Category: SUFFRAGE

The Eleventh Hour: “a day to be dedicated to the cause of world peace”

On By Anne LeonardIn 99%, ANTI WAR, Democrats, EQUAL RIGHTS, EQUALITY, Justice, Liberals, Occupy America, Occupy Together, Occupy Wall Street, peace, Politics, RIght Wing Nuts, SUFFRAGE, Tea Party, WOMEN1 Comment

veterans-day-2013

Veteran’s Day, was originally commemorated as Armistice Day, “a day to be dedicated to the cause of world peace.”

NYTimes-Page1-11-11-1918

Armistice Day–“The eleventh hour, of the eleventh day, of the eleventh month”, in 1918, the major conflicts of World War I ended when the allies signed an armistice with Germany.

                    ‘November 11, 1919, President Wilson proclaimed the first commemoration of Armistice Day: “To us in America, the reflections of Armistice Day will be filled with solemn pride in the heroism of those who died  in the country’s service and with gratitude for the victory… and because of the opportunity it has given  America to show her sympathy with peace and justice in the councils of the nations…”

On June 4, 1926, Congress passed a resolution “requesting that President  Coolidge issue another proclamation to observe November 11 with appropriate ceremonies” (52 Stat. 351; 5 U.S. Code, Sec. 87a) the act was approved May 13, 1938, making November 11, a legal holiday with the appropriate ceremonies “a day to be dedicated to the cause of world peace and to be thereafter celebrated and known as ‘Armistice Day’.”

 

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Veteran’s Day–Armistice Day morphed into Veteran’s Day- In 1945, World War II veteran Raymond Weeks from Birmingham, Alabama, who wanted Armistice Day to include all veterans, not just those who died in World War I. Weeks led a delegation to Gen. Dwight Eisenhower, who supported the idea of National Veterans Day and signed the bill into law on May 26, 1954.

Remembrance Day/Poppy Day–is a memorial day observed in Commonwealth countries since the end of World War I to remember the members of their armed forces who have died in the line of duty. This day, or alternative dates,  are also recognized as special days for war remembrances in many non-Commonwealth countries. Remembrance Day is observed on 11 November to recall the end of hostilities of World War I on that date in 1918. Hostilities formally ended “at the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month.

flandersfields

The red remembrance poppy has become a familiar emblem of Remembrance Day due to the poem “In Flanders Fields“. These poppies bloomed across some of the worst battlefields of Flanders in World War I, their brilliant red color an appropriate symbol for the blood spilled in the war.

References:

Front page NYT: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/7/75/NYTimes-Page1-11-11-1918.jpg/474px-NYTimes-Page1-11-11-1918.jpg

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Veterans_Day

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Remembrance_Day

http://www.historyextra.com/remembrance

http://www.arlingtoncemetery.net/flanders.htm 

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Women’s Equality: The Battle Continues, The War Rages On.

On By Anne LeonardIn Democrats, EQUAL RIGHTS, EQUALITY, Justice, RIght Wing Nuts, SUFFRAGE, WOMEN3 Comments

WOMAN VOTING

“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

19th AmendmentThe 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. 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 (NWHP)

Ninety-three years after the passage of the Nineteenth Amendment, and women are still fighting for equality.   Examples of the recent attacks have been spotlighted in  ATD’s War on Women Series. Make no mistake about it, the WAR on WOMEN is REAL, despite the GOP’s claim that it is merely trumped up media hype.

In an interview with Bloomberg TV, RNC chairman Reince Priebus claimed the so-called “war on women” is a fiction created as the media is on par with claiming there is a “war on caterpillars.”

“Now if the Democrats said we had a war on caterpillars,” Priebus told Hunt, “then every mainstream media outlet talked about the fact that Republicans have a war on caterpillars, so then we’d have a problem with caterpillars. I mean, the fact of the matter is it’s a fiction.” (Mediaite)

Liberty-Weeping-War-on-Women

Move On complied the Top 10 MOST SHOCKING attacks from the GOP’s War on Women:

1) Republicans not only want to reduce women’s access to abortion care, they’re actually trying to redefine rape. After a major backlash, they promised to stop. But they haven’t yet. Shocker.

2) A state legislator in Georgia wants to change the legal term for victims of rape, stalking, and domestic violence to “accuser.” But victims of other less gendered crimes, like burglary, would remain “victims.”

3) In South Dakota, Republicans proposed a bill that could make it legal to murder a doctor who provides abortion care. (Yep, for real.)

4) Republicans want to cut nearly a billion dollars of food and other aid to low-income pregnant women, mothers, babies, and kids.

5) In Congress, Republicans have a bill that would let hospitals allow a woman to die rather than perform an abortion necessary to save her life.

6) Maryland Republicans ended all county money for a low-income kids’ preschool program. Why? No need, they said. Women should really be home with the kids, not out working.

7) And at the federal level, Republicans want to cut that same program, Head Start, by $1 billion. That means over 200,000 kids could lose their spots in preschool.

8) Two-thirds of the elderly poor are women, and Republicans are taking aim at them too. A spending bill would cut funding for employment services, meals, and housing for senior citizens.

9) Congress just voted for a Republican amendment to cut all federal funding from Planned Parenthood health centers, one of the most trusted providers of basic health care and family planning in our country.

10) And if that wasn’t enough, Republicans are pushing to eliminate all funds for the only federal family planning program. (For humans. But Republican Dan Burton has a bill to provide contraception for wild horses. You can’t make this stuff up).

I have always thought the actions of men the best interpreters of their thoughts. J.Locke

The battles continues as the war rages on.

The voices of WOMEN must be heard.

Speak out.

GET OFF THE RAGG: Open Letter

On By Anne LeonardIn ANTI WAR, Democrats, EQUAL RIGHTS, EQUALITY, Justice, Liberals, peace, Politics, Progressive, RIght Wing Nuts, SUFFRAGE, Tea Party, WOMENLeave a comment

Dear Radical Right Republicans, Tea Partiers, Birthers, Posers, and Hypocrites:

Have you no shame.  We have endless for-profit wars over oil, special interests ruling our Nation, and American’s struggling to live, but all you want to talk about is Religion, Abortion, Guns, and Gays.

Allow me to address your issues on a personal level:

I consider myself a Progressive.   Being a Progressive does not make me a ‘baby-killer’, a GUN BANNING fanatic, or a radical enemy combatant.

Now to address the CORNERSTONE issues of the Radical RIGHT:

(1) RELIGION

I tolerate all religions (and there are MANY) that celebrate the Golden Rule.   I am an Atheist.  I am not a god hater.  You cannot hate what you do not believe in.

(2) ABORTION

What a woman chooses to do with her body, is a decision for her to make, after seeking the advise of her physician.  I am PRO-CHOICE/PRO –LIFE.   That does not mean that I advocate FOR or AGAINST ABORTION.  I simply think that a woman should have the choice.

(3) GUNS

Guns (alone) don’t kill people. Guns in the wrong PEOPLE’S hands kill people (with some exceptions).  We simply need to keep the guns out of the hands of the bad guys and leave the good guys with guns alone.

(4) GAYS

You don’t become gay-you are born that way.  It’s not a disease.  You either are, or you aren’t.  It’s the way you’re made.  Marriage is between two people who love each other, period (not genitalia requisite).

I am not alone in my beliefs.  There are millions more like me.   So, Dear Radical Right Republicans, Tea Partiers, Birthers, and Haters, please keep this in mind when you spread your messages of hate.  The TRUTH may eventually set YOU free.

GET OFF THE R.A.G.G. -Humanity is calling.

Love and Peace.

The Protester IS the Person of the Year-Worldwide and growing.

On By Anne LeonardIn 99%, ANTI WAR, Democrats, EQUAL RIGHTS, EQUALITY, Justice, Liberals, Occupy America, Occupy Together, Occupy Wall Street, peace, Politics, Progressive, SUFFRAGE, WOMEN1 Comment

VIA LEFT WING NUT JOB: Posted by Dusty on December 26, 2011 at 4:18

It started with a single, frustrated Tunisian named Mohamed Bouazizi, a man that just wanted to be able to feed his family, in the only manner he had available to him in a nation ruled by a dictator for decades ..selling fruit on a street corner. This year, Time did get it right.

Rosa Parks, Civil Rights Icon

On By Anne LeonardIn EQUAL RIGHTS, EQUALITY, Justice, Liberals, peace, Politics, SUFFRAGE, WOMEN1 Comment

Dec 1, 1955 – Rosa Parks refuses to give up her seat on a bus to a white person; her arrest ignites the Montgomery Bus Boycott (National Women’s History Project).

Rosa Louise Parks was nationally recognized as the “mother of the modern day civil rights movement” in America. Her refusal to surrender her seat to a white male passenger on a Montgomery, Alabama bus, December 1, 1955, triggered a wave of protest December 5, 1955 that reverberated throughout the United States. Her quiet courageous act changed America, its view of black people and redirected the course of history. Read More Here

Blood Soaked, Tattered, and Torn…

On By Anne LeonardIn 99%, ANTI WAR, Democrats, EQUAL RIGHTS, EQUALITY, Justice, Liberals, Occupy America, Occupy Together, Occupy Wall Street, peace, Politics, RIght Wing Nuts, SUFFRAGE, Tea Party, WOMEN1 Comment

Veteran’s Day is designated as a national day of commemoration honoring peace and sacrifice:

‘November 11, 1919, President Wilson proclaimed the first commemoration of Armistice Day: “To us in America, the reflections of Armistice Day will be filled with solemn pride in the heroism of those who died in the country’s service and with gratitude for the victory… and because of the opportunity it has given America to show her sympathy with peace and justice in the councils of the nations…”

America and her sympathy with peace and justice are failing. Peace is now an afterthought.

Soldiers (some far nobler than our country’s war mongering profiteers) are marched into horrific circumstances with a stroke of a bureaucratic pen. Many brave men and women enlist with honorable intentions; many left to die… abandoned by the Government, of the country they swore to protect. Freedom, it seems, diminishes profit margins. War is good business to the real tyrants-the war profiteers. On the horizon, the silhouette of a once great nation remains, reduced to a nation divided, misguided, and woeful. A nation subdued by the ills of war, blinded by the industrial military complex as it wages perpetual wars for profit at the expense of humanity.

A Government’s wars, cloaked in the blood soaked sacramental cloth that bears the stars and stripes of our heritage. Yet, as fate would have it, history inked with the blood of the noble, the innocent, and the evil, is of great consequence to those who hope to one day acquiesce to a peaceful state of existence.

Wars are a part of history that should not be repeated. If only our leaders would concede that mistakes have been made, damage has been done, and lessons were learned. But, lessons have not been learned, history repeats itself, and the wars continue.

Today as we contemplate sacrifice, contemplate the reflection in the mirror of humanity. – Annie

“If you wish to experience peace, provide peace for another.” D. Lama

W.E. Whitmore

“Who stole the soul-And who stole the heart
And who took the spark from inside of me…
Why can’t I breathe…

And I’m afraid they won’t stop…’til all the poets have failed;
Til all the good men are jailed for nothin’ at all
Who let them take the fall…

And they’ll bring devastation; And call it diplomacy…
But an occupation won’t bring a nation to peace

Oh and I’m so ashamed, in these things beyond value; that we cherish so dear
I won’t let them go. No I won’t let them go…”

Neither will I…

Neither will I

– Annie

Dying Declaration

On By Anne LeonardIn 99%, ANTI WAR, EQUAL RIGHTS, EQUALITY, Justice, Liberals, Occupy America, Occupy Together, Occupy Wall Street, peace, Politics, SUFFRAGE1 Comment

Rosebud…

Citizen Kane is undoubtedly one of the best screenplays of all time. Orson Welles’ cautionary tale is as socially relevant today, as it was back in 1941.

The main character possessed the superficial things that many misguided souls in modern society deem utopia prerequisites. A story rich with many of the necessary evils: media, politics, greed, money, and power- a film that subliminally whispers ‘school is now session’ by way of intellectual atonement.

“Mr. Kane was a man who got everything he wanted, and then lost it. Maybe Rosebud was something he couldn’t get, or something he lost.”

Conversely, it WOULD be much easier for the audience to believe that Kane’s last utterance was a Hollywood-esque’ homage to a secret love; instead, pioneer Welles forgoes the cliched crescendo and sends the audience on a soul searching mission-through a dying declaration of one, philosophically profound word: Rosebud.

Kane’s last utterance was perhaps an allusion to the only time in Kane’s wretched life, that he experienced true happiness. In his dying moments, Kane did not lament, nor recall his wealth or power (or even his demise), but a time of great happiness.

A dying declaration is thought to be sacred, based on Latin theory Emo moriturus praesumitur mentiri, simply put- a dying person is not presumed to lie. Kane’s utterance is a symbolic warning. A simple truth. It wasn’t the childhood sled (Rosebud) that Kane missed the most. Rosebud was symbolic of simpler times when his life was not dominated by blind ambition.

Sometimes, in the quest for validation, it’s possible to lose sight of who we are, and what really makes us happy. Perhaps, what we THINK will bring us happiness will instead (when  achieved or attained), leave us empty and alone.

What makes you happy? Does it truly make you happy? Or, have you been conditioned to believe that it will make you happy?

Live passionately; do what you love-love what you do, love who you will, and share that love with the world.

Don’t take Rosebud for granted.

Note: Every now and then a reprieve is in order (if only to remind me that I’m still human). Therefore,a  temporary intellectual escape was required (today), it lasted 3 hours. At times I retreat to the comforts of music, prose, poetry, and my wonderful DVD library. Today, I watched Citizen Kane (again). It inspired me to write this piece. I’m now ready to begin anew. Fighting for what I believe in, fighting for those who can’t (or won’t) fight for themselves, and doing what I can to make this world a better place. Join me. – Annie

Cemeteries are Peaceful…

On By Anne LeonardIn 99%, ANTI WAR, Democrats, EQUAL RIGHTS, EQUALITY, Justice, Liberals, Occupy America, Occupy Together, Occupy Wall Street, peace, Politics, RIght Wing Nuts, SUFFRAGELeave a comment

Hugo Chavez may not be the perfect president, but anyone who can tip their hat to the IMF with a thanks, but no thanks attitude, deserves a bit of respect. And, while I may not embrace all of Hugo’s politics, I am quite fond of him.

In September, President Hugo Chávez’s statement was delivered by Venezuela’s foreign minister, Nicolas Maduro at the 66th UN General Assembly .    I printed the entire speech from the website listed below.   I began reading…and, I couldn’t stop.  Soon, the symbolic, powerful words penetrated my thoughts, plunging down into the black , depths of my intellect.  The simple (and painful) truth of Hugo Chávez‘ s statement cannot be denied. Truth be told, with respect to America, I couldn’t have said it better myself.

“Peace, peace, peace… We do not look for the peace of the cemetery, as said Kant ironically, but a peace based on the most zealous respect for international law. Unfortunately, the UN, through all its history, instead of adding and multiplying efforts in favor of peace among nations, ends up supporting, sometimes through its actions and other times by omission, the most ruthless injustices.”

Why does the UN do nothing to stop Washington? Because, Hugo, if we give them enough rope they will hang themselves….The imperialists have a people’s revolt on their hands. Yet, I do not hope for the peace of the cemetery. If we’re in the cemetery, we didn’t work hard enough for PEACE. The occupation continues.
The statement continues: ” I want to call on the governments of the world to reflect: since September 11th, 2001, a new and unprecedented imperialist war began, a permanent war, in perpetuity.”

It’s true, Hugo, the U.S. war-profiteers continue to feed their blood thirsty appetite, manufacturing fear in the hearts of the castle dwellers. The imperialists bankroll the propaganda peddlers, and there is no end in site. The war on terror is a front created to justify perpetual war.

It should always be remembered that “saving future generations from the scourge of war” is mentioned in the Preamble of the Charter of the United Nations – it’s just a dead letter. From 1945 on, wars have done nothing but inexorably increase and multiply themselves. We see, once again, Libya destroyed and bloodstained by the will of the powerful. We have to look directly at the terrifying reality of the world we live in. It is necessary to ask a series of questions on the basis of the risks and threats we face: Why is the United States the only country that scatters the planet with military bases? What is it afraid of to allocate such a staggering budget for increasing its military power? Why has it unleashed so many wars, violating the sovereignty of other nations which have the same rights on their own fates? How can international law be enforced against its insensible aspiration to militarily hegemonizing the world in order to ensure energy sources to sustain their predatory and consumer model? Why does the UN do nothing to stop Washington? If we answer these questions sincerely we would understand that the empire has awarded itself the role of judge of the world, without being granted this responsibility by anyone, and, therefore, imperialist war threatens us all.

Washington knows that a multi-polar world is already an irreversible reality. Its strategy consists of stopping, at any price, the sustained rise of a group of emerging countries, by negotiating great interests with its partners and followers in order to guide multipolarity along the path the empire wants. What is more, the goal is to reconfigure the world so it is based on Yankee military hegemony. Mankind is facing the very real threat of a permanent war. The empire is ready to create the political conditions for triggering a war anywhere, and the case of Libya proves it. Within the imperial view of the world, the well-known Clausewitz’s axiom is being reversed: politics is the continuation of war by other means.

What is behind this new Armageddon?: the absolute power of the military-financial leadership which is destroying the world in order to accumulate ever more profits; the military-financial leadership which is subordinated, de facto, to an increasingly larger group of States. Keep in mind that war is capital’s modus operandi: the war that ruins the majority and makes richer, up to the unthinkable, a few people...

Humanity is on the brink of an unimaginable catastrophe: the world is marching inexorably toward the most devastating ecocide; global warming and its frightening consequences are announcing it, but their perspective on the ecosystem, which resembles the ideology of the conquistadors Cortés and Pizarro, as the influential French thinker Edgar Morin rightly pointed out, pushes them to continue degrading and destroying. The energy and food crises are sharpening, but capitalism continues to trespass all the limits with impunity.

Given such a meager outlook, the great U.S. scientist Linus Pauling, awarded the Nobel Prize on two occasions, continues enlightening our path: “I believe that there is a greater power in the world than the evil power of military force, of nuclear bombs — there is the power of good, of morality, of humanitarianism. I believe in the power of the human spirit”. Let us mobilize all the power of the human spirit: it is time now. It is imperative that we unleash a great political counter-offensive in order to prevent the powers of darkness from finding justifications for going to war, from unleashing a widespread global war through which they attempt to save the western capital….

I want to conclude by remembering the great Venezuelan singer, Alí Primera. In one of his songs he asks us: “What is man’s struggle to achieve peace? And what peace, if they want to leave the world just as it is?” Today more than ever before, the worst crime against peace is to leave the world as it is: if we leave the world as it is, the present and future will be determined by perpetual war. On the contrary, to quote Alí Primera, achieving peace involves radically reversing all that impedes humanity from being humane.

Read the entire speech here:

http://www.voltairenet.org/Statement-by-Hugo-Chavez-at-66th

Watch Oliver Stone’s Award Winning piece:

http://southoftheborderdoc.com/

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Rise Up Against The Machine

On By Anne LeonardIn 99%, EQUAL RIGHTS, EQUALITY, Justice, Occupy America, Occupy Together, Occupy Wall Street, peace, Politics, RIght Wing Nuts, SUFFRAGELeave a comment

The Occupy Wall Street demonstrations, now spreading like wildfire across the nation, are the culmination of deep rooted pain & suffering of an oppressed sector of society. And, if current political trajectory continues undisturbed, this oppressed society will soon become extinct; crushed beneath the weight of political favors.
Historically, the campaign trails are littered with come-ons and one-liners designed to coddle and woo the 99%. But, soon after the ballots are counted, the romance quickly fades. And, like a cheap one-night stand, our self-serving leaders, resume their tawdry affairs with the elite 1%, while quietly and discreetly leaving the interests of the 99% on the nightstand as they disappear into the shadows.
“He chose poorly” said the Grail Knight of the scavenger… Leaders who choose profit over people-can expect a similar fate. The political scavengers who prostitute themselves for the sake of bankrolling ambition must be held accountable.
99% of the population holds 99% of the VOTE. Remember that. But, it doesn’t stop at the ballot box. Hopefully, this movement will inspire a new generation of social activists, to sort through the quagmire of special interest and reveal the true agenda of their chosen representatives. And, then (hopefully) they will take the appropriate actions to eradicate the source (vote them out of office).
Fellow 99’ers, never give up and never give in, even when the odds are stacked against you. The fight must continue: “Everything we do & everything we are is in jeopardy, and because the peril is immediate & unremitting, every person is the right person to act and every moment is the right moment to begin, starting with the present moment. For nothing underscores our common humanity as strongly as the peril of extinction does; In fact, on a practical and political plane it establishes that common humanity. The purpose of action is not to replace life with politics. The point is not to turn life into a scene of protest; life is the point.” (Jonathan Schell).
We must fight for a better tomorrow.

Annie Walker-Leonard