Please Note

Dear Mr. Trump

Dear Mr. Trump,

Nasty women vote.

Sincerely,

The Women of America

P.S. You're fired!

Yes, I'm still celebrating!

Making History

Hillary Clinton made history yesterday by becoming the first woman to become the presumptive nominee of a major party in the U.S. Hell, she's been making history all her life. Congratulations, Secretary Clinton!

And to think, it only took 96 years for this to happen after women won the right to vote and 227 years after the first presidential race.

Notes for the Haters: 1) Obama was declared the presumptive nominee in 2008 when he reached the magic number on June 3rd -- months before the convention -- which he was only able to do with the aid of superdelegates. He wasn't declared the presumptive nominee until after the last primary election only because it took him that long to clinch it.  2) Despite what Bernie Sanders has to say about superdelegates now, back in 2008 he endorsed Obama two days after Obama had clinched the nomination acknowledging that Obama was then the presumptive nominee.

Some surely unsolicited advice

Dear Bernie, 

What you need to do now is to not drop out. Stay in until the end by all means. BUT, agree -- in exchange for more power in determining the platform and whatever else you can get -- to go back to expounding on the issues instead of attacking Hillary personally. 

I'm sure you don't want to hear this, but you started losing women voters when you started saying Hillary was "not qualified." Hillary won female voters in NY by a whopping 61% to 39% -- a 22% margin and far higher than in previous primaries. 

You want your issues to win? Then make it about that instead of about her.

Sincerely,

Me

In case you're interested, full ACDC Endorsement List is here

First, a few notes on the Allegheny County Democratic Committee endorsement vote which was held yesterday.

Certainly the ACDC stamp of approval no longer holds the sway it once did. Candidates can win their elections without it and some no longer even seek the endorsement (see Mayor Bill Peduto).

The biggest headline to come out of the vote was the nod to Mark Patrick Flaherty over sitting incumbent Chelsa Wagner for Allegheny County Controller. Flaherty was Wagner's predecessor, and, because this is Allegheny County/Pittsburgh, Flaherty is the son of a former county commissioner and nephew of a former Pittsburgh mayor, while Wagner is the daughter of a former longtime chairman of the 19th Ward and niece of a former state auditor general. Meh.

And, while I'm no big fan of Wagner's, did the vote against her have to come on International Women's Day? Which just points to the fact that out of the 34 people ACDC endorsed, only eight were women.

This also leads to the following note from Kris Rust posted on Facebook by his husband, Pittsburgh Magisterial District Judge Hugh McGough, who did not win endorsement for Allegheny County Court of Common Pleas:

This weekend, the Allegheny County Labor Council and the Allegheny County Democratic Committee endorsed a slate of three straight, white men from the Pittsburgh suburbs as judicial candidates for the Allegheny County Court of Common Pleas, passing over distinguished women and minority candidates, including Hugh (yes, LGBT people comprise a minority group). 

The integrity and legitimacy of our government and our courts depends upon them reflecting the diversity of our citizenry. Yet, two-thirds of the judges on the Allegheny County Court of Common Pleas are straight, white men. While we are grateful to all of the folks who have supported Hugh throughout this endorsement process, I am disappointed that the majority of Labor Council and Democratic Committee members fail to recognize the value and importance of superlative credentials and diversity on the bench. Now I am ready to “rage against the machine!”

(If you'd like to help Hugh McGough's campaign--and I hope you do--his website is here.)

Another person who I would have liked to have been endorsed is Natalia Rudiak (though I have to admit that I don't know if she sought the endorsement). Rudiak is running for Pittsburgh City Controller and the only negative thing I can say about her is I would miss her on City Council. Her campaign website is here and her kickoff party is tomorrow.

Lastly, I hope that no one reading this takes the slate cards mailed out too much to heart. It's a real shame, but I'm guessing that too many people do rely on them, especially when voting for judges.

(Endorsement list is after the fold.)

Independence Day

"I long to hear that you have declared an independency. And, by the way, in the new code of laws which I suppose it will be necessary for you to make, I desire you would remember the ladies and be more generous and favorable to them than your ancestors. Do not put such unlimited power into the hands of the husbands. Remember, all men would be tyrants if they could. If particular care and attention is not paid to the ladies, we are determined to foment a rebellion, and will not hold ourselves bound by any laws in which we have no voice or representation."

- Patriot Abigail Adams, 1776

"Certainly the Constitution does not require discrimination on the basis of sex. The only issue is whether it prohibits it. It doesn't. Nobody ever thought that that's what it meant. Nobody ever voted for that. If the current society wants to outlaw discrimination by sex, hey we have things called legislatures, and they enact things called laws."

- Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia, 2011

While the Founders would obviously have no problem with discrimination against women, how many truly believe they'd be in agreement that corporations were people who had religious beliefs that allow them to discriminate against a class of citizens and be exempt from duly passed laws?

Certainly the five Catholic, male judges on the Roberts Court believe that it's perfectly fine for corporations to hold others (others of course being women) hostage to their own particular religious views.

And while the media and supporters got the Supreme Court ruling in the Hobby Lobby case wrong by insisting that it was a "narrow" ruling, it only took a day for that to be proven false and for Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg to be correct (in calling it a "decision of startling breadth"):

In fact, it only took a day for the Court’s “narrow” decision to start to crack open. On Tuesday, the Court indicated that its ruling applies to for-profit employers who object to all twenty forms of birth control included in the Affordable Care Act’s contraceptive mandate, not just the four methods at issue in the two cases decided on Monday. 

In light of its ruling on Hobby Lobby and a related suit, the Supreme Court ordered three appeals courts to reconsider cases in which they had rejected challenges from corporations that object to providing insurance that covers any contraceptive services at all.

[snip] 

 It’s bad enough that the Court privileged the belief that IUDs and emergency contraceptives induce abortion over the scientific evidence that clearly says otherwise. With Tuesday’s orders, the conservative majority has effectively endorsed the idea that religious objections to insurance that covers any form of preventative healthcare for women have merit.

Just as bad, these males on the court actually lied about their ruling.

Justice Sonia Sotomayor, writing in a dissent on Thursday (signed by all the women on the court), noted, “Those who are bound by our decisions usually believe they can take us at our word. Not so today.”

Sotomayor was referencing that accommodation was one of the reasons Justice Samuel Alito cited to justify his Hobby Lobby decision:

Under the Religious Freedom Restoration Act, the government has to show it has pursued the least restrictive means to accomplish its goal. Alito claimed that because the nonprofit accommodation exists, that means the government has other ways to get women access to contraception that respects religious liberty. Yet only a few days later, he ruled that the nonprofit accommodation – again, signing a form – is also a violation of religious liberty.

Yep, that means that the often trotted out example of the Little Sisters of the Poor (with a name like that, how could anyone deny them anything?) can refuse to even sign a damn sheet of paper saying they want a waiver for providing birth control because: religion.

To recap: Corporations are people with religious beliefs. Their beliefs trump women's beliefs, women's rights under the law and women's health. Women can be discriminated against and have no rights against discrimination under the Constitution. And, it's perfectly fine for Supreme Court justices to lie in their rulings.

Happy Fucking Fourth, ladies!

Video of the Day (Advertising to Women Edition)

(Posted with reservations because undoubtedly someone on the right will see this and think it is a real thing in the world.)

You have just 24 hours left (Madame Presidentá: Why Not U.S.? Vamos Meninas!)

Last week the U.S. celebrated the birth of our country. It took 144 years after that birth for women to gain the right to vote. And 237 years after that first July 4th, we have yet to have a woman president. Meanwhile, right now there are four women presidents in the rest of the Americas (Brazil, Argentina, Chile, and Costa Rica).

Pittsburgh's Women and Girls Foundation (WGF) and ELAS Women’s Social Investment Fund in Rio de Janeiro are currently in the production stage of creating a documentary about women presidents. WGF CEO Heather Arnet is the writer and producer. But, they need your help NOW to bring it to completion:

WE NEED YOUR HELP!

This is getting exciting - we are really close to meeting our Madame Presidenta Kickstarter goal. For three years, WGF has been working with partners across the globe to create a film about female presidents that will debut on Pittsburgh's own WQED this fall, tour college campuses, and inspire girls for generations to come! 

Now, we need your help to take this project over the finish line. If we can raise $25K by 5:00pm this Saturday, July 13th - we will receive all the funds and be able to complete the film! But, if we are short by even $1 - we won't recieve ANY of the money! Not even the funds pledged by the 90 people to date. Kickstarter is all or nothing. 

Click here to watch the trailer, be inspired, and MAKE YOUR PLEDGE TODAY. 

P.S. If you need an extra dose of inspiration, click here to watch what two ten year old girls are doing this week to help the campaign too!

If you'd rather make your pledge offline or via check, call (412) 320-6334 today.

Let's make this happen!

7th Annual Equal Pay Day Rally TODAY!

 

Via Facebook:

 

7th Annual Equal Pay Day Rally 2013

Public · By The Women and Girls Foundation of Southwest Pennsylvania
 

TODAY! Tuesday, April 9, 2013, Noon

Market Square, Pittsburgh

210 Forbes Avenue, Pittsburgh, PA
 

Equal Pay Day 2013  

The time has come, Equal Pay Day!!! The Women & Girls Foundation of Southwestern Pennsylvania (WGF) will hold a rally in Market Square on Tuesday April, 9 2013 at 12noon. Equal Pay Day is the annual day when groups organize nationally to raise awareness of the gender wage gap throughout the country. Tuesday April 9, 2013 symbolizes how long it takes for women to catch up to men’s wages from the previous year. While men earn their wages in 365 days, on average it takes women 483 days. Nationally, women make an average of 77 cents for every dollar a man makes. In Southwest Pennsylvania women make an average of 75 cents on the dollar The goal of this day is to raise awareness around wage discrimination against women and people of color, to bring together a community of like-minded individuals, and to inform the community of upcoming events.  

Join us at lunch time in Market Square for our Resource Fair, Inspirational Speakers and much more……

Ps. Don’t Forget to Wear RED on Equal Pay Day to symbolize how far women and minorities are "in the red" with their pay!

Song of the Day

Brought to you by International Women's Day.

Riot Grrrls!

New Hampshire Governor, House and Senate delegations: all women  

Kathleen Kane will become the first woman — as well as the first Democrat — to win the seat for PA Attorney General 

Tammy Baldwin from WI becomes the first openly gay US Senator ever

Elizabeth Warren wins US Senate race and restores that seat to liberals  

Tammy Duckworth defeats freshman Republican U.S. Rep. (and deadbeat dad) Joe Walsh in Illinois

Claire McCaskill legitimately shuts down Todd Akin in Missouri Senate race  

In a gift from God, Richard Mourdock loses IN Senate race

Vote like your lady parts depend on it!

"Binders full of women" comment not just creepy -- it's another lie!

Mitt Romney's remarks that he made a concerted effort to find qualified women for his cabinet as governor and how he went to women's groups for help and that's how he ended up with "binders full of women" is another big, fat lie. From The Phoenix:

What actually happened was that in 2002 -- prior to the election, not even knowing yet whether it would be a Republican or Democratic administration -- a bipartisan group of women in Massachusetts formed MassGAP to address the problem of few women in senior leadership positions in state government. There were more than 40 organizations involved with the Massachusetts Women's Political Caucus (also bipartisan) as the lead sponsor.

They did the research and put together the binder full of women qualified for all the different cabinet positions, agency heads, and authorities and commissions. They presented this binder to Governor Romney when he was elected.

I have written about this before, in various contexts; tonight I've checked with several people directly involved in the MassGAP effort who confirm that this history as I've just presented it is correct -- and that Romney's claim tonight, that he asked for such a study, is false.

Also, as yet, he has refused to say he's for equal pay for women. At this point, one would need to assume that he doesn't say it because he's not for it. (But, he is of course in favor of flex time because it allows the ladies to go home early to make dinner.)

Women's Walk for Peace with Free Concert by Arrested Development

Women's Walk for a Peaceful Community
When: Saturday, September 8, 2012, 10:00 AM to 1:00 PM
Where: 2801 North Charles Street, Pittsburgh, PA 15214 (map) to West Park near the National Aviary (map)
Register: Here (You must register before the event)
Website: http://www.womenswalk.org
Facebook page: http://www.facebook.com/events/444216558946333/

I'm in favor of a Personhood Amendment!

Only I want one for women and girls.

Thank you.

Sightings of the Extremely Rare Female PA Pol

Did you know that Pennsylvania ranks 47th in the nation in terms of female representation and participation in politics? Public Source takes a look at three of these rare birds in Southwestern PA: Pittsburgh City Councilor Natalia Rudiak, prominent Republican Elsie Hillman and Braddock Borough Council President Tina Doose. The slideshow is by Martha Rial who I had the pleasure of sharing a panel with on new media at CMU earlier this year. (If you'd like to up the odds, please help out Erin Molchany's campaign here.)

Women's health issues are "shiny objects"

Women's reproductive health as seen by the Romney campaign

Not only are women's jobs a mere distration, but women's health issues are a distraction too as well as being "shiny objects."

Jobs are important (unless they're held by women)

Women doing whatever it is they do that we need not concern ourselves with

The Associated Press (And Republicans): Jobs and the economy are the number one most important issue in this country, unless those jobs are held by women and then they are a mere distraction.