What do I believe? I believe certain Republicans in Congress are instigating investigations into Planned Parenthood, not because they believe there’s been a misappropriation of funds, but because it serves their personal agendas of appeasing their highly conservative constituencies. I believe Komen caved to pressure from pro-choice groups. I believe, at the direction of one of their executives with a very personal agenda, they carved out new corporate policies that allow it to yank funding from Planned Parenthood without debate. I believe they mistreated and were completely disrespectful to Planned Parenthood—not by yanking funding (that one we can debate), but by making an announcement to Planned Parenthood, instead of meeting face to face with Planned Parenthood leadership. Is this any way to treat an organization they’ve partnered with for seven years? Cowardly, I think so.

My reaction? I was deeply saddened by this news. Because, I actually have history with the Komen Foundation. My college sorority picked the Susan G Komen Foundation as it’s national charity (and I can only hope they will seriously reconsider a different breast cancer organization to support going forward). We organized the Franklin 5K (before 5ks were popular) as an annual fundraiser for the organization. Over the years, we raised thousands upon thousands of dollars for that organization. After I graduated and moved to Chicago, I continued to support that organization by raising money for and running in the Race for the Cure. And so, it’s sort of a stake in my heart that an organization I supported for so many years could so egregiously mistreat another organization I happen to support. And, more important than my personal disappointment, it’s incredibly unfortunate that women’s health has to be politicized. Ridiculous and appalling, actually.

Furthermore, this story adds more reasons why I am utterly confused by the political right. The whole conservative Republican movement screams at liberal Democrats that we need less government. Fewer taxes. Less spending. Stay out of our business. That’s their message and trust me, we hear it loud and clear. Oh, but wait a minute. What’s that? If the conservative Republicans don’t agree with my business, then they’re more than happy to stick their noses in it? So, what this basically means is that when it comes to my body, conservative Republicans have their hands all over it. Hypocrisy much? Eff that.

Ooooh boy, I can feel the comments brewing. Or even better, the lack of comments brewing, because many of you don’t like to pick fights. And that’s fine. Bring it on. Or don’t. In the meantime, I’m gonna turn my words into action. Instead of continuing to whine about this sad state of affairs any more, I’m heading over to the Planned Parenthood website to make a donation. And from what I hear, a lot of others have, too (they raised $400,000 in the 24 hours after the Komen announcement went public). Action speaks louder than words.

Chicago Alderman are considering a ban on texting while biking. I just want to know who is dumb enough to text while biking? Who is coordinated enough to text while biking? And theoretically speaking, so long as no one else is hurt, shouldn’t we let the Darwinian theory of survival of the fittest play out in this case? Just saying.

Sweets has a love affair with Redfin.com. It’s a real estate website that makes home-hunting easy. You’d think we were looking to buy a home given how much time he spends on it. In fact, we’re not in the home buying business right now. And to make my point, I did some math for Sweets. Based on some conservative estimates of what our condo is worth today (a lot less that what we bought it for) and potential real estate growth over the next decade (1% per year), it will take us over 15 years for the market value of our condo to return to the value where we bought it. I’m pretty sure a Redfin ban in our house is well deserved.

I’m so sick of the Republican party publicly presenting themselves as if they live by a moral code that makes them better people than everyone else … and yet, time and time again, they prove that they’re just as dirty as the rest of us. Case in point: Texas Governor Rick Perry leased a hunting camp with a rock that had “Niggerhead” painted on it. There is debate around when the word was painted over, but there is no debate that it existed at one time, well into the 1980s. There are hundreds of places to hunt and yet, he chose that one. Are you kidding me? Second case in point: Chicago Tea Party leader skips a local Tea Party convention after he was outed for soliciting prostitutes (and getting caught for it) in 2010. Nice, buddy, real nice. Two examples of very poor judgement calls, especially for people who are in political office or the public view and therefore are constantly scrutinized. If you want to make bad decisions, that’s fine, but don’t you dare pretend you’re morally better than anyone else.

When you have a baby, your name is magically added to every mailing list known to man. As a result, I have “free” subscriptions to a number of parenting magazines. Working Mother magazine came out with it’s top list of employers, based on maternity/paternity leave, flexible working environments, how many women are hired into management positions and other woman-focused metrics. The computer systems company, Cisco, came in number one for a host of reasons. The reason that stuck out to me? They give employees 26 weeks of PAID maternity leave (8 weeks more than the companies tied for second place). That’s six months, kids. Paid. I about lost my marbles when I saw that statistic. Way to support women in the workplace!

The NBA is currently in a lockout. Might be the best gift of the season if they stay that way. (And who said I wasn’t McJudgey?!? hahaha)

Halloween is coming up this month. It is one of those holidays that I loathe. Not loathing in a way where I think the holiday should be banned altogether. I think it’s great for kids. I just detest dressing up my adult body and using the day as an excuse to get beyond drunk (who on earth needs an excuse to do that?!). I’ve successfully ignored Halloween since college. But, now, we have a baby. And there have been some societal demands for a costume for him. If it were up to me, I’d skip it this year (hello, the kid is only one and will likely hate wearing a costume). Sweets would agree with me, too. But, his daycare is actually doing something related to the holiday. And I’m not going to be *that* parent who denies her child a fun day, just because she doesn’t like it herself. =) So, a costume is in the works.

I think I’m allergic to sushi. To be more specific, I think I’m allergic to the seaweed used to make maki rolls. My heart is broken. It started a few years ago, when I absolutely loved ordering seaweed salads to commence my sushi meal. Only my body didn’t like the seaweed salad. My stomach would rumble and roar. I’d get the worst cramps. After trial and error, I realized what was making my stomach boil, so I stopped ordering seaweed salads (a travesty!). Last week, Sweets and I treated ourselves to sushi. We got four rolls to share. After dinner, my stomach started doing the same thing it used to do with the seaweed salads. I’m not yet ready to throw in the towel. I’m going with the three-strikes rule. But, it’s disheartening to know strike one has been called.

What are some random things swimming around in your head today?!

Our most recent debate centers on the race for Chicago Mayor. You see, our current Mayor has had a tight hold on that office for decades. Around election time, it was sort of theater for me to see who would waste their time and money trying to run against him. While he didn’t have the most, errr, ethical (?) history during his mayorship, everyone would agree he turned Chicago into a pretty remarkable place to live and to visit … most recently highlighted by China’s presidential visit to this city, the only city other than Washington DC, largely credited to our Mayor’s global efforts to keep business relations open with China as well as one of the nation’s first Mandarin-language programs in a high school.

All that hoopla aside, Mayor Daley announced his retirement last year. And the race for Chicago Mayor immediately heated up. The biggest name in this race has to be Rahm Emanuel, recent Chief of Staff to President Obama. Emanuel was a long-time Chicago resident before relocating to Washington DC to serve our country under our President. Emanuel always maintained the one thing that would draw him back to Chicago is if Mayor Daley were to step down: being Chicago’s Mayor has been on Emanuel’s radar for years. So, when Daley announced he was stepping down, Emanuel moved back.

Two things have been certain since Emanuel announced his run for Mayor. (1) Emanuel has been the front-running candidate from the start, by large margins. (2) A number of groups have called into question whether Emanuel meets the city residency requirements in order to be on the ballot.

To be Chicago’s Mayor, you have to have established residency in Chicago for at least a year prior to the election. Emanuel returned to Chicago in October 2010; the election is in February 2011. There is clear reason why people would call into question his eligibility. In late December 2010, the Chicago Board of Election Commissioners ruled unanimously that, in fact, Emanuel did meet residency requirements. Even though he moved to Washington DC to serve our President, his intentions were always to move back to Chicago, as evidenced by leaving boxes of personal items in his house (which he rented out while he was gone) and retaining his Illinois driver’s license.

Almost immediately, an appeal was filed with an Illinois Appellate Court. Mere days ago, that court threw out the ruling by the Chicago Board of Election Commissioners, stating Emanuel is not eligible to run because he moved to Washington D.C. for two years. Soon after that ruling came down, I saw news stories that the ballots were going to the printer without Emanuel’s name on them and the Elections Commission would adjust if the Illinois Supreme Court came down with a different ruling. Well, the Illinois Supreme Court had something to say about that: they directed the ballots to be printed with Emanuel’s name on the ballots, even though  (at the time) the Supreme Court hadn’t yet announced whether it would even hear Emanuel’s case. Late yesterday, the Illinois Supreme Court ruled they will, indeed, hear the Emanuel residency case.

For me, it’s disappointing that any state or municipality would have laws on the books preventing people who serve our country from running for local office. Whether a resident temporarily relocates to Washington DC to serve under our President or moves to the Middle East to fight for our country, shouldn’t we continue to encourage those people to solidly serve our country? Me thinks so. As one friend pointed out, in the Chicago situation, surely someone wanted to keep someone else out of office, and so this residency requirement was established years ago and now it’s coming back to bite people in the ass. I also get that we’d have to define intent to move back … that someone who moves to DC to serve the President and stays in DC to work for a think tank after serving the President probably relinquishes their residency versus someone who moves to DC to serve the President with plans for an immediate return after their term is up.

Anyway, this is Chicago politics. Political theater, mind you. And I’m pretty confident that there will continue to be drama and high stakes and judicial sparring … and at the end, I have a feeling Emanuel will serve as Chicago’s next Mayor. (And if you’re looking for my personal feelings about him, outside of this residency spat, I think he’s the only candidate with the muscle and name recognition to continue to make Chicago a great place to live, a fantastic place to visit and a serious contender in the global economy.)

Not only did I get mail from the Republican National Committee, but they were asking me to take a survey on behalf of Republicans in my district.

I couldn’t help but giggle. This true-to-the-core Democrat was being asked to respond to a survey that “will represent literally thousands of Republicans in [my] Congressional District.”  Color me giddy.

To be fair to all my conservative-leaning friends, I answered honestly. The first question asked what kind of Republican I consider myself. I answered Other and wrote in Democrat. So, it’s  up to the RNC whether to bother reading the rest of my responses or not. But hey, they asked and I answered.

Now, I’m not trained in the psychology of surveys, but one thing I can see a mile away is when questions are leading. And believe me when I tell you, this survey was loaded with leading questions. I guess these politically leading questions get people fired up and that’s what political parties are supposed to do when rallying their base. But, I’m also pretty sure that surveys with leading questions are biased and don’t gather the most truthful and honest answers. In fact, I’m pretty sure they gather answers to support a pre-determined stance the party has already taken.

For example, here’s one of the leading questions:

Do you think the record trillion dollar federal deficit the Democrats are creating with their out-of-control spending is going to have disastrous consequences for our nation?

Why is this question leading? Well, it’s putting the onus of our entire deficit on the Democrats, when that’s just not true. Have decisions made by a Democratic Congress contributed to our deficit? Sure. But, how about we address the billions of dollars the Bush administration and his Republican government racked up going to war. Or how about cleaning up the financial crisis, a national crisis whose stage was set during a Republican administration. Just saying that the Republican party cannot wipe its hands clean of our financial situation. They are also to blame. And yet, this question doesn’t even hint at a shared responsibility.

I also love how the questionnaire asked a whole string of questions regarding the Democratic party and how they’re growing government and how intrusive it is into our lives. And then the survey goes on to ask whether I support a ban on abortions, support a prohibition on same sex marriage and would like to see the introduction of government-sponsored faith based initiatives. Seems to me the Republican party is pretty good at sticking their nose where it doesn’t belong and yet screaming for Democrats to get out out of their business. Two-faced much?

Anyway, I responded to the survey. I honestly answered every question (minus the commentary I included in this post). I signed my name at the end stating I had answered truthfully. And I sent it back to the Republican National Committee in Washington DC. It’ll be interesting to see whether I’m now a target for cruel Republican attention or whether they write me off for good. Time will tell.

My question to you is this: if a political party to which you are not affiliated sent you a survey under the pretense you support said political party, would you fill it out or would you immediately discard it?

Recently, though, the tables may have turned and it’s the public’s chance to be angry with the U.S. Postal Service. Earlier this month, the post office renewed threats of service cutbacks. The changes the post office is now suggesting include:

• Cutting costs
• Closing post offices
• Raising rates
• Eliminating some services, including Saturday mail delivery

Without these drastic changes, the post office suggests it could run a deficit of almost $240 billion over the next decade. Of course, unions representing letter carriers and other postal workers object strongly to these service cuts.

Oh, how this reeks of the Chicago Transit Authority. Both are broken systems that refuse to acknowledge that a major internal overhaul is needed. Instead, they expect the public to get used to a new way of business. And you know what? It stinks!

Look, I get that the postal system is in financial trouble. I get that fuel prices have increased dramatically, affecting all industries that rely on it for their livelihood. I even agree that the postal system *should* raise rates to reflect overall increasing costs across the nation and around the globe. I’m all for a little change here.

But, the reality is the post office needs to make major service cuts because it’s an old, antiquated system. It thinks making little changes here and there is actually going to solve the problem. The reality is, I can guarantee, the post office will come back to us in another year or two. Crying again for higher rates, additional service cuts, etc.

A long time ago, a boss once told me that it’s okay to disagree with how something is done so long as you come to the table with a suggestion for how to make it better. Here are my top 10 ideas I think could help the postal system resolve some of its more public issues …

1. Raise rates annually to reflect rising costs (not because the USPS can’t get it’s shit together and comes crawling to us for more money). However, rates should have a flat increase each year (at 3%, the increase for mailing a letter will average 1-2¢ per year) and the new rates should go into effect the same time each year, so customers are not surprised.
2. Eliminate Forever stamps. That’s just ridiculous that I can mail something 5 years from now for the same price as it costs today just because I bought an armful of stamps. Cute marketing gimmick, bad financial decision. Delete.
3. Eliminate bulk mailing rates. It doesn’t cost the post office less money to process hundreds of items and ship them. Therefore, businesses and non-profits should not get a break on the cost to ship them. Period.
4. Eliminate Saturday delivery for residences only. Many businesses rely on Saturday deliveries and should not be punished as a result. However, most residential customers will not be hurt waiting a few days for an armload of junk mail.
5. In the most rural areas, do not deliver to residences at all. Instead, residents can pick up their mail at a local, centralized post office box. It will require less time from postal workers and less money for maintenance and fuel of vehicles.
6. Re-evaluate the pay scale and benefits of postal employees. Yes, this stinks to high heaven with the unions. But, you know what? If private businesses are cutting back, making employees shoulder more of the burden, etc., then so should the postal service and its employees.
7. Consider layoffs. If less mail is being delivered as a result of the internet and competition (UPS, FedEx, DSL), then that suggests you should need fewer postal service employees to complete the work. Quit letting the unions bully you into keeping their workers.
8. Get rid of the bottom dwellers. Some postal workers go above and beyond the call of duty. However, their images are tarnished by the all too many public-facing postal workers who are rude, grouchy, indignant and downright unhelpful. And you know what? With the postal service mail carriers starting salary at $40,000, there are plenty of currently unemployed people who would be more than happy to take the place of those negative workers – and they’d do so with a smile.
9. Pay for performance. If a postal worker saves the organization money, pay that postal worker a percentage of the savings. Encourage postal workers to make suggestions for how to improve business. Winning ideas are paid a bonus. Offer incentives to the highest producers each month, encouraging everyone to improve performance.
10. Add coupons. You think I’m kidding, but I’m not. It could help manage costs. For example, if post office locations are most heavily used on Fridays or the last day of the month, offer coupons for people who can come to the post office during the middle of the week or the middle of the month. December is clearly a crazy month at the post office. Offer discounts to those who mail packages before December 1. Coupons just might help control the ebbs and flows of the business!

I’m quite certain my ideas hit just the tip of the iceberg. And you must have a few of your own. Care to share them? Or are you completely satisfied with your service?

{Note: some ideas gleaned from here.}