Newfangled Dad

One thing I've been pondering since the election in November is an offshoot of the "rural-urban divide" debates that have been happening. Democrats may have won the popular vote, but we lost key regional areas dominated by white, rural, less educated demographics. The loss of historically blue states like Pennsylvania, Wisconsin, and Michigan allowed the election to tip--just barely--to Republicans. Democrats are growing in areas of the Sun Belt like Texas and Georgia, but we're not quite to the tipping point of controlling state politics there. Our numbers are concentrated in other places that put us at a disadvantage. Perhaps my mind was already headed that direction because our family has previously considered farming--a move that would require us to move to a rural, probably conservative-dominated area--but why not sort Democrats into needed areas rather than focus on winning over rural conservative voters? We're maybe looking at the problem all wrong in thi

Obama family 2011 It's hard to not view the Presidency of Barack Obama through the lens of parenting. For many Americans, President Obama has been like a father to us. Offering an example, encouraging us to better ourselves and our world, staying cool and calm when the weight of the world has been on his shoulders. For others, he was what inspired us to have children ourselves. 9 months after the celebration and joy of Grant Park in 2008 there was talk of the "Obama babies" who were being born as symbols of the new hope for the nation. Diverse couples, immigrant stories, and embracing America's future majority-minority demographics.  My own two children have never known a time when there was not a black President. While not themselves Obama babies, they certainly were born into and are products of the optimism of the Obama years. On Election Night in 2008, the economy was in turmoil and possibly headed for another Great Depression. The housing market coll

Happy New Year! 2017 brings with it me officially putting myself back onto the job market. (My daughter will begin kindergarten in the fall and turns 6 shortly after--my days of parenting full-time are drawing to an end.) And as I stared in confusion yesterday while a former White House economist started following me on social media (cool, but why?), I began to wonder if I could use my network of contacts to, well, network. Some of you know me. Some of you do not. Feel free to glance at my About  section to get an idea of what makes me tick. I can roast coffee, shear a sheep, read music, speak a little French, once co-managed a radio station, and help decide where stop signs go in my town. It's a weird little resume that I'm happy to provide by request for any serious possible employers. The bottom line is I'm pretty versatile. I'm not picky about the field. My degree is in psychology with a minor in religion, I spent a year in law school, and I've spent about