Remind you of any particular group of Good ol Boys bent on destroying a certain country?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?
Saturday, July 23, 2011
Are YOU 'Against it'?
Split your sides with this video!
Remind you of any particular group of Good ol Boys bent on destroying a certain country?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DtMV44yoXZ0
Remind you of any particular group of Good ol Boys bent on destroying a certain country?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?
MORE HORRORS AGAINST SERVICEWOMEN!
[Ed., I haven't Snopsed this yet, but wanted to alert you all. sandyo, ERA Inc]
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Friday, July 22, 2011
Submit, Woman...Powerful book by a wife abused by pastors and ministers. MUST READ
[Ed., ERA Inc has a policy against publicizing others' enterprises. We agreed to break this in this instance as it is a powerful story by minister-husband-abused Jocelyn Andersen, a strong supporter of our Equal Rights Amendment work. Her book is Submit, Woman. Well worth your while through libraries or purchase whether you are questioning your own abuse or just simpatico.] Go, Jocelyn!!
The Warrior Dash
For the next seven months I will be training for the Warrior Dash. The Warrior Dash is a 3 1/2 mile physical challenge attended by thousands. I will be running for ERA.
Why, you ask, is a 55 year old grandmother of eight planning to compete in a mud-crawling, fire-leaping, extreme run from hell?
Why, you ask, is a 55 year old grandmother of eight planning to compete in a mud-crawling, fire-leaping, extreme run from hell?
Well, I’ll tell you....
I will be sludging through the murky waters of “Alligator Alley” in support of the Equal Rights Amendment, which simply reads: Equality under the law shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any State on account of sex….
I will be sludging through the murky waters of “Alligator Alley” in support of the Equal Rights Amendment, which simply reads: Equality under the law shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any State on account of sex….
Do I think I might win? Not likely, but I will happily dash down river in the “Rio Run” in support of Florida families who are cheated of over $4000 per year in income because many Florida wives and mothers still only make 72 cents on the dollar as compared to men.
Do I think I will finish? You bet. I will gladly venture into unknown murky waters in the “Slithering Swamp” in support of every Florida girl and boy who is living in an under-privileged household because their mothers do not receive fair salaries or career advancement opportunities simply because they are women.
I will joyously speed through hundreds of tires in “Knee High Hell” in support of the 3 in 7 retirement age women in Florida who must continue working or live in poverty because they were unable to pay enough into pension plans and social security due to equal pay laws not being enforced.
I will ecstatically scale my way through the thick palmettos in the “Palmetto Prison” in support of fair salaries and career advancement opportunities in support of women.
I will delightedly hustle up and over giant straw bales in “Hay Fever” in support of necessary protection from violence against women
I will cheerfully maneuver over the cargo nets in the “Cargo Climb” in support of a Constitutional Amendment which will secure the birthright of equal treatment for male and female alike. Laws, state ERAs, the 14th Amendment are no guarantee.
I will enthusiastically fight my way through the water and gale force winds in the “Treacherous Typhoon” in support of mobilizing, organizing, and publicizing the swelling need for America’s Equal Rights Amendment which is already in place in every nation created since WWII!
I will zealously sprint to the summit on “Hell’s Hill” in support of propelling society forward by unleashing the talent and energies of ALL people, working together for a civilized society.
I will eagerly leap over the warrior fires of the “Warrior Roast” to enhance the dignity of all humankind by proclaiming equality of women and men under the law in perpetuity.
And I will humbly scramble beneath barbed wire in “Muddy Mayhem” in support of every Florida citizen who does not have equality under the Constitution based on his or her sex. Both sexes should get Honorable Mention in the Constitution representing the citizens’ contract with the United States of America.
Women's Rights + Men’s Rights = Equal Rights = Human Rights
http://jocelynandersen.
Wednesday, July 20, 2011
One Really Beautiful Idea
| show details Jun 28 |
Friends:
Do you know about kiva.org? You can make loans of from $25 up to poor women around the world who are in business. I choose women to give my loans to and pick a country where the value of the money isn’t fluctuating (kiva.org gives you that info for every loan sought) and so far I haven’t lost anything. When $25 is repaid, I make another loan.
Best,
Sonia
Why Aren't YOU at Work for Passing ERA now??
[Ed., SandyO. It's awfully easy to read this and write ERA pronouncements and urge everyone else to DO something about the ERA! YOU are the everyone else. We of the national Equal Rights Alliance Inc. have been working VERY hard for you for free for ERA ratification for 10 years now! Get off the couch, go to your computer and seek out 2PassERA.org, our site which is paid for by donations from others. Find out what's really going on, who benefits from ERA (male and female alike, all), which states have ratified and how easy it SHOULD BE to get 3 more states ratified and ERA passed into the US Constitution!But, WE CANNOT CONTINUE TO DO IT ALONE to the tune of others humming "I wish I had the ERA..". WE NEED YOU, EVERYONE to take up the shovel and start digging with your Sisters. There are SEVEN states filing bills: Florida, Louisiana, Missouri, Arkansas, Virginia, Nevada, Illinois and other states with plans. Find answers to how to pitch in in your own state to help PROPEL THE ERA at SandyO@PassERA.org. We will HELP you get started--one of our is mentoring. Step up to the plate, Sisters, ERA needs you. Seriously.]
GET UPDATES FROM Barbara Hannah Grufferman
From Hope to History: It's Time to Pass the Equal Rights Amendment
Posted: 07/ 1/11 11:18 AM ET
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My two teenaged daughters want to know why we have failed them. They want to know why -- in 2011 -- the U.S. Constitution still does not state that men and women are equal.
What do I tell them?
Recently, the Supreme Court ruled in favor of Wal-Mart and against the almost 1.6 million women who were part of the class action suit and who had been systematically denied pay and opportunities to advance within the company on par with their male colleagues. My daughters shook their heads in disgust.
And then this: a small article publicizing that Rep. Carolyn Maloney (D-N.Y.) and Sen. Robert Menendez (D-N.J.) reintroduced the Equal Rights Amendment at an event in Washington D.C. Yes, the same ERA that was introduced 88 years ago, and which has never gotten the 38 states necessary for ratification (only 35 came through) to make it a permanent part of the Constitution. Had I not seen that on Huffington Post, I never would have known that it had just been reintroduced. And the only major media coverage I've seen was on the Rachel Maddow show. My daughters looked at me as though it were all my fault.
Not only do the major media ignore this story year after year, but most people I interviewed didn't know the status of the ERA, or even the actual words of the amendment. According to EqualRightsAmendment.org:
The Equal Rights Amendment, first proposed in 1923 by Alice Paul, to affirm that women and men have equal rights under the law, is still not part of the U.S. Constitution.
The ERA was passed out of Congress in 1972 and has been ratified by 35 of the necessary 38 states. When three more states vote yes, it is possible that the ERA could become the 28th Amendment. The ERA could also be ratified by restarting the traditional process of passage by a two-thirds majority in the Senate and the House of Representatives, followed by ratification by legislatures in three-quarters (38) of the 50 states.
The actual words of the simply stated amendment as written by Alice Paul are:
Equality of rights under the law shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any state on account of sex.
Women (and men) in this country should be (and are) outraged, appalled, and angry at the utter lack of attention it has received. The ERA is probably the one amendment to our Constitution that could actually stop big companies like Wal-Mart from paying and promoting people based on sex... and it was not headline news, even on the heels of the Supreme Court debacle. Passing the ERA could very well be the beginning of the end of the war on women.
Trying to gauge how people are feeling, I put this question out on Facebook and Twitter -- Did you know that the ERA was just reintroduced and do you even care? -- and here are just a few of the many comments I received from all over the country (reprinted with their permission):
Of course I care! Equal work for unequal pay is one of the major disparities left between men and women's rights.Elizabeth Flynn
I did not know! I was just telling my son and his girlfriend (ages 24) about the original ERA last week. I remember being utterly shocked, dismayed, depressed and disappointed that it did not pass the first time around. And it really opened my eyes to inequality. It's time.Linda Landis
For a long time after ERA died (thanks largely to Utah, my home state) I thought it no longer mattered. Equality was settled, time to move on. What has happened just since last November in the War on Women has made it imperative that we get this done.Jann Steckel Swanson
We women must stand united. We must care and we have to incite a rumble and be heard. Equal rights for all should be a given.Vickie Stahl
I teach high school history and my students are always shocked to learn that women are not equal. We have quite a discussion on what it means and why it did not pass.Donna Monica Krause
And this from a man who has two young daughters and would like to see the ERA become a reality this time around:
Women are getting paid less for the same jobs as men, they still must break glass ceilings, and they are being violently attacked and assaulted by males at home and at jobs and constantly face men who are bullies. The ERA can and should be passed by Congress and ratified by the states before the November 2012 elections. It is time for women to unite and demand that the ERA be part of the Constitution. Every member of the House and Senate should be called on immediately before July 4th to add their names as co-sponsor of the ERA. The time for excuses is over.Brad Berger
For those of us who feel deeply about the ERA, this is what we should be asking:
Where are the powerful men and women who could -- with a few encouraging words -- get people out in the streets, writing letters to government leaders, energizing us to fight to make this a reality? Nancy Pelosi? Michelle Obama? In fact, where is President Obama? The White House website posted an "official" position on the ERA which I found disheartening indeed. Tina Tchen, the Executive Director of the White House Council on Women and Girls, wrote a blog about how President Obama has "a proven track record of supporting the ERA" and how then-Senator Obama in 2008 was "a sponsor of a joint resolution ratifying the ERA... " Yes. That's one of the reasons we voted for him to begin with. But what is President Obama doing now that he is in the position to help turn the ERA from fantasy into fact? And, Oprah, if you are reading... we all know what you could do.
There are some who may believe the ERA is an outdated concept put forth by the original vanguard of the women's movement, and one that is no longer relevant. The truth, in fact, is quite the opposite. It has never been more important, essential and urgent than it is now. Women are still making 77 cents for every dollar that a man makes, and there are even fewer women on boards and in senior management than in previous years. There is a War on Women happening in this country, make no mistake. The time has come. No more excuses, no more waiting. And no more Supreme Court decisions like the one handed down about Wal-Mart.
Marianne Schnall, founder of feminist.com, and author of the beautiful book, Daring to Be Ourselves, wrote this to me in an email:
It feels to me like unfinished business to have the ERA left unratified, especially when it is about something as fundamental as establishing the equality of men and women under the law. The fact that women are still so underrepresented and underpaid in this country is evidence that we still need this protection. This is an opportunity to create a historic milestone.
Let this be a call to action: Groups are being formed around the country, and on the Internet, to help get this ratified once and for all. It's a simple decision: If you believe the ERA should become the 28th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, consider doing the following:
- Contact your local government leader and tell them you will not back down until the ERA is ratified
- Go to Facebook pages such as ERA Now and Equal Rights Amendment to get up-to-date information
- Share this article and get others as energized as you
Don't let another year go by. Let the pride we have in our country -- as we celebrate the 4th of July -- extend to our belief in equality for all. If we work together, we can turn hope into history, and show our daughters and sons that we will not fail them... again.
1944 De ja vu: Lunatics against the ERA
1944 !
And, now, 67 years later...the same lunatic fringe against equal treatment for 52% of America's population!
And, now, 67 years later...the same lunatic fringe against equal treatment for 52% of America's population!
WOMEN ARGUE EQUAL RIGHTS AT CHICAGO,
THEN HEAR MAN CALL IT 'LUNATIC PROPOSAL'
CHICAGO, July 17 - More numerous, more
official and more vocal then ever before in the
history of the party, Democratic women got off
to a lively start in the pre-convention program,
in the renewal of an old feud before the reso-
lutions sub-committee this afternoon.
Mrs. Emma Guffey Miller, of Pennsylvania,
captained the advocates and Mrs. Dorothy Mc
Allister, of Michigan, the opponents of the
proposal to insert an equal rights amendment
plank in the platform. Each introduced depu-
ties of important feminine organizations who
submitted statistics and arguments to the
twenty-two men and women sitting non-
committally to hear all comers.
Then Marvin Harrison of Cleveland, under
the aegis of the National Consumers League,
waded right into this feminine fracas, swinging
his arms and some pungent phraseology to
emphazize his protest at inclusion of what
he termed, "this lunatic proposal." He
pleaded that the Democratic Party "may be
saved from endorsing, on a 'me, too' basis,
this plank which the Republican party put into
its platform, I believe, without much discus-
sion." Mr. Harrison said, "We work on a family
unit and women do need special protection."
Favorable action on the proposal was
urged by Mrs. William Dick Sperberg of New
York for the General Federation of Women's
Clubs ; Mrs. Marion Mulligan and Miss Matilda
Fenberg, who appeared respectively for the
National Federation of Business and Pro-
fessional Women and the National Association
of Women Lawyers, and Dr. Bertha Van
Heusen, for the Central Board of the
American Women's Medical Association.
Speaking against the proposal were
Miss Linna Bresete of the National Cath-
olic Welfare Council and Mrs. Raymond
S. Simons, representing the National
League of Women Voters. Besides, Mrs.
McAllister read into the record opposition
statements of Philip Murray, president of
the C.I.O. ; of the National Board of the
YWCA, of the National Council of Jewish
Women, and of the American Association
of University Women.
==============================
NEW YORK TIMES JULY 18, 1944
==============================
Tuesday, July 19, 2011
Florida Legislators who have NEVER cosponsored ERA !
LET’S Let's get these legislators names OFF THIS LIST.
Pick out the names of your own Florida state legislators from this list.
Call your County Supervisor of Elections or go to www.Leg.state.fl.us to get their phone numbers.
Make an appointment w/them or the Legislative Aide.
Email SandyO@PassERA.org for what to say at the brief appointment in their local offices.
Watch them squirm as they try to answer YOU, their VIP constituent, why they haven't sponsored Equal Treatment for all Americans Regardless of Gender, the ERA!
See if you can get them to commit to cosponsoring the next Session.
Then pass on the info to SandyO@passERA.org.
THIS is THE most important action you can take for ratifying the ERA, trust me! sandyo
ACCORDING TO OUR SOUTHEAST FLORIDA REGIONAL DIRECTOR, TARA LAXER, here are the names of the renegade Florida legislators who have never co-sponsored the Equal Rights Amendment ratification bill since 2003!
Here are THE NAMES WHO HAVE VOTED AGAINST ERA by their silence, have refused to co-sponsor after years of our lobbying them-- please post this information to others via email and also use on any literature that may serve to educate the voting public as to where a candidate stands on women’s rights: **
FLORIDA SENATE: *JD Alexander, Thad Altman , Jeff Atwater, Carey Baker, Lee Constantine, Victor D. Christ, "Charlie" Dean, Alex Diaz de la Portilla, Paula Dockery, (Mike Fasano, Don Gaetz; BUT BOTH OF THESE DID VOTE FOR IT RECENTLY!) Rudy Garcia, Andy Gardiner, Mike Haridopolos, Joe Negron (Chair 2010 #1 Committee), Steve Oelrich, Durell Peaden Jr, Garrett S. Richter, Ronda Storms (SHE HATES ERA), John Thrasher, Alex J. Villalobos (Chaired Judiciary Committee both times bill heard in Senate, and so HE VOTED FOR IT TWICE!), Stephen R. Wise.*
FLORIDA HOUSE: *"Sandy" Adams, Janet H. Adkins, Kevin C. Ambler, "Tom" Anderson, Gary Aubuchon, Leonard L. Bembry, "Mack" Bernard, Ellyn Setnor Bogdanoff, Esteban L. Bovo Jr, Debbie Boyd, Rachel V. Burgin, James Bush III, Dean Cannon, Jennifer Carroll, "Chuck" Chestnut IV, "Gwyn" Clarke-Reed, Marti Coley, Larry Cretul, Steve Crisafulli, Janet Cruz (elected mid-term), Carl J. Domino (Chair 2101 #1 Committee), Chris Dorworth, Brad Drake, Eric Eisnaugle, Greg Evers, Anitere Flores (SHE'S WORRIED THAT IT WILL FOSTER ABORTIONS! but ERA doesn't regulate that, nor same-sex anything!), Clay Ford, Erik Fresen, "Jim" Frishe (HARD RIGHTIST!), Matt Gaetz, Bill Galvano, "Rich" Glorioso, "Eddy" Gonzalez, Tom Grady, Denise Grimsley, Adam Hasner, Alan D. Hayes, Doug Holder, Ed Hooper (REFUSES ME), Mike Horner, Matt Hudson, Dorothy L. Hukill, Kurt Kelly, Paige Kreegel, John Legg, Marcelo Llorente, Debbie Mayfield, Charles McBurney, Seth McKeel, Dave Murzin, Bryan Nelson, Marlene H. O'Toole, Jimmy Patronis, Pat Patterson, Scott Plakon, Ralph Poppell, Stephen L. Precourt, "Bill" Proctor, Lake Ray, Ron Reagan, Michelle Rehwinkel Vasilinda (ANOTHER WHO BELIEVES ERA = ABORTION!), "Doc" Renuart, "Ken" Roberson, Maria Lorts Sachs, "Rob" Schenck, Ron Schultz, William D. Snyder, Kelli Stargel, Dwayne L. Taylor, "Nick" Thompson, Perry E. Thurston, John Tobia, Baxter G. Troutman, Charles E. Van Zant, Will W. Weatherford, "Mike" Weinstein, Trudi K. Williams, John Wood, Ritch Workman.
Our HERO, Eliz Warren, Dumped by Obama !
[Sandy: This is a courageous, brilliant woman whose hand at the helm of the Agency she created might have corralled and protected consumers' interests like nothing else! She should have been the one nominated by our President Obama as a recess appointment if he was afraid of the battle. We applaud her unruffled composure on CNN in a post-dump interview. As we mourn, she reminded us that the Agency has already been hamstrung to impotence by rules no other Agency is bound by!]
Congressma
PLEASE LEAVE A COMMENT NOW. THANK YOU.
Congressman Who Harassed Elizabeth Warren Showered With Donations From Banks And Predatory Lenders
| Source: Think Progress Congressman Who Harassed Elizabeth Warren Showered With Donations From Banks And Predatory Lenders By Lee Fang on Jul 18, 2011 at 2:10 pm Rep. Patrick McHenry (R-NC) gained infamy in May when he went on a childish tirade against Professor Elizabeth Warren, who is currently setting up the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau as a special adviser to President Obama. McHenry, a former College Republican hack, repeatedly accused Warren of lying about the agreed-upon time for testimony she gave before Congress. According to a ThinkProgress analysis of new campaign finance data released on Friday, McHenry received $63,800 from lobbyists and executives from banks, mortgage companies, payday lenders, pawn shop executives, and other predatory lenders in the last three months alone. Notably, much of the campaign donations from payday lenders came on a single day, April 20, 2011: – Advance America PAC: $10,000 on 4/20/11 – Dennis Bassford, CEO of the Seattle-based payday lender MoneyTree: $4,600 on 4/20/11 – Sarah Bassford: $2,700 on 4/20/11 – Community Financial Services Association of America PAC (trade association for payday lenders): $5,000 on 4/20/11 – Checksmart Financial LLC PAC, an Ohio-based payday lender: $2,000 on 4/20/11 – A. David Davis, CEO of Ohio-based payday lender Check-n-go: $2,000 on 4/20/11 – Jared Davis, CEO of Ohio-based payday lender Axcess Financial: $2,000 on 4/20/11 – Roger Dean, CFO of Axcess Financial: $500 on 4/20/11 – EZCORP PAC, a Texas-based payday lender: $2,000 on 4/20/11 – Natl Pawnbrokers Assoc. PAC: $2,000 on 4/20/11 The surge of payday lender money to McHenry on a single day suggests the congressman had a campaign party with opponents of Warren. The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau is tasked with policing and regulating dozens of predatory lending practices. A few weeks after the predatory lending campaign money started flowing to McHenry, he used the hearing with Warren to berate a leading consumer advocate. Read more: http://thinkprogress.org/ |
Thursday, July 14, 2011
Update on Congressional ERA bills 2011
[small editorial comment: For thoroughness and accuracy, the following article must be corrected to note the names of the 4 of us ERA state leaders who worked for a year and a half together to create and propel ERA's US Congressional HJRes 47. They are Camille Moran (LA), Jean Landweber (WI), your own Sandy Oestreich (FL, national), and Carolyn Cook (DC) whose idea it was. It is unfortunate that there seems to be an ongoing habit of neglecting to mention of the other 3 feminists who worked hard at creating the path for HJRes, the necessary documents, and in Landweber's case, secured the actual creator and Sponsor of the bill, US Cong. Tammy Baldwin. The web sites and Facebook pages of three of the four United For Equality members above have also been omitted in the listing below. We believe it is only courteous and feminist to acknowledge all contributors to this major effort.]
Will America Kill the Equal Rights Amendment?
Will America Kill the Equal Rights Amendment?
I wrote an article last week -- "From Hope to History: It's Time to Pass the Equal Rights Amendment" -- that generated hundreds of comments and thousands of shares. Why? Many readers were dismayed and confused to learn that this simply worded sentence is still not in the U.S. Constitution, even after 88 years:
Equality of rights under the law shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any state on account of sex.
Readers who believed the Equal Rights Amendment had already passed through Congress to become the 28th Amendment to the Constitution years ago were shocked. The amendment, first written in 1923 by Alice Paul, was, in fact, approved by Congress and sent to the states in 1972 with a ten-year deadline for ratification, but by 1982, supporters had managed to sign on only 35 of the 38 states needed to add the amendment to the Constitution.
Some who are not in favor of the Equal Rights Amendment claim it is redundant and unnecessary, often citing the 14th Amendment, which they say already protects the rights of women. It does not. Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia publicly stated that the 14th Amendment was never intended to protect women. It was only intended to protect race. Federal and state law cannot protect citizens who are not protected under the Constitution. He made this remark in January 2011:
Certainly the Constitution does not require discrimination on the basis of sex. The only issue is whether it prohibits it. It doesn't.
Sensing that people are as confused about the issue as I am, but just as eager to turn the promise of the Equal Rights Amendment into a reality, I interviewed key thought leaders who are directly involved in efforts to get the Equal Rights Amendment passed.
Why do we need the Equal Rights Amendment?
Laws can be repealed. Judicial attitudes can shift. We continue to see demonstrable cases of systemic gender discrimination -- even in this day and age when women have come so far. Establishing the clear unambiguous language of the Equal Rights Amendment into the U.S. Constitution would have a real impact on our national consciousness. Our democracy rests on the principle of 'liberty and justice for all.' We need the ERA to ensure that this concept applies equal to women.-- Congresswoman Carolyn Maloney (D-N.Y.), who reintroduced the Equal Rights Amendment on June 22nd, 2011.
Women in the armed services are fighting on the front lines in two wars to protect and defend a constitution that does not protect and defend them. The U.S. strongly urged Iraq and Afghanistan to include women in their new constitutions as they rebuild their societies; yet we have not led by example.-- Carolyn A. Cook, founder and CEO of United 4 Equality, and author of the HJ Res. 47 resolution, which calls for Congress to officially remove the time limit for ratification of the ERA.
First, a movement has to move and the women's movement will only grow and thrive if it keeps on pushing for policies such as the ERA -- which is nothing more than the American value of fairness and equality under the law. Second, because even though it hasn't passed yet, every time we have made it an issue, women have advanced in myriad ways. And third, we must pass it because it is the right thing to do. No cause is lost when it is the right thing to do.
-- Gloria Feldt, activist, and author of No Excuses: 9 Ways Women Can Change How We Think About Power.
What are the options for getting the Equal Rights Amendment passed once and for all?
There are two strategies that are currently being pursued by those who support the Equal Rights Amendment:
Rep. Carolyn Maloney explained it this way:
I have introduced the full 'start-over' ERA in each Congress since I arrived because the rights of women deserve to be constitutional. This Congress, I introduced H.J.RES 69 with over 155 original cosponsors. This would re-set the ratification count at zero and start the ratification process over again. In addition to the 'start-over' strategy, there is the 'three-state' strategy, which would put the ERA in our Constitution when an additional three states ratify, which, when added to the original 35 states, add up to the necessary 38 ratifications. However, some Constitutional scholars believe that this approach would violate the Constitution and would likely be subject to a challenge which would likely win in court and invalidate the entire ratification. Nevertheless, I support both strategies and believe in doing anything that will increase the chances that the ERA will be included in the Constitution.
To address the issues inherent in the "three state strategy," Carolyn A. Cook spearheaded a resolution which she authored (HJ Res. 47) urging Congress to remove the time limit for ratification in the final three states needed. According to Carolyn,
It is a far more efficient, fair and likely-to-succeed approach than hitting the reset button on ERA. I drafted the proposal, recruited some passionate ERA advocates from unratified states to help, and together we introduced this bill on March 8th to mark the 100th anniversary of Women's Equality Day. This day serves as a reminder that the U.S. cannot curb the human rights abuses of women and girls worldwide while denying them constitutional equality at home.
Mike Hersh, on staff at the Progressive Democrats of America, succinctly summed up why we need to pursue the "three state strategy" instead of starting over:
Starting over requires a 2/3 vote in favor from both the U.S. Senate and House of Representatives, which we can't expect until 2013 at the earliest. For reference, this has been tried in every Congress for many years, and has never passed, even when Nancy Pelosi was the Speaker and Democrats had huge majorities in both the House and Senate. Once we get the ERA out of Congress again, we'd have to start over from zeo and get 38 states to ratify the amendment. Fewer than half that many are likely to do so in the foreseeable future. So starting over would almost definitely take several decades.
What can we do to ensure that America does not kill the Equal Rights Amendment?
Complacency will kill the Equal Rights Amendment, and we need to change the tone of the discourse. Let's stop thinking about it in terms of us against them, left vs. right, conservative vs. liberal, men vs. women. Reframe the issue of the Equal Rights Amendment and ask yourself this question:
Is it the right thing to do?
Can a country that prides itself as the leader and protector of democracy in the world, and one which implores other countries to include the word "women" in their constitutions (Afghanistan and Iraq), still not protect the rights of women in its own?
If you believe the Equal Rights Amendment should be in our U.S. Constitution, here's what you can do:
- Share this article.
- Read up on both strategies (starting over and the three-state solution) to better understand why the three-state solution is probably the stronger option, and get behind it.
- Contact your local government representative and urge them to co-sponsor "HJ Res 47: Removing the Deadline for Ratification of the Equal Rights Amendment."
- Visit United4Equality.com and "friend" them on Facebook to get more information on how you can help push through the HJ Res. 47.
- Contact your local NOW office, and start volunteering.
- Go to Facebook pages such as ERA Now, ERA Once and For All, and Equal Rights Amendment to get up-to-date information.
If you believe in the Equal Rights Amendment, then get behind it, and get it done.
Personal message to Lady GaGa, if you're reading: My teenaged daughters, who are aghast that we have not yet been able to figure out how to pass the Equal Rights Amendment in this country, are huge fans of yours, and your message about "baby, you were born this way." Think about this, Lady GaGa: your fans were "born this way" without the protection of the Constitution. You can help. Support this. It's the right thing to do.
Sunday, July 10, 2011
We NEED You; Please email us sandyo@PassERA.org
This petition is one that is bonafide, legitimate and will actually go to the committee that will hear our new ERA bill filed before US Congress on March 8 2011. It urges votes to pass this bill, HJRes 47, which will eliminate any perception of a deadline or time limit from the original and still alive ERA and gives legitimacy to passage into the US Constitution once 3 more states' legislatures do vote to ratify the ERA! Here's the url to pull up the petition and get it sent!--
http://www.thepetitionsite.com/2/ratify-the-equal-rights-amendment-to-ensure-equality-for-all-americans/#
This is the MOST IMPORTANT action you can take right now to propel the ERA!
HJRes was designed by Carolyn Cook (DC), Jean Landwebber (Wisconsin), Camille Moran (Louisiana), Sandy Oestreich, (FL), after a year and a half's work (in addition to all other state and other ERA work that fills our days).
We are proud of the outcome, the work we are doing now to secure more co-sponsors to HJRes and a Prime Sponsor for the Senate bill.
Realizing that we cannot do this alone, without a loud, vocal, organized set of ERA Activists across the country, we do urge you
1. to contact any 3 additional UNratified states' legislatures (see 2PassERA.org for a map of the 15 unratifieds) phone, visit and work with your legislators to cosponsor US Congressional HJRes 47 and any state ratification bills
2. find out who runs your state ERA lobbying effort (sandyo@PassERA.org) can tell you who it is.
3. stay the course with your support for our ERA workforce, asking what more you can do.
WE NEED TO BE MAKING TONS OF NOISE for HJRes 47 and YOUR state efforts (7 states are now filing ERA ratification bills.
4. failing personal help for ERA per the above for whatever reason, email me for quick, noncost ways to target influentials, make a 3 min. speech, hold a rally, write a Letter to Editor on why we need an ERA.
ALL of these are exquisitely important to boost our efforts. Be a Miracle, write me today.
5. can't be active out on the hustings, in the boonies, whatever? DONATE whatever you can; some of the states' leaders spend upwards of $13, 000 per year out of their pockets for propelling ERA.
Can you do one small, nocost thing for ERA? Let me know: sandyo@passera.org
MANY THANKS!
Sincerely,
sandyo
http://www.thepetitionsite.com/2/ratify-the-equal-rights-amendment-to-ensure-equality-for-all-americans/#
This is the MOST IMPORTANT action you can take right now to propel the ERA!
HJRes was designed by Carolyn Cook (DC), Jean Landwebber (Wisconsin), Camille Moran (Louisiana), Sandy Oestreich, (FL), after a year and a half's work (in addition to all other state and other ERA work that fills our days).
We are proud of the outcome, the work we are doing now to secure more co-sponsors to HJRes and a Prime Sponsor for the Senate bill.
Realizing that we cannot do this alone, without a loud, vocal, organized set of ERA Activists across the country, we do urge you
1. to contact any 3 additional UNratified states' legislatures (see 2PassERA.org for a map of the 15 unratifieds) phone, visit and work with your legislators to cosponsor US Congressional HJRes 47 and any state ratification bills
2. find out who runs your state ERA lobbying effort (sandyo@PassERA.org) can tell you who it is.
3. stay the course with your support for our ERA workforce, asking what more you can do.
WE NEED TO BE MAKING TONS OF NOISE for HJRes 47 and YOUR state efforts (7 states are now filing ERA ratification bills.
4. failing personal help for ERA per the above for whatever reason, email me for quick, noncost ways to target influentials, make a 3 min. speech, hold a rally, write a Letter to Editor on why we need an ERA.
ALL of these are exquisitely important to boost our efforts. Be a Miracle, write me today.
5. can't be active out on the hustings, in the boonies, whatever? DONATE whatever you can; some of the states' leaders spend upwards of $13, 000 per year out of their pockets for propelling ERA.
Can you do one small, nocost thing for ERA? Let me know: sandyo@passera.org
MANY THANKS!
Sincerely,
sandyo
President Obama is behind us for the ERA
President Obama stands tall to declare support for gender-equal treatment, the ERA which still needs all YOUR help to pass into the US Constitution.
No, it did not pass in the first ten-year attempt. It barely missed passing by JUST 3 STATES! So, of the 15 yet-unratified states, the ERA only NEEDS 3 additional states' legislatures to vote to ratify it. Then it can pass into the US Constitution.
As it stands, the noun women or her, remain missing from our contract with our nation. If you are not mentioned in a contract, we all know that means we have no rights in that contract EXCEPT what the powerful wish to grant us! Men are mentioned 39 times, but, like women have no guarantees against sex discrimination. A Constitutional ERA would fix that.
We who are and have been working extremely hard under penurious circumstances (granting agencies tell us "equality of gender is too contentious"! Imagine that in our much-touted democracy.)
We need YOU to write us with your contact info. with an offer to help by making ONE PHONE CALL to a legislator when we need it. Like Right Now. With 2 bills before the Florida legislature for 10 years, for free, for you, we need to show massive, widespread strength from the public. 88% say they support an ERA in the Constitution.
Are YOU one of them? Then email me at Sandyo@PassERA.org. Do it now, before I grow a long gray beard. I promise not to die yet if you do.
sandyo, ERA Inc
The President's position:
No, it did not pass in the first ten-year attempt. It barely missed passing by JUST 3 STATES! So, of the 15 yet-unratified states, the ERA only NEEDS 3 additional states' legislatures to vote to ratify it. Then it can pass into the US Constitution.
As it stands, the noun women or her, remain missing from our contract with our nation. If you are not mentioned in a contract, we all know that means we have no rights in that contract EXCEPT what the powerful wish to grant us! Men are mentioned 39 times, but, like women have no guarantees against sex discrimination. A Constitutional ERA would fix that.
We who are and have been working extremely hard under penurious circumstances (granting agencies tell us "equality of gender is too contentious"! Imagine that in our much-touted democracy.)
We need YOU to write us with your contact info. with an offer to help by making ONE PHONE CALL to a legislator when we need it. Like Right Now. With 2 bills before the Florida legislature for 10 years, for free, for you, we need to show massive, widespread strength from the public. 88% say they support an ERA in the Constitution.
Are YOU one of them? Then email me at Sandyo@PassERA.org. Do it now, before I grow a long gray beard. I promise not to die yet if you do.
sandyo, ERA Inc
The President's position:
Recently, President Obama said “History shows that countries are more prosperous and more peaceful when women are empowered.” This principle rings true in every country and every era. Of note, that recent quote originates from a speech he was making about the Middle East and North Africa. This basic truth resonates just as strongly at home. That is why this Administration is committed to protecting and advancing the role of women and girls in every aspect of society. From protecting women’s health to helping women realize their full economic potential; and from ending violence against women to promoting international women’s rights, I am gratified to know and report that this Administration is working each day to improve the lives of women and girls in the United States and around the world.
Tina Tchen is Assistant to the President, Chief of Staff to the First Lady, and Executive Director of the White House Council on Women and Girls
Don't ignore us and our plea to communicate with us--WRITE ME, now. Thanks!
Another Florida "leader" bites the medieval dust
Ok, NOW, what do you think? Say so..
(Ronda Storms is a Florida legislator who is against most things. Just as Phyllis Schlafly still is. Both of them have the religious, reactionary right and probably the Roman Catholic Church on their sides. Every time you go to my web site, 2PassERA.org, you bump us up a big on the Google foodchain as we approach the leap over Schlafly's hilarously, cruelly funny site, Eagle Forum. So keep coming back to this blog via our site and for other hot info.) Sandyo, ERA Inc
Ronda Storms complement
(Ronda Storms is a Florida legislator who is against most things. Just as Phyllis Schlafly still is. Both of them have the religious, reactionary right and probably the Roman Catholic Church on their sides. Every time you go to my web site, 2PassERA.org, you bump us up a big on the Google foodchain as we approach the leap over Schlafly's hilarously, cruelly funny site, Eagle Forum. So keep coming back to this blog via our site and for other hot info.) Sandyo, ERA Inc
Ronda Storms complementarian links ....longtime member of First Baptist Church in Brandon.
| show details 3:30 PM (6 hours ago) |
http://www.gofbw.com/news.asp?ID=12880 Storms is a longtime member of First Baptist Church in Brandon. (where her husband is a deacon)
http://www.fbcbrandon.org/ Quote from church website: The husband and wife are of equal worth before God, since both are created in God's image. The marriage relationship models the way God relates to His people. A husband is to love his wife as Christ loved the church. He has the God-given responsibility to provide for, to protect, and to lead his family. A wife is to submit herself graciously to the servant leadership of her husband even as the church willingly submits to the headship of Christ. She, being in the image of God as is her husband and thus equal to him, has the God-given responsibility to respect her husband and to serve as his helper in managing the household and nurturing the next generation. http://www.fbcbrandon.org/
This is the woman who proclains that she has achieved equality and calls the ERA "...anachronistic," she said. "It's circa 1970. You're talking to a Florida female senator who's here, who's equal, who's achieved parity with men." http://l.wbx.me/l/?p=1&instId=
What's a cuckolded wife to do??
What do YOU think? Tell us all at ERA Inc by commenting at the end. Please.
What Would ‘The Good Wife’ Do?
By ROBERT KING and MICHELLE KING
Published: July 8, 2011
Two years ago, “The Good Wife,” a CBS drama, opened with a familiar tableau: a politician apologizing for sexual peccadilloes. By his side, also caught in the glare of cameras, was his pale, stone-faced wife. What was going through her mind? Since then, politicians continue to face the cameras asking forgiveness. But wives have become conspicuous by their absence; the public no longer expects them to stand by their philanderers. What are these wives thinking? The show’s creators, Robert and Michelle King, who write together and have been married since 1987, speculate about the pressures peculiar to the wives of errant politicians as they weigh whether to forgive their husbands.
Jenny Sanford, in yellow, the former wife of Mark Sanford, leaving the Governor's Mansion.
Hillary and Bill Clinton in 1992.
Bebeto Matthews/Associated Press
Representative Anthony D. Weiner with Huma Abedin.
THE image has indeed changed. There is no wife standing by her man anymore: the political calculation doesn’t demand it. Jenny Sanford didn’t stand beside Gov. Mark Sanford. Huma Abedin wasn’t at Representative Anthony D. Weiner’s side.
But what hasn’t changed is the melodrama of these political scandals. Clinton, McGreevey, Edwards, Spitzer, Sanford, Schwarzenegger, Weiner. Speaking as television writers: they’re over the top.
One can imagine the studio notes. “We like the husband who impregnates his housekeeper, but keeping her in the same house for a decade seems a bit mustache-twirling.” “Love the presidential candidate cheating with his videographer, but do you need the wife to have cancer?” “Tweeting semi-naked photos from the congressional gym: good — very hip. But making his wife pregnant: isn’t that too on-the-nose?”
But here we are. Reality isn’t constrained by studio notes.
Reality is also usually grayer than fiction. The bad husband must have some good in him, or why would the wronged wife love him in the first place? And if the husband is not all bad, if this indiscretion is just a moment of weakness, or a decade of weakness, is there hope? Is there something in the husband for the wife to forgive?
That’s what interested us in “The Good Wife,” back when things seemed so innocent: just call girls and wide stances. How does a wife deal with two betrayals simultaneously: betrayal by infidelity, and betrayal by public humiliation? And how does the wronged wife deal with both, while suddenly judged by the public for every step and misstep?
The question still fascinates us.
Obviously the betrayed wife’s dilemma is complicated by the overlap between the private and the public spheres. The husband’s sin is magnified by the media. It’s everywhere. How can a wife forgive when she can’t get away from the photos, the tweets, the dress, the hooker’s interview, the surprise son?
And then there is the husband’s dilemma, that of the public penitent. The confessing politician has two audiences: the spouse and the public. And the two interests conflict. A wife wants privacy to heal the relationship or to dissolve it. The public wants details.
Robert (Michelle doesn’t completely agree with this): Also confession as a public act is patently hypocritical. It can’t help but have an agenda: political rehabilitation. To my mind, Catholics have it right. Confession, whether to a wife or to a priest, is a private matter. As soon as you make it public, it’s performance. Was there ever a more hurtful or mortifying confession than Mark Sanford’s as he proclaimed his love for his Argentine mistress?
But that’s the irony of public life: how can a politician make amends otherwise? He has to be in the public eye. If he has offended the public, if he has lied to them, then he needs to make amends to his public. So he has to say something. Is it even an option for him to shut up?
Michelle (Robert marginally agrees): Yes, but the wife has to wonder if she’s being used as a way to resurrect his career. Even if she does forgive him, does she want that forgiveness to be used to save his job?
The wife didn’t run for office. She doesn’t benefit from a public airing of her marital problems. At the very moment when she should be allowed to consider only herself and her family, she’s forced to think about public consequences.
Robert (Michelle doesn’t agree): And what does the wronged wife do if she truly believes in her husband’s political worthiness? Is it wrong for her to forgive him if she merely believes it serves a worthy political end?
Michelle: Yes.
Robert: But doesn’t that reduce her to only a spouse, and not address her as a thinking political being?
Michelle: No.
Robert: In the end, I can’t help but sympathize with the disgraced candidate. He is surrounded by hypocrisy. Voters are appalled that he would do what he did or tweet what he tweeted when they have their own particular skeletons in their closets.
Michelle: The difficulty comes when you impregnate the woman you’re paying to clean those closets.
Robert: ...
Michelle: I’m sorry, go on.
Robert: That’s why the crisis manager’s admonition to “admit everything” always seems a bit ridiculous. What don’t you admit? Once you start digging, there’s no stopping. Do you admit what you did in third grade, in high school, in your darkest thoughts?
Michelle: No, you don’t. But the problem is, once you’re thinking about what to admit, you’re in the world of strategy. You’re trying to manipulate the system to save your career. In the best of all possible worlds, you ignore the public consequences and apologize privately, and accept whatever happens.
Robert: Which unfortunately makes for bad drama.
Robert/Michelle: “The Good Wife” was always meant to be a show about “politics” and how it wasn’t just something that happens in Washington, in the State House, in a campaign office. It happens everywhere: among co-workers, friends, enemies, companions, spouses. And our main character, the wronged spouse, came to realize that. She discovered that righteousness is often a pose, and that her husband’s enemies were sometimes worse than her husband.
Given that, the triumph of our betrayed character was not in forgiving. It was deciding not to retreat into her victimhood. If she were ever going to suffer from any mistakes again, they were going to be her mistakes and not her husband’s.
In the end, to forgive or not to forgive seems like half the equation. The more important half is making forgiveness irrelevant.
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