FireFamily Gets Political » Stop, Drop and Blog

Happy 4th!

FireFamily Gets Political, Holidays 8 Responses »

Jul 042011

It’s possible that the shirts that I ran out to buy the boys Saturday afternoon will one day turn them into Republican voting citizens, or so says a new study out of Harvard.

4th of July

Though, let’s face it, I had lots of red, white and blue outfits and I’m, well, decidedly not conservative. In fact, my family was known for putting on a lovely display of smoke bombs and one time my dad tried to set himself on fire with a little helicopter thing. And despite that, shockingly, I’m rather liberal.

4th of July

I’d like to think that the red, white and blue shirts, the barbequed chicken, the corn on the cob, the snap-pops, the sparklers, the berry cake, the flags we’ll wave and the fireworks display tonight will not be the deciding factor in their future political decision making.

4th of July

I’d like to think that they’ll look back on days like today and remember something beautiful about their childhoods. Maybe they’ll remember painting flags. Or eating foods that they liked two days in a row. Or how we let them stay up way, way past their bedtimes so they could chase fireflies in the park while waiting for the fireworks. Or how it was a day for us, as a family.

4th of July

Do I want them to love our country? Well, yes. Do I want them to tear up a little bit as they hear “God Bless the USA” or even our national anthem? Sure. But I also want them to realize that life is more than politics and debates and we have been afforded the freedom to say so and act as such. The colors on their shirt should no more shape their political beliefs than the size of the fireworks tonight. Growing up in my family, we were taught to believe what we want but know how to back it up. I want the same for my boys.

4th of July

Maybe someday they’ll be conservative men. Maybe someday they’ll be liberals. Or independents. Or whatever is all the rage in 20 years. But I hope — and pray and wish — it’s less about what they did on the 4th of July and more about what they’ve sorted through in their own hearts, minds and experiences and come to a conclusion on their own. Because that’s what America is about.

Happy 4th of July — no matter how your kids will someday vote!

SB 5: It’s Not Over

FireFamily Gets Political 1 Response »

Mar 312011

To say that I was surprised by yesterday’s House vote and quick Senate turnaround wouldn’t be accurate. I wasn’t surprised. At all. I was sad. I was frustrated. I was angry. But I wasn’t surprised.

And I also wasn’t discouraged.

I didn’t tweet much about SB 5 yesterday, choosing instead to follow twitter and Facebook quietly as the day progressed toward the eventual outcome. When it eventually passed the Senate again with the changes the House passed, I simply said:

Horribly disappointed in Ohio's elected officials tonight. Trying to remember that this is not over. We will prevail. #sb5

March 30, 2011 8:34 pm via webReply RetweetFavorite

@FireMom

Jenna Hatfield

That tweet got me multiple replies, some retweets and a handful-plus of Ohio, Wisconsin, Michigan and Ohio-loyal followers. Do you know what that says to me?

It’s not over.

Those who passed this bill with the rush to get it in by the end of the month did so with the hope that our referendum in November wouldn’t garner the same amount of voters as next year’s Presidential election. They have underestimated us. If people are following twitter search results after ten o’clock at night and following people with like-minded views on the passing of Senate Bill 5, then those in charge are greatly underestimating the power we have when we band together.

We will turn out in large numbers. We will get the required signatures to get the referendum on November’s ballot. And we will turn out in droves to vote. We will be heard. We will be seen. We will provide for the middle class what those in power have taken away.

I promised at an earlier date to keep those who are interested up-to-date with information on how you can help and be involved with the process. If you are interested in getting involved immediately, please email killthebillohio@gmail.com with your contact information to volunteer. I did when I saw it on the Ohio AFL-CIO page this morning. Or you can sign up via the SEIU page with a simple form. And the Ohio Democratic Party has a form up as well.The first step will be collecting signatures. Our family will be participating. If you have the time, I encourage you and yours to do the same.

An email from the Ohio Democratic Party just let me know the following:

231,149 – Signatures needed to place a referendum of the law on the ballot.

1,000 – Number of signatures needed for petition language to be approved by the Attorney General and Secretary of State, before additional petitions can be circulated.

44 – Minimum number of counties where the petition signatures need to be collected.

As I learn more information about the efforts, I will keep you updated. My blog isn’t going to become an All Politics, All the Time blog as my family still lives a balanced life, but I will let you know what we’re doing and how you can get involved. I’ll be creating a specific SB 5 section of the site which you can choose to follow or not. New in that section today is an email from Andy Thompson about why he supported the bill.

If you have any other information about local or statewide efforts, please leave a comment or contact me.