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The Guild 11-16-2002 The Importance of Women's Work

Posted on 11/16/2002 9:50:39 AM PST by Hillary's Lovely Legs

Work vs. Home Work

By Faith Bader Vogel I worked in the corporate world for 15 years. I am now home with a two-year-old daughter, shaping her future, and running our home. And I do mean running our home, from top to bottom.

Raising a child is serious business and demands everything a serious job does. And more, in my opinion. Running a home is the same as running a business. It requires the same general skills. I'm a CEO, and that's a fact.

When I re-enter the outside job market, I will have added onto my resume my current job, and no, I'm not kidding. I have full confidence and look forward to discussing it at an interview.

The tone of what I just read in Women Need to Work puts a ridiculous glorification of "work away from home" as if everyone has a wonderful job and is doing something great or important. The fact is, most people have mundane careers and very few have careers that are important or remarkable. Most are viewed as dispensable by their employers.

Many people who would say they have "this or that" career are people who aren't particularly talented or hard working. You've given in to the politically correct: a woman is only worthwhile or happy if she has a "career". As if you have to go to a building to have a career!

Which is not to say all mothers/homemakers are remarkable or doing important things either. Most are not doing a remarkable job. I will say dare to say, though, that raising a child is more important than almost any job or career.

My two-year-old daughter is far more intelligent, polite, creative, interesting, verbal, and happy than most children her age. This is because her mother is putting 100% into her development in all respects. I challenge anyone who thinks my work is unfulfilling or unchallenging to me.

My home is a very well-run business. It's amazing that we do so well on one paycheck, but it's because I've made it my business. Period. I derive tremendous satisfaction from these challenges.

To declare women who work outside the home better off is ridiculous. How many careers are really interesting?

Most people have to convince themselves that they are on to something special or important when in fact they're just ordinary people with ordinary jobs who need to make a buck. Only they call them careers because that's what is expected these days. They are inflating their own situation to convince themselves that they are doing something important.

Work is work. Challenge is challenge. Ambition is ambition. No matter where you find it.

Isn't that the point of the women's movement if you take it up to date?

Interrupting career to raise children and manage (hopefully improve, too) households is as strong a career as any.

In my opinion, the mother/household track is infinitely more mature - it serves the needs of self, family, and society whereas the non-stop career track serves the self only.

Faith Bader Vogel lives in Fairfield County, Connecticut. She is a member of the international organization called F.E.M.A.L.E. This organization for stay-at-home mothers features newsletters from the Home, regional chapter offices, many interesting organized events for"moms only" in the evenings, and events for moms with children during the day. The group is highly supportive of full-time motherhood, although respectful of other points of view.


TOPICS: The Guild
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I decided to do this topic today because I read something in GLAMOUR Magazine earlier this week that made me cringe.

It was a quote by Amy Brenneman, the actress in 'Judging Amy'. She said that she was on the set and missing her 5 year old daughter. That she was thinking "What am I doing. Why am I not home with my precious daughter. Is this even worth it?"

Then Tyne Daly told her that the best thing that she can do for her daughter is to work. It shows the daughter that moms can work and girls can be anything.

Amy felt much better after the pep talk and decided to go on with the show.

1 posted on 11/16/2002 9:50:39 AM PST by Hillary's Lovely Legs
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To: BigWaveBetty; mountaineer; Timeout; ClancyJ; BlessedAmerican; daisyscarlett; LBGA; Rheo; ...
A great weekend ping to you all. It's cold and snowy in Michigan, and staying in bed all day sounds pretty good to me.
2 posted on 11/16/2002 9:51:47 AM PST by Hillary's Lovely Legs
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To: Hillary's Lovely Legs

To: Endeavor

Oh, and get this. Last night on CNN Headlines news, Carter was reported to say the following "Norwegians give $17 in foreign aid for every dollar an American gives." Well duh, Jimmy. There are a lot more Americans than Norwegians. Why don't you look at the overall dollar amount that America gives vs Norway in Foreign Aid. Give me a break. Jimmy Carter is brain dead. Has been since 1976. The Noble commmittee is a group of socialists/communists. Carter still hasn't figured that the political statement that accompanied his "prize" was a way of slamming Bush, not elevating Carter. Someone please get this peanut a clue. Or better yet, a ticket out of town.

119 posted on 11/16/2002 11:12 AM EST by Endeavor
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To: *The GUILD

And in case you think I'm just making this stuff up, this from Carter's interview w/Larry King last night (and you thought the Gorons were too awful to watch!):

"I think there is a sense that the United States has become too arrogant, too dominant, too self-centered, proud of our wealth, believing that we deserve to be the richest and most powerful and influential nation in the world," Carter said. "I think they feel that we don't really care about them, which is quite often true."

He added, "They all know -- the ones that are educated -- that among the developed, industrialized nations on earth, the United States is at the bottom, way at the bottom, in providing humanitarian aid for peace and for human rights and for housing and for health and education." -- Jimmy Carter on LKL 11/15/2002

120 posted on 11/16/2002 11:23 AM EST by Endeavor
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To: Endeavor; *The GUILD

Maybe after bentmember we've learned our lesson about electing nitwit govenors of dim/lib southern states.

Jimmah - go the freak away with your America-hating b.s.

Good moring everyone. Thanks for the throwing up the gore-fest last evening CC - what a hoot. ;-)

121 posted on 11/16/2002 11:35 AM EST by lodwick
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To: lodwick; All

Good morning, all. First, the silly news:

CLIVE Davis has tapped Denise Rich to help launch the latest all-girl gang of teeny-poppers. The singer/songwriter ex-wife of tax-cheating billionaire Marc Rich will be writing songs for the debut album of Lyric, a triumvirate of hip-hop hotties that is Davis' latest creation for J. Records. Rich told Davis, "I love these girls," after hearing a few of their songs. The self-titled album hits stores in March.

Then, the aggravating:

PRESIDENTIAL adviser Karl Rove and other members of George W. Bush's administration will have to go into heavy spin control when Bob Woodward's muckraking "Bush at War" hits the stores next week. The Washington Post reporter was given unheard-of access to top White House aides for the upcoming Simon & Schuster tome, but loose-lipped insiders may soon regret their candor. Excerpts obtained by the Drudge Report contain some of Woodward's revelations.

The Watergate sleuth accuses Rove of likening the post-Sept. 11 World Series game at Yankee Stadium to a Nazi rally in Hitler's Germany. "The president emerged wearing a . . . Fire Dept. windbreaker," Woodward writes. "He raised his arm and gave a thumbs-up to the crowd on the third base side of the field. Probably 15,000 fans threw their arms in the air imitating the motion.

"He then threw a strike from the rubber, and the stadium erupted. Watching from owner George Steinbrenner's box, Karl Rove thought, it's like being at a Nazi rally."

Rove also thought Secretary of State Colin Powell had too much power. "Rove . . . felt Powell was beyond political control and operating out of a sense of entitlement," Woodward charges. Rove said privately, "It's constantly, you know, 'I'm in charge, and this is all politics and I'm going to win the internecine political game.' "

Woodward also accuses Powell of having a hard time keeping up appearances. "One of Powell's greatest difficulties was that he was more or less supposed to pretend in public that the sharp differences in the war cabinet did not exist. The president would not tolerate public discord. Powell was also held in check by his own code - a soldier obeys." Powell was also "uncomfortable" with some of Bush's Texan ways: "Bush might order, Go get the guns! Get my horses! - all the Texas, Alamo macho that made Powell uncomfortable. But he believed and hoped the president knew better, that he would see the go-it-alone approach did not stand further analysis."

Powell, however, didn't have such high hopes for Donald Rumsfeld and Dick Cheney, Woodward claims. "The ghosts in the machine were Rumsfeld and Cheney in Powell's view. Too often they went for the guns and the horses."

Woodward goes on to depict Cheney as obsessed with Saddam Hussein: "Cheney was beyond hell-bent for action against Saddam. It was as if nothing else existed."

White House deputy press secretary Scott McClellan declined to comment on the book, telling PAGE SIX, "We haven't seen it yet." Page Six

Obviously, the Dems are desperate to dig up - or create - dirt wherever they can. President Bush's popularity is really getting their goat (no, I wasn't referring to Hillary).

122 posted on 11/16/2002 12:47 PM EST by mountaineer
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3 posted on 11/16/2002 9:55:11 AM PST by Hillary's Lovely Legs
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To: Hillary's Lovely Legs
Two of the worst, most sycophantic puffball interviewers get all excited about the possible merger of ABC and CNN:

November 16, 2002 -- ABC's Barbara Walters and CNN's Larry King think a proposed merger between their networks is a good idea - especially if they can work with each other.

"I hope that the merger happens so that you and I can play together," Walters said to King on Thursday's "Larry King Live."

"And it would be kind of nice if maybe you and I do something together once," King said.

"We've talked about this a lot," he said. "But it might work. Maybe we're kicking it off tonight and we don't know it."

"I've always thought that you and I are a very good team," Walters responded. " 'W' comes after 'K.' 'Larry King and Barbara Walters.' "

"No, 'Barbara and Larry,' " King said.

"That would be good," said Walters.

The rest of this gagfest at NY Post

4 posted on 11/16/2002 10:11:33 AM PST by mountaineer
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To: Hillary's Lovely Legs; mountaineer
Thanks for the splash - that lady has her head screwed on perfectly well.

...Dems are desperate to dig up - or create - dirt...

I'm thinking create is the operative word in this phrase. Woodward's crap does not ring true to me - not true at all.
5 posted on 11/16/2002 10:30:48 AM PST by lodwick
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To: mountaineer
Not quite sure what to make of this:

LONG BEACH, Calif. (AP) --

A 6-year-old girl was trapped in a coin-operated washing machine that was filling with water until a passer-by saw her and smashed the appliance's window with a tire iron, authorities said.

The girl and her rescuer were taken to a hospital, where the child underwent surgery to repair cuts to her face and body. She was in stable condition. Kloeum Nhem, 36, received stitches for cuts on his arm and was released.

The girl was at the laundry with her mother Tuesday when she climbed into the front-loading machine and the door closed behind her, said Fire Department spokesman Wayne Chaney. When the wash cycle began, the door locked and she couldn't get out.

As the washer begin to fill with water, Kloeum Nhem tried to smash the glass with his arm. When that failed, he got a tire iron from his car.

"It appears that some kids were playing, some siblings, and somehow she ended up in the washer," Chaney said. "We're very fortunate this young man was quick thinking."

Nhem said the mother was "crying nearby as I pulled her out."

The Fire Department closed the laundry for electrical code violations, Chaney said.
6 posted on 11/16/2002 10:32:01 AM PST by mountaineer
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To: Hillary's Lovely Legs
Your Gore thread was extremely funny to read.I didn't know Tipper is wearing pumpkin coloured maternity clothes??? Al is STILL the Commander in Chief in their bedroom ;-)
7 posted on 11/16/2002 10:32:48 AM PST by habs4ever
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To: All
By MARGIE MASON, Associated Press Writer

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) - Nine Army linguists, including six trained to speak Arabic, have been dismissed from the military because they are gay.

The soldiers' dismissals come at a time when the military is facing a critical shortage of translators and interpreters for the war on terrorism. [Note the clever, PC way the AP writer wants us to infer that these soldiers' violation of army rules really should have been overlooked in this instance. After all, their skills are in demand! Who cares what they're doing in their "personal lives"?]

Seven of the soldiers were discharged after telling superiors they are gay, and the two others got in trouble when they were caught together after curfew, said Steve Ralls, spokesman for the Servicemembers Legal Defense Network, a group that defends homosexuals in the military.

Six were specializing in Arabic, two were studying Korean and one was studying Mandarin Chinese. All were at the Defense Language Institute in Monterey, the military's primary language training center. The government has aggressively recruited Arabic speakers since the Sept. 11 attacks. full story

8 posted on 11/16/2002 10:40:14 AM PST by mountaineer
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To: mountaineer
I should add that they weren't dismissed "because they are gay," but because they violated the rules of which they were fully cognizant. You have to love the AP - they may hire the worst writers, but at least they parrot the party line.
9 posted on 11/16/2002 10:43:55 AM PST by mountaineer
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To: Hillary's Lovely Legs
Thanks for the intro on 'women's work'....I was promoted to stay-at-home mom over a decade ago. Contrary to the Daly advice - women DO work and girls can't be anything. No matter how much my daughter (when she was much younger) tried to be Lambchop - she never became Lambchop. As a blossoming pre-teen, she's learning to enjoy being who she is! I know I enjoy her very much. Now if my son would just write/call more often.....
10 posted on 11/16/2002 11:14:22 AM PST by anniegetyourgun
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To: anniegetyourgun; Hillary's Lovely Legs
Dittos to your comments on the woman's work intro.....

I 'sacrificed' my career in order to stay home with our 4 kids, and now that I'm back in the job market, I can truly say that I am better at my work because of my full time mothering experience.

Besides which, our kids are far more stable and centered than their peers whose mother's 'worked.'

11 posted on 11/16/2002 11:30:23 AM PST by ohioWfan
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To: ohioWfan; mountaineer; Hillary's Lovely Legs; habs4ever; lodwick; Endeavor
Don't know if anyone noticed that Laura is on cover of the ersatz/pop science mag called Psychology Today. Picture of her is great. Cover story appears to be titled: "Therapist In Chief"....not sure what that means. Don't have the mag, saw it on shelf, can't vouch for it. Rather odd choice of magazine for her to agree to join with, IMHO.


12 posted on 11/16/2002 11:57:53 AM PST by anniegetyourgun
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To: Hillary's Lovely Legs
Amy felt much better after the pep talk and decided to go on with the show.


  Which tells me Amy's not the sharpest knife in the drawer...

13 posted on 11/16/2002 12:04:04 PM PST by Fintan
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To: Hillary's Lovely Legs
It's cold and snowy in Michigan, and staying in bed all day sounds pretty good to me.

  Uh...

14 posted on 11/16/2002 12:05:08 PM PST by Fintan
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To: anniegetyourgun
Rather odd choice of magazine for her to agree to join with, IMHO.


  Doesn't really matter...all I need to see is the warmth and humanity in Laura's eyes, her understanding and soothing smile and the dignity and class

that shines from her every pore...

15 posted on 11/16/2002 12:08:00 PM PST by Fintan
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To: anniegetyourgun; Hillary's Lovely Legs
Oh, before I forget...BUMP!!!!!!!!

16 posted on 11/16/2002 12:09:36 PM PST by Fintan
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To: Hillary's Lovely Legs
Tyne Daley has to subscribe to that line of thought because her long term marriage broke up due to her pursuing her career on the east coast and him pursuing his on the west. Very sad. She became an alcoholic and of course felt tremendous guilt over the trauma to her two girls. Until she felt the acclaim of broadway, which I suppose is a bright reflection of warmth, if however brief compared to the enduring support of family. She did quit drinking.
17 posted on 11/16/2002 12:28:07 PM PST by Endeavor
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To: Fintan; Hillary's Lovely Legs; *The GUILD
Freeper Cruise info for those who missed the link last week.
18 posted on 11/16/2002 1:23:26 PM PST by lodwick
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To: lodwick
Hi Lod, I checked the dates of the cruise, and I can't make it because I have a convention in DC on June 4-8.
19 posted on 11/16/2002 1:44:06 PM PST by Hillary's Lovely Legs
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To: Hillary's Lovely Legs
Well, nutz!

Have a super time in the capital. ;-)
20 posted on 11/16/2002 1:53:37 PM PST by lodwick
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