Celebrate Earth Day Weekend with Mothers Acting Up.

Heya! Nashville’s Mothers Acting Up community is on the grow. Come build community, join in the fun, and get in on the ACTION. We are a welcoming community and a part of the larger national mother-led, mother-fed movement of mothers and others advocating passionately & publicly for the world’s children. If you haven’t yet done so, sign up on the website to receive monthly collective actions and be assured of all the latest news from local and national community organizers. www.mothersactingup.org

In this issue of the haps:

1) Friday 4/20 10-Noon: Mobilizing the Mamas Playgroup @ Centennial Park Playground

2) Friday 4/20 6-8 PM: Bring the Family Potluck Social & Salon CLIMATE PROJECT SLIDE SHOW PRESENTATION!!

3) Saturday 4/21 11-7 PM Nashville Earth Day Festival @ Centennial Park

Mobilizing the Mamas: Come one, come all.

Playgroup for mothers (and others) and their children.

Friday 4/20 (and every Friday!!) -- Centennial Park Playground, 10-Noon.

Bring outdoor play things (parachutes, bubbles, play silks, sidewalk chalk), blankets if you please, snacks to share.

Bring books or articles of interest to our growing mother activist community, as well as questions, comments and friends.

Build community, make new friends, hang with old ones.

From this point forward, we’ll be focused on actions well integrated into our playgroup time, as well as planning for the Mother’s Day Peace Parade. During the month of April, we will join with our sisters in action at MomsRising and decorate onesies as part of the Mother’s Day geared Power of ONEsie campaign. From MomsRising:

DECORATE A ONEsie & MAIL IT TO US: Make it personal! Over the next several months we'll be collecting ONEsies to display around the country. Simply get a new or used baby onesie (or a small kids t-shirt) and make it your own by decorating it with fabric paint, markers, or even rhinestones. Joan says, "I had fun doing a couple of ONEsies with my young daughter... and I was struck by what she wrote on hers, 'Love, love, love and more love.' She understands." You can add catchy slogans, hold a ONEsie decorating party, and/or have kids help with the project. *Mail Your Creation by May 1, 2007 to Be Part of a Fabulous Mother's Day Extravaganza: MomsRising, P.O. Box 19596, Seattle, WA 98109. (In case you forget the mailing address and other details, we set up a website for your easy reference: http://www.momsrising.org/PowerofONEsie)

We’ll have paint and some new onesies, but bring some to recycle as well!!

*** On inclement weather days we’ll gather at the downtown public library on the second floor in the children’s area.

Bring the Family Potluck Social & Salon

Friday, April 20, 2007
6:00p
Bring the Family Potluck Social and Salon

Mothers Acting Up has a potluck, the third Friday of each month, at the Friends' Meeting House, 530 26th Ave N, Nashville, TN 37209 (map).

April 20: We'll gather to sup, laugh, discuss Mother's Day parade planning, and build community. In celebration of Earth Day, (East Nashville’s own) Jacob Gordon, a recent graduate of Al Gore’s Climate Project, will give a slide show and talk about global warming and what we can do as citizens to address it!

Nashville's Mothers Acting Up community celebrates all families and all children. We heartily welcome you to join with us in fellowship. Bring the family! Bring friends. Our gatherings are always nursing friendly and open to ALL kinds of families: old, young, rich, poor; hip, hippies and anti-hipsters all; GLTB friendly; all colors, faiths and orientations; all styles of parenting from mainstream to super crunchy.

Please bring a dish to share. Drinks will be provided. In the spirit of community work together and of being kind to the earth, we'll use real dishes and wash them afterward.

Mothers Acting Up is a mother-led, mother-fed movement of mothers (and others) passionately and publicly advocating for the world's children.

Here are links to MAU's national website and blog, and to Nashville MAU's blog. For further information, contact Paige La Grone Babcock, paige@mothersactingup.org, Nashville office 615.750.3780, Mobile mama 615.495.1879.

Nashville MAU at Nashville’s Earth Day Festival

Saturday 4/21 11-7 PM; Centennial Park!

Our booth host an activity for children and other lovers of crafty fun, recycling treasures into hats to be worn as sun protection and decoration at the upcoming 2^nd Annual Mother’s Day Peace Parade (hosted by MAU at Dragon Park, Sun. May 13 12:30-3:30 PM).

Come on out and enjoy what promises to be a most enjoyable time!!

Nashville MAU welcomes all kinds of families into its ample bosom.

Come join the magnificent revolution to honor the promise of our children’s lives!!

In spirited partnership,

Paige for Nashville MAU

National Outreach Coordinator & Community Organizer

paige@mothersactingup.org

MAU at Compass Conference Saturday AM.

This weekend I’ll be leading the workshop MAU Now: The Joy of Activism—Mobilizing the Mamas. You can see below for a full on description of my workshop and a number of other wonderful workshops and events of the Tennessee Alliance for Progress annual Compass Conference. Nashville's Mothers Acting Up community organizers will be providing childcare w/ snacks and activities for the smalls so mamas and papas can do some activating. Childcare will be available from 9 AM – 2:30 PM with the understanding that parents will check in and take their children during breaks and mealtime. If you require childcare or intend to take my workshop, please holler at me, as it will allow better planning on my part.

More on Mothers Acting Up: www.mothersactingup.org

More on Nashville Mothers Acting Up: www.nashvillemau.blogspot.com

I hope to see some of y’all this weekend!!

In peace,

Paige La Grone Babcock

paige@mothersactingup.org

How would you like to spend this Saturday day listening to inspired speakers, networking with like-minded people, engaging in passionate discussion about pressing social issues, watching informative documentary films, grooving to great music and browsing a unique bookshop with hard-to-find books you've been looking for?

If this is your cup of tea, you need to attend the Compass IV Conference this Saturday, April 14, 9 am to 4 pm at Cohn Adult Learning Center, 4805 Park Avenue in West Nashville. The action packed agenda includes 12 workshops, including a free workshop on Global Warming, films, music, a bookshop and Keynote Speakers David Sirota and Paul Waldman. You can register at www.tennesseeallianceforprogress.org. Cost is $25 per day. If you need financial assistance in order to attend, contact nellrose@earthlink.net.

Here's the agenda for Saturday.

Compass IV Workshops – Saturday, April 14, 2007, Cohn Adult Learning Center

Registration: 8 AM to 9 AM

Welcome and Report from Friday’s Strategy Session: 9 AM - AUDITORIUM – Dan Joranko, Tennessee Alliance for Progress Board Chair

Keynote Address: 9:15 AM – AUDITORIUM – Paul Waldman, of Media Matters for America, author of Being Right Is Not Enough: What Progressives Must Learn From Conservative Success.

Break and Paul Waldman Booksigning: 10:15 AM

Morning Workshops: 10:30 to 11:50 AM

Doing Justly – LIBRARY – a workshop on faith, spirituality, morality and politics organized by TAP’s Doing Justly Project: Integrating Our Deepest Spiritual Beliefs Into Our Professional and Public Lives. Presenters: Dan Joranko, Tamara Ambar Losel, Ted Parks, Melissa Spas, and Harmon Wray.

Reducing Poverty and Inequality in Tennessee: What Works - ROOM 209. This workshop will look at successful programs and policies that are being used here and abroad. Presenters: Martha Wettemann of Tennessee State Employees Association, Rebekah Jordan, Midsouth Interfaith Network for Economic Justice, Jerry Lee of Tennessee AFL/CIO, and a representative of the Vanderbilt employee living wage movement.

Activism 101 - ROOM 201. Want to get active and make a difference but don’t know where to start? This workshop is for you. Presenters: Keith Caldwell, Coordinator, Nashville Peace and Justice Center, Jen Cartwright, former Education Director, Nashville Peace and Justice Center, and Megan Mecaraeg, Organizer, Jobs with Justice.

MAU Now: The Joy of Activism— Mobilizing the Mamas – ROOM – tbd.
(Fathers and all others who care about & for children are warmly welcome).

Mothers Acting Up will facilitate a conversation about parental activism: where are we on our current journey? What are the barriers and obstacles to parental activism? How can we overcome them? We will view Mothers Acting Up, the movie and participants will receive a copy of the Mothers Acting Up 2007 Mother Leadership Handbook and Engagement calendar. The Mother Agenda will be addressed and issues of the workshop include community building, Mother’s Day Reclamation, tabling, and advocacy for children in the offices of our representatives. Children’s activities and daycare provided.

Please contact nellrose@earthlink.net if you will need childcare. Presenter: Paige La Grone Babcock. paige@mothersactingup.org

Media Reform – ROOM 203- Learn what’s wrong with the corporate media and how you can become a media activist. Presenters: Ginny Welsch of Radio Free Nashville, Mary Mancini of Liberadio(!) and Elliott Mitchell is of Metropolitan Educational Access Corporation.

How to Write Op-Eds That Get Published - ROOM 204. - Get read! Get heard! Get blogged! Learn how to bring your activism onto the opinion pages of Tennessee’s newspapers, on airwaves, and into cyberspace. This workshop that will show you how to leverage your activism through the commentary continuum. The Forum is working to increase progressive voices in the mainstream media. Presenters: American Forum Executive Director Denice Zeck and Elizabeth Barger Chair of the Tennessee Editorial Forum.

Lunch: Noon to 1 PM – DOWNSTAIRS CAFETERIA

Films: 12:10 PM to 1:00 PM – DOWNSTAIRS CAFETERIA.
Collateral Damage: Bad Medicine in Tennessee
Scenes from Eternal Vigilance: The Fight To Save Our Election System, Q&A with filmmaker David Earnhardt.

Afternoon Workshops: 1:00 to 2:30 PM

Global Climate Change – AUDITORIUM - A Powerpoint presentation based on Al Gore’s An Inconvenient Truth. Presenters: Jennifer Tlumak, a graduate of Al Gore’s Climate Project and Rev. Jim Deming of Tennessee Interfaith Power and Light and Northwest Earth Institute. FREE AND OPEN TO THE PUBLIC. Part of the Step-It-Up April 14 Campaign.

Afternoon Workshops: 1:10 to 2:30 PM

Passing the Torch: Youth Activism – LIBRARY - This workshop will be led by youth and adult staff working with Oasis Community IMPACT (OCI). OCI works with young people from two East Nashville High Schools, Stratford and Maplewood, to promote educational and economic equity for urban students, schools, and neighborhoods by cultivating grassroots leadership through a youth organizing strategy. This workshop will provide participants the opportunity to learn more about this work, to better understand why working with youth is critical, and some effective strategies for working with a new generation of change-makers.

Progressive Blogging – ROOM 121 - Sandy Smith Madsen of the award-winning blog, Tennessee Guerilla Women will bring together bloggers to share the secrets of their craft. Presenters: Chiara at Thoughts of an Average Woman, Callie at Red State Exile, and Rick at Coyote Chronicles.

Election 2008 – ROOM 203. Discussion of local, state and national candidates, voter suppression, paper-trail ballot boxes and other issues. Presenters: Dr. Sekou Franklin, MTSU Political Science Department, Jim Grinstead, Democracy for Tennessee, Chick Westover, Gathering to Save Our Democracy, and Seanna Brandmeir, President Tennessee Young Democrats.

Tennesseee’s Health Care Crisis – ROOM 201 - Discussion of uninsured problem, TennCare, single payer proposals and other options. Presenters: Dr. Jim Powers of Vanderbilt Medical Center, with Lori Smith of Tennessee Health Care Campaign, Jim Hudson of Physicians NAT Health Plan and Dr. Richard Braun.

The Politics of Crime and Punishment in Tennessee – ROOM 204 - Topics will include prison privatization, death penalty, racism in the criminal justice system, and restorative transformative justice as an alternative to our present retributive system. Presenters: Harmon Wray of Vanderbilt Program on Faith and Criminal Justice, Stacy Rector of Tennessee Coalition to Abolish State Killing and Gail Tyree of Grassroots Leadership of Memphis.

Break: 2:30 to 2:45 PM

Music: 2:45 PM - AUDITORIUM - Renown Songwriter/Artist Robert Ellis Orrall will perform his hit “Al Gore” and other selections.

Keynote Address: 3:00 PM – AUDITORIUM – Activist and Media Commentator David Sirota, author of Hostile Takeover: How Big Money & Corruption Conquered Our Government – and How We Take It Back.

David Sirota Book Signing: 4:00 – 4:20 PM

MAU on Mothering chat tomorrow!

I'll be the guest on Mothering magazine's online chat schedule Wednesday April 11 at Noon Central, representing Mothers Acting Up. This is the first of monthly scheduled visits to chat about MAU & mama activism. This month I expect to address building community, reclaiming Mother’s Day, and the Mother Agenda.

More here, including chat instructions.

If you’re up to it, stop by to lend some support and ask a question or make a comment, and please DO pass this reminder along to folks you suspect might be interested.

Local opportunities for MAU involvement and family fellowship abound, including weekly playgroups, monthly potluck socials & salons, regularly scheduled visits to state rep’s offices (next up: TOMORROW), MAU Now: The Joy of Activism—Mobilizing the Mamas workshop at this weekend’s Tennessee Alliance for Progress Compass conference, a booth the Earth Day Festival, and Nashville’s fast approaching 2^nd Annual Mother’s Day Peace Parade. Holler for details, or if you have interest in bringing Mothers Acting Up to your community.

March MAUs go out like lionesses...

Opportunities abound for community building, here are three THIS WEEKEND.


One) TODAY 3/30 MAU's regularly scheduled Mobilizing the Mamas Playgroup.

Friday 10-noon; Centennial Park Playground.

Bring sunscreen, outdoor toys (sidewalk chalk, trikes, beach balls, parachutes), snacks to share, your knitting or other craft if you like, ideas for Mother's Day op-eds & costumes, friends, family and welcoming attitudes.


Two) TODAY 3/30 One in a series of field trips to visit our state representatives along with Tennessee's Peaceable Assembly & Instruction Project, itself part of the national Occupation Project.

Friday 2:45-- outside Representative Cooper's office, downtown, Church Street.
These field trips are wonderful forays into civic and political egnagement In which which we lobby / advocate and appeal for / to our representatives to vote for peace. MAU’s role in this capacity is to show up passionate about our children’s welfare, ALL our children’s welfare, and to put real faces and bodies to Rep. Cooper’s constituency, as he is the person we visit today. MAU families and friends will gather in front of Cooper’s office (it’s inside the downtown public library, accessed from Church Street between the library’s main entrance and Provence) on the sidewalk at 2:45. I’m asking folks to bring with them their children, grandmothers, friends, welcoming spirits, homebaked cookies… whatever it takes to graciously thank Cooper for voting against appropriations last week, and to ask him to continue to vote for peace, thereby giving all children a bigger piece of the pie.

(NOTE: the next scheduled MAU group field trip was April 3-- this visit is in the process of being rescheduled! Write to Paige for details: paige@mothersactingup.org)


Three) Planning Meeting for Nashville MAU's Second Annual Mother's Day Parade for Peace.

Sunday afternoon. Write Paige for details: paige@mothersactingup.org

Living Green in Nashville and beyond.

Links to this great site keep popping up everywhere I turn, and seeing as one of the three campaigns that makes up the Mother Agenda is For Kids' Sake: Preserve Our Planet, it seems a good idea to share The Fun Times Guide to Living Green, where you can learn simple ways to make sustainable living fun and practical, reduce the size of your carbon footprint, and give children a bigger piece of the pie, for now, and for LATER. You'll find tips on how to make or use a rain barrell, how to reduce waste in general, and where to purchase bamboo panties!!

Playgroups.

The weather in Nashville now is GREAT. Everything's on the bloom, the sun is shining, and our community playgroup is thriving. Playgroups and potlucks help keep our community cohesive all the year through, and not just connected once a year at our Mother's Day Parade.

We meet each Friday at Centennial Park Playground in the window between 10 AM and Noon. We visit, share snacks, and do an action together whenever possible. These days, with the weather so accomodating to outdoor play, we have quite a crowd and we'll be parade planning, stilt building and costume making during our gatherings. Come join us! Bring friends, bring neighbors, bring grandmothers and fathers. ALL are welcome.

Nashville MAUs at peace rally 3/17.

2007_0317_143525AA, originally uploaded by Wingates.

Nashville MAUs at peace rally 3/17.

2007_0317_141328AA, originally uploaded by Wingates.

Nashville MAUs at peace rally 3/17.

2007_0317_142431AA, originally uploaded by Wingates.

Nashville MAUs at peace rally 3/17.

2007_0317_151401AA, originally uploaded by Wingates.

Nashville MAUs at peace rally 3/17.

Nashville MAUs at peace rally 3/17.

Nashville MAUs at peace rally 3/17.

Nashville MAUs at peace rally 3/17.

Nashville MAUs at peace rally 3/17.

Nashville MAUs at peace rally 3/17.

Nashville MAUs at peace rally 3/17.

Nashville MAUs at peace rally 3/17.

Nashville MAUs at peace rally 3/17.

MAU at TAP Compass Conference.

Tennessee Alliance for Progress (TAP) – Compass IV Conference

April 13 & 14, 2007

Cohn Adult Learning Center, 4805 Park Avenue, West Nashville

Don’t miss TAP’s biggest meeting of the year. This two-day gathering of progressives from around the state will feature networking, workshops, skills trainings, films, live music, the TAP Long Haul Awards and Silent Auction, plus other events. This is THE statewide progressive gathering of the year in Tennessee. Keynote speakers will be David Sirota and Paul Waldman. David Sirota is a nationally renowned political commentator and author of the book, Hostile Takeover: How Big Business Bought our Government and How we can Take it Back. Paul Waldman is a senior fellow at Media Matters for America and the author of, Being Right is Not Enough: What Progressives Must Learn from Conservative Success. Visit the TAP website to register (click here).

Mothers Acting Up will be At TAP:

Mothers Acting Up presents MAU now!: the Joy of Activism— Mobilizing the Mamas

(Fathers and all others who care about & for children are WARMLY WELCOME!)

MAU will facilitate a conversation about parental activism: where are we on our current journey? What are the barriers and obstacles to parental activism? How can we overcome them? We will view Mothers Acting Up, the movie, which gives a terrific overview of the movement: a magnificent revolution to honor the promise of our children’s lives.

The workshop will provide a copy of the Mothers Acting Up 2007 Mother Leadership Handbook and Engagement calendar for each participant family.

Points of focus in context of the Mother Agenda : community building, Mother’s Day Reclamation, tabling, and advocacy for children in the offices of our representatives. The goal of our sessions is to provide each participant with the tools to create and put on a Mother’s Day Parade or other reclamation event and / or start a Mothers Acting Up Community in their own hometowns.

A children’s workshop / activity—Mini MAUs in Community-- on Global Citizenship will coincide with the adult programming.

Community Building ALL WEEKEND.

One organization has no hope of ensuring the health, education and safety of every child; generations of educated & committed communities absolutely can.

Our Spring schedule for the Nashville community of Mothers Acting Up is *packed*— it includes playgroups, potlucks, a peace rally, field trips to our representatives’ offices, as well as participation in Nashville’s Earth Day Celebration and a presence at TAP’s (TN Alliance for Progress) annual Compass conference!! All of this good community building culminates in our 2^nd Annual Mother’s Day Peace Parade at Fannie Mae Dees Park! Full schedule to come…

This weekend alone:

Friday March 16, 10-Noon

MOBILIZING THE MAMAS PLAYGROUP

@ Centennial Park playground

Bring friends, snacks to share, bright spirits. Over the next several weeks we’ll be working on stilt building and costume making leading up to Mother’s Day!!

In the event of significant rain or nasty weather, we now meet at the DOWNTOWN PUBLIC LIBRARY on the 2^nd Floor in the Children’s Area.

Friday March 16, 6-8 PM

BRING THE FAMILY POTLUCK SOCIAL & SALON

@ The Nashville Friends Meeting House

Bring family and friends and a dish to share—we’ll share a meal, fellowship, and plan for our presence at the following day’s peace rally & march, as well as discuss the Mother’s Day Peace Parade.

Saturday March 17 , 2 PM

PEACE RALLY & MARCH in commemoration of the 4^th anniversary of the War in Iraq

@ The Musica Roundabout Park

MAU (and friends) will gather with babies and children together – we’re mamas. We’ll have snacks, cell phones, sunscreen, strollers, slings, backpacks—whatever makes us all comfortable and well nurtured. This event has been specially designed to be FAMILY FRIENDLY. MAUs will be peacekeepers and help one another mind the babes. Bring shoes and pots and pans and stilts (if you have them). Dress brightly and for fun and / or don an apron, if you care to. Wear comfortable shoes for the walk to the Federal Building.

Please see organizer Jane’s details below:

Dear Paige, Remembering last year at this time, I hope that all the
Mothers Acting Up and their babes and hubs and all will come to the

"Walk in Their Shoes" commemoration of the
4th anniversary of the invasion of Iraq this
Saturday at 2PM.We will gather at the
Owen Bradley Park, on Division & 16th, by the Musica Roundabout
for music, speakers and a peaceful ambiance.

At. 3:30 PM, we will walk to the Federal Building at Broadway & 8th,
carrying the signs and banners of our various groups. - hope MAU will
"march" under their signs!!! Or you may like to walk with the "Molly Ivans
Brigade" to honor that feisty progressive journalit's dying request that
we bang pots and pans and "Raise Hell to end the war!"

We will also carry old shoes, labelled with the names of Tennesseans,
friends and family members who have served and especially those who were
injured or killed in Iraq, and shoes with the names of Iraqi men, women
and children who have died in this conflict. The shoes will be lined up
along the curb in front of the Federal Building (and later given away).

Please come! With kids, strollers, old shoes or pots and pans if you have
them! Call for PEACE not endless escalation! Affirm springtime LIFE and
rebirth, not death and continued destruction! Things are in a great state
of flux at this moment - we can make a difference!

peace and love, Jane

A Time for Peace: Friday March 16.

The below comes to us from our friends at TAP (Tennessee Alliance for Progress.)

A Time for Peace rally and vigil at Legislative Plaza this Friday, March 16th, at 12:30 p.m.
to be followed at vigil at St. Ann's Episcopal Church at 6 p.m.

Mothers Acting Up: The Transformative Power of Mother's Day.

Mothers Acting Up: The Transformative Power of Mother's Day.

Health Care for All Children.

A great many of us in this country have struggled to provide and keep healthcare for our families for various reasons. Sadly, we have not always been successful. It is a growing problem nationwide, and is especially so for our country's children.

The below is from the THCC (Tennessee Health Care Campaign), but the SCHIP reauthorization campaign is NATIONwide, so folks from all states are needed to raise their voices. SCHIP is State Children's Health Insurance Program.

It's easy to call and you don't have to sound like a policy wonk, just like a parent concerned for children. When you call, identify yourself, your city. If you don't know your representative, don't let that stop you. The operator will know where to direct your call by where you are calling from-- whoever you speak with will simply take a message and note your concern.

Children's Health Insurance - Calls are needed this week to Congress: Calls to ALL Senators and Representatives are needed now. Tell them we need at least $60 billion in new money for the SCHIP program for Reauthorization. Call Congress, toll-free 1-800-828-0498 What you should say? Congress must ensure that there are at least enough funds to cover the children who are eligible for SCHIP, but not yet enrolled. to do this, we will need at least $60 billion in new federal funds over the next 5 years. No child should lose coverage because there are not enough federal funds. The $60 billion includes funding to ensure that no one currently enrolled in the program will lose coverage because of a lack of federal funds. For more details, click here.

In Peace....

Arise!!

Marching to the tune of Mother Leadership in 2007, this Mothers Day-- May 13-- MAUs from coast to coast will be getting their parade on from New York City and the Bronx, to Austin, Nashville, Boulder and Carbondale, Alexandria, Vashon Island and the Twin Cities, too... More cake walks, teas, rallys and parades being added in cities and communities across the country weekly!!

Find a Mothers Day Parade near you, and / or watch the following, and get inspired to to host your very own! The MAUmas at the Mothership will be with you every step of the way and I stand ready to encourage, support, hand hold where necessary and celebrate YOUR community's victory in taking great strides in this magnificent revolution in the names of all our children:

Sign On.

In coordination with the national “Occupation Project,” the Peaceable Assembly of Tennessee seeks to persuade our representatives to vote AGAINST any escalations in Iraq, supplemental appropriations for the Iraq War, or military attacks on Iran. We also seek to persuade them to sponsor or support legislation to instruct the President to begin to withdraw all U.S. military forces from Iraq, to be completed within 12 months. In short, we’re asking for:


No more escalation in Iraq
Support our troops by bringing them all home alive and healthy
End the war NOW
Prohibit a military attack on Iran


Why We Call Our Congress to Action:


Because we believe this war should never have been started. There were no WMD’s. There were no links to Al-Qaeda. There was no attack on the U.S.

Because more than 3,100 U.S. soldiers and 600,000 Iraqis have been killed

Because there are now 2 million Iraqi refugees and 50,000 more leave Iraq each month

Because at least $367 billion has been spent and Iraqi and U.S. citizens are in more danger than before it started

Because we know there is no end in sight except more loss of human life and financial resources unless our Congress takes up its constitutional power to end this travesty!

Sign on here.

Health Coverage for Children: a priority NOW.

MAU in space.

Here.


Come see what's happening.

Twofer.

Today there are two MAU events in Nashville.

The AM playgroup (starting at the new later winter time of 10 AM!!) is at Centennial Park Playground. It'll be in the high thirties or low forties, so bundle up!


And this evening, we welcome 2007 with the year's first Bring The Family Potluck Social & Salon.
6 PM. Friends Meeting House. Bring a dish to share. Yum.

Mobilizing the Mamas playgroup: Friday!!

Host:	Nashville Mothers Acting Up (MAU)
Location:	Centennial Park Playground 2600 W End Ave,Nashville,TN, Nashville, TN
When:	Friday, January 19, 10:00am and EVERY Friday morning....
Phone:	615-495-1879
Winter is here. PLEASE NOTE LATER START TIME!! Warm up by gathering with both old and new friends for a family-style playdate. Bring a healthy snack to share if you can and outdoor toys (bubbles, kites, sidewalk chalk, etc.) if you care to. In the event of inclement weather, we'll meet at the Borders Books & Music on West End, across the street from the park. Check us out in the cafe or the children's area. No dress code! Carnivores, vegans, rainbow families, empty nesters, nurslings, smooth AND crunchy mamas, middle of the roaders, haves and have nots: all greeted with open arms. Mothers Acting Up is a mother-fed, mother-led movement of mothers and others advocating publicly and passionately for the world's children. Learn more about this national movement here: http://www.mothersactingup.org and keep up with local developments here: http://www.nashvillemau.blogspot.com For questions, queries, or concerns, please contact Paige at the above phone number, or email: paige@mothersactingup.org

Nashville MAU will participate in MLK March Mon 1/15.

Nashville Mothers Acting Up and friends will participate in Nashville’s city-wide MLK March on Monday January 15.

v We will gather at Pleasant Green Missionary Baptist Church, 1410 Jefferson St, Nashville, TN 37208 at 10:00, meeting up with members of the Nashville Peace & Justice Center, LIVE and other area progressive organizations who will be celebrating the work and spirit of Martin Luther King Jr. and making a strong peace presence known in our community. Many of these folks will have arrived far earlier for speeches (in the sanctuary) and you are encouraged to do so if you feel so led.

v MAUs and friends will join begin marching by 10:30, joining other marchers from organizations all over the metro area at the official march start at 28^th and Jefferson. The march culminates in speeches at TSU’s Gentry Center beginning at 11:30. Among the speakers are TSU President Melvin Johnson, Congressman Jim Cooper, and Mayor Bill Purcell. The keynote speaker will be Jeff Obafemi Carr, a teacher, actor, and author.

Ø Strollers, backpacks, slings and other carriers are advised for our smallest citizens—this is a very large city event and safety always comes first.

Ø Bring signs of celebration of King and of peace / mama activism if you choose.

Ø Wear your MAU tee, button and / or sticker, or dress in brightly colored garments with Nashville MAU’s trademark aprons, bringing our political selves beyond our own four walls and taking it to the streets as mobilized mamas (and daddies).

¨ While the work of King is, in fact, serious business, we will represent ourselves as joyful activists in it for the long haul…. What better example to set for our children?

¨ Monday’s weather calls for moderate temperatures and the possibility of rain, so please wear or bring gear accordingly.

Please let me know if you’ll be joining us so I can know to look out for you.

In spirited partnership,

Paige, for Nashville MAU

Nashville Nurse-In Wrap Up.

Here in Nashville we co-created a beautiful and empowering action this morning!!

The babies & children were fantastic and adorable, the dads were supportive and invaluable in their presence, and the mamas rocked the house!! Together we assembled a delightfully warm, peaceful, articulate and personable group – we shone light on a lifestyle, family and health issue in just the right way to illuminate the natural, normal beauty of the nursing relationship in its many facets. I am proud to have been among the folks who participated.

Present were: 9 nursing mamas, 1 grandmother, 3 fathers of nurslings and 12 babies & children. 25 total participants.

We stayed for close to two hours at BNA and our action was covered by the three major networks (no Fox) & an AP reporter & photographer for the Tennessean. Most of us were interviewed AT LEAST once. Dads, too. I was so proud of my son and of my husband. Both were fully engaged and fabulous.

With the exception of perhaps two or three quizzical glances, we nursing families were met with great welcome, kindness and support. Two older women who’d nursed their babies years ago stopped to congratulate us and cheer us onward. One even was interviewed by the news. Another older couple stopped to speak with some mamas; the gentleman worked for Delta and wanted to express his support of us. An airport employee gave stickers to all the kids and an American Airlines flight attendant stopped to tell us that not all in her profession were offended by breastfeeding, that she herself was so glad to see us.

We left feeling good and strong and hopeful.

Link to the story that ran this morning here.

More by and by.

Nurse In TOMORROW at Airport.

Please come join me / us tomorrow!! Your peaceful presence is needed!! With recent passing of legislation in our state and more like items current nation wide, your pro-nursing selves are needed. You do not have to nurse in public. You can choose instead to simply show up and support the rights of nursing pairs. Please wear lactivist / pro BFing wear if possible. Be peaceful! Bring signage to both commend Delta for taking initial right action and to call for further action (see below) and to support BFing in general. Commending Delta is a critical piece of the pie here. They HAVE moved in the right direction; we want to encourage their moving further along the path of protection and advocacy for nursing families everywhere.

Here's the scoop!:

What: National Nurse-In

When: tomorrow, Tues 11/22/06 -- 10 AM local (plan to stay for an hour, as mamas and children often run late... come early if you can)

Where: near / in front of Delta check in and ticketing counter Nashville International Airport

Why: See below.

Please call / write to let me know you'll be participating. I need a head count. Can you bring signage? Can you bring children and friends? Husbands? Partners?

Are you a media person? Do you want me to send you a really nice media kit? Holler at me. This nurse in is NOT affiliated with any particular group, though there may be members of groups present a the nurse in. This in a grassroots volunteer effort.

Quote:


Breastfeeding Rally To Take Place At Airports Nationwide

Nursing mothers and their supporters will be gathering on Tuesday, November 21, 2006 at 10 AM, local time, at Delta airport counters across the country.

Emily Gillette was flying with her husband and 22 month-old daughter, on
October 13, 2006 out of Burlington, Vermont on a Delta/Freedom Air flight
when a flight attendant asked her to cover up with a blanket. Ms. Gillette
declined and informed the flight attendant of her legal right to nurse her
daughter. The flight attendant then told Ms. Gillette that Ms. Gillette was
offending her and subsequently a gate agent removed the family from the
flight. Ms. Gillette and her family complied. They were rescheduled on a
different flight the following day.

Ms. Gillette has filed a complaint with the Vermont Human Rights Commission regarding the incident. A woman's right to breastfeed wherever she is legally allowed to be is protected in Vermont under the Public Accommodations Act. Although Delta has issued a public apology, the Gillette family has still not received any personal apology.

The goals of this action are:

- Insist that Delta/Freedom both apologize to the Gillette family and
offer written proof that policy and training procedures have been changed.
- Call for all airlines to revisit their breastfeeding and transport of
pumped breastmilk policies to support traveling families.
- Call for immediate passage of pending Federal legislation that offers
civil rights protection for breastfeeding women in the workplace; and new
legislation to protect, on the Federal level, a nursing mother and child's
right to do so whenever and wherever they are legally allowed to be.
- Introduce a new breastfeeding accessibility icon and call on American
businesses to adopt and use it. Participants will be wearing the logo on
t-shirts, stickers and buttons.

The issue of breastfeeding goes far beyond just a woman's right to nurse; it also encompasses a basic human right for children, the right to eat and to receive comfort and nurturing at the breast.

The Nurse-Ins have been coordinated completely by volunteers.





Please contact Paige La Grone Babcock in Nashville for more info.
paigelabab@comcast.net

Tonight!! Salon & Social.

Please share this with friends and family members!! All kinds of families are
welcome!!
===================================================================


I hope to see some of y'all here!!

Need incentive? In addition to door prizes,  it'll be my first real outing since
our whole family has been sick all month. You can be among the first to see me
with hair whacked off. AND you can meet my in laws. And see my walking talking
wonder boy in hot pursuit of MAU potluck goodies and crayons (in equal measure).


Tonight: We're writing letters of congratulation and promise to our newly
elected officials, telling them we'll be holding them to the promise of a better
day for all our children and we'll be visiting them in person soon. (Field trips
are in the planning stages.)

All children are asked to come and draw pictures and / or make their own letters
for inclusion.

Please bring to share: crayons, stationary, envelopes, paper, potluck dish,
stamps or change for the pot. Some of all of the above will be provided!!


Nashville Mothers Acting Up BRING THE FAMILY POTLUCK SOCIAL & SALON


Host:
Nashville MAU

Location:
Friends' Meeting House
530 26th Avenue North, Nashville, TN View Map

When:
Friday, November 17, 5:45pm

Series Schedule:
Occurs the third Friday of every 1 month(s).

Final Date of the Series:
Friday, August 17, 2007

This month's Bring The Family Potluck Salon is a post-election /
pre-Thanksgiving gathering.


Please come join in the fun for food, fellowship and education!!!

Bring a dish to share. Some drinks will be provided.

There will be door prizes!

Bring the family!! There will be child wranglers in a beautiful shared space;
all are welcome. Our gatherings are always nursing friendly and open to ALL
kinds of families. Likewise, mamas OR daddies are welcome to come without their
little ones, if that suits you better.


Mothers Acting Up is a mother-fed, mother-led movement of mothers (and others)
passionately and publicly advocating for the world's children.

http://www.mothersactingup.org

Give Your Values Voice: Vote!!

(Cross posted to / from Mothers Acting Up and Ms. Booty Homemaker Explains It All To You.)

If you haven't yet done so, please exercise your civic responsibility and give your values a voice by voting.

If your traveling sideshow of children and others isn't being hosted or supervised by volunteer mamas, school or another caregiver, consider taking your child(ren) with you to vote.

Yes, the lines may be long, but there's so much to take in, from neighbors you don't see often enough to ingraining the process and the importance of same early on.

Both my Mister and I hit the polls this morning here in East Nashville-- our thirteen month old came along for the experience and I am so glad he did, even though we waited for over an hour to mark our ballots.

One of our most powerful parenting responsibilities is instilling in our children the spirit of acting on values and following one's moral compass. As Mothers (and Others) Acting Up, we're in for the long haul. Leading the next wave onward by example and immersion in community is critical to the growth of the world we want our smallest citizens to inherit and inhabit.

MAU National Blog is UP.

Check it out.

Confirmed for Friday's Social & Salon.

This Friday, October 20 is our second Bring the Family Potluck Social & Salon.

With elections just around the corner, this gathering will focus on candidates & issues. Thus far, congressional candidate Ginny Welsch and senatorial candidate Chris Lugo have confirmed. Someone will be present from Congressman and senatorial hopeful Harold Ford Junior's camp. More additions as they come in.

Also, we will have someone present from the Vote No on 1 campaign, to express how important it is to get out the vote in the name of marriage equality and stopping a constitutional amendment to discriminate and abolish human rights.

Stand for All Families Picnic this evening.

In response to James Dobson and his hate speak and intolerent rhetoric, Stand for All Families will take place this evening at Glendale Baptist from 6-8 PM.

The picnic is still on; they've gotten a big tent to keep the rains out.

Details are here.


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Bring the Family Potluck & Salon: FRIDAY 10/20.

Doctors Without Borders Refugee Camp in Centennial Park.

Tomorrow's Mobilize the Mamas Playgroup meets at Centennial Park Playground, 9:30-11:30 AM. All mothers and others (on stilts and off) who exercise protective care over someone smaller are welcome, with or without children. Expectant parents, same sex parents and empty nesters welcome. Nursing friendly environment. In the event of nasty weather, meet at Borders Books & Music across the street from the Park on West End.

Also in Centennial Park tomorrow is what sounds to be a very moving exhibit, details below from the Middle Tennessee Progressive calendar. Perhaps those gathered in the morning will wander over....

Friday, October 6, 2006

MDs w/o Borders Refugee Camp

July 22 to October 7. the Parthenon (in Centennial Park) is hosting a exhibit titled 'Doctors Without Borders: Photographs from Afghanistan 1984-2004', in the East Gallery. The exhibit documents the work of the relief organization Doctors Without Borders (Médecins Sans Frontières, or MSF) carried out in Afghanistan before it closed its programs in that country.

During the last weekend of the exhibition, Oct. 4th-8th, aid workers present an A REFUGEE CAMP IN THE HEART OF THE CITY (an outdoor, educational exhibit) in Centennial Park. The exhibit is made up of materials used by MSF in its medical work around the world, including emergency refugee housing, a food distribution tent, water pump, primary health clinic, vaccination tent, nutrition tent, and a cholera treatment center. MSF aid workers guide visitors through the exhibit, which takes examples from MSF's work in conflict areas such as Sudan, Colombia, the Democratic Republic of Congo, and Chechnya, while each tour will be informed by the guide's particular field experience.

A closing reception is at the Parthenon Fri., Oct. 6th, 6-8:30pm, and features a talk by Nicolas de Torrent�, Executive Director of Doctors Without Borders, on the organization's past work in Afghanistan and its current work in crises around the world.

MAU Mother Leadership / 2007 Calendar Available NOW.

Go and get it here.

Ms. Booty Homemaker Explains It All To You.: Register to Vote!!

Ms. Booty Homemaker Explains It All To You.: Register to Vote!!

Looks like rain....?

If thunderstorms marr this AM's Nashville MAU outdoor playdate, we'll be at Borders Books & Music on West End instead.

Look in the Cafe, or in the Children's section upstairs.

Garage parking is available.

IF, however, the storms and rains blow over, we'll be at Centennial Park Playground, as per usual.

Bring a snack to share, if you are able.

Social & Salon Tonight!!

Our inaugural Bring the Family Social & Salon is tonight from six to eight at the Friends Meeting House. All pertinent details are two posts below.

Come be part of this emerging and exciting local community of mothers (and families) advocating for our children, and children everywhere.

MAU is a movement of mothers* publicly and passionately advocating for the
world’s children. 

MAU and Friends Chalk for Peace 9/16.

M  E   D  I  A     A  D  V  I  S  O  R  Y
========================

Nashville MAU and Friends Join One Million Global Citizens & Artists to Create
Peace Themed Sidewalk Chalk Paintings.


Who: Nashville Mothers Acting Up and Friends, Familiars & Families

What: Global Chalk for Peace 2006

When: Saturday, September 16, 2006; 9:30 AM

Where: The sidewalk on 21st Ave; Hillsboro Village -- meet in front of Fido.

Why: Because Chalking for Peace with friends, familiars and families is a simple
non-threatening double positive message & art-full action in which we can all
engage together for the greater good of our families, our communities and this
great big blue-green planet called earth. The goal is for one million young
artists of all ages to create sidewalk chalk paintings around the world at the
same time focusing upon peace as the theme. People ALL OVER THE WORLD will be
Chalking for Peace this weekend at various times, including a big national event
at the Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Memorial Library, & the Washington, DC Public
Library System.

You can read more about it (and see pictures!) here: http://chalk4peace.org

And here: http://www.infinitepossibility.org/chalk2006/


Please:
*Pass this along to friends, familiars & families. Bring the kids!!
*Wear brightly / fun colored clothing, hats, boas, scarves, bandanas and / or
the Nashville MAU signature aprons.
*Bring chalk!!
*If you have MAU buttons / stickers, wear 'em.
*This is an event for ALL kinds of families.