Month: August 2011

Sexism is a Social Disease

On By Anne LeonardIn Democrats, EQUAL RIGHTS, EQUALITY, Liberals, peace, Politics, SUFFRAGE, WOMEN3 Comments

The emotional, sexual, and psychological stereotyping of females begins

when the doctor says, “It’s a girl.” ~Shirley Chisholm

WHAT IS WOMEN’S EQUALITY DAY?


“At the behest of Rep. Bella Abzug (D-NY), in 1971 the U.S. Congress designated August 26 as Women’s Equality Day.”

“The date was selected to commemorate the 1920 passage of the 19th Amendment to the Constitution, granting women the right to vote. This was the culmination of a massive, peaceful civil rights movement by women that had its formal beginnings in 1848 at the world’s first women’s rights convention, in Seneca Falls, New York.”

The observance of Women’s Equality Day not only commemorates the passage of the 19th Amendment, but also calls attention to women’s continuing efforts toward full equality.

The headlines read, “WOMEN GET THE VOTE.” The 19th Amendment was ratified in 1920. After decades of oppression, women’s rights advocates brought a triumphant end to the U.S. women’s suffrage movement. The movement began, simply enough, by women who gathered together to voice their frustration over social, economic, and gender disparities. The convergence of their collective intelligence, conveyed through public discourse, produced a platform to share their concerns, philosophies, and proposed solutions. Once women realized the power and influence behind their collective voices, they changed the course of politics for generations to come.

References:

http://www.nwhp.org/resourcecenter/equalityday.php (National Women’s History Project)

http://www.legacy98.org/

http://www.legacy98.org/timeline.html (Historic Timeline)

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Hell Hath No Fury Like A Woman Scorned…

On By Anne LeonardIn Democrats, PoliticsLeave a comment

Hell Hath No Fury Like A Woman Scorned…

The right of citizens of the United States to vote shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any State on account of sex (Amendment XIX).

Women are passionate, effective, and extremely powerful advocates.  After all, a typical day in a Woman’s life begins seconds after the alarm breaks the silence of dawn.  Within minutes, she hits the ground running…  she starts the coffee, prepares breakfasts and lunches, and then she’ll jump in the shower.  After that, she’ll fold a load of yesterday’s laundry, load the dishwasher, and then get dressed.  Before she loads the car, she’ll feed the dogs, empty the cat litter box, and take out the trash.

On the way to her second job she’ll drop off the dry cleaning, fill up the car with gas, and stop by the post office.  But, it doesn’t end there.  She is constantly planning ahead- even running personal errands on her lunch hour.  After an eight to ten hour grind, she’ll head back home to finish the marathon that she started at daybreak-and this, is on a slow day.

(A man’s got to do what a man’s got to do. A woman must do what he can’t-. Rhonda Hansome )

A woman can scale Mount Everest in the same amount of time that it takes a man to perform his morning constitutional (atop his porcelain throne- while thumbing through the sports pages). Women are obviously the movers and shakers of humanity.  Why then, are women (still) grossly underrepresented?

Kirsten Gillibrand wrote:

    Last year, as a result of the 2010-midterm elections, the 112th Congress became the first in a generation to start out with fewer women in its ranks than the Congress before it. After decades of slow incremental growth in the number of women serving in Congress, last year we actually lost ground, dropping from 93 to 92 women (thankfully Kathy Hochul’s victory last summer returned us to the previous level.)

But 2011 also saw the House of Representatives engage in an unprecedented assault on women’s reproductive rights. Whether it was their passage of a bill to defund Planned Parenthood or their legislation that would allow hospitals receiving federal funds to refuse reproductive care to women even if their life was in danger, time and again, the House of Representatives proved it was hostile toward women’s rights.

~Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned- W. Congreve (1697).

Ladies, it’s time to get serious, get mad, and get motivated. It’s time to get off the sidelines:

Forget the Boots, Save the Watches!

On By Anne LeonardIn PoliticsLeave a comment

I’ve always said that  if you want any Sh*t out of Perry, just squeeze his neck.  And, apparently, Perry has plenty to spare because his campaign trail is so littered, it’s impossible to wade through the enormous piles of manure he leaves behind at every stop.  FORGET THE BOOTS, SAVE THE WATCHES! It’s getting deep around here.

If you’re from Texas, you already know that Rick Perry is crazy.  So crazy, in fact, he’s often referred to as Straight Jacket Perry.  A glimpse into that empty pea brain of his reveals that, not only is this man one brick shy of a load, he is 100% certifiable. Here’s PROOF. Just take a peek at the whopper ideas that made the Think Progress Top 10 Weird List:

— 10. Social Security Is Evil.

—9. Conscription and Wartime Price Controls.

— 8.Medicare is Too Expensive .

— 7. All Bank Regulation Is Unconstitutional.

— 6. Consumer Financial Protection Is Unconstitutional.

— 5. Almost Everything Is Unconstitutional.

— 4. Federal Education Policy Is Unconstitutional.

— 3. Al Gore Is Part Of A Conspiracy To Deny The Existence Of Global Cooling.

— 2. Activist Judges Are a Problem.

—1. The Civil War Was Caused By Slaveowners Trampling On Northern States’ Rights.

http://thinkprogress.org/yglesias/2011/08/15/295427/295427/

Poll Tax, Revisited

On By Anne LeonardIn RIght Wing NutsLeave a comment

The radical right extremists and the tea party redneck brigade boldly claim to be defenders & protectors of the Constitution. Perhaps, these self proclaimed patriots should read it.

“Imagine that you are finally old enough to vote in your first election. But, do you have enough money to vote? What if you had to pay to vote? Not too many years ago, citizens in some states had to pay a fee to vote in a national election. This fee was called a poll tax. On January 23, 1964, the United States ratified the 24th Amendment to the Constitution, prohibiting any poll tax in elections for federal officials.”

“When Texas voters are asked to show a photo ID at the polls in January, they will join voters in 29 other states that have adopted voter identification requirements — but only six of which require photo identification. The new requirement reeks of Voter Suppression. Texas Democrats have expressed concern with the new requirement” You can too.

Studies have shown that 11 percent of eligible voters, more than 20 million Americans, do not have a government-issued ID. This percentage is even higher for seniors, racial minorities, low-income voters and students. The record is clear that restrictive photo identification laws, such as the one just passed in Texas, serve no legitimate purpose. While proponents cite the need to guard against voter fraud, numerous recent investigations and studies have found zero evidence of substantial voter fraud of the kind voter ID laws would protect against — voter impersonation.

The procedure to obtain a Texas ID or Driver’s License requires you to show “Lawful Presence” by producing one of the following:

  1. Certificate of Birth issued by appropriate U.S. State, Territory, or District of Columbia;
  2. Department of State Certification of birth issued to U.S. Citizens born abroad
  3. Certificate of U.S. Citizenship
  4. U.S. Dept. of Justice – INS U.S. Citizenship Identification Card
  5. U.S. Dept. of Justice – INS Identification Card for Resident Citizen of the U.S.
  6. U.S. Passport
  7. Valid Permanent Resident Card
  8. Passport or I-94 stamped “Approved I-551”;
  9. Passport or I-94 stamped “Processed for I-551” or
  10. Permit to Re-enter (Form I-327).

Most, if not all, require a certified copy of your birth certificate to obtain.

A Texas ID costs about $ 25.

And, to obtain a copy of your birth certificate (in Texas) you must provide:

  1. State-issued driver’s license
  2. State/city/county ID card
  3. Student ID
  4. Government employment badge or card
  5. Prison ID
  6. Military ID.

Certified copy of birth certificate costs about $22.

Combined cost (birth certificate/license): $47

Disturbing Fact: let’s say you make minimum wage (which makes up the majority of the so called jobs that Perry is claiming to have created), $7.25 an hour. You would need to work 6.48 hours in order to make enough money to pay your Poll Tax.

References: Embedded Links

Let my People GO!

On By Anne LeonardIn Democrats, LiberalsLeave a comment

A friend and I recently had the pleasure of meeting Nancy Pelosi.  The event was sponsored by the Dallas Democrats (and hosted by Harryette Ehrhardt & Eddie Bernice Johnson).  And, as most socially conscious political bloggers do, I shared this information on Face Book.   Much to my chagrin, a couple of the comments from beleaguered Democratic colleagues were quite disturbing.

The lack luster responses (premised by the not-so-subtle disclaimer): “I don’t mean to offend, but…” were, in fact, offensive.   Side bar:  when someone begins a statement with “No offense, but…” or “Don’t take this the wrong way, but…”-you can be certain that any statement that follows WILL offend you.  More importantly, the  person delivering these ultimate wastes of verbal intercourse, think that by disguising their insult, they will offset any backlash it may cause them. But, it doesn’t really work that way, now does it?

Democrats, someone has high-jacked your way of thinking and it’s hindering your effectiveness.  Perhaps, it time to dust off the cobwebs of discontent, break free from the psychological quicksand.  Democrats, you will never find the promised land if you continue to wander in  the radical right wing desert of defeat.

Can you say, “UNITY- all together now…U-N-I-T-Y.”

Democrats, do not allow idiots like Bachman, Palin, Limbaugh, Beck, Boehner, Hannity, O’Reilly, Colter, and all of the other tea party imbeciles (masquerading as “Patriots”) to redefine what a Democrat is and what a Democrat stands for.  Do not stand idly by; do not acquiesce as they attempt to make ‘Liberal’, ‘Left’, and ‘Democrat’, dirty words.  Remember, the core principles that built the rock solid foundation of our party.  Adlai Stevenson said it best:

“The people are wise, wiser than the Republicans think. And the Democratic Party is the people’s Party — not the labor Party, not the farmers’ Party, not the employers’ Party — it is the Party of no one because it is the Party of everyone.

Annie

AMERICA-DOOMED!?.. Downgrades, REBEL FLAGS in TEXAS, Hot Dogs, Tea Party POOPERS, and the EXPLODING SUN…

On By Anne LeonardIn RIght Wing NutsLeave a comment

AMERICA IS DOOMED? AAA Credit Downgrade, political pandering disguised as “prayer rallies”, prayer & fasting succumbs to the temptation of HOT DOG vendors, and more Tea Party obstructionism.

 Perry wants to put the racist rebel flag on Texas License Plates, Capitalism has no place in Health Care, and,  not only does it feel like we’re living in Hades due to the political discontent, we now have proof- the SUN is EXPLODING. 

Wow, and I thought my bad mood due to inadequate caffeine levels.