WEB WANDERINGS
April 27, 2012
Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world. Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has.
~Margaret Mead
BREAKING APRIL 28, 2012 WOMEN'S MARCH NEWS
I'LL BE UPDATING AS BREAKING NEWS COME IN. CHECK BACK OFTEN
Sharon Starkey Jacobs added a new photo to the album Wall Photos.
IMHO: Sharon, this is the most incredibly awesome list I've ever seen. ATTENTION, ALL POCKET MARCHERS, YOU ARE ON THE LIST WITH PROBABLY MORE TO COME! Thank you so much, Sharon. I'm getting shivers I'm so excited!
People Called Women bookstore UNITE AGAINST THE WAR ON WOMEN- 4/28/12! Local events nationwide! Toledo event is at the corner of Central & Secor from 3pm-6pm. Bring a sign, friends, drums- be creative and speak your mind! http://www.peoplecalledwomen.com/
Ruthe shared a link on your Wall.
omg...enjoy
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SZj37TYF3pM&feature=share
Im Your Transvaginal Probe ( workin' overtime )
omg...enjoy
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SZj37TYF3pM&feature=share
Im Your Transvaginal Probe ( workin' overtime )
Ivy Jo Cochran shared Being Liberal's photo. Awesome post, Ivy. And right on time as usual! Thank you.
APRIL 28, 2012 WOMEN'S MARCH ON STATE CAPITOLS
THE FOURTH WAVE OF THE WOMEN'S MOVEMENT BEGINS
THE FOURTH WAVE OF THE WOMEN'S MOVEMENT BEGINS
Springfield, Illinois March on March 29, 2012
Springfield, Illinois March on March 29, 2012
Springfield, Illinois March on March 29, 2012
IMHO: Notice the elderly woman in the wheelchair with her dog? That's an old time activist! I bet she thought this fight was won back in the 70's, 80's and 90's. And here she is in 2012, still fighting the good fight. We women NEVER give up. And eventually we WILL prevail. Hopefully it will be with The Fourth Wave of the Women's Movement. And ever more hopefully, perhaps this elder and myself will live to see the day when the fight is finally and truly won for Women's Rights!
Sharon Starkey Jacobs added a new photo to the album Wall Photos.
On April 28 protests called to “Unite Against the War on Women” will happen in 45 to 48 states plus Washington, DC. Organized through social media by a network of people horrified by the national debate set by the theocrats in government and a willing, complacent media, these protests aim to mobilize the people in this country who care about women and in so doing, reach many more who aren’t even aware of the full extent of the war on women.
Karen Teegarden, a small business owner whose sole previous political activity consisted of support for her local congressperson and campaigning for Obama in ’08, cooked up the idea for the protest after talking with her friend Desiree Jordan about a month ago. She says it was both the newly acceptable open expression of racism within the media and from government officials combined by the relentless efforts on the part of a good chunk of Congress to pass anti-women legislation that spurred her to organize this day of action. “The straw that broke the camel’s back for us about a month ago: you have the trans-vaginal ultrasounds, the 'personhood' amendments, and the Blunt/Rubio amendments, and you realize how extreme these pieces of legislation were… and the mainstream media is covering it as if it’s just everyday legislation. We were just astonished that things had went so far and no one was taking to the streets. My friend said, ‘we should just do it.’ It’s the old adage that, ‘If you just build it they will come.’”
February 19, Karen set up a Facebook group, calling it “Organizing Against the War on Women,” invited several friends to join it, and went to bed. By the next morning, 500 people had requested to join – and since then the pace of growth online has continued at that level. Clearly, the message that we need protest in the streets to respond to the onslaught of laws eliminating women’s most fundamental rights has struck a chord with a large number of people, particularly after it’s been made clear that the misogynists are going after the right to contraceptives as well as abortion.
The Call to Action states:
“There's a war being waged on women! The reproductive rights issue is only one of the targets. From stripping education budgets that gravely rob our children, to rolling back equal pay laws and domestic violence protections, to changing Voting laws that disproportionately effect minorities and WOMEN -- we say, ENOUGH IS ENOUGH! JOIN US: Unite Against the War on Women 4.28.12 -- a nationwide protest day. That's just where it starts!”
Karen and her friends have a lot of, in her words, “raw and naive” gumption going for them but have a lot of advisers as well, long-time activists who are more tied into D.C. They’ve received the endorsement of NOW, Moveon, the Coffee Party, Coalition of Labor Union Women, and the National League of Latin American Citizens at the national level and Planned Parenthood and NARAL in some states.
"We've had some tell us that it’s crazy to attempt to pull together a national day of protest on such notice. They feel we are not going about this in the right way because something like this has never been done before. I’ve never been a believer that you should not do something because it’s never been done before…"
“I really do not ever want us to become part of the Washington bubble… I’m pretty determined that it’s not going to happen. And I think we can be more helpful to these national organizations if we stay pure to what we are.”
Karen sees her efforts as enabling liberal Democrats “to get their voices back,” while also mentioning the involvement of Republicans as well. Her long-term plans are to galvanize a national organization that will carry on with organizing protests and educating and mobilizing appeals to legislators. Another group has started organizing via social media for a national protest in Washington, DC this September.
The need to clearly state what’s at stake for women’s lives (as she says, “we can’t sugarcoat it”) with the desire to unite people very broadly can pose itself as a contradiction as long as we except the framework of what’s already being debated in government at the media. It’s so important that these protests come together as powerfully as possible in the streets, with clear support for women’s fundamental right to abortion and birth control as the core of the war on women. We’ve had enough defensiveness, compromise and capitulation to the war on women – it’s time to put it to a stop.
Find a protest in your area and get involved at: www.UniteWomen.org and on Facebook here. Stay tuned for the September protest in DC at wearewoman.us.
APRIL 28, 2012 WOMEN'S MARCH ON STATE CAPITOLS
THE FOURTH WAVE OF THE WOMEN'S MOVEMENT BEGINS
THE FOURTH WAVE OF THE WOMEN'S MOVEMENT BEGINS
Women's Rights Movement in the U.S.
Timeline of Key Events in the American Women's Rights Movement
by Ann-Marie Imbornoni
1848 The first women's rights convention is held in Seneca Falls, New York. After 2 days of discussion and debate, 68 women and 32 men sign a Declaration of Sentiments, which outlines grievances and sets the agenda for the women's rights movement. A set of 12 resolutions is adopted calling for equal treatment of women and men under the law and voting rights for women.
1850 The first National Women's Rights Convention takes place in Worcester, Mass., attracting more than 1,000 participants. National conventions are held yearly (except for 1857) through 1860.
1869 MaySusan B. Anthony and Elizabeth Cady Stanton form the National Woman Suffrage Association. The primary goal of the organization is to achieve voting rights for women by means of a Congressional amendment to the Constitution.
Nov. Lucy Stone, Henry Blackwell, and others form the American Woman Suffrage Association. This group focuses exclusively on gaining voting rights for women through amendments to individual state constitutions.
Dec. 10 The territory of Wyoming passes the first women's suffrage law. The following year, women begin serving on juries in the territory.
1890 The National Women Suffrage Association and the American Women Suffrage Association merge to form the National American Woman Suffrage Association (NAWSA). As the movement's mainstream organization, NAWSA wages state-by-state campaigns to obtain voting rights for women.
1893 Colorado is the first state to adopt an amendment granting women the right to vote. Utah and Idaho follow suit in 1896, Washington State in 1910, California in 1911, Oregon, Kansas, and Arizona in 1912, Alaska and Illinois in 1913, Montana and Nevada in 1914, New York in 1917; Michigan, South Dakota, and Oklahoma in 1918.
1896 The National Association of Colored Women is formed, bringing together more than 100 black women's clubs. Leaders in the black women's club movement include Josephine St. Pierre Ruffin, Mary Church Terrell, and Anna Julia Cooper.
1903 The National Women's Trade Union League (WTUL) is established to advocate for improved wages and working conditions for women.
1913 Alice Paul and Lucy Burns form the Congressional Union to work toward the passage of a federal amendment to give women the vote. The group is later renamed the National Women's Party. Members picket the White House and practice other forms of civil disobedience.
1916 Margaret Sanger opens the first U.S. birth-control clinic in Brooklyn, N.Y. Although the clinic is shut down 10 days later and Sanger is arrested, she eventually wins support through the courts and opens another clinic in New York City in 1923.
1919 The federal woman suffrage amendment, originally written by Susan B. Anthony and introduced in Congress in 1878, is passed by the House of Representatives and the Senate. It is then sent to the states for ratification.
1920 The Women's Bureau of the Department of Labor is formed to collect information about women in the workforce and safeguard good working conditions for women.
Aug. 26 The 19th Amendment to the Constitution, granting women the right to vote, is signed into law by Secretary of State Bainbridge Colby.
1921 Margaret Sanger founds the American Birth Control League, which evolves into the Planned Parenthood Federation of America in 1942.
1935 Mary McLeod Bethune organizes the National Council of Negro Women, a coalition of black women's groups that lobbies against job discrimination, racism, and sexism.
1936 The federal law prohibiting the dissemination of contraceptive information through the mail is modified and birth control information is no longer classified as obscene. Throughout the 1940s and 50s, birth control advocates are engaged in numerous legal suits.
1955 The Daughters of Bilitis (DOB), the first lesbian organization in the United States, is founded. Although DOB originated as a social group, it later developed into a political organization to win basic acceptance for lesbians in the United States.
1960 The Food and Drug Administration approves birth control pills.
1961 President John Kennedy establishes the President's Commission on the Status of Women and appoints Eleanor Roosevelt as chairwoman. The report issued by the Commission in 1963 documents substantial discrimination against women in the workplace and makes specific recommendations for improvement, including fair hiring practices, paid maternity leave, and affordable child care.
1963 Betty Friedan publishes her highly influential book The Feminine Mystique, which describes the dissatisfaction felt by middle-class American housewives with the narrow role imposed on them by society. The book becomes a best-seller and galvanizes the modern women's rights movement.
June 10 Congress passes the Equal Pay Act, making it illegal for employers to pay a woman less than what a man would receive for the same job.
1964 Title VII of the Civil Rights Act bars discrimination in employment on the basis of race and sex. At the same time it establishes the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) to investigate complaints and impose penalties.
1965 In Griswold v. Connecticut, the Supreme Court strikes down the one remaining state law prohibiting the use of contraceptives by married couples.
1966 The National Organization for Women (NOW) is founded by a group of feminists including Betty Friedan. The largest women's rights group in the U.S., NOW seeks to end sexual discrimination, especially in the workplace, by means of legislative lobbying, litigation, and public demonstrations.
1967 Executive Order 11375 expands President Lyndon Johnson's affirmative action policy of 1965 to cover discrimination based on gender. As a result, federal agencies and contractors must take active measures to ensure that women as well as minorities enjoy the same educational and employment opportunities as white males.
1968 The EEOC rules that sex-segregated help wanted ads in newspapers are illegal. This ruling is upheld in 1973 by the Supreme Court, opening the way for women to apply for higher-paying jobs hitherto open only to men.
1969 California becomes the first state to adopt a "no fault" divorce law, which allows couples to divorce by mutual consent. By 1985 every state has adopted a similar law. Laws are also passed regarding the equal division of common property.
1970 In Schultz v. Wheaton Glass Co., a U.S. Court of Appeals rules that jobs held by men and women need to be "substantially equal" but not "identical" to fall under the protection of the Equal Pay Act. An employer cannot, for example, change the job titles of women workers in order to pay them less than men.
1971 Ms. Magazine is first published as a sample insert in New York magazine; 300,000 copies are sold out in 8 days. The first regular issue is published in July 1972. The magazine becomes the major forum for feminist voices, and cofounder and editor Gloria Steinem is launched as an icon of the modern feminist movement.
1972 Mar. 22 The Equal Rights Amendment (ERA) is passed by Congress and sent to the states for ratification. Originally drafted by Alice Paul in 1923, the amendment reads: "Equality of rights under the law shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any State on account of sex." The amendment died in 1982 when it failed to achieve ratification by a minimum of 38 states.
Also on Mar. 22 In Eisenstadt v. Baird the Supreme Court rules that the right to privacy includes an unmarried person's right to use contraceptives.
June 23 Title IX of the Education Amendments bans sex discrimination in schools. It states: "No person in the United States shall, on the basis of sex, be excluded from participation in, be denied the benefits of, or be subjected to discrimination under any educational program or activity receiving federal financial assistance." As a result of Title IX, the enrollment of women in athletics programs and professional schools increases dramatically.
1973 As a result of Roe v. Wade, the Supreme Court establishes a woman's right to safe and legal abortion, overriding the anti-abortion laws of many states.
1974 The Equal Credit Opportunity Act prohibits discrimination in consumer credit practices on the basis of sex, race, marital status, religion, national origin, age, or receipt of public assistance.
In Corning Glass Works v. Brennan, the U.S. Supreme Court rules that employers cannot justify paying women lower wages because that is what they traditionally received under the "going market rate." A wage differential occurring "simply because men would not work at the low rates paid women" is unacceptable.
1976 The first marital rape law is enacted in Nebraska, making it illegal for a husband to rape his wife.
1978 The Pregnancy Discrimination Act bans employment discrimination against pregnant women. Under the Act, a woman cannot be fired or denied a job or a promotion because she is or may become pregnant, nor can she be forced to take a pregnancy leave if she is willing and able to work.
1984 EMILY's List (Early Money Is Like Yeast) is established as a financial network for pro-choice Democratic women running for national political office. The organization makes a significant impact on the increasing numbers of women elected to Congress.
1986 Meritor Savings Bank v. Vinson, the Supreme Court finds that sexual harassment is a form of illegal job discrimination.
1992 In Planned Parenthood v. Casey, the Supreme Court reaffirms the validity of a woman's right to abortion under Roe v. Wade. The case successfully challenges Pennsylvania's 1989 Abortion Control Act, which sought to reinstate restrictions previously ruled unconstitutional.
1994 The Violence Against Women Act tightens federal penalties for sex offenders, funds services for victims of rape and domestic violence, and provides for special training of police officers.
1996 In United States v. Virginia, the Supreme Court rules that the all-male Virginia Military School has to admit women in order to continue to receive public funding. It holds that creating a separate, all-female school will not suffice.
1999 The Supreme Court rules in Kolstad v. American Dental Association that a woman can sue for punitive damages for sex discrimination if the anti-discrimination law was violated with malice or indifference to the law, even if that conduct was not especially severe.
2003 In Nevada Department of Human Resources v. Hibbs, the Supreme Court rules that states can be sued in federal court for violations of the Family Leave Medical Act.
2005 In Jackson v. Birmingham Board of Education, the Supreme Court rules that Title IX, which prohibits discrimination based on sex, also inherently prohibits disciplining someone for complaining about sex-based discrimination. It further holds that this is the case even when the person complaining is not among those being discriminated against.
2006 The Supreme Court upholds the ban on the "partial-birth" abortion procedure. The ruling, 5–4, which upholds the Partial-Birth Abortion Ban Act, a federal law passed in 2003, is the first to ban a specific type of abortion procedure. Writing in the majority opinion, Justice Anthony Kennedy said, "The act expresses respect for the dignity of human life." Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, who dissents, called the decision "alarming" and said it is "so at odds with our jurisprudence" that it "should not have staying power."
2009 President Obama signed the Lily Ledbetter Fair Pay Restoration Act, which allows victims of pay discrimination to file a complaint with the government against their employer within 180 days of their last paycheck. Previously, victims (most often women) were only allowed 180 days from the date of the first unfair paycheck. This Act is named after a former employee of Goodyear who alleged that she was paid 15–40% less than her male counterparts, which was later found to be accurate.
Information obtained from http://www.infoplease.com/spot/womenstimeline3.html
Timeline of Key Events in the American Women's Rights Movement
by Ann-Marie Imbornoni
1848 The first women's rights convention is held in Seneca Falls, New York. After 2 days of discussion and debate, 68 women and 32 men sign a Declaration of Sentiments, which outlines grievances and sets the agenda for the women's rights movement. A set of 12 resolutions is adopted calling for equal treatment of women and men under the law and voting rights for women.
1850 The first National Women's Rights Convention takes place in Worcester, Mass., attracting more than 1,000 participants. National conventions are held yearly (except for 1857) through 1860.
1869 MaySusan B. Anthony and Elizabeth Cady Stanton form the National Woman Suffrage Association. The primary goal of the organization is to achieve voting rights for women by means of a Congressional amendment to the Constitution.
Nov. Lucy Stone, Henry Blackwell, and others form the American Woman Suffrage Association. This group focuses exclusively on gaining voting rights for women through amendments to individual state constitutions.
Dec. 10 The territory of Wyoming passes the first women's suffrage law. The following year, women begin serving on juries in the territory.
1890 The National Women Suffrage Association and the American Women Suffrage Association merge to form the National American Woman Suffrage Association (NAWSA). As the movement's mainstream organization, NAWSA wages state-by-state campaigns to obtain voting rights for women.
1893 Colorado is the first state to adopt an amendment granting women the right to vote. Utah and Idaho follow suit in 1896, Washington State in 1910, California in 1911, Oregon, Kansas, and Arizona in 1912, Alaska and Illinois in 1913, Montana and Nevada in 1914, New York in 1917; Michigan, South Dakota, and Oklahoma in 1918.
1896 The National Association of Colored Women is formed, bringing together more than 100 black women's clubs. Leaders in the black women's club movement include Josephine St. Pierre Ruffin, Mary Church Terrell, and Anna Julia Cooper.
1903 The National Women's Trade Union League (WTUL) is established to advocate for improved wages and working conditions for women.
1913 Alice Paul and Lucy Burns form the Congressional Union to work toward the passage of a federal amendment to give women the vote. The group is later renamed the National Women's Party. Members picket the White House and practice other forms of civil disobedience.
1916 Margaret Sanger opens the first U.S. birth-control clinic in Brooklyn, N.Y. Although the clinic is shut down 10 days later and Sanger is arrested, she eventually wins support through the courts and opens another clinic in New York City in 1923.
1919 The federal woman suffrage amendment, originally written by Susan B. Anthony and introduced in Congress in 1878, is passed by the House of Representatives and the Senate. It is then sent to the states for ratification.
1920 The Women's Bureau of the Department of Labor is formed to collect information about women in the workforce and safeguard good working conditions for women.
Aug. 26 The 19th Amendment to the Constitution, granting women the right to vote, is signed into law by Secretary of State Bainbridge Colby.
1921 Margaret Sanger founds the American Birth Control League, which evolves into the Planned Parenthood Federation of America in 1942.
1935 Mary McLeod Bethune organizes the National Council of Negro Women, a coalition of black women's groups that lobbies against job discrimination, racism, and sexism.
1936 The federal law prohibiting the dissemination of contraceptive information through the mail is modified and birth control information is no longer classified as obscene. Throughout the 1940s and 50s, birth control advocates are engaged in numerous legal suits.
1955 The Daughters of Bilitis (DOB), the first lesbian organization in the United States, is founded. Although DOB originated as a social group, it later developed into a political organization to win basic acceptance for lesbians in the United States.
1960 The Food and Drug Administration approves birth control pills.
1961 President John Kennedy establishes the President's Commission on the Status of Women and appoints Eleanor Roosevelt as chairwoman. The report issued by the Commission in 1963 documents substantial discrimination against women in the workplace and makes specific recommendations for improvement, including fair hiring practices, paid maternity leave, and affordable child care.
1963 Betty Friedan publishes her highly influential book The Feminine Mystique, which describes the dissatisfaction felt by middle-class American housewives with the narrow role imposed on them by society. The book becomes a best-seller and galvanizes the modern women's rights movement.
June 10 Congress passes the Equal Pay Act, making it illegal for employers to pay a woman less than what a man would receive for the same job.
1964 Title VII of the Civil Rights Act bars discrimination in employment on the basis of race and sex. At the same time it establishes the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) to investigate complaints and impose penalties.
1965 In Griswold v. Connecticut, the Supreme Court strikes down the one remaining state law prohibiting the use of contraceptives by married couples.
1966 The National Organization for Women (NOW) is founded by a group of feminists including Betty Friedan. The largest women's rights group in the U.S., NOW seeks to end sexual discrimination, especially in the workplace, by means of legislative lobbying, litigation, and public demonstrations.
1967 Executive Order 11375 expands President Lyndon Johnson's affirmative action policy of 1965 to cover discrimination based on gender. As a result, federal agencies and contractors must take active measures to ensure that women as well as minorities enjoy the same educational and employment opportunities as white males.
1968 The EEOC rules that sex-segregated help wanted ads in newspapers are illegal. This ruling is upheld in 1973 by the Supreme Court, opening the way for women to apply for higher-paying jobs hitherto open only to men.
1969 California becomes the first state to adopt a "no fault" divorce law, which allows couples to divorce by mutual consent. By 1985 every state has adopted a similar law. Laws are also passed regarding the equal division of common property.
1970 In Schultz v. Wheaton Glass Co., a U.S. Court of Appeals rules that jobs held by men and women need to be "substantially equal" but not "identical" to fall under the protection of the Equal Pay Act. An employer cannot, for example, change the job titles of women workers in order to pay them less than men.
1971 Ms. Magazine is first published as a sample insert in New York magazine; 300,000 copies are sold out in 8 days. The first regular issue is published in July 1972. The magazine becomes the major forum for feminist voices, and cofounder and editor Gloria Steinem is launched as an icon of the modern feminist movement.
1972 Mar. 22 The Equal Rights Amendment (ERA) is passed by Congress and sent to the states for ratification. Originally drafted by Alice Paul in 1923, the amendment reads: "Equality of rights under the law shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any State on account of sex." The amendment died in 1982 when it failed to achieve ratification by a minimum of 38 states.
Also on Mar. 22 In Eisenstadt v. Baird the Supreme Court rules that the right to privacy includes an unmarried person's right to use contraceptives.
June 23 Title IX of the Education Amendments bans sex discrimination in schools. It states: "No person in the United States shall, on the basis of sex, be excluded from participation in, be denied the benefits of, or be subjected to discrimination under any educational program or activity receiving federal financial assistance." As a result of Title IX, the enrollment of women in athletics programs and professional schools increases dramatically.
1973 As a result of Roe v. Wade, the Supreme Court establishes a woman's right to safe and legal abortion, overriding the anti-abortion laws of many states.
1974 The Equal Credit Opportunity Act prohibits discrimination in consumer credit practices on the basis of sex, race, marital status, religion, national origin, age, or receipt of public assistance.
In Corning Glass Works v. Brennan, the U.S. Supreme Court rules that employers cannot justify paying women lower wages because that is what they traditionally received under the "going market rate." A wage differential occurring "simply because men would not work at the low rates paid women" is unacceptable.
1976 The first marital rape law is enacted in Nebraska, making it illegal for a husband to rape his wife.
1978 The Pregnancy Discrimination Act bans employment discrimination against pregnant women. Under the Act, a woman cannot be fired or denied a job or a promotion because she is or may become pregnant, nor can she be forced to take a pregnancy leave if she is willing and able to work.
1984 EMILY's List (Early Money Is Like Yeast) is established as a financial network for pro-choice Democratic women running for national political office. The organization makes a significant impact on the increasing numbers of women elected to Congress.
1986 Meritor Savings Bank v. Vinson, the Supreme Court finds that sexual harassment is a form of illegal job discrimination.
1992 In Planned Parenthood v. Casey, the Supreme Court reaffirms the validity of a woman's right to abortion under Roe v. Wade. The case successfully challenges Pennsylvania's 1989 Abortion Control Act, which sought to reinstate restrictions previously ruled unconstitutional.
1994 The Violence Against Women Act tightens federal penalties for sex offenders, funds services for victims of rape and domestic violence, and provides for special training of police officers.
1996 In United States v. Virginia, the Supreme Court rules that the all-male Virginia Military School has to admit women in order to continue to receive public funding. It holds that creating a separate, all-female school will not suffice.
1999 The Supreme Court rules in Kolstad v. American Dental Association that a woman can sue for punitive damages for sex discrimination if the anti-discrimination law was violated with malice or indifference to the law, even if that conduct was not especially severe.
2003 In Nevada Department of Human Resources v. Hibbs, the Supreme Court rules that states can be sued in federal court for violations of the Family Leave Medical Act.
2005 In Jackson v. Birmingham Board of Education, the Supreme Court rules that Title IX, which prohibits discrimination based on sex, also inherently prohibits disciplining someone for complaining about sex-based discrimination. It further holds that this is the case even when the person complaining is not among those being discriminated against.
2006 The Supreme Court upholds the ban on the "partial-birth" abortion procedure. The ruling, 5–4, which upholds the Partial-Birth Abortion Ban Act, a federal law passed in 2003, is the first to ban a specific type of abortion procedure. Writing in the majority opinion, Justice Anthony Kennedy said, "The act expresses respect for the dignity of human life." Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, who dissents, called the decision "alarming" and said it is "so at odds with our jurisprudence" that it "should not have staying power."
2009 President Obama signed the Lily Ledbetter Fair Pay Restoration Act, which allows victims of pay discrimination to file a complaint with the government against their employer within 180 days of their last paycheck. Previously, victims (most often women) were only allowed 180 days from the date of the first unfair paycheck. This Act is named after a former employee of Goodyear who alleged that she was paid 15–40% less than her male counterparts, which was later found to be accurate.
Information obtained from http://www.infoplease.com/spot/womenstimeline3.html
Chairwoman Alice Paul, second from left, and officers of the National Woman's Party, June 1920.
http://www.findingdulcinea.com/news/on-this-day/July-August-08/On-this-Day--19th-Amendment-Gives-Women-Right-to-Vote.html
http://www.findingdulcinea.com/news/on-this-day/July-August-08/On-this-Day--19th-Amendment-Gives-Women-Right-to-Vote.html
Governor Edwin P. Morrow signs Kentucky's ratification of the Anthony Amendment January 6, 1920
(Woman Suffrage Amendment, ultimately the 19th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution) http://womenshistory.about.com/library/pic/bl_p_signing_suffrage.htm
(Woman Suffrage Amendment, ultimately the 19th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution) http://womenshistory.about.com/library/pic/bl_p_signing_suffrage.htm
A suffragist protest in Chicago in June 1920. Sue Shelton White, a native of Chester County, is in the middle.
PHOTO: Library of Congress
PHOTO: Library of Congress
IMHO: I find this picture of particular interest because of the mention of the Republican Party. Has the Republican Party ALWAYS been against Women's Rights? If so, why should we allow this Party to continue to exist? Or, if we can't eliminate this long-entrenched American political party, why don't we start our own? How about The Womankind Party? It makes sense to me. How about you?
"I became involved with a coalition of union women called Union WAGE - Union Women's Alliance to Gain Equality. Some of the leadership were of an older generation than we were and had been activists in the '30s. This was one of the only places in the '70s where women in the women's movement of different generations were connecting with each other." http://bayradical.blogspot.com/2007/10/you-cant-stop-me-interview-with-cathy.html
The biggest questions I ask myself:
Is the women’s rights movement of the 1960s and ‘70s still important for twenty-something women today?
Is my generation ignorantly complacent about women’s rights or have our rights been actualized to the point that we are simply moving on to the next important issue?
What is my role as a woman in the struggle for women’s rights?
You tell me.
http://jacksonville.skirt.com/cate-m/blog/im-back
I'm Back! By Cate M, Monday, October 27, 2008,
Is the women’s rights movement of the 1960s and ‘70s still important for twenty-something women today?
Is my generation ignorantly complacent about women’s rights or have our rights been actualized to the point that we are simply moving on to the next important issue?
What is my role as a woman in the struggle for women’s rights?
You tell me.
http://jacksonville.skirt.com/cate-m/blog/im-back
I'm Back! By Cate M, Monday, October 27, 2008,
APRIL 28, 2012 WOMEN'S MARCH ON STATE CAPITOLS
THE FOURTH WAVE OF THE WOMEN'S MOVEMENT BEGINS
FRONT OF POST CARD TO BE HANDED DURING SAN DIEGO MARCH
BACK OF POST CARD TO BE HANDED OUT DURING SAN DIEGO MARCH
Posted by AzBlueMeanie: "The job interview to which no woman should ever be subjected."
Unite Against the War on Women March
Saturday, April 28, 10:00 a.m.: The national "Unite Against the War on Women" March, sponsored by UniteWomen.org at the AZ State Capitol Building - House Lawn, 1700 W. Washington. Help defend women's rights and pursuit of equality. Join Americans all across the United States on April 28th, 2012, as we come together as one to tell members of Congress in Washington DC and legislators in all 50 states, "Enough is enough!" The Capitol Buildings will be closed. We are providing porta-pottys. We are providing bottled water. There are trees providing shade on the House Lawn, but please plan for a late-morning to mid-afternoon, April Arizona day -- don't forget your sunscreen!
GUEST SPEAKERS INCLUDE: Congressman Raul Grijalva, CD-7; Lilia Alvarez, Candidate for Maricopa County Board of Supervisors; Wenona Benally Balendegro, candidate for U.S. House of Representatives, CD-1; Scott Michael Prior, candidate for State Senate LD-16; Frances Causey, Co-Producer/Co-Director of the documentary Heist: Who Stole the American Dream, and a CNN Journalist; Diane D’Angelo, Chair City of Phoenix Human Relations Commission. ENTERTAINMENT INCLUDING: French Girls – with more to be added.
A bus from Pima County to the state capitol in Phoenix has been arranged. For more information and to RSVP, please contact Laurie Cirrincione at crinkster54@msn.com or (520) 625-3133.
Follow us on Facebook http://www.facebook.com/UniteWomen and Twitter http://twitter.com/#!/NatlWOW, and watch us on YouTube http://www.youtube.com/unitewomen.
Unite Against the War on Women March
Saturday, April 28, 10:00 a.m.: The national "Unite Against the War on Women" March, sponsored by UniteWomen.org at the AZ State Capitol Building - House Lawn, 1700 W. Washington. Help defend women's rights and pursuit of equality. Join Americans all across the United States on April 28th, 2012, as we come together as one to tell members of Congress in Washington DC and legislators in all 50 states, "Enough is enough!" The Capitol Buildings will be closed. We are providing porta-pottys. We are providing bottled water. There are trees providing shade on the House Lawn, but please plan for a late-morning to mid-afternoon, April Arizona day -- don't forget your sunscreen!
GUEST SPEAKERS INCLUDE: Congressman Raul Grijalva, CD-7; Lilia Alvarez, Candidate for Maricopa County Board of Supervisors; Wenona Benally Balendegro, candidate for U.S. House of Representatives, CD-1; Scott Michael Prior, candidate for State Senate LD-16; Frances Causey, Co-Producer/Co-Director of the documentary Heist: Who Stole the American Dream, and a CNN Journalist; Diane D’Angelo, Chair City of Phoenix Human Relations Commission. ENTERTAINMENT INCLUDING: French Girls – with more to be added.
A bus from Pima County to the state capitol in Phoenix has been arranged. For more information and to RSVP, please contact Laurie Cirrincione at crinkster54@msn.com or (520) 625-3133.
Follow us on Facebook http://www.facebook.com/UniteWomen and Twitter http://twitter.com/#!/NatlWOW, and watch us on YouTube http://www.youtube.com/unitewomen.
AND THE BEAT GOES ON WITH THE REPUBLICAN PARTY!
Congressional compensation: How much do members of Congress get paid?
Submitted bySavanna Roviraon
April 20, 2012
If you’ve been paying attention, you’ve probably heard us say the words “congressional compensation” a few dozen times now…or maybe a few hundred. But what does it actually mean? Here’s a mini history lesson on congressional pay. So sit back, grab your lunchbox and pretend you’re back in Mrs. Creighton’s fourth-grade class.
The Average Joe of Congress (there are 529 of them) gets paid $174,000 per year. But not everyone is average; the Speaker of the House gets $223,500 a year, while the majority and minority leaders of both the Senate and the House, along with the President Pro Tempore, get paid $193,400 per year. Not bad, huh?
Alright, now for some grim statistics...maybe you should sit down. The National Debt, as of the week of April 16, is $15,661,689,115,595.93. That’s 15.6 TRILLION, for those of you who tuned out after the first few numbers. Turn on the calculator app on your iPhone. If the US population is around 312,608,496, then how much would each citizen have to contribute to pay off this debt? Around $50,000. Eek.
So let’s put this all into a what-if, hypothetical situation. What if the No Budget, No Pay Act was already a law, and members of Congress didn’t get paid on time if they didn’t submit the budget and all appropriations bills on time? What if they didn’t submit the budget for a whole month? How about a whole year? How much would cancellation of their salaries reduce the federal deficit? Dust off your TI-83 and fast-forward to Mr. Smith’s grade-12 calculus class for this one. If congressional compensation was suspended for an entire year, $93,236,500 would be chopped off of the national debt. True, that’s only .0005953% of the deficit, but it would save each taxpayer around 30 cents annually. That’s one more gumball per year.
But obviously, it’s not about the gumballs. The American people have lost trust in Congress, and it’s time to restore confidence and bring common sense back to America’s budget process. No Budget, No Pay provides an incentive (around $174,000 of incentive) to get Congress back on track. Not left, not right, but forward.
Contact Representative Dan Lungren
Submitted byJack McCulloughon
March 28, 2012
It’s Round Two for the No Budget, No Pay Act. Our Senate hearing on No Budget, No Pay struck a powerful blow against gridlock in Washington, but it was not a knockout punch. The next step is simple: We need a hearing in the House -- and Rep. Dan Lungren (R-CA) chairs the committee that holds the fate of the bill in its hands.
Click here to leave a polite and respectful comment on Lungren’s Facebook wall, urging him to give No Budget, No Pay a hearing with the Committee on House Administration. Type your message to him in the text box at the top of the screen and press the blue “Share” button. If you don’t already have a Facebook account, click here to start one.
No Labels supporters’ Facebook appeals to Congress get results. Not only do lawmakers see the support No Budget, No Pay has at the grassroots -- so does every person who visits a member’s Facebook wall. And it takes less than a minute to write a short, thoughtful message that will make a big difference on Capitol Hill.
Comment on Lungren’s Facebook wall right now to show him 88 percent of Americans support No Budget, No Pay and urge him to hold a hearing on our legislation.
Citizens across the country took action when No Budget, No Pay seemed little more than a dream. But we had a hearing in the Senate, grabbing this country’s attention. Let’s shake things up again with a hearing in the House and force people to start believing No Budget, No Pay has a real chance to pass. That way when the bell rings ending Round Two, we’re raising our arms high with another win.
Submitted byJack McCulloughon
March 28, 2012
It’s Round Two for the No Budget, No Pay Act. Our Senate hearing on No Budget, No Pay struck a powerful blow against gridlock in Washington, but it was not a knockout punch. The next step is simple: We need a hearing in the House -- and Rep. Dan Lungren (R-CA) chairs the committee that holds the fate of the bill in its hands.
Click here to leave a polite and respectful comment on Lungren’s Facebook wall, urging him to give No Budget, No Pay a hearing with the Committee on House Administration. Type your message to him in the text box at the top of the screen and press the blue “Share” button. If you don’t already have a Facebook account, click here to start one.
No Labels supporters’ Facebook appeals to Congress get results. Not only do lawmakers see the support No Budget, No Pay has at the grassroots -- so does every person who visits a member’s Facebook wall. And it takes less than a minute to write a short, thoughtful message that will make a big difference on Capitol Hill.
Comment on Lungren’s Facebook wall right now to show him 88 percent of Americans support No Budget, No Pay and urge him to hold a hearing on our legislation.
Citizens across the country took action when No Budget, No Pay seemed little more than a dream. But we had a hearing in the Senate, grabbing this country’s attention. Let’s shake things up again with a hearing in the House and force people to start believing No Budget, No Pay has a real chance to pass. That way when the bell rings ending Round Two, we’re raising our arms high with another win.
House GOP Would Kick 280,000 Children Off School Lunch Program To Protect Tax Cut For Millionaires
By Guest Blogger on Apr 25, 2012 at 12:00 pm
Our guest blogger is Melissa Boteach, director of Half In Ten at the Center for American Progress Action Fund.
By Guest Blogger on Apr 25, 2012 at 12:00 pm
Our guest blogger is Melissa Boteach, director of Half In Ten at the Center for American Progress Action Fund.
House Republicans recently proposed cuts to nutrition assistance that will kick 280,000 low-income children off automatic enrollment in the Free School Lunch and Breakfast Program. Those same kids and 1.5 million other people will also lose their Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (formerly food stamp benefits) that help them afford food at home.
Ten years’ worth of these nutrition cuts could be prevented for the price of one year of tax cuts on 3,340 multimillion dollar estates that House Republicans are protecting in their budget.
On April 18 the House Agriculture Committee passed a bill cutting over $33 billion from SNAPover the next decade. About one-third of these cuts ($11.5 billion) comes from putting restrictions on “categorical eligibility,” a provision that enables states to better coordinate between programs and improves access to assistance for low-income families.
By restricting this provision, the bill would kick an average of 1.8 million low-income people a year off of food aid and end automatic enrollment in free school meals for 280,000 children in struggling families.
The Republican budget sells this bill as an effort to “reduce lower‐priority spending” to avert military cuts that will otherwise take place in January 2013 due to the debt deal agreed to last summer. But when it comes to reducing the deficit, it’s clear the House would rather ask low-income kids and families struggling against hunger to foot the bill than asking multimillion-dollar estates to pay their fair share.
Case in point: As part of the 2010 tax-cut compromise, House Republicans insisted on including a tax cut on multimillion dollar estates, adding an estimated $11.5 billion to the deficit this year alone. That’s the same amount they’re now claiming is necessary to cut from low-income families through these restrictions.
Ten years’ worth of these nutrition cuts could be prevented for the price of one year of tax cuts on 3,340 multimillion dollar estates that House Republicans are protecting in their budget.
On April 18 the House Agriculture Committee passed a bill cutting over $33 billion from SNAPover the next decade. About one-third of these cuts ($11.5 billion) comes from putting restrictions on “categorical eligibility,” a provision that enables states to better coordinate between programs and improves access to assistance for low-income families.
By restricting this provision, the bill would kick an average of 1.8 million low-income people a year off of food aid and end automatic enrollment in free school meals for 280,000 children in struggling families.
The Republican budget sells this bill as an effort to “reduce lower‐priority spending” to avert military cuts that will otherwise take place in January 2013 due to the debt deal agreed to last summer. But when it comes to reducing the deficit, it’s clear the House would rather ask low-income kids and families struggling against hunger to foot the bill than asking multimillion-dollar estates to pay their fair share.
Case in point: As part of the 2010 tax-cut compromise, House Republicans insisted on including a tax cut on multimillion dollar estates, adding an estimated $11.5 billion to the deficit this year alone. That’s the same amount they’re now claiming is necessary to cut from low-income families through these restrictions.
By making it more difficult for low-income schoolchildren to access school breakfast and lunch, this bill will likely increase child hunger, which is associated with worse educational outcomes and higher long-term health costs. Both of these trends affect our economy and our deficits over the long run.
We should reconsider reduced spending on “lower priority” items — a.k.a breakfast, lunch, and dinner for low-income children — and instead adopt a deficit-reduction approach that asks everyone to pay their fair share—including multimillion-dollar estates.
We should reconsider reduced spending on “lower priority” items — a.k.a breakfast, lunch, and dinner for low-income children — and instead adopt a deficit-reduction approach that asks everyone to pay their fair share—including multimillion-dollar estates.
Ruthe de la Rosa Apr 26 "if this does not fn spell it fn out...omg..."
Diane Brown "True. They can be gone in a moment. Sometimes they leave us while their physical self is still on earth. Don't wait." Rosalynn Britass's Photos
March/ April 2012
Obama’s Top 50 Accomplishments
By Paul Glastris, Ryan Cooper, and Siyu Hu
(Also check out the main article, The Incomplete Greatness of Barack Obama, and the issue’s Editor’s Note.)
1. Passed Health Care Reform: After five presidents over a century failed to create universal health insurance, signed the Affordable Care Act (2010). It will cover 32 million uninsured Americans beginning in 2014 and mandates a suite of experimental measures to cut health care cost growth, the number one cause of America’s long-term fiscal problems.
2. Passed the Stimulus: Signed $787 billion American Recovery and Reinvestment Act in 2009 to spur economic growth amid greatest recession since the Great Depression. Weeks after stimulus went into effect, unemployment claims began to subside. Twelve months later, the private sector began producing more jobs than it was losing, and it has continued to do so for twenty-three straight months, creating a total of nearly 3.7 million new private-sector jobs.
3. Passed Wall Street Reform: Signed the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act (2010) to re-regulate the financial sector after its practices caused the Great Recession. The new law tightens capital requirements on large banks and other financial institutions, requires derivatives to be sold on clearinghouses and exchanges, mandates that large banks provide “living wills” to avoid chaotic bankruptcies, limits their ability to trade with customers’ money for their own profit, and creates the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (now headed by Richard Cordray) to crack down on abusive lending products and companies.
4. Ended the War in Iraq: Ordered all U.S. military forces out of the country. Last troops left on December 18, 2011.
5. Began Drawdown of War in Afghanistan: From a peak of 101,000 troops in June 2011, U.S. forces are now down to 91,000, with 23,000 slated to leave by the end of summer 2012. According to Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta, the combat mission there will be over by next year.
6. Eliminated Osama bin laden: In 2011, ordered special forces raid of secret compound in Abbottabad, Pakistan, in which the terrorist leader was killed and a trove of al-Qaeda documents was discovered.
7. Turned Around U.S. Auto Industry: In 2009, injected $62 billion in federal money (on top of $13.4 billion in loans from the Bush administration) into ailing GM and Chrysler in return for equity stakes and agreements for massive restructuring. Since bottoming out in 2009, the auto industry has added more than 100,000 jobs. In 2011, the Big Three automakers all gained market share for the first time in two decades. The government expects to lose $16 billion of its investment, less if the price of the GM stock it still owns increases.
8. Recapitalized Banks: In the midst of financial crisis, approved controversial Treasury Department plan to lure private capital into the country’s largest banks via “stress tests” of their balance sheets and a public-private fund to buy their “toxic” assets. Got banks back on their feet at essentially zero cost to the government.
9. Repealed “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell”: Ended 1990s-era restriction and formalized new policy allowing gays and lesbians to serve openly in the military for the first time.
10. Toppled Moammar Gaddafi: In March 2011, joined a coalition of European and Arab governments in military action, including air power and naval blockade, against Gaddafi regime to defend Libyan civilians and support rebel troops. Gaddafi’s forty-two-year rule ended when the dictator was overthrown and killed by rebels on October 20, 2011. No American lives were lost.
11. Told Mubarak to Go: On February 1, 2011, publicly called on Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak to accept reform or step down, thus weakening the dictator’s position and putting America on the right side of the Arab Spring. Mubarak ended thirty-year rule when overthrown on February 11.
12. Reversed Bush Torture Policies: Two days after taking office, nullified Bush-era rulings that had allowed detainees in U.S. custody to undergo certain “enhanced” interrogation techniques considered inhumane under the Geneva Conventions. Also released the secret Bush legal rulings supporting the use of these techniques.
13. Improved America’s Image Abroad: With new policies, diplomacy, and rhetoric, reversed a sharp decline in world opinion toward the U.S. (and the corresponding loss of “soft power”) during the Bush years. From 2008 to 2011, favorable opinion toward the United States rose in ten of fifteen countries surveyed by the Pew Global Attitudes Project, with an average increase of 26 percent.
14. Kicked Banks Out of Federal Student Loan Program, Expanded Pell Grant Spending: As part of the 2010 health care reform bill, signed measure ending the wasteful decades-old practice of subsidizing banks to provide college loans. Starting July 2010 all students began getting their federal student loans directly from the federal government. Treasury will save $67 billion over ten years, $36 billion of which will go to expanding Pell Grants to lower-income students.
15. Created Race to the Top: With funds from stimulus, started $4.35 billion program of competitive grants to encourage and reward states for education reform.
16. Boosted Fuel Efficiency Standards: Released new fuel efficiency standards in 2011 that will nearly double the fuel economy for cars and trucks by 2025.
17. Coordinated International Response to Financial Crisis: To keep world economy out of recession in 2009 and 2010, helped secure from G-20 nations more than $500 billion for the IMF to provide lines of credit and other support to emerging market countries, which kept them liquid and avoided crises with their currencies.
18. Passed Mini Stimuli: To help families hurt by the recession and spur the economy as stimulus spending declined, signed series of measures (July 22, 2010; December 17, 2010; December 23, 2011) to extend unemployment insurance and cut payroll taxes.
19. Began Asia “Pivot”: In 2011, reoriented American military and diplomatic priorities and focus from the Middle East and Europe to the Asian-Pacific region. Executed multipronged strategy of positively engaging China while reasserting U.S. leadership in the region by increasing American military presence and crafting new commercial, diplomatic, and military alliances with neighboring countries made uncomfortable by recent Chinese behavior.
20. Increased Support for Veterans: With so many soldiers coming home from Iraq and Iran with serious physical and mental health problems, yet facing long waits for services, increased 2010 Department of Veterans Affairs budget by 16 percent and 2011 budget by 10 percent. Also signed new GI bill offering $78 billion in tuition assistance over a decade, and provided multiple tax credits to encourage businesses to hire veterans.
21. Tightened Sanctions on Iran: In effort to deter Iran’s nuclear program, signed Comprehensive Iran Sanctions, Accountability, and Divestment Act (2010) to punish firms and individuals who aid Iran’s petroleum sector. In late 2011 and early 2012, coordinated with other major Western powers to impose sanctions aimed at Iran’s banks and with Japan, South Korea, and China to shift their oil purchases away from Iran.....[MORE]
Obama’s Top 50 Accomplishments
By Paul Glastris, Ryan Cooper, and Siyu Hu
(Also check out the main article, The Incomplete Greatness of Barack Obama, and the issue’s Editor’s Note.)
1. Passed Health Care Reform: After five presidents over a century failed to create universal health insurance, signed the Affordable Care Act (2010). It will cover 32 million uninsured Americans beginning in 2014 and mandates a suite of experimental measures to cut health care cost growth, the number one cause of America’s long-term fiscal problems.
2. Passed the Stimulus: Signed $787 billion American Recovery and Reinvestment Act in 2009 to spur economic growth amid greatest recession since the Great Depression. Weeks after stimulus went into effect, unemployment claims began to subside. Twelve months later, the private sector began producing more jobs than it was losing, and it has continued to do so for twenty-three straight months, creating a total of nearly 3.7 million new private-sector jobs.
3. Passed Wall Street Reform: Signed the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act (2010) to re-regulate the financial sector after its practices caused the Great Recession. The new law tightens capital requirements on large banks and other financial institutions, requires derivatives to be sold on clearinghouses and exchanges, mandates that large banks provide “living wills” to avoid chaotic bankruptcies, limits their ability to trade with customers’ money for their own profit, and creates the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (now headed by Richard Cordray) to crack down on abusive lending products and companies.
4. Ended the War in Iraq: Ordered all U.S. military forces out of the country. Last troops left on December 18, 2011.
5. Began Drawdown of War in Afghanistan: From a peak of 101,000 troops in June 2011, U.S. forces are now down to 91,000, with 23,000 slated to leave by the end of summer 2012. According to Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta, the combat mission there will be over by next year.
6. Eliminated Osama bin laden: In 2011, ordered special forces raid of secret compound in Abbottabad, Pakistan, in which the terrorist leader was killed and a trove of al-Qaeda documents was discovered.
7. Turned Around U.S. Auto Industry: In 2009, injected $62 billion in federal money (on top of $13.4 billion in loans from the Bush administration) into ailing GM and Chrysler in return for equity stakes and agreements for massive restructuring. Since bottoming out in 2009, the auto industry has added more than 100,000 jobs. In 2011, the Big Three automakers all gained market share for the first time in two decades. The government expects to lose $16 billion of its investment, less if the price of the GM stock it still owns increases.
8. Recapitalized Banks: In the midst of financial crisis, approved controversial Treasury Department plan to lure private capital into the country’s largest banks via “stress tests” of their balance sheets and a public-private fund to buy their “toxic” assets. Got banks back on their feet at essentially zero cost to the government.
9. Repealed “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell”: Ended 1990s-era restriction and formalized new policy allowing gays and lesbians to serve openly in the military for the first time.
10. Toppled Moammar Gaddafi: In March 2011, joined a coalition of European and Arab governments in military action, including air power and naval blockade, against Gaddafi regime to defend Libyan civilians and support rebel troops. Gaddafi’s forty-two-year rule ended when the dictator was overthrown and killed by rebels on October 20, 2011. No American lives were lost.
11. Told Mubarak to Go: On February 1, 2011, publicly called on Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak to accept reform or step down, thus weakening the dictator’s position and putting America on the right side of the Arab Spring. Mubarak ended thirty-year rule when overthrown on February 11.
12. Reversed Bush Torture Policies: Two days after taking office, nullified Bush-era rulings that had allowed detainees in U.S. custody to undergo certain “enhanced” interrogation techniques considered inhumane under the Geneva Conventions. Also released the secret Bush legal rulings supporting the use of these techniques.
13. Improved America’s Image Abroad: With new policies, diplomacy, and rhetoric, reversed a sharp decline in world opinion toward the U.S. (and the corresponding loss of “soft power”) during the Bush years. From 2008 to 2011, favorable opinion toward the United States rose in ten of fifteen countries surveyed by the Pew Global Attitudes Project, with an average increase of 26 percent.
14. Kicked Banks Out of Federal Student Loan Program, Expanded Pell Grant Spending: As part of the 2010 health care reform bill, signed measure ending the wasteful decades-old practice of subsidizing banks to provide college loans. Starting July 2010 all students began getting their federal student loans directly from the federal government. Treasury will save $67 billion over ten years, $36 billion of which will go to expanding Pell Grants to lower-income students.
15. Created Race to the Top: With funds from stimulus, started $4.35 billion program of competitive grants to encourage and reward states for education reform.
16. Boosted Fuel Efficiency Standards: Released new fuel efficiency standards in 2011 that will nearly double the fuel economy for cars and trucks by 2025.
17. Coordinated International Response to Financial Crisis: To keep world economy out of recession in 2009 and 2010, helped secure from G-20 nations more than $500 billion for the IMF to provide lines of credit and other support to emerging market countries, which kept them liquid and avoided crises with their currencies.
18. Passed Mini Stimuli: To help families hurt by the recession and spur the economy as stimulus spending declined, signed series of measures (July 22, 2010; December 17, 2010; December 23, 2011) to extend unemployment insurance and cut payroll taxes.
19. Began Asia “Pivot”: In 2011, reoriented American military and diplomatic priorities and focus from the Middle East and Europe to the Asian-Pacific region. Executed multipronged strategy of positively engaging China while reasserting U.S. leadership in the region by increasing American military presence and crafting new commercial, diplomatic, and military alliances with neighboring countries made uncomfortable by recent Chinese behavior.
20. Increased Support for Veterans: With so many soldiers coming home from Iraq and Iran with serious physical and mental health problems, yet facing long waits for services, increased 2010 Department of Veterans Affairs budget by 16 percent and 2011 budget by 10 percent. Also signed new GI bill offering $78 billion in tuition assistance over a decade, and provided multiple tax credits to encourage businesses to hire veterans.
21. Tightened Sanctions on Iran: In effort to deter Iran’s nuclear program, signed Comprehensive Iran Sanctions, Accountability, and Divestment Act (2010) to punish firms and individuals who aid Iran’s petroleum sector. In late 2011 and early 2012, coordinated with other major Western powers to impose sanctions aimed at Iran’s banks and with Japan, South Korea, and China to shift their oil purchases away from Iran.....[MORE]
MAXINE SAYS:
BLUE SAYS:
I'm so excited about the Marches tomorrow that I doubt I'll sleep much tonight. Please, everyone, send me your March pictures at rudyblue02@yahoo.com or put them on Facebook as fast as you can. I'll be working on Web Wanderings all day updating with new pictures as they come in. April 28, 2012 is a day of Women's Herstory being made and we need to make sure we document it as much as possible! Good luck to all you brave and wonderful Marchers tomorrow. I so wish I could be with you physically, but please know I'm with you in spirit!
