Now this is a Woman I would NEVER vote for ….

Posted: August 12, 2009 | Author: | Filed under: Voter Ignorance, Women's Rights | Tags: , , , , , , | 4 Comments

Coming of age in the 70s with Shirley Chisolm (my all time shero) Bela Abzug, and a lot of other women politicians to serve as role models, my 20090811_falling_packagefirst instinct as a new voter was to check off  every female name on the ballot.  That was until I heard of and listened  to Phyliss Schafly. I happened across her smug smile on C Span last night accepting some reward and was reminded how there are women who are not the friends of other women. She’s the reason I always check for certain things whenever a vote for a woman.   Phyliss Schalfy made a career and name for herself  selling out other women.

This woman politician to pictured to the right appears not to be the friend of reality and probably is an Eagle Forum member.  She’s running for the mayor of Tulsa, OK which is very close to where I was born.  Frankly, I wouldn’t vote for her to be in charge of the Sanitation Department.  There would be too much stuff to shovel.

Republican mayoral candidate Anna Falling said Tuesday that putting a Christian creationism display in the Tulsa Zoo is No. 1 in importance among city issues that include violent crime, budget woes and bumpy streets.“It’s first,” she said to calls of “hallelujah” at a rally outside the zoo. “If we can’t come to the foundation of faith in this community, those other answers will never come. We need to first of all recognize the fact that God needs to be honored in this city.”

Falling, who has founded several Christian nonprofits and is a former city councilor, also said the next mayor needs to appoint people to city boards, authorities and commissions who will “honor God.”

“We will also look for people who want to characterize the origins of both man and animals in a way that honors Judeo-Christian science that proves God as the creator,” she said.

When asked whether she meant she would recruit Christians to serve the city, Falling said she was talking about “people committed to their churches,” and when asked whether she meant Christian churches, she said, “churches, yes.”

Falling’s campaign has been overtly Christian-themed. But she said she wants to embrace people of all religions, not alienate them.

Well, she’s certainly alienated me and probably any one that attends a mosque, a synagogue, a dharma center, or any other religious facility that’s not a church.

So, what’s a zoo got to do with proslyetizing creationism any way? At least it’s an equal opportunity zoo.

The zoo does have displayed an elephant-like sculpture said to depict the Hindu god Ganesha and an exhibit that deals with the creation of the earth from a scientific point of view.

Tulsa’s a pretty good size town.  I’d like to know why she thinks this is the city’s foremost concern, also.  This is the problem that comes with just voting for some one based on some specific trait.  Some times, they package is not what you expect once you’ve opened it.

Join the NO NO Sisterhood!

Posted: October 5, 2008 | Author: | Filed under: Action Memo, New Orleans, PUMA, Women's Rights | Tags: , , , , | 15 Comments

I voted in the Democratic run-off yesterday in Louisiana. I did something that I haven’t done for a long time.  I went down the list of candidates for judgeships and the various other races and voted for all the women. Something tells me I wasn’t alone in this when I heard second congressional district candidate Helena Moreno’s speech after she placed second after $Bill Jefferson and ahead of five well known black male politicians vying for the position.  She had a lot of cross-over vote here in a city where the politics of race is pervasive.  She’s a latina and has been frequently labelled  as “that little white girl” in the race.  Her cross-over vote came from black women. This year may yet be known as the REAL year of the woman when a female awakening turns the tide against misogyny and sexism. Our mantra could be something to the effect of “We’re bitter, we vote, get out of office!”

Helena Moreno  has been in New Orleans about 8 years. She quit her job as a news anchor in March to run for office.  As a journalist, she was frequently out on the beat looking for corruption and places where things don’t quite work for people. Since this is New Orleans, Moreno never ran out of material. Moreno also lived through Hurricane Katrina and learned its lessons well.

While she does have great name recognition and quite a presence, she is considered the underdog in this race because of the politics of racial identity. That is unless the politics of being a woman in what has arguably been a brutal year for women creates a NO NO sisterhood.  That is what I want to see: a movement where all women stand up together and say “NO, he didn’t!”  I hope this year we just don’t wag our fingers and speak our indignation then vote for folks who promise to be marginally less worse on the issues we care about.  In the No NO Sisterhood, we vote our interests and write checks to support women’s campaigns to ensure our voices our heard and acted on.  I’m thinking we should adopt that old women’s fist raised in the symbol of woman with a slight change.  The middle finger should be raised to the media and politicians who practice the politics of beating up on women.

During the primary, Moreno had a number of typical dirty tricks pulled on her–including the usual things like hiring Robo phone calls that say you’re from her campaign at all hours and times of day to harass folks and turn them off.  She also became the victim of a whisper campaign that went more public.  During a televised debate an exchange between Moreno and State Rep. Cedric Richmond turned into a shouting match.  Richmond is currently fighting against a suspension of his law license for using a nonprimary residence to run for a city council seat.  This exchange happened shortly after Moreno called him out on the pending case. Here’s the script as reported by the Times Picayune.

“Would everyone up here, Miss Moreno specifically, would you be willing to submit to a random drug test?” Richmond asked, noting that many job applicants face such screening
…
The nasty confrontation ended with Moreno, stung by what she called Richmond’s outrageous “suggestion” that she uses drugs, marching out of WDSU-TV’s downtown New Orleans’ studios and into a nearby clinic, where she voluntarily submitted to a drug test.

She quickly delivered the results — a clean reading — to The Times-Picayune.

There’s been a lot of interesting coverage of this race, and as Ms. Moreno takes on $Bill Jefferson, it is bound to get a whole lot more interesting.  That is why I am asking you to not only follow what happens, but to help Helena.  She’s running in New Orleans and in Louisiana.  Politics down here are not only interesting, but can be very brutal.

Here’s her website:  Moreno for Congress

Please join me at the NO NO Sisterhood at Act Blue to support Helena Moreno and other fine women candidates. 

No No Sisterhood

I think this year has taught us that we cannot rely on many of the current members of the DNC to protect our interests.  We need to send some more women to congress, now.

(Cross-posted at the Confluence)