Posts in the category Women's Issues

Greg Hartmann Still a Condescending Sexist, Has Palin-esque Record on Rape

Bret Thompson, ProgressOhio — Fri, 10 Oct 2008 11:39:37 EDT

Remember Greg Hartmann, the failed Secretary of State candidate who let a rapist, who later killed his victim, go and then complained the rape (soon-to-be murder) victim hadn't shown Mr. Hartmann enough "courtesy"?

This morning, Mr. Hartmann attended a Sarah Palin fundraiser and had the following condescending, sexist comment to say about Palin:

"What a great cheerleader for our ticket, because we've got a lot of work to do."

Never have so few pronouns, revealed so much.

P.S. Greg, Sarah Palin actually won her statewide election and she didn't even have the benefit of being related to Dick Cheney's lawyer or the owners of a giant, corrupt casketmaker.

The Palin Rape-Kit Story Has NOT Been "Debunked"

Dave Harding, ProgressOhio — Tue, 07 Oct 2008 16:44:35 EDT

Memo to media: The Palin rape-kit story has not been "debunked"

Gov. Sarah Palin's introduction onto the national stage has ignited scores of Alaska-based narratives and mini-controversies as reporters and voters scrambled to learn more about her political past.
But has any other Palin issue produced the type of visceral response ignited by the revelation that while she was mayor of Wasilla, the town began charging rape victims or their insurance companies for costly emergency-room rape kits and post-assault examinations?
The story remains woefully under-covered by the mainstream media, where most outlets have shied away from tackling the touchy topic as a straight news story about Palin's political past. But the issue continues to generate all kinds of discussion in the opinion pages and online. (AmericaBlog was among the first big-name liberal blogs to highlight the story.)
The persistent buzz, I think, stems from the fact that the Wasilla story just seems so ... weird. What municipality would bill rape victims for traumatic post-assault forensic exams? And especially in Alaska, where the rape rate is twice the national average. And wouldn't charging the victims or their insurance companies (assuming the victims were insured) simply drive down the number of women who are willing to report sexual attacks?
Having that story hover around Palin as she introduced herself to the American people could not have helped the Republican ticket. And I suspect that's why the conservative press and right-wing bloggers have tried so hard to knock the story down, why they have been so quick to condemn journalists who dared report the rape-kit story as being unethical and biased.
But facts are not a fungible commodity.
And the hurdle the GOP press simply cannot clear in its debunking effort is that the policy did exist while Palin was mayor. Boxed in by the obvious, overeager bloggers instead claim Palin didn't "support" or even know about the policy and that Palin did not personally bill the victims herself. (Strawman alert: Nobody ever suggested Palin went around knocking on doors demanding payments.)
Sadly for Palin partisans, they got schooled on the Wasilla specifics by a 20-year-old blogger and junior at George Washington University who did what so many on the right can't quite pull off: fact-based reporting.
He proved without a doubt that Palin, as mayor, signed off on the initiative that forced rape victims or their insurance companies to foot the bill for the post-assault exam kits.
It's important to highlight the deficiencies of the so-called debunking of the rape-kit story so that reporters don't continue to ignore the issue, which raises questions about Palin's leadership. So they don't take seriously the conservative claims that the story has been proven a "lie," a "smear," a "myth," and a "bunch of baloney."
The loud pronouncements by the right have become almost a cult-like mantra online, and they seem to be effectively scaring the press off the story.
For instance, The Washington Post has never written about the rape-kit story in its news pages, according to a search of Nexis, nor has The New York Times, the Los Angeles Times, the Chicago Tribune, the New York Daily News, The Philadelphia Inquirer, the Baltimore Sun, The Boston Globe, Newsweek, or Time.
Credit goes to USA Today for treating the issue seriously, while CNN.com posted a detailed investigation. And on the air, CNN seems to have reported more on the issue than its cable competitors, which isn't saying much, since its competitors have virtually ignored the story.
As for the news networks, there's been a blackout on the rape-kit story. Journalists ought to be reporting the story and asking Palin to give detailed, unambiguous answers, since the rape-kit issue could offer some insights into how she governs.
Instead, the press has treated the story as something of a taboo. And the loud, bogus claims about it being "debunked" likely add to its untouchable status.
Trust me, nothing has been debunked.
Read The Full Story From Media Matters

Sarah Palin charging rape victims for their forensic exams

Watch It:

Palin attacked over rape-kit controversy
Alaska law forces taxpayers to fund 'emergency contraception'

Palin Had Direct Role In Charging Rape Victims For Exams

Compassionate Conservative? Under Palin Wasilla Charged Rape Victims For The Forensic Tests Needed To Prove The Crime

McCain Voted Against Biden Law Requiring Free Rape Exams

Learn More About John McCain's War On Women

Supreme Court v. Women's Healthcare

OHliz — Tue, 07 Oct 2008 07:05:10 EDT

Gov. Palin's most choke-worthy gaffe so far in my opinion has been her inability to name any Supreme Court decisions besides Roe v. Wade. Why are Republicans so obsessed with female body parts? Do they really think there are legal solutions to personal medical situations? How can they claim to hate big government and at the same time play Big Brother over my gynecologist?

Couple that with the Supreme Court's first day back in session -- two of the Supreme's actions dealt with abortion. Thankfully, the court refused to undo a multi-million dollar verdict against anti-abortion "activists" (more like domestic terrorists) for their use of "wanted" posters to identify abortion clinic doctors.

In another action in Supreme Abortion Court, an anti-abortion group won its long legal fight to force Arizona to issue "choose life" license plates. Really? Can you possibly get more disconnected from the concerns of a pregnant 17-year-old than an extended legal fight over license plate design?

Get a grip, pro-lifers. Somehow I don't think Jesus would pursue his teachings through Supreme Court actions. BTW, if Jesus was against abortion, why didn't he say anything about it?

Planned Parenthood Ad Blasts Palin For Rape-Kit Policies

Dave Harding, ProgressOhio — Wed, 01 Oct 2008 12:44:40 EDT

Planned Parenthood is going up with an absolutely brutal new ad hammering the policy of Wasilla, Alaska of charging rape victims for gathering evidence when Palin was mayor:

Watch It:

Palin Had Direct Role In Charging Rape Victims For Exams

Is The Palin And Victims Paying For Rape Kits In Wasilla Scandal Over Taxpayers Funding "Emergency Contraception"?

Justice for sale

User from Columbus, OH — Wed, 01 Oct 2008 11:11:57 EDT

Why are the supreme court races getting no meaninful press attention? Of all the races in Ohio these two are going to have the most effect on the people of Ohio.

COLUMBUS -- Supreme Court candidate Judge Joseph D. Russo said that the high court must shake what he believes is a perception that justice can be bought in Ohio and he has a plan to do it.

A Supreme Court justice would have to automatically recuse himself or herself from any case involving an entity -- such as a law firm or business -- whose aggregate contribution to the judge exceeds $10,000 within the past seven years, under Russo's idea.

Haaretz Article Taken From The Jewish Daily Forward

Jane Schiff — Fri, 26 Sep 2008 17:39:14 EDT

http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/1019188.html

While Barack Obama has struggled to capture the Jewish vote, it turns out that one of his wife's cousins is the country's most prominent black rabbi - a fact that has gone largely unnoticed.

Michelle Obama, wife of the Democratic presidential nominee, and Rabbi Capers Funnye, spiritual leader of a mostly black synagogue on Chicago's South Side, are first cousins once removed. Funnye's mother, Verdelle Robinson Funnye (born Verdelle Robinson) and Michelle Obama's paternal grandfather, Frasier Robinson Jr., were brother and sister.

Funnye (pronounced fuh-NAY) is chief rabbi at the Beth Shalom B'nai Zaken Ethiopian Hebrew Congregation in southwest Chicago. He is well-known in Jewish circles for acting as a bridge between mainstream Jewry and the much smaller, and largely separate, world of black Jewish congregations, sometimes known as black Hebrews or Israelites. He has often urged the larger Jewish community to be more accepting of Jews who are not white.
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Funnye's famous relative gives an unexpected twist to the much-analyzed relationship between Barack Obama and Jews in this presidential campaign. On the one hand, Jewish political organizers, voters and donors played an essential role in Obama's rise to power in Chicago, including some of the city's wealthiest and most prominent families. But the Illinois senator has struggled to overcome suspicions in some parts of the Jewish community, including skepticism about his stance on Israel and discredited but persistent rumors that he is secretly a Muslim.

Funnye, who described himself as an independent, said he has not been involved with the Obama campaign but that he has donated money and was cheering it on.

"I know that her grandfather and her father and my mom and all of our relatives that are now deceased would be so very, very proud of both of them," Funnye told the Forward.

Michelle Obama and the Obama campaign did not respond to requests for comment.

Funnye told the Forward that he has known Michelle Obama (born Michelle Robinson) all her life. His mother and her father, Frasier Robinson III, enjoyed a close relationship, and Funnye said he saw Michelle several times a year when they were growing up, mostly at family functions and on occasional visits to her house.

"Her father was like the glue of our family," Funnye said. "He always wanted to keep the family very connected and to stay in touch with each other."

Funnye, 56, said he and Michelle, 44, were not especially close growing up, but he remembers her as "energetic and smart and very caring."
The two fell out of touch when they grew older and went their separate ways but then reconnected years later when Michelle Obama was working for the University of Chicago and Funnye was leading a local social service organization called Blue Gargoyle. Funnye also worked with Barack Obama, then a state senator, who came and spoke at events for the organization. When Barack and Michelle Obama married, Funnye and his family attended the wedding.

Although Funnye's congregation describes itself as Ethiopian Hebrew, it is not connected to the Ethiopian Jews, commonly called Beta Israel, who have immigrated to Israel en masse in recent decades. It is also separate from the Black Hebrews in Dimona, Israel, and the Hebrew Israelite black supremacist group whose incendiary street harangues have become familiar spectacles in a number of American cities.

Funnye converted to Judaism and was ordained as a rabbi under the supervision of black Israelite rabbis, then went through another conversion supervised by Orthodox and Conservative rabbis. He serves on the Chicago Board of Rabbis.

Funnye's relationship with the Obama family was reported in the Chicago Jewish News in an article dated August 22. A Wall Street Journal article in April reported that the aspiring first lady had a cousin (whom the paper mistakenly referred to as a second cousin) who is a prominent black rabbi but did not mention Funnye by name.

The rabbi's familial connection with the Democratic presidential nominee is also a matter of common knowledge in Funnye's synagogue.

"He really jumped on everyone's radar after the 2004 convention," Funnye said. "That's when some people said, 'Isn't he related to you or something?' I said, 'Yeah, he's married to my cousin, and she's making him everything that he is.'"

Pat Tiberi is endorsed by the Columbus Dispatch Printing Company

Liberty Belle — Fri, 26 Sep 2008 16:17:59 EDT

ShareThis

Central Ohio residents were treated to yet more of the Columbus Dispatch Printing Company’s (CDPC) ‘fair and balanced’ judgment; Pat Tiberi, a republican currently holding the 12th Congressional seat at the People’s House, has gotten the local daily printing company’s endorsement for Congress.

Hopefully, CDPC readers will remember the past ‘judgment’ of the company’s endorsements–including George W. Bush for president in both 2000 and 2004, when shortly before the 2004 election, even the CDPC seemed to know better. In the midst of this latest fill-in-the-blank-shock-and-awe crisis, that presidential endorsement has shown where the loyalties of the Wolfe family media empire really LIE. Much like Washington serves its lobbyists, the CDPC likewise serves the corporations who pay for thier ads.

The fact that a local printing company’s public informational monopoly would find it within their job description to endorse a candidate before even informing the population of where all candidates stand on the issues that affect them most, is discrediting to not only to the endorsement, but raises questions as to the credibility of the CDPC itself.

The CDPC wrote, “Tiberi [is a] moderate Republican, reasonable in [his] approaches to policy issues and capable of the nitty-gritty legislative work that’s required.”

The most glaring omission in this statement is that Tiberi has never sponsored and passed even one piece of legislation in his nearly eight years of [dis]service.

By this same CDPC standard, Tiberi’s voting record indicates that he is as “moderate” as he is “capable”!

Let’s look at his “moderate” and “reasonable approach” from his congressional voting record, for as even the CDPC noted, “most candidates are fiscal conservatives during the campaign season; the proof is what happens when they get to Capitol Hill.”

Exactly.

The question is, why didn’t the CDPC look at that “proof” and relate that to their readers? The [t]reason is that Tiberi’s record is far from moderate.

How Payday Loans Enslave the Poor

User from Raleigh, NC — Fri, 26 Sep 2008 11:29:38 EDT

Payday loans carry interest rates of an average of 391%. There is zero public benefit to such loans.

Payday loan lobbyists still try to pressure Ohio state senators and representatives to allow the practice. Does Ohio really need legalized loan sharking? If so, why should the interest rates be higher than many illegal loan sharks charge?

Planned Parenthood needs you

OHliz — Thu, 25 Sep 2008 17:47:26 EDT

Volunteer Action phone banks

EVERY TUESDAY and WEDNESDAY, 5:30 PM– 8:30 PM

Meet at 399 East Main Street, Columbus. Training and snacks will begin promptly at 5:30 PM.

ThisWeek with George Stephanopoulos in Columbus!

THIS SUNDAY MORNING! ABC will be filming ThisWeek with George Stephanopoulos live at the Great Southern Theater this Sunday, September 28th.

Planned Parenthood will be outside the event signing up attendees to be part of our One Million Strong campaign and educating them about John McCain's record. To be a part of the fun, contact Gabriel at 614-358-8741 or gabrielmann@ppao.org.

We Can(vas) for Women's Rights!

Sunday, October 5th, 2 PM – 6 PM

Meet at 399 East Main Street, Columbus

We'll go door-to-door to educate the public on women's health, sex ed and reproductive rights issues. You may want to bring sunscreen, a water bottle and a hat! Training will begin promptly at 2 PM.

We also would love to see you for these upcoming canvasses:

Sunday, October 12th, 2 PM – 6 PM

Monday, October 13th, 5:30 – 8:30 PM

Sunday, October 19th, AM and PM shifts available

Sunday, October 12th, 2 PM – 6 PM

Free Sarah Palin!

Dave Harding, ProgressOhio — Wed, 24 Sep 2008 07:22:08 EDT

CNN's Campbell Brown:

"Tonight I call on the McCain campaign to stop treating Sarah Palin like she is a delicate flower that will wilt at any moment," said Brown. "This woman is from Alaska from crying out loud. She is strong. She is tough. She is competent. And you claim she is ready to be one heart beat away form the presidency. If that is the case, then end this chauvinistic treatment of her now. Allow her to show her stuff. Allow her to face down those pesky reporters... Let her have a real news conference with real questions. By treating Sarah Palin different from the other candidates in this race, you are not showing her the respect she deserves. Free Sarah Palin. Free her from the chauvinistic chain you are binding her with. Sexism in this campaign must come to an end. Sarah Palin has just as much a right to be a real candidate in this race as the men do. So let her act like one."

Watch It:

Women Have Donated Twice As Much To Obama Than To McCain

Dave Harding, ProgressOhio — Tue, 23 Sep 2008 07:19:55 EDT

Women Heavily Favor Obama in Donations

WASHINGTON -- Women have donated twice as much money to Barack Obama than John McCain in the 2008 election, reversing past trends that favored Republicans, according to an analysis by the Women's Campaign Forum Foundation.
n the 2000 election, women donated twice as much to then-presidential candidate George W. Bush as to his Democratic rival, Al Gore. In the 2004 election, women donated about the same amount to Mr. Bush and to Democratic Sen. John Kerry.
Women are also on pace to contribute far more money to the presidential campaigns than ever before, the analysis showed. But they still make far fewer political donations than men -- and are showing few signs of catching up.
According to the analysis, which was based on campaign-finance data through the July 31 disclosure period, women had given a total of $109.5 million to the presidential campaigns of Sens. Obama and McCain. That nearly matches the $115.2 million that women contributed to Messrs. Bush and Kerry in the 2004 race -- and nearly triple the total women donated to Messrs. Bush and Gore in 2000.

They WERE after Connie Pillich. Not anymore! Jon Craig's Article Verbatim:

Jane Schiff — Sat, 20 Sep 2008 20:06:43 EDT

Connie Pillich

The commission this week issued a finding of probable cause against Pillich, who is running against Sharonville Mayor Virgil Lovitt for the House seat.

A hearing will be held Oct. 2 to determine whether Pillich committed a violation.

The statements on Pillich's Web site concerned her former opponent, Jim Raussen, a Republican incumbent who dropped out of the race in July when Gov. Ted Strickland appointed him to the newly created position of director of insurance and financial development. Last month, the Hamilton County Republican Party chose Lovitt to replace Raussen in the race.

Pillich, a Democrat, lost the 28th House District race to Raussen in 2006.

In the controversial passage, Pillich didn't identify her opponent by name.

The passage, which is no longer on Pillich's campaign Web site, said: "Local State Representatives, including my opponent, have been formally reprimanded for violating House rules for accepting gifts from lobbyists. Quite recently, the Ohio Elections Commission found probable cause that my opponent listed false endorsements on his Web site."

Scarlet Bouder, communications director for the Ohio Democratic House Caucus Races, said this passage was inadvertently left on Pillich's Web site after Raussen's resignation. Bouder was responding on behalf of Pillich, who was out campaigning and could not be immediately reached for comment.

"I'm surprised and disappointed in Connie Pillich," Lovitt said. "No one should be attacked like this. We are trying to run a campaign on my track record of bringing jobs to Hamilton County and pulling communities together."

Bouder defended Pillich's integrity.

"Lovitt either doesn't understand the use of Web sites or has himself confused with Jim Raussen," Bouder said in an e-mailed statement. "It's a cheap shot that (demonstrates) that he can't stick to the issues or to his job as mayor - which means he isn't ready for public office in Columbus."

Robert Saul, a Montgomery resident, filed the complaint against Pillich with the Ohio Elections Commission.

If the Ohio Elections Commission finds that Pillich committed a violation, the commission could let the probable cause finding stand as the penalty, send a letter of public reprimand or refer the case to the prosecutor's office, said Phil Richter, the commission's executive director.

Video: Joe Biden And Hillary Clinton's Webcast On Women's Issues

Dave Harding, ProgressOhio — Thu, 18 Sep 2008 18:52:08 EDT

As part of the Women for the Change We Need Week of Action, Joe Biden and Hillary Clinton got together for a conversation with women on the issues that are most important to them.

Watch It:

Is The Palin And Victims Paying For Rape Kits In Wasilla Scandal Over Taxpayers Funding "Emergency Contraception"?

Dave Harding, ProgressOhio — Thu, 18 Sep 2008 10:41:09 EDT

Despite denials by the Palin campaign, new evidence proves that as mayor of Wasilla, Alaska, Sarah Palin had a direct hand in imposing fees to pay for post-sexual assault medical exams conducted by the city to gather evidence.

Palin's role is now confirmed by Wasilla City budget documents available online.

Under Sarah Palin's administration, Wasilla cut funds that had previously paid for the medical exams and began charging victims or their health insurers the $500 to $1200 fees.

Although Palin spokeswoman Maria Comella wrote USA Today earlier this week that the GOP vice presidential nominee

"does not believe, nor has she ever believed, that rape victims should have to pay for an evidence-gathering test...To suggest otherwise is a deliberate misrepresentation of her commitment to supporting victims and bringing violent criminals to justice,"

Careful parsing there.

In May 2000, the Alaska legislature enacted a law that would provide rape victims with the tests, free of charge – along with testing for sexually transmitted disease and access to emergency contraception.

Palin, a mother of five children, has a pro-life voting record and has not indicated support for the morning-after pill. In November 2006, then gubernatorial candidate Sarah Palin declared that she would not support an abortion for her own daughter even if she had been raped.

She is a member of the anti-abortion group Feminists for Life. The organization has warned women against "blindly accepting" morning after pills as just another artificial contraceptive method. It claims Planned Parenthood and other proponents push the medication as a way to prevent pregnancy.

"Although these supporters call morning-after pills 'emergency contraception,' the term is a misnomer, as the pills actually act as an abortifacient in many cases by preventing the implantation of an already-fertilized human embryo," a 1999 Feminists for Life newsletter (PDF) stated.

View A Feminists For Life Advertisement Regarding Rape Victims (PDF)

How often have you heard the term "taxpayer-funded abortion" as a right-wing talking point? The fact is, one of the main goals of the right wing fundamentalist has been to oppose any government assistance for any program that might provide funding for abortions.
This forms the basis of George Bush's so-called Mexico City Policy--rescinded by Clinton and re-enacted by George Bush--forbidding any taxpayer money going to any program that funds pregancy termination, no matter what adverse consequences may result.

Is this the reason behind Sarah Palin's consistent refusal to fund rape investigation kits with taxpayer money is that they contain emergency contraception, which her religious fundamentalism views as tantamount to an abortion, and she, like George Bush, is a firm believer in the Mexico City policy?

HT: Daily Kos

See Also:

Palin attacked over rape-kit controversy
Alaska law forces taxpayers to fund 'emergency contraception'

Palin Had Direct Role In Charging Rape Victims For Exams

Compassionate Conservative? Under Palin Wasilla Charged Rape Victims For The Forensic Tests Needed To Prove The Crime

McCain Voted Against Biden Law Requiring Free Rape Exams

Learn More About John McCain's War On Women

The FDIC & Payday Lending

Free Fallin — Wed, 17 Sep 2008 09:41:36 EDT

FDIC Report Suggests Banks can Offer Alternatives to Payday Loans at a Profit

The Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation will soon be releasing a report that suggests that banks can provide consumers with affordable small loans and still make a profit. The "Small-Dollar Loan Pilot Program," includes 31 FDIC selected banks from all across the United States, and is intended to demonstrate that banks can offer small loans to consumers at reasonable rates. The pilot program included banks with pre-existing programs and banks with newly developed programs. According to the report about the pilot program, "Eighty percent of small-dollar pilot program banks offer interest rates of 18 percent or less."

Many of the parameters set in the pilot program are similar to those included in Ohio's House Bill 545. These parameters include: annual percent rates below 36% APR, low or no origination fees, no prepayment penalties, access to financial education, and extended prepayment periods.

First quarter reporting by the banks in the pilot program suggests that banks are able to offer alternative products to payday loans and other high-cost products and still make a profit. Initial reports from a majority of the banks in the program also suggest that customers utilizing their small-loan products transition to more tradition loan products after complying with the terms of the small-loan agreement.

"Although the Small-Dollar Loan Pilot Program is still in its initial stages, participating banks are already demonstrating innovative strategies in areas such as advertising and linked savings that may prove to be replicable for other banks. Banks in the pilot are well within the 36 percent maximum APR established in the FDIC's Small-Dollar Loan Guidelines, and five banks thus far have reported using the small-dollar product as a cornerstone for profitable relationship."

You can view the preliminary FDIC report, here: http://www.fdic.gov/bank/analytical/quarterly/2008_vol2_3/smalldollar.pdf

This is a positive development and bodes well for Ohio. Much has been made of the 28% interest rate cap on payday loans in our state and it's potential impact on the industry. The U.S. Congress, at the behest of the Pentagon, sought to cap interest rates on payday loans at 36% APR, seeking to mitigate the negative impact payday lending was having on troop readiness and moral. Alternatives to payday loans do exist in the form of small loans offered by credit unions, banks and other more traditional lenders. Given that several of the banks are being profitable or are seeing no negative impact on their profit margins from the development of small-loan programs and that a majority of customers are avoiding a cycle of debt and entering into more traditional loan products, there is little question that this is a model that should be replicated in Ohio and across the United States.

Six National Women's Rights Groups Endorse Obama For President

Dave Harding, ProgressOhio — Wed, 17 Sep 2008 06:55:41 EDT

Women's rights groups endorsed Barack Obama for president Tuesday, asserting the historic selection of a female Republican vice presidential candidate does not make up for John McCain's lack of support on issues important to women.

"We don't think it's much to break a glass ceiling for one woman and leave millions of women behind," said Eleanor Smeal, chairman of the Feminist Majority Political Action Committee.

Smeal was among leaders from six organizations that announced their endorsement of the Democratic presidential nominee at a news conference.

Obama also won the support of the National Organization for Women, which said it has not endorsed a candidate for president since Walter Mondale and Geraldine Ferraro shared the Democratic ticket in 1984. Ferraro was the first female major-party vice presidential candidate.

NOW backed New York Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton in the primaries. "We join with her in saying 'no,'" said NOW President Kim Gandy, referring to a line Clinton used at the Democratic convention last month. "No way, no how, no McCain."

Obama was also endorsed by leaders from Business and Professional Women/USA, the National Association of Social Workers, the National Congress of Black Women and the Women's Information Network.

Joe Biden, Feminist: 'The Backslapping Hero Of Women's Rights'

Dave Harding, ProgressOhio — Wed, 17 Sep 2008 05:31:00 EDT

Ladies' Man

These days, many women voters are more likely to perceive Biden as a spoiler than as a supporter. Since his selection last month as Barack Obama's running mate, Biden has been pitted against women, first taking the job that many Hillary Clinton supporters felt was her due, then facing off against another historic woman, Sarah Palin, who could become the first female vice president of the United States. With his 30-plus years in the Senate, Biden can sound like the member of a male-only club, an impression reinforced by old-boy gaffes--from joking that his wife's doctorate "is a problem" to referring to Palin as "good-looking."
But the irony of this assessment is that Biden has some of the best feminist bona fides around. The mostly untold story of Biden's fight to support the "Civil Rights For Women" section of VAWA provides a window into his work for women, its origins, and how the defense of women's rights fits into his political worldview. Women voters may yet find something to cheer: In fighting for the legislation, Biden showed he was willing to trust the guidance of women activists and women judges, and then to contend against fierce and mostly male resistance in Washington, particularly from the Supreme Court.

McCain "Furious" Over Carly's Statements: Campaign To Make Fiorina "Disappear"

Dave Harding, ProgressOhio — Wed, 17 Sep 2008 05:03:33 EDT

That famous McCain temper flares up again . . .

As he throws another woman under the bus.

From CNN Chief National Correspondent John King

This campaign source said Fiorina would be discouraged from additional media interviews.
Another top campaign adviser was far less diplomatic.
"Carly will now disappear," this source said. "Senator McCain was furious." Asked to define "disappear," this source said, adding that she would be off TV for a while – but remain at the Republican National Committee and keep her role as head of the party’s joint fundraising committee with the McCain campaign.
Fiorina was booked for several TV interviews over the next few days, including one on CNN. Those interviews have been canceled.
A third source said "it was another bad day for her, and important people are mad because the timing is horrible… But I would not necessarily buy the Siberia storyline."
Fiorina has forced the campaign off message before. In July, she told reporters women often express frustration over the fact many health insurance plans cover Viagra but not birth control medication.
"Let me give you a real, live example, which I've been hearing a lot about from women. There are many health insurance plans that will cover Viagra but won't cover birth control medication. Those women would like a choice," she said.
It was a topic McCain wasn’t as keen to talk about. "I certainly do not want to discuss that issue," he said, when reporters asked if he shared that view.” That comment, and the pause that preceded it, captured headlines for days.

Top McCain Economic Advisor Carly Fiorina Says Neither Palin Or McCain Could Run A Major Corporation

Is Palin Qualified To Be Columbus Librarian?

NationOfGandhis — Sat, 13 Sep 2008 20:46:44 EDT

Thanks Jane, I couldn't resist :D

Election Issues-Jobs Creation

User from Struthers, OH — Tue, 09 Sep 2008 07:33:18 EDT

Election Issues-Jobs Creation
September 9, 2008

The Green Party proposes a third alternative to a job or no job dichotomy: that is to provide everyone a sustainable livelihood. The need of our times is for security, not necessarily jobs. We need security in the knowledge that, while markets may fluctuate and jobs may come and go, we are still able to lead a life rooted in dignity and well-being.
The concept of a "job" is only a few hundred years old; and the artificial dichotomy between "employment" and "unemployment" has become a tool of social leverage for corporate exploiters. This produces a dysfunctional society in various ways: (1) It is used to justify bringing harmful industries to rural communities, such as extensive prison construction and clear cutting of pristine forests. (2) It has been used to pit workers (people needing jobs) against the interests of their own communities. (3) It has created a self-esteem crisis in a large segment of the adult population who have been forced into doing work that is irrelevant, socially harmful, or environmentally unsound.
We will also promote policies that have job-increasing effects. Many people will still need jobs for their security. We need to counterbalance the decline in jobs caused either by new technology, corporate flight to cheaper labor markets outside our borders, or the disappearance of socially wasteful jobs that will inevitably occur as more and more people embrace a green culture.
To begin a transition to a system providing sustainable livelihood, I support:

1. creating alternative, low-consumption communities and living arrangements, including a reinvigorated sustainable homesteading movement in rural areas and voluntary shared housing in urban areas.

2. Universal health care requiring coverage for all.

3. The creating and spreading local currencies and barter systems.

4. Subsidizing technological development of consumer items that would contribute toward economic autonomy, such as renewable energy devices.

5. Establishing local non-profit development corporations.

6. Providing people with information about alternatives to jobs.
Creating Jobs

For creating jobs I propose:

7. Reducing taxes on labor. This will make labor more competitive with energy and capital investment.

8. Solidarity with unions and workers fighting the practice of contracting out tasks to part-time workers in order to avoid paying benefits and to break up unions.

9. Adopting a reduced-hour (30-35 hours) work week as a standard. This could translate into as many as 26 million new jobs.

10. Subsidizing renewable energy sources, which directly employ 2 to 5 times as many people for every unit of electricity generated as fossil or nuclear sources yet are cost competitive. Also, retrofit existing buildings for energy conservation and build non-polluting, low impact transportation systems.

11. Supporting small business by reducing tax, fee and bureaucratic burdens. The majority of new jobs today are created by small businesses. This would cut their failure rate and help them create more jobs.

12. Opposing the trend toward "bundling" of contracts that minimizes opportunity for small, minority-owned, and women-owned businesses.

13. Reducing consumption to minimize outsourcing - the exportation of jobs to other countries - thus reducing the relative price of using U.S. workers.

WRITE-IN
DENNIS SPISAK FOR CONGRESS
Green Party Candidate for Ohio's 6th District
The ONLY PROGRESSIVE CANDIDATE
Running against a Conservative Democrat and Republican!

Renewable Energy Green/Blue Collars Jobs
Single-Payer Affordable Healthcare
Solar Power/Wind Power/Geothermal Energy

Send Campaign Contributions to:

Spisak for Congress
548 Poland Ave
Struthers, Ohio 44471

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Campaign site: Http://votespisak.org/electspisak.tripod.com