Key word, "technically." When Senators want personal time, don't they just take it? I can understand a politician wanting to purport to exemplify problems that everyday people have, but Duckworth doesn't have the problem of needing authorization to take time off from work to deal with childbirth and the care of a newborn.
There's also the breastfeeding question:
“You are not allowed to bring children onto the floor of the Senate at all,” Duckworth pointed out. “If I have to vote, and I’m breastfeeding my child, especially during my maternity leave period, what do I do? Leave her sitting outside?”Obviously, you bring the baby onto the Senate floor and everyone loves it (or acts like they do). It's about like the way they'd deal with the no-dogs-on-the Senate floor rule if there were a blind Senator with a seeing-eye dog. Everyone would instantly and automatically understand that there was an implicit exception to the rule. This is like the first-year law-school problem of the sign that says "No motor vehicles in the park" and the question whether a paraplegic in an electric wheelchair can go in.
But I'd love to see a Senator try to bring an emotional support animal— perhaps a bichon frise — onto the Senate floor.
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102 comments:
Leave the baby with a lobbyist. Perfectly safe.
in the olden days; didn't they make something they called a 'Breast Pump' ?
the olden days were weird!
Women who have babies have this. Why does she think she is so different? We make a choice when we have babies.
The world will continue spinning without her vote, but her baby needs her.
(ps. It isn't so different than when Scalise was in the hospital after being shot, is it? You miss work sometimes)
But having a baby is heroic. Getting shot by a looney or beaten by a neighbor is just boring.
Why are women turning themselves into so much work these days?
Last night, the Olympics had a special ad campaign and feature, celebrating the female athletes, talking about how female athletes are "leading the way" (currently have 2 of the 4 gold medals). The ad campaign was about representing the "real" face and image of women.
What decade are we in? Why are women imagining we are struggling so much right now? And why at the Olympics?
Listen up, snowflake:
Plenty of male Senators have had to interrupt having one of their body parts sucked on ( in many cases, by children ) in order to cast a vote.
What makes you think you're so special?
Is she fundraising off this?
Wear a pussy hat and they'll let you bring the baby in.
She took on a responsibility when she ran for office, and she also acquired privileges (to vote and to introduce legislation). She wants to fulfill her responsibility and maintain her privileges, and it's hard to do when you have a baby. It's also hard to do when you have brain cancer. You could resign, but we don't pressure these people to resign just because they can't do their work or choose to prioritize certain physical and emotional matters above their work. We trust their judgment, and their fellow Senators could expel them if they fall short, but that never happens.
What she has in common with McCain is grandstanding.
She could resign and then get the baby appointed to finish her term. Voting could be like chickenshit bingo.
My comfort animal is a Gadarene swine.
It's also my spirit animal.
I'm doin' pretty good when my comfort animal and my spirit animal are the same thing.
But I'd love to see a Senator try to bring an emotional support animal— perhaps a bichon frise — onto the Senate floor.
A bichon frise on the senate floor is less disruptive than a bitching Democrat.
I’d prefer to have a Senator with the capacity to navigate these type of problems instead of being crippled and perplexed by them.
Alcoholism is a disease.
I would like to see an alcoholic senator bring his whiskey flask onto the Senate floor.
I'm betting there are quite a few women that handled this problem, while working at a convenience store. She'll figure it out, and if she expects sympathy, I'm doubting she'll receive it from those dealing with the problem with far fewer resources.
A Democrat with a solution in search of a problem.
So, what else is new?
Just think of all the women who cannot have a child or who choose not choose to have a child and therefore can not take maternity leave.
Then think of all the men who will never bear children and so cannot take maternity leave.
In this hell hole of a country, try telling your boss you need just a half-day off to drive your girlfriend to get an abortion.
Bastard Patriarchy.
Living in the US is like living in Russia, but worse. In fact, they should get on with it and change the name of the United States to "Worse than Russia."
So a Senator has to balance family life vs duties as a Senator. Interesting concept.
She should not "bring the baby on the Senate floor"?
Would it have been acceptable for you to bring the baby in front of class? Do you want the doctor examining you to be breast feeding during the exam?Women make accommodations for when they can not breast feed their baby at the normal time. As a financially comfortable Senator with a very flexible schedule Duckworth has far more flexibility than most. If more women and younger women are elected to the Senate should we expect the Senate floor to be filled with crying babies. Childbirth/having children is not a disability and should not be compared to accommodations for the disabled which Duckworth is entitled to.
Jess said...
I'm betting there are quite a few women that handled this problem, while working at a convenience store. She'll figure it out, and if she expects sympathy, I'm doubting she'll receive it from those dealing with the problem with far fewer resources.
Exactly.
And if she thinks she is sticking up for them by making this fuss, she's not. Upper middle class women might have jobs where you can bring a baby, but it's not going to be a thing to bring your baby to your waitressing job or your coal mining job.
There was a woman that announced she was running for the Senate against Debbie Stabenow. The wife took a shine to her, all fired up, ready to volunteer for her campaign. About a week later, she ran across her facebook page that announced she was pregnant. "Selfish! Irresponsible! Bad Judgement!" were just some of the words she used.
Sacagawea never took no stinkin personal days.
I remember when some Democrats thought Sarah Palin was selfish to run for VP with her small children.
My family went to visit the Senate a few years back. In session. Empty room; Joe Lieberman speaking to nobody. I asked, they said, most Congressmen only show up for votes, they have CSPAN in their offices.
Maternity leave?
I'm watching Beneath the Planet of the Apes.
Charlton Heston's girlfriend is a cute, stacked chick who can't talk.
Except for the run-by-monkeys part, I am looking forward to the future.
"She took on a responsibility when she ran for office, and she also acquired privileges"
Above all, the privilege to bitch and moan.
But equality!
I remember when the pro-hiring woman line was "trust us, we are not going to be so different to hire like you think we are going to be." But it seems like it's moving to..."hire us and start accommodating us and our womanly needs, or we'll make a big scene"
BREAKING: Politician Uses Child as Prop Before Child Born
She can probably find a nice illegal Hispanic wet nurse.
My guess is that she got pregnant just to create these 'injustices'.
At least there's a Democrat who doesn't abort the kid.
I can't technically take medical leave. Because if I take medical leave, then I won't be in the office, working.
I can't technically take vacation either. Or be sick.
The whole point of medical leave is that you are NOT working.
Sacagawea never took no stinkin personal days.
Right, Meade, but she was surrounded by a bunch of guys. No 'woke' role model to show her the way.
Congress critters are like bad actors in poorly written plays with really lousy plots.
Lewis - I think that was Yvette Mimieux. What a babe she was.
Lol what would she propose? That the entire Congress cease all business while she takes a few months to care for her newborn?
BTW, men working for federal, state, and local government are permitted to take paternity leave under the Family Medical Leave Act.
But almost none do.
Or a peacock. Amongst the other peacocks.
I know this woman pilot. She is a single mom and has a kid. SHE has problems: called out constantly to fly for undetermined amounts of time. I don't think she has her mom or family to help her either.
This woman has a budget for STAFF! She has little Democrat Barbie Interns lining up outside her office to work FOR FREE just to get into the halls of power. What female intern wouldn't prefer a bit of baby bouncing to the blowjobs they have to put out to the Weiners and Kennedys of Congress?
This is like Gwyneth Paltrow bitching that her favorite illegal Vietnamese manicurist got deported.
I thought Yvette Mimieux was Rod Tayler's GF in The Time Machine?
She had a few lines, but mostly she giggled. Until the Morlocks started pawing at her.
Okay, I am as willing to compromise as the next guy from Fridley.
A woman senator should be allowed to breast feed her child in the senate.
But not other people's kids.
My spirit animal is, by all appearances, a sloth.
But no one seems to take him seriously as a service animal.
I think America can manage with only one Dem Senator from Illinois for a while.
Go home Tammy. Just go home. Take all the time you need. Come back when you feel ready.
In the private sector you are not allowed to work when on official leave, any kind of leave; maternity, family, medical, personal, etc. At least at every place I've ever worked.
-sw
Tammy Duckworth was an Apache gunship pilot in Iraq. It is difficult to believe she would find it difficult to resolve these problems with the resources currently at her disposal.
Poor oppressed U.S. Senator Tammy Duckworth.
But I'd love to see Senators throwing chairs and microphone stands at each other.
The definition of Emotional Support Animal can be expanded to include one's own baby, even if it happens to be an iguana.
Blogger Lewis Wetzel said...
I'm watching Beneath the Planet of the Apes.
Charlton Heston's girlfriend is a cute, stacked chick who can't talk.
Except for the run-by-monkeys part, I am looking forward to the future.
2/14/18, 7:48 AM
The monkeys would probably cause less harm than the current cadre of Federal employees.
you are not allowed to work when on official leave
Aside from IRS and employment laws, it may expose them to liabilities not covered by their insurance. If you were injured, etc.
It might not really be Ms. Duckworth's fault that she is pregnant. She may believe, like many savages, that her pregnancy was caused by a thunderbolt, or by not lifting her feet up when she drove across a bridge.
Perhaps some old, wizened midwife should speak to her about this.
The monkeys would probably cause less harm than the current cadre of Federal employees.
Their healthcare plan does cover lobotomies.
Lewis: I think you are right about that - my mistake.
In the private sector you are not allowed to work when on official leave, any kind of leave; maternity, family, medical, personal, etc. At least at every place I've ever worked.
That does sound like something that would be put in place to protect workers. If you can "voluntarily" work while on leave, you can be forced to work "voluntarily" while on leave. It's in line with the laws about not being able to pay cash to go to a doctor outside your network when you are on Medicare or Medicaid. To protect people from being forced to pay above their coverage.
Hagar said...
Tammy Duckworth was an Apache gunship pilot in Iraq. It is difficult to believe she would find it difficult to resolve these problems with the resources currently at her disposal.
That is weird. What do gunship pilots who are breastfeeding do if they are called in an emergency?
She's 49 years old! She shouldn't even be having a baby.
"But I'd love to see a Senator try to bring an emotional support animal— perhaps a bichon frise — onto the Senate floor."
Isn't the parrot more appropriate to a US Senator?
The best example of prehistoric sexual harassment I can think of occurrs in the vastly underrated film One Million Years B.C. (1966). A pterodactyl descends on a tribe of scrofulous cavemen and singles out Raquel Welch to carry away. I keep watching that scene over and over, hoping that the rough treatment from the pterodactyl will shake Raquel's fur bikini off, but it never happens.
Tammy Duckworth will be 50 in March. I assume she will have to have a C section. There is a reason most women do not give birth that late in life. I doubt she realizes how difficult childbirth is, especially at her age. I would think about wishing her well, but I know the felling is not mutual.
Perhaps Duckworth could sponsor legislation that specifies that all laws that apply to the Country apply to Congress as well.
I suppose that when most senators watch Revenge of the Sith they think "Hey, If I could kill my enemies by shooting lightning bolts out of my fingertips, I could become emperor of the universe, just like Senator Palpatine!"
Maternal leave problems in Australia
http://www.canberratimes.com.au/act-news/australian-national-university-researcher-sophie-lewis-details-parental-leave-woes-20180209-h0vuct.html
via Tim Blair.
Chuck Schumer's support animal is Dick Durban, who like Duckworth, also hails from Illinois. You would think Scheemer could give up Senator Turbin for a few days to support his fellow commie.
imdb says that Linda Harrison was Charlton Heston's girlfriend
I have a solution. She's up for re-election this cycle. Send her home Wisconsin to spare her this terrible dilemma.
"Tammy Duckworth will be 50 in March"
If her baby develops Down's Syndrome, will the Dem's consider her to be a hero like they did Sarah Palin?
Maybee's first comment seems to sum it up for me. Children are not fashion accessories.
I live in Cook County, or as we serfs who live here call it, "Chicagoland." I was born and raised here and I know it well. I can tell you that Duckworth is typical of the Democratic machine politician that the party cranks out like meat from a grinder. In other words: corrupt, incompetent, venal, full of shit -- lackey of Michael Madigan, the Dark Lord of Illinois.
I loathe Duckworth as well. She is an entitled waif, and due to her injuries at war, has a life time get out of jail free card as far as the media in Illinois are concerned. Why would any woman have a baby at her age considering the risk? I would give her major props if she adopted, it is not like there are no shortage of children in Illinois or Cook county that are available.
What a bunch of bs. Obamacare gives free breast pumps. Nothing prevents her, like millions of women across the globe, from pumping and having a bottle ready.
She's shamelessly using her child.
She has more flexibility with her job, as far as being able to accommodate an infant, than the vast majority of women with full-time jobs. She has her own private office and her own staff. She also has quite a bit of control over her day-to-day schedule, which while I'm sure is quite full of engagements, she still gets to decide what events she wants to attend or not, etc.
It does appear that she has a good record of actually voting on legislation -- she's only missed about 1% or so of votes during her tenure.
However, I'd be curious how much time she actually spends, currently/historically, present on the senate floor. What % of time are we talking here where she would be so inconvenienced that she can't breastfeed before and/or after?
“If I have to vote, and I’m breastfeeding my child, especially during my maternity leave period, what do I do? Leave her sitting outside?”
You do what every OTHER WORKING WOMAN in the country has to do. Pump your breast milk. Freeze it. Thaw it out for those occasions when your actual tits are not available. Have a babysitter, husband, relative feed the child. It is not the end of the world.
Get over yourself. Seriously.
Yet she won’t bring the baby on a Sunday morning talk show and whip out her tit to feed the baby because she would be mocked forever.
My wife breastfed our three daughters and Tammy should be able to operate apart from her child for a few minutes. It’s not rocket science. Senator.
Tammy Duckworth, show us your boobs!!
(Sorry, getting ready for trip to New Orleans. I believe that's allowed in the French Quarter at night, if you have a lot of beads)
You do what every OTHER WORKING WOMAN in the country has to do. Pump your breast milk. Freeze it. Thaw it out for those occasions when your actual tits are not available. Have a babysitter, husband, relative feed the child. It is not the end of the world.
Yes, DBQ. When our daughter-in-law gave birth while a medical stuedent, she continued to breast feed by pumping her milk and letting the nanny feed it to the baby. She never whined about the inconvenience and, like other intelligent, competent females, she problem-solved and succeeded in her goals.
Isn't she a big planned parenthood supporter?
Someone should ask her if she has considered having an abortion so she can do her job.
John Henry
It's funny how these supposedly sophisticated, 40-something year old modern women discover breast-feeding for the first time......
I think Shifty Schiff should bring in an emotional support peacock. Seems appropriate.
"Birds of a feather," so to speak.
If her baby develops Down's Syndrome
The baby will not develop Down Syndrome. He/She either has it right now in utero, or doesn't. (I'm guessing the latter).
But I'd love to see a Senator try to bring an emotional support animal— perhaps a bichon frise — onto the Senate floor.
Ok, sure, but if the emotional support dog gets pregnant then will the Senator be allowed to bring the whelping box onto the Senate floor? That could get messy.
Ralph L said...
"Leave the baby with a lobbyist. Perfectly safe.
This made me actually LOL. However I bet the baby product lobby is already on her appointment schedule.
Is Duckworth trying to imply that what is currently just a mass of cells of no particular moral importance is actually something of value? I have been assured that what is inside Duckworth is merely a parasitic organism.
According to legislation in Illinois, Duckworth will be free to let the useless clump of cells sit in a supply closet after it exits Duckworth's body. Barack Obama made sure that is the law.
You people who keep mentioning a baby leave me confused.
It has been awhile since I have seen it, but Linda Harrison was the mute native in Beneath the Planet of the Apes as well as the first film. James Franciscus was the star, not Heston, though I think Heston had a small role in the film, too.
The only thing I remember Yvette Mimieux being in was The Time Machine- she portrays Weena- and that awful film The Black Hole.
Maybe it's me, but I sure get sick and tired of people bitching about situations they put themselves in.
Who forced her to run for Senate? Who forced her to get pregnant as a sitting US Senator? Who forced her to do anything of these things she's now whining about?
Just stfu, already.
She wants to fulfill her responsibility and maintain her privileges, and it's hard to do when you have a baby. It's also hard to do when you have brain cancer.
Yeah. Because people CHOOSE to have brain cancer.
Give me a freakin' break.
Blogger Jim at said...
Maybe it's me, but I sure get sick and tired of people bitching about situations they put themselves in.
--
Yeah. The blindness/seeing eye dog comparison rings a bit stretched.
Jim,
I suspect you were equally unsympathetic to Sandra Fluke's attempt to portray sex as an affliction ;)
Duckworth had her first child while she was serving in the U.S. House.
Tammy Duckworth is an American hero who lost both legs and partial use of an arm while serving bravely and honorably in combat in Iraq.
She's also a political hack. The two aren't mutually exclusive.
She wants to fulfill her responsibility and maintain her privileges, and it's hard to do when you have a baby.
Preach!
Chuck Schumer's support animal is Dick Durban
Funniest thing I've read all week.
I have been assured that what is inside Duckworth is merely a parasitic organism.
Au contraire mon ami, it is the woman who decides whether it is a baby or clump of cells.
Baby! Cells. Baby! Cells.
Her words, like magic, transform the creature inside.
Reconcile with the life of your child, good. Now, reconcile with the lives of men not involved with conception, and, of course, the lives of other women. The mother and father have first responsibility for the life and welfare of their child,
“If I have to vote, and I’m breastfeeding my child, especially during my maternity leave period, what do I do? Leave her sitting outside?”
Please. It is not that much while the kid is suckling in the cloakroom to simply de-nip for a minute, run into the doorway of the chamber and announce your vote, and then go back and re-attach.
Mama doth protest too much.
Actually, while Nova might have been Taylor's girl -- and she did talk, she said, "Taylor," when he is forced to fight Brent -- Linda Harrison was not Charlton Heston's girlfriend. She was the girlfriend of one of the producers.
Why can't she just say she is senile like John McCain or Thad Cochran and she will be able to miss votes and be re-elected with no problem?
Blogger MadisonMan said...”Perhaps Duckworth could sponsor legislation that specifies that all laws that apply to the Country apply to Congress as well.”
Ouch.
Ordinarily, I would observe that “that’s going to leave a mark”, but Congress Critters are shameless.
When I had a baby I took time away from my job, because having an infant is a full-time job.
Later, I hired someone to watch the baby while I worked.
Either is good: be a full time parent, or hire someone else to do that job while you're a full time something else.
Breast pumps are great (pro tip: if you complain loudly enough in any public or semi-public or corporate space that there is no adequate place to pump, there's a better-than-excellent chance that the next time you visit that particular building or space, there will be a new custom-build "nursing room" waiting for you).
But for goodness sake: whatever we decide, we should all be able and willing to decide what our priorities are and then live by those choices. It is unreasonable and childlike to cling to the expectation that somehow being female means one can or should "have it all", if "having it all" mean playing at (but not fully committing to) two full-time jobs halfway without any trade-offs or consequences. The consequences of being a less committed worker is that you're not equal to someone who is actually there, present, ready and willing and able to do the job.
Really - people need to grow up.
Really - people need to grow up.
Exactly.
Hard to reconcile her whining with Duckworth’s image as a hard-charging Blackhawk pilot.
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