A Message From The Creator

“You can only become truly accomplished at something you love. Don’t make money your goal. Instead pursue the things you love doing and then do them so well that people can’t take their eyes off of you.” 
― Maya Angelou

Inspirational Woman Of The Day

Homa Khaleeli

The Guardian March 7, 2011

Article History

Few politicians attract as much vitriol as Harman, 60. From commentator Rod Liddle’s column asking “So – Harriet Harman, then. Would you? I mean after a few beers obviously,” to the Daily Mail mocking her as Harriet Harperson for her perceived political correctness, the verbal attacks can, at times, look like a warning to women not to enter politics.

Yet, in spite of this, she has not just stood her ground but continued to push feminist policies, and ceaselessly worked to encourage more women to follow in her footsteps. Entering parliament when 97% of the members were men (and she was seven months pregnant) in 1982, her first question to Margaret Thatcher was to ask why there were no after-school clubs in the school holidays. And from then on her determination to push pro-women policies has not wavered. She set up the first parliamentary Labour party women’s group, and fought for women-only shortlists, while during her time as the country’s first female solicitor general she made tackling domestic violence a priority. During a brief spell in charge of the country in 2009, while Gordon Brown was on holiday, she suggested reviewing rape laws to improve conviction rates and teaching children about domestic violence. And last year, she demanded that half the shadow cabinet be made up of women. Her explicit support of feminism and equality (“That’s what I’m in politics for: to champion the cause of fairness, of social justice, and of women”) has always caused derision in the rightwing press (the Daily Mail called it an anti-male blitzkrieg).

The daughter of a solicitor and a Harley Street doctor could not be said to get everything right and has enraged many voters by sending her children to selective schools. She was actually sacked as secretary of state for social security in 1999 following rows with Frank Field and a bid to cut benefits to lone parents.

But as one reader says, few could fail to be impressed by her tenacity and commitment to: “standing up for gender equalities since the time when there were very few women in parliament. She has fought for a huge range of issues affecting women, including equal pay, sex trafficking, rape convinctions, domestic abuse.”

Local Inspiration

Posted by Bryan Henry

Making A Difference: Alabama woman takes on bullying

MONTGOMERY, AL (WSFA) – Jessica Brookshire, composed, accomplished and a veteran of several beauty pageants, including the Miss Alabama pageant but there was a time when life wasn’t so pretty for Brookshire.

“It started when I was 7 or 8. It was just teasing and I never stood up for myself,” said Brookshire.

By not standing for herself, Brookshire paid a terrible price. She remembers that day in the school gym.

“I was in health class and a boy raised his hand and told the teacher he thought I was going to commit suicide because I was so ugly and the whole class laughed,” Brookshire said.

Fast-forward about 15-years and you’ll find Brookshire appearing on just about all the news channels in Alabama including Alabama Live on WSFA, spreading the word on the dangers of bullying.

It’s become such a rallying cry that Brookshire started KARMA, an acronym for Kids Against Ridicule, Meanness and Aggression.

Jessica Brookshire keeps a scrapbook of fliers and emails from parents who say she has in fact made a difference.

The scrapbook helped her win the Community Service Award at the Miss Alabama pageant last month.

One teenager who applauds the work of Jessica Brookshire is Dalton Sparks, a high school football player from Jemison and a former bully.

“I picked on people.”

Bryan: “Why?”

“Insecurities,” Sparks admitted.

Sparks says he has since apologized to the people he picked on and they’re now his friends.

The impact of bullying someone became all too real for Jim Moore.

“The note said, ‘today I’m taking my life,’ Moore recalled.

Moore’s own daughter committed suicide in May by jumping off an interstate overpass in Chilton County.

Mr. Moore didn’t know it at the time but later learned Alex Moore had been bullied at school. By his own admission, Alex was overweight, classmates called her names and there was that humiliating moment in front of her peers.

“She had her pants pulled down in front of everyone and locked in the bathroom. Alex didn’t deserve that,” said Moore.

And Jessica Brookshire will tell you Megan Mier didn’t deserve it either. Mier killed herself after being bullied on the internet by the mother of another teenager. In fact, it was Megan’s story that helped motivate Jessica to start her platform which is based on one simple premise.

“It’s to teach people to be nice to each other, and to help them understand their words have a much larger impact than they could ever imagine,” said Brookshire.

Jessica Brookshire not only has a quilt photo square of Megan Mier but also has one of Alex Moore. The squares will be made into a KARMA quilt which will be used as a teaching tool when she speaks to others about the dangers of bullying.

“This is very touching,” said Moore after looking at the photo of his daughter.

It is Jessica Brookshire’s hope that she will not have to make any more quilt photos, victims of bullying.

Brookshire is certainly doing her part; standing up to the bully mentality.

“I’ll just keep going down this path and see what doors open,’ she said.

One national survey shows that two-thirds of American teens say they were bullied last year. The most common reason? Appearance.

Another study shows that bullying is less likely to happen when parents are heavily involved in their child’s school and experts say the best way to stop it is to speak out early and often.

Email Bryan Henry at bhenry@wsfa.com if you know of someone who is making a difference in their community.

 

Inspiration Of Motherhood

 

By Josh Richman
Contra Costa Times

Posted:   04/23/2012

 

Political Blotter: Stark jabs at Romney with bill for welfare moms

This is a sampling from Bay Area News Group’s Political Blotter blog. Read more and post comments atwww.ibabuzz.com/politics.

 

April 18

Though embroiled in an ugly re-election campaign situation, Rep. Pete Stark remains a loyal fighter in the presidential campaign rhetoric wars.

Stark, D-Fremont, announced he’s introducing the Women’s Option to Raise Kids (WORK) Act, which would amend the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families welfare program to recognize the job of raising children age 3 or younger as work; low-income parents would be able to work, receive job training, search for work or raise their children until they are school-aged without fear of losing TANF support.

 

Current law doesn’t count low-income stay-at-home parents who are raising young children as meeting the necessary TANF work requirement, and bans states from counting these individuals toward that state’s work participation rate, which can result in financial penalties if not met.

Republican presidential frontrunner Mitt Romney’s campaign has been making hay of Obama adviser Hilary Rosen’s comment that the candidate’s wife, Ann Romney, stayed home to raise their five children and “never worked a day in her life” — mothering is work, the Romneys contend. However, MSNBC reported Sunday that Romney, during a campaign appearance in January in New Hampshire, touted his record as Massachusetts’ governor of increasing work requirements for welfare even for mothers of young children because he wanted them “to have the dignity of work.”

 

“Mitt Romney was for Obamacare before he was against it. Then, he was for forcing low-income mothers into the workforce before he decided ‘all moms are working moms,'” Stark said in a news release. “I think we should take Mr. Romney at his most recent word and change our federal laws to recognize the importance and legitimacy of raising young children. That’s why I’ve introduced the WORK Act to provide low-income parents the option of staying home to raise young children without being pushed into poverty.”

The WORK Act’s 11 original co-sponsors include Rep. Barbara Lee, D-Oakland, and Rep. Lynn Woolsey, D-Petaluma.

This isn’t Stark’s first jab at a GOP presidential candidate this year. In January, he introduced the Narrowing Exceptions for Withholding Taxes Act — yes, the NEWT Act — as a hit at Newt Gingrich. H.R. 3840 would close a loophole that lets certain self-employed people, including lobbyists, lower their Medicare payroll tax liability by calling their earnings profits or dividends rather than wages — as Gingrich did in his 2010 tax returns.

Like the NEWT Act, the WORK Act will go absolutely nowhere in the Republican-dominated House. 

 

April 19

Republican presidential frontrunner Mitt Romney’s campaign announced this afternoon that Jeff Randle of Sacramento will be its senior adviser in California.

“Jeff Randle is one of California’s most respected and accomplished political leaders, and his expertise is critical as we work to highlight Mitt Romney’s vision for the Golden State,” Romney for President Political Director Rich Beeson said in the news release. “Jeff has more than 25 years of experience running and winning statewide elections. His insight and savvy will be invaluable as we work to defeat President Obama, elect Mitt Romney and fundamentally change the direction of our country.”

 

In the same release, Randle said he’s “honored to be part of what is an incredibly organized, focused and determined campaign team.

“The team reflects Mitt Romney’s leadership and mirrors his focus on building a winning organization that is primed to win the general election,” he said. “Mitt Romney is the right leader at a critical time in American history. I look forward to working together with Mitt and the team to win in November and bring real change to our great nation.”

Randle, 49, president and CEO of Randle Communications, most recently was a senior adviser to Meg Whitman’s 2010 gubernatorial campaign. Whitman early in her business career worked for Romney at Bain & Co., was a finance co-chair of Romney’s 2008 presidential primary bid, and co-hosted a Bay Area fundraiser for Romney last month.

Randle was Gov. Pete Wilson’s deputy chief of staff from 1991 to 1998 and was a member of Arnold Schwarzenegger’s political team from before the 2003 gubernatorial recall election through Schwarzenegger’s 2006 re-election.