Lawyer Mama

Lawyer Mama in Ms. Magazine

Color me shocked.  My good friend and fellow MOMocrat, Joanne Bamberger (aka PunditMom), mentioned me and the MOMocrats when she was interviewed by Kara Jesella for an article in Ms. Magazine, Cyberhood is Powerful: Moms Increasingly Taking up Blogging.  (You can read an excerpt in the link to Alternet but you have to go buy the magazine to read the whole article, including my mention.)  In turn, Ms. Jesella mentions Lawyer Mama and the MOMocrats in her article.

When I saw the title, I was expecting yet another story about moms who blog, it's all about the kids, yadda yadda, Dooce, yadda yadda.  But Ms. Jesella's article is one of the first to take a look at the political side of moms who blog.  She interviewed some political punditry heavy weights, including Joanne, Veronica Arreola of Viva la Feminista and Kristin Rowe-Finkbeiner of Moms Rising. 

The fact is, mothers who blog tend to cover lots of topics.  Yes, I write about my children, my family and my marriage.  But just as frequently I touch on politics or feminist issues.  In fact, at MOMocrats I write even more about politics than you necessarily see on this blog.  I am not just a "mommy blogger."  Thank you, Ms. Jesella, for pointing out that moms who blog have insightful thoughts on more than just diaper brands and breastfeeding.

Now I'm heading off to Pittsburgh tomorrow for Netroots Nation and the "MOMocrats panel", The Revolution Begins at Home: Involving Parents in Politics through Social Media.  If you'll be at NN, please come by.

Moms Inspired to Change History

8 Women Making a Difference

by Joanne Bamberger aka Pundit Mom

They refer to us as soccer moms. TV commercials still show mothers, not the fathers, as the ones wiping up spills and wiping noses. As important as parenting is, plenty of mothers have more on their agendas -- they're finding their own ways to make their mark and change the world. Here are eight we found particularly inspiring.

Stephanie Himel-Nelson and Vivian Greentree, Blue Star Families
Stephanie Himel-Nelson and Vivian Greentree, each a mother of two young sons, were never political activists until the 2008 presidential campaign. Both had connections to the armed services, though, and wanted to help highlight the many issues faced by military families. From the Hampton Roads area of Virginia, both women played integral roles of Blue Star Families for Obama (BSF4O) -- Greentree as the group's director for leadership, and Himel-Nelson as deputy outreach director.

Read more at MSN....

Now personally, I think Joanne should have included herself in this article.

Blue Star Families Survey 2.0

On Monday I had the opportunity to appear on the show What Vets Need to Know on 91.7 VMFM.  The hosts Hal and Geoff were gracious and fun and let me ramble on and on about Blue Star Families and a new survey we have out right now.

The survey is version 2.0 of the survey we did in the Fall of 2008, following up and making our research a little more complete.  We're doing this in conjunction with our partners, the National Military Family Association, the USO, the American Red Cross, Military.com, and MilSpouse.com.

If you are a military family member - parent, spouse, child, or sibling - please take a moment and take the Blue Star Family Survey.  Pass it on to other military family members so we can reach as many people as possible, particularly those often neglected military reserve and national guard family members.

If you'd like to hear me on What Veterans Need to Know, look no further.

Season 3, Show 7 - March 9, 2009

The Virginia Military Vote in the 2008 Election

Photo by Heidi Kulberg. BSF4O members at Obama rally in Virginia Beach.

I mentioned in yesterday's post that I was recently interviewed by RTE - Irish Public Radio and Television - about Virginia's military vote in the 2008 election.  I've finally figured out how to post these clips, so bear with me!

I've had quite a few interviews during this election season, the vast majority of them as the Deputy Outreach Director for Blue Star Families for Obama.  To keep track of them all, I've started a Press Clippings section in the sidebar.  I am, after all, a legend in my own mind.  Enjoy!

In case no one's figured it out, I've decided to do NaBloPoMo again this year!  What better way to get back into blogging than to jump in and completely drown myself?  Since I'll have no time right around the election, I've got a backlog of posts ready to go.  Please forgive me for cheating.  I'm doing it for the U.S.!

Racism and the Election

Last week I was interviewed by a reporter from RTE - Irish Public Radio and Television.  While the vast majority of the interview was about the military vote and Blue Star Families for Obama, Cian McCormack was also working on a story on race and the election in the U.S.  He asked for some reaction to the story that broke last week about the skinhead plot to assassinate Senator Obama and kill 102 black children.

The first speaker is Rick Kennerly, a veteran and BSF4O member.  The second is Lauren Welsh, a BSF4O member.  I'm the third speaker. It's an interesting and thoughtful piece.  I recommend listening to the entire thing.