What We’re Thankful For

This year, Rewire staff and writers have a lot to be thankful for. For those of you who celebrate Thanksgiving, we wish you a very happy day. To all of our readers, thank you for choosing to be a part of our community! Look for new content on Friday, November 28th!

This year, Rewire staff and writers have a lot to be thankful for. For those of you who celebrate Thanksgiving, we wish you a very happy day. To all of our readers, thank you for choosing to be a part of our community. We are thankful for all of you!

Executive editor Scott Swenson: I’m thankful for…

  • an incredibly diverse and talented group
    of experts, advocates, writers and thinkers that challenge themselves
    and each other with their contributions to Rewire. 
  • voters
    embracing reality-based policies and candidates and reclaiming a
    government that uses medical facts and proven public health strategies
    instead of ideological whim to set public policy.
  • the far-right food fight — it’s so fun to watch.
  • President
    Obama and his ability to bring together the best and the brightest in
    his cabinet, including two strong and proven voices for women’s health
    in Vice President Joe Biden and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton.

Staff writer Pamela Merritt: I am thankful for the women I volunteer with at local shelters who have
taught me that home is where you make it and that you will
hear laughter in the midst of the struggle.  I am thankful for the
family I was blessed with at birth and for my chosen family of
friends.  And I am so very thankful to work with amazing and talented
people who challenge and inspire me on a regular basis!

Staff writer and RealityCast host Amanda Marcotte: I’m extremely grateful to see that a pro-choice consensus emerged this
year, which means why might be able to spend 2009 moving forward on
reproductive justice instead of just manning the gates.  On the
personal side, I’m happy to be able to keep living in Austin, TX, while
doing this work, grateful that "Mad Men" has been picked up for a third
season, and ecstatic that I’ve finally managed to beat Pearl Jam’s
"Alive" on Rock Band 2 on the hard level. And of course, I’m very lucky
to work with such an amazing group of people!

Staff writer Sarah Seltzer: I am thankful to emerge from a bunker mentality when it comes to
reproductive rights and think about how to make positive change. I am thankful that next fall, I will be able to watch the leaves turn instead of the poll numbers fluctuate. I am thankful for the former students of mine who
insisted I read Twilight, giving me fodder for feminist criticism (and
a pile of literary junk food). I am thankful to be spending the holidays with friends and family in New York. I am thankful to be at Rewire with such knowledgeable and wonderful writers and editors.

Assistant editor Emily Douglas: I’m grateful that so many brilliant and battle-hardened advocates are willing to devote time and energy to the crazy, unpredictable world of new media, and share their knowledge and talents with the wider world. I’m beyond ecstatic that we have a President who will give true common ground approaches on abortion a fair hearing. I’m grateful to all the feminist writers and activists who will keep focused on what true reproductive justice looks like even as we enter a phase of in which advocates will make hard decisions to get progressive legislation passed.  Most of all, I’m grateful that when NPR wakes me up in the morning, hearing the news no longer feels like torture. 

Managing editor Amie Newman: I am grateful for love, community,
hope, peace and passion. The love of and for my family most of all;
love that sustains me through everything I do. My community of family,
friends and comrades (including my fabulous Rewire colleagues
and co-conspirators!) inspire my passion for working towards justice
and equity. I am thankful to no end for the hope that this new
administration brings for those of us here in the United States and
around the world; and for the hope new leadership inspires us to find
in ourselves and in all those around us. My gratitude extends to you,
our readers, for being a part of the Rewire community,
sharing your own thoughts, and caring as much about reproductive
justice as we do!

New Media associate Brady Swenson: This special year I am thankful for the election of a president who will restore science and fact-based sexuality education to our nation’s schools, who will value a woman’s right to choose but will also reach out to those who stand in opposition to that right in order to find common ground on this bitterly partisan issue. I am thankful for the dedicated and very talented group of people who make Rewire a reality. I am thankful for Mario Chalmers. And most of all I am thankful to be so rich with the love and support of my cherished family and friends.