Well, at least in demeanor, if not in actual appearance.  You may recall that old Ebeneezer was a man who thought eating too much was a wasteful sin and the former Speaker of the House doesn’t appear to have missed a meal since Congress tossed him out (OK, he resigned, but he didn’t have much choice) on ethics charges 12 years ago.

I’m not being mean here for the sake of being mean (as the actual Grinch would surely do).   But it’s hard not to make that comparison when it comes to Tiffany’s favorite customer as he’s taken poor children in America to task, suggesting that many of them are lazy, pampered freeloaders with no work ethic and no prospects.

Gingrich’s descent into Grinch-dom all started when he thought that instead of reforming our education system to give American children a better shot at a good future, we should put them to work scrubbing floors:

“What if they became assistant janitors and their jobs were to mop the floor and clean the bathroom? The kids would actually do work, they would have cash, they’d have pride in the schools, they’d begin the process of rising.”

And then, because I guess he just couldn’t help himself, he crept out even further on that Dickensian ledge:

“Really poor children in really poor neighborhoods have no habits of working and have nobody around them who works, so they have no habit of showing up on Monday. … They have no habit of staying all day, they have no habit of ‘I do this and you give me cash,’ unless it is illegal.”

One thing Gingrich apparently doesn’t realize is that a lot of us who are doing well now started out poor.  Growing up on small family farm, I never thought that we were poor because we always had a roof over our heads and we never went hungry.  That fact probably should have occurred to me since my siblings and I didn’t see much of our parents –  they were both busy running the farm and working second jobs in town to make ends meet.  If his approach had been applied to me back then, I’m sure Newt would have envisioned a nice factory job for me, except that now I’d be unemployed because the few factories that provided jobs for the area either moved where labor was cheaper or were shut down altogether.

While I’ve had the luxury of making my living as a journalist, a lawyer, and now as a writer/pundit, I do know a little bit about hard work that I suspect Gingrich doesn’t.  I don’t know his whole life story, but I’m betting he hasn’t spent a lot of time baling hay, picking/canning/freezing food out of the garden all summer because that’s what’s going to be on the table all winter, or working three jobs at one time to put yourself through college (public, not private).  I did, so I can fill him in on some of the details, that is if he’s not off on another luxury cruise of the Greek islands.

I’m not the only one to make this Scrooge/Grinch connection.  And his decision to make his cold-hearted comments from his vantage point of “the one percent” right before the December holiday season ensures that this story line has legs.  If Gingrich and has campaign staff are wise, they’ll do something ASAP to change this perception before the January 3 Iowa caucuses.  Because in case he’s missed it, the people who turn out for the Iowa caucuses aren’t part of his “one percent.”  Those Midwest voters who get together every four years to kick-off the official presidential primary season know about hard lives and hard work. Many of them are farmers, like my parents, who will care little about that recent photo-op with Donald “let’s start The Apprentice for poor kids” Trump and who I’d bet were offended by those derisive jabs at schoolchildren, and by extension, their families.

I expect there won’t be any Secret Santa exchanges at the next GOP debate like our super busy Senators are doing.  And I have no expectation that his tiny little Grinch heart will grow three sizes any time soon.  I’m not sure if Cindy Lou Who or the Ghost of Christmas Future could set Gingrich straight.   But I know for a fact if Gingrich spent an hour with my dad — the hardest working farmer in the Northeast — he’d be singing a different tune about the values and expectations of those who will never be able to afford even the cheapest trinket at Tiffany’s.

If reports are accurate, Libya’s Moammar Gadhafi is dead.

Fighting the War on poverty With Early Childhood Education

Things are getting fun over at my new group effort, The Broad Side — Mom in a Million is talking about the Occupy Wall Street movement.  Can it work?

Mitt Romney was supposedly the winner at the latest GOP debate, but can he win in Iowa?  His people aren’t sure.

Now Rick Perry likes a flat tax? Who’s next?

Fortune’s 40 Under 40 list is 85% male.  What the …?!?

And please read this great article that features my friend Susan that talks about an aspect of breast cancer we don’t usually think about.

Your thoughts?

Well, if you’d really like to know what some mothers are thinking about their worlds, then there’s a new book you might like — it’s a collection of essays entitled Welcome to My World and, yes, I contributed an essay to the book that I hope you’ll enjoy entitled “Building My Empire.”

As a writer, it’s always exciting to have an opportunity to be paid for your work (!), and have it included with other writers whose work is fantastic.  Thanks to Giggle.com, not only was I able to be published in another wonderful book, but I was actually able to make a little deposit to my bank account!

Of course, while you’re in the buying mood, I sure wouldn’t mind if you purchased Welcome to My World, as well as Mothers of Intention.  You know the days are getting shorter and soon you’re going to want come reading for when we’re all snuggled next to the fireplace with some nice hot chocolate!

Image via Amazon.com

The man we’ve been tracking for a decade, and the reason so many American lives have been lost in Afghanistan and Iraq, has finally been taken out by Navy SEALS in a Pakistan mission worthy of a Tom Clancy nail-biter.

Cheering crowds celebrated the mission in Washington, D.C. and New York City after President Obama announced late Sunday night that the face of evil we’ve been chasing for a decade had been killed and buried at sea.

I’m sure that many of us thought this day would never come and that at some point we would read about bin Laden’s death from old age in a cold, lonely cave somewhere in the mountains of Pakistan, a disappointing coda to America’s anti-terror efforts.

Seeing news reports of the daring raid brings back vivid memories of the days immediately after the 9/11 attacks.  None of us will ever forget what it was like to live through that fear, especially here in the shadow of the nation’s capital when, for months, the constant hum of fighter jets in the sky became as common as the sounds of neighborhood kids playing outside my house on a warm spring day.

In the weeks that followed that tragedy, I wondered if my husband and I had done the right thing by bringing our new daughter to America from her birth country of China.  Would she have been safer there?  And I worried whether I could possibly stock enough bottled water, plastic to cover the windows, canned tuna, peanut butter, Cipro, and a battery powered radio to survive when the next attack  happened, which many Americans were sure was coming.  In light of the fact that it took my husband about five hours to drive home that day (a commute that usually took 20 minutes), we knew that there would be no easy escape or orderly exodus to safety with major roads clogged with panicky families the next time.

So we “prepared.”  Like many other families, we went to Home Depot and bought plastic sheeting and duct tape.  We headed to the grocery store, trying not to be conspicuous in the amount of toilet paper and juice boxes we crammed into the shopping cart.  Everything that we stockpiled we kept on hand for months, and then years.  But those emergency supplies stayed tucked away safely in a basement corner –  just in case.

Eventually, our heightened vigilance faded.  I wouldn’t say we became complacent, but we were resigned to the fact that no matter what we had in that so-called emergency kit, there was no real way to plan for the day when the next shoe would drop.

Almost ten years later, we still have gallons of water in the basement, but we can’t drink it after years of the plastic leeching into it, though we figured it might come in handy if there was a toilet flushing issue.  Every now and then I think about the huge, dusty bin of supplies sitting in that same corner, that’s periodically been cannibalized for its paper plates, the can opener and bandages.  About once a year,  I wonder if I should restock the expired meds, buy some more H2O and and new radio batteries  — you know, just in case.  But then we all go back to living our life that’s filled with the routines of a soccer-obsessed fifth-grader and the work/life dance we do to keep everything going.

There’s no doubt that the news of bin Laden’s death is cathartic for Americans. A chapter has finally ended that we weren’t ever sure would.  But even as we celebrate, we know that the other side of the ‘bin Laden is dead coin’ is gearing back up to that place of uber-vigilance.  Because while it feels like closure for Americans, bin Laden’s death will surely bring a new beginning for his al Qaeda followers, as well as those in Pakistan who have long claimed to be against him when they were really playing all sides  of the issue — also, just in case.

So today when I head out to the grocery store to grab some paper towels, milk and something to cook for dinner, I’ll also be wondering whether it’s a good moment to pick up some fresh bottled water and a few extra cans of tuna to start restocking my basement emergency kit.   And I’ll be scoping out the shopping carts of others to see if they’re doing the same.

What about you?

Image by Paul Keller via Flickr/Creative Commons

You heard me.  If the federal government closes because lawmakers can’t agree on whether women should be allowed to get annual physical exams, contraceptives or cervical cancer screenings, they’ll blame it on us because we want low-income women to have access to important health services.  Both sides in the federal budget fight agree that there is only one sticking point left in this prolonged debate — whether or not to defund Planned Parenthood.

Many politicians on the right claim they’re just standing strong against their belief that there should be no government money for abortion.  But the thing is this — they’re lying.   No federal funds go to Planned Parenthood for abortion, but they want you to believe that so they can shut down the rest of the health services many women receive there. They think that if they say it loud enough and long enough, that if they pound the tables and shake their heads as they roll their eyes on cable news shows, that we’ll believe they’re taking a moral stand about life, even though there isn’t a shred of truth to their budget ruse.

One thing is clear and House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (though she will always be Madam Speaker to me) said it best just this week — the GOP is trying to use the budget process to advance its social war on women.

Some of these Republicans are devious, but they aren’t stupid. They know they’re in the process of putting one over on the voters (and the wishy-washy Democrats) for the sake of their long-range social agenda of turning back the clock on women.  They aren’t trying to save unborn babies.  They’re striving to make it harder for women to control their lives, enter the workforce and support their families.  Because they know that if they keep throwing up roadblocks for women, then maybe the little ladies will just give up and stay home with the kids, allowing those jobs to go to men — men like them.

GOP efforts to control women’s lives and bodies are on a dual track.  They’re using substantive legislation and budget battles as a two-pronged approach to advance their war on social values.  Women are the last pawns in this year’s budget showdown and it’s just an artifice for the march by the political right — mostly white men –who want to keep women at home, out of the workforce, and out of the jobs that they think men should have.

The Planned Parenthood red herring isn’t the only evidence of  the GOP assault on women. We’ve seen it in the attack on labor unions and collective bargaining in states like Wisconsin, where police and firefighters — traditionally male jobs — will still be able to bargain collectively, but nurses and teachers — traditionally women’s jobs –  would lose that right. We’ve seen it in the efforts to defeat the Paycheck Fairness Act which would require employers to pay women the same as men for the same job.  And there’s virtually no support for expanding the Family and Medical Leave Act or increased amounts of paid sick leave for workers.  Who usually has to take the time off from work to care for children and lose income because of that?  Women, not men.

Let’s be clear.  Those on the far right of the political spectrum want you to think that the dollars that go to Planned Parenthood for cancer screenings and access to contraception are somehow going to be the downfall of the Republic.   They want us to be convinced that the social fabric of America will unravel if they don’t put a stop to the ability of women to be the final decision makers about their own reproductive lives.  And they’ll do pretty much anything in their power to achieve their goals.

If the Republicans win this budget battle  — if President Obama and the Democrats allow the Republicans to win this — women better start hoarding their Pills, their sponges, and their IUDs, and they’d better have a nest egg for mammograms, Pap smears, and other cancer screening tests.  Because if the Republicans win this war against Planned Parenthood, they’re not going to stop there.

Sadly, the conversation on cable news is this — are the Democrats really going to furlough 800,000 federal workers over a measly $300 million for Planned Parenthood?  The underlying suggestion is unmistakable that a few prescriptions for birth control pills and some Pap screenings shouldn’t shut the government down and if Democrats allow that, they’re being irresponsible.  The thing they’re missing is this — next year, it will be something else.  If Planned Parenthood is gone, then the next GOP “budget” chip will be funding for children –Congressman Paul Ryan has already made it clear that’s the target he has his eye on as the chair of the House Budget Committee.  And they will keep chipping away at the programs that benefit women and children until their social agenda has been fulfilled.

I’m not a particularly religious person, but I do believe there’s a special place in hell for those who lie and create false constructs that put women’s lives at risk to achieve their unstated, but unmistakable, goals.

It just seemed to make common sense, after all — coal-powered and oil-powered fuel plants spew smoke and chemicals, including mercury, into the air we all breathe.

Social momentum and true bipartisan negotiation led to the groundbreaking clean air law.  It was a good starting point, but some things got derailed along the way.  George W. Bush became President and he and his ‘less government regulation is better’ administration repealed part of the law, replacing it with that cap and trade thing that’s really more environmental sleight of hand than a commitment to better air quality.  Instead of requiring those power plants to adjust their emissions, including mercury and other toxic chemicals, companies polluting the air can get around required fixes by buying or trading credits with another power plant.  If Company A pollutes in one area but Company B pollutes less, they can buy credits from Company B to make up for their pollution but neither power plant has to take any significant change in actually protecting the atmosphere.  It looks like environmental protection on paper, but it doesn’t feel that way in our lungs.

But a recent court order reversed the Bush administration’s policy, allowing the Environmental Protection Agency finally to issue and implement rules that could really give us cleaner air.  Not surprisingly, many lawmakers on Capitol Hill don’t like that idea and are working actively to move us back to the cap and trade days.

Am I the only one who thinks that doesn’t sound like a recipe for cleaner air?

If you’re like me and you’re scratching your head about whether there’s anything you can do about this, I have excellent news.  If there is an inner PunditMom in you who wants to make sure clean air is around for your children and grandchildren, I’d like to introduce you to the Moms Clean Air Force and getting your message about clean air to the EPA!

Don’t be afraid. I know the whole legislative process can be a little intimidating, especially when I start writing about things like rule-makings and comment periods, but this is actually one of the EASIEST ways to make your voice heard on important topics from the comfort of you own laptops!

For 50 days, Uncle Sam actually wants to hear what you think and will be taking comments from everyone.  Trust me, the companies who oppose this and the lobbyists they hire are going to be on top of this and submitting comments with as much “science” and cost information as they can to keep these rules from being implemented.  But I have no doubt that an army of mothers who don’t want their children to breathe potentially cancer-causing air can take on those lobbyists.

One mom can make a huge difference, not only by submitting a comment during the comment period, but if one mom asks another who asks another, think of the millions of us who, if we take just a few minutes to let the EPA know directly how we feel about the importance of clean air, can battle those lobbyists who are paid to keep the status quo in place until we don’t have any clean air left.

Because clean air is important to the whole PunditFamily, I’m pleased to be a part of a new effort called the Moms Clean Air Force, supported by the Environmental Defense Fund. I’m joining with some other amazing women to raise awareness of what’s going on with the EPA’s efforts clean up the air we all breathe and to let you know how you can be a part of that effort, as well.

Send your comments in an email to a-and-r-docket@epa.gov . You can keep it short, so it will only take a minute. Just let them know that you like the idea of keeping the air clean for our kids. At the top of your email, make sure you include these two referral numbers:

Docket ID No. EPA-HQ-OAR-2011-0044 (NSPS action)

Docket ID No. EPA-HQ-OAR-2009-0234 (NESHAP action)

And don’t forget to add your name, hometown and state at the bottom.

Just think — if this works, you can tell your kids that you helped clean up the environment, just like we ask them to do picking up trash at their playgrounds!  I know my fifth-grader will like that.

I’m being compensated by EDF for write about the legislation, the rule-making  and the EPA’s efforts, but I think you know that if I don’t believe in something, I don’t write about.

Really?  Fox News is going to go there?  You know  even if it’s true, can we just leave them alone?  Why do I get the feeling after reading the relatively short and fact-free account that I need to take a shower?

This could all be true and, if so, that would be pretty sad.  But why is Fox so “foxated” on this story?  Is it still because they have a vendetta against the Clintons?

If this is what passes for political commentary these days, maybe it’s just time to find a new line of work.

These go perfectly with my “Stop me before I volunteer again” Post-It notes.

I’m still working on the first two, but as for being a Chinese mother a la the just-released memoir “Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother,” that’s something I’ll never be, even though my daughter is Chinese by heritage.  If you ask her, PunditGirl will gladly tell you I am the most strict mom in the world, so, by author Amy Chua’s definition, maybe I have a little of her Chinese mom in me.  I admit, I lean toward an unmovable line in the sand when it comes to things like getting homework done, the very little amount of back-talk I’m willing to put up with and when lights must be off at bedtime.  But if you ask some of the other moms I know, they’ll tell you that I’m a bit lenient — while we have a ‘no Wii’ rule on school nights at our house, I do let PunditGirl watch some TV after dinner during the week if all her work is done, because I know she’ll spend at least a half hour reading on her own before bedtime, and there’s nothing like family movie night with popcorn here at Chez PunditMom.

But in our house, there’s no sleep or water deprivation as apparently was the case in Chua’s household to create musical prodigies.  And while I’m no saint and definitely lose my temper some times, I steer clear of name-calling or mockery as a way to get PunditGirl to do what I’ve asked her to do.

So what am I?  The “too easy” mom who thinks it’s always a good time for some hugs or the taskmaster who wants her child to look at me when speaking?  I think I’m neither, but the exercise of asking the questions makes me wonder how we’ve become a society of self-doubters when it comes to parenting.

That’s why “Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother” is destined for the best-seller list.  Just as we were fascinated with Mommie Dearest, we’re willing to take medical advice from would-be starlet Jenny McCarthy and rush to buy any new parenting tome that claims it will set our kids up for the Ivy League, Chua’s supposed journey to self-discovery (you be the judge) is bound to become the go-to parenting manual in a world where almost all parents want to make sure their children will have stable economic futures.

But is there a point where parenting for achievement becomes abuse?  That’s what I’m pondering today at Politics Daily and Woman Up.