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Have you heard about the Citizen's Briefing Book? It's an online forum where you can share your ideas, and rate or offer comments on the ideas of others.

The best-rated ones will rise to the top, and after the Inauguration, change.gov will print them out and gather them into a binder like the ones the President receives every day from experts and advisors. If you participate, your idea could be included in the Citizen's Briefing Book to be delivered to President Obama.

Visit the Citizen's Briefing Book now and share your ideas: http://citizensbriefingbook.change.gov/

Momsrising.org Update:
Last Friday the U.S. House passed fair pay legislation. This is in no small part due to your efforts, including over 100,000 contacts to Congress by MomsRising members in the past months supporting this legislation.  Speaker Nancy Pelosi even wrote a blog on our homepage about why it was important to have fair pay be among the first bills to pass through the new Congress.1 You've got some power!

Next stop, the U.S. Senate!

But passing fair pay out of the U.S. Senate is going to take all of our political muscle.  Why? This very same bill failed in the U.S. Senate by just 3 votes last time it came up.  3!  Some Senators are still saying they don't support this bill--so they need to hear from all of us that the time to pass the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act 2 is now!  Help get those few needed votes!

*Send a note now to your U.S. Senators to ask them to vote "Yes!" on fair pay (and ask all friends to send a letter in too!):  

http://www.momsrisingaction.org/o/1768/t/1546/campaign.jsp?campaign_KEY=26412

If we can get this bill out of the Senate, then it will be a huge victory for women and mothers, and it will be among the first pieces of legislation that President Obama signs into law!

So, please send a quick letter today, and also... spread the word to friends so they can send a letter too.   

Lisa Belkin, in her New York Times parenting blog today, examines the candidates' positions on work life policy.  Read more...New York Times parenting blog 

Why don't more women run for office?  Both Hillary Clinton and Sarah Palin have faced sexist judgment that would send any reasonable woman running from the limelight. If that's not enough of a barrier, according to new research from the Brookings Institute, "Women are less likely than men to have the freedom to reconcile work and family obligations with a political career."  The Institute also reports compelling evidence that, "...women, even in the highest tiers of professional accomplishment, are substantially less likely than men to demonstrate ambition to seek elected office."  The road ahead in terms of gender parity and an inclusive electoral process in the U.S. demands that we get past the judgment toward mothers who pursue political careers. Critically analyze the issues please! That's fair game.  But accusations about whether a mother running for elected office makes you a good mom or bad mom widens the ambition gap. That's not good for democracy.

I'm sick and tired of the faux lipstick on a pig Palin controversy. I've been doing a bunch of radio interviews and repeatedly get asked about whether Palin can be a good "parent leader" and run for VP. Let's decide whether she can be a good VP (focus on your own parent/work choices) by refocusing on issues: Palin is pro-life, disbelieves global warming, opposes stem cell research, believes the Iraq War is a "task from god" http://www.washingtonpost.com, opposes gun control, approves abstinence-only programs, supports drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Reserve.  Do you really care how one family will be affected by one mother's choice to pursue an ambitious career? It's Governor Palin's stand on issues that could affect your life. 

With all the controversy and re-ignited Mommy Wars over Palin, I feel compelled to bring up the fact that promotion to top-level jobs and board room involvement for women has not just plateaued but declined! Women are still paid about $.74 to a man's $1.00 in the USA! Catalyst research shows that only 2.6% of Fortune 500 companies CEOs are female; only 6.7% of Fortune 500s top-earners are women; and 14.8% of Fortune 500 board seats are occupied by women. According to Catalyst it will take 73 years for women to achieve board room parity alone. So whether you are for or against Palin, women deserve to choose whether they want to pursue an ambitious career without double standard scrutiny and with equal pay. Mommy Wars should be over access to healthcare, affordable childcare, and equal pay for the same work as men, not over whether a mom should pursue an ambitious career or not.

I couldn't believe my ears when I heard Michelle Obama use the term 'mom-in-chief.'  I hope she reads my book! 

Click here: No ifs or buts, Michelle Obama anticipates life as 'mom-in-chief' - Yahoo! News

Here's what she said: "My first job in all honesty is going to continue to be mom-in-chief," she said, "making sure that in this transition, which will be even more of a transition for the girls... that they are settled and that they know they will continue to be the center of our universe." 

Please forward this blog along to parents who might be interested.  If you would like to receive my parent leader newsletter, just shoot me an email to Jamie@jamiewoolf.com with the subject Parent Leader Newsletter subscription.

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