SiveSiftings: Rebecca Sive Talks Back

#GirlPolitics Invites You

2013-05-10T11:12:00.000-05:00

Dear Readers:

I've created a new website for rebeccasive.com, including a new blog site: #GirlPolitics. To continue to receive my blog, please go to #GirlPolitics to subscribe. From now on, I will be posting there.

Thanks for your continuing interest in our conversation and please feel free to comment at the new blog site: the more discussion, the better.

Best wishes.

Rebecca

Leaning In and Pushing Back

2013-04-22T10:45:00.000-05:00

Dear Readers:
Saturday, I gave the keynote speech at Ready to Run Michigan, hosted by Grand Valley State University in Grand Rapids. Women gathered from all over Michigan, just as they do in many other states where the Center for American Women and Politics collaborates with local leaders to host this terrific program.

I was pleased to be on WGVU earlier in the week to talk about the issues of women in politics and public leadership. If you wish, you may listen here.

If you know anyone ready to run living in the midwest, for sure send her along here.

Best wishes.

Rebecca

Remembering My Big Sister Who Walked With Dr. King

2013-04-04T08:55:00.001-05:00

Dear Readers:

Right now, there is an exhibit at the Woodson Regional Library in Chicago about Addie Wyatt, a dear friend, mentor and true American hero.

I was fortunate to meet Addie in the 1970's, during the celebrations of International Women's Year and the fight for ERA ratification. I worked with her closely for years, most memorably to elect Harold Washington mayor of Chicago.

Today, as we remember Dr. King, let us remember Addie, too. After all, every month is women's history month, and every day is women's history day.

Sincerely,

Rebecca

"Why Are There So Few Women Governors?": International Women's Day Edition

2013-03-08T09:40:00.001-06:00

Dear Readers:

A giant among us passed this week: Dawn Clark Netsch, friend and hero to so many.

There have been many terrific tributes. I've posted a lot of them on my Facebook page. There are also a lot of as yet publicly-untold stories friends have shared all week. (Perhaps, I'll start sharing them here.)

Here, in a piece entitled: "Why Are There So Few Women Governors," by Carol Felsenthal, Dawn's groundbreaking career is captured in the largest possible context: why do so few political women have (all-caps-merited') EXECUTIVE POWER?

Yes, more women need to run for office, and, yes, more women in government's decision making rooms will matter, but what will matter most to our future is having more women in positions to make executive decisions.

I recommend Carol's piece to you and ask you to share it.

Best wishes.

Rebecca

Robin Kelly Winning Jesse Jackson Jr. Seat Textbook Case for Women Running for Office

2013-03-04T11:20:00.002-06:00

Dear Readers:

Continuing my Women's History Month documentation, here is a link to my latest writing on a Chicago woman who has made history. That would be Robin Kelly.

In the piece, I posit that women win the same way men do; that there is no special dispensation for being a woman candidate. But when a pro-women woman wins, all women win. I hope you'll read, share, tweet and post.

Best wishes.

Rebecca

Women's History Is A World to Be Fought For

2013-03-01T09:14:00.002-06:00

Ida Tarbell: Jane Addams' editor, journalist, muckracker, feminist: 1857-1944

Dear Reader:

March is Women's History Month. To celebrate, I'm posting a favorite image of one of my favorite American women, Ida Tarbell.

Just this past week I learned that Tarbell was Jane Addams' editor for Twenty Years at Hull-House, Addams' autobiographical account of a groundbreaking approach to solving urban problems, the "social settlement."

You can read more here. And/or, you can join me here, when I will be discussing Addams' work. If you'd like to attend, please write to me at: rebecca@rebeccasive.com.

Happy Women's History Month.

Rebecca

Hadiya's Story: Love in a Time of Hate

2013-02-21T09:25:00.003-06:00

Dear Readers:

Chicago is a sad place these days: continuing gun violence continues to cut short young lives. Thinking about one of those young people, Hadiya Pendleton, I wrote this piece.

Take good care.

Rebecca

Beyonce Sings Her Heart Out

2013-02-06T09:07:00.002-06:00

Dear Readers:

Sunday, Beyonce joined Diana Ross, Madonna and Janet Jackson as a Super Bowl halftime star. Would she lip-sync, some joked. Not a chance: just as she did at President Obama's inauguration, once she hit the stage she did her thing live and in living color.

While I listened and watched as Beyonce sang inauguration day, I got to thinking, and then I got to writing: She sings two anthems, but President Obama only listens to one.

Her personal anthem is: "Who Run the World (Girls)." Yes, I've written about this song before: I love the song and its message. Alas, we're not running the world, at least judging by who sits in President Obama's most important Cabinet seats (State, Defense and Treasury).

Women's History Month will be on us in a blink-of-an-eye, and it's already Black History Month: Let's make some history and raise a little sand.

Ida B. Wells: One of the great "raise a little sand" originals.

Best wishes.

Rebecca

No More Women on Top?

2013-01-09T09:47:00.000-06:00

Dear Readers:

In the aftermath of last month's Susan Rice drama, @HuntsmanAbby hosted a HuffPost Live segment,"No More Women on Top," in which I participated, along with (Amanda) @ATerkel, Huff Post senior political reporter and politics editor. That day's question: Does this mean no woman at State, Treasury or Defense, (the big three)? This day's answer: Looks like. (See today's New York Times article, "Obama's Remade Inner Circle Has an All-Male Look, So Far.")

I summed up my view of the Rice matter, and how women can win, in this piece: (Once Again), Hillary Clinton Teaches Us How to Run the Table (Are You Listening, Susan Rice?). If I do say so myself, please heed.

Meanwhile on the topic's -- that would be women in power -- upside, and for your viewing pleasure (can't get enough of this picture), see this. Friday, I again joined Huntsman; this time to: "Meet the Class." That would be the class in this picture.

Best wishes. It's going to be a rocking 2013.

Rebecca

Women Execs Can Take Lesson from Those in Public Service

2012-12-11T11:24:00.002-06:00

Dear Readers:

Women Execs Can Take Lesson from Those in Public Service is the message of a letter-to-the-editor from me in this week's Crain's Chicago Business. I was prompted to write when I read their recent editorial regarding the precipitous drop in "diversity" at McDonald's, when a senior woman executive left.

Here was my hook for recommending action; yours' too, I hope:

"When an acknowledged diversity leader can let go of one woman, however, and see the female representation in its C-suite drop by 50 percent, it shows that the electorate, which sent 11 women to the Senate this month, is moving faster than corporate Chicago."

"Time to suit-up," as Barbara Mikulski recommends!

Sincerely,

Rebecca

Giving Thanks

2012-12-03T11:00:00.000-06:00

Dear Readers:

Below is a piece I wrote for The Huffington Post about the meaning of Thanksgiving to me. These Thanksgiving sentiments of mine usually carryover into December, becoming ever more present as the end of the year approaches. In a quiet moment, I hope you will join me in these reflections.
________________________________________________________________________________

For one year in high school, I had a second sister. Her name was Anamaria Monsao Mollo. She was an exchange student from Brasilia, Brazil. In September 1967, Anuska, as she was called, came to live with my family and attend Pearl River (New York) high school, under the auspices of the American Field Service student exchange program.

My parents took seriously the responsibility of sharing American experiences with Anuska. Though politically very liberal, my parents are also intensely patriotic. Consequently, Anuska experienced a Sive family Thanksgiving with all the trimmings -- turkey, sweet potatoes and heated political arguments. This year at my sister's, there will again be turkey and political arguments, but for the first time, my father won't be present. Days before Thanksgiving last year, he was diagnosed with congestive heart failure. He is now confined to bed at the nursing home where he lives. Later this week, most of his far-flung children and grandchildren will join him bedside to celebrate.

Another poignant Thanksgiving I remember is 1987's, because Harold Washington died the day before. Washington was the first African-American mayor of Chicago. A towering figure in the city's history, like my father, he was an emblem of the Declaration's American promise we remember at Thanksgiving, regardless of political persuasion. Both were World War II veterans: one, a pacifist Jew who fought in German forests near gas chambers where it's likely that long-lost European cousins perished, the other and an African-American who fought in a segregated army in the Far East for a freedom he didn't have at home.

Thanksgiving is the holiday I treasure most because we give thanks for dreams that have come true, even if only in part, and even if cut short. That's why it also makes me sad. Anuska had a Portuguese word for that sadness: "saudades." Wikipedia defines it this way: "Saudade describes a deep emotional state of nostalgic longing for an absent something or someone that one loves." Saudades is for the dreams (and the people) that got away.

Those people are family and friends now gone. Those dreams are the ones seemingly gone. For those who grew up under Harold Washington's tutelage, that dream was of a Chicago that would not be as racially segregated as the army and nation Washington had served decades before and as the city still is today. Today, my dream is also for a State of Israel held to the same ethical standards (no lower, but also no higher) as every other nation determined to protect its citizens. (For what other foreign country must President Obama insist it has the right to defend itself?)

I don't criticize the failure of our leaders to sustain policies that treat all equally. But it makes me sad that it is still such a struggle to even create such policies. So, on Thanksgiving this week, I will give thanks for the ability to dream of equality, and the capacity to fight to achieve it, even as the longing for it grows ever greater as the Thanksgivings keep going by. Saudades, indeed.

Recently, I attended a bat mitzvah at which the rabbi told the girl who became a woman that day that whatever she dreams of accomplishing, she will. She just has to work hard. But that's just not true. Sometimes, you dream of something and give it everything you've got and you still lose. Other times, you think you don't have to kill yourself to realize the dream; maybe, luck will break your way. But it doesn't, and you lose. I thought the rabbi was setting up that girl for terrible disappointment. Why not say, "dream big, work hard and feel good about the process, regardless of the outcome and your personal fortunes?" Why not say there will be longing, sometmies even disappointment, come Thanksgiving, as well as joy?

As World War II veterans pass, whether much too soon like Harold Washington, or in a grateful and loving old age, theirs is the lesson I wish the rabbi had shared that Saturday before Veteran's Day and Thanksgiving. Their lesson of lives loved and hard-fought -- win, lose and draw.

I read the other day that the last surviving World War I veteran died earlier this year. Florence Green enlisted in Great Britain's Women's Royal Air Force in September 1918 at the age of 17. What a story of accomplishment that is -- no matter what she was able to do with the rest of her life, no matter what disappointments she may have had. That's the story I wanted that bat mitzvah to hear. That story of giving.

Though I'm not a believer, I will preach to those gathered at my cousin's Thanksgiving table. I will say that I dream for others to have what I have. I will say that I dream for myself because I can, but not because my dreams must come true. I will say that I long for freedom, equality and peace in the streets of Chicago, Tel Aviv and everywhere. And I will acknowledge saudades once more.

________________________________________________________________________________

Sincerely,

Rebecca

Can we talk? This cookie-baking and "cult of mom" strategy are driving me crazy.

2012-10-02T09:00:00.000-05:00

Dear Readers:

Earlier this week I learned just how important moms really are to this election: landing on my desk early one morning was notice from Politico's Mike Allen about a new report on the election and American moms, issued by Walmart. Later, I got to read about the Michelle Obama/Ann Romney cookie-baking contest. (Does anyone believe either one of them baked cookies any time lately? Or thought about it or even wished-to? If you do, text me.)

According to Walmart, "The candidate's family lives are very important to '(Walmart) moms.'"

Not much of a surprise there. I daresay candidates' family lives are very important to the rest of us too, including the opportunity for women candidates to run on an equal playing field because their right to have a family and run for office isn't questioned by perpetrators of the "cult of mom."

For this reason, I wrote this piece for Huffington Post, in which I suggest that the "cult of mom" is about denying women public power, not about respecting the family choices women public officials make. So are cookie-baking contests for the First Lady and would-be First Lady.

(A note to my Chicago-based readers: I was prompted to write this piece because of an experience Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan had at the Democratic National Convention.)

Best wishes.

Rebecca

P.S. Meanwhile, Check out Hello Ladies for a vivid summary of how American women are actually spending their time.

Deal With It, Girlfriends: Bill Clinton Teaches Women Candidates How to Win

2012-09-10T15:24:00.001-05:00

Dear Readers:

There was a lot to learn from watching the two political party conventions and the speeches at each. But the consensus seems to be that Bill Clinton's speech was the best of the lot.

I agree with my political guru, @TheFix, the Washington Post's Chris Cillizza: Bill Clinton's speech was one for the ages.

When I thought about why Bill Clinton's speech was so great, I got right to thinking about him and his political gifts, and what emulating them could mean for my favorite politicians: women.

Here is the piece I wrote for Huffington Post Politics (it can now be found on the Huff Post Bill Clinton page; what a gas) and RH Reality Check trying to get a handle on this.

All the best.

Rebecca

Paul Ryan and Todd Akin Force a Lifesaving Choice for Republican Women Voters

2012-08-22T09:33:00.002-05:00

Dear Readers:

Todd Akin, Paul ("I'm as pro-life as a person gets") Ryan: #GirlPolitico Jodi Jacobson described them this way: "It is always the case that when you finally think right-wing fundamentalist anti-women politicians can not get any crazier... they do something to prove you wrong."

But, they aren't just crazy; they are the enemies of all women -- Republican as well as Democratic.

"Meeting in Tampa, Fla., ahead of next week’s National Republican Convention, the (Republican) party’s platform committee on Tuesday adopted a policy statement calling for a ban on abortion without an exception for rape." Yet, "Only 6 percent of the Republican women in the (Missouri senate race) poll said they planned to vote for McCaskill."

As I wrote in this piece published in RH Reality Check, the question in these times is whether Republican women -- in Missouri and elsewhere -- will come to their senses and take into account what the 2012 presidential and congressional election is all about: "Will the Republican women voters of 2012 recognize this presidential election for what it really is for every American woman voter: a referendum on the very notion of what a woman can be in this day and age?"

I hope you'll read RH Reality Check and share your thoughts with me.

Best wishes.

Rebecca

Gold-medal Strategies for Women Abound

2012-08-08T09:58:00.001-05:00

Donna de Varona at the Tokyo Olympics inspired my enthusiasm for women's Olympic swimming. (Check-out the fabulous picture of her at the link to: "Olympics swimming.")

Later, I became fascinated by the Olympics' gymnastics competition. I loved it this year because of the performances of #Gabby Douglas and #Aly Raisman. That was on top of loving the women's swimming, especially Missy Franklin's races.

In Winning the Race for Choice? We Need Missy "the Missile" Franklin's Gold-medal Strategy for RH Reality Check and On the Matter of Gabby Douglas's Hair, or for That Matter, My Kinky (Jewish) Hair for Huffington Post Style, I wrote about Douglas and Franklin, two women who embody the characteristics I most admire: grit, discipline, intelligence and a commitment to a cause larger than themselves.

#Chris Jansing shared their stories, and those of these Olympics' other great women, in a piece #Brian Williams aired last night, which he summed-up this way: "Strong is the new pretty."

Best wishes.

Rebecca Sive

Back to the Future on Gay Marriage

2012-05-14T09:51:00.001-05:00

Dear Readers:

I became a "gay voice," upon the publication of this Huffington Post piece the other day.

I hope you'll read this take on the latest in the 2012 presidential campaign, albeit in the social issues version of the campaign, not in the what-to-do about the economy version.

I didn't focus on the fact until after the post appeared that I was writing on the eve of Mother's Day. No matter: Most of all, this post pays tribute to my mother (and father). You'll understand better when you read it.

Best wishes.

Sincerely,

Rebecca
@RebeccaSive

New 'Networked Feminism' Just Like the Old Networked Feminism: Organize or Die.

2012-03-19T14:10:00.000-05:00

http://www.rhrealitycheck.org/article/2012/03/19/new-networked-feminism-just-like-old-networked-feminism-organize-or-die

Dear Readers:

As I admit in this post for RH Reality Check, I've been out-of-pocket for a few weeks, working feverishly to get my book off-the-ground. But, I was feeling seriously trashed when I read the Forbes piece (discussed at the link above) about us old-timey feminists, which seemed to suggest the new generation of feminists is oh-so-much hipper. So, pen to paper I went.

Besides the fact that being hipper really isn't the point, here is an excerpt from what I just had to say:

"And this is exactly why the new networked feminism is just like the old networked feminism. Back-in the-day, we were fighting to cripple anti-women hate-mongerers (See #Rush Limbaugh), too. We, too, called-them-out, pressed their sponsors to disaffiliate, spread our message to like-minded sisters (and brothers). It’s just that we did it with telephones and copiers and fax machines, not social media.

"But the impetus to action--by both generations of women activists--is exactly the same: Beat back and organize against injustice, inequality, and sexism, not to mention against just plain haters."

I hope you'll click on the link above, and read the whole piece. Meanwhile, check the accompanying image out (see above and the RH Reality Check home page slide show); it's very cool.

Sincerely,

Rebecca

Did You See Saul Alinsky the Other Night at the Kennedy Center? (Not-to-mention, President Obama and Rev. Al Sharpton)

2012-02-01T15:22:00.000-06:00

Did You See Saul Alinsky the Other Night at the Kennedy Center?

Yes, yes, I know, I'm like a broken record, keeping writing about Saul Alinsky. But, as they sing on the records I like the best, he's my main (political) man. So, there it is: I can't help myself.

This Saul Alinsky piece is mostly about the unlikely duo of President Obama, "Mr. Cool," and The Rev. Al Sharpton, (a "Mr. Hot," to a lot of people), and their mutual affinity for Alinsky's lessons. I'm taking comfort in the apparent closeness of this relationship, since this common understanding of Alinsky's approach to politics is about making sure the 99% gets what it should.

The piece is my latest for Huffington Post Politics and RH Reality Check, and discusses this Presidential partnership -- going back to my favorite records -- in light of what James Brown sang on Soul Train back-in-the-day.

In memory of Don Cornelius, the genius who created Soul Train; James Brown; Saul Alinsky; and recollecting what each of them taught us, the President, and The Rev., I send this piece along.

Best wishes.

Rebecca

Kantor Book Kerfluffle Misses the Point: Michelle Obama Could Be This Generation's Eleanor Roosevelt

2012-01-13T11:33:00.000-06:00

Dear Readers:

I confess: I couldn't resist writing about the latest Michelle Obama as "angry black woman" dust-up. So, I did.

My piece was published yesterday by RH Reality Check, as well as by Huffington Post Politics.

I hope you'll read it, and tell me what you think, as well as share it on Facebook, Twitter, etc. For, on the serious side of things, 2012 is an historic year, presenting unique opportunities for every American woman, beginning with the First Lady, to help turn this ship of state around.

Take care, happy new year, and happy January, month of the birthday (I share it) of Thomas Paine (one of my main heroes); way cool.

Best wishes.

Rebecca

The inside hardball on President Obama's Plan B emergency contraception decision

2011-12-14T11:12:00.000-06:00

http://www.rhrealitycheck.org/article/2011/12/13/what-does-obama-administrations-emergency-contraceptive-reversal-really-mean

Dear Readers:

I was dumbfounded by the President's decision to prevent over-the-counter access to safe, emergency contraception for sexually-active teenagers (16 and under; there are lots of them), especially when all the docs, up to and including his FDA director, Dr. Margaret Hamburg, told him such access would be a good idea.

After thinking about the decision for a while, I realized what's also at-play in this decision: the willingness of two progressive, pro-choice women public officials, HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius (unabashedly), and Dr. Hamburg (so far), to go along with the President's decision.

There's been a hue and cry all over the place about this decision, both from a public health standpoint and a political standpoint (whose votes does this decision garner, really; for starters, surely not independent women voters with teenage children, who the President needs and wants, badly).

Here is my solution to this sorry state-of-affairs, in which people in important political positions ignore the needs of the less-fortunate among us, in favor of advancing their own careers: Elect more women.

Of course, any woman won't do, but the more in-place, the more chance the rest of us will have to lobby them to do what's right for their sisters.

And while we're at it, let's hold the ones already elected and appointed to a higher standard, i.e., a standard that doesn't sacrifice the health of young women to the desire to placate conservative men.

I hope you'll share this link on your Facebook, Twitter, Google, etc. accounts and also join me @RebeccaSive, aka #Political Girl.

Thanks for reading.

Rebecca

Girlfriends: When Men Are Deciding What Women Should Have, It's Time To Head for the Hills (and Make a Plan) | RH Reality Check

2011-11-29T10:45:00.000-06:00

Girlfriends: When Men Are Deciding What Women Should Have, It's Time To Head for the Hills (and Make a Plan) | RH Reality Check

Dear Readers:

Jodi Jacobson, editor of RH Reality Check, asked me to write a piece about the latest contretemps over access to birth control.

Yup, can you believe it: We're talking about access to birth control in 2011! Well, that's exactly the point of the piece. Pathetic, really, the times we're in.

You can find the piece at the link above. I hope you'll share it and encourage friends and colleagues to do so, as well as to make their feelings known to official Washington and to their Catholic voter-friends.

Sincerely,

Rebecca

Mississippi Goddam? Not so fast.

2011-11-16T10:20:00.000-06:00

Dear Readers:

Mississippi Goddam was first sung by Nina Simone on an album she released in 1964, marking the beginning of her career as a "civil rights singer."

I can't remember when I first heard it, but the song jumped-to-mind last week, as Mississippians were voting on the "egg-as-person" initiative.

As I wrote in my piece, Nina Simone Said Mississippi Goddam: I Thought It, thankfully, Mississippians had the good sense to vote-down this foolishness.

My piece was first published by RH Reality Check, as part of its comprehensive coverage of "egg-as-person."

The coverage includes a particularly good piece by #Political Girl's pal, Ellen Chesler, on the heroic efforts of #Planned Parenthood. Ellen's message: Look-out, anti-choice politicians. I love it.

Mississippi Goddam? Not-so-fast.

Best wishes.

Rebecca

P.S.I was so pleased the piece was picked-up by Alternet, Daily Kos and Firedoglake, among others. Thanks to all of you.

Huey Long advises Occupy Wall Street: Want an agenda? Take mine.

2011-10-27T10:02:00.000-05:00

Dear Readers:

As I write in this piece, featured in Huffington Post Politics last week, I've written about Huey Long in these, (and other), pages before.

That's because, as I also say in the piece, there is no one better than Long, excepting, perhaps, the authors of the Declaration of Independence, at making the case for economic justice in these United States.

Long says "what time it is," to use a phrase of the Chicago streets, also now being occupied by Occupy Wall Street.

A friend told me that the appeal of Occupy Wall Street to many of her students is that it is theatre, as much as it is politics: I'm now hoping that as the theatre gets colder, and the play drags-on, Occupy Wall Street will read Huey Long on "share our wealth," and share Long's ideas among themselves.

Best wishes.

Rebecca

Pro-choice Jewish women are instrumental to President Obama's re-election

2011-09-30T08:59:00.000-05:00

http://www.rhrealitycheck.org/blog/2011/09/29/prochoice-jewish-women-instrumental-president-obamas-reelection

Dear Readers,

After contemplating the horrifying notion of pro-choice Jews voting for a likely-anti-choice Republican presidential candidate, because they don't like President Obama's views on Palestinian statehood, I wrote the piece at the link above.

Thanks to Jodi Jacobson, editor of RH Reality Check, who posted it this morning.

Anyway, I really, really hope you are a reader of Jodi's. She does amazing work.

Then, when you have a chance, go to today's New York Times. It discusses President Obama's strategy of seeking votes in Colorado, say, because Ohio and other states like it are proving tough at the moment.

This is exactly why I'm suggesting that Jewish, pro-choice women voters are so important to President Obama's election. We are Democrats through and through, and we live in Ohio and other big, tough "rust-belt" states. (Remember: Winner takes all in the Electoral College. Every vote counts.)

A happy new year to all and most especially to President Obama.

Best wishes.

Rebecca

Girls' School for Politics Open Now

2011-09-12T08:50:00.000-05:00

Girls' School for Politics Open Now

Dear Readers:

Good morning.

At the link above is my back-to-school blogpost, which appeared late last week in RH Reality Check and in Huffington Post Politics.

Though not all of you are enrolled in this school, if you are curious about the lessons it teaches, I think the post will be informative.

Related to this topic, September is the birth month of Jane Addams, one of America's greatest politicians, though she was never elected to any government office.

The first woman to win the Nobel Peace Prize, among other great political acts, Addams was president of the Women's International League for Peace and Freedom during another warring time in our history.

Of course, Addams wouldn't have known and, if she had, she probably wouldn't have liked, the term "girl power," but that is what she was all about.

And that's what we need to be all about, too. Read here, to learn how to think about girl power in these times.

Best wishes.

Rebecca