California NOW

WTF Democrats?

I’ve always believed that our Democratic leaders had our backs.  That they are the ones who stand up for the middle class in this country and for our unions.  Isn’t that what we always hear in their campaign slogans each election cycle?

Don't Democrats always work FOR us – not AGAINST us?

I'm unfortunately seeing a negative trend whereby Democrats are beginning to side with the Republicans.  Lately, they've been choosing Goldman Sachs and international banksters over the American worker. Rachel Maddow has repeatedly pointed out that Democrats need to stand with public employees and working families but too many of them don’t seem to be listening.

Instead, as writers Matt Taibi and Dylan Ratigan have discussed in recent months, Democrats have been joining Republicans in selling America at the state level for 10 cents on the dollar. Why? Maybe it’s because when they leave public office, they accept lucrative positions in the same private companies they just sold public assets to on the cheap.

In my home state of New Jersey, the Democratic legislature is now actually helping the Republican Governor, Chris Christie, dismantle collective bargaining rights with regard to negotiating health benefits. State Senate President Stephen Sweeney (D-Gloucester), a union iron worker himself, seems to have bought into the ridiculous notion that New Jersey’s budget crisis was caused by paying fair wages and offering health benefits to workers in his state.  Of course the real reason Christie wants to dismantle the unions is so he can begin selling his state to the lowest bidder.

Recently Dylan Ratigan and the Huffington Post began a series entitled, “America For Sale: Is Goldman Sachs Buying Your City?” In the first paragraph Dylan states, “In Chicago, it’s the sale of parking meters to the sovereign wealth fund of Abu Dhabi. In Indiana, it’s the sale of the northern toll road to a Spanish and Australian joint venture. In Wisconsin it’s public health and food programs, and in California it’s libraries. It’s water treatment plants, schools, toll roads, airports, and power plants. It’s Amtrak. There are revolving doors of corrupt politicians, big banks, and ratings agencies. There are conflicts of interest. It’s bipartisan.”

Ratigan’s investigation shows that Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley and numerous other banksters are seeing “increased opportunity in ‘distressed assets’ (i.e. cities and states gone broke because of the financial crisis).”  The irony of course is that this crisis was caused by Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley and the other banksters!  They created the crisis and are now profting from it.

Adding insult to injury, in 2010 Goldman Sachs almost doubled the pay package of its CEO to almost $30 million while lawmakers continue to blame the financial crisis on public employees asking for health care benefits.

So let’s get back to my original question. WTF Democrats? It’s time to pick a side. Are you going to go back to what you've done in the past and stand up for the American worker?  Or are you going to instead protect the banksters?  Which side are you on? It’s time to choose!

Interview: Webmomz and Work Life Balance

We interviewed Kristie Rimmele and Michelle Floyd, the entrepreneurs behind Webmomz and the creators of Doing Business in Your Bathrobe Day on issues of women and work/life balance.

How did you meet, and what was your goal in starting webmomz.com?

Kristie: About a year after starting my own business I felt God calling me to write a book to help other women do the same.  So I took a year and wrote, "I Love My Life: A Mom's Guide to Working from Home."  Once that was published, I wanted to create an online community to really empower moms and guide them through the journey of starting and succeeding with their own home based business.  I had lunch with my childhood friend Michelle and after speaking to her realized she was the business partner I was looking for to help me with this.  In August of 2002 we launched Webmomz.  Today it's a resource that serves thousands of mom entrepreneurs worldwide. 

Our goal was to empower moms in work, family, and life.  We believe that you have to balance all three of those things as a work at home mom to truly be happy and have it all.

Even as it becomes obvious that more and more work can be done on a flexible schedule, and by telecommuting, employers are cutting back on workplace flexibility in many areas. Why do you think there’s this disconnect for many employers when it comes to creating flexible work environments?

I believe that some employers have the feeling that unless employees are directly supervised they won't be as productive.  But to the contrary, some at home telecommuters are MORE productive then their office based counterparts.  That is because there are less interruptions from business phone calls and friendly chats with co-workers.

However, working from home is not for everyone.  It does require discipline.  For the right worker, it's heaven.  They can be super focused.  Organize their day in the way they can be more happy and productive.  But for some, with a little freedom it becomes hard for them to work.  It's really about knowing yourself and how disciplined you can be. 

Another benefit to telecommuting for employers is that they can save money on office space and furniture. 

The History of Women in America's Old West

We interviewed Nancy Williams, author of the book Hawkmoon, on the history of American women in the Old West.

What kinds of roles did women play in America’s Old West?

Women living in frontier towns had limited options. If they were lucky and married, they were as you’d imagine: wife, mother, housekeeper and light farmhand. They tended the chickens, milked the cow, etc.

The woman who lost her husband or simply didn’t marry found herself with very few career choices. In the often sparsely populated settlements, jobs such as schoolteacher, laundress, cook, etc. were at a premium; thus, women often resorted to prostitution. The depiction of the classic Western movie was rarely accurate; in fact, most prostitutes were homeless, near starvation, and often died in extreme poverty.

Which movies and/or television shows are most accurate in portraying women of that era?

There aren’t many. The HBO series Deadwood did a pretty good job, stark though it was. Unforgiven was pretty accurate across the board—it did a fine job of de-romanticizing the west.

Building Women's Heart Health: Interview with Dr. Connie Guttersen

For Heart Health Month, we interviewed Dr. Connie Guttersen on women's heart health.

There has been a greater focus recently on how heart disease impacts women. Unfortunately it remains the number one killer of women. Can you talk briefly about the ways that heart disease impacts women differently from men?

Women not only have more heart attacks that go unrecognized, but also have more repeat heart attacks and a greater risk of stroke after heart attack. The important issue here is that while the numbers of women who are dying of cardiovascular disease is large, few of them realize the risk. More than half of the women who die suddenly have no prior symptoms. Most of these deaths are caused by irregular heart beats. A woman’s heart attack has different symptoms than a man’s. She may not always experience the chest pain / pressure which is typical in men. The list below provides key signs and symptoms which can be different in women.

· Women tend to deny or not recognize symptoms of heart attack
· Some therapies such as thrombolytic drugs and aspirin may be less effective in women
· Psychosocial issues are different for women
· More than half of the women who die suddenly have no prior symptoms
· Pain in the upper back, shoulders, neck and jaw
· Shortness of breath without experiencing chest pains
· Nausea
· Unusual fatigue or mild cold and flu symptoms that worsen with activity, often misdiagnosed as chronic fatigue syndrome.
· Unusual feeling of anxiety, weakness, and dizziness.

By the time the typical symptoms, chest and arm pain pressure, are detected in women, the heart disease has already progressed and may actually signal a heart attack. Educating women about these early symptoms can influence proper medical, nutrition, and lifestyle treatment for better outcomes.

Women also have two to three times the risk of heart disease after menopause. After menopause, estrogen and the levels of high density lipoproteins decrease. It is also a time, where women tend to gain weight – specifically abdominal weight, which is the location that increases the risk of cardiovascular disease and diabetes.

Researchers have learned that gender differences play an important role in the prevention, diagnosis and treatment of CVD. Heart attack symptoms may present differently in women than in men and they may also respond differently to cardiac medications.

· Although chest pain is the most common heart attack warning sign in both men and women, women may be less likely than men to report chest pain during a heart attack and more likely to report other symptoms, often resulting in misdiagnosis and delays in treatment.
· Women tend to develop CVD later in life than men and their outcomes are often worse. An exception is women smokers who die of a heart attack caused by smoking earlier than men.
· Women with acute coronary syndrome are more likely to have adverse outcomes, including death, heart attack, stroke, or rehospitalization, even after adjusting for age differences.
· Previous studies and clinical trials have often been done with inadequate numbers of women in the study population, and thus their conclusions do not always apply to women. Women represent just 38 percent of subjects in NIH-funded cardiovascular studies. In addition; three-fourths of cardiovascular clinical trials do not report sex-specific results, making it difficult for researchers and clinicians to draw conclusions about their effects on women.
· Researchers have identified gender differences in response to cardiac medications. Drugs that are beneficial for men may even be harmful to women. For example, the drug digoxin which used to treat patients with heart failure was associated with an increased risk of death among women but not among men.

What information do women need to have about heart disease?

More women die from heart disease, stroke and other cardiovascular diseases (CVD) than men, yet many women do not realize they are at risk. These diseases kill more women each year than the next five causes of death combined.

How can you recognize that you may be at-risk for heart disease?

Heart attack symptoms in women may be different from those experienced by men. Many women who have a heart attack do not know it. Women tend to feel a burning sensation in their upper abdomen and may experience lightheadedness, an upset stomach, and sweating. Because they may not feel the typical pain in the left half of their chest, many women may ignore symptoms that indicate they are having a heart attack.

Are there differences in heart disease for women of different ethnicities?

· As a group, African Americans have high rates of heart disease, which includes CAD, stroke, high blood pressure, and heart failure.
· More than one quarter of Mexican Americans have some form of heart disease.
· People of South Asian descent are at high risk for heart disease, but people of Japanese descent are at low risk.

We are proponents of Health At Every Size, which focuses on creating healthy lifestyles and not on weightloss as a cure-all. What kinds of lifestyle changes can help protect women against heart disease, regardless of their size?

Women can lower their heart disease risk by as much as 82 percent, by following a healthy diet and lifestyle. These positive changes should begin early in life.

Lifestyle factors that increase heart disease risk are increasingly common among teenagers and young adults. These include smoking, excessive alcohol abuse, consumption of fast food / processed foods, smoking, and physical inactivity. Regardless of age, a healthy diet is an important part of lowering the risk for heart disease. A diet based on fruits, vegetables, whole grains, lean meats, as well as healthy fats is essential. The scientific literature continues to support the role of monounsaturated fats and omega 3 fatty acids as key factors in the overall diet and lifestyle prescription for decreasing cardiovascular disease.

Following a colorful approach to selecting a wider variety of vegetables (especially vegetables that are a vibrant dark green) is a great way to ensure the best combinations of antioxidants and phytochemicals.

What foods are best to protect people from heart disease, and how can we make these a regular part of our diets?

Key Nutrients for Women and their Protection against Risk Factors

Plant sterols, soy, soluble fiber
Reduces cholesterol · Reduces menopause symptoms

Antioxidants: Vitamin C, E, Isolfalvones, Phytochemicals
Inhibits oxidation of Low Density Lipoproteins: Decreases Coronary Heart Disease Risk · Provides a natural boost to the immune system

B Vitamins: Folate, B6, B12
Reduces homocysteine levels which are thought to promote heart attacks and dementia · Protects against colon cancer, breast cancer, and Alzheimer’s disease · Folate is essential for a healthy pregnancy

Calcium, Vitamin D, Magnesium
Maintains healthy bone mass

Flavonoids, omega 3 fatty acids
Prevents stroke and heart attack

Whole Grains and Fiber
Positive effects on blood sugar control and coronary heart disease risk factors

Monounsaturated Fats · At least 25% of total caloric intake
Provides protective role against breast cancer, heart disease, and Alzheimers · Minimize the risk of chronic inflammation: a key risk factor involved in cancer, heart disease, Alzheimer’s Disease and diabetes.

Omega 3 Fatty Acids · A varied intake from plants and seafood
Provides cardiovascular protection, essential for brain function, and provides benefit to mood disorder conditions, improved immune function and response. · These fats minimize the risk of chronic inflammation: a key risk factor involved in cancer, heart disease, Alzheimer’s Disease, stroke, and diabetes

What other health advice can you offer women during heart health month?

Focusing on keeping the waist trim to decrease abdominal fat is a good and easy way to monitor your health. Think about ways to decrease stress through meditation or yoga. These are different types of exercise which can balance higher intensity exercise as well.

Interview: Felicia Day

Our Communications Director, Elena Perez, and our contributing author Mickey Schulz of Geek Girls Rule, interviewed Actor and Screenwriter Felicia Day on her web show The Guild, women in gaming and geek culture, and much more.

Listen here!

Geek Girls Rule will be doing a giveaway contest for two sets of The Guild DVDs, Seasons 1-4, thanks to New Video, who also were responsible for helping us to set up this fantastic interview!