Muriel Bowser Adopts a Baby

Pol Light #160 occurred on May 21, 2018, when Muriel Bowser announced that she had adopted a baby. Muriel Bowser has served as the Mayor of the District of Columbia since 2015. From 2007 to 2015 she represented Ward 4 as their member on the Council of the District of Columbia.

It is with great joy and excitement that I share with you that late last year, I decided to begin the adoption journey. I was not sure how long it would take, and to my delight, it advanced much sooner than I expected. So today, I am proud to announce that I am a mom! pic.twitter.com/q9qoz587IL

— Mayor Muriel Bowser (@MayorBowser) May 22, 2018

It was revealed on May 23, 2018, that the baby is a girl and her name will be Miranda Elizabeth Bowser. Muriel Bowser is the first single mother to serve as mayor of the District of Columbia (Washington Post, May 23, 2018, Peter Jamison and Fenit Nirappil).

Pol Light does not endorse political candidates. We present a brighter side to politics when they are found on either side of the aisle. We don't have to agree with all of a person's politics to recognize these bright moments.

Photo: The photo of Muriel Bowser is in the Public Domain.

Jane Byrne Orders Chicago Fire Department to Stand Down

Former Chicago Mayor Jane Byrne has died at age 81. http://t.co/g41WllxX5B pic.twitter.com/FxfIvtwKp0
— Chicago Tribune (@chicagotribune) November 14, 2014

Pol Light Moment #104 happened on November 11, 1981, when Jane Byrne (1934-2014) ordered the Chicago Fire Department to cease the unsafe practice of using force to stop climber Dan Goodwin (AKA SpiderDan) from climbing the John Hancock Center. Jane Byrne was the first and only female Mayor of the City of Chicago, serving from 1979-1983.

Here is the Wikipedia account of Jane Byrne ordering the Chicago Fire Department to stand down.

On Veterans Day, November 11, 1981, Dan Goodwin, who had successfully climbed the Sears Tower on Memorial Day, battled for his life on the side of the John Hancock Center. William Blair, Chicago's then-fire commissioner, had ordered the Chicago Fire Department to stop Goodwin by directing a full power fire hose at him and by using fire axes to break window glass in Goodwin's path. Mayor Byrne rushed to the scene and ordered the fire department to stand down. Then, through a smashed out 38th floor window, she told Goodwin, who was hanging from the building's side a floor below, that though she did not agree with his climbing of the John Hancock Center, she certainly opposed the fire department knocking him to the ground below. Byrne then allowed Goodwin to continue to the top as thousands of people on the street below gave him an ovation and screamed, "Go! Go! Go!" (Source - Wikipedia, Jane Byrne, 11/15/2014)

Pol Light does not endorse political candidates. We present a brighter side to politics when they are found on either side of the aisle. We don't have to agree with all of a person's politics to recognize these bright moments.

Cory Booker Helps Rescue Freezing Dog

Cory Booker

Pol Light Moment #71 is when Cory Booker helped rescue a freezing dog on January 23, 2014. Cory Booker has served as a United States Senator from New Jersey from 2013 to the present. Prior to that he was the Mayor of Newark, New Jersey from 2006-2013.

On January 23, 2014, Cory Booker was notified through social media by reporter Toni Yates that there was a dog in Newark outisde in arctic temperatures.  Upon hearing this Cory Booker picked up the dog and warmed it up in a police car.  Cory Booker said this to the owners:

This dog is shaking really bad, and you just can't leave your dogs out here on a day like this and go away and expect them to be O.K. Hyperthermia on any animal, including a human animal, will set in pretty quickly. So this is very sad, you can just feel the dog shaking pretty badly (Cory Booker As Quoted by Nolan Feeney, Newsfeed, January 25, 2014).

Cory Booker has appeared on other moments on Pol Light. If you would like to see other posts on Cory Booker at Pol Light search with the label Cory Booker.

Pol Light does not endorse political candidates. We present a brighter side to politics when they are found on either side of the aisle. We don't have to agree with all of a person's politics to recognize these bright moments.

The photo of Cory Booker is from the Creative Commons of Wikipedia.

Cory Booker Living off Food Stamps for a Week

Cory Booker

Pol Light Moment #34 is when Cory Booker decided to live off food stamps for a week from December 4-11, 2012. Cory Booker has served as a United States Senator from New Jersey from 2013 to the present. Prior to that he was the Mayor of Newark, New Jersey from 2006-2013.

Cory Booker's food stamps challenge originates from a discussion he had on Twitter about government food assistance that all started from the reaction he got when he posted this quote on his Twitter account.

"An imbalance between rich and poor is the oldest and most fatal ailment of all republics" Plutarch ancient Greek historian (c. 46 – 120 CE)
— Cory Booker (@CoryBooker) November 19, 2012

In the exchange with Booker, a Twitter user questioned whether someone could be too poor to afford breakfast (Source). That led to Booker inviting the Twitter user to join him in trying to live a week on food stamps, as he noted the high cost of living in New Jersey.  Cory Booker will live off the average food stamp weekly budget from December 4-11, 2012. During the week he will be limited to $1.40 per meal (Source- Associated Press). No free food is allowed to be accepted during the week as part of the rules of the challenge.

Cory Booker tweeted on Twitter that you can follow his experiences the week of December 4-11, 2012 on his various social media pages.

I will document the #SNAPChallenge experience on @waywire @linkedin @twitter and @facebook 12/4 – 12/11
— Cory Booker (@CoryBooker) November 21, 2012

The #SNAPChallenge hashtag on Twitter associated with this Pol Light moment is because Cory Booker is using his involvement in the challenge to to raise awareness for the realities of living on food stamps and the importance of the Supplemental Nutritional Assistance Program (SNAP).  SNAP is having nationwide food stamp challenges to bring attention to what life can be like for those on the food assistance program. This is the goal of the SNAP Challenge:

The SNAP Challenge gives participants a view of what life can be like for millions of low-income Americans. Most participants take the Challenge for one week, living on the average daily food stamp benefit (about $4 per person per day). Challenge participants find they have to make difficult food shopping choices, and often realize how difficult it is to avoid hunger, afford nutritious foods, and stay healthy (Source).

For more information on the food stamps challenge read these articles on Cory Booker.

• Newark Mayor Cory Bookers Food Stamp Challenge
• Cory Booker Food Stamp Challenge Starts Tuesday
• Mayor Cory Booker Issues Food Stamp Challenge -- To Himself

Cory Booker has appeared on other moments on Pol Light. If you would like to see other posts by Cory Booker on Pol Light search with the label Cory Booker.

Pol Light does not endorse political candidates. We present a brighter side to politics when they are found on either side of the aisle. We don't have to agree with all of a person's politics to recognize these bright moments.

The photo of Cory Booker is from the Creative Commons of Wikipedia.