Monday, October 27, 2008
The Handmaiden's Tale
In the middle of the night I awoke with the dreadful feeling that perhaps Margaret Atwood's (1985) novel was prescient. The Handmaiden's Tale is set in the former United States,now known as the Republic of Gilead. The culture wars have been won by the Religious Right and our government is an extreme nightmare for feminists and others; it is an monotheocratic government. Women are strictly controlled, unable to have paying jobs or money . There are three classes of women: chaste, childless Wives; housekeeping Marthas; and the reproductive Handmaids, whose children are raised by the "morally fit" Wives.
We are tittering on the brink:
There is still talk of a constitutional amendment to recognize only marriages between one man and one woman (Palen supports this amendment as does W).
Women who are collecting welfare are to be educated to see marriage as the way out of poverty, and until that marriage are to be abstinent. (See the Personal Responsibility Act of 1996,)
McCain snares over the fact that the "health of the mother" might be a legitimate reason for terminating a pregnancy.
Voters in Colorado next week will decide if fertile eggs are entitled to Colorado constitutional protections of inalienable rights and justice.
The CDC has issued statements about what are the health risks all women of child bearing age should avoid. (Even googling "CDC Healthy Females", Google asks me if I really meant "CDC Healthy FAMILIES" women are being literally subordinated...
We are tittering on the brink:
There is still talk of a constitutional amendment to recognize only marriages between one man and one woman (Palen supports this amendment as does W).
Women who are collecting welfare are to be educated to see marriage as the way out of poverty, and until that marriage are to be abstinent. (See the Personal Responsibility Act of 1996,)
McCain snares over the fact that the "health of the mother" might be a legitimate reason for terminating a pregnancy.
Voters in Colorado next week will decide if fertile eggs are entitled to Colorado constitutional protections of inalienable rights and justice.
The CDC has issued statements about what are the health risks all women of child bearing age should avoid. (Even googling "CDC Healthy Females", Google asks me if I really meant "CDC Healthy FAMILIES" women are being literally subordinated...
Wednesday, October 22, 2008
Gwendolyn Mink at Marist
News from Public Affairs
For Release:
IMMEDIATELY UPON RECEIPT
Contact:
TIM MASSIE (845) 575-3171DR. JOANNE MYERS (845) 575-3000, EXT. 2234
MARIST TO HOST 17TH ANNUAL WOMEN AND SOCIETY CONFERENCEPOUGHKEEPSIE - Marist College will host the 17th annual Women and Society Conference October 24-25 in Fontaine Hall on the Marist campus.Women and Society is an academic conference covering all aspects of women and gender currently under study. Among the topics to be discussed this year are "Gendered Depictions of Teachers in Film and Television," "Economic Rights and Citizenship," "Rebuilding After the Crash: Female Citizenship and the New Deal," "The Report on the Status of Black Women and Girls," "Invisible Wounds, Invisible Abuse: the Exclusion of Abuse in Newspaper Articles," and "Recording Herstory: How to Do a Quality Oral 'His/Her' Story Interview."The conference keynote speaker is Gwendolyn Mink, a writer and commentator on U.S. politics and on law and social policy affecting race, gender, and class inequality. Mink will discuss "Women's Work, Mother's Poverty: Are Men's Wages the Best Cure for Women's Economic Insecurity?" on October 24 at 8 p.m. in the Nelly Goletti Theatre, located on the third floor of the Marist Student Center. Mink is currently working on a biography of her mother, the late Patsy Takemoto Mink, who, in 1964 became the first woman of color elected to the U.S. Congress, representing Hawaii in Congress for 24 years. Congresswoman Mink was the author of the Title IX Amendment of the Higher Education Act, which prohibits discrimination based on sex in any educational program receiving federal financial assistance.There will be a pre-conference screening of the movie "They Call Me Muslim" on October 23. The film will be shown at 6:30 p.m. in the Black Box Theatre in Fontaine Hall. It explores the lives of two women, one in France and another in Iran, who struggle with the decision whether or not to wear a veil. A discussion following the film will be moderated by Dr. Jerusa Ali, visiting assistant professor of political science at Marist.The film and keynote address are free and open to the public. For registration and further information, contact conference coordinator Dr. JoAnne Myers, assistant professor of political science and co-director of Women's Studies at Marist, at joanne.myers@marist.edu, or (845) 575-3000, ext. 2234. A conference schedule is available online at www.marist.edu/liberalarts/womensstudies/pdfs/conference2008.pdf.
For further information, call the Marist College Office of Public Affairs at (845) 575-3174.
For Release:
IMMEDIATELY UPON RECEIPT
Contact:
TIM MASSIE (845) 575-3171DR. JOANNE MYERS (845) 575-3000, EXT. 2234
MARIST TO HOST 17TH ANNUAL WOMEN AND SOCIETY CONFERENCEPOUGHKEEPSIE - Marist College will host the 17th annual Women and Society Conference October 24-25 in Fontaine Hall on the Marist campus.Women and Society is an academic conference covering all aspects of women and gender currently under study. Among the topics to be discussed this year are "Gendered Depictions of Teachers in Film and Television," "Economic Rights and Citizenship," "Rebuilding After the Crash: Female Citizenship and the New Deal," "The Report on the Status of Black Women and Girls," "Invisible Wounds, Invisible Abuse: the Exclusion of Abuse in Newspaper Articles," and "Recording Herstory: How to Do a Quality Oral 'His/Her' Story Interview."The conference keynote speaker is Gwendolyn Mink, a writer and commentator on U.S. politics and on law and social policy affecting race, gender, and class inequality. Mink will discuss "Women's Work, Mother's Poverty: Are Men's Wages the Best Cure for Women's Economic Insecurity?" on October 24 at 8 p.m. in the Nelly Goletti Theatre, located on the third floor of the Marist Student Center. Mink is currently working on a biography of her mother, the late Patsy Takemoto Mink, who, in 1964 became the first woman of color elected to the U.S. Congress, representing Hawaii in Congress for 24 years. Congresswoman Mink was the author of the Title IX Amendment of the Higher Education Act, which prohibits discrimination based on sex in any educational program receiving federal financial assistance.There will be a pre-conference screening of the movie "They Call Me Muslim" on October 23. The film will be shown at 6:30 p.m. in the Black Box Theatre in Fontaine Hall. It explores the lives of two women, one in France and another in Iran, who struggle with the decision whether or not to wear a veil. A discussion following the film will be moderated by Dr. Jerusa Ali, visiting assistant professor of political science at Marist.The film and keynote address are free and open to the public. For registration and further information, contact conference coordinator Dr. JoAnne Myers, assistant professor of political science and co-director of Women's Studies at Marist, at joanne.myers@marist.edu, or (845) 575-3000, ext. 2234. A conference schedule is available online at www.marist.edu/liberalarts/womensstudies/pdfs/conference2008.pdf.
For further information, call the Marist College Office of Public Affairs at (845) 575-3174.
Saturday, October 11, 2008
Separate is NOT Equal!
Kudos to Connecticut: The Connecticut Supreme Court gets it: Civil Unions are not equal to Marriage.
see http://www.nytimes.com/2008/10/11/nyregion/11marriage.html?_r=1&hp&oref=slogin
Full Disclosure: LK & I were married in Massachusetts August 28th. After 17+ years this feminist who thinks marriage as an institution needs to be interrogated actually found the act of marrying very moving. We married in my brother's memory, and for legal protections, that even with many many hundreds of dollars worth of legal documents did not have the same sway as the $35 Marriage License (plus the $75 for the Justice of the Peace, and $10 dollars for the actual certified marriage license).
see http://www.nytimes.com/2008/10/11/nyregion/11marriage.html?_r=1&hp&oref=slogin
Full Disclosure: LK & I were married in Massachusetts August 28th. After 17+ years this feminist who thinks marriage as an institution needs to be interrogated actually found the act of marrying very moving. We married in my brother's memory, and for legal protections, that even with many many hundreds of dollars worth of legal documents did not have the same sway as the $35 Marriage License (plus the $75 for the Justice of the Peace, and $10 dollars for the actual certified marriage license).
Inciting Hatred
Palin & McCain have been inciting hatred on the campaign stump and in McCain's political ads--by insinuiating that Obama is a domestic terrorist and Muslim. see www.huffingtonpost.com/2008/10/10/mccain-defends-his-rabid_n_133710.html
And people believe this:
see http://www.alternet.org/blogs/video/#102501.
And, though, McCain has seemingly called for an end to these false and misleading claims, his political ads tying Obama to Ayres are still running. While Ayres was part of the eather Underground forty years ago, do we think that people can not change? Is he not now a respected member of the community as a professor of education??? McCain and company think not:
see http://elections.foxnews.com/2008/10/09/mccain-goes-jugular-new-obama-ayers-ad/
Perhaps we should ask for Truth in Politics. To fact check on your own go to: www.factcheck.org
Or, perhaps McCain is doing such sliming to avert our attention from the real politics and issues facing most of America and the Globe...
And people believe this:
see http://www.alternet.org/blogs/video/#102501.
And, though, McCain has seemingly called for an end to these false and misleading claims, his political ads tying Obama to Ayres are still running. While Ayres was part of the eather Underground forty years ago, do we think that people can not change? Is he not now a respected member of the community as a professor of education??? McCain and company think not:
see http://elections.foxnews.com/2008/10/09/mccain-goes-jugular-new-obama-ayers-ad/
Perhaps we should ask for Truth in Politics. To fact check on your own go to: www.factcheck.org
Or, perhaps McCain is doing such sliming to avert our attention from the real politics and issues facing most of America and the Globe...
Wednesday, October 08, 2008
Grumpy Old Man!
Senator McCain came off as Senator McPain, what a grumpy old man...who pandered when he was not just being plain condescending "I bet you may never even have heard of [Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac] before this crisis."
Thursday, October 02, 2008
Bailout?
I am very sceptical of this Wall St. bailout--even with all its sweeteners, it is only sweet for those who got us into this mess. We, the taxpayers are going to be paying for years for their follies. The new bailout does not even have us owning the companies we are saving. Nor, does the figure $700billion have any basis that I can find.
Barney Sanders wrote this : http://www.alternet.org/workplace/101224/bailout_passes_senate%3B_9_reasons_that%27s_bad_news_for_you/
and, my Congressman Maurice Hinchey wrote this:
WHY HINCHEY VOTED NO.... September 29, 2008 Hinchey Statement on Failure of Financial Bailout Bill Washington, DC - Congressman Maurice Hinchey (D-NY) today released the following statement after the House defeated a $700 billion financial bailout bill. The congressman voted against the measure. "While I recognize the need for some kind of a financial rescue package to free up the credit markets and restore stability to the entire financial system, I could not in good conscience vote for a bill that gives away $700 billion to the presidential administration that got us in this mess in the first place and doesn't make any sound economic investments in working and middle class Americans who are the ones in need of real financial assistance. Even Federal Reserve Chairman Bernanke and others have acknowledged that only $150 billion or so will be needed over the next five or six months. There is no legitimate argument for putting a $700 billion bailout on the shoulders of the American people when we can pass a rescue package with a much smaller dollar figure and reassess the situation next year under a new administration that is not the same administration as the one that got us in this mess. As we now have to go back to the drawing board, I expect that we'll see a much smaller package come forward that will effectively address the situation without placing an enormous new financial burden on American taxpayers. "I appreciate the urgency with which this bill was dealt. However, I wish my colleagues in Congress would have worked around the clock and through the weekend to reach an agreement on an economic stimulus bill that builds up the working and middle class and creates jobs. In fact, had they done so, I think a better bill would have passed today. We desperately need dramatic investments in our infrastructure -- with a particular focus on renewable energy projects, our education system, and our health care system. We also must provide real tax relief for working and middle class Americans who are the ones who could use some extra cash in their pockets as they face rising food, gas, and housing prices amidst uncertain employment circumstances. Last week, the House passed an economic stimulus bill that focuses on the right priorities that benefit the working and middle class, but President Bush threatened to veto the bill and his allies in the Senate blocked passage of the bill. I think it is critical that an economic stimulus bill be added as a component of any financial rescue measure because that's what will really stimulate growth in our economy. "The American economy is going through a very difficult time with many great challenges. It is imperative that our focus be on building up our economy with investments in the working and middle class. This bill ignores that component and instead focuses entirely on the Wall Street powerbrokers who were greedy and took advantage of the system. America was built on the shoulders of the working and middle class and our focus must be on rebuilding our economy through them as well."
Barney Sanders wrote this : http://www.alternet.org/workplace/101224/bailout_passes_senate%3B_9_reasons_that%27s_bad_news_for_you/
and, my Congressman Maurice Hinchey wrote this:
WHY HINCHEY VOTED NO.... September 29, 2008 Hinchey Statement on Failure of Financial Bailout Bill Washington, DC - Congressman Maurice Hinchey (D-NY) today released the following statement after the House defeated a $700 billion financial bailout bill. The congressman voted against the measure. "While I recognize the need for some kind of a financial rescue package to free up the credit markets and restore stability to the entire financial system, I could not in good conscience vote for a bill that gives away $700 billion to the presidential administration that got us in this mess in the first place and doesn't make any sound economic investments in working and middle class Americans who are the ones in need of real financial assistance. Even Federal Reserve Chairman Bernanke and others have acknowledged that only $150 billion or so will be needed over the next five or six months. There is no legitimate argument for putting a $700 billion bailout on the shoulders of the American people when we can pass a rescue package with a much smaller dollar figure and reassess the situation next year under a new administration that is not the same administration as the one that got us in this mess. As we now have to go back to the drawing board, I expect that we'll see a much smaller package come forward that will effectively address the situation without placing an enormous new financial burden on American taxpayers. "I appreciate the urgency with which this bill was dealt. However, I wish my colleagues in Congress would have worked around the clock and through the weekend to reach an agreement on an economic stimulus bill that builds up the working and middle class and creates jobs. In fact, had they done so, I think a better bill would have passed today. We desperately need dramatic investments in our infrastructure -- with a particular focus on renewable energy projects, our education system, and our health care system. We also must provide real tax relief for working and middle class Americans who are the ones who could use some extra cash in their pockets as they face rising food, gas, and housing prices amidst uncertain employment circumstances. Last week, the House passed an economic stimulus bill that focuses on the right priorities that benefit the working and middle class, but President Bush threatened to veto the bill and his allies in the Senate blocked passage of the bill. I think it is critical that an economic stimulus bill be added as a component of any financial rescue measure because that's what will really stimulate growth in our economy. "The American economy is going through a very difficult time with many great challenges. It is imperative that our focus be on building up our economy with investments in the working and middle class. This bill ignores that component and instead focuses entirely on the Wall Street powerbrokers who were greedy and took advantage of the system. America was built on the shoulders of the working and middle class and our focus must be on rebuilding our economy through them as well."
Labels: Economy, Maurice Hinchey, Sanders, wall st. bailout
