It is indeed puzzling that so many Republican members of Ohio's congressional delegation voted no on H.R. 1113, “Celebrating the role of mothers in the United States and supporting the goals and ideals of Mother's Day” (full warm and fuzzy text here).
...until you consider the origins of Mother's Day.
Julia Ward Howe, who penned The Battle Hymn of the Republic, also authored a mothers' Declaration calling on women to oppose war, and worked to get recognition of a Mother’s Day for Peace. Says Code Pink: "Were she alive today, Julia probably would have told her kids to dispense with the roses and chocolates, and instead join her in an anti-war rally. Yes, Julia Ward Howe was a peacenik."
[Howe] saw some of the worst effects of the [civil] war -- not only the death and disease which killed and maimed the soldiers. She worked with the widows and orphans of soldiers on both sides of the war, and realized that the effects of the war go beyond the killing of soldiers in battle. She also saw the economic devastation of the Civil War, the economic crises that followed the war, the restructuring of the economies of both North and South.In 1870, Julia Ward Howe took on a new issue and a new cause….She called in 1870 for women to rise up and oppose war in all its forms. She wanted women to come together across national lines, to recognize what we hold in common above what divides us, and commit to finding peaceful resolutions to conflicts. She issued a Declaration, hoping to gather together women in a congress of action.
Howe failed in her attempt to get formal recognition of a Mother's Day for Peace, but her effort was carried on by Anna Jarvis, who had organized women during the Civil War to work for better sanitary conditions for both sides, and then toward reconciliation of Union and Confederate neighbors.
Jarvis’ daughter, of the same name, then took up the campaign for Mother’s Day. After the custom spread to 45 states, President Woodrow Wilson declared the first national Mother’s Day in 1914.
Julia Ward Howe's Mothers' Declaration:
Arise then...women of this day!
Arise, all women who have hearts!
Whether your baptism be of water or of tears!
Say firmly:
"We will not have questions answered by irrelevant agencies,
Our husbands will not come to us, reeking with carnage,
For caresses and applause.
Our sons shall not be taken from us to unlearn
All that we have been able to teach them of charity, mercy and patience.
We, the women of one country,
Will be too tender of those of another country
To allow our sons to be trained to injure theirs."
From the voice of a devastated Earth a voice goes up with
Our own. It says: "Disarm! Disarm!
The sword of murder is not the balance of justice."
Blood does not wipe our dishonor,
Nor violence indicate possession.
As men have often forsaken the plough and the anvil
At the summons of war,
Let women now leave all that may be left of home
For a great and earnest day of counsel.
Let them meet first, as women, to bewail and commemorate the dead.
Let them solemnly take counsel with each other as to the means
Whereby the great human family can live in peace...
Each bearing after his own time the sacred impress, not of Caesar,
But of God -
In the name of womanhood and humanity, I earnestly ask
That a general congress of women without limit of nationality,
May be appointed and held at someplace deemed most convenient
And the earliest period consistent with its objects,
To promote the alliance of the different nationalities,
The amicable settlement of international questions,
The great and general interests of peace.
Maybe Pryce, Schmidt, Tiberi, Chabot, Boehner, Regula, LaTourette, Hobson, and Turner have a thing against moms. But YOU can make this Mother's Day a Mother's Day For Peace.
Help CodePink help Iraqi refugee moms here.
Send a MomsRising Mother's Day card and tell the presidential candidates to fight for family-friendly policies. here.
Oh and don't forget to call the Congressional Switchboard at 1-800-839-5276 to give the above members of Congress a piece of your mind about H.R. 1113.
Do you have another suggestion for honoring Julia Ward Howe's Mothers' Declaration? Are you a mom working for peace? Leave a comment below.
Yesterday, Progress Ohio sent out a call to action - we asked you to write Letters To The Editor using our "Speak Out" tool.
The topic: The State Children's Health Insurance Program (SCHIP).
The message: Urge Ohio Congressional Representatives Steve Chabot (OH-1), Jean Schmidt (OH-2), Jim Jordan (OH-4), Bob Latta (OH-5) and John Boehner (OH-8) to stand with Ohio's families and vote to override Bush's veto of SCHIP reauthorization.
In just 24 hours, the Progress Ohio community has generated almost 1,000 Letters To The Editor to 64 different Ohio newspapers.
Top 10 newspaper recipients: Columbus Dispatch, Dayton Daily News, Springfield News-Sun, Cleveland Plain Dealer, Cincinnati Enquirer, Mansfield News Journal, Akron Beacon Journal, Canton Repository, Newark Advocate, and the Lorain Chronicle-Telegram.
On behalf of the 122,000 Ohio kids whose health care coverage hangs in the balance, Progress Ohio staff extends a HUGE THANK YOU to those of you who have taken action on this issue!
Progress Ohio--powered by YOU.
Our original call to action:
The health care coverage of 122,000 Ohio kids hangs in the balance. Can you spare a minute to help?
Next week, Congress will vote to override Bush's veto of the reauthorization of the State Children's Health Insurance Program (SCHIP). We need each and every one of the 18 Congressional Representatives from Ohio to stand with Ohio's families, and vote to override Bush's veto.
13 of them, including 6 republicans, are with us on this. Four are not.
At least not yet.
This week, as part of our ongoing multi-pronged effort to bring Steve Chabot(OH-1), John Boehner (OH-8), Jean Schmidt (OH-2), and Jim Jordan (OH-4) into the fold, Progress Ohio is spearheading a Letter To The Editor (LTE) campaign.
Our partner organizations in other key states are targeting their Representatives with LTE's as well. We need active members of the Progress Ohio community (that's you) to help us do our part here in Ohio.
Why Write A Letter To The Editor?
Legislators and their staffs do read LTE's to get a sense of public opinion. Also, LTE's can help generate overall media buzz on an issue.
About Progress Ohio's Speak Out tool
The email addresses for the newspapers' editorial boards are already in there, sample letters are there too. In just a couple of clicks, you'll be done.
You ARE public opinion. Write a Letter To The Editor to make your voice heard.
It was standing room only yesterday at the Riffe Center in Columbus -- 127 voting rights activists turned out for a Forum and Lobby day sponsored by America Votes, People For The American Way, the Ohio Women with Disabilities Network, Common Cause Ohio, Lawyers Committee for Civil Rights Under Law, Ohio Citizen Action, the Ohio State Conference NAACP, and Progress Ohio.
The panel of speakers included Tokaji of OSU’s Moritz College of Law, Mary Keith of ACORN Ohio, Pete Johnson of CASE Ohio, Karla Lortz of the Ohio Women with Disabilities Network. Peg Rosenfeld of the League of Women Voters moderated a question and answer session.
A variety of voting rights topics were explored by the panel: public agency voter registration, deceptive practices, disability access, voting systems, and voter identification.
Keynote speaker Ohio Secretary of State Jennifer Brunner reviewed her office’s current work toward restoring trust to Ohio’s elections, as well as the challenges ahead. She spoke at length about the process of testing Ohio’s voting machines. The project is managed by the Battelle Memorial Institute in Columbus, and will include collaboration and advice from a representative, bipartisan group of Ohio's local election officials.
Karen Gasper of America Votes led a lobby training – participants were briefed on how to have an effective meeting with legislators about voting rights and election reform. Participants then met with their Ohio State Senators and Representatives in both the Riffe Center and across the street at the State House.
Media present included ONN, Fox, and others.
They're going to do this for all the candidates willing to participate, both republican and democratic. I'll post again when the next one is scheduled.
Join in NOW - 45 minutes left. You don't have to have a Myspace profile to watch and participate.
It's at:
http://www.myspace.com/election2008
"I, along with Senator Jack Reed of Rhode Island, will push our amendment in the Senate to force that change in course in Iraq. If we can get the 60 votes needed to break the Republican leadership's filibuster [by passing a Cloture Motion] and pass our amendment, it will dramatically increase the pressure on the President to change course and end his failed Iraq policy."
Here is my reply:
Senator Levin,
You only need 51 votes to pass legislation through the Senate, not 60. Make the Republicans filibuster, if necessary.
Here's what Harry Reid should say: "I hope that my colleagues on the other side of the aisle vote with the rest of America and agree to set at timetable to leave Iraq. If they choose not to, well, all of America will witness how unwilling the Republicans are to listen to the people. Americans want this amendment to pass. It's time for the Senate to represent the people - the will of the people." Then Harry DOES NOT offer a cloture motion, but lets the Republicans filibuster.
Look, even if the Democrats get their 60 votes, President Bush will veto the bill. But the Senate Democrats have to FIGHT for what the American people want. Either way the Democrats handle this (making the Republicans filibuster or offering a cloture motion), the Republicans will say, "the Democrat Party is wasting the People's Time and is getting nothing done." ...This in spite of the fact that the People will see that it is actually the Republicans who are wasting the People's Time by blocking legislation which the People so desperately want.
It's a long speech, but definitely worth reading. You can also watch it on Google Video (24 minutes.)
This man wants to be President? No wonder the Republican Party is scared $hitless.
"...But let it not be said that we did nothing. Let not those who love the power of the welfare/warfare state label the dissenters of authoritarianism as unpatriotic or uncaring. Patriotism is more closely linked to dissent than it is to conformity and a blind desire for safety and security. Understanding the magnificent rewards of a free society makes us unbashful in its promotion, fully realizing that maximum wealth is created and the greatest chance for peace comes from a society respectful of individual liberty."
From Tuesday's Congressional Record:
Madam Speaker, for some, patriotism is the last refuge of a scoundrel. For others, it means dissent against a government's abuse of the people's rights.
Read More »What's so "strange"? Toledo has lots of glass manufacturing capacity which can be used for solar panels. Toledo has light manufacturing capacity left over from serving Detroit's auto industry, perfect for manufacturing wind turbine parts. Farmland around Toledo can provide corn and sugar beets for fuel-alcohol.
Senator Sherrod Brown, in fact, is an advocate for turning Ohio into the "silicon valley of alternative energy". See this excellent article about Sherrod in The Nation: Link
Call Sherrod Brown's DC office: (202) 224-2315 Link
Tell whomever answers that you'd like to speak with Sherrod about the Iraq War Supplemental Bill (as I just did). If Sherrod cannot come to the phone, tell his aide that you "want Sherrod to vote against the Supplemental. Democrats in Ohio put him and other Democrats into Congress because we are tired of the Iraq Occupation. Sherrod needs to remember why he was elected. This Supplemental just gives the Bush Administration a blank check to keep killing Ohioans, without any end in sight." When the aide asks which you think Sherrod should vote against ... the funding or the timetables, answer "Both. Stop the funding and start bringing the troops home." The aide will then ask you for your Zipcode, and will pass your message along to Sherrod.
I did my part. Now PLEASE step up and do yours.
This week, I’ll be participating in the Food Stamp Challenge. For seven days, I’ll be living on three dollars of food per day, the same amount an average participant in the Food Stamp Program receives. The Challenge is an exercise aimed to raise awareness of the difficulties faced by millions of Americans, who live day to day, working to put food on the table.
Last Friday, my staff and I held a meeting plotting out how I would spend my $21.00. As we looked over food prices, we were struck by how anyone could expect a person to have a balanced, healthy diet on a mere three dollars per day. On a dollar per meal, a person can’t buy fresh fruit and vegetables. A person can’t buy the milk they need. The kids across the country who go to bed hungry on nights when the budget is stretched too thin deal with the reality of poverty every day, and I want them to know they aren’t forgotten.
There are over one million recipients of Food Stamps in Ohio, nearly 90,000 in the 17th District. I’m participating in this challenge because as Congress crafts this years Farm Bill, we’re going to have to take a hard look at the way the Food Stamp Program is administered. I hope that at the end of the week, I have a deeper understanding of the hardships of these millions of American, and a better idea of how to help them.
Now the payoff: Democrats are the majority in the US House and Senate, and have closed the gap in the Ohio House. The Ohio and Federal Minimum Wage has been raised (I think), yet I feel strangely unsatisfied.
My feelings became more concrete and well-defined today, after receiving an email from the DSCC (Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee) asking for money to fund US Senate races in 2008. I wrote back a terse note:
---start terse note---
You guys give the impression that running for office is all you are about. Don't you take time out to Legislate?
Please contact me after you have done two things:
1) Submit legislation which will remove our troops from Iraq, and
2) Start investigating (a) the faulty intelligence which led us to war with Iraq, and (b) the illegal wiretapping.
Thank you
---end terse note---
Am I cutting off my nose to spite my face, or should I be happily writing checks?
Oh, and another thing. Did you catch Carl Levin on Meet the Press yesterday? He said that he did not favor cutting off funding for the troops because that would demoralize them and would be just like Vietnam. He also said that we would leave troops in Iraq to take care of 5,000 Al Queda which are there. He also said he would leave troops in there to do the work the Commanders think is necessary.
Looks like Carl Levin is confused. Cutting off funds would force a withdrawal of the troops ... it wouldn't leave them stranded in Iraq without bullets and helmets. There may be 5,000 Al Queda in Iraq now, but that's because the Occupation has drawn them there. We must hammer that point home every chance we get. Lastly, the Commanders have changed recently because the old ones were not telling Bush/Cheney what they wanted to hear. Which Commanders are you referring to, Senator Levin?
Levin should have brought up Murtha's proposal to send only properly-trained and equipped troops to Iraq. It is sad that in order to "Git 'er done" you need to send poorly-trained and equipped troops as a part of Bush's "give me just one more last chance" Plan for Victory.
I read a hilarious article Link by Paul Kostyu in the Canton Repository about Auditor Mary Taylor’s megalomania and self-promotion on her official state website. Mary leaves no opportunity undone in her zeal to advertise her CPA.
“Press releases coming from her office and her office Web site are emblazoned with the Ohio seal and her name followed by CPA in big, bold letters.”
How pathetically embarrassing. I used to work with a guy that signed every letter with his name followed immediately by “M.B.A.” He was the source of much snickering and amusement in an office filled with Ph.D.s, M.D.s, J.D.s, and plenty of Masters degrees in topics I could only pretend to understand. I just want to pick up the phone and say “Mary, Mary, Mary…enough with the CPA-thing”.
People want you to be well-educated. But once they have placed their faith in you, they do not want to be reminded of it, and they are less forgiving of you when you make a mistake. I learned long ago that the secretaries, mailmen, clerks, receptionists, maintenance personnel and every other support employee are the real backbone of every office. The rest of us are pretty much expendable and things will progress smoothly until the next guy arrives. And they will cover for you and help you do your job to the best of their abilities as long as you do your job well and show them the respect that they deserve.
But watch out if you don’t. Take my father-in-law (PULEEZE :). I once sent a Christmas card with a return address label that had my name and “Esq.” I never gave it a thought, since they were the free labels that come with a plea to support disabled vets or the heart association. Three years later when he was mad at me he pulled out the gem “that I rub his nose in the fact that I am an attorney”. I was stunned as I had always been careful to avoid any discussion of politics or legal issues. When I called him on the comment, he pointed out the return address label on a Christmas card three years previous.
Mary, let my father in law and a return address label be a metaphor for the electorate. You may have gotten your job based on your credentials, but unless you do the job that you were elected to do (such as responding for a request by SOS Brunner to audit the SOS’s office), your self-aggrandizing, even if it is in the form of a free return address label, will be perceived just as it is.
The voters put you in your position but expect you to do your job. And they don’t like to hear about how much you love yourself. Save your CPA letters for when you sign an audit report, if you must. Oh, and when you write to our Governor, I hope that you follow his name with HIS credentials, B.A., M.Div., Ph.D. Somehow I suspect that you won’t.
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