California NOW

Leadership in Partnership

Did you read today that the successor for Benazir Bhutto is a partnership of her husband, Asif Ali Zardari, with her 19 year old son, Bilawal Bhutto Zardari?  It reminded me of a long held dream ~ leadership carried on in partnership.  A few years ago Oprah Winfrey’s Legends Luncheon, matched pairs of women; seasoned and young African American women: poet to poet, writer to writer, singer to singer, politician to politician, activist to activist.  It was explicit that the senior women were bequeathing responsibility into the hands of the younger ones, but it was not a passing of a baton, rather it was a conscious partnership working together, exchanging expertise and energy, sharing understanding and hope.

Since working on Feminists Who Changed America, 1963 – 1975, I have been around many architects of the Second Wave, our storytellers, our WiseWomen and I also have the great good fortune to spend a lot of time with younger women, who have entirely different lives, issues and challenges.  As the Vice President of Membership of CA NOW I am often asked how to keep leadership strong, with people graduating, moving, retiring.  Imagine pairs, matched by interest and function, coming together to establish and celebrate unity in American Feminism!  I only know how such a possibility would have impacted me 30 years ago.  Who would you have chosen?

Inspiration to Keep Fighting the Good Fight in 2008

In case you need any inspiration to/continue to be a part of the civil rights movement...

Killer Zoo

The killing and maulings by the Siberian Tiger  in SF on Christmas Day seems to be a mystery unraveling. The Chronicle tells us zoo keepers have known since the 1950’s that the tiger’s could access the outside by jumping across the moat. We are also learning that animal care and security have deteriorated at the San Francisco Zoo and at present they have only 1 or 2 security guards to patrol the 100+ acre site after hours. But this is the least of it. It seems that animals are dying due to the horrid life at the SF Zoo.

According to PETA, scientists at Oxford University have concluded that big cats become neurotic when they are confined. (Don’t we all?) Given that the average tiger enclosure is about 18,000 times smaller than the animals’ natural roaming range, it is simply impossible for these animals to express instinctual behaviors, such as stalking out territory in dense forests, choosing mates, running, climbing trees, and hunting.

I just don’t understand zoos, and have boycotted zoos for the last 15 years. We say we have zoos so that we can all learn about the animals that we are keeping in captivity, but what we have learned, over and over again, is that this cruel and unusual environment will provoke many animals to kill. Since 1990, there have been more than 220 big cat attacks in US zoos. Four kids and 15 adults have lost their lives, and more than 50 other people have lost limbs or suffered other injuries after being mauled. 75 big cats, including Tatiana the Siberian Tiger at SF Zoo, have been killed because of these incidents.

The San Francisco Zoo has a lot of changes to make, but they made a good start in 2004 when they closed the elephant exhibit and sent its elephants to a sanctuary. Go to PETA’s Action Center to send a letter to the SF Zoo Director, Manuel Mollinedo, and urge him to make the same compassionate decision for the zoo’s three remaining tigers.

My Favorite CD of 2007

It's Sunday. A slow news day. So, I'll use this opportunity to tell you about my favorite CD of this year. It does happen to be by a friend in my hometown of Athens, GA, known for its music scene (B52s, Indigo Girls, R.E.M., to name a few).

The CD is Out of Place by Megan Baer. Baer wrote the songs on the album (except for an awesome cover of the Beatles' "Things We Said Today," and two traditional numbers) between age 19 and 35. They deal with love and loss, motherhood and self discovery and all are delivered by Baer's voice that is a sweet combination of Sarah McLachlan and Patsy Kline. Baer's partner, Michael Wegner (one of Athens' best and most ubiquitous musicians), beautifully backs up each song with guitar and vocal harmonies akin to the pairing of Gillian Welch and David Rawlings.

I approximate that I've listened to this album now one million times. No, really I have listened to it dozens of times and love it more each time. It's perfect Sunday morning music; Americana at its best. Check it out and see if you like it too.

I Fear Huckabee

Candidate for President Mike Huckabee (that sentence makes me want to vomit) was able to show his anti-immigrant bigotry in his response to questions about the assassination of former Pakistani Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto.

Because (as his own campaign has said) he has no experience with any kind of foreign policy, Huckabee turned the opportunity into a chance to bash immigrants and wear his bigotry on his sleeve. He said that in light of Bhutto's death, the US should, “have an immediate, very clear monitoring of our border, and particularly to make sure, if there’s any unusual activity of Pakistanis coming into the country."

Support for Huckabee has been soaring in the polls (and among the most wacky of the celebrity endorsers). This terrifies me. I'd long thought that if we got Bush and his buddies out of office, things couldn't possibly get worse. I never even thought we'd get someone as bad or worse!