A plea to my CA family and friends

So recently I mentioned how Penelope and I attended a rally at the Capitol to support a bill called SB-797 which would ban BPAs from baby products. Bisphenol A, or BPA, is a synthetic and estrogenic chemical that has been linked to everything from early onset of puberty to breast cancer(3). Minnesota and Connecticut already have BPA bans protecting children. Canada and Japan have implemented similar safety measures. (Please note: All these places have formula and toxic-free food containers for babies!) Here's some more info on BPAs (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bisphenol_A):

Recent studies suggest it may also be linked to obesity[22] by triggering fat-cell activity[23] and have confirmed that bisphenol A exposure during development has carcinogenic effects and produce precursors of breast cancer.

We need to get this stuff out of our children's products. There are alternatives on the market, but it is very difficult for low-income families to get access to BPA-free bottles, sippy cups, and other products. ALL children deserve access to safe plastics - and the BPA ban would help ensure that.

There are some in the Legislature who are undecided on this issue. Below are their names and office #'s. I'll be calling to let them know I support the ban and hope that they will as well - I strongly encourage any other CA resident to call and help us get BPAs banned. (More info below the phone #s)


Marty Block – 916-319-2078
Wilmer Amina - Carter 916-319-2062
Joe Coto - 916-319-2023
Felipe Fuentes- 916-319-2039
Warren Furutani- 916-319-2055
Isadore Hall- 916-319-2052
Jerry Hill- 916-319-2019
Alyson Huber- 916-319-2010
Ted Lieu- 916-319-2053
Tony Mendoza- 916-319-2056
Manuel Perez- 916-319-2080
Norma Torres- 916-319-2061

More websites:
1.) http://info.sen.ca.gov/pub/09-10/bill/sen/sb_0751-0800/sb_797_cfa_20090602_121819_sen_floor.html
2.) http://www.ewg.org/kid-safe-chemicals-act-blog/2009/08/what’s-in-your-baby’s-bottle-fight-to-ban-toxic-chemical-heats-up/
3.) http://www.breastcancerfund.org/site/pp.asp?c=kwKXLdPaE&b=2638145&tr=y&auid=4891721

(A lot of the info on BPAs in this blog post was written by Melissa Walthers with the Breast Cancer Fund).

Today

Today I woke up at 7 and Penelope was still asleep. Score. I was actually able to have breakfast, check my e-mail, and pack her diaper bag before she woke up. Triple score.

We left the house at 8:30 or so and headed down to the Capitol for her second political rally. Well, first we got a bagel and cream cheese, which Penelope thought was heaven in food form. Anyway, her first rally was back in March? February? I can't remember... it was a pro-marriage equality rally and she wore her rainbow tights in support of equal rights. This time the rally was one to support SB-797 which bans BPAs in plastic. If you don't know what that is, then google should give you a lot of info. I'm too tired to go into it too much, but suffice it to say BPAs are bad and have been linked to everything from children reaching puberty at an earlier age to breast and prostate cancer. There are a lot of baby products that are now made without BPAs, but not all - and it's harder for parents in poorer neighborhoods to get access to BPA free products for their children. ALL kids deserve safe bottles, cups, etc... so we're very supportive of banning BPAs.

Penelope got a BPA t-shirt and had a good time at the rally. She fell asleep during speeches and I got THE CUTEST picture:


After the rally we (plus Kim + Orson and Gine + Lucy) walked the 4th floor of the building passing out BPA free bottles that had information on BPA & SB-797 to the Representatives and Senators. Fun, and amusing watching us try and navigate strollers in and out of offices... eventually we just parked the strollers outside the office and carried the babies in, we're so smart :)

So having completed our political activism for the day, Penny and I walked over to my mom's office building for lunch. It was fun, Penelope LOVES the ladies in my mom's office and was walking, giggling, and being her ridiculously cute self.

Then we had to haul it back to the parking garage where the pay-machine ate my ticket (I was later told that that NEVER happens, so obviously I did something wrong - whatever) and had to pay for a full day. Annoying. But not a huge deal, I can dispute it if I want, but I don't know if it's even worth the effort.

We came home and Penelope crashed. I hope she sleeps for awhile longer, I have to TRY and get some work done today. This is a pretty overwhelming week school-work wise and I'm trying not to freak out about how much I need to get done.

Thankful

We decided to take Penny in to the Pediatrician, our appointment is at 2:30 (although if the fever breaks then we may cancel).

Anyway, just being able to call and make an appointment without having to worry about taking time off of work, copay costs, or one of the other hundred reasons that some families don't have access to healthcare makes me incredibly thankful that we are able to afford coverage for Penny. There are so many children without coverage - who lack preventative healthcare, whose parents can't afford to take them in unless it's for dire emergencies, or whose copays are so extraordinary that families have to make decisions about feeding themselves vs. seeing a doctor... it's really quite tragic.

It makes me all the more supportive of universal coverage, especially for children. Healthcare isn't a privilege, it's a right.

I am thoroughly disgusted with the state of California. Bigotry is now state sanctioned, whose rights shall we take away next?

Being political for 2 seconds

Tomorrow the Supreme Court of California will (hopefully) right a very serious wrong. I am hoping to be very proud of my State tomorrow...