Activistas

Colwood National Golf Course: Follow-Up

Tony Fuentes, owner of Milagros, co-chairman of the Cully Neighborhood Association, and occasional Activistas contributor, was featured in the Tribune's 6.12.08 article about the situation around the golf course's potential change of use.  Tony has explained the situation and called for action on Activistas before. 

For now, we just wait until the city hears the industrial rezoning application later this summer.  The question is: golf course = future industrial land or some other, more open space type use??  There are a number of powerful voices in the mix here, including neighborhood opponents who would very much like to see this land become a park and preserved habitat.  And, given the size of the golf course, this could be a pretty significant in-city park, folks.  Tired of driving to Oxbow and Blue Lake Regional Parks?  Try Cully. 

Stay Informed.  Check the city's planning calendar to see what's going on when.  Interested in a specific project?  Register for a city online account and get e-mail updates or RSS specific planning projects.  That way you'll be sure to speak up before it's too late. 

Is the Paternal Political, Too??

We've got The Maternal is Political on our nightstand (and I'm actually making progress!).  There's the Mothers Movement Online.  We're urbanMamas, Activistas, all women at every turn.  So where, oh where, are the dads?  We asked our resident dad Eric Miller to weigh in.  He says:

This is truly a remarkable time in history.  Hillary smashed some glass political ceilings for women--not as many as some would have liked this year, but significant ones all the same.  Barack continues to smash glass ceilings for African Americans and looks good to reach the clouds in November.  At least many are hopeful. 

Are stay-at-home dads breaking any ceilings?  True, we're generally not disenfranchised, indeed we're generally in partnership with someone making enough money to support a family--not a small sum these days. And we're nothing close to a racial minority in terms of being held down politically.  But maybe it's an opportune time to ride the tide of glass ceiling breaking for us stay-at-home dads. 

What does this stay-at-home Dad worry about?  Our education system is underfunded and in shambles, health care is brutally expensive and getting worse, our environment seems saturated with everything from phthalates and BPA to carbon dioxide and methane, food prices are going through the roof, and we're entering a recession. 

Ok, ok, so these issues are not particular to stay-at-home Dads. However, my paternal sense of responsibility and desire to improve the world increased 1,000-fold since Liam was born.   Are dads moved to become politically active more than previously?  Are dads different from moms in terms of political activism?  Are dads on-board the maternal political movement? 

Activistas on Mothers Movement Online

Read about us!  Yourself!  Activistas!  We submitted an article to the Mothers Movement Online for its April/May issue because the topic was the current status of this thing called the 'mothers movement.'  It's called One City. One Blog. A Whole Lotta Mamas.  And they published it.  And added a subtitle: The Activistas are ready for the revolution.  A compliment, to be sure.  But are we?  Really? 

According to the MMO's founder and editor, Judith Stadtman Tucker, what is needed now is not more talk (though I do love that part!), but action, straight-up political organizing, real work toward concrete change. Like national paid leave that actually pays enough to keep mamas at home with their babies until their scars heal.  Like truly flexible work. Like universal health care so the amount of time we have outside work to spend with our children isn't dictated by the need for health care.  And I could go on, mamas, like all day.

Be sure to read Judith's piece, Power in a Movement, where she sounds the wake-up call.  She's hard-hitting, but right-on, I think.  In short, she says: Enough talk, already.  It's time for the mothers' movement to get organized - or risk missing our window of opportunity.  And here's a tidbit to lure you into her thoughts on how to shift from talk to action:

Reader, I must tell you that a change has come over me. I'm no longer satisfied with writing and talking about the mothers' movement and the values and policy priorities of a caring society (and what it will take to move the United States in that direction). I'm tired of dissecting the relationship between motherhood ideology, conflicts in feminism, and opportunities and barriers to organizing mothers for political action -- so tired of it that just writing this sentence makes my head hurt. I, for one, am ready to move on to the next phase. I want to get the job done. And I have some ideas about how we can get started.

But if you don't have time to get to the denouement on page 4 (though I highly recommend it), allow me:

Please Pardon Our Appearance...

Activistas is getting a new home - sort of.  Same everything, only better - at least that's the plan.  When we're done we'll still be linked to urbanMamas and at www.activistas.us, but while we're moving you'll find the current us over here.  And we're not changing colors or anything - we like the orange and blue!  We're just getting a fancy new platform that will allow us to be bigger and better.  Now if only we can find the time to make the switch and be bigger and better - ha!  Hard to get bigger and better when you're, uh, sleeping or reading The Lorax or making a bat cave on the couch, you know? 

Thanks for your patience...

Activistas in the News...

So the Oregonian started a parenting blog - never too late to join the fun!  It's called The Mom Beat and is written by parenting staffers.  Good news for us in all this is they featured Activistas and urbanMamas.  Love that.  Check out the blog and, of course, the Q and A about us - 'cause surely that's the best part...

Share Books with Children in Foster Care

My kids love books.  My one-year-old likes to hold them, turn the pages, look at the pictures and point at the things she recognizes.  My 3-YO is really starting to get into the stories.  He often references something from the stories in his day-to-day life.  He also enjoys the language and has developed an ear for new words or rhyming patterns.  Our nightly ritual is to cuddle up with a good book or two, and I think it is safe to say that their childhoods would not be nearly so rich without books.   

That's why I love the Books from the Heart program.  If you are like me and believe books should be a part of every child's life, you can donate some to children in foster care who may not have any of their own.    The donated books should be new and can be dropped at any Barnes & Noble store in town before the end of the day on May 31st (Saturday).   Pick out a few titles your kids loved and share them with a little one who is likely to love them, too.  Why not?

Can't do it before Saturday?  Post something in the comments and we'll contact you about picking them up and dropping them at the state Department of Human Services, which runs the Oregon foster care program.

Know of any other children's book donation programs? We'd love to know so we can help in the future, especially if we're too late with this one! 

Global Mama Power: Dia de la Madre

So it's not Mother's Day anymore and I'm writing about Mother's Day.  But that, mamas, is the story of my life.  Especially these days!  In my own defense, my mother has been visiting from out-of-town and leaves tomorrow, so in some way it is still Mother's Day at our house (and the longer it lasts the better, is my take).  Now that we've got that cleared up.

A woman I met recently through our Parents for Paid Leave group - its founder, actually - read us the 1870 Mother's Day Proclamation at our Saturday meeting.  Several pieces of it are below - the ones that spoke most to me about women uniting to work together for change - peace, at that time:

Arise then...women of this day!
Arise, all women who have hearts!

We, the women of one country,
Will be too tender of those of another country

In the name of womanhood and humanity, I earnestly ask
That a general congress of women without limit of nationality,
May be appointed and held at someplace deemed most convenient
And the earliest period consistent with its objects,
To promote the alliance of the different nationalities,
The amicable settlement of international questions,
The great and general interests of peace.

The Portland Plan: Add Your Voice to the Mix

Thanks to Central Portland Families for reminding us that this huge effort is underway and there are loads of public input opportunities this month - from Monday 5.12 to Saturday 5.31 - all across the city.  And they even invited the kids!  A great opportunity to inject the family angle - whatever yours may be - into this process to create a family-friendly Portland in the next several decades.  Here's the scoop, in the city's words:

Pushing the planning envelope and building its visionary urban design legacy, the City of Portland is taking the lead on sustainable, equitable and economically viable long-range planning.  Over the next three years, the Bureau of Planning will be updating its 1980 Comprehensive Plan and the 1988 Central City Plan in an effort called the Portland Plan. 

The Portland Plan is an inclusive, citywide effort to guide the physical, economic, social, cultural, and environmental development of Portland over the next 30 years.  The plan will build on the work the community did through visionPDX, which captured and fleshed out our shared values of sustainability, equity and accessibility, and community connectedness and distinctiveness.

Get Involved.  Stay Involved.  Attend a meeting, join a committee, whatever works.  At the very least, stay informed without lifting a finger.  Yup, you can RSS the Portland Plan.  What can't you RSS these days?

Activistas is Facebooking: Are You?

We're live @ Activistas Pdx.  Join the group.  Make it work.  One more way we can connect to make the changes we all want to see.   See you there, mamas. 

New on Activistas: In the News

We got to thinking recently (uh-oh) that there are loads of interesting articles on the various topics we deal with here on Activistas, but not enough time or bandwith to write about 'em all. 

So we added an In the News section (to your right) where we'll include links to articles we think you might want to read.  And, if you come across a relevant article that you'd like to share with other Activistas, e-mail us with a link and we'll add it if it jives.  Feedback, as always, welcome.  Because you are the Activistas, 'round here, far as I can tell.