Women and Their Inner Demons

Women often tell me that they envy my confidence, in a good way, while I am always astounded by the lack of confidence in women that I meet. 

Am I confident?  I believe I am.

I was raised by a single mother who was, though a product of her time, a professional and "glass-ceiling" breaker. Despite constant judging and disappointing responses from her own family and society (also products of their time), she always did her best to both protect her four daughters and encourage them to be strong women in hopes they would have better lives. 

As a constant observer at an early age, and a big history buff, I understand more than most, and probably better than any of my sisters, just how hard my mother struggled.

That is not to say I do not have my own "inner-demons" of self-doubt - after all, I too am a product of  the time and place I grew up. 

The Backwardness of the Breast Feeding Debate

I have been confused for some time, but I am getting more confused each day.

I simply cannot grasp the outrage over breast feeding in public.

First, I cannot understand what is offensive about it. It is the most fundamental part of motherhood.

Perhaps I would understand it more if we actually had social rules of modesty, but we don't. The same people who complain about breastfeeding in public have no problem with publicly exposed breasts, or other intimate body parts, in general.

Hollywood award ceremonies and Red Carpet events are full of glamorous designer dresses that leave little to the imagination - and sometimes no imagination is necessary at all to see the body "beneath" the outfit.

Voting Is About More Than Choosing The Next President

For several years I have been involved with voter registration activities. One year I even participated in polling observation to record when people were turned away from the polls or given previsionary ballots.

It is always interesting to talk to people about voting and voter registration. As soon as the subject comes up, people immediately connect it to the presidential election. The most frequent responses I have heard are, "I do not support any of the presidential candidates, so I do not plan to vote;" "I need to register so I can vote for X presidential candidate;" "The Electoral College chooses the president, so my vote does not count;" "I oppose the government funding for foreign countries, so I do not plan to vote."  

It is amazing to me that people so narrowly define voting.

Should I Add Volunteer, eBay Selling, Homemaker Activities to My Resume?

I get this question a lot but the most interesting thing is that I rarely get this question from men.

It is like men somehow understand the resume is a reflection of experience, not just paid experience. Women, on the other hand, tend to devalue everything they do.

FBI Dream Delivered: Jon Ritzheimer

Jon Ritzheimer's claim to fame is that he organized the first anti-Islam protest at a Mosque in Phoenix, Arizona; and then proceeded to organize more anti-islam protests at Mosques across the country.

I have been observing Mr. Ritzheimer's activities since he first came on the scene. Many Muslim and peace groups contacted me before the first event to ask what I thought about the situation and how they should respond. 

My perspective from the beginning was that if Mr. Ritzheimer was not an FBI plant, he was an unwitting FBI dream. The Mosque events were the most excellent opportunities for the FBI to take pictures and names of extremists - not of Muslim extremists, but the homegrown white-supremacist kind.