FW: Time's Running Out To Register

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In This Issue Don't Miss Your Chance To Attend Thanks to our Lead Sponsors QUICK LINKS Facebook Twitter YouTube.com MWL Blog P.O. Box 15, Hallowell, ME 04347   v: 207.622.0851 f: 207.621.2551 info@mainewomen.org www.mainewomen.org Don't Miss Your Chance To Attend the Breakfast of Champions! The Maine Women's Policy Center's annual Breakfast of Champions series is the best way to learn what's on the horizon for Maine women and to engage in discussion about the public policies which will improve our lives. Register today for one of the following events:    October 6, Northern Maine Community College, Presque Isle   October 7, Spectacular Event Center, Bangor   October 8, Holiday Inn By the Bay, Portland   The Presque Isle Breakfast is a free event, but registration is still required. Tickets for Bangor or Portland are $35 in advance, $40 at the door. We're committed to making these events accessible to everyone. Contact us for student prices and further discounted tickets by need. Each event runs from 7:30-9:00 a.m., and we promise to get you out and ready to head to work at 9 a.m.!   The deadline for purchasing tickets is Wednesday, September 30. Contact Bonnie at 207.622.0851, ext. 22, to reserve your seat today. Headlining the Portland event is Beth Shulman, a nationally renowned policy and media expert on the American workplace and the policy changes and practices needed to create a country with more broadly shared prosperity.   Keynoting all three events is Lisa Maatz, Director of Public Policy and Governmental Relations at AAUW in Washington, D.C., where she works on federal policy initiatives that bolster economic opportunity for women.   The Maine Women's Policy Center will honor the Portland grand format printing company Portland Color with the 2009 ACTION AWARD. The award recognizes an individual policy or set of employment practices that serve to advance women in the workplace and which demonstrates a commitment to women workers. Thanks to our Lead Sponsors               Thank you!   Charlotte Associate Director Maine Women's Policy Center www.mainewomenspolicycenter.org

Fwd: Thanks for sending a letter to Congress!

(From Momsrising)

I just sent a note to Congress urging them to improve the Baucus health reform proposal to make it work for kids and families. Here's why. It seems that healthcare reform is kind of like baking a cake. If you don't have the right ingredients, it will fall as flat as a pancake. Last week Senator Baucus released his proposal for health reform that is an attempt at a compromise measure which he hopes will be the blueprint for reform moving forward. Unfortunately, it looks like it needs our help to make it rise.

Tell Congress that the Baucus health reform proposal that they are considering this week is missing some of the necessary ingredients to get health reform right for kids and families! http://momsrising.democracyinaction.org/o/1768/campaign.jsp?campaign_KEY=27304

What are the missing ingredients in the Baucus proposal? Affordable coverage, comprehensive benefits, employer responsibility to help pay for health coverage, a strong public option, better reimbursement rates for Medicaid providers; and a guarantee that health reform will also benefit kids, not set back the great advances in children's health coverage made by the Children's Health Insurance Program (CHIP).

That's right. The Senate Finance Committee is meeting right now to consider the Baucus proposal for health reform. Congress needs to hear from each and every one of us (forward this email far & wide) that any health reform proposal must have the following key ingredients in order to work for kids and families:

* Ending unfair insurance practices such as rejecting applicants based on pre-existing conditions and setting insurance rates based on gender, health status, or age

* A strong public health insurance plan option that ensures choices for consumers, lowers costs, and provide real competition for insurance companies

* Head to toe coverage for ALL children that is affordable and easy to use

* Help for families with low and moderate incomes to cover the costs of health coverage and reasonable limits on out-of-pocket expenses

Health reform without these components will be a flop! Or as famous chef Julia Child said, "A cookbook is only as good as its worst recipe." Let's make sure that the Baucus proposal has a successful recipe for our nation's health reform!

Send a letter to Congress now! http://momsrising.democracyinaction.org/o/1768/campaign.jsp?campaign_KEY=27304

And please forward this message on to your friends and family. This is a critical moment for our nation's future! Let's make sure all our families' voices are heard.

Thanks!

Save the Date 10/20 Detox Your Toy Box -- Please help us spread the word!

The Friends School of Portland is offering our second Parenting for Peace event.  On October 20th, we will convene a panel to query the relationship between environmental health and children's health and to seek idea for improving the health of all of our families and communities.  Our panel includes Dr. David Bellinger, from Harvard Medical School, who will share the most updated scientific research with us about the effects that environmental toxins might play in children's health (or health problems); Nicole Borrasso, FSP teacher and seasoned outdoor educator, will help us think about how to engage children in stewardship over our environment and own bodies (without scaring them) and Kristine Jenkins from the Environmental Health Strategy Center, who will share some stories of successful community clean-ups / social change and engage us in a conversation about public policy initiatives on the horizon. 

We will leave time for questions and discussion, and there will be a resource fair to allow us to talk individually with partner organizations*  (including Maine's chapter of  Physician's for Social Responsibility) and to collect information and opportunities for action. 

We hope that you will join us at this FREE event, and we hope you will spread the word to others that you know who are interested in engaging questions about how to collectively detox our toy box (and sandbox, and lunchbox, etc. etc. ) 

MojoMom : HOW to raise a Free-Range Kid

Kim has sent you a link to a blog:

I'm curious how others feel about this -- are things different for us here in Maine? How is it to be on an island? Do you feel like your kids are more constrained than you were, and for the better or the worse?

Blog: MojoMom
Post: HOW to raise a Free-Range Kid
Link: http://mojomom.blogspot.com/2009/09/how-to-raise-free-range-kid.html

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Talking to Kids about Bias, Marriage Equality, and a rare ask for $$ for the cause

As you may know, Maine is set to be the first state to protect marriage equality at the ballot box, and this historic campaign means a lot to me. 

Currently, the advertising asking Maine people to repeal the law granting marriage equality is an example of adults engaging in persuasive tactics that are based on bullying language.  Bill Nemitz's column today expresses these concerns beautifully. (see the Bangor Daily news editorial questioning the claim that children will be indoctrinated in school, or the memorandum from Maine's Attorney General, Speaker of the House and President of the Senate refuting aspects of the ads, to see some ads, click here.)

We must show the right that we will work together to maintain an inclusive state, and that we will protect Maine's children from hate and exclusion, on this issue and the other initiatives that threaten our communities. We need to stand up, together, and refuse to be manipulated or intimidated by the scare tactics being used in the Yes on 1 media. 

I am helping the NO on 1 / Protect Maine Equality Campaign raise money as part of the Online Walk Against 1. For every $1 I can raise, I'll cover one more of the 35,385 square miles in Maine. Our goal is to of raising $35,385 by October 9th. Will you please chip in a few dollars to help me hit my fundraising goal and cover as many miles as I can?

Check out my fundraising page!

Pinwheels for Peace 2009

Happy Equinox, and more regular posting

After a lovely summer break from blogging, I am returning to P4P, although without a clear mission. The start of this blog included collecting my zillions of links and resources and putting them all in one place. But, my parenting process is ongoing, and the world keeps changing, so I expect this blog to be 1-part reflection, 1-part resource exchange, and 1-part political updates. Of course, I'd love to hear people's comments, ideas, suggestions, feedback, etc.!

This week includes so many moments for families to light a candle, enjoy a meal, pause, reflect, and set goals that a person can feel overwhelmed before it starts. Rosh Hashanah, International Day of Peace, the Equinox, Yom Kippur . . . not to mention apple picking, halloween-dreaming, and soup making. . . Still, settling into some rituals and carving out some special space for reflection seems hopeful and bonds us more closely to each other.

How does your family celebrate and reflect in this season?