An open letter from parent bloggers... thousands of us.

Today I'm participating in a blog in.  Thousands of us, parents and bloggers, are doing this.   We're standing up and telling the 2012 Presidential Candidates that their bullshit will not fly this election cycle.  We will no longer tolerate birtherism as a campaign platform; a non-existent class warfare claim by the people who have been waging class warfare for on the 99% of non-millionaire Americans for the last thirty years; the lies that are passed of as facts and spun by your sycophants at your fake news organization; we will not accept your ignorance as a badge of honor nor your pride in your own mediocrity, your hypocrisy and your hatred and fundamental lack of humanity when it comes to the actual concerns of 99% of Americans.  We are on to you and we expect better for ALL Americans.  You've been put on notice. 

Dear 2012 Presidential Candidates, We are your future constituents and we are parents. We are American mothers and fathers and grandparents and guardians. Our families might be the most diverse in the world. Blended and combined in endless permutations, we represent every major religion, political ideology and ethnic culture that exists. We are made from equal parts biology and choice. Our children come to us in every way possible—including fertility miracles, adoption, and remarriage. Our very modern families embody the freedom that defines America.

We embody America. We are rich in diversity, but we are united in our family values. We come together today, with one voice, to express our grave disappointment in the national political discourse.

The 2012 countdown has barely begun and we are already being bombarded with the warmed-over, hypocritical rhetoric of 2008. We are living in a time where 25% of Americans now live in poverty, the unemployment rate stands at 16%, and we are spending close to $170 billion annually between the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Given the current state of affairs we would expect every candidate to focus on the issues that truly matter: job creation, debt-relief, taxes, education, poverty, and ending the war(s). Instead, it is already clear to us that the conversation has been hijacked, with the goal of further polarizing our nation into a politically motivated and falsely created class-war.

We will not stand for another campaign year in which politicians presume to know what our family values are as they relate to the nation. To be clear, here are our family values: Affordable health care, including family planning, for all Americans.

We will not tolerate any candidate using the shield of “Choice” to blind us from the issues that really matter. When funding is stripped from organizations like Planned Parenthood, access to sliding-scale health care (including yearly pap smears & mammograms), comprehensive sex education, and family planning is blocked from the poorest of the population.

Access to education, and the ability to actually use it. We want quality, affordable, federally-funded pre-K programs made available in every State, in order to provide an even starting point for all children enrolled in public schools— regardless of the wealth of the district or town they live in.

A reinstatement of regulations, beginning with the Glass/Stegal Act, for banks issuing mortgages and full prosecution for those who engaged in fraudulent lending practices. We want full accountability —investigation, indictment and prosecution— of those individuals and institutions who engaged in fraudulent lending practices and who helped create the massive foreclosures that left many families homeless or struggling to keep their homes.

A return of strict environmental regulations protecting water, air, food, and land that were removed in the last two decades. We want our children to grow up in a world not weighed down by the strains of pollution and global warming. Between BPA in our products, sky-rocketing rates of asthma in kids, questionable hormones in our over-processed food, and more, we need leaders who will put our needs and safety over the desires and profits of large corporations.

Family planning, healthcare, education, economic solvency and environmental safety: these are our national family values. Candidates who demonstrate the ability to understand the gravity of these issues, and their impact on our families, and who can provide actual, viable solutions to these problems will garner our support and our votes.

We believe in this democratic system of ours, and we will continue to use our voices and our votes to see that it reaches its fullest potential.

Sincerely, Your future constituents, The mothers & fathers of America 

Cloth diapering and a quick little plug.

If you are a new parent looking at cloth diapering, here's a great resource for all your questions, and some very funny posts as well.

http://allaboutclothdiapers.com/ http://allaboutclothdiapers.com/

We're been cloth diapering and it's not as big a pain in the ass as you'd think.  In fact, I'd say it's just as easy as using disposables.  And despite the upfront cost, it ends up saving you thousands of dollars over the life of your child.  If you have two, double that savings.   Three, triple it.  Four, quadruple.  Five... well... you're a braver man than I.

A couple products I would recommend.  (I have not received anything from these folks - no samples, no freebies, no payment... just used and like the products because they work.  I don't know why I shouldn't get some free swag or product now... I am plugging them.  Send free stuff!  I'll gladly use it!)

ROCKING GREEN SOAP

The biggest issue with cloth diapering is stink.  Holy God can they stink.  But the best way to combat that is to learn how to clean them properly.

Rocking Green is a great product, the Funk Rock soak for diapers is a godsend for ammonia.  Grab a couple bags.

A DIAPER SPRAYER

Issue number 2 in cloth diapering is... well, number 2.

What do you do with poop!?  As they get older it just gets bigger, wetter, firmer, more voluminous, and just plain old nasty.

Get the sprayer!   There are a lot of "reviews" on Amazon or places where you can buy the sprayer that were written by morons.  I'm not kidding.  These people are morons.  The #1 complaint by these people is "the sprayer sprays poo everywhere."

Yeah, dummy, if you stand holding the sprayer three feet from the diaper which you're dangling a foot above your toilet bowl. 

Get in there and get dirty!  You'll learn after one use how to do it.  You get your diaper down in the bowl, you hold the sprayer close and at an angle and you just spray off the poop.  Think spraying dishes in your sink, not spraying dog poop on your sidewalk and you get the idea.

We've used KUSHIES diapers, and BUMMIS.  (both are Canadian companies.)  Kushies are all in ones and bummis are inserts with covers.  Both are easy to use and work equally well.  It's all up to you.  (Oh, and the Kushies were hand me downs...  FREE!  You can pass them along, share the love.)

One bit of advice, get pants a size larger than your child would wear.  Cloth diapers give them a little bit of a g'donka donk.  Baby seriously has back in these things.  I have taken to putting Turtle in awesome baby gym shorts that are a size up and some baby legs.  (BABY LEGS ARE A MUST!  If you don't have some, get them, just because.  Turtle has taxi cab, firetruck, football, police car, pirate and of course his dress gray and black stripe baby legs.  We'd be lost without them.)  He's currently 18 months and we're in 3T shorts.  (Puma, Nike and Gap make awesome ones and we have a great little discount store that carries them for $5 each.  Win!)

If you are in the NYC area, you can take a cloth diapering class at Metro Minis where they'll teach you everything you need to know.

All you new parents should already be acquainted with them.  They are the store to hit if you are looking at being a fellow attachment parent.  They will also help you find a carrier that fits you.  (We are personally fond of the Mei Tai from BabyHawk over the Bjorn or the Ergo Baby becuase there is no adjustment that needs to be made, no clips, no clasps, no straps to adjust from mom to dad.  It's all done by knots and instantly snug when you put it on.  Big fan.  We also like the Dydimos wrap.)

Again... not getting any product endorsement stuff here, but I'd love some!

Just saying.

So, back to the cloth diapering.  If you're up for it, try it.  It's easier than you think and you don't have to do it 24 hours a day.  (Turtle sleeps in a disposable and wears them when he goes out.  Dad's pretty confident in his Stay At Home Dad-ness, but there's no way I'm carrying a poopy diaper in a ziploc bag around with me when we're out.  But at home.  You bet.)

Any thoughts or experiences or advice, please feel free to share here on on our facebook page, http://www.facebook.com/skinnedkneesinshortpants where you may like us, follow us and share in the conversation.

Or send me free swag.