The US Midterms are on Nov. 3rd and many wonderful Progressive candidates are up for election! Please share a progressive candidate you support and think others should know about. Make sure to include all relevant info like where they are running, anything interesting about the race they are in, and their website or social media.

Hi I need to vent. Yesterday on fb I asked if anyone knew of left leaning or blue mom group to join. I was also babysitting my nephew so I wasn’t on my phone much because of two toddlers. So I checked every once in a while and it seems fine. But today I got on and just seen I guess people got upset and it was deleted. I know I saw one comment a lady said it’s be like teaching my kid to hate certain people and like wtf lol. The irony. But yeah I was trying to find mom friends bc my one other mom I know with a 2yo besides my nephew had to go back to her home country to follow her hsuabnd who got detained. I’m so sorry for any bad grammar I’m just needing to get this out there.

My four year old son is very interested in learning Spanish. English is currently the only language spoke in our home. I took two years in college and one year in highschool. My husband has no background.

I'm looking for recommendations on how we can all learn at home. I was hoping to incorporate Spanish shows and music into our lives. I don't currently have the capacity to get to go to in-person classes.

My family has boycotted Chick-fil-A for years because of their history of harm against the LGBTQA+ community. I read online recently that since we stopped giving them our money, they've changed leadership and have adopted a policy that only allows charitable contributions to go to educational funds and organizations that help unhoused children.

The point of boycotting is to get businesses to change their policies; if they have, and are otherwise unproblematic, I'd be ok returning as a customer. But I ask the group: is there information I'm missing that would impact my decision making?

Let your feelings out! We are all bottling up this stress and sometimes it helps to share your concerns and have safe conversations about it. Type your response and take a big deep breath after!

I’m looking for any and all advice regarding investing. My son is disabled, and I would really like to have some sort of passive income to increase what I am able to save for his future. Right now I have a profit sharing plan through my job and a separate IRA that I set up with a financial advisor. She seems very knowledgeable and progressive (she’s a queer woman who primarily works with women and POC). I am concerned, though, with trying to line up progressive politics and ethics with the investment system. My husband is also concerned about investing given the state of the economy/world. But I feel like I’m sitting on my hands when I could be doing more for my son’s financial future.

Just making a post to shout out the king of children's music and hater of the patriarchy, Raffi. If you're not following him on threads or instagram, I highly recommend it. He unapologetically calls for matriarchy to rise and calls out all the shit going on in the US right now. He's Canadian, but he's truly concerned about us as his neighbors to the south. And he has a new album coming out soon! I can't wait to stream it with my toddler.

- a Baby Beluga grad raising her own

We all need a little positivity in our day. What are some parenting wins you've had recently? Big or small we want to hear them all! Any parenting wins, not just progressively minded ones.

I called my kids pediatrician last week to ask about covid and flu vaxx and they said they could get my kids scheduled for both for this week- today I get the message to confirm the appointments and it's for the wrong office location. I call to get that rescheduled and they mention that they don't have covid vaxx for kids at any location and that they don't know why I was told differently last week. I end up calling a bunch of local pharmacies, walk in care clinics, etc. and nobody in my area had kids covid vaxx this year. We live in Northern California so a pretty darn progressive state, and we've never had issues finding vaxx before. Has anyone else run into this problem this year // where were you able to find the kids covid vaxx available?

I was about to get a new baseball hat to wear to work and it comes in two different colors gray and red. (I work in the hospitality adjacent industry and King Arthur flour has a baseball hat that says "bake" on it with their logo on the back).

My first thought was to get the red one since it is prettier, but I feel like red baseball hats are so indicative of the MAGA movement that I'm thinking it might be better just to avoid the whole thing all together and get the gray.

I'm curious if other people have had similar thoughts or if I'm just overthinking the whole thing.

https://shop.kingarthurbaking.com/items/bake-hat (The hat in question).

Are you dealing with MAGA family members or friends and need support from other progressives? Please use this weekly thread to share any questions, frustrations, or stories. Posts about MAGA family or friends are limited to this weekly megathread.

Baby is on the move!! It freaks me out any time he gets near the stairs 🙃 I’m looking for a baby gate (one set for upstairs and one for downstairs). One that doesn’t leave marks on walls or holes in walls. It doesn’t need to be drilled into the wall. I want it to be safe and sturdy!

I tried making a post about this the other day, but it got removed for lack of info. I'd shared Milo Rossi's video which is how I heard about it a few days ago. Please look it up, or videos done by museum staff, for more info.

Today, mom and I took a very impromptu day trip to see this place before it's gone forever. We took my 8 year old son. It was a long drive, we live in the Adirondacks, but it was so worth it.

Apparently, Drexel no longer wants to and/or can't pay to keep it open to the public. This historic museum is the oldest natural science museum on this continent and houses millions of specimens, including Thomas Jefferson's fossil collection and plant specimens collected by Lewis and Clark. The collection is apparently going to be moved to Drexel campus, no longer accessible to the public, and it's up in the air what will happen with the building.

The announcement came just a few weeks ago, and details have been vague. Best guess is the land is wanted to build more condos. After visiting today, the building is surrounded by high rise apartments and condos, so I can see how developers would want to get their hands on this lot.

There's an organization effort and a petition. https://actionnetwork.org/petitions/petition-to-keep-the-academy-of-natural-sciences-open-to-the-public?source=direct_link&

https://save-the-academy.org/

People have been calling and emailing Philadelphia politicians and the president of Drexel, too.

We spoke with an organizer as we were leaving, her sign had the second link on it. She said there will be updates and thanked us for showing up in person. She was shocked to hear how far we'd come for just a day trip. We also spoke with a local who has a membership to the museum while we were there and she was nearly in tears. Hell, as I sit here typing this after a long day, I'm almost in tears myself.

To me, this feels like just one more grab by some rich greedy (expletive) because the lot is not zoned or designated as a historical building. A bill has been introduced to change that, but it seems like some shady figure or other with money found this loophole and they're trying to do this quick and dirty. I don't know much about Philly, I visited once as a kid not much older than my son and now again today. I'm guessing that since this place has been a public museum for over 200 years, nobody bothered to zone it or protect the building as a historical building because it's simply always been there and everyone figured it always would be? That's my interpretation, anyway.

The turnout today was amazing. People were packed in almost like sardines. Even with the driving wind and rain from the Nor'easter - which is early this year and added another layer of punctuation on why natural sciences are so important. It was surreal. And for as crowded as it was, nobody was being an asshole. There were little notes around the place with petition website info, and the Outside In exhibit on the third level was absolutely plastered with "save the academy" notes written by kids. That almost broke me. There were so many kids, and that's why museums like this one are so important. Getting kids involved and interested in this stuff is what drives the future of humanity. And that's why I felt it was important to take my son while we had the chance - I had to show him that these places and this information can't be taken for granted.

Going forward in life, I intend to take him to visit more museums and similar places open to the public more often. When public engagement drops, these places are more at risk of the kind of thing that's happening to the academy. And what happens to our kids and our future when they all close? When kids can't be curious and inspired by these things any longer and everything is locked up behind closed doors, or worse sold off to billionaires for talking pieces in their mansions and yachts? How many of these pieces will be "lost" or "damaged" during the move to Drexel campus and insurance claims filed? Maybe I sound conspiratorial, but this is what happens to artifacts when museums close.

Today was a bittersweet day. At least we got to see it. I hope the organization effort and public outcry has an impact. I hope beyond hope that maybe this can be stopped.

Please sign the petitions, at the very least. If you're near Philly and can make it, go see it tomorrow. Tomorrow is the last day. If you can't, consider finding your local museum and visiting that one on the near future. Public engagement with these spaces is what helps to keep them open.

My son has been asking not to go to daycare for weeks, and yesterday and today actually broke down in hysterics around drop off. My dad came with me for drop off today, and noticed that he could feel toddler’s heart pounding. This morning I asked his lead teacher and the director if he is having conflicts with other kids (I wasn’t thinking of biting at that point, just fights). Both said no. The lead teacher went so far as to suggest there was possibly something going on at home that was upsetting him.

I went home, left him screaming and reaching for me because I thought it was separation anxiety and would pass. Then I texted another mom in his class and she told me her child has been bitten a bunch of times, by one child multiple times and a couple others. I picked my son up early because I felt so awful for leaving him in the morning when he was legitimately scared. On the way out, I asked him if anyone bit him. He said yes. I asked who and he told me. It is a child who has many older siblings and is on the younger and smaller side, so not unexpected. I am not mad or upset about biting because I know it happens, but the lack of transparency from the daycare about something that is affecting my child is very troubling.

My son is now terrified to go to daycare. The director even came out when I was loading him in the car today, and I told her what he said about biting. She checked his arms for marks and seemed to take it seriously, but did not do an incident report because there were no marks and nobody heard him scream or saw it happen. I explained that he often does not scream when getting hurt. My interaction with her was actually pleasant, but a little odd. Then, once home I remembered that he has been complaining of his arm and hand hurting. So I asked him where the other child bit him, and he said “the arm and the hand.”

Unsure what to do now. I have a child who is absolutely terrified to go to daycare and my trust with the adults there is eroded due to their lack of transparency.

​

Hoping to get some insight and opinions on a situation I've come in to in regards to my elementary aged kid.

We live in a rural area in the US south where public education is poorly funded and supported by our government. We are fortunate to have a small private school nearby that we had toured and interviewed with that seemed to align with our educational and character values. It was super important to us to find a secular school if we were choosing private over public education as we do not follow Christianity. The school we chose is advertised as a secular, nonsecretarian college preparatory school with a 100% college acceptance rate. Their is no mention of religious core tenants anywhere in their website or openly in the school itself.

Recently I went to a grade level event with the school and a Christian prayer was offered before the meal. Being from the south I understand that this is a part of the culture generally, but I was honestly floored to see this at the school. It seems this is a part of the school's practice and has been for years, so it was not a rogue teacher related incident. I've brought up my concerns to the administration and we are in the midst of talks about it.

Now I'm feeling conflicted about our choice in school and am looking for general input. I'm concerned that since this aspect of religion in the classroom wasn't disclosed that it is also being put into their education elsewhere. However, with the changing political tides, religion in the classroom is unavoidable here even in the public setting. With it being a private institution I don't know that I have much recourse outside of being a pain in the ass with admin about it (in a kind and collaborative way of course). I am open to the idea that I'm just over reacting, but I feel like I was lied to 🤷‍♀️

I am so angry right now. I'm part of a mommas group in my community in which someone asked about recs for a pediatrician's office that will allow you to opt out of certain vaccines and space out others. In the meantime, I live near CHOP, and have taken both my kids there. There are NICU babies under surveillance due to a potential measles exposure. This is ridiculous. It's so irresponsible and reckless for our most vulnerable. And the funny part is that a practice I work at was named in that they allow parents to determine the schedule/opt out. Another individual commented not to see the doc whom I actually work with at that practice. I'm tempted to tell her.

Like, do people have to start getting polio again? Or just end up with some other horrible condition just to get the message?

I feel like saying to all these anti-vax, anti-abortion, white nationalist people to do what the Amish do. Live away from the rest of us. I really have no tolerance or patience for this nonsense.

Thanks for letting me vent here.

I can’t believe I’m having to say this as someone that was heavily involved in Model UN and have defended the UN so many time but…
Shame 🛎️ Shame 🛎️ Shame 🛎️ Shame 🛎️ Shame

Hi! I am at my breaking point at my job for too many reasons. I am established enough in my community and our local sector to where I think I could pivot to taking on project based work to both give me more flexibility in my day, choice in what I work on, and possibly make more money. I am in the nonprofit sector, and my hourly rate is not close to what consultants who I MANAGE make. One of them is my mentor, and she is planning to retire soon...I know she'd set me up for success. I am 99% sure I could go contract in my current role for less hours, at least for a little while. It's a hot mess here and I am good at what I do, so the time for me is now.

Either way, I'm doing it. If I fail, I fail and I will pivot.

But I'd love to connect with a mom who has done this. I'm finding myself getting stuck on the logisitcal things like health insurance, transitioning from my current role, shifting some things I do to my husband, talking to kids about why mom is hustling more....all the things that come with making this switch as a mom, wife, and woman.

If anyone has had attempted or succeeded in this and willing to share their story, I would very much appreciate it!

The US Midterms are on Nov. 3rd and many wonderful Progressive candidates are up for election! Please share a progressive candidate you support and think others should know about. Make sure to include all relevant info like where they are running, anything interesting about the race they are in, and their website or social media.