I was just listening to the segment on Here & Now with Penelope Leach and her book “Childcare Today”. I found the topic woefully deficient in that only ONCE (and in passing at that with a mother or father) was the role of a father mentioned in the development of children. “Mothers” were mentioned specifically throughout, and the statement was made by Ms. Leach that “what women want” is essential to the healthy development of children. The host also did nothing to bring men/fathers into the picture. Indeed, the entire segment was based on what a woman’s proper place was in child rearing. I found this view to be both sexist (imagine an entire segment with a business management professor about a man’s proper place in his office to the absolute exclusion of a woman’s right and ability to have a profession outside the home), and, frankly, out of touch with reality. More and more men are taking on the role of stay-at-home-PARENT, and at least an entire generation of men see it as primarily important to have a positive, loving, ongoing relationship with their children. Gone are the days of man as bread-winner and woman as barefoot and pregnant. I was disappointed that both the host and the guest of this segment apparently only saw men as a sperm donator rather than an important part of a child’s upbringing.

We’ve made references to the workplace gender-neutral or fully inclusive in the name of gender equality. Shouldn’t we do the same with fathers and parental life?

I was just listening to the conversation with Rick Klein about the California fuel efficiency standards when Robin said that perhaps the standards would help save the carmakers from themselves and force them to build the more fuel-efficient cars that people want to buy.

Please look more deeply into that conventional wisdom. Many people are not clamoring for fuel-efficient cars. If you’ll note car sales, as soon as gas prices dipped below $4 and especially $2, sales of hybrids fell (Prius sales dropped 50% in November) and sales of small cars slowed. Outside the large cities on the coasts, many buyers would prefer larger vehicles if they perceive gas as affordable.

The equation has to include higher gas prices as well as more efficient cars in order to maintain a consistent demand for fuel efficiency. Raising gas taxes has been perceived as a third rail for many politicians, and so it falls to the media to start talking about raising gas prices so that people start to think about it.

And P.S., the domestic car companies ARE building fuel-efficient cars. The Chevrolet Malibu has better fuel economy than the Camry or Accord. The Ford Fusion Hybrid gets better fuel economy than the Camry Hybrid. Get current with what the domestic carmakers are actually building nowadays so you don’t perpetuate outdated stereotypes.

The segment with Penelope Leach really set my teeth on edge. I kept waiting for Leach to provide **any** evidence to support her seemingly purely opinionated claims. I am told that studies have shown that there is no discernible difference between outcomes for daycare kids and home reared kids, and based on what I have seen personally, I believe it. Leach says she is “horrified” that American kids often start daycare at 3 months. Why? What two-headed monster does the practice produce? I was disappointed that the interviewer gave no challenge to Leach’s rather obvious advice and dubious views.

So this young man Tim DeChristopher thinks he has the right to flout the law, and justifies his alleged fraud because legislators have been “bought” by the oil companies? You let him skate by with this silly verbal tantrum. I wish you had asked him to name names and provide evidence. If he’s right and legislators were bribed, you missed an important national story. If it’s just empty sloganeering, he should be called on it. The protesters outside the auction were working legally and effectively to end Bush’s last outrage. We need to re-assert the rule of law, and not allow holier-than-thou people like your guest to disrupt it.

thanks for the secondhand pepe segment! I went to Etsy and bought the film right away! I lost my job (in publishing) in March 08 and have changed my vocation to selling pepe through the internet! yay

[...] I am in computer hell lately, for some reason this post did not show up yesterday – here’s the audio from yesterday’s interview. [...]

Regardless of anything else Penelope Leach had to say, I found the information on maternity and paternity leave so disturbing. The US being the only industrialized country where paid leave is not required, appears to be commentary on what this culture values (money over family). I understand these other nations have much larger government funded programs, but at least this country could ask that employers honor the importance of early attachment (with either parent or both) and development of its youngest citizens by requiring longer paid leaves of absence for parents. As someone who is pregnant with her first child, my husband and I are having to choose between what we believe is best for our child and paying our mortgage, as my employer offers no maternity leave at all. It seems we still have a long way to go in progressive thinking about some issues in our culture.