WOMANKIND WEB WANDERINGS - 3/12/2012
RESOLVED: The primary goal of The Womankind Party.com is to create a woman-centered political agenda and run a candidate of our choosing in the 2020 presidential election on the 3rd of November, 2020. The secondary goal, and perhaps actually the most important, is to provide a safe haven for all women in our own little corner of the Web, safe from dragons.
Margaret Sanger leaving a courthouse in New York in 1917
Birth control movement in the United States
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Description: A reform movement to overturn anti-contraception laws.
The birth control movement in the United States was a social reform campaign from 1914 to around 1945 that aimed to increase the availability of contraception in America through education and legalization. The movement began in New York City in 1914 when a group of activists led by Emma Goldman, Mary Dennett, and Margaret Sanger, became concerned about the hardships that childbirth and self-induced abortions brought to low-income women. Information about contraception was considered to be obscene at the time, so the activists targeted the Comstock laws, which prohibited distribution of any "obscene, lewd, and/or lascivious" materials through the mail. Hoping to provoke a favorable legal decision, Sanger deliberately broke the law by distributing The Woman Rebel, a newsletter containing a discussion of contraception. In 1916, Sanger opened the first birth control clinic in the United States, but the clinic was immediately shut down by police, and Sanger was sentenced to 30 days in jail.
The entire Wikipedia article for Birth control movement in the United States.
(All newly added Web Wanderings postings today will go beneath this Wikipedia page regarding Margaret Sanger)
Earth Is My Mother
Bev Doolittle Biography:
Beginning with the 1979 release of Pintos, artist Bev Doolittle's career has been responsible for drawing tens of thousands into the realm of collectible limited edition fine art prints.
Recurring themes in Bev Doolittle's art, prints and posters point the viewer back to an awareness of the earth and nature. Paintings draw the viewer in, and reward diligent study with revelations of hidden details missed in a casual glance.
Inspiration drawn from history, nature, literature, and other themes has spawned two decades of sell out paintings, appealing to people from all walks of life. Browse through the art, prints and posters of Bev Doolittle - you're sure to find one that inspires you.
Bev Doolittle Art Gallery
IMHO: Bev Doolittle is among the many wonderful women Artists whose work I collect via my jigsaw puzzles. This puzzle is mounted on poster board and hanging in my bedroom. My women puzzles are in the bedroom; my butterfly puzzles in the living room. I will never be able to afford art work of this level, but I have many of them in puzzles. A poor woman's way of collecting great Women Artists.
Richard Cebull, Montana Federal Judge, Admits Forwarding Racist Obama Email
The Huffington Post |
By Melissa Jeltsen
Posted: 03/01/12 08:44 AM ET |
Updated: 03/01/12 09:13 AM ET
Montana's chief federal judge admitted on Wednesday that he forwarded an email comparing African-Americans to dogs and implying that President Barack Obama's mother had sex with animals.
Richard Cebull's email, obtained by the Great Falls Tribune, reads: "Normally I don't send or forward a lot of these, but even by my standards, it was a bit touching. I want all of my friends to feel what I felt when I read this. Hope it touches your heart like it did mine."
A joke then follows: "A little boy said to his mother, 'Mommy, how come I'm black and you're white?' His mother replied, 'Don't even go there, Barack! From what I can remember about that party, you're lucky you don't bark!'"
Cebull forwarded the offensive email from his official court account to six "old buddies," who then forwarded to others.
In an interview with the Tribune, Cebull maintained he did not send the email because it was racist, but because it was 'anti-Obama.'
"The only reason I can explain it to you is I am not a fan of our president, but this goes beyond not being a fan," Cebull said. He agreed the email was racist, but said he personally was not.
"This is a private thing that was, to say the least, very poor judgment on my part," he said.
Cebull was nominated to his current position by George W. Bush. He has served since 2008.
This is not the first instance of an official coming under fire for sending a racist Obama email.
In April 2011, an Orange County GOP official sent out an email with a photo of Obama's face superimposed on the body of a baby chimpanzee. She made a public apology, saying she was an "an imperfect Christian" and she hadn't thought about the cultural implications of the email before sending.
The Huffington Post |
By Melissa Jeltsen
Posted: 03/01/12 08:44 AM ET |
Updated: 03/01/12 09:13 AM ET
Montana's chief federal judge admitted on Wednesday that he forwarded an email comparing African-Americans to dogs and implying that President Barack Obama's mother had sex with animals.
Richard Cebull's email, obtained by the Great Falls Tribune, reads: "Normally I don't send or forward a lot of these, but even by my standards, it was a bit touching. I want all of my friends to feel what I felt when I read this. Hope it touches your heart like it did mine."
A joke then follows: "A little boy said to his mother, 'Mommy, how come I'm black and you're white?' His mother replied, 'Don't even go there, Barack! From what I can remember about that party, you're lucky you don't bark!'"
Cebull forwarded the offensive email from his official court account to six "old buddies," who then forwarded to others.
In an interview with the Tribune, Cebull maintained he did not send the email because it was racist, but because it was 'anti-Obama.'
"The only reason I can explain it to you is I am not a fan of our president, but this goes beyond not being a fan," Cebull said. He agreed the email was racist, but said he personally was not.
"This is a private thing that was, to say the least, very poor judgment on my part," he said.
Cebull was nominated to his current position by George W. Bush. He has served since 2008.
This is not the first instance of an official coming under fire for sending a racist Obama email.
In April 2011, an Orange County GOP official sent out an email with a photo of Obama's face superimposed on the body of a baby chimpanzee. She made a public apology, saying she was an "an imperfect Christian" and she hadn't thought about the cultural implications of the email before sending.
The email forwarded -- from his official email address, on a government computer -- by Judge Richard Cebull:
IMHO: The President of the United States is lucky he doesn't bark? Very racist and crude for a Federal Judge. I'd hate to be a person of color appearing in his court room as a defendant. Pretty sure I'd get the maximum sentence if found guilty. When did we slip back into the racism so prevalent before the Civil Rights Movement? Or did in the end that Movement not accomplish much of anything? If you agree this is very racist and also very disrespectful of our current President of the United States, please sign the petition below.
In my yahoo mail box 3/12/12
Dear Leah,
UPDATE: Three right-wing state legislators in Montana have come to Judge Richard Cebull’s defense, with one even ridiculously thanking Cebull for exercising his "freedom of speech."
The judge's reckless and offensive email had nothing to do with free speech. A federal judge is free to hate the president and his policies, just as other Americans are. And he is free to privately tell his friends that, just as other Americans do. But Judge Cebull used his official government email address to make a statement that has now become very public.
It is important that Americans see their judges as neutral arbiters, not as political figures. Therefore, it is imperative that Judge Cebull resign.
Join the 60,000 activists who have already signed our petition demanding that Judge Cebull resign -- please add your name now!
If a football referee is known to have grossly insulted some of the teams, then acknowledges that he did so because he strongly dislikes them, would anyone want him refereeing a game they cared about? Would anyone trust his calls?
Good referees are constrained in what they can say about the teams whose games they oversee, not because they don't have freedom of speech, but because they accept voluntary constraints as part of their job description. With Judge Cebull, we are talking not about the integrity of a sports league, but rather the integrity of the American justice system.
Judge Cebull is unfit to judge. Speak out now. And then please help spread the word.
Thank you for all that you do.
-- Ben
Dear Leah,
UPDATE: Three right-wing state legislators in Montana have come to Judge Richard Cebull’s defense, with one even ridiculously thanking Cebull for exercising his "freedom of speech."
The judge's reckless and offensive email had nothing to do with free speech. A federal judge is free to hate the president and his policies, just as other Americans are. And he is free to privately tell his friends that, just as other Americans do. But Judge Cebull used his official government email address to make a statement that has now become very public.
It is important that Americans see their judges as neutral arbiters, not as political figures. Therefore, it is imperative that Judge Cebull resign.
Join the 60,000 activists who have already signed our petition demanding that Judge Cebull resign -- please add your name now!
If a football referee is known to have grossly insulted some of the teams, then acknowledges that he did so because he strongly dislikes them, would anyone want him refereeing a game they cared about? Would anyone trust his calls?
Good referees are constrained in what they can say about the teams whose games they oversee, not because they don't have freedom of speech, but because they accept voluntary constraints as part of their job description. With Judge Cebull, we are talking not about the integrity of a sports league, but rather the integrity of the American justice system.
Judge Cebull is unfit to judge. Speak out now. And then please help spread the word.
Thank you for all that you do.
-- Ben
Sharon Starkey Jacobs Via Robert Starkey:
I would like to make a small observation here. In the larger scheme of things, with all the nit picking aside, the Democratic Party is by far the most representational of people with spiritual values, of people with hearts and compassion, of people with intellect, of people who believe in the inclusive nature of our great melting pot! For those who "believe" differently, show me the proof! Show me the legislation. Show me the actions! What we need to do now is stop dividing people by religion or whether they believe or do not believe or by whom they love. It's time to focus on whether we want hypocrites to govern, or whether we want people with the best interests of all in their hearts. The fact that our entire political system has been corrupted by money is a separate issue that will only be resolved after we defeat the charlatans. Don't throw the baby out with the bathwater, just because you didn't get every single thing you wanted. Otherwise, you are the baby!
IMHO: Well-spoken, Robert Starkey. Thank you for sharing.
I would like to make a small observation here. In the larger scheme of things, with all the nit picking aside, the Democratic Party is by far the most representational of people with spiritual values, of people with hearts and compassion, of people with intellect, of people who believe in the inclusive nature of our great melting pot! For those who "believe" differently, show me the proof! Show me the legislation. Show me the actions! What we need to do now is stop dividing people by religion or whether they believe or do not believe or by whom they love. It's time to focus on whether we want hypocrites to govern, or whether we want people with the best interests of all in their hearts. The fact that our entire political system has been corrupted by money is a separate issue that will only be resolved after we defeat the charlatans. Don't throw the baby out with the bathwater, just because you didn't get every single thing you wanted. Otherwise, you are the baby!
IMHO: Well-spoken, Robert Starkey. Thank you for sharing.
Author Tabitha King
Tabitha King
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Family:
King met her husband, author Stephen King, in college through her work-study job in the Fogler Library. Their daughter, Naomi Rachel, was born in 1970. They married on January 2, 1971. They had two more children: Joseph Hillstrom King in 1972 and Owen Phillip King in 1977. Naomi is a former restaurateur and now a minister. Both sons have become authors.
Career:
King has published eight novels (the eighth in 2006 with Michael McDowell as co-author), all of which were released in hardcover by Macmillan and paperback by New American Library. She has also published two works of non-fiction, one of which was published in paperback by Dendrite.
Social activism:
King serves on several boards and committees in the state of Maine, including the board of directors of Shaw House (an adolescent homeless shelter in Bangor), the board of the Maine Public Broadcasting System, and the Bangor Public Library board.
She has previously served on the University of Maine Press board and for three years as a board member on the Maine Humanities Council.
In 1996, she served as chair of the campaign to renovate the Bangor Public Library, which raised over eight million dollars.This was the largest charitable campaign in history of Bangor as of March 2005.
In 1997, King served as co-chair of the campaign to raise funds for a former school building to permanently house Shaw House.
She currently serves as vice president of WZON/WKIT, as well as in the administration of two family philanthropic foundations.
Awards and recognition:
In May 1987, King and her husband were awarded Honorary Doctorates of Humane Letters from their alma mater, University of Maine in Orono.
In 1998, King was the recipient of the first Annual Constance H. Carlson Public Humanities Prize from the Maine Humanities Council for her service to the advancement of the Humanities.
Bibliography:
Novels
Unpublished:
Nonfiction:
Poetry:
External links
IMHO:The last link could be the most important of all for the Maine March on Agusta on April 28, 2012. I would highly recommend that the Maine State group e-mail Mrs. King at her foundation and request her help. I truly believe she would jump right in!
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Family:
King met her husband, author Stephen King, in college through her work-study job in the Fogler Library. Their daughter, Naomi Rachel, was born in 1970. They married on January 2, 1971. They had two more children: Joseph Hillstrom King in 1972 and Owen Phillip King in 1977. Naomi is a former restaurateur and now a minister. Both sons have become authors.
Career:
King has published eight novels (the eighth in 2006 with Michael McDowell as co-author), all of which were released in hardcover by Macmillan and paperback by New American Library. She has also published two works of non-fiction, one of which was published in paperback by Dendrite.
Social activism:
King serves on several boards and committees in the state of Maine, including the board of directors of Shaw House (an adolescent homeless shelter in Bangor), the board of the Maine Public Broadcasting System, and the Bangor Public Library board.
She has previously served on the University of Maine Press board and for three years as a board member on the Maine Humanities Council.
In 1996, she served as chair of the campaign to renovate the Bangor Public Library, which raised over eight million dollars.This was the largest charitable campaign in history of Bangor as of March 2005.
In 1997, King served as co-chair of the campaign to raise funds for a former school building to permanently house Shaw House.
She currently serves as vice president of WZON/WKIT, as well as in the administration of two family philanthropic foundations.
Awards and recognition:
In May 1987, King and her husband were awarded Honorary Doctorates of Humane Letters from their alma mater, University of Maine in Orono.
In 1998, King was the recipient of the first Annual Constance H. Carlson Public Humanities Prize from the Maine Humanities Council for her service to the advancement of the Humanities.
Bibliography:
Novels
- (1981) Small World
- (1983) Caretakers *
- (1985) The Trap (also published as Wolves at the Door) *
- (1988) Pearl *
- (1993) One on One *
- (1994) The Book of Reuben *
- (1997) Survivor
- (2006) Candles Burning (with Michael McDowell (author))
Unpublished:
Nonfiction:
- (1994) Playing Like a Girl; Cindy Blodgett and the Lawrence Bulldogs Season of 93-94
- (1994) Mid-life Confidential: The Rock Bottom Remainders Tour America with Three Chords and an Attitude
- Written by all of the Rock Bottom Remainders with photos by Tabitha King
- (1981) The Blue Chair
- (1998) Djinn and Tonic
- (2002) The Woman's Room
Poetry:
- (1967) A Gradual Canticle for Augustine
- Murderess Ink: The Better Half of the Mystery, Dilys Winn, ed., Bell, 1979
- Shadows, Volume 4, C. L. Grant, ed., Doubleday, 1981
- Midlife Confidential, ed. David Marsh et al., photographs by Tabitha King, Viking Penguin, 1994
External links
IMHO:The last link could be the most important of all for the Maine March on Agusta on April 28, 2012. I would highly recommend that the Maine State group e-mail Mrs. King at her foundation and request her help. I truly believe she would jump right in!
Samantha and Stephen King
Heart Failure (CHF and COPD)
growthhouse.org
Diseases of the heart and circulatory system are the leading cause of death in the United States. Congestive heart failure (CHF) is a progressively debilitating illness that eventually will lead to death. In this disease the heart gradually loses its ability to pump blood effectively. Without a good blood supply, muscles and organs don't get enough oxygen, causing various problems. Because blood doesn't circulate as it should, fluid backs up in the lungs and lower parts of the body. That's why people with this disease often have swelling in the feet and legs. The body is "congested" with fluid, which is why this disease is called congestive heart failure.
CHF may occur along with Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD), a progressive and irreversible condition in which the airways of the lungs are damaged and unable to process oxygen well. Shortness of breath and coughing are common symptoms. Emphysema and chronic bronchitis are forms of COPD. Direct medical costs for COPD in the U.S. total $18 billion per year, nearly 9 percent of Medicare expenditures. The combination of CHF with COPD is not unusual in advanced illness. Both diseases make it hard for the entire body to get the oxygen it needs everywhere it needs it.
CHF and COPD are chronic illnesses that can go on for a long time. The exact course of the illness may be difficult for your physician to determine. There are usually ups and downs, sometimes requiring acute hospital care. As CHF or COPD get worse, it becomes difficult to perform physical tasks that require moving around. People with advanced disease may need help from family members and other caretakers to do basic things like getting dressed, cooking, or other chores, particularly those that require going out of the home. This makes caregiving a family affair, with impact on everyone in the household.
As it gets harder to do things, quality of life declines. People with advanced disease often realize that they are likely to die, and begin concentrating on how to maintain the highest possible quality of life for as long as life remains. Planning ahead can include learning about hospice care and death with dignity. A key objective in hospice and home care is to obtain high-quality palliative care to control pain and preserve the highest possible quality of life for as long as life remains.
For elderly people, handling chronic disease is often linked to more general issues regarding basic living arrangements, finances, and aging. Many eldercare resources exist to provide care for the total person.
IMHO: I did some research today because of how I've been feeling physically the last couple of weeks. I already knew I had CHF as I had my first heart attack in my first quarter as a re-entry student at UCSC in 1985. I was 41. Still I smoked. I had a quadruple coronary by-pass in Seattle, Washington in 1998. I was 54. Still I smoked. For the last couple of weeks, it has become increasingly difficult for me to walk my service dog, Rudy. I already knew the symptoms for CHF and mine has been well controlled since 1998. My blood pressure is low with medication, my diabetes is well controlled with medication, I have no swelling in my legs or feet, I have no angina. But still I smoke. After doing today's research I can only come to the conclusion that I now have both CHF and COPD. I already have my usual three month doctor appointment set up for early April and I will talk to my doctor at that time about this. But in my heart I know the truth. I can no longer smoke. Today, March 12, 2012, is my last day for cigarettes. I began smoking at age 13. I will be 68 at the end of this month. I have smoked for 55 years. And all I have done in all those years of indulging in my guilty pleasure is manage to almost totally destroy my health. If you smoke, quit now! And Dear Readers of thewomankindparty.com, please send me all the positive energy you can. I'm going to need it.
In Sisterhood,
Blue
P.S. I admit to stealing the phrase "Dear Readers" from Stephen King, one of my favorite authors of all time. I think I'll e-mail his web page and admit to my thievery. Maybe he'll become interested in the State Marches on April 28, 2012 movement. And I KNOW his wife, Tabitha King, will. She is my absolute favorite author with her wonderful novel, One on One, published in 1993. If you haven't read this book, I would highly recommend it as one of the most well-written women-centered novels of recent years.
growthhouse.org
Diseases of the heart and circulatory system are the leading cause of death in the United States. Congestive heart failure (CHF) is a progressively debilitating illness that eventually will lead to death. In this disease the heart gradually loses its ability to pump blood effectively. Without a good blood supply, muscles and organs don't get enough oxygen, causing various problems. Because blood doesn't circulate as it should, fluid backs up in the lungs and lower parts of the body. That's why people with this disease often have swelling in the feet and legs. The body is "congested" with fluid, which is why this disease is called congestive heart failure.
CHF may occur along with Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD), a progressive and irreversible condition in which the airways of the lungs are damaged and unable to process oxygen well. Shortness of breath and coughing are common symptoms. Emphysema and chronic bronchitis are forms of COPD. Direct medical costs for COPD in the U.S. total $18 billion per year, nearly 9 percent of Medicare expenditures. The combination of CHF with COPD is not unusual in advanced illness. Both diseases make it hard for the entire body to get the oxygen it needs everywhere it needs it.
CHF and COPD are chronic illnesses that can go on for a long time. The exact course of the illness may be difficult for your physician to determine. There are usually ups and downs, sometimes requiring acute hospital care. As CHF or COPD get worse, it becomes difficult to perform physical tasks that require moving around. People with advanced disease may need help from family members and other caretakers to do basic things like getting dressed, cooking, or other chores, particularly those that require going out of the home. This makes caregiving a family affair, with impact on everyone in the household.
As it gets harder to do things, quality of life declines. People with advanced disease often realize that they are likely to die, and begin concentrating on how to maintain the highest possible quality of life for as long as life remains. Planning ahead can include learning about hospice care and death with dignity. A key objective in hospice and home care is to obtain high-quality palliative care to control pain and preserve the highest possible quality of life for as long as life remains.
For elderly people, handling chronic disease is often linked to more general issues regarding basic living arrangements, finances, and aging. Many eldercare resources exist to provide care for the total person.
IMHO: I did some research today because of how I've been feeling physically the last couple of weeks. I already knew I had CHF as I had my first heart attack in my first quarter as a re-entry student at UCSC in 1985. I was 41. Still I smoked. I had a quadruple coronary by-pass in Seattle, Washington in 1998. I was 54. Still I smoked. For the last couple of weeks, it has become increasingly difficult for me to walk my service dog, Rudy. I already knew the symptoms for CHF and mine has been well controlled since 1998. My blood pressure is low with medication, my diabetes is well controlled with medication, I have no swelling in my legs or feet, I have no angina. But still I smoke. After doing today's research I can only come to the conclusion that I now have both CHF and COPD. I already have my usual three month doctor appointment set up for early April and I will talk to my doctor at that time about this. But in my heart I know the truth. I can no longer smoke. Today, March 12, 2012, is my last day for cigarettes. I began smoking at age 13. I will be 68 at the end of this month. I have smoked for 55 years. And all I have done in all those years of indulging in my guilty pleasure is manage to almost totally destroy my health. If you smoke, quit now! And Dear Readers of thewomankindparty.com, please send me all the positive energy you can. I'm going to need it.
In Sisterhood,
Blue
P.S. I admit to stealing the phrase "Dear Readers" from Stephen King, one of my favorite authors of all time. I think I'll e-mail his web page and admit to my thievery. Maybe he'll become interested in the State Marches on April 28, 2012 movement. And I KNOW his wife, Tabitha King, will. She is my absolute favorite author with her wonderful novel, One on One, published in 1993. If you haven't read this book, I would highly recommend it as one of the most well-written women-centered novels of recent years.
(Better image at link above.)
Child Watch® Column: "The American Promise: The Right to Vote"
Release Date: March 9, 2012
Every American citizen must have an equal right to vote. There is no reason which can excuse the denial of that right. There is no duty which weighs more heavily on us than the duty we have to ensure that right... The command of the Constitution is plain. There is no moral issue. It is wrong—deadly wrong—to deny any of your fellow Americans the right to vote in this country. There is no issue of States rights or National rights. There is only the struggle for human rights.
—President Lyndon Johnson, “The American Promise,” March 15, 1965
These words are from the well-known televised address President Johnson gave before a joint session of Congress urging members to move forward without delay on what would become the Voting Rights Act of 1965. The speech and legislation came after the entire nation had spent days transfixed by events in Alabama. On March 7, 1965, John Lewis and Rev. Hosea Williams set out with a group of 600 on a planned 50-mile peaceful march from Selma to Montgomery. Instead, state troopers brutally attacked the nonviolent protestors on the first day at the Edmund Pettus Bridge. The televised images of “Bloody Sunday” and the injured marchers—including Lewis, whose skull was fractured—were a pivotal moment in the Civil Rights Movement. They roused great sympathy for the protesters and reminded all Americans that these marchers had to put their lives on the line for what should have been considered a basic American right: the right to vote.
On March 4, 2012, marchers returned to the road from Selma to Montgomery—but not just to revisit that moment in history that changed the course of our nation. They are marching again because in 2012, voting rights are once again under attack.
As Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. said to the crowd of thousands (I was among them) who finally completed the original march to Montgomery two weeks later: “The Civil Rights Act of 1964 gave Negroes some part of their rightful dignity, but without the vote it was dignity without strength... The confrontation of good and evil compressed in the tiny community of Selma generated the massive power to turn the whole nation to a new course. A president born in the South had the sensitivity to feel the will of the country, and in an address that will live in history as one of the most passionate pleas for human rights ever made by a president of our nation, he pledged the might of the federal government to cast off the centuries-old blight.” In August 1965, the Voting Rights Act became law.
But right now many states are attempting to put new voting restrictions in place that parallel all the old tricks and turn back the clock on civil rights to the days when voting was used as a tool for political control and exclusion. The “centuries-old blight” now has a twenty-first century disguise. The latest restrictions include strict photo identification requirements limited to certain forms of government-issued ID, cuts on early voting and absentee voting, and new requirements for registration that make it much more difficult for voters to prove citizenship and residency and register to vote at all. The changes threaten to disenfranchise millions of people, and studies show young, minority, and low-income voters and voters with disabilities will be most affected. “It’s no coincidence that a nationwide rollback in voting rights for America’s most vulnerable citizens is happening just as elected officials mount unprecedented campaigns to slash investments in education and economic development,” said National Urban League president and CEO Marc Morial, as his organization launched their Occupy the Vote campaign on March 7. “[A] coordinated effort is underway to exclude from the political process the very citizens whose futures hang in the balance.”
Of course, our true most vulnerable citizens—children—have no vote and no voice. And all parents and adults concerned about the future have a responsibility to them to vote and make our own votes count. But when powerful forces start to chip away at the right to vote for some Americans, they threaten the American promise for all Americans. No American should be complicit in allowing this to happen.
The courts and state legislatures are taking a second look at some of these changes as the presidential primary process continues and the 2012 elections grow closer—and so the time to take action against new voter suppression laws is right now. As Representative John Lewis prepared to participate in the Selma to Montgomery march, he said, “Forty-seven years ago I spilled a little blood on that bridge but that was nothing compared to those who died so that we could live in a better America. We march today for what we did 47 years ago—for what is fair, what is right and for what is just.” The sacrifices made during the Civil Rights Movement must not be undermined today. The “command of the Constitution” is still “plain,” and denying Americans the right to vote is still “deadly wrong.” Do you know the voting policies in your own state? Educate yourself and join others to speak out and defeat threats to voting rights now.
Sign-up to receive CDF President Marian Wright Edelman's weekly Child Watch Column.
Release Date: March 9, 2012
Every American citizen must have an equal right to vote. There is no reason which can excuse the denial of that right. There is no duty which weighs more heavily on us than the duty we have to ensure that right... The command of the Constitution is plain. There is no moral issue. It is wrong—deadly wrong—to deny any of your fellow Americans the right to vote in this country. There is no issue of States rights or National rights. There is only the struggle for human rights.
—President Lyndon Johnson, “The American Promise,” March 15, 1965
These words are from the well-known televised address President Johnson gave before a joint session of Congress urging members to move forward without delay on what would become the Voting Rights Act of 1965. The speech and legislation came after the entire nation had spent days transfixed by events in Alabama. On March 7, 1965, John Lewis and Rev. Hosea Williams set out with a group of 600 on a planned 50-mile peaceful march from Selma to Montgomery. Instead, state troopers brutally attacked the nonviolent protestors on the first day at the Edmund Pettus Bridge. The televised images of “Bloody Sunday” and the injured marchers—including Lewis, whose skull was fractured—were a pivotal moment in the Civil Rights Movement. They roused great sympathy for the protesters and reminded all Americans that these marchers had to put their lives on the line for what should have been considered a basic American right: the right to vote.
On March 4, 2012, marchers returned to the road from Selma to Montgomery—but not just to revisit that moment in history that changed the course of our nation. They are marching again because in 2012, voting rights are once again under attack.
As Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. said to the crowd of thousands (I was among them) who finally completed the original march to Montgomery two weeks later: “The Civil Rights Act of 1964 gave Negroes some part of their rightful dignity, but without the vote it was dignity without strength... The confrontation of good and evil compressed in the tiny community of Selma generated the massive power to turn the whole nation to a new course. A president born in the South had the sensitivity to feel the will of the country, and in an address that will live in history as one of the most passionate pleas for human rights ever made by a president of our nation, he pledged the might of the federal government to cast off the centuries-old blight.” In August 1965, the Voting Rights Act became law.
But right now many states are attempting to put new voting restrictions in place that parallel all the old tricks and turn back the clock on civil rights to the days when voting was used as a tool for political control and exclusion. The “centuries-old blight” now has a twenty-first century disguise. The latest restrictions include strict photo identification requirements limited to certain forms of government-issued ID, cuts on early voting and absentee voting, and new requirements for registration that make it much more difficult for voters to prove citizenship and residency and register to vote at all. The changes threaten to disenfranchise millions of people, and studies show young, minority, and low-income voters and voters with disabilities will be most affected. “It’s no coincidence that a nationwide rollback in voting rights for America’s most vulnerable citizens is happening just as elected officials mount unprecedented campaigns to slash investments in education and economic development,” said National Urban League president and CEO Marc Morial, as his organization launched their Occupy the Vote campaign on March 7. “[A] coordinated effort is underway to exclude from the political process the very citizens whose futures hang in the balance.”
Of course, our true most vulnerable citizens—children—have no vote and no voice. And all parents and adults concerned about the future have a responsibility to them to vote and make our own votes count. But when powerful forces start to chip away at the right to vote for some Americans, they threaten the American promise for all Americans. No American should be complicit in allowing this to happen.
The courts and state legislatures are taking a second look at some of these changes as the presidential primary process continues and the 2012 elections grow closer—and so the time to take action against new voter suppression laws is right now. As Representative John Lewis prepared to participate in the Selma to Montgomery march, he said, “Forty-seven years ago I spilled a little blood on that bridge but that was nothing compared to those who died so that we could live in a better America. We march today for what we did 47 years ago—for what is fair, what is right and for what is just.” The sacrifices made during the Civil Rights Movement must not be undermined today. The “command of the Constitution” is still “plain,” and denying Americans the right to vote is still “deadly wrong.” Do you know the voting policies in your own state? Educate yourself and join others to speak out and defeat threats to voting rights now.
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The Big Story
What Went Wrong? American Solider Massacres 16 Villagers In Afghanistan
Moving from house to house, a U.S. Army sergeant opened fire Sunday on Afghan villagers as they slept, killing 16 people -- mostly women and children -- in an attack that reignited fury at the U.S. presence, following a wave of deadly protests over Americans burning Qurans.
The attack threatened the deepest breach yet in U.S.-Afghan relations, raising questions both in Washington and Kabul about why American troops are still fighting in Afghanistan after 10 years of conflict and the killing of Osama bin Laden. READ MORE
What Went Wrong? American Solider Massacres 16 Villagers In Afghanistan
Moving from house to house, a U.S. Army sergeant opened fire Sunday on Afghan villagers as they slept, killing 16 people -- mostly women and children -- in an attack that reignited fury at the U.S. presence, following a wave of deadly protests over Americans burning Qurans.
The attack threatened the deepest breach yet in U.S.-Afghan relations, raising questions both in Washington and Kabul about why American troops are still fighting in Afghanistan after 10 years of conflict and the killing of Osama bin Laden. READ MORE
post by Quan Yin How old would you be if you didn’t know how old you are?
~ Satchel Paige ~ ♥ ~
~ Satchel Paige ~ ♥ ~
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