My Fellow Americans

Apologies to international readers--this is unabashedly American.

But it is a great example of domestic activism as well as an opportunity for my compadres and compatriots to participate in the political process.

This comes to us compliments of Steph, who has blogged about it here and here and also sent me the following in an email to goose me into action: (Persistence pays!)

Please consider sending an email to the Department of Labor whdcomments@dol.gov), which is reviewing the Federal Medical Leave Act (details here: http://www.dol.gov/esa/whd/fmla/)

This law provides unpaid leave for parents of new children, for people with long-term illnesses, and for people caring for those with long-term illness. You may not need it now, but you certainly might at some point. And if you don't, no doubt someone in your family qualifies.

We have very few laws to protect workers compared to other developed countries (see http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/16907584/) .

Email your comments (e.g., I support FMLA in the current form without any additional restrictions or I used FMLA after the birth of my child and do not support any modifications to it) to whdcomments@dol.gov and mention FMLA in the subject line. You have until 2/16, but why not do it now.

And you know how this works---it's the volume of emails that counts, not necessarily the eloquence, so just write something, anything. And please forward to people who might be interested. Thank you!