Tuesday, March 21, 2017

The Lone Ranger and Tonto Fistfight in Heaven



“Witness the crime that is an American Indian reservation”

A 1993 Washington Post of review of Sherman Alexie's The Lone Ranger and Tonto Fistfight in Heaven

March 7, 2017 

“Reading Sherman Alexie’s The Lone Ranger and Tonto Fistfight in Heaven is like leaning out the side window of a speeding car, watching the world slip in and out of focus faster than you can sort the future from the present from the past. The world, in this case, is an American Indian reservation. Keeping time like the staccato thumping of a nail stuck in a tire are drumbeats, blaring televisions, dancing, fighting, nightmares, visions and the small explosions of beer bottles thrown from a car driving in no particular direction.
Maybe from all that thumping, the narrators of most of the 22 stories in The Lone Ranger are insomniacs. One of them, Victor, is at least part Sherman Alexie. Both grew up on the reservation for the Spokane/Coeur d’Alene tribe, a government ghetto where dogs won’t eat the ‘commodity’ (government-issue) beef and cheese, but people do … And there are the constant humiliations Indians suffer off the ‘rez’: A couple is pulled over for no reason by a cop who extorts money. A young man with dark skin and long black hair is watched like a thief for walking into a 7-11 to buy a Creamsicle.
The Lone Ranger is a collage of dreams, journal entries, quotes from other native writers, archival letters, fictional Kafkaesque court transcripts, tribal newspaper reports, drug trips, and basketball games. In Alexie’s fiction, basketball is a weapon and therapy for negotiating the straits between an impoverished Indian world and a suspicious, secret-coded white one. Basketball is also a white man’s invention that’s been appropriated as the reservation game every Indian plays.
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“The Lone Ranger can be read either as a long poem, an experimental novel or a collection of short stories. The same characters keep appearing either as narrators or subjects. Alexie uses a rough-cut documentary style, as though he were holding a video camera, interviewing childhood friends and relatives and recording their stories in brief, disjointed scenes, then turning the camera on himself at different points in his life. The result is a many-faceted picture, like a mosaic of broken glass.
The unnamed narrator of the story ‘Imagining the Reservation’ actually tapes shattered pieces of a mirror all over his body, the shards reflecting his reservation life. The effect is both dreamy, like stepping into a Salvador Dali, and shockingly real — too true to be fiction. Alexie lulls his reader with passages of lush elegiac prose-poetry, only to break off the reverie with an act of unspeakable cruelty.


 “Most of the characters in The Lone Ranger are collaborators with a white world that has stripped them of everything but their supply of liquor, collaborators in a centuries-old plot to tear away, bit by bit, every scrap of Indian land, culture, character … Given the pervasive bleakness he finds around him, it’s remarkable that Sherman Alexie has survived at all. There is something hopeful in the very fact that he is writing, examining what hurts most, and healing ancient wounds. But there’s also an urgency bordering on desperation in his voice. Alexie seems to be telling stories to save himself from the bottomless depression of the bottle, to rescue his tribe and his culture from oblivion, and to force a complacent white reader to look out the window, maybe even stop the car, and witness the crime that is an American Indian reservation.”
–Anne Goodwin Sides, The Washington Post, October 17, 1993
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Wednesday, March 15, 2017

The Unspeakable Crimes of Dr. Petiot Kindle Edition by Thomas Maeder

The chilling true story of a serial killer who preyed on men, women, and children desperate to escape Nazi-occupied Paris.

On March 11, 1944, police were called to investigate foul-smelling smoke pouring from the chimney of an elegant private house near the Arc de Triomphe. In the basement of 21 rue Le Sueur, they made the first of many gruesome discoveries: a human hand dangling from the open door of a coal-burning stove.

Proceeding to the rear of the home, detectives found rib cages, skulls, and internal organs strewn across the floor and large piles of quicklime mixed with fragments of bone and flesh. The Gestapo had two offices in the neighborhood—were Hitler’s henchmen responsible for the carnage? Or was it the work of French Resistance fighters purging Paris of traitors and German spies?

As the investigation unfolded, a more sinister possibility emerged. The building’s owner, Dr. Marcel Petiot, was a handsome and charismatic physician whose past was littered with bizarre behavior and criminal activity. When he was finally captured eight months later, Dr. Petiot claimed he was a loyal member of the Resistance who helped kill Nazi collaborators. Prosecutors charged that he was a sadistic mass murderer who lured at least twenty-seven innocent people to their deaths with promises of escape. Estimates of the actual number of his victims ran as high as 150 men, women, and children.

From the first stages of the investigation to the sensational trial in which Dr. Petiot’s superior intelligence and perverse wit were on full display, author Thomas Maeder meticulously reconstructs one of the twentieth century’s most fascinating and lurid murder cases. Drawing on classified police files and interviews with surviving participants, The Unspeakable Crimes of Dr. Petiot is a riveting true crime saga that that “reads like a shocking psychological thriller” (Newsweek).
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Tuesday, March 14, 2017

Kids and the Environment – Interview with Kris Kiser on Lucky Dog



interviews Kid Friendly Nerd News

Kids and the Environment – Interview with Kris Kiser on Lucky Dog

By Christa Thompson //
It’s an ongoing responsibility for us to teach our kids about the environment so, when my son got the opportunity to interview an environmentalist from Lucky Dog, he was pretty excited. Plus, we love animals and we have a rescue dog of our own, Noreen.

Found at just four weeks old, our little princess Noreen the Queen the Cuddle Machine was no bigger than a softball when she was abandoned in a deli parking lot (Noreen’s Deli hence, the name). She was saved that day by a relative and nursed back to health. We took her once she was healthy enough and boy did she thrive! Three years later, she’s the light of our day-to-day lives.

KidFriendly, Gauge Rybak, Noreen
Gauge AKA KidFriendly with Noreen

Lucky Dog is an Emmy Award-winning show that airs as part of ‘CBS Dream Team, It’s Epic!’ on Saturday mornings. A real-life rescue dog and superhero, Lucky (a.k.a. TurfMutt) and his owner Kris Kiser, President and CEO of the Outdoor Power Equipment Institute (OPEI), appears periodically on the show. The show follows animal trainer Brandon McMillan who rescues hard-to-love, untrained and seemingly unadoptable dogs. McMillan turns these pooches into perfect pets, and in the episodes that Kiser appears, Kiser helps ensure the adopted pet family’s yard is perfect for a pet.

Kris Kiser, Lucky Dog

Lucky (a.k.a. TurfMutt) has also become the inspiration behind the TurfMutt environmental education and stewardship program designed for children in grades K-5. Lucky “paws it forward” by helping educators, kids and their families learn valuable science lessons right in their backyards about how to be good environmental stewards by taking care of their living landscapes.

Lucky Dog
Brandon McMillan

After seeing the show, my son (AKA YouTube’s KidFriendly) took an interest in interviewing Kris Kiser to talk to him about kids and the environment. Here’s what Kris had to say:

Interview with Kris Kiser for Lucky Dog

KidFriendly: What can kids do to help protect the environment even when they’re little?


KK: The first thing to know is where you live and what plants and trees are right for your region. Do you live near a desert? Or near the ocean? Or in a place that rains a lot? These types of climates need different kinds of lawns and landscapes. You can help your parents make the right choices for what to plant in your yard and maybe even in your school yard.

Follow real-life rescue dog Lucky (a.k.a. superhero TurfMutt) on his adventures. TurfMutt can show you how to become a backyard superhero just like him.

My best friend, Lucky, is the real-life dog behind TurfMutt. In fact, every dog – your dog! — can be a superhero for his family. Remember, Superman was Clark Kent. Spider-Man was Peter Parker. TurfMutt is Lucky.

You can do the fun stuff with TurfMutt online or head outside and tackle TurfMutt’s outdoor challenges. Your parents should be happy about TurfMutt , too, as valuable science lessons are taught – and you can do them right in your backyard or school yard.

You can find interactive games and a digital storybook on www.TurfMutt.com. (Note to parents and teachers: The program’s materials are free and aligned to Science, Technology, Engineering and Math (STEM) standards.)



KidFriendly: How can kids teach other kids to care about the planet?


KK: Talk to you friends, share TurfMutt and the lessons you learn. You also can ‘lead by example’ by planting the right plants in your yard and by getting outside and enjoying nature.

Also, be sure to plant some special plants for our bird, bee and butterfly friends, like milkweed and other flowering plants and trees. Then you can show your friends, when the birds and butterflies come, that you helped bring them to your home.

Another important thing is to make sure your parents put in smart water tools, like smart irrigation systems. Don’t water too much!

KidFriendly: How can I make sure I’m being environmentally friendly when walking my rescue dog?

KK: When you’re walking your best friend, make sure no trash is left behind. Pick up after yourself and your dog.

Remember to take care of other people’s property, too. Sometimes we shouldn’t walk on out neighbor’s lawn. Also, not all plants are created equal. Some are tougher than others. For instance, don’t let your dog walk into flower beds. But grass is a great place to walk your dog. Grass is tough stuff. But remember only walk your dog where he’s allowed to go.

KidFriendly: What was it like to be in a TV episode?


KK: It was really exciting and a little scary. I thought it was a lot of fun to be around the rescue dogs. I worked with families to help their yards become more environmentally-friendly for them and their new furry friend.  And I got to be there when the rescue dog was united with his forever family and got to see his new outdoor room (his yard!).

Being involved in the second season of the Emmy-award winning, Lucky Dog television show allows me to share TurfMutt messages on how to create the best green spaces for families and their pets. TurfMutt’s message is so important!

KidFriendly: If I want to grow up to do your job, what would I have to do?


KK: First, stay in school. The first day in school find out what you love to do and follow that path.

For me, I’ve always loved and had dogs. They’ve been my best friends. That love has stayed with me and I’ve been able to help dogs in my jobs.

It’s not just the job you have but what you believe and the passion you have for the work you do. So, if you’re like me and love our four-legged friends, you can volunteer at animal shelters. You can rescue a dog. You can encourage your friends to adopt a rescue dog. You can work with families to help them create the right kind of outdoor space to give a dog a forever home. Dogs, just like us, come in every color, size and personality. So, the yard might have to change to suit the family’s new dog.

You also can be a teacher at any age.  You can teach your parents what you learned in school. Help our parents learn what is best for the dog and the region where we live. Remember, the country is a big place with lots of climate zones. That’s something we can teach our parents about. What is a climate zone? There are areas that are dry and areas that are wet. So you can help your folks learn what is best for your family and your dog, depending on where you live.

The Pink Cloud Princess Cosplay and kid Friendly
KidFriendly with the Pink Cloud Princess of Adventure Time, one of his favorite cartoons.

In Closing 


It was really cool hearing what Kris Kiser had to say about kids and the environment. We love the show Lucky Dog, especially since it hits right at home with us. You can watch Lucky Dog on CBS Dream Team Saturday mornings. Check listings here for exact times.

Have you seen KidFriendly’s YouTube trailer?

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About Christa Thompson

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Christa Thompson is the Founder and Senior Editor of The Fairytale Traveler. Christa has been traveling the world since 2003 when she attended a summer abroad study at the University of Cambridge in England. Since then, her wanderlust has been fierce. Her three passions in life are her son, traveling, and being creative. The Fairytale Traveler brand gives Christa the opportunity to do all of these things and to live intentionally every day. "It's never too late to believe in what you love and to pursue your dreams." -Christa Thompson
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The Tale of Pomona and Vertumnus By roberthorvat on July 11, 2014 • ( 5 )

The Tale of Pomona and Vertumnus

By on • ( 5 )
Francesco_Melzi_-_Pomona_and_Vertumnus_-_WGA14794
Vertumnus and Pomona by Francesco Meizi (1493-1570). Pomona is often seen surrounded by fruit or a fruit platter.
The Romans worshipped an innumerable number of gods and goddesses. Many of these were first deities of the Etruscans who lived in Italy before the Romans built their vast empire. In time, the Romans integrated gods and goddesses from other people they conquered, particularly the Greeks. It was also a common practice amongst Romans to offer up prayers to their pagan gods. Some of the most familiar of these were Jupiter, Juno and Apollo. In Roman mythology though, there are two deities that I was not too familiar with, that I came across recently. To my surprise I would learn that these two deities featured in works by European sculptors and painters of the 16th through to the 18th centuries. I am, of course, talking about Pomona and Vertumnus.
hendrik_goltzius_-_vertumnus_en_pomona
Vertumnus and Pomona 1613 by Hendrick Goltzius. Vertumnus appears before the wood nymph Pomona as an aged crone.
In artistic depictions, Pomona is usually shown as a wood nymph surrounded by fruit or a fruit platter. In Roman mythology she was said to be from Latium, the region of central western Italy in which the city of Rome was founded. She was the goddess of fruit trees and orchards, who watched over the fruit harvest. She carried a pruning knife and was often seen among her fruit trees tending to their needs.
Vertumnus was originally, an Etruscan god, in which the Romans adopted as one of their own. His cult arrived in Rome around 300 BC. Vertumnus was ‘god of the changing seasons’. He could change his appearance, using his powers, according to Roman poet, Publius Ovidius Naso (Ovid).
Vertumne_et_pomone
The statue of Vertumnus and Pomona 1760 by sculptor Jean-Baptiste Lemoyne.
769px-Bloemaert,_Abraham_-_Vertumnus_and_Pomona_-_1620
Vertumnus and Pomona by Abraham Bloemaert (1564-1651). The pruning knife in Pomona’s hand is always associated with her in legend.
In Ovid famous poem called the Metamorphoses, Vertumnus and Pomona play out in a curious tale of love and seduction. In the story relating to the two deities, Pomona is pursued by many of Rome’s gods because of her beauty. She scorns the love of these gods to remain devoted only to her garden. However, one of these gods, Vertumnus, does not give up easily. Using his powers, to change his appearance, he adopts many disguises to seek the hand of Pomona. He would come to her first as a harvester, then the keeper of a vineyard, a fisherman and a soldier, yet she would still continue to hold him in contempt. In almost a last-ditch attempt, he comes to her as an old woman, describing the virtues of marriage and dangers of rejecting love. But Pomona weary of the aged crone simply refuses to listen. Nothing it seemed was going to succeed in wooing the beautiful maiden. Finally, Vertumnus, decides to appear as himself and when Pomona sees what a handsome man, he actually was, she instantly falls in love with him. In the end, they take residence in her garden tending to her fruit trees together.
There are many who have tried to interpret this story. To me, it appears that a seemingly desperate moment evokes an awakening in both protagonists. True love or just simply mutual desire ?
0_Vertumne_et_Pomone_-_Peter_Paul_Rubens_(1617-1619)
Vertumnus appears before Pomona as himself. Painting by the great artist Peter Paul Rubens 1577-1640.
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AP FACT CHECK: Trump's Blame Off Base On Guantanamo Bay


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AP FACT CHECK: Trump's Blame Off Base On Guantanamo Bay

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Brennan Linsley
ByBEN FOXPublishedMarch 7, 2017, 2:57 PM EDT
MIAMI (AP) — President Donald Trump targeted the wrong president Tuesday when he criticized the Obama administration for releasing "122 vicious prisoners" from the Guantanamo Bay detention center who later resumed militant activities.
The latest report from the office of the director of national intelligence shows that 122 men who were held at the U.S. base in Cuba are confirmed to have re-engaged in hostilities after they were released. But more than 90 percent of those were released by President George W. Bush, the report says.
Every six months, the DNI is required by law to publish statistics on the number of former Guantanamo prisoners either confirmed or suspected of recidivism, a response to congressional fears that potentially dangerous terrorists would be released amid efforts to close the detention center.
Trump said during last year's presidential campaign that he wants the detention center, often referred to as "Gitmo," to be kept open. At one point, he pledged to "load it up with some bad dudes."
On Tuesday, he said on Twitter that "122 vicious prisoners, released by the Obama Administration from Gitmo, have returned to the battlefield. Just another terrible decision!"
But his statement lumped together the prisoners who were released under Bush and Obama and were later determined to have resumed some association with al-Qaida, the Taliban or some other militant group.
The U.S. opened the detention center on the base in January 2002 to hold and interrogate suspected enemy combatants. At its height in July 2003 it held about 680 prisoners. Over time, a total of nearly 800 passed through the facility.
Most of the releases occurred under Bush, who ultimately agreed the detention center should close. His administration freed 540, sometimes dozens at a time, to countries around the world.
The latest DNI report, from September, concludes that 122 detainees re-engaged in fighting but 113 of them had been released before Obama took office in January 2009. It said an additional 86 detainees are "suspected" of militant activities — again, nearly all freed under Bush.
Lawyers and other advocates for prisoners have disputed the description of men "returning" to the battlefield, arguing that at least some may never have been fighting the U.S. in the first place and could have been radicalized at Guantanamo.
As it sought to close the detention center, the Obama administration tried to minimize the recidivism problem through a "rigorous interagency review process" and parole-style hearings. The administration ultimately failed to close the center, though, because it deemed some detainees not releasable and Congress prohibited moving any of them to the U.S. for any reason. Today there are 41 men left.
Find all AP Fact Checks here: http://apne.ws/2kbx8bd
Copyright 2017 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed
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The Mathews Men Seven Brothers and the War Against Hitler’s U-boats

The Mathews Men

Seven Brothers and the War Against Hitler’s U-boats

By William Geroux
On Tour

Category: World War II Military History | 20th Century U.S. History

The Mathews Men by William Geroux
Look Inside | Enlarge Cover

About The Mathews Men

“Vividly drawn and emotionally gripping.”
—Daniel James Brown, #1 New York Times bestselling author of The Boys in the Boat

One of the last unheralded heroic stories of World War II: the U-boat assault off the American coast against the men of the U.S. Merchant Marine who were supplying the European war, and one community’s monumental contribution to that effort

Mathews County, Virginia, is a remote outpost on the Chesapeake Bay with little to offer except unspoiled scenery—but it sent an unusually large concentration of sea captains to fight in World War II. The Mathews Men tells that heroic story through the experiences of one extraordinary family whose seven sons (and their neighbors), U.S. merchant mariners all, suddenly found themselves squarely in the cross-hairs of the U-boats bearing down on the coastal United States in 1942.
            From the late 1930s to 1945, virtually all the fuel, food and munitions that sustained the Allies in Europe traveled not via the Navy but in merchant ships. After Pearl Harbor, those unprotected ships instantly became the U-boats’ prime targets. And they were easy targets—the Navy lacked the inclination or resources to defend them until the beginning of 1943. Hitler was determined that his U-boats should sink every American ship they could find, sometimes within sight of tourist beaches, and to kill as many mariners as possible, in order to frighten their shipmates into staying ashore.
            As the war progressed, men from Mathews sailed the North and South Atlantic, the Caribbean, the Gulf of Mexico, the Mediterranean, the Indian Ocean, and even the icy Barents Sea in the Arctic Circle, where they braved the dreaded Murmansk Run. Through their experiences we have eyewitnesses to every danger zone, in every kind of ship. Some died horrific deaths. Others fought to survive torpedo explosions, flaming oil slicks, storms, shark attacks, mine blasts, and harrowing lifeboat odysseys—only to ship out again on the next boat as soon as they’d returned to safety.
            The Mathews Men shows us the war far beyond traditional battlefields—often the U.S. merchant mariners’ life-and-death struggles took place just off the U.S. coast—but also takes us to the landing beaches at D-Day and to the Pacific. “When final victory is ours,” General Dwight D. Eisenhower had predicted, “there is no organization that will share its credit more deservedly than the Merchant Marine.” Here, finally, is the heroic story of those merchant seamen, recast as the human story of the men from Mathews.
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Monday, March 13, 2017

International Research Portal for Records Related to Nazi-Era Cultural Property

https://www.archives.gov/research/holocaust/international-resources

 



International Resources for Holocaust-Era Assets Research

International Research Portal for Records
Related to Nazi-Era Cultural Property

The International Research Portal is a collaboration of national and other archival institutions with records that pertain to Nazi-Era cultural property. These archival institutions, along with expert national and international organizations, are working together to extend public access to the widely-dispersed records through this single internet Portal. The Portal enables families to research their losses; provenance researchers to locate important documentation; and historians to study newly accessible materials on the history of this period. This collaborative project was established to fulfill the objectives of the 1998 Washington Conference Principles on Nazi-Confiscated Art, the 2000 Vilnius Forum Declaration and the 2009 Terezin Declaration, particularly to make all such records publicly accessible.
The Portal links researchers to archival materials consisting of descriptions of records and, in many cases, digital images of the records that relate to cultural property that was stolen, looted, seized, forcibly sold, or otherwise lost during the Nazi era. These records, which are in many different languages, include Nazi documentation, governmental records from 1933 onwards, inventories of recovered artworks, post-war claims records and auction house and art dealer records. Cultural property documented in these records covers a broad range from artworks to books and libraries, religious objects, antiquities, archival documents, carvings, silver and more.
Each link below directs users to descriptions of the relevant records available at each participating institution and provides information on accessing the records. Also included are further links to finding aids and digitized records, as available. All descriptions within the Portal are provided in English. As you click through the Portal to affiliated websites, the descriptions are written in the national language of each institution, and in some instances, are available in English, as well.

Search Records of Participating Institutions

The National Archives of the United States NARA logo
Bundesarchiv (The Federal Archives of Germany) German National Archives logo
The National Archives of the United Kingdom United Kingdom National Archives logo
France Diplomatie: Diplomatic Archive Center of the Ministry of Foreign and European Affairs Diplomatic Archive Center of the Ministry of Foreign and European Affairs logo
Central State Archive of Supreme Bodies of Power and Government of Ukraine (TsDAVO) TsDAVO of Ukraine logo
State Archives in Belgium State Archives in Belgium logo
Commission for Looted Art in Europe (CLAE) Commission for Looted Art in Europe logo
Claims Conference (Conference on Jewish Material Claims Against Germany) Claims Conference logo
United States Holocaust Memorial Museum United States Holocaust Memorial Musuem logo
Deutsches Historisches Museum (German Historical Museum) Deutsches Historisches Museum logo
Mémorial de la Shoah Memorial de la Shoah logo
NIOD Institute for War, Holocaust and Genocide Studies (Netherlands) NIOD logo
Italian Directorate General of Archives Italy logo
The Getty Research Institute Getty logo
Landesarchiv Berlin (Berlin State Archive) Landesarchiv logo
National Fund of the Republic of Austria for Victims of National Socialism and the General Settlement Fund for Victims of National Socialism Austria logo
Heidelberg University LibraryNIOD logo
Deutsches Kunstarchiv im Germanischen Nationalmuseum
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Ivanka Trump finds her cause, and Democrats love it




Ivanka Trump finds her cause, and Democrats love it

2 / 18

Ivanka Trump faces an uphill battle as she tries to build support for her signature issues of affordable childcare and paid family leave, courting corporate executives and wooing lawmakers in hopes of generating momentum amid a packed legislative agenda in Washington.Trump appears to be making headway with one important player, however: her father. In President Donald Trump's speech laying out his vision for America to Congress last week, he highlighted both issues as having bipartisan appeal, along with defense and infrastructure spending.
"My administration wants to work with members of both parties to make child care accessible and affordable, to help ensure new parents that they have paid family leave," Trump said to a round of applause.
But the prospect of near-term action remains slim. The White House has set an aggressive timeline for making good on its core campaign promises: It hopes to repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act by Easter and then tackle as massive overhaul of the nation's tax code by Augut. There are also routine tasks such as drafting the federal budget and raising the debt ceiling that have turned into flashpoints in the past.
Meanwhile, Ivanka Trump's proposal has gotten pushback from several corners. Her plan would allow families to deduct childcare expenses from their taxable income. The amount is capped at the average cost of childcare in their state and applies to children younger than 13. Stay-at-home parents would also be eligible for the deduction.
Low-income families would be able to receive a refundable tax credit of 7.65 per cent of their childcare costs, though stay-at-home parents are not eligible for this benefit. In addition, her plan would create savings accounts of up to $2,000 a year. Contributions would be tax-deductible and any earnings would be tax-free.
"It's smart to use the tax system for child care policy," said Sheila Marcelo, chief executive of health care marketplace Care.com, told CNBC. "I disagree that a deduction is not necessarily the most effective way if we're trying to address the cost of care."
Marcelo recently attended to a dinner with Ivanka Trump and other female executives to solicit their perspectives on the broad issues of women in the workplace and family-friendly policies. Marcelo said they did not debate the details of Trump's plan but said her preference is for a larger refundable credit to provide greater benefits for poor households.

Benefits go mostly to top earners

An analysis by the Tax Policy Center found that 70 percent of the benefits would go toward households making $100,000 or more. The estimated after-tax income of families making less than $40,000 would increase by just $20, the report found. Households earning between $100,000 and $200,000 would enjoy a $360 boost.
The Tax Policy Center projected the total cost of the tax breaks would be $116 billion over the next decade.
"This is an example of a proposal that could spend less and help people more by targeting it properly," said Heidi Hartmann, president of the Institute for Women's Policy Research.
Still, Trump's proposal dovetails with Democrats' calls for childcare and family leave policies that encourage women to enter and remain in the workforce. She surprised conservatives and liberals alike when she announced the plan in a speech at the Republican National Convention last summer and followed up with a roundtable with female GOP lawmakers while there.
Since then, Trump has been meeting with key lawmakers make her cause and gauge their interest. Last month, she invited several Republicans to the White House to discuss the issues. Senator Deb Fischer, R.-Neb., was among the attendees. She recently reintroduced a bill that gives companies tax credits for providing paid family leave and another that would boost protections for women seeking equal pay in the workplace.
"The White House has expressed strong interest in making progress on them," Fischer said. "Let's seize this opportunity and make a difference for families across this country."
In addition, policy staff from the influential House Ways and Means committee held a phone call with the Trump's transition team in January before the inauguration, according to a congressional aide.
"We've had some preliminary and very productive discussions with the Trump transition team and their desire to make childcare more affordable for families," committee Chairman Kevin Brady, R.-Texas, said in a statement. "So we're exploring a number of options. They've brought some ideas forward, and it's early in those discussions, but we're having them."
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The Merman's Children Kindle Edition

The Merman's Children by [Anderson, Poul]


The Merman's Children Kindle Edition

by Poul Anderson (Author)
 Admired for his ""hard"" science fiction, mysteries, historical novels, and ""fantasy with rivets,"" he also excelled in humor. He was the guest of honor at the 1959 World Science Fiction Convention and at many similar events, including the 1998 Contact Japan 3 and the 1999 Strannik Conference in Saint Petersburg, Russia. Besides winning the Hugo and Nebula Awards, he has received the Gandalf, Seiun, and Strannik, or ""Wanderer,"" Awards. A founder of the Science Fiction & Fantasy Writers of America, he became a Grand Master, and was inducted into the Science Fiction and Fantasy Hall of Fame.

In 1952 he met Karen Kruse; they married in Berkeley, California, where their daughter, Astrid, was born, and they later lived in Orinda, California. Astrid and her husband, science fiction author Greg Bear, now live with their family outside Seattle."
See all 7 formats and editions



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