights, except those who were adopted and had no say in losing their original birth certificates.Robinhttp://www.allinthefamilyadoption.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-574300303008890516.post-5225542002288997372016-11-19T20:41:34.908-05:002016-11-19T20:41:34.908-05:00Yes. When I hear the mean sexist things about Hill...Yes. When I hear the mean sexist things about Hillary and the nasty comments directed to women since the election, I think how it is nothing compared to the barbs the Suffragettes had to bear.Jane Edwardshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09715622112694146946noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-574300303008890516.post-68545887949277036272016-11-19T16:25:10.082-05:002016-11-19T16:25:10.082-05:00Don't forget those who laid the foundations, l...Don't forget those who laid the foundations, like the Suffragettes - and even before the Suffragette Movement there were passionate advocates for the emancipation of women, including some men such as John Stuart Mill.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-574300303008890516.post-81818112761642166402016-11-19T13:57:05.830-05:002016-11-19T13:57:05.830-05:00When I practiced law in the early 70's, severa...When I practiced law in the early 70's, several divorce clients came to me because their previous attorney, a man, made passes at them. Several clients told me of other male attorneys who wanted to know all their sex life, totally not legally relevant, just voyeurism. Jane Edwardshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09715622112694146946noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-574300303008890516.post-21801512979042061292016-11-19T12:42:12.538-05:002016-11-19T12:42:12.538-05:00"Those are the real backstabbers in this last..."Those are the real backstabbers in this last election."<br /><br />The Bernie or Bust millennials who couldn't bing themselves to "hold their noses" and vote for Clinton, despite Bernie warning them of the dire consequences if they didn't, are backstabbers. But they're the ones who will have to live with the consequences of a far right Supreme Court much longer than we BSE adoptees will.Robinhttp://www.allinthefamilyadoption.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-574300303008890516.post-41458505031587482302016-11-19T12:35:29.018-05:002016-11-19T12:35:29.018-05:00I've been trying to come up with the perfect m...I've been trying to come up with the perfect moniker for #notmypresident-elect DT when he (gag) takes office in January, and have run the gamut from tRump to Rump to Donald. But then I found the perfect name in a comment left at HuffPo..."P Grabber-in-chief". So P Grabber-in-chief, it is.Robinhttp://www.allinthefamilyadoption.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-574300303008890516.post-87340295418862054072016-11-19T10:29:13.207-05:002016-11-19T10:29:13.207-05:00Still believe? Robin, of course it was the feminis...Still believe? Robin, of course <i>it was the feminist movement that propelled major change regarding women.</i> When I started out in journalism there were almost no women doing news on television. No one was supposed to take them seriously. One woman, Liz Trotta at NBC, was the only hard news reporter for NBC. on the national news. Women working outside of those dreadful "women's departments" on newspapers were extremely rare. I had an interview once in the Sixties for NBC but I knew going in I would not get the job. I didn't look right--my enormous nose (bobbed later)--would have kept me off any broadcast, even today. <br /><br />As I watched the news for a short while this morning--and it's full of women on Saturdays, and the weatherwomen--I couldn't help think that they all probably wear pants in real life all the time but on the tube tight dresses (with lower necklines than ever before) are <i>de rigueur.</i>. Of course the ones who sit down behind a desk are probably wearing pants. <br /><br />I posted a comment on Facebook about the times that I was accosted by men, including a few bosses, over the years and got a slew of other people commenting about the same experience. One time a dentist I'd seen several times decided to give me a big smack on the lips after he put in a crown. I knew his wife! for christ's sake. I never went back, found a new dentist--a woman! All I can hope is that the kind of sexual grabbing and less than violent rapes that men have gotten away with in the past is ultimately lessened. Does Trump's victory give misogynist men license to do it more freely? Probably. But there will always be...a few good men. <br />Lorraine Duskyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18285341379272250245noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-574300303008890516.post-22827236253834846802016-11-19T10:11:35.444-05:002016-11-19T10:11:35.444-05:00Robin--They are not embarrassed now because he won...Robin--They are not embarrassed now because he won the antiquated electoral college, which ought to be dumped, as it no longer represents the will of the people. <br /><br />But they did not want to answer polls saying they agreed with Trump and were planning to vote for him. His outrageous oratory was embarrassing even to the people who did vote for him; they just didn't believe it or wanted to look past it, as if it did not matter. <br /><br />Rachel Maddow did a great bit on racism in elections from 1950 on in North Carolina, the state of Jesse Helms, who ran several overtly racist campaigns for others until he ran himself. Lorraine Duskyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18285341379272250245noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-574300303008890516.post-16588997177534187422016-11-19T08:09:43.346-05:002016-11-19T08:09:43.346-05:00Wikipedia for women's history buffs:
Dixy Le...Wikipedia for women's history buffs: <br /><br />Dixy Lee Ray (September 3, 1914 – January 2, 1994) was a scientist who served as the 17th Governor of the U.S. state of Washington. Variously described as idiosyncratic, and "ridiculously smart," she was the state's first female governor and was known for her leadership of the state during the devastating 1980 eruption of Mount St. Helens, for her strident support of atomic energy, and for her personal eccentricities.<br /><br />A graduate of Mills College and Stanford University, where she earned a doctorate in biology, Ray became an associate professor at the University of Washington in 1957. She was chief scientist aboard the schooner SS Te Vega during the International Indian Ocean Expedition. Under her guidance, the nearly bankrupt Pacific Science Center was transformed from a traditional, exhibit-oriented museum to an interactive learning center, and returned to solvency.<br /><br />In 1973 Ray was appointed chairman of the United States Atomic Energy Commission (AEC) by President Richard M. Nixon. Under her leadership, research and development was separated from safety programs, and Milton Shaw, the head of the powerful reactor development division, was removed. She was appointed Assistant Secretary of State for Oceans and International Environmental and Scientific Affairs by President Gerald Ford in 1975, but resigned six months later, complaining about lack of input into department decision making.<br /><br />To the surprise of many, Ray ran for election as Governor of Washington as a Democrat in 1976. She won the election despite her blunt, sometimes confrontational, style. As governor, she approved allowing supertankers to dock in Puget Sound, championed support for unrestrained growth and development, and continued to express enthusiasm for atomic energy. On April 3, 1980 she declared a state of emergency as a result of the volcanic eruption of Mount St. Helens. She retired after losing her bid for re-election in 1980.Lorraine Duskyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18285341379272250245noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-574300303008890516.post-51182326209231915082016-11-19T08:07:38.593-05:002016-11-19T08:07:38.593-05:00Karen--Hey, thanks for the history lesson of women...Karen--Hey, thanks for the history lesson of women. I looked Dixy up and discovered your state is Washington. What I noted was that the women in government were in the West (the small state of Vermont was the exception) and not in the bit East Coast states until 1994 with Christy Todd Whitman. When I wrote Still Unequal: The Shameful Truth about Women and Justice in America, I learned that it was Midwestern and Western law schools that opened up to women way ahead of the more prestigious, established law schools in the East where the institutions have a longer history of "men only." Breaking down those barriers becomes harder because the sexism has been inborn in the elites and thus it stays...and stays...for a longer time than elsewhere. Old fogies have to die before change comes, and sadly I feel that way about getting the behemoth state of NY to unseal its birth certificates to adoptees. Lorraine Duskyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18285341379272250245noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-574300303008890516.post-48506180864924881002016-11-19T07:59:20.209-05:002016-11-19T07:59:20.209-05:00I still believe that women in the 1970s and later ...I still believe that women in the 1970s and later who attained positions that were formerly closed to them by law or tradition owe a debt of gratitude to the feminist movement, even if they don't agree with the movement's stand on every issue. There is room for different opinions. <br /><br />But it is people like Betty Friedan who wrote The Feminist Mystique and who started the National Organization for Women (NOW)--whose purpose was to bring women into all areas of mainstream society in equal participation with men--who did change the nation's consciousness about the role of women.<br /><br />I'm again reminded of how much things have changed for women, and how powerless women used to be, after hearing interviews with the women who accused Bill Cosby of sexual assault explaining why they waited so long to come forward.<br /><br />I'm a big women's history buff myself.<br /><br />There are reports coming out about voter suppression, but I agree, too many people did not take this civic responsibility seriously enough.<br />Robinhttp://www.allinthefamilyadoption.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-574300303008890516.post-64689143978885357782016-11-18T22:33:43.846-05:002016-11-18T22:33:43.846-05:00Twork years later my state also elected a female ...Twork years later my state also elected a female governor in 1977, Dixy Lee Ray. In the 80s Kentucky, Vermont, and Nebraska also did. Vermont had the first Jewish governor also with Kunin. And this is interesting, in Nebraska 1986 general election for governor, female Republican Kay Orr defeated female Democrat Helen Boosalis, making Nebraska the first state that had 2 women from 2 major parties competing head to head. Christine Todd Whitman beat the incumbent governor for her job in 1994. Sorry, police Sci and history nut. And it is possible to be a conservative without worshipping at the altar of Trump or wanting women chained to the stove barefoot and pregnant. Almost half the eligible population did NOT vote in the election. Those are the real backstabbers in this last election. Karennoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-574300303008890516.post-91716097966969302432016-11-18T09:01:32.871-05:002016-11-18T09:01:32.871-05:00Lorraine wrote:"There were those who were not...Lorraine wrote:"There were those who were not willing to tell pollsters how they were leaning because he was embarrassing them with his misogynist, racist, and xenophobic comments..."<br /><br />I don't think Trump's supporters were embarrassed at all. Obviously, they agreed with his comments. I think that in the PC culture that existed prior to Trump's winning the election, they were uncomfortable expressing those opinions.<br /><br />What I hate is how Republican female politicians, television anchors, political pundits, etc., are always trashing feminism. Do they truly not realize that it was the feminist movement of the 1960s and '70s that changed the mindset of the country, and the laws, that enabled these women to attain the positions they have today? They didn't do it on their own. When I was growing up in the '70s, Ella Grasso of Connecticut was the 1st woman governor elected on her own, and as far as I know, the ONLY woman governor. Margaret Chase Smith served as the lone female in both the House and the Senate for many years. And Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg has recounted how she could only get a job as a secretary after she'd graduated law school. But thanks to some of the current crop of backstabbing females in the political arena, women will probably be going backwards again. I resent that they (metaphorically) bite the hand that feeds them.Robinhttp://www.allinthefamilyadoption.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-574300303008890516.post-70444357536355587202016-11-17T20:44:07.921-05:002016-11-17T20:44:07.921-05:00Maryanne, I finally had the opportunity to read yo...Maryanne, I finally had the opportunity to read your poem in a quiet moment. It is beautiful. Good work!Lorraine Duskyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18285341379272250245noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-574300303008890516.post-71530598353409864212016-11-17T18:19:59.313-05:002016-11-17T18:19:59.313-05:00Since when did respect for Human Rights become lef...Since when did respect for Human Rights become left wing? Why is respect and tolerance suddenly 'fringe behavior'? Why is it 'loony' to campaign and protest against bigotry, divisiveness, prejudice and discrimination? These are core human values, not left wing values, not 'political hyperbole.'Crystalnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-574300303008890516.post-24730282340123428822016-11-17T10:29:37.739-05:002016-11-17T10:29:37.739-05:00WOW, Maryanne...that is beautiful and sad, as Jane...WOW, Maryanne...that is beautiful and sad, as Jane said. I don't know if you are a professional writer...perhaps you are. I too had thoughts of Hitler. Also of the Antichrist(!)Danninoreply@blogger.com