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Thursday, March, 20 2008
4:30 to 6:30 PM
University Union, Ballroom III
Sacramento State
Dolores Huerta, co-founder of the United Farm Workers Union will share her thoughts on U.S. immigration policy and the impact for women during her speech that follows at 7:30 pm.
Sorry for the short notice, but definitely worth attending.
Call 916-278-6370 for more info.
Gillian Parrillo
SacWomen
Last August, I wrote a blog entitled Enough Of This Stand By Your Man Thing. I wrote it as I watched Larry Craig's wife stand next to her husband as he tried to explain away his bizarre bathroom behavior. And I wrote it as a tribute to all of the women before and after who will feel like they have to do the same.
A couple of days ago I started to receive comments to the article based on the latest trot out of the humiliated wife - this time, New York Governor Spitzer. 
I was transfixed by his wife. She looked shell-shocked, like a zombie. The Harvard law school educated, top tier law firm lawyer, who gave it all up to raise three children and support her husband's political career and this is how it ends. With a husband who thought so little of his wife, his three teenage daughters, that he would risk losing it all for a few nights with prostitutes. The how much he spent for them, how high class they were, is all noise.
The second time I saw her, as her husband resigned, she looked defeated. Her face was crumpled. A million questions must have been going through her head the last 24 hours, chief among them, "How could he?". And there had probably been few answers.
She must have been consumed with trying to make sense of this for her teenage daughters. Trying to persuade them, as she tried to persuade herself, that he loves them, that he didn't mean to hurt them. But in the back of her mind, when she allowed herself to go there, she realized the bottom line was that something within him was more powerful than the loyalty and respect he owed to his wife and daughters.
I so hoped that the moment the news was out, her great friends flocked to her side. That they held her until she had grieved enough to speak, that they told her over and over and over that she didn't have to go stand next to him if she didn't want to. And mostly, no thanks to Dr. Laura, they told her vehemently that none of this was her fault.
My heart breaks for her (and for the daughters). This is definitely a time for great supportive women friends. Let's hope she had lots of them and that they will stay with her for the long term because this will be a long-term recovery for all concerned.
She strikes me as one of those stand by your man women who will rise again!
Gillian Parrillo
SacWomen
I am back from working many hours a day for the Obama campaign in Dallas. It was inspiring, interesting, enlightening and exhausting. One of the best by-products, I lost 8 lbs in 2 weeks. The other best by-product, Barack Obama will win more delegates in Texas than the announced winner, Hillary Clinton.
I have to admit it was quite a shock to arrive at the results watch party and see the main stream media reporting that Hillary had won Texas. For goodness sake, many of us didn't leave our precinct caucuses until close to midnight, so how did they declare Hillary a winner at 11PM? Oh, that would be the popular vote, which accounted for 2/3rds of the delegates. But, as it has unfolded, the other 1/3, decided through the caucuses, are breaking for Obama. I am enjoying the slow trickle of media pundits finally admitting that Obama will 'win' Texas eventually.
Of course, there are two more steps to go in Texas (yes, even after the Texas two-step we have already completed!). We have to show up as delegates to the regional convention and then the state convention. Pierre and I are both delegates - part of an awesome team from our precinct which covers all diversities - age, sexual orientation, race, religion, and everything in between.
Many of us got to know each other working on the campaign and attending the various training sessions. We cemented our relationships in the parking lot outside the polling place starting at 6:30AM. Later that night, it was easy to identify the Obama stalwarts - we were the ones with the beet red faces - either from the ice cold winds in the eary morning or the bright sun later in the day.
During the day as Pierre and I stood on the side of the street waving our Obama signs. We watched the Hillary crowd doing the same. In their midst, however, was Rob Reiner. As he left our precinct, he came over and shook our hands and we all muttered niceties about there being two good candidates, etc. etc.
Now I am planning my on-going strategy. Definitely get involved in bulking up the grassroots Obama organization here in Dallas for the November election. Go to Pennsylvania to work on the next big state. When I sent an email to my ex-husband, whom I divorced in 1972, telling him I was planning on staying with him, he answered, in all caps, "OH MY GOD", which I am sure means he is thrilled to have me!
I am going to keep remembering that the Republicans want Hillary so badly to be the Democratic nominee that there is no doubt they know they can beat her. Keep remembering that watching Bill hug Monica and Hillary talk about the vast right wing conspiracy is DEFINITELY not what I want to relive over and over and over.
I want new ideas and new energy and new people coming out of the woodwork to be a part of taking back our country. And that's what I saw and was a part of here in Dallas where we won Texas for Obama.
Gillian Parrillo
SacWomen
