Distributed by the Green Party of the United States http://www.gp.org

National Women's Caucus of the Green Party of the United States
http://greens.org/gp-uswomen/

For Immediate Release
Monday, September 29, 2008

Contact:
Morgen D'Arc, Spokesperson, 207-761-7797, morgenizer@yahoo.com
Linda Manning Myatt, Spokesperson, 248-548-6175, lmmyatt@wowway.com


Green Party National Women's Caucus challenges NOW to support the historic McKinney/Clemente presidential campaign


WASHINGTON, DC -- The National Women's Caucus (http://greens.org/gp-uswomen) of the Green Party of the United States has sent an open letter to the National Organization for Women (http://www.now.org) urging support for the Green Party's presidential ticket. The text of the letter is appended below.

The letter cites Green nominee Cynthia McKinney's six terms in Congress and her unmatched dedication to the principles of equality and human rights championed by NOW. The National Women's Caucus emphasizes the historical role that alternative parties have played in the struggle for women's suffrage and rights, and notes that NOW has failed even to recognize the significance of America's first national campaign by two women of African descent: Ms. McKinney is African American and running mate Rosa Clemente is Black Puerto Rican.


OPEN LETTER TO NOW, THE NATIONAL ORGANIZATION FOR WOMEN

National Women's Caucus of the Green Party of the United States
http://greens.org/gp-uswomen/

Sunday, September 28, 2008

Dear National Organization for Women leadership and members:

The National Women's Caucus of the Green Party of the United States is dismayed that your recent endorsement of Senator Barack Obama for President of the United States did not acknowledge the first all-female ticket in recent U.S. history. Cynthia McKinney and Rosa Clemente are running for President and Vice President, respectively, on the Green Party ballot line.

Cynthia McKinney served six terms in the U.S. Congress and two terms in the Georgia General Assembly. She is a global human rights and peace activist with a substantial voting record supporting women. Rosa Clemente is a community organizer and journalist who was one of the founders and primary organizers of the first national Hip Hop political convention. Their “Power to the People” campaign goal is to ensure that public policy reflects the Green Party values of ecological wisdom, social justice, grassroots democracy, and nonviolence.
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Arise then…women of this day!  Arise, all women who have hearts!  Whether your baptism be of water or of tears!Say firmly:”We will not have questions answered by irrelevant agencies,Our husbands will not come to us, reeking with carnage,For caresses and applause.  Our sons shall not be taken from us to unlearn  All that we have been able to teach them of charity, mercy and patience.  We, the women of one country,Will be too tender of those of another country  To allow our sons to be trained to injure theirs.” From the bosum of a devastated Earth a voice goes up withOur own. It says: “Disarm! Disarm!The sword of murder is not the balance of justice.”Blood does not wipe our dishonor,Nor violence indicate possession.As men have often forsaken the plough and the anvil at the summons of war,Let women now leave all that may be left of homeFor a great and earnest day of counsel.Let them meet first, as women, to bewail and commemorate the dead.Let them solemnly take counsel with each other as to the meansWhereby the great human family can live in peace…Each bearing after his own time the sacred impress, not of Caesar,But of God -In the name of womanhood and humanity, I earnestly askThat a general congress of women without limit of nationality,  May be appointed and held at someplace deemed most convenientAnd the earliest period consistent with its objects,To promote the alliance of the different nationalities,  The amicable settlement of international questions,  The great and general interests of peace. Wouldn’t it be wonderful if on some distant Mother’s Day, the wishes of Julia Ward Howecould be fulfilled and the human race could celebrate a day when, all over the world, nomother would have to mourn the death of her child lost in war or terrorist attacks… To all of the mothers whose children are fighting in wars - and to mothers whosechildren are growing up with wars raging around them or with terrorism threatening theirsafety… Wishes of strength, peace and hope for this Mother’s Day…

 

Please stand with us for five minutes of silence at 1 p.m. your local time on May 11, 2008, in your local park, school yard, gathering place, or any place you deem appropriate, to signify your agreement with the statement below.  Please stand at a different hour with a different time zone if 1 p.m. is not your preferred time.We ask you to invite the men who you care about to join you.  We ask that you bring bells to ring at 1 p.m. to signify the beginning of the five minutes of silence and to ring again to signify the end of the period of silence.  During the silence, please think about what you individually and we collectively can do to attain this world.  If you need to sit rather than stand, please feel free to do so.  Afterwards, hopefully you and your loved ones can talk together about how we can bring about this world.

WILL YOU STAND WITH US?

In celebration of Women's History Month, Women's Voices. Women Vote is honoring women in the blogosphere, through our Women's Voices Making History contest.

We're inviting people to nominate their favorite female bloggers through March 21. After the nominating period, we will list the top 10 female bloggers at www.wvwv.org and ask you to vote for your favorite.

Check out the form and vote for your favorite blogger today, and encourage your readers to do the same. We've created a button for your site that will take your readers directly to the voting form.

Click here to nominate your favorite female blogger today!

Thank you-

Sarah Johnson
Communications Director
Women's Voices. Women Vote

Today is the 35th anniversary of Roe v. Wade. It's also National Blog for Choice Day

There are still folks and factions out there who want the government to dictate what a woman can do with her body. It's not right. A woman's body is hers and no entity or individual has the right to dictate what a person does with/to her own body.

Yesterday I received a call from the Green Party of the United States Media Team which issued an invitation to me to be on the GPUS Speakers Bureau.  I was interviewed on tape last year by the national media team at the GPUS Annual National Meeting in Tucson, AZ.  I also was a speaker at the GPUS Women's Caucus Press Conference (link to video clip) at the same National Meeting.

I want to accept.  I need more confidence, though.  And I way need more knowledge on issues which I continually strive to do through reading, listening and talking to people. 

Thinking out loud:  I'm not always a confident speaker unless I have a script.  But then what can give me more confidence than just jumping in and doing it?  I am told that I present myself well at events where I give speeches. 

When I ran for Salt Lake County Council in 2006 my issues were varied, but primarily focused on women's issues and transportation.  I can speak passionately about those issues and want to learn more about those issues so I can serve as a more informed speaker.

I'm inclined, then, to accept.

To be continued.......

I participated in the Women's Health Rights Honk and Wave organized by Planned Parenthood on Wednesday.  This was in protest to the Supreme Court's recent decision to uphold the Federal Ban on abortion.  Mind you, six white guys have decided what the fate of women's health issues are in this country.  Women, we have been raped.

Here are some photos:

Jeffrey D. Allred, Deseret Morning News

Planned Parenthood Protests Supreme Court Ban of Partial Birth Abortions

In Salt Lake, women's rights advocates held signs and rallied against the court's decision to ban partial birth abortions.

Demonstrators say the abortion ruling opens the door to lawmakers to make medical decisions for American women.

The recent ruling is the court's first decision to uphold a federal ban since Roe versus Wade.

Even though three states three district courts and a Court of Appeal declared a nationwide ban on a procedure known as partial birth abortion, the US supreme court upheld the ban.

This amounted to the first restriction imposed on abortion rights since women won the right to terminate pregnancies in 1973. The 5-4 vote in favour of the ban was seen as a victory for President George W Bush and his social conservative allies in one of the most divisive debates in America.

The ACLU and the National Abortion Federation (NAF) have criticized the decision.
“Today’s decision has placed politics above protecting women’s health,” said Vicki Saporta, President and CEO of NAF.  “This ruling is a set back for all Americans who believe politicians should not legislate medical decision-making.  The decision disregards the opinion of leading doctors and medical organizations that oppose the ban because it is harmful to women’s health.”

Utah Planned Parenthood:
The breadth of this decision invites all kinds of interference in the doctor-patient relationship and opens the floodgates for Utah’s politicians to further limit access to abortion and reproductive health care.  This decision shows utter disregard for women’s health and safety and makes paramount the ideology of politicians and pays no heed to the expertise of medical professionals.

I will be providing more updates, commentary and actions as they occur....

I am cautiously optimistic after seeing this in today's news: Abortion bill opposed: 52% don't support spending millions on Roe challenge

According to a poll conducted by the Deseret News, a little over half of those polled do not want to spend money on this issue. I am optimistic because it means that folks are thinking now about what the government should be spending money on:
Services and Programs, not personal and moral issues. It's o.k. not to believe in abortion. It's not o.k. to spend millions of dollars taking away a woman's right to have one.

If you read the entire article, you will see that there are lawmakers who won't stop, though and that there are people stepping forward with tons of money to see that the bill goes through and that ensuing litigation is funded.

Where are these people with this money for food for the starving and healthcare for the poor?

It's bad enough that the men of our legislature are making decisions regarding women's reproductive choices for women of our state. Now they are continuing to "put women in their place" by preventing them from other health care needs.

A House Committee killed a bill for healthcare that would potentially prevent a fatal form of cancer in women.

HB358 would have given the Utah Department of Health $1 million to educate females about cervical cancer and immunize girls and young women against it with the new Gardasil vaccine. Bill sponsor Rep. Karen Morgan, D-Cottonwood Heights, said she thought the bill would pass out of the House Health and Human Services Committee.
"Many people are afraid of something new," she said. "I think these are individuals who are against immunization altogether. But this is the first vaccine to protect against cancer."

Upon reading the article, it is clear that conservative lobbyists in this state have had influence over the death of this bill because heaven forbid we provide any kind of education on health care to young girls and teenagers.

They might learn something and that would be (gasp!)unthinkable.

So women of Utah remember your place.

Here is a copy of the movie taken of me today giving my speech in Tuscon at the National Women's Caucus (Green Party of the United States) press conference (click link below). Much gratitude to J.T. Waldron of:

Sound and Fury Productions
2301 E. Broadway Blvd, #111
Tucson, AZ 85719
1-866-624-9710
Fax 1(520)624-3143


Deanna's speech

Today will be a very busy day in Tuscon. Workshops all morning, plenary session all afternoon, interspersed with press conferences. I learned A LOT yesterday about water conservation and initiatives, environmental racism. I presented a workshop on nuclear issues which was videotaped by a delegate in New Jersey.

Today I will be attending the campaign school this morning and then will be part of a panel as a member of the GPUS Peace Action Committee. I will spend about 5 minutes talking about the Stop the Divine Strake Coalition and the work associated with that. I will then attend the plenery session of all the delegates in the GPUS. During that time I will be excused to attend two press conferences:
1pm: All state and local candidates - Kathy Dopp, Desert Greens candidate for Summit County Clerk, will be a featured speaker.
3pm: National Women's Caucus press conference - I will be a featured speaker.

C-Span is likely to cover these events. I'll post any links to press coverage I find.

Here is my speech (subject to change):
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While I was en route across the country I received a call asking me to be a featured speaker at a national press conference at the Green Party of the United States National Committee Meeting in Tuscon. The press conference will be Friday, July 28 at 3pm and will consist of all Green women candidates.

I have a personal statement on my candidate website regarding women's issues. I will be formulating my speech around those.

I have developed another position statement for my campaign, this time a personal experiences statement on women's issues. I'm sure there are many women out there who can sympathize and have even more hardship stories to share.
---------------------------------

I raised three children and have a grandchild on the way. While I haven't had what I would term a "hard" life by comparison to many, I feel I'm in position now to speak out and be involved in issues that are near and dear to our residents due to my experiences.

I am passionate about women's issues and human needs in general(hunger, housing, healthcare, etc.) and issues that affect the elderly (I grew up around nursing homes all my life).

I've been a single mom, been on welfare and food stamps, been through divorce and bankruptcy. I'm passionate about improved mass transit not only for the environmental issues surrounding the latter, but also because I know first hand what it's like to have to transport myself and three small children using inadequate mass transit because I had no car, having to also drag around a
wheeled suitcase (again with three children) so I could bring home our groceries from the supermarket by bus.
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