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UPS Pulls Its Ads from O’Reilly: He Deserves It But. . .

I'm torn. Really. Nobody hates Bill O'Reilly and all he stands for more than I do. And when he went after my former colleague Amanda Terkel by sending a producer to prey on her on her vacation, a camera alongside, I was troubled. It's not the news gathering I was trained to do.

On one hand, it was totally unethical to follow a writer around and harass her for comments made about an anchorman. It's bizarre and a ridiculous waste of editorial resources, especially when the world of journalism is in such economic chaos. Chasing her down the street, peppering her with questions, when no one ever asked her for an interview she probably would have granted – it's all disgusting.

On the other hand, when we push advertisers to withdraw their ads from a show, we are doing something we ourselves opposed during the time of great TV from Norman Lear to Stephen Bochco to Diane English, among others. All in the Family, Hill Street Blues, Murphy Brown – they were among many fine, pioneering programs with a progressive bent that faced threats from major evangelical and other religious and political organizations like the Family Research Council. Their weapon every time was a threat to advertisers to remove their ads from these and other programs, or face boycotts. Of course there were no blogs in those days so it was tougher to organize but these people were scary and sometimes effective. We always defended free speech. Those shows deserved protection because they aired on licensed public airways. O'Reilly airs on cable – people pay to watch it so maybe that makes it a bit different.

On the other hand, (I know, this is the third hand) the Amanda gambit was totally unethical behavior, designed, I suspect, as chilling effect on its own. It raises the price for honest advocacy, exploiting the protection of the First Amendment to do so.

I guess what I'm saying is that what O'Reilly and his goons do is reprehensible; in my mind it's somewhat worse when the "victim" is a tiny woman, anything but threatening, who is on vacation. But using the weapons that I saw as so dangerous when they were aimed at "us" — I'm not so sure. What do you think?

Obama Staffing Issues: Where IS Everybody?

How many times have you received an email with a signature including "Be the change you want to see in the world"? Gandhi said it and it's a treasured thought to many including my friend and sister blogger Catherine Morgan, who write a blog she calls "Be the Change You Want to See in Yourself." That's the feeling, the sense of purpose, that created so many committed Obama supporters, who surrendered their work, their time and their futures to make sure he was elected.

Today I read the following in the Washington Post:

This, about HHS:

After
Daschle's departure, other top prospects, such as neurosurgeon and television
reporter Sanjay Gupta, lost enthusiasm. That also may have been the case
withDonald Berwick, president of the Institute for Healthcare
Improvement, who had been talked about as a strong contender for the
Medicare-Medicaid job.

And
this, about finding a U.S. Ambassador to Mexico:

They've been trying: Clinton
administration transportation secretary and early Obama backer Federico Peña
turned down an offer, we hear, as did Clinton White House deputy chief of staff
Maria Echaveste. Given the Senate's upcoming two-week recess, there's
little chance an ambassador will be in Mexico City to greet Air Force One.

It's happening in the Treasury Department too, where is sounds like, in addition to the enormous challenges Secretary Geithner, he's also working without much substantial staff support. Between tax and other issues, several potential deputy and assistant secretary people have reportedly either dropped out or been eliminated.

Call me crazy but it seems to me that people should be knocking down doors, walls and White House fences to help. Those with great gifts should be volunteering the way GIs did in World War II. Yet at least from what's been reported, the opposite is true. People are pulling back, especially near the top.

I understand that much of this gap is not refusal to serve but instead the intense vetting process that makes it tough to get anything done. And that the Republicans in Congress are being so tough that often people wonder if it's worth it.

But this is an emergency. The Treasury Secretary is "making do" with a skeleton staff and, I''ll bet, some uncompensated patriots who are helping him until they can unscramble the nomination mess. And I'm a big girl. I understand that more than patriotism motivates many who choose to serve — or not to. But I keep thinking about my mom's funeral. I said to one of her friends, "You guys really were the Greatest Generation. You went through so much and were so brave."

His response: "We just did what we had to do. You will too." I hope he was right.

Blogging Boomers #108: the Economy Hits Home

The very wise John Agno of So Baby Boomer suggested at all the Carnivalistas write about the economy this week and so we have. For a Boomer perspective that, of course, mirrors what everyone is feeling, this is the place to go. It turns out we're a pretty wise bunch, writing about everything from the "alternative economy" to keeping things less stressful at home to dealing with the market. John ha a good idea and Carnival posts rose to the occasion.

Blogging Boomers Carnival #106 and Still Full of Great New Ideas

Can a week have gone by already? Must have – Blogging Boomers carnival is back on this snowy Monday, hanging out this week at Wesley Hein's LifeTwo. True Love to 401Ks, innovation to blue jean fashion, Boomer women and Twitter – it's a wide swath of life covered this week. But then, that's always true at the Blogging Boomers, so don't miss it.

The Blogging Boomers Carnival (#105) Lands Here Once Again

It’s Carnival time again; the Blogging Boomers have landed here at Don’t Gel Too Soon, and they have plenty to offer. From Hole in the Donut, a story of how small the world really is – her blog helped a man discover his lost family roots when she published a present day photo of a storefront in Matten, Switzerland that had belonged to his grandfather. He was able to match it to a historical photo that ultimately led him to records that confirmed his ancestry.
Meanwhile, Rhea Becker tell us that she’s always dreamed of opening a restaurant. Would her Amish-concept restaurant survive in Boston? Learn more at The Boomer Chronicles.

Is it possible to go through menopause “naturally”? asks Wendy Lawson, who put that question to a well-respected herbalist and integrative medicine physician, and shares her advice at Menopause The Blog.

On another topic, were you part of the Oscar audience? Over at Fabulous After 40, they ask the question…How do the over 40 celebrities get to looking so sleek and perfect on the red carpet?

We all know that I Remember JFK comes up with some great memories. This time it’s a Buffalo Nickel, in typical 1960’s condition, that he found as a kid. As he puts it: “It wasn’t often that a kid of the 60’s had change in his pocket. At least it wasn’t often that I did. Come to think of it, I’m short of cash right now. Some things never change.

But go back to 1967, and if a fortunate youngster found himself with a chunk of change in his pocket, the odds were pretty favorable that among the coinage was a Buffalo Nickel or two.

And while we’re looking back — we all do it, but it’s got a bad name with most mental health professionals. That might be changing though. What are we talking about at LifeTwo? Nostalgia.

Here’s a nice simple one on Boomer life from the Midlife Crisis Queen: Behaviors to avoid when midlife crisis strikes!

In another take on life, Dina at This Marriage Thing says: Single? Here’s a bit of advice on choosing the purrfect mate..

After reading a magazine article about young entrepreneurs where only 3 of 16 were women, Andrea Stenberg wonders Are Young Women Less Likely to Be Entrepreneurs?

On the political side (sort of:) Feeling a bit Obamar-ific, Janet Wendy at Gen Plus, brings you some new online goodies from the White House

Add some technology to your politics: Barack Obama does it. So do William Shatner, Richard Branson and John Cleese… What is it? Twittering.
Tweating. Microblogging… If you want to get in on the act, head over to Contemporary Retirement.

Blogging Boomers Are at It Again!

I'm a bit late posting this week; life took over unexpectedly. But that doesn't diminish the usual value in the assembly known as Blogging Boomers Blog Carnival #103, this week posted by Ann Harrison at Contemporary Retirement. This time we have everything from the stimulus package to canned food to hormone replacement. And there's lots more. Don't miss it.

Bloggers Support Kim Gandy for Women’s Bureau Leadership,

Despite the unpleasant posturing of the New Agenda, leading feminist bloggers are lifting their voices (or keyboards) in support of Kim Gandy, currently President of NOW, as the best and most effective candidate for leadership of the Labor Department's Women's Bureau. Among those speaking up are Liza Sabater of Culture Kitchen, Veronica Arreola at Viva La Feminista, PunditMom's Joanne Bamberger, Jill Miller Zimon at Writes Like She Talks, and me. We need more!

Shabbat Shalom.

See you Sunday.

Fem 2.0 Where Are We Going? Notes from a Conference (A Special Tuesday Tour)

It's the morning after the remarkable event that was Fem 2.0, and I want to think a bit about what yesterday meant. Fem 2.0 is a new entity whose leaders organized a conference on the future of feminism and women's issues. Sounds like old stuff, but it's not. Because of their vision and connections, the organizers, especially Shireen Mitchell, Heather Holdridge, Liza Sabater and Gloria Pan were able to attract women who think about these issues but don't always attend the usual central-casting women's gatherings. Combined with them: several of the "rock stars" of 2nd and 3rd Wave feminism – from Gen Y to Boomers, as well as stars in the blogger universe.

For the first time I saw, at the same meeting, women my age and older, Gen X and younger, institutional and independent, white, black, brown and Asian – all terribly accomplished, articulate and thoughtful. The goal was to work toward the elimination of barriers among these varied groups to allow more focus on the issues that unite us. I know that sounds like Barack Obama and maybe his style increased the reception for this call to meeting, but it was really quite remarkable.

Gathered were institutional "rock stars" like Eleanor Smeal, President of Feminist Majority Foundation and publisher of Ms. Magazine, Kim Gandy, President of NOW, and Karen Mulhauser, former head of NARAL – all fierce veterans for women's rights, Rene Redwood of Redwood Enterprises and Ann Stone, introduced to the assembled as VP of the National Women's History Museum, which she is. She is also the courageous founder and long-time leader of Republicans for Choice – a group that, for many years, was enormously unpopular in Republican circles. It wasn't easy.

Alongside them as stars, but emerging more from the world of 2.0: Elisa Camahort Page of BlogHer, Kristen Rowe-Finkbeiner of Moms Rising, Amanda Marcotte of Pandagon and RH Reality Check, and Tedra Osell of Bitch PhD, among others. For the first time that I know of, the cohorts that these women represent were in the same rooms, talking to each other not only about feminism, but also about the factors (age, geek level, parent status etc) that divide them.

Many people have posted detailed descriptions of parts of the day. Here are a few: Jen Nedeau at Chang.org offers a nice summary. Laurie White live-blogged several sessions including the one at which I spoke. Momcrats (no surprise) were out in force and report here. Friend, house guest and major league blogger Jill Miller Zimon sums up the plenaries and some other events.

I'm sure there will be more; if there are enough I'll do a follow-up. The day was very important to most of us and if I haven't convinced you, read some of the accounts. Sometimes barriers among allies are tougher to overcome than those among adversaries. Fem 2.0 gave us a real start. They deserve our thanks. And have them, from over here where I sit.

Fem 2.0 Panel Video – At A Crossroads: Organizing the Next Generation of Feminists Online and Off

Thanks to the amazing Nerdette, who managed to participate brilliantly and shoot the panel at the same time, you can watch at least a portion of our Fem 2.0 panel. TanyaTarr, Jen Nedeau
and I were honored by a smart, challenging and provocative audience and
learned at least as much as we talked. As Tanya put it, "I just gained
300 more sisters. There's no other way to say it."

I also promised an updated set of links if many more posts appeared. Here are a few:

Loryn C. Wilson's take on Womanism and the conference
Nerdette's post on Not My Gal, including this video, which she shot and edited
Our third panelist (and expert moderator), Jen Nedau's review
Veronica I. Arreola at Viva La Feminista describes her very interesting plenary appearance with Eleanor Smeal, Kim Gandy, Elisa Camahort Page and others.
Laurie White at Laurie Writes continues her phenomenal series of live session posts
more measured response from
Jill Miller Zimon at Writes Like She Talks has a second post with links to more than a dozen reviews of the Linkfluence presentation
On TechPresident, Sairy Granger offers a different take on the Linkfluence map of feminist bloggers, presented at the conference.
There are also posts by Emily Kronenberger at New Wave Grrrl, FlashFree, DJ Nelson at All Diva Media and, I'm sure, many more to come.

As you can see, it was an experience everyone wanted to share.