WEB WANDERINGS - 3/22/2012
The thing women have yet to learn is nobody gives you power. You just take it.
-Roseanne Barr
Heather McMeekan shared a link: "Tagging Illinois Unite Against the War on Women & Unite Against The War on Women..."
by Rob Yee
New Jersey
The Lowdown
They might call themselves Real Housewives, but trust us, they don’t represent the average Jersey girl. Women from the Garden State support themselves with one of the country’s highest median salaries: $45,936. And more than one-third of women who graduated college were aiming for more than an “M.R.S.” degree.
The Good News
New Jersey is mom-friendly: The state’s Family Leave Act gives women 12 weeks of unpaid leave to care for a newborn. The same goes for spouses that care for moms who need help with postpartum recovery. This is on top of the 12 weeks allowed by the federal Family Medical Leave Act. New Jersey women take good care of themselves: they rank in the top 10 on healthy weight and Pap smear rates. And they have one of the lowest female poverty rates of any state: 10.3 percent, compared to 14.5 percent nationwide.
The Bad News
Childcare is expensive-- $11,200 annually for an infant -- and state childcare assistance is hard to come by with nearly 9,000 children on the waiting list. There are currently zero women representing New Jersey in Congress and in 2010, the man in the governor’s seat, Chris Christie, vetoed funding for family planning clinics that provide birth control and health screenings to the 15.6 percent of New Jersey women who are uninsured.
Hear Us Roar
Christine Todd Whitman was the first and only women so far to serve as governor of New Jersey. And the Apgar score, used to quickly determine whether a newborn needs medical attention, was created by New Jersey native Virginia Apgar, M.D., in 1952.
= 7.3
Colorado
The Lowdown
Ladies rule the state legislature, but it’s time you start thinking about higher office.
The Good News
That Rocky Mountain high keeps Colorado women moving more and weighing less than women in all but two other states (only 52 percent are overweight or worse, compared to the national average of 60 percent). A greater percentage of women (41 percent!) fill seats in the state legislature than any other in the country, but Colorado has never sent a woman to the Senate or the governor’s mansion. (There is one female House member: Diana DeGette (D-CO)). And 36 percent of women have a bachelor’s degree, second only to Massachusetts.
The Bad News
Nearly one in five women doesn’t have health insurance, and that has its repercussions: Thirty percent of women over 40 haven’t had a mammogram and one in four women hasn’t had a Pap smear within the last three years.
Hear Us Roar
The first woman pilot for a commercial airline, Emily Howell Warner, hails from Colorado, as did Florence Sabin, the first female member of the National Academy of Sciences and a noted medical researcher.
Score: 7.2
Maine
The Lowdown
When it comes to healthy living, women in Maine are savvier than most. So please explain why they’ve never elected a woman to statewide office?
The Good News
Women in Maine get a high five from pro-choice advocates for laws that assure contraceptives are covered by insurers, pharmacists fill those prescriptions and that women seeking an abortion are protected from blockades and clinic violence. Women here are among the top 10 when it comes to having health insurance. We love that both of Maine’s U.S. Senate seats are held by women, though we’re sad that one of them, Olympia Snowe, is not running for re-election. We hope one of the women who make up 29 percent of the state legislature thinks about running for higher office!
The Bad News
Maine is the only state in the country to never have elected a woman to statewide office. We’ll cut it a little slack, considering there’s only one such office: governor. But still, come on. The same can be said for the paltry percentage of female-owned businesses, 25.6, which puts Maine in the bottom 10 of all states and below the national average of 27.6 percent.
Hear Us Roar
Maine’s first female congresswoman, Margaret Chase Smith, went on to become the first woman in the country to serve in both houses of Congress. She was a U.S. Senator for 24 years (1949-1973) and a congresswoman for nine years through World War II (1940-1949).
= 7.1
Illinois
The Lowdown
When it comes to women-run businesses, Illinois ranks among the best.
The Good News
In Illinois, 31 percent of businesses are women owned, ranking it number five out of all 50 states. An equal percentage of women have four-year college degrees. And girl power extends into the boardroom: two of the 10 female CEOs on the Fortune 500 list work for Illinois companies. Irene Rosenfeld heads up Kraft Foods in Northfield and Patricia Woertz leads Decatur-based Archer Daniels Midland. Women hold 31 percent of seats in the state legislature (but Illinois has never elected a female governor).
The Bad News
If you work for the state of Illinois, a law bans your health insurance company from providing abortion coverage. And health care providers who receive state funding cannot counsel or refer women to abortion services. Just 71 percent of women over 40 have had a mammogram and 60 percent of women are overweight or obese. Only 27 percent of women eat a healthy diet of fruits and vegetables and 30 percent of women here don’t exercise at all.
Hear Us Roar
Hillary Rodham Clinton, the first woman to go from first lady to U.S. senator and only the third woman to serve as secretary of state, was born in Illinois. So was National Organization for Women Founder Betty Friedan, whose book “The Feminist Mystique” was a rallying cry for the woman’s rights movement.
= 6.5
Alaska
The Lowdown
When it comes to money in the bank, Alaska’s women are doing better than most.
The Good News
Alaska has one of the lowest poverty rates (10.4 percent) and highest median salaries -- $42,376 per year. And when moms need help paying for childcare, odds are they’ll get it. Not only is there no waiting list, a family of three can earn up to $54,000 and still qualify for help.
The Bad News
Alaska’s current U.S. senator, Lisa Murkowski, is the only woman the state has ever elected to Congress. The rate of women who don’t have health insurance, 22 percent, is higher than the national average of 19 percent. And many women here aren’t healthy eaters – just 28 percent eat a healthy diet of fruits and vegetables. And 65 percent of Alaskan women are overweight or obese.
Hear Us Roar
Sarah Palin, only the second woman to fill the vice presidential slot on a major party ballot and the subject of the new movie Game Change, is Alaska’s former governor.
= 6.4
WHERE IS YOUR STATE ON THE LIST?
SEE MORE: TOP 5 STATES | STATES 6-10 | STATES 16-20 | STATES 21-25 | STATES 26-30 | STATES 31-35 | STATES 36-40 | STATES 41-45
See the intro | Read the methodology Come back tomorrow to see the next five states on our Best to Worst States for Women list! Do you agree with the way these states were ranked? Tell us!
Kelley Gardner shared Media Matters for America's photo
Wall Photos
The Saga Of Fox News And The Obama Muslim Myth -- by Rob Tornoe
By: Media Matters for America
Wall Photos
The Saga Of Fox News And The Obama Muslim Myth -- by Rob Tornoe
By: Media Matters for America
"Note: This decree was signed into effect on April 15th 2011"
Peru Passes Monumental Ten Year Ban on Genetically Engineered Foods
In a massive blow to multinational agribiz corporations such as Monsanto, Bayer, and Dow, Peru has officially passed a law banning genetically modified ingredients anywhere within the country for a full decade before coming up for another review. Peru’s Plenary Session of the Congress made the decision...
Peru Passes Monumental Ten Year Ban on Genetically Engineered Foods
In a massive blow to multinational agribiz corporations such as Monsanto, Bayer, and Dow, Peru has officially passed a law banning genetically modified ingredients anywhere within the country for a full decade before coming up for another review. Peru’s Plenary Session of the Congress made the decision...
Ikoi Hiroe ... Seriously?
Beck's Website Calls Trayvon Martin "The Aggressor"
—By Adam Serwer
| Wed Mar. 21, 2012 12:51 PM PDT
The right-wing reaction to the shooting of of Trayvon Martin has been mercifully muted. George Zimmerman, who followed Martin through the streets of an Orlando suburb believing he "was up to no good," claims he was acting in self-defense. But the evidence suggest that Zimmerman provoked a confrontation with the unarmed Martin, who was out to grab a snack while watching the NBA All-Star game.
As my colleague Kevin Drum notes, Fox News has almost completely avoided the story, doing one segment between Martin's death and March 19. National Review published a thoughtful piece this morning by Robert VerBruggen calling for Florida's self-defense laws to be altered so they protect individuals genuinely acting in self-defense rather than vigilantes.
Yet The Blaze, the website started by former Fox News host Glenn Beck, has lived up to its founder's penchant for reactionary racial paranoia. One post attacking Al Sharpton for criticizing local police for not arresting Zimmerman posits that Martin was once suspended from school for being tardy. The post then speculates that Martin could really have been suspended for any number of reasons, and offers a list that includes "armed robbery," "arson," "kidnapping" or "sexual battery" among others. (Perhaps even for Beck's audience a black kid being late to school may not be enough to justify summary execution.) While Zimmerman stated at the very beginning of his call to the police that Martin "looks black," the Blaze post interprets this to mean that "the audio weakens the racism charge, as it shows that Zimmerman was already suspicious of the teen before he could tell what race he was." The post goes to excruciating lengths to rationalize away the possible racial elements at play, while groping for some implicit justification for Martin's death.
The post's original URL (tawana-brawley-2-0-al-sharpton-sides-with-aggressor-in-self-defense-case) refers to Martin as the "aggressor," despite the fact that the police call establishes that Zimmerman chased down Martin rather than the other way around. The post also compares the situation to the 1987 Tawana Brawley case, which involved a young black woman who falsely accused several white men of rape—the incident that first brought Sharpton to national prominence. The comparison implies that the outrage over Martin's death exists solely to substantiate a groundless charge of racism against white people who are, let's face it, the real victims here.
That doesn't mean The Blaze doesn't take racism seriously. After all, it does offer a lengthy post, complete with photographs, on the threat by the New Black Liberation Militia (no, I haven't heard of them before, either) to take Zimmerman into custody and turn him over to federal authorities. Buried down towards the bottom of the post, following several slideshows of black people in uniforms holding guns, is the recognition that "Martin may have been attacked, rather than the reverse." It's a matter of priorities—acknowledging the possibility that a teenager might have been murdered because he was black just doesn't warrant the kind of urgency that mocking Al Sharpton or highlighting a publicity-seeking black militia does.
The black militia story is only the third most popular story on The Blaze at the moment, however. Ahead of it are two stories on Malia Obama's trip to Mexico.
Kelli Brethour:
Seems like the only people apologizing are the one's who have NOTHING TO APOLOGIZE FOR.
Please Stop Apologizing
THIS week, Robert De Niro made a joke about first ladies, and Newt Gingrich said it was “inexcusable and the president should apologize for him.” Of course, if something is “inexcusable,” an apology doesn’t make any difference, but then again, neither does Newt Gingrich.........
www.nytimes.com
Offend me. Please.
Seems like the only people apologizing are the one's who have NOTHING TO APOLOGIZE FOR.
Please Stop Apologizing
THIS week, Robert De Niro made a joke about first ladies, and Newt Gingrich said it was “inexcusable and the president should apologize for him.” Of course, if something is “inexcusable,” an apology doesn’t make any difference, but then again, neither does Newt Gingrich.........
www.nytimes.com
Offend me. Please.
"BLOWING IN THE WIND"- Peter, Paul and Mary
"WE ARE WARRIORS"- The GOP war on women.
"INDEPENDENCE DAY - Martina McBride
Karen Oakley shared a link:
Richard Hanna, GOP Congressman, Tells Women To Give Their Money To Democrats
www.huffingtonpost.com
Posted: 03/22/2012 3:40 pm
As the only Republican Congressman at a rally for the Equal Rights Amendment on Thursday, Rep. Richard Hanna (R-N.Y.) gave women an unexpected piece of advice: Give your money to Democrats.
"I think these are very precarious times for women, it seems. So many of your rights are under assault," he told the crowd of mostly women. "I'll tell you this: Contribute your money to people who speak out on your behalf, because the other side -- my side -- has a lot of it. And you need to send your own message. You need to remind people that you vote, you matter, and that they can't succeed without your help."
The Equal Rights Amendment, which Congress passed in 1972 but has not yet been ratified by the necessary 38 states, simply says that equality under the law "shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or any state on account of sex." Rep. Carolyn Maloney (D-N.Y.) reintroduced the legislation this year in hopes that it would finally become a part of the Constitution.
"If equality had been enshrined in the Constitution for these past 40 years, I wonder if we would still be hearing today from right-wing presidential contenders that women should not serve in combat, that women should think twice before they seek to work outside of the house, that women should not use birth control, and that women who do are called names that are not fit to repeat here," Maloney said at the rally.
Hanna, a pro-choice Republican and co-sponsor of the Equal Rights Amendment, acknowledged that women's continuing fight for equality is meeting some resistance among his Republican colleagues. He urged women to become more politically active on their own behalf.
"This is a dogfight, it's a fistfight, and you have all the cards," he said. "I can only tell you to get out there and use them. Tell the other women, the other 51 percent of the population, to kick in a few of their bucks. Make it matter, get out there, get on TV, advertise, talk about this. The fact that you want [the ERA] is evidence that you deserve it and you need it."
When HuffPost asked Hanna after the rally whether he was bucking his party by encouraging women to give their money to "the other side," he said that he wasn't.
"I'm trying to help [the GOP]," he said. "I think it's the appropriate thing to do."
Nancy Summers-Long shared a link.
www.couragecampaign.org
Demand California Republicans Stop Starving Kids and Killing Jobs
GOP budget guru Paul Ryan (R-Wisconsin) has proposed his latest Tea Party-inspired budget, and one of its most shocking elements is to cut the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), also know as "food stamps." SNAP doesn't just provide minimal sustenance for those in poverty, it is directly responsible for creating roughly a million jobs nationwide in the food industry.¹
If the GOP cuts SNAP by $127 billion, California would lose an estimated 137,592 jobs and 7.1 billion meals for children in poverty. Now, as a Californian, you might think we have little influence over the House Republican caucus, but you'll be surprised to know that this "blue" state sends more Republicans to D.C. than all but one "red" state: Texas. 19 Republican House members represent California -- some in high ranking leadership positions -- and almost all are sitting in new, less comfortable districts thanks to the non-partisan resdistricting commission. We need to make sure they hear that this budget is unacceptable.
Tell California Republicans to "Reject Paul Ryan's warped vision for America." To sign this petition, go here.
www.couragecampaign.org
Demand California Republicans Stop Starving Kids and Killing Jobs
GOP budget guru Paul Ryan (R-Wisconsin) has proposed his latest Tea Party-inspired budget, and one of its most shocking elements is to cut the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), also know as "food stamps." SNAP doesn't just provide minimal sustenance for those in poverty, it is directly responsible for creating roughly a million jobs nationwide in the food industry.¹
If the GOP cuts SNAP by $127 billion, California would lose an estimated 137,592 jobs and 7.1 billion meals for children in poverty. Now, as a Californian, you might think we have little influence over the House Republican caucus, but you'll be surprised to know that this "blue" state sends more Republicans to D.C. than all but one "red" state: Texas. 19 Republican House members represent California -- some in high ranking leadership positions -- and almost all are sitting in new, less comfortable districts thanks to the non-partisan resdistricting commission. We need to make sure they hear that this budget is unacceptable.
Tell California Republicans to "Reject Paul Ryan's warped vision for America." To sign this petition, go here.
IMHO: Pat Parker (January 20, 1944 – June 19, 1989) was a prophetic poet. But even she did not ever suspect that “they” would someday be coming for all Women, regardless of age, race, sexual orientation and political affiliation. She would be gathering arms right now because of the continuing racism, homophobia and now the current political climate of War against Women here in the United States. She thought THAT fight was beginning to be won before she died in June of 1989 of breast cancer. If she were still here, she would be screaming at the top of her lungs, "WOMEN, WHERE ARE YOU?”
Boots are being polished
Trumpeters clean their horns
Chains and locks forged
The Crusade has begun.
Once again flags of Christ
are unfurled in the dawn
and cries of soul saviors
sing apocalyptic on air waves.
Citizens, good citizens all
parade into voting booths
and in self-righteous sanctity
X away our right to life.
I do not believe as some
that the vote is an end,
I fear even more
It is just a beginning.
So I must make assessment
Look to you and ask:
Where will you be
when they come?
They will not come
a mob rolling
through the streets,
but quickly and quietly
move into our homes
and remove the evil,
the queerness,
the faggotry,
the perverseness
from their midst.
They will not come
clothed in brown
and swastikas, or
bearing chest heavy with
gleaming crosses.
The time and need
for ruses are over.
They will come
in business suits
to buy your homes
and bring bodies to
fill your jobs.
They will come in robes
to rehabilitate
and white coats
to subjugate
and where will you be
when they come?
Where will we all be
when they come?
And they will come.
they will come
because we are
defined as opposite-
perverse
and we are perverse.
Every time we watched
a queer hassled in the
streets and said nothing -
It was an act of perversion.
Everytime we lied about
the boyfriend or girlfriend
at coffee break -
It was an act of perversion.
Everytime we heard,
"I don't mind gays
but why must they
be blatant?" and said nothing -
It was an act of perversion.
Everytime we let a lesbian mother
lose her child and did not fill
the courtrooms -
It was an act of perversion.
Everytime we let straights
make out in our bars while
we couldn't touch because
of laws -
It was an act of perversion.
Everytime we put on the proper
clothes to go to a family
wedding and left our lovers
at home -
It was an act of perversion.
Everytime we heard
"Who I go to bed with
is my personal choice -
It's personal not political"
and said nothing -
It was an act of perversion.
Everytime we let straight relatives
bury our dead and push our
lovers away -
It was an act of perversion.
And they will come.
They will come for
the perverts
& it won't matter
if you're
homosexual, not a faggot
lesbian, not a dyke
gay, not queer
It won't matter
If you
own your business
have a good job
or are on S.S.I
It won't matter
If you're
Black
Chicano
Native American
Asian
or White
It won't matter
If you're from
New York
or Los Angeles
Galveston
or Sioux Falls
It won't matter
If you're
Butch, or Fem
Not into roles
Monogamous
Non Monogamous
It won't matter
If you're
Catholic
Baptist
Atheist
Jewish
or M.C.C.
They will come
They will come
to the cities
and to the land
to your front rooms
and in your closets.
They will come for
the perverts
and where will
you be
When they come?
Pat Parker
January 20, 1944 – June 19, 1989
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pat_Parker
Boots are being polished
Trumpeters clean their horns
Chains and locks forged
The Crusade has begun.
Once again flags of Christ
are unfurled in the dawn
and cries of soul saviors
sing apocalyptic on air waves.
Citizens, good citizens all
parade into voting booths
and in self-righteous sanctity
X away our right to life.
I do not believe as some
that the vote is an end,
I fear even more
It is just a beginning.
So I must make assessment
Look to you and ask:
Where will you be
when they come?
They will not come
a mob rolling
through the streets,
but quickly and quietly
move into our homes
and remove the evil,
the queerness,
the faggotry,
the perverseness
from their midst.
They will not come
clothed in brown
and swastikas, or
bearing chest heavy with
gleaming crosses.
The time and need
for ruses are over.
They will come
in business suits
to buy your homes
and bring bodies to
fill your jobs.
They will come in robes
to rehabilitate
and white coats
to subjugate
and where will you be
when they come?
Where will we all be
when they come?
And they will come.
they will come
because we are
defined as opposite-
perverse
and we are perverse.
Every time we watched
a queer hassled in the
streets and said nothing -
It was an act of perversion.
Everytime we lied about
the boyfriend or girlfriend
at coffee break -
It was an act of perversion.
Everytime we heard,
"I don't mind gays
but why must they
be blatant?" and said nothing -
It was an act of perversion.
Everytime we let a lesbian mother
lose her child and did not fill
the courtrooms -
It was an act of perversion.
Everytime we let straights
make out in our bars while
we couldn't touch because
of laws -
It was an act of perversion.
Everytime we put on the proper
clothes to go to a family
wedding and left our lovers
at home -
It was an act of perversion.
Everytime we heard
"Who I go to bed with
is my personal choice -
It's personal not political"
and said nothing -
It was an act of perversion.
Everytime we let straight relatives
bury our dead and push our
lovers away -
It was an act of perversion.
And they will come.
They will come for
the perverts
& it won't matter
if you're
homosexual, not a faggot
lesbian, not a dyke
gay, not queer
It won't matter
If you
own your business
have a good job
or are on S.S.I
It won't matter
If you're
Black
Chicano
Native American
Asian
or White
It won't matter
If you're from
New York
or Los Angeles
Galveston
or Sioux Falls
It won't matter
If you're
Butch, or Fem
Not into roles
Monogamous
Non Monogamous
It won't matter
If you're
Catholic
Baptist
Atheist
Jewish
or M.C.C.
They will come
They will come
to the cities
and to the land
to your front rooms
and in your closets.
They will come for
the perverts
and where will
you be
When they come?
Pat Parker
January 20, 1944 – June 19, 1989
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pat_Parker
IMHO: BOYCOTT TOMMY HILFIGER - Watch this video and you'll understand why. In a women-centered world society, the first priority of ANY employer would be the welfare and well-being of their employees. But in the current male dominated culture, the absolutely #1 priority is $$$$$. Lots of it! So they pay their employees in Bangladesh all of 21 cents per hour and don't get too concerned when 29 children and women die in a fire at their factory. And one year after that fire, Tommy Hilfiger management still have done basically nothing to improve working conditions. How can we wear a piece of clothing made by women and children being far too easily exploited because of their poverty. Shame on us!
Unite Against the War on Women -- Protest 4.28.12!!! (Excellent video)
Call to Action! There's a war being waged on Women! The Reproductive Rights issue is only one of the targets. From stripping education budgets that gravely.....
MAXINE SAYS......
NANCY SAYS..........
Nancy Summers-Long shared FB~ Troublemakers's photo.
BLUE SAYS...............
Original photograph by JoAn Yost
IMHO: My usual frame of mind is one of dour pessimism. But now and again, and especially in these last few weeks with all the wonderful activism going on, I run into someone who nudges me into cautious optimism. Such a person is the man above, one of the first neighbors I met when I moved to Crescent City in 2006. He and his wife, Henrietta ("Hank"), are "salt of the earth" type people. They worked hard all their lives, never got rich but are content with their lives in retirement, pretty much keep to themselves, mind their own business and are always ready to lend a helping hand to a neighbor. They've taken care of Rudy twice over the last six years when I was in the hospital and I've never worried about him a bit. They're "animal" people.
Larry and Hank moved to Crescent City about six months before I did, and one of the first things Larry started doing when he moved here was begin feeding all the stray and wild animals along the shore and out on the jetty by Battery Point. He feeds the cats, racoons, and sea gulls 365 days a year, rain or shine. You can set a clock by him. He starts out at noon with several plastic grocery bags and walks a good portion of the north side of Crescent City Harbor scattering out food of one sort or another. He goes out again around 9:00 p.m. to feed the cats again around our apartment building and the near-by shore line across the street from us. Three days a week he makes a tour of all the big garbage bins in the area, sorting through them for recyclable cans and anything else he can find that will help pay the expenses for all the different types of food he buys for the animals. Once a week, he and Hank push everything he's gathered throughout the week in a shopping cart to the recycle store.
He has a personal connection with all the cats, racoons and birds he feeds, comes to know them well and names many of them. The second seagull behind him with it's wings spread out was named "Wing Walker". Wing had been injured by cruel kids at the beach and couldn't really stand on his feet; he maintained his balance by keeping his wings spread. He died last year, but he didn't die from hunger. Larry made sure of that.
Larry also puts out safe cages to trap the feral cats and turns them over to a local charitable organization called "The Purple Cat". These folks take the cats up to Brookings, Oregon to be neutered or spayed, then bring them back to Larry to release back out into the wild. Most of them are feral cats and not suitable for adoption. But you wouldn't know they were feral when Larry comes to feed them. They gather around his feet patiently as Larry scatters whatever food he has for them on that day. But they don't go hungry. Larry makes sure of that.
Hank and Larry are special people to me. They go about their business quietly, simply doing what they can to help homeless creatures. They don't ask for recognition; in fact, they would laugh it off. They're only doing what's right for animals to the best of their ability. And they're special to me because they love Rudy so much and long ago assured me of his well-being if anything were to happen to me. I couldn't find a better home for Rudy, and I rest easier knowing he will be well cared for and well loved by them.
A new neighbor who just moved into our building recently eventually recognized Larry as the man she had photographed in 2009. She didn't have a clue who he was at the time; she just had noted this man's daily route for feeding the animals and been intrigued. So she took some pictures of him. And when she finally recognized that her new neighbor was indeed the "Pied Piper of Battery Point" (the caption she had attached to one of her shots of him) she hung this picture on the Tenant Bulletin Board. I couldn't resist. I scanned in the photo and made up this poster. It's my gift to Larry for being the caring man he is. Good men are hard to find.
Have a great day, everyone. I'll see you tomorrow, 3/24/2012.
Sponsored by kfugradio.com