Yesterday was a fine day. International Women's Day may be a time to lament about all that is not going right for women but I've found that in Chico it usually falls on a beautiful spring day and women want to celebrate our sisterhood through connection and good feelings.

 Occupy Chico planned this event to coincide with suggestions of Women Occupy (www.womenoccupy.org) The theme was Bust up the Banks and some of the Code Pink women in the Bay Area got roughly arrested for showing up topless or in pink bras but in Chico we leafleted and vigiled in our usual rowdy way with the messages-- Break up into smaller, safer banks, pay the required 35% corporate income tax,  make a moratorium on foreclosures and invest in small businesses.

 Nellie MacKay and her band had been at KZFR prior to their concert at Laxson Auditorium and when they heard about our action they wanted to come out, even though they had a long way to go that day to get to Santa Cruz. Nellie sang a song called Topeka about a harried mom talking to her man on the phone. Funny, and just right on for the conditions of so many women--reminding how important reproductive choice is to each and every woman.

 As the Bank of America protest disbanded these good Occupy men were across the street protesting at a Rush Limbaugh sponsor's. I went in to talk to the guy and we went round a round with his libertarian stuff about not wanting to pay for birth control and my bringing it back to the issue of hate speech. After my cranky self had been there awhile he said, "OK, I'll let my wife decide." You gotta wonder about politics in America but I'm grateful for my little place on the planet.