Category Archives: Health
It’s All About Winning
Republican/Democrat, race, gender, socioeconomic status, pro-choice/right-to-life, pro-gay marriage/anti-gay marriage, Coke/Pepsi; just look at the articles in any newspaper, blogs and their comments or simply turn on talk radio to see and feel the constant division and tendency to choose the box we want to be tucked into today. For the past two months, I’ve avoided consuming any local news outside the actual newspaper. No blogs, no online comments, no talk radio, nothing. And you know what? I feel better!
Submersing myself on a near daily basis with all the negative people who feel they must put their two cents worth in on …
Read more
Posted in Economy, Education, Health, Immigration, Jobs, Politics, Poverty, Racism, Rockford, Uncategorized, Winnebago County
Tagged Community, Community Development, Equity, Kris Kieper, Politics
Opportunity and classism trump race in Rockford’s divide
“Help me understand why in 2012 we are still facing issues with race in Rockford.” Mike Brown asks for clarity in his recent blog; I applaud his candor and desire to better understand his new community. I think this is a question that is not simple to answer, however, and has as more to do with opportunity, classism and education than it does race.
There are predominately more people of color living on the westside and visibly more whites living east. That in and of itself isn’t necessarily bad if that’s where people choose to live. What’s bad is that …
Read more
Posted in City of Rockford, Crime, Economy, Education, Health, Jobs, Parenting, Poverty, Racism, Rockford, Uncategorized
Tagged Community, Community Development, Crime, Education, Equity, Kris Kieper, law enforcement, Parenting, racism
Women’s History Month kicks off with a slap…and a save
My real-life job has prevented my blogging recently; Leader Luncheon is always the first Monday in March so we can kick off the celebration of Women’s History Month, and it takes an extraordinary amount of time to plan.
I had to pull away from the planning to cheer the failure of the Blunt Amendment that would have allowed employers a choice in how their female employees access their contraception. The U.S. Senate voted down the Amendment 51-48 with all but three Democratic Senators voting against it. Happily, retiring Republican Senator Olympia Snowe joined her Democratic colleagues in telling the Senate to keep …
Read more
Posted in Health, Politics, Women's Issues
Tagged Education, Equity, Kris Kieper, respect, Sexuality, Women
Why is “white” the comparitive?
Rockford Health Council hosted a community event on February 22 that should have drawn much more attention and participation than it did from the community. The event was entitled “Health Equity: Deepening the Dialogue”; Dr. Terry Mason, Chief Medical Officer of the Cook County Health and Hospitals System provided the keynote and offered some eye-opening statistics and information.
Approximately 150 people from the community were in attendance, many from the fields of health care, human services, religion, government and a few business professionals – mostly people I see at other meetings. Unfortunately there was very little participation from the community at …
Read more
Women, and men, speak up and take a swipe at “Pink”
Oh, the outrage being directed at Pink! I’m not going to attack the Komen Foundation for pulling Planned Parenthood’s funding – it was a poor choice that they’ve since corrected. It would be dishonest for me not to admit that I’ve kept my distance from Planned Parenthood and have at times been concerned about potential backlash from being in the vicinity of the group – not that I don’t support their work.
Many women’s organizations believe in the work of Planned Parenthood because we know and understand the myriad of services offered. Pro-lifers tend to overlook all the …
Read more
Posted in Health, Poverty, Women's Issues
Tagged Equity, Kris Kieper, Sexuality, Women
