I met Mu Sochua, an elected member of the Cambodian parliament and a tireless advocate for women's rights and the victims of injustice, when I visited Cambodia in February with a delegation of women led by World Pulse. Mu Sochua was nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize for her work against sex trafficking of women in Cambodia and neighboring Thailand. Vital Voices honored Mu Sochua with the 2005 Human Rights Global Leadership Award for her efforts to stem the tide of human trafficking. She is a remarkable woman.

When we met, we were a small group of women who had come to visit the country and learn of the powerful (and tireless) work of women. Mu Sochua shared very personally and directly with us her struggles in Cambodia. She brought her delightful daughter (the youngest of three) who was soon to head to college in the United States. Mu Sochua came across as a smart, elegant and courageous fighter against corruption and deceit, and a bold leader in the fight to protect and improve the lives of Cambodian women.

Word came last on Friday night from Beth Klein, one of my fellow travellers on the World Pulse trip, that Mu Sochua had filed a defamation suit against the Cambodian prime minister and expected to be arrested soon and thrown into the general population of a Cambodian jail.

Unfortunately, I know the drill, because this is not the first time that I have received news that a strong woman opposition politician is under attack by a government that fears true opposition. In late December, I received a similar call about another courageous leader, Birtukan Mideksa, from Ethiopia. She has been held in solitary confinement on trumped up charges for 4 months.

The drill begins again, all too soon. I go to the World Pulse website and post an urgent action alert. I go to all of the websites that care about global women and post, or, if there is already a post (hurray!!), I comment. I update, update, update. This time, the news of Mu Sochua is getting much more traction than we were able to generate for Birtukan. While some of the US politicians did sign petitions of support, and others sent representatiion to local events, for the most part the US mainstream media has ignored the plight of this 35 year old brilliant woman leader. Thankfully, Mu Sochua has many well-connected allies in the US. It will be much harder for the Cambodia government to jail her and for the story to virtually disappear, as has been the case with Mideksa.

As a mother, I struggle with the decisions that these women must make to stand up for the rights of all women while sacrificing their own families. I asked Beth during our call if she could think of one outcome for women politicians around the world who stood up for what was right where the result was favorable. I am sure there are some, but all we could think of at that moment were Benazir Bhutto, Aung San Suu Kyi, Birtukan Mideksa. All won national elections but the government in power disputed the results, never let them serve in their elected roles or removed them soon after coming to power, using made up charges to persecute these amazingly brave women. But, even worse, there is a very damaging tidal wave effect that engulfs their families - motherless children caught in a political tsunami. It's a sacrifice I don't know if I could make but I salute these women for doing what so many of us could not. And I especially put my arms around those brave children who will grow up knowing of the courage of their mothers but missing so much of their mother's loving touch.

We must stop this brutality. We cannot let acts like this discourage other women from working for leadership positions in their countries' political structure. We must shout from the rooftops until the world notices what is happening and is forced by the overwhelming evidence of discrimination to say enough is enough.

We are with you Mu Sochu, Birtukan Mideksa, Aung San Suu Kyi.

Gillian Parrillo
SacWomen.com

Posted by Gillian Parrillo at 7:31 AM | Permalink | Can you digg it? | Comments (1) | TrackBacks (0)

Gillian --

Thanks in no small part to your incredible work and dedication, we have taken another step towards creating jobs and rebuilding our struggling economy.

Last week, the budget I submitted to Congress passed both the House and the Senate and it embraces our most fundamental priorities: an energy plan that will end our dependence on foreign oil and spur a new clean energy economy; an education system that will give our children the tools to compete in the economy of the 21st century; and health care reform that finally confronts the back-breaking costs plaguing families, businesses and government alike.

Thousands of you signed pledges of support, knocked on doors, made phone calls, and talked to your friends and neighbors about this budget and the investments it makes in our long-term prosperity. You showed Washington that ordinary citizens are demanding change and are willing to work for it.

Our work on the budget isn't finished -- Congress still has to agree on a final version. But your efforts have sent a message that Washington can't ignore.

I'll be counting on you even more in the coming weeks and months. The budget Congress passes will be a critical blueprint for the changes we'll bring about. But that's when the real work begins -- the work that will bring health care to every American, transform our economy to run on clean energy, provide our children with the best education in the world, and bring about a new era of prosperity.

Thank you for everything you've done,

President Barack Obama

This is what grassroots organizing looks like!

Gillian Parrillo
SacWomen.com

Posted by Gillian Parrillo at 5:32 PM | Permalink | Can you digg it? | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Of all Americans without a license:

•Women are more than twice as likely as men not to have a drivers’ license.
•One of every five senior women does not have a license.
•Over 70% are women.

[Source: US Census Bureau Detailed Tables. “Sex by Age Total Population.” July 24, 2006. Federal Highway Administration. “Licensed drivers, by State, sex, and age group.” July 24, 2006]

•There is ample anecdotal evidence that suggest factors like name changes related to marriage and divorce make it less likely a woman will have a current name and address on a photo ID that matches the name and address on the voter list.

Have Republicans found another way to wage war on women by keeping them away from the polls?

Gillian Parrillo
SacWomen

Posted by Gillian Parrillo at 7:15 AM | Permalink | Can you digg it? | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Today is the 100th anniversary of International Women's Day. And where was Gillian? In Dallas at an Ethiopian rally to speak out for the release of UDJP party chair Birtukan Mideksa. Mrs. Mideksa, the only woman leader of an opposition party in Africa and the real winner of the 2005 Ethiopian national election (but overruled by the corrupt regime of Prime Minister Meles Zenawi), has been imprisoned by the ruling government for the last 60 days. Here is the Gillian's speech:

Thank you for coming today.

My name is Gillian Parrillo. I had the pleasure of meeting many members of the Ethiopian community when I was registering voters prior to the 2008 presidential election. As they supported me then, I stand here today to support them.

As you have learned, Judge Birtukan Mideksa, the 35-year old first female leader of an opposition party in Africa has been held in solitary confinement in jail on trumped up charges since December. The only visitors allowed are her elderly mother and her 4 year old daughter. The International Red Cross and other humanitarian organizations have been denied access. Imagine if this was your daughter, your mother, the leader of your political party!

A group of courageous women have come together under the mantle of the Ethiopian Women’s Human Rights Alliance. They are writing letters to women United States Senators asking for their support. Here, in part, is what they write:

“It is pressure from the international community and specifically from the United States that compels governments such as Ethiopia—that can only survive and be viable based on foreign aid—to conform to international human rights laws. As a US partner in the Global War on Terror, the Ethiopian government must be held to a higher scrutiny in matters of human rights. Our reputation as a nation - a beacon of human rights and a stalwart advocate of freedom - rings hollow whenever we remain silent in the face of grave injustice. We know as advocates of a more just and equitable world, you share our hope for a future where all human rights and the rule of law are respected. We ask you to join us in calling for the unconditional release of Judge Mideksa and for the adherence to human rights standards by the Ethiopian government. It is our obligation as women to tell her story and urge you to take a principled position by raising your voice to demand the immediate release of Judge Birtukan Mideksa”.

I ask each and every one of you who are here today to contact your elected representatives and urge them to stand up for Birtukan and the far too many others in similar circumstances.

Pierre Cutler
The Sacramento Executive

Posted by Gillian Parrillo at 4:34 PM | Permalink | Can you digg it? | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

I so often find that one door closes and another opens. And what's behind door 2 or 3 is better than the original. In this case, President Obama named Governor Bill Richardson, a leading Hispanic, as his commerce secretary. Events unfolded and Governor Richardson resigned the appointment. Next, President Obama named Judd Gregg, a Senator from New Hampshire and he decided not to proceed with the appointment. Now President Obama has named Gary Locke. Here's his background:

Locke, a democrat, is currently working for the Seattle-based law firm Davis Wright Tremaine on issues involving China, energy and governmental relations. He was the former governor of the state of Washington, serving two terms from 1997 to 2005. Locke was the first Chinese-American to serve as governor in the United States.

Imagine, a Commerce Secretary who has enormous experience dealing with China and who is a Chinese-American who speaks Taishanese Cantonese (Chinese) (OK, Mandarin would be better!).

Although Governor Richardson is a great public servant, I don't think that having a Hispanic Secretary of Commerce makes near the statement of having a Chinese Secretary of Commerce. Where does our future lie in terms of trade - Asia, especially China. What is our top concern - energy.

This is a brilliant pick...better late than never!

Gillian Parrillo
SacWomen.com

Posted by Gillian Parrillo at 9:22 AM | Permalink | Can you digg it? | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

DEar oprah i wrote this poem novenber 4th 2008 for the 44th president of the united states of america.like millions of people around the globe i was captivated.caught up in the magic of the molment on that historic day. euphoria spread through my viens in the form of silent joyous tears.with sweaty palms my body ached with an overwhelming pasion unexplainable to some.yet no doubt familar to so many. then magicly as if subconsously i knew this molment would come.i began to write to the president elect.my friend barry whom by the way i have never met before. see i am an inmate in a california state prison.i am a recovering drug addict whos made some poor choices.yet i now have hope. ironicly i am a bi racial man.my father african american my mother caucasian.I can relate. a while back a dear friend sent me both of baraks books.instantly i was born again so to speak. religously i followed the campagne mezmerized by his elligance.warmth.compasion.drive and charizma.

Yet it was his sincerity that peirced my soul. not long after.that same friend of mine gillian parillo became a deligate for the state of texas.she was living her dream.i was dreaming again. together through corrispondance it was if i were right there.registering new voters.meeting interesting people of all walks of life.hearing the voices of change and hope. all of a sudden i was waching the world news.nightline and shows like charlie rose.i wached every debate.he won them all.we won them all.yes we can. i enrolled in a college corrispondance course.have written a few childrens books and have been trying to start my own drug rehab.program. as the days passed i would eagerly anticipate letters and pictures from my friend like a child awaiting xmas.she was in denver at the convention and a hundrad yards from the podium at the inauguration.i was there also.in spirit.

See even behind these dreary cement walls and never ending bobed wire fences hope and change would brighten my days and inspire me like nothing has ever. even in prison i am a proud american.i can and will and have changed.hope is a reality.dreams can come true...yes we can. oprah i am hoping you can pass this poem on to the president.i want him to know what an impact hes made on my life.this poem is genuan and from my heart.it of course is entitled...yes we can.thank you so very much.enjoy.

YES WE CAN BY Michael Smith Thank you, Mr. President. President Obama, we thank you. You’ve given us hope and promised change, and we know that’s what you’ll do.

Thank you for proving that anyone could be whatever they wanted to be.
With hard work and determination, dreams become reality.

Thank you for being who you are. Thank you for all you’ve done.
Thank you for reaching out your hand to each and everyone.

Thank you for your sincerity, your inspiration and your style.
In desperate times you eased our minds and gave us reason to smile.

Thank you for diminishing stereotypes and opening up our eyes.
Thank you for understanding and listening to our cries.

Thank you for having a vision. Thank you for having a goal.
Thank you for waking us up as people, and reigniting our souls.

Thank you for your commitment. Thank you for your cause.
Thank you for your drive and compassion, and we know it’s because…

You believe in a great nation. You believe in mankind.
You believe that hate and racism will soon be left behind.

You believe in education, family values and health care.
You believe that we’re all equal and should be treated just and fair.

You believe in civil rights and have made so many proud.
Like JFK and Martin, your voice rings true and loud.

You’ll regulate and deregulate. You’ll delegate and not discriminate.
You’ll cross party lines and open up closed minds, and unite in our fight for freedom.

And somehow you’ll fix the economy,
bring troops back to their families, create new jobs and energy and orchestrate world harmony.

Thank you, Mr. President because we know that’s what you’ll do.
You’re our leader and our savior and we believe in you.

Thank you, President Obama, sincerely your biggest fan.
God Bless America, God Bless you, and I say….YES WE CAN.

I publish the note as I received it, spelling mistakes and all. I am awed at how Mike embraced Barack's campaign and made it his passion. And the passion continues as he continues to motivate himself to self-improvement. Keep it up, Mike...I know you will!

Gillian Parrillo
SacWomen.com

Posted by Gillian Parrillo at 10:02 AM | Permalink | Can you digg it? | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

From the Wall Street Journal

President Barack Obama issued an order restoring U.S. funding for international family-planning groups involved with abortion. But he chose not to do so on Thursday, the anniversary of Roe v. Wade.

President Obama was breaking with the tradition set by his recent predecessors to make an abortion-related order on the anniversary of the Supreme Court ruling, another example of his attempt to support liberal policies he believes in while trying to defuse emotional political debates.

Feminists are screaming, anti-choice supporters are joining them. Seems like Obama has set the right tone. Restore the rights of women around the world but don't rub it in. In fact, make (as he did) a statement about wanting to reduce the number of abortions. When both sides are not happy, he's making progress.

Both Bill Clinton and George W. Bush used the anniversary of Roe vs. Wade to score points by removing and reinstituting this very rule. Hats off to Obama for doing it his way, once again.

Gillian Parrillo
SacWomen

Posted by Gillian Parrillo at 7:41 AM | Permalink | Can you digg it? | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Last week I wrote about how the House had passed this bill and it would soon be headed to the Senate. Good news is that the Senate has passed the bill (61 to 36) and it will soon be signed by President Obama. Wow, President Obama - that sounds great! Check out Lilly Ledbetter's reaction right after the Senate passed the Bill and also check out how each Senator voted.

Specifically check out the 36 Senators who voted against Fair Pay for Women. One of them is John McCain who when asked during the Presidential Campaign about this issue said of women:

"They need the education and training, particularly since more and more women are heads of their households, as much or more than anybody else," McCain said. "And it's hard for them to leave their families when they don't have somebody to take care of them.

No, actually Senator, we need a level playing field. Transparency in terms of what men are being paid versus women doing the same job.

Please send thanks to your Congresspeople and Senators for their yea votes and take those who voted nay to task.

Gillian Parrillo
SacWomen

Posted by Gillian Parrillo at 8:09 AM | Permalink | Can you digg it? | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Dear Malia and Sasha,

I know that you've both had a lot of fun these last two years on the campaign trail, going to picnics and parades and state fairs, eating all sorts of junk food your mother and I probably shouldn't have let you have. But I also know that it hasn't always been easy for you and Mom, and that as excited as you both are about that new puppy, it doesn't make up for all the time we've been apart. I know how much I've missed these past two years, and today I want to tell you a little more about why I decided to take our family on this journey.

When I was a young man, I thought life was all about me-about how I'd make my way in the world, become successful, and get the things I want. But then the two of you came into my world with all your curiosity and mischief and those smiles that never fail to fill my heart and light up my day. And suddenly, all my big plans for myself didn't seem so important anymore. I soon found that the greatest joy in my life was the joy I saw in yours. And I realized that my own life wouldn't count for much unless I was able to ensure that you had every opportunity for happiness and fulfillment in yours. In the end, girls, that's why I ran for President: because of what I want for you and for every child in this nation.

I want all our children to go to schools worthy of their potential-schools that challenge them, inspire them, and instill in them a sense of wonder about the world around them. I want them to have the chance to go to college-even if their parents aren't rich. And I want them to get good jobs: jobs that pay well and give them benefits like health care, jobs that let them spend time with their own kids and retire with dignity.

I want us to push the boundaries of discovery so that you'll live to see new technologies and inventions that improve our lives and make our planet cleaner and safer. And I want us to push our own human boundaries to reach beyond the divides of race and region, gender and religion that keep us from seeing the best in each other.

Sometimes we have to send our young men and women into war and other dangerous situations to protect our country-but when we do, I want to make sure that it is only for a very good reason, that we try our best to settle our differences with others peacefully, and that we do everything possible to keep our servicemen and women safe. And I want every child to understand that the blessings these brave Americans fight for are not free-that with the great privilege of being a citizen of this nation comes great responsibility.

That was the lesson your grandmother tried to teach me when I was your age, reading me the opening lines of the Declaration of Independence and telling me about the men and women who marched for equality because they believed those words put to paper two centuries ago should mean something.

She helped me understand that America is great not because it is perfect but because it can always be made better-and that the unfinished work of perfecting our union falls to each of us. It's a charge we pass on to our children, coming closer with each new generation to what we know America should be.

I hope both of you will take up that work, righting the wrongs that you see and working to give others the chances you've had. Not just because you have an obligation to give something back to this country that has given our family so much-although you do have that obligation. But because you have an obligation to yourself. Because it is only when you hitch your wagon to something larger than yourself that you will realize your true potential.

These are the things I want for you-to grow up in a world with no limits on your dreams and no achievements beyond your reach, and to grow into compassionate, committed women who will help build that world. And I want every child to have the same chances to learn and dream and grow and thrive that you girls have. That's why I've taken our family on this great adventure.

I am so proud of both of you. I love you more than you can ever know. And I am grateful every day for your patience, poise, grace, and humor as we prepare to start our new life together in the White House.

Love, Dad

This letter will be published in Parade on Sunday, January 18th.

On Saturday, Pierre and I leave to complete the final journey of getting Barack Obama into the White House. We will report from the road!

Gillian Parrillo
SacWomen

Posted by Gillian Parrillo at 12:06 PM | Permalink | Can you digg it? | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Yesterday the US House of Representatives passed two very important fair pay bills - the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act and the Paycheck Fairness Act. Both bills provide women with critical tools to challenge pay discrimination. If you are not familiar with Lilly Ledbetter and her case, check out the details here. It's a heartbreaking tale! And Ms. Ledbetter is an amazing American hero.

In order for President Obama to sign these bills into law, the Senate needs to act. Please contact your Senator and urge them to move forward fast and have legislation waiting for our new President to sign.

Yeah, sisters. Better times are coming!!

Gillian Parrillo
SacWomen

Posted by Gillian Parrillo at 4:21 AM | Permalink | Can you digg it? | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

You may be a liberal if...you were the Tracy Flick of your nursery school. Confident, dominating preschoolers grow into liberals, while fearful and easily victimized tots turn conservative.

You may be a conservative if...you alphabetize your underwear drawer. Conservatives are more likely to have neat and tidy rooms, and liberals messy ones.

You may be a liberal if...you're up all night. 28% of liberals have insomnia, compared with 16% of conservatives.

You may be a conservative if...you're a woman who craves chocolate chip cookies. Liberal ladies prefer theirs fruit filled.

You may be a liberal if...you're in the mood for Chocolate Peanut Butter Cookie-Dough Cheesecake. Liberals' chain eateries of choice are the Cheesecake Factory, Panera Bread, and Starbucks, while conservatives dine at Hardee's and Fuddruckers.

You may be a conservative if...you're happy with tap water. Domino's Pizza claims Republican customers are less likely to order beverages.

You may be a liberal if...you're too lazy to walk to the pizza place. The Domino's survey found that Democrats rely on delivery more than Republicans.

You may be a conservative if...you have a son. Parents of boys are more likely to be conservative than parents of girls.

You may be a liberal if...you possess Obama-like calm. When shown a picture of a spider on a human face, most conservatives jump in fright; liberals react roughly the same as when they're shown a picture of a bunny.

You may be a conservative if...your dreams are chaste. Nearly half of liberals report having erotic dreams; only 38% of conservatives admit to it. (This was before Sarah Palin.)

Kiera Butler is an associate editor at Mother Jones.

Gillian Parrillo
SacWomen.com

Posted by Gillian Parrillo at 2:11 PM | Permalink | Can you digg it? | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Watch the video.

A new report found that women lose approximately $434,000, on average, over a 40-year period because of the gender wage gap. The gender wage gap is the annual difference in median wages between men and women who are employed full-time and it widens over time. Other studies show that moms, especially single moms, fare even worse with the gender wage gap.

The Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Restoration Act and the Paycheck Fairness Act are important steps toward making sure that women are paid what they are worth by making it easier for women to recover lost wages due to bosses who discriminate and by requiring the federal government to be more proactive in preventing and battling wage discrimination.

But the U.S. Chamber of Commerce is standing in the way of fair pay by opposing pay equity reform proposals in Congress that are needed to achieve pay equity.

Gillian Parrillo
SacWomen.com

Posted by Gillian Parrillo at 12:05 PM | Permalink | Can you digg it? | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Wow! America is cool We are being admired by Swedes! We don't have to pretend we're Canadians. We elected Barack Obama!

By Garrison Keillor

Nov. 12, 2008. Be happy, dear hearts, and allow yourselves a few more weeks of quiet exultation. It isn't gloating, it's satisfaction at a job well done. He was a superb candidate, serious, professorial but with a flashing grin and a buoyancy that comes from working out in the gym every morning. He spoke in a genuine voice, not senatorial at all. He relished campaigning. He accepted adulation gracefully. He brandished his sword against his opponents without mocking or belittling them. He was elegant, unaffected, utterly American, and now (Wow) suddenly America is cool. Chicago is cool. Chicago !!!

We threw the dice and we won the jackpot and elected a black guy with a Harvard degree, the middle name Hussein and a sense of humor -- he said, "I've got relatives who look like Bernie Mac, and I've got relatives who look like Margaret Thatcher." The French junior minister for human rights said, "On this morning, we all want to be American so we can take a bite of this dream unfolding before our eyes." When was the last time you heard someone from France say they wanted to be American and take a bite of something of ours? Ponder that for a moment.

The world expects us to elect pompous yahoos and instead we have us a 47-year-old prince from the prairie who cheerfully ran the race, and when his opponents threw sand at him, he just smiled back. He'll be the first president in history to look really good making a jump shot. He loves his classy wife and his sweet little daughters. He looks good in the kitchen. He can cook Indian or Chinese but for his girls he will do mac and cheese. At the same time, he knows pop music, American lit and constitutional law. I just can't imagine anybody cooler. Look at a photo of the latest pooh-bah conference -- the hausfrau Merkel, the big glum Scotsman, that goofball Berlusconi, Putin with his B-movie bad-boy scowl, and Sarkozy, who looks like a district manager for Avis -- you put Barack in that bunch and he will shine.

It feels good to be cool and all of us can share in that, even sour old right-wingers and embittered blottoheads. Next time you fly to Heathrow and hand your passport to the man with the badge, he's going to see "United States of America" and look up and grin. Even if you worship in the church of Fox, everyone you meet overseas is going to ask you about Obama and you may as well say you voted for him because, my friends, he is your line of credit over there. No need anymore to try to look Canadian.

And the coolest thing about him is the fact that back in the early '90s, given a book contract after the hoo-ha about his becoming the First Black Editor of the Harvard Law Review (FBEHLR), instead of writing the basic exploitation book he could've written, he put his head down and worked hard for a few years and wrote a good book, an honest one, which, since his rise in politics, has earned the Obamas enough to buy a very nice house and put money in the bank. A successful American entrepreneur.

The last American president to write a book all by his lonesome self, I believe, was Theodore Roosevelt, who, on graduation from Harvard, wrote "The Naval War of 1812," and in my humble opinion, Obama's is the better book for the general reader, but you be the judge.

Our hero who galloped to victory has inherited a gigantic mess. The country is sunk in debt. The Treasury announced it must borrow $550 billion to get the government through the fourth quarter, more than the entire deficit for 2008, so he will have to raise taxes and not only on bankers and lumber barons. His promise never to raise the retirement age is not a good idea. Whatever he promised the Iowa farmers about subsidizing ethanol is best forgotten at this point. We may not be getting our National Health Service cards anytime soon. And so on and so on.

So enjoy the afterglow of the election a while longer. We all walk taller this fall. People in Copenhagen and Stockholm are sending congratulatory e-mails -- imagine! We are being admired by Danes and Swedes! And Chicago becomes the First City . Step aside, San Francisco . Shut up, New York . The Midwest is cool now. The mind reels. Have a good day.

(distributed by Tribune Media Services)

Gillian Parrillo
SacWomen

Posted by Gillian Parrillo at 7:37 AM | Permalink | Can you digg it? | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

I Didn't Vote For Obama" by kentuckyscott Monday, October 20, 2008

I'm a middle-class white guy living in Jacksonville, Florida . I've got a wife and two kids. Because the kids had no school today, I took a vacation day from work, and took the kids downtown to vote early. Fifty-nine minutes later, two smiling children and I proudly sported "I Voted" stickers.
But I didn't vote for Obama.

I voted for my ancestors, who believed in the promise of this country and came with with nothing as immigrants. I voted for my parents, who taught in the public schools for decades. I voted for Steve, an acquaintance of mine from Kentucky . (Killed by an IED two years ago in Iraq ). I voted for Shawn, another who's been to Iraq twice, and Afghanistan once, and who'll be going back to Afghanistan again soon -- and whose family earned eleven bucks a month too much to qualify for food stamps when the war started. I voted for April, the only African-American girl in my high school -- it was years before it occurred to me how
different her experience of our school must have been. I voted for my college friends who are Christian, Jewish, Mormon, and yes -- Muslim. I voted for my grandfathers, who worked hard in factories and died too young. I voted for the plumber who worked on my house, because I
want him to get a REAL tax break. I voted for four little angels from Birmingham . I voted for a bunch of dead white men who, although personally flawed, were willing to pledge their lives, fortunes, and sacred honor, and used a time of great crisis to expand freedom rather than suspend it. I voted for all those people and more, and I voted for all of you, too.

But mostly, I voted selfishly: I voted for two little kids, one who has ballet in an hour, and one who has baseball practice at the same time. I voted for a world where they can be confident that their government will represent the best that is in this country, and that will in turn demand the best of them.
I voted for a government that will be respected in the world. I voted for an economy that will reward work above guile. I voted for everything I believe in. Sure, I filled in the circle next to the name Obama, but it wasn't him I was voting for -- it was every single one of us, and those I love most of all.

Gillian Parrillo
SacWomen

Posted by Gillian Parrillo at 9:30 PM | Permalink | Can you digg it? | Comments (1) | TrackBacks (0)

I have been surprised in the past few days that when I bring up the subject of ACORN with my friends, they have already bought into the right wing conspiracy theory.

And even more sadly, but probably not surprisingly, there is no balance being given anywhere to the small number of fraudulent ACORN voter registration applications versus the tens of thousands (maybe hundreds of thousands) of voters who are being illegally removed from state's voter registration rolls. Amazing, for every one voter added to the rolls, the states are illegally removing 2. Now why isn't Fox News highlighting that story?

At least Katie Couric highlighted the problem on her CBS news show recently:

Here's a response from ACORN

Stop the lies. Spread the truth. Anyone know what Jimmy Carter is up to on Election Day. He might want to put together a team to monitor this country's voting!

Gillian Parrillo
SacWomen.com

Posted by Gillian Parrillo at 2:14 AM | Permalink | Can you digg it? | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

A week or so ago, I blogged about a funding bonus for Planned Parenthood. And now, here's another. Quite the fundraising year for Planned Parenthood. Thank you Sarah Palin and John McCain.

While other liberal musicians have taken to publicly whining about the McCain campaign using their songs at rallies, the songwriter behind Martina McBride’s “Independence Day” — which conservative radio host Sean Hannity uses as his radio program’s theme song — has decided to take royalties from the song to donate fund abortion provider Planned Parenthood in the Arizona senator’s name.

Gillian Parrillo
SacWomen.com

Posted by Gillian Parrillo at 7:46 PM | Permalink | Can you digg it? | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Vote No on Proposition 8. And send money too. I did and I don't even live in California, but I am an American citizen who cares about civil liberties! This is an important issue for all citizens, straight or gay, if you care about protecting the rights of individuals in marriage and many other things too!

Gillian Parrillo
SacWomen.com

Posted by Gillian Parrillo at 4:29 PM | Permalink | Can you digg it? | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Gillian Parrillo
SacWomen.com

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The answer is most definitely YES.
Check out ProLifeObama

Gillian Parrillo
SacWomen.com

Posted by Gillian Parrillo at 3:56 PM | Permalink | Can you digg it? | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Please review this analysis by the National Organization for Women PAC. And then spread the news to all of the women you know.

Gillian Parrillo
SacWomen.com

Posted by Gillian Parrillo at 1:05 PM | Permalink | Can you digg it? | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

From Andrew Sullivan's blog, a comment from one of his female readers:

Really any woman who considers herself a conservative or identifies with the Republican party should be embarrassed by Sarah Palin. Seriously, this is the female face of the party. The debate was a joke, setting the bar so low that as long as she didn't drool all over herself it's considered a victory. That is what Republican women should be proud of? Her winking and talking "folksy", you betcha goshdarnit, that's the way the party wants to represent itself to the country and the world?

The fact that so many other qualified women in the party, like Olympia Snowe (whom I admire greatly), Kay Baily Hutchinson, Christie Todd Whitman (my former governor) are able to communicate and connect with the American people, were passed over for this disaster of a candidate, is greatly disheartening to me as a young woman. Say what you want about Hillary Clinton, but she didn't ask to be treated differently. She was able to take on the big boys and even throw some elbows, too. I just can't believe this is the example that the Republicans want to set for the future and for young women especially.

Gillian Parrillo
SacWomen

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A Message from the Queen

To the citizens of the United States of America from Her Sovereign Majesty Queen Elizabeth II

In light of your failure in recent years to nominate competent candidates for President of the USA and thus to govern yourselves, we hereby give notice of the revocation of your independence, effective immediately. (You should look up 'revocation' in the Oxford English Dictionary.)

Her Sovereign Majesty Queen Elizabeth II will resume monarchical duties over all states, commonwealths, and territories (except Alaska, which she does not fancy).

Your new Prime Minister, Gordon Brown, will appoint a Governor for America without the need for further elections.

Congress and the Senate will be disbanded. A questionnaire may be circulated next year to determine whether any of you noticed.

To aid in the transition to a British Crown dependency, the following rules are introduced with immediate effect:

-----------------------
1. The letter 'U' will be reinstated in words such as 'colour,'favour,'
'labour' and 'neighbour.' Likewise, you will learn to spell 'doughnut'
without skipping half the letters, and the suffix '-ize' will be replaced by the suffix '-'ise.' Generally, you will be expected to raise your vocabulary to acceptable levels. (look up 'vocabulary').
------------------------
2. Using the same twenty-seven words interspersed with filler noises such as ''like' and 'you know' is an unacceptable and inefficient form of communication. There is no such thing as U.S .English. We will let Microsoft know on your behalf. The Microsoft spell-checker will be adjusted to take into account the reinstated letter 'u'' and the elimination of '-ize.'
-------------------
3. July 4th will no longer be celebrated as a holiday.
-----------------
4.You will learn to resolve personal issues without using guns, lawyers, or therapists. The fact that you need so many lawyers and therapists shows that you're not quite ready to be independent. Guns should only be used for shooting grouse. If you can't sort things out without suing someone or speaking to a therapist, then you're not ready to shoot grouse.
----------------------
5. Therefore, you will no longer be allowed to own or carry anything more dangerous than a vegetable peeler. Although a permit will be required if you wish to carry a vegetable peeler in public.
----------------------
6. All intersections will be replaced with roundabouts, and you will start driving on the left side with immediate effect. At the same time, you will go metric with immediate effect and without the benefit of conversion tables. Both roundabouts and metrication will help you understand the British sense of humour.
--------------------
7. The former USA will adopt UK prices on petrol (which you have been calling gasoline) of roughly $10/US gallon. Get used to it.
-------------------
8. You will learn to make real chips. Those things you call French fries are not real chips, and those things you insist on calling potato chips are properly called crisps. Real chips are thick cut, fried in animal fat, and dressed not with catsup but with vinegar.
-------------------
9. The cold, tasteless stuff you insist on calling beer is not actually beer at all. Henceforth, only proper British Bitter will be referred to as beer, and European brews of known and accepted provenance will be referred to as Lager. South African beer is also acceptable, as they are pound for pound the greatest sporting nation on earth and it can only be due to the beer. They are also part of the British Commonwealth - see what it did for them. American brands will be referred to as Near-Frozen Gnat's Urine, so that all can be sold without risk of further confusion.
---------------------
10. Hollywood will be required occasionally to cast English actors as good guys. Hollywood will also be required to cast English actors to play English characters. Watching Andie Macdowell attempt English dialogue in Four Weddings and a Funeral was an experience akin to having one's ears removed with a cheese grater.
---------------------
11. You will cease playing American football. There is only one kind of proper football; you call it soccer. Those of you brave enough will, in time, be allowed to play rugby (which has some similarities to American football, but does not involve stopping for a rest every twenty seconds or wearing full kevlar body armour like a bunch of nancies).
---------------------
12. Further, you will stop playing baseball. It is not reasonable to host an event called the World Series for a game which is not played outside of America . Since only 2.1% of you are aware there is a world beyond your borders, your error is understandable. You will learn cricket, and we will let you face the South Africans first to take the sting out of their deliveries.
--------------------
13. You must tell us who killed JFK. It's been driving us mad.
-----------------
14. An internal revenue agent (i.e. tax collector) from Her Majesty's Government will be with you shortly to ensure the acquisition of all monies due (backdated to 1776).
---------------
15. Daily Tea Time begins promptly at 4 p.m. with proper cups, with saucers, and never mugs, with high quality biscuits (cookies) and cakes; plus strawberries (with cream) when in season.

God Save the Queen!

--
Eileen Rosenthal
Graphic Design
39 Cliffwood St.
Lenox, MA 01240
413.637.1879

Posted by Gillian Parrillo at 6:23 AM | Permalink | Can you digg it? | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

An e-mail urging people to donate to Planned Parenthood Federation of America "in honor of Sarah Palin" has generated more than 31,000 donations totaling $802,678 as of Saturday,

You can join this movement by logging on to Planned Parenthood and making a donation in Sarah Palin's name. Planned Parenthood will send her a card acknowledging the gift!

Go online
Choose to make the donation in honor of SARAH PALIN.
Send the acknowledgement card to:
McCain for President
1235 S. Clark Street
1st Floor
Arlington , VA 22202

THANKS SARAH!

Making a donation to the Obama campaign works too, but Sarah won’t get a card!!

Gillian Parrillo
SacWomen

Posted by Gillian Parrillo at 3:56 PM | Permalink | Can you digg it? | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

By Goldie Taylor

I have been a mother all of my adult life. A single working mother. I put off dating, took menial jobs far beneath my qualifications and baked my share of ginger bread cookies for PTA Night, all so that three
incredible children could have better. I chose their lives over mine. I don't have to tell you that it wasn't easy. Unfortunately, my story, our story, is not unique.

We slept in cars, bought groceries with food stamps and prayed for a better day. When that wasn't enough, I put myself through school at Emory University and took a part-time job as a staff writer at the Atlanta Journal Constitution. That was over a decade ago.

Along the way, things got better. I've been an executive at two Fortune 500 companies and a practice director at two multinational public relations firms. Today, I own an advertising agency and I've authored two novels. A third and fourth are on the way, God willing. All of this was possible because somebody laid a brick or two on the road for me.

A few weeks ago, I woke in tears. It was my 40th birthday and certainly not a time for sadness. Rather, I cried in joy because for the first time I realized and could embrace the value of the struggle. The bright
little girl, who once cried in my arms because we didn't know where we were going to live, was headed off to Brown University . The small boy who had been the "man of the house" far too soon was now truly a man. And the tiny, angelic baby who had come to this world precious and innocent just 15 months after him was now a 16 year old girl headed out to her first job interview.

For all of this, maybe I should be proud of a woman like Sarah Palin. Maybe, just maybe, I should be rejoicing in John McCain's selected running mate.

But I'm not.

I'm not a "bed wetting liberal" nor am I a "right-wing zealot." What I am is a working mother. And I cry foul.

I won't, for a moment, denigrate her experience or lob spit balls at her family. I will, though, take issue with what she knows. Or more succinctly, what she does not know. Living in Alaska , I'm not sure how much she knows about the people living in inner city Baltimore . I don't know how much she cares about the 125 murders this summer in Chicago . I have no idea what she believes about HIV/ AIDS and the havoc it wrecks on Black women or the cancer rates in East St. Louis. She hasn't said nary a word about Hurricane Katrina or the infant mortality rates in Appalachia .

I do know that she's a life-time member of the NRA, a proponent of individuals who wielded the very weapons that killed my father and brother. I do know that she "lives really close to Russia ," but I'm not so certain she is ready for Putin. I know she wanted to ban books for public libraries and sex education in schools, but that her 17 year old is pregnant and preparing for a shotgun wedding. I know that she loves her husband enough to allow him (and probably did herself) use her office to settle a personal score -- one that the McCain campaign would now like to cover in under a blanket of Juneau snow.

I know that the Alaska Independent Party, and its secessionist platform, was enticing enough for her to attend its conference (and for her husband to become a card carrying member). Does she love her country? I'm sure. Enough to support those who want to leave it.

But I have no earthly idea what she knows (or could possibly know) about national domestic policy or foreign diplomacy. For all of her working class values, she never once mentioned the Middle Class in her diatribe that mocked her opponent's experience. Having been the mayor of Wasilla (pop. 6,000 at the time) and governor of Alaska (a state a smaller than the county I live in) for a little over a year, she felt she was qualified to do that. And obviously, so did John McCain.

If she's qualified, then so am I.

But in this country I love, she has been afforded the ability to run.The very constitution she says doesn't apply to the men at Guantanamo says she can. But this is about more than that.

As Gloria Steinem said in a recent Los Angeles Times editorial, "Feminism has never been about getting a job for one woman. It's about making life more fair for women everywhere. It's not about a piece of the existing pie; there are too many of us for that. It's about baking a new pie."

The good news is thanks to Shirley Chisholm, Elizabeth Cady Stanton, Angela Davis, Condoleeza Rice, Anita Hill, Madeline Albright, Maxine Waters, Kathleen Sebelius, Hilary Rodham Clinton and a slew of others, there are 18 million proverbial cracks in the ceiling. Our collective political and economic power is due to the strides (and leaps) they, and others, took on my behalf. I am grateful. I am deeply humbled to stand on the bricks they'd laid before me.

But, whatever our struggle was (and is), the last thing I want is to be patronized. Just as I cannot support just any African American who decides to offer themselves up for public service, I will not toss my vote to someone just because we share the same chromosome mix. To do so would dishonor the vow I made to my children, to myself. I did not vote for Al Sharpton, wasn't old enough (nor would I have) voted for Jesse Jackson and I certainly will not support Sarah Palin. Identity politics, especially in this case, are a sham of the worst order.

When I cast my vote, it will be for people who will lay more bricks for people like me. It will be for people who will put diplomacy before war, challenge us all to provide health care for the sick, help another child go to college, and check the special interests in Washington.
This fall, I'm not looking for a woman. I'm looking for a brick layer. I could care less if that person hasn't spent "enough" time in Washington or can "properly field dress a moose". I could care less if that person likes hockey, soccer, football or table tennis. I could care less if they graduated from Harvard or the University of Iowa . I'm a Christian, but I could care less if they are down with Deuteronomy, Leviticus or Numbers. I want them to uphold the Constitution.

So no, I will not sit idly by as they attempt to suspend habeas corpus at Guantanamo Bay, engage wiretaps on American citizens without a warrant, and hide behind executive privilege when they are caught firing attorney generals based on how well they tow the Republican line. I won't let them cost us $12 billion a month fighting a war that should have never been authorized and never been waged. Not while working people lose their homes to predatory lenders and watch as we bail out the financial institutions that created the housing crisis.

I will not, in the name of history, vote for a woman like Sarah Palin who does not share my values.

But here's what I will do.

I will continue raising money for Barack Obama. I will get on the phone again and call people in distant states I've never met. I will e-mail, call, and knock on doors until the final vote is cast. I do this, not
because he shares my skin, but because I admire his principles and he shares my values. I do this because Barack Obama is more than a community organizer, he is a bricklayer. And he sees -- just as he sees
the light in Michelle's eyes -- my struggle, my worth as a woman.

Gillian Parrillo
SacWomen

Posted by Gillian Parrillo at 3:52 PM | Permalink | Can you digg it? | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

By Kathleen Parker

If at one time women were considered heretical for swimming upstream against feminist orthodoxy, they now face condemnation for swimming downstream — away from Sarah Palin.

To express reservations about her qualifications to be vice president — and possibly president — is to risk being labeled anti-woman.

Or, as I am guilty of charging her early critics, supporting only a certain kind of woman.

Some of the passionately feminist critics of Palin who attacked her personally deserved some of the backlash they received. But circumstances have changed since Palin was introduced as just a hockey mom with lipstick — what a difference a financial crisis makes — and a more complicated picture has emerged.

As we’ve seen and heard more from John McCain’s running mate, it is increasingly clear that Palin is a problem. Quick study or not, she doesn’t know enough about economics and foreign policy to make Americans comfortable with a President Palin should conditions warrant her promotion.

Yes, she recently met and turned several heads of state as the United Nations General Assembly convened in New York. She was gracious, charming and disarming. Men swooned. Pakistan’s president wanted to hug her. (Perhaps Osama bin Laden is dying to meet her?)

And, yes, she has common sense, something we value. And she’s had executive experience as a mayor and a governor, though of relatively small constituencies (about 6,000 and 680,000, respectively).

Finally, Palin’s narrative is fun, inspiring and all-American in that frontier way we seem to admire. When Palin first emerged as John McCain’s running mate, I confess I was delighted. She was the antithesis and nemesis of the hirsute, Birkenstock-wearing sisterhood — a refreshing feminist of a different order who personified the modern successful working mother.

Palin didn’t make a mess cracking the glass ceiling. She simply glided through it.

It was fun while it lasted.

Palin’s recent interviews with Charles Gibson, Sean Hannity, and now Katie Couric have all revealed an attractive, earnest, confident candidate. Who Is Clearly Out Of Her League.

No one hates saying that more than I do. Like so many women, I’ve been pulling for Palin, wishing her the best, hoping she will perform brilliantly. I’ve also noticed that I watch her interviews with the held breath of an anxious parent, my finger poised over the mute button in case it gets too painful. Unfortunately, it often does. My cringe reflex is exhausted.

Palin filibusters. She repeats words, filling space with deadwood. Cut the verbiage and there’s not much content there. Here’s but one example of many from her interview with Hannity: “Well, there is a danger in allowing some obsessive partisanship to get into the issue that we’re talking about today. And that’s something that John McCain, too, his track record, proving that he can work both sides of the aisle, he can surpass the partisanship that must be surpassed to deal with an issue like this.”

When Couric pointed to polls showing that the financial crisis had boosted Obama’s numbers, Palin blustered wordily: “I’m not looking at poll numbers. What I think Americans at the end of the day are going to be able to go back and look at track records and see who’s more apt to be talking about solutions and wishing for and hoping for solutions for some opportunity to change, and who’s actually done it?”

If BS were currency, Palin could bail out Wall Street herself.

If Palin were a man, we’d all be guffawing, just as we do every time Joe Biden tickles the back of his throat with his toes. But because she’s a woman — and the first ever on a Republican presidential ticket — we are reluctant to say what is painfully true.

What to do?

McCain can’t repudiate his choice for running mate. He not only risks the wrath of the GOP’s unforgiving base, but he invites others to second-guess his executive decision-making ability. Barack Obama faces the same problem with Biden.

Only Palin can save McCain, her party, and the country she loves. She can bow out for personal reasons, perhaps because she wants to spend more time with her newborn. No one would criticize a mother who puts her family first.

Do it for your country.

© 2008, Washington Post Writers Group

Gillian Parrillo
SacWomen.com

Posted by Gillian Parrillo at 3:35 PM | Permalink | Can you digg it? | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Tonight I call on the McCain campaign to stop treating Sarah Palin like she is a delicate flower that will wilt at any moment. This woman is from Alaska for crying out loud. She is strong. She is tough. She is confident. And you claim she is ready to be one heart beat away form the presidency. If that is the case, then end this chauvinistic treatment of her now. Allow her to show her stuff. Allow her to face down those pesky reporters... Let her have a real news conference with real questions.

Gillian Parrillo
SacWomen

Posted by Gillian Parrillo at 12:46 PM | Permalink | Can you digg it? | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

The New Republic

Ladies' Man
by Fred Strebeigh
The backslapping, bloviating hero of women's rights.
Post Date Wednesday, September 24, 2008

In January 2000, when the Supreme Court assembled to hear oral arguments attacking a pivotal section of the Violence Against Women Act, Joseph Biden was front and center. VAWA legally protects women from domestic abuse and gender-based violence, and Biden has proclaimed it the "most important legislative accomplishment" of his Senate career. But, long before the law had reached a congressional vote, Chief Justice William Rehnquist had attacked the "Civil Rights for Women" section, with which Biden sought to define gender-motivated crimes as bias or hate crimes.

As Rehnquist prepared to open the morning's first argument, Biden did not sit somberly. Rather, the senator swiveled in his seat (conspicuous to most of us in the court's press section), smiling cheerily and talking with nearby allies, including numerous female attorneys who had helped him shape the bill. Although Biden had no official role, he sought to signal that--in what he described that day as a "titanic struggle"--neither he nor the women around him would go quietly in defeat.

These days, many women voters are more likely to perceive Biden as a spoiler than as a supporter. Since his selection last month as Barack Obama's running mate, Biden has been pitted against women, first taking the job that many Hillary Clinton supporters felt was her due, then facing off against another historic woman, Sarah Palin, who could become the first female vice president of the United States. With his 30-plus years in the Senate, Biden can sound like the member of a male-only club, an impression reinforced by old-boy gaffes--from joking that his wife's doctorate "is a problem" to referring to Palin as "good-looking."

But the irony of this assessment is that Biden has some of the best feminist bona fides around. The mostly untold story of Biden's fight to support the "Civil Rights For Women" section of VAWA provides a window into his work for women, its origins, and how the defense of women's rights fits into his political worldview. Women voters may yet find something to cheer: In fighting for the legislation, Biden showed he was willing to trust the guidance of women activists and women judges, and then to contend against fierce and mostly male resistance in Washington, particularly from the Supreme Court.

Gillian Parrillo
SacWomen

Posted by Gillian Parrillo at 11:52 PM | Permalink | Can you digg it? | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

We're not that stupid. Sure it would be nice if the women of America believed that everyone with breasts and a vagina believed in equality. But it ain't so. Women have differing views -- just like men.

Some like beer; some like chardonnay. And some prefer AA. Some like automatic weapons; some don't. Some think every pregnancy is sanctified; some don't. Some think presidents should be qualified for office; some don't care.

But to take the struggle for equal rights that has gone on for two centuries and embody it in the person of Sarah Palin is not just misleading but abusive. Charging rape victims for rape kits is a travesty of equal rights. Insisting that government impose your own views of abortion on others is anti-equality. Cutting funding for black teenage mothers is anti-feminist and racist. Lying to the electorate about your record is insolent. Do you think we're too stupid or indolent to check?

We have checked. You are lying and so is she. But you must think that a big lie repeated over and over becomes the truth. And it seems that many Americans are with you on that.

You are so good at the bold-faced lie that you even seem to believe it yourself. When Barbara Walters and Joy Behar accused you of lying on "The View," you claimed you weren't.

I guess your handlers have decided that after eight years of Cheney-Bush saying one thing and doing another, truth no longer has any meaning. Say it often enough and we'll believe anything -- like the good commercial-watchers we are. So, prep Sarah to sound like Hillary -- and we'll be fooled.

It remains to be seen how many will.

But one thing is clear. You have reached a new low in your regard for the public. You have blown your credibility. Usually politicians wait to be elected to do that.

It's fascinating to watch you and your party try to co-opt the idea of change, the idea of equal rights after eight years of being in total control and trashing the country for women, for workers, for taxpayers and for anyone who earns dollars.

Do you really think we're that stupid? Apparently you do.

Tax cuts for the rich have produced trickle-down unemployment. You want to try that again? We don't. The private sector has not policed itself. Failing banks and mortgage companies prove that. The deficit has swelled. Insurance rates for health care have swelled. Women are joining the ranks of the poor faster than ever.

Play it again, John?

As Sarah Palin said, lying about her lust for earmarks, "Thanks but no thanks."

Sincerely,
Erica Jong

Gillian Parrillo
SacWomen

Posted by Gillian Parrillo at 7:56 PM | Permalink | Can you digg it? | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Overview of the number of people searching "Sexy Sarah Palin" and other Sarah Palin related search terms. I think it's outlandish. And for whatever reason, the media has decided to treat her differently, because, I believe, because she's a woman.

New York, NY (PRWEB) September 10, 2008 -- As of September 10, 2008 Sarah Palin is beating out the search term keywords porn and sex. In addition, "sarah palin nude," "sarah palin pictures" and "sarah palin bikini" are in the top 1000 searches.

Recently Cindy McCain remarked on ABC's Good Morning America that she "absolutely" believes sexism is behind critical coverage of her husband's vice presidential pick, Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin. "I think it's insulting," McCain told Sawyer. "I think it's outlandish. And for whatever reason, the media has decided to treat her differently, because, I believe, because she's a woman."

Questions regarding sexism being a factor in this campaign have become a real concern to women voters, and need to be addressed openly and honestly. In an effort to advance this conversation PoliticalSalon.com pulled data from a trusted source used to track daily search engine user behavior.

1.sarah palin
2.sarah palin nude
3.sarah palin pictures
4.sarah palin photos
5.sarah palin pics
6.sarah palin bikini
7.sarah palin speech
8.sarah palin naked
9.sarah palin vogue
10.sarah palin miss alaska

- upon further investigation we found:

"sarah palin swimsuit"
"sexy sarah palin"
"sarah palin milf"
"sarah palin topless"
"sarah palin porn"
"sarah palin sex tape"

The top search terms for Joe Biden are as follows:

1.joe biden
2.joe biden biography
3.senator joe biden
4.joe biden on gay issues
5.joe biden's voting record
6.joe biden plagiarism
7.who is joe biden
8.joe biden speech
9.joe biden wife
10.joe biden net worth

Also:
"joe biden hair plugs"

We're guessing it's no surprise nobody wants to see Joe Biden naked, or even in a swimsuit.

Source: PRWeb

My take: Yes, sexism is alive and well. Governor Palin seems to appeal to people's base instincts. Why no search on her voting record or views on important issues? She's running for one of the highest offices in the United States along with a guy who is the oldest candidate for President and people want to know what she looks like in a bikini. Ergo...if she looks good, we can vote for her? Is there a worldwide beauty contest coming up? Will she stand the Iraninans down in her birthday suit?

Wake up people. This is REALITY. The future of this country and the world are at stake in this election.

Gillian Parrillo
SacWomen.com

Posted by Gillian Parrillo at 7:14 AM | Permalink | Can you digg it? | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

I have seen Les Miserables three times, all in London, so maybe this stirs me more than most!
Gillian Parrillo
SacWomen

Posted by Gillian Parrillo at 6:27 AM | Permalink | Can you digg it? | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Eve Ensler, the American playwright, performer, feminist and activist best known for "The Vagina Monologues", wrote the following about Sarah Palin

Drill, Drill, Drill I am having Sarah Palin nightmares. I dreamt last night that she was a member of a club where they rode snowmobiles and wore the claws of drowned and starved polar bears around their necks. I have a particular thing for Polar Bears. Maybe it's their snowy whiteness or their bigness or the fact that they live in the arctic or that I have never seen one in person or touched one. Maybe it is the fact that they live so comfortably on ice. Whatever it is, I need the polar bears.

I don't like raging at women. I am a Feminist and have spent my life trying to build community, help empower women and stop violence against them. It is hard to write about Sarah Palin. This is why the Sarah Palin choice was all the more insidious and cynical. The people who made this choice count on the goodness and solidarity of Feminists.

But everything Sarah Palin believes in and practices is antithetical to Feminism which for me is part of one story -- connected to saving the earth, ending racism, empowering women, giving young girls options, opening our minds, deepening tolerance, and ending violence and war.

I believe that the McCain/Palin ticket is one of the most dangerous choices of my lifetime, and should this country chose those candidates the fall-out may be so great, the destruction so vast in so many areas that America may never recover. But what is equally disturbing is the impact that duo would have on the rest of the world. Unfortunately, this is not a joke. In my lifetime I have seen the clownish, the inept, the bizarre be elected to the presidency with regularity.

Sarah Palin does not believe in evolution. I take this as a metaphor. In her world and the world of Fundamentalists nothing changes or gets better or evolves. She does not believe in global warming. The melting of the arctic, the storms that are destroying our cities, the pollution and rise of cancers, are all part of God's plan. She is fighting to take the polar bears off the endangered species list. The earth, in Palin's view, is here to be taken and plundered. The wolves and the bears are here to be shot and plundered. The oil is here to be taken and plundered. Iraq is here to be taken and plundered. As she said herself of the Iraqi war, "It was a task from God."

Sarah Palin does not believe in abortion. She does not believe women who are raped and incested and ripped open against their will should have a right to determine whether they have their rapist's baby or not.

She obviously does not believe in sex education or birth control. I imagine her daughter was practicing abstinence and we know how many babies that makes.

Sarah Palin does not much believe in thinking. From what I gather she has tried to ban books from the library, has a tendency to dispense with people who think independently. She cannot tolerate an environment of ambiguity and difference. This is a woman who could and might very well be the next president of the United States. She would govern one of the most diverse populations on the earth.

Sarah believes in guns. She has her own custom Austrian hunting rifle. She has been known to kill 40 caribou at a clip. She has shot hundreds of wolves from the air.

Sarah believes in God. That is of course her right, her private right. But when God and Guns come together in the public sector, when war is declared in God's name, when the rights of women are denied in his name, that is the end of separation of church and state and the undoing of everything America has ever tried to be.

I write to my sisters. I write because I believe we hold this election in our hands. This vote is a vote that will determine the future not just of the U.S., but of the planet. It will determine whether we create policies to save the earth or make it forever uninhabitable for humans. It will determine whether we move towards dialogue and diplomacy in the world or whether we escalate violence through invasion, undermining and attack. It will determine whether we go for oil, strip mining, coal burning or invest our money in alternatives that will free us from dependency and destruction. It will determine if money gets spent on education and healthcare or whether we build more and more methods of killing. It will determine whether America is a free open tolerant society or a closed place of fear, fundamentalism and aggression.

If the Polar Bears don't move you to go and do everything in your power to get Obama elected then consider the chant that filled the hall after Palin spoke at the RNC, "Drill Drill Drill." I think of teeth when I think of drills. I think of rape. I think of destruction. I think of domination. I think of military exercises that force mindless repetition, emptying the brain of analysis, doubt, ambiguity or dissent. I think of pain.

Do we want a future of drilling? More holes in the ozone, in the floor of the sea, more holes in our thinking, in the trust between nations and peoples, more holes in the fabric of this precious thing we call life?

Eve Ensler
September 5, 2008

Gillian Parrillo
SacWomen

Posted by Gillian Parrillo at 11:50 AM | Permalink | Can you digg it? | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

As we turn our attention back to the Presidential campaign, to the choice we will make in November, let September 11, 2008 remind us of what we require from our leaders and from our government: competence. Our choice isn't about language or personality or how well we relate to a politician. This day reminds us that our choice in November is about the competence of the government we will elect.

Rachel Maddow, September 11, 2008

Posted by Gillian Parrillo at 9:57 AM | Permalink | Can you digg it? | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

I hope everyone will read this first-class piece written by Andrew Sullivan

read it here

Update: sorry, wrong link (although it makes a point, too) Here's the correct one.
GillIian Parrillo
SacWomen

Posted by Gillian Parrillo at 10:57 AM | Permalink | Can you digg it? | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

What are you doing to ensure the outcome you want from this election? I'm registering as many voters as I can between now and the deadline. And then I am going out of state to wherever I can be helpful to ensure that I will be able to say on November 5th, I did all that I could do to win this thing for Barack (and the future of this country).

Not everyone is as lucky as I in terms of the amount of time they can devote to the cause, but everyone can do something.

Put a bumper sticker on your car. My friend Wendy had someone beep at her and give her the thumbs up. She rolled down the window, told them to pull over, and got them to sign up as a volunteer for the Obama campaign.

At restaurants, we always ask if everyone is registered. Yesterday, we had a stack of completed voter registration cards which began a very productive discussion with a waitress. She told us that she was a democrat and she wanted to vote for Obama, but she heard he wanted to decommission the military. I have no clue where she got that from, a random email or mixing up his effort to decommission old nuclear weapons in rogue states, but within 5 seconds we had her back on track and feeling good about her vote for Obama. She came back later to give us her information and tell us she wanted to volunteer for the campaign.

Wear a button, start a conversation. Last night we walked into a local restaurant and one of the waiters ran up to say hi to me. He remembered me from last week when I watched the Sara Palin acceptance speech in the restaurant. Ok, I was a little loud! We sat at the bar and started to talk to a guy sitting next to us. From my vantage point, he looked like a McCain supporter, but I was completely wrong. He was visiting from Missouri, a big Barack fan, and we had a wonderful conversation, even pulling in an undecided bartender.

So, it only takes a second to put an Obama button on in the morning. And you have a whole day to hold wonderful conversations with some really interesting people.

Do your part.

Gillian Parrillo
SacWomen

Posted by Gillian Parrillo at 10:40 AM | Permalink | Can you digg it? | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

I came home yesterday, from registering voters - my complete focus these days. Pierre told me that he had been catching up on his email and that my daughter, Tara Parrillo, had submitted a blog. "That nice," I said. "No" he said. "You need to read it." So read it I did and it was very special:

Tonight I sat and watched Barack Obama's speech at the Democratic National Convention with tears streaming down my face. They were tears of hope for what is possible. I never thought that I would be blessed enough to be even tangentially a part of such an historic and life-changing time in political history. I think what made me most emotional tonight is that I was thinking about my mom standing on the floor of the Democratic National Convention as a delegate from Texas watching Obama give his historical speech. I could not be more proud of someone as I am of my mom at this moment. I think back to a celebration over 30 years ago when my older brother and I stood cheering in the audience at Mount Vernon waiving our little American flags as my mom was sworn in as an American citizen. I know serving as a delegate at the Democratic National Convention has always been a dream of hers and, anyone who knows my mom, knows she dreams big. Mom, with so much hard work you are living one of your dreams. Savor this moment. You worked hard for it and deserve it. I am one of your biggest fans. I am so proud of you. I love you more than you will ever know!

Tara Parrillo
August 28, 2008

Posted by Gillian Parrillo at 1:41 PM | Permalink | Can you digg it? | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

August 29, 2008

Statement of NOW PAC Chair Kim Gandy on the Selection of Sarah Palin as John McCain's Vice Presidential Pick

Sen. John McCain's choice of Alaska governor Sarah Palin as his running mate is a cynical effort to appeal to disappointed Hillary Clinton voters and get them to vote, ultimately, against their own self-interest.

Gov. Palin may be the second woman vice-presidential candidate on a major party ticket, but she is not the right woman. Sadly, she is a woman who opposes women's rights, just like John McCain.

The fact that Palin is a mother of five who has a 4-month-old baby, a woman who is juggling work and family responsibilities, will speak to many women. But will Palin speak FOR women? Based on her record and her stated positions, the answer is clearly No.

In a gubernatorial debate, Palin stated emphatically that her opposition to abortion was so great, so total, that even if her teenage daughter was impregnated by a rapist, she would "choose life" -- meaning apparently that she would not permit her daughter to have an abortion.

Palin also had to withdraw her appointment of a top public safety commissioner who had been reprimanded for sexual harassment, although Palin had been warned about his background through letters by the sexual harassment complainant.

What McCain does not understand is that women supported Hillary Clinton not just because she was a woman, but because she was a champion on their issues. They will surely not find Sarah Palin to be an advocate for women.

Sen. Joe Biden is the VP candidate who appeals to women, with his authorship and championing of landmark domestic violence legislation, support for pay equity, and advocacy for women around the world.

Finally, as the chair of NOW's Political Action Committee, I am frequently asked whether NOW supports women candidates just because they are women. This gives me an opportunity to once again answer that question with an emphatic 'No.' We recognize the importance of having women's rights supporters at every level but, like Sarah Palin, not every woman supports women's rights.

Gllian Parrillo
SacWomen

Posted by Gillian Parrillo at 1:39 PM | Permalink | Can you digg it? | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

You made a choice to have a baby whom you knew would be born with Down's syndrome. Good for you and good for this country that you are allowed to make choices. And too bad that you don't believe that everyone should get to make their own choice about such matters. But when you made that choice, didn't you imagine that you might have to make some changes in your life, give up a little ambition, take things a little slower, to give the time and attention that this new child would require? Did you honestly believe that you could take off on the campaign trail and work every hour of every day and do right by this new baby?

And when you said yes to the invitation to become a vice presidential candidate, knowing that your 17-year old daughter was pregnant, didn't it occur to you that you would embarrass your own daughter before the whole country? Most mothers I know would never have done such a thing. We would have supported our daughter in HER choice, we would have tried hard not to impose OUR choice, but we would have ALWAYS taken a back seat to protect our beloved child.

I don't think I am the only one who is thinking this. See this article in the New York Times.

Update: And here's another along the same lines.

Gillian Parrillo
SacWomen

Posted by Gillian Parrillo at 6:04 AM | Permalink | Can you digg it? | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

From the Dallas Morning News:

A concrete piece of evidence to me (because I still can't quite believe it) that I was really there on this very historic day!

Gillian Parrillo
SacWomen

Posted by Gillian Parrillo at 8:13 AM | Permalink | Can you digg it? | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

People the world over have always been more impressed by the power of our example than by the example of our power.

Tammy Duckworth, fabulous speech, and as she left the podium, the shot of her two artificial legs.

Joe Biden holding the hand of his small grandson after giving his Vice Presidential acceptance speech.

Bill Clinton being accepted back into the Democratic fold. In my opinion, thanks to his wife's performance the day before.

From Cecile Richards, President of Planned Parenthood:

A woman voting for McCain is like a chicken voting for Colonel Sanders.

Celebrities today: Progressive Talk Show Radio Goddess Randi Rhodes and Fox News Host, Greta Van Susteren.

Photos to follow...I am off to Invesco for an event of a lifetime!

Gillian Parrillo
SacWomen

Posted by Gillian Parrillo at 9:31 AM | Permalink | Can you digg it? | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

http://obamadallas.com/oddenver/?p=332

Gillian Parrillo
SacWomen

Posted by Gillian Parrillo at 11:40 AM | Permalink | Can you digg it? | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Please excuse the link to the original post. Time is short, lots to do!

Gillian Parrillo
SacWomen

Posted by Gillian Parrillo at 10:01 AM | Permalink | Can you digg it? | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Pierre and I arrive mid-morning in Denver. The airport is teaming with delegates. We pretty efficiently manuever our way through the throng and find the airport shuttle bus. Along the way from Dallas to Denver we meet delegates speeding their way to one of the most exciting conventions ever. The diversity is awesome. People are excited and friendly...and fired up. A baggage claim worker yells out "Obama is in the House!" It hits me! I'm really at the Democratic National Convention..to nominate the first African American to ever run for President. For a second, tears sprung to my eyes!

We arrive at the hotel and the first person we see is Erin Moore, the SD 16 female delegate. She is with her partner Patti. It is good to see a familiar face so soon! We check in and with great fear and trembling go up to our room. The rooms that has received zero stars on Internet rating sites with comments like "don't even think of staying here!". Turns out, our room is not that bad. It's a little dated, but it does have a sleep number bed and appears clean. So much for setting zero expectations! You can only go up from there!

But no time for lollygagging. We ditch our stuff and walk to the nearest light rail station. We take the train downtown and make our way to the Convention Center where our friend Chella Cardona is serving on the National Credentials Committee. We manage to get through all of the security nets and race to the appointed meeting room, but the Committee has been very efficient and finished their meeting already.

So Pierre and I are back outside checking out the green area - a place full of booths relating to green energy. And then we make our way to the walking avenue. Along the way, we see thousands of riot police. They are everywhere, dressed for trouble, driving in armored vehicles, riding on horses (who are also dressed in protective covering), or simply standing in ready units. We see very few protestors and those we do see are very peaceful...after all, they are protesting against the war and for peace. The riot police add a heightened tension to the scene.

The Convention seems to have attracted a large number of anti-abortion folk, who, as we are entering the Convention Center outside have taken over the entire apron outside the entrance and are displaying their usual graphic posters. They disgust me. We are here to do serious business. For me that is a passion to stop this never relenting war on woman. I vocalize my disgust. I am through being quiet and polite about this harrassment.

Pierre and I make our way to a bar and make contact with Chella, who soon joins us. She looks very professional in her 'go to meeting' outfit. Later we are joined by Pierre's nephew, Chris, who lives in Denver and his wife, Ali. We spend the afternoon meeting and greeting many of the delegates, chuckling at all of the great tshirts and costumes, and watching thousands of riot police make their presence known.

But then it is time to go to the Convention Center for the opening delegate reception. There has been a snafu with the tickets for the Texas Delegation but we are, to our great surprise, easily able to get through security just using our honest faces (!) and make our way to the reception. The event is a fundraiser for the Katrina victims. We are very pleasantly surprised to see that all of the food and beverages are free. The food is delicious - seafood gumbo, piles of giant shrimp, and other New Orleans favorites. Pierre buys a tshirt as part of the fundraiser.

Chella arrives with a Hillary delegate from Sherman that she has met on the way. Throughout the evening, we meet so many amazing people. People ask us where we got the buttons we are wearing and soon we have a brisk trade going...all profits to Obama Dallas and we sell our last Save Roe button. Pierre takes lots and lots of photos. And then, through the crowd comes Joe Rowe and his caretaker. They have completed their long drive from Dallas. It is so great to see everyone. We run into Erin and Patti again. I get my photo taken with my son's Congresswoman - my son lives in Maui and was a delegate to the State convention...for Obama, of course.

We meet people from everywhere, including two women from Paris and Berlin who are anxious to find delegates from Texas because they are part of the Americans Abroad, but vote in Texas. We meet a guy from South Dakota and share memories of our trip there a few weeks ago. We meet people from Philadelphia, who give me their cards and beg me to come work for them during the general. I get a handshake and a bow from someone from Colorado after Pierre tells him I am working on voter registration in Dallas. I meet two young guys from London, working in Georgia for Obama. I see Tom Blackwell from Dallas across the room. And then, my first celebrity sighting....I go to the bar for another glass of wine and run into...Barbara Boxer? Oh, no, it's Gloria Allred...the great defender of spurned women..she is tiny!

Finally, the fun is over. We find the bus outside the Convention Center to take us to our hotel. And on it, many of the delegates from Dallas - Erin and Patti again and also Jeff Strater and his partner. The hotel lobbying is buzzing, but we are tired. We fall into bed and we are so tired, we forget to input our sleep number setting!

Tomorrow, delegate breakfast at 7AM and special guest the Governor of Kansas, Kathleen Sebelius. And then tomorrow night, an amazing lineup of speakers, including Michelle Obama. I can't wait to experience it all!

Gillian Parrillo
SacWomen

Posted by Gillian Parrillo at 4:29 AM | Permalink | Can you digg it? | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

We leave for the Democratic National Convention tomorrow AM. I still can't believe this is happening.

I have promised one of my fellow delegates that I will blog from the convention. You can check it out here

Pierre also plans to blog about his experiences in Denver on the Sacramento Executive site.

Let's hope the Hillary holdouts start remembering why they said they voted for Hillary in the first place - becasue she was a woman - and come to their senses before they get someone who is definitely not a friend to women - John McCain - elected as president. Goodbye Roe vs. Wade and just about any other freedoms women are still clinging on to.

Gillian Parrillo
SacWomen

Posted by Gillian Parrillo at 12:54 AM | Permalink | Can you digg it? | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

A Plea To That Guy At The Podium
by Hunter - Email: hunter@dailykos.com
Reprinted from the Daily Kos
Sat Aug 23, 2008 at 07:15:16 PM PDT

Our nation has been through so much
These last few thousand days.
Our battered hearts and weary souls
Look now for warming rays.
Our confidence is shattered;
Our discourse in the muck;
And so I have just one request:
Please, Obama — please don’t suck.

From Enron to the oil kings
Our country has been sold
And to the lowest bidders,
And we all have gotten rolled.
More tax cuts for the rich,
While the barons pass the buck;
It seems impossible to ask
But Obama: please don’t suck.

Our soldiers in Iraq will stay
For many months, at least,
Because we thought preemptive war
Was a more docile beast.
Our diplomacy has become farce
Our policies, amok;
If you want to be in charge of it
Then Obama — please don’t suck.

It would be very simple
To let it slip away;
A pardon here, a bill, a law,
A tactical delay.
The lobbyists and crooks remain,
Always looking for a schmuck,
But we have few chances left,
So Obama:
Please
Don’t
Suck.

Posted by Gillian Parrillo at 12:51 AM | Permalink | Can you digg it? | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

In an interview with Politico and Yahoo News released Thursday, Condoleeza Rice was asked if she would feel secure with a president Obama.

"Oh, the United States will be fine," she responded. "I think that we are having an important debate about how we keep the country safe," she said, pointing to the Middle East and Iraq.

"Those are important judgments for the American people to make."

Wonder what the next scare tactic will be.

Gillian Parrillo
SacWomen

Posted by Gillian Parrillo at 7:53 AM | Permalink | Can you digg it? | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

You get an email. It supports some political rhetoric with which you agree. So, you forward it to your list of friends that you know will gobble up the 'red meat.'

Please read what you send. Please verify the content. Please be responsible.

Today I received a note telling me that the oil crisis is because of liberal democrats and that we cannot elect a liberal democrat to be President because gas prices will get even worse. One of the facts was that the liberals and the environmentalists have stopped the drilling in ANWR and that has caused the problem. Therefore, don't vote for a liberal or a democrat for President.

I was suspicious. I went to John McCain's site. Guess what? John McCain doesn't believe in drilling in ANWR. Barack Obama doesn't believe in drilling in ANWR. Yes, they have their differences, but drilling in ANWR is not one of them.

For instance, John McCain does not support a woman's right to choose. Barack Obama does support a woman's right to choose. That's a real issue. You can forward that note all day, every day, especially to all of your women voter friends, especially the ones who supported Hillary. Hopefully, even the most resistant will come to realize that voting for McCain over Obama will be voting completely against their best interests.

Let's be vigiliant this political season. There are REAL differences between the candidates - there's no need to forward made up issues.

Gillian Parrillo
The Sacramento Executive

Posted by Gillian Parrillo at 7:33 PM | Permalink | Can you digg it? | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

A dream come true. A difficult goal met. I am thrilled.
This weekend, I attended the Texas Democratic Party Convention as a delegate. I left thinking that I had not reached a goal I have had for the last 20+ years and finally have the time to dedicate to it - to be a delegate at a Democratic Party Convention. Who knew this is the one that EVERYONE wants to attend?

When I got home, I had a message. Congratulations....you are a national delegate. I can't remember ever being so excited and surprised and honored. My husband was also truly amazed. "You set your mind to something and you don't let anything get in the way - I am so proud of you." He is truly supportive of all that I do.

I will go to Denver in August and cast my vote proudly for the next President of the United States - Barack Obama. The great state of Texas casts all of its votes for....who would have ever imagined?

I will keep you updated on my journey!

Gillian Parrillo
SacWomen

Posted by Gillian Parrillo at 7:22 PM | Permalink | Can you digg it? | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Don't miss The View on June 18th. Michelle Obama will be a guest host.
If you haven't had a chance to 'meet' this remarkable woman, watch the show. If all you know of her is the one flub she made in a speech one day that has been played and overplayed, spend thirty minutes watching her on this show. She is smart and funny and strong and warm. She is going to make a fabulous First Lady.

Gillian Parrillo
SacWomen

Posted by Gillian Parrillo at 5:36 AM | Permalink | Can you digg it? | Comments (1) | TrackBacks (0)

A time to be inspired and involved and excited about this country and all it is and all it can become.

Gillian Parrillo
SacWomen

Posted by Gillian Parrillo at 8:50 AM | Permalink | Can you digg it? | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

From Arianna Huffington:

We've seen the exit polls. We've read the unequivocal quotes. Many women who are avowed Hillary Clinton supporters are declaring they won't vote for Barack Obama in the fall. I get the anger and the disappointment. But to quote SNL's Amy Poehler and Seth Meyers: Really? You'd rather vote for John McCain, a man who has a 25-year history of voting against a woman's right to choose? A man who over the last eight years that NARAL has released a pro-choice scorecard has received a 0 percent rating? A man whose campaign website says he believes Roe v. Wade "must be overturned"? A man who has vowed that, as president, he will be "a loyal and unswerving friend of the right to life movement"? Really?

Gillian Parrillo
SacWomen.com

Posted by Gillian Parrillo at 7:54 AM | Permalink | Can you digg it? | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Today Pierre and I went to a local arena where multiple high school graduations were being held throughout the day. We thought that there was one more thing these graduates needed to do on their awesome day - register to vote.

We arrived with clipboards and pens and forms and we got busy. We registered young graduates and family members and friends and anyone else we could. We were excited to watch the parents encourage their kids to sign up.

It was exhilarating, sharing this special day with these beacons of the future. Many of these kids came from very poor neighborhoods. The fact that they had persevered to graduate is celebration enough. But now they are even more empowered. They are voters!

And more ceremonies to come next week.

Gillian Parrillo
SacWomen

Posted by Gillian Parrillo at 4:45 PM | Permalink | Can you digg it? | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

A great post on the subject written by a feminist, just like me! Here's a subset:

People are writing about her as though she were a bomb that needed to be expertly defused, as opposed to a person who can govern her own life, and is responsible for her own choices.

I am aware that it must be hard to face the fact that you've lost. But it became clear that she was not going to win the nomination months ago -- I would say after Wisconsin, but certainly after Texas. Moreover, this is not unprecedented. People lose the nomination every four years. Most of the time, they do not stay on until it is mathematically impossible for them to win; they leave when it has become clear that they will not win. They do not complain about disenfranchising all the states with later primaries, they do not threaten to keep their supporters home, and they certainly do not threaten "open civil war" if they don't get nominated for Vice President. On those rare occasions when some candidate does this in the absence of some truly monumental issue, we normally think that that candidate is a narcissistic and unprincipled person who has just shown why s/he should never, ever be President.

There is absolutely no reason not to apply these same standards to Hillary Clinton. Right now, instead of floating demands in the press and comparing herself to abolitionists and suffragists, she could be telling her supporters that she lost fair and square; that while there was a lot of sexism in the campaign, there was racism as well, and that sexism does not explain why a candidate with literally every institutional advantage over her opponent lost the nomination. She could be reaching out to the voters who supported her in places where Obama has had trouble, and urging them to vote for him. She could, in a word, be doing the right thing: trying to earn that respect she seems to want.

Instead, she's throwing tantrums, making demands that she has no right to make, and threatening civil war.

I can't imagine a better demonstration of why she should not be President or Vice President. Nor can I imagine a better demonstration of why some of us who are committed feminists are not happy with her as our standard-bearer. She lost. It happens. If she were an adult or a professional, she would deal with it. Apparently, she is neither.

Gillian Parrillo
SacWomen

Posted by Gillian Parrillo at 4:42 PM | Permalink | Can you digg it? | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Gillian Parrillo
SacWomen

Posted by Gillian Parrillo at 10:25 AM | Permalink | Can you digg it? | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

I hear it all the time. When people find out that I am supporting Hillary, they are shocked. "Oh, we thought you would be for Hillary." Read, you are old and white and a woman. But I knew all along that supporting the wrong woman was much worse than supporting the right candidate.

Overtime, I have had many conversations about this because, as women, the guilt constantly churns. The other day, my friend, who is a professor, asked me if people weren't supporting Hillary because she was a woman or was it because she was the wrong woman. I agreed with the latter conclusion.

Later, I told my husband that I was sick of all those white men in politics and he reminded me Hillary was a woman. "Not really," I responded. "She acts like an old white guy in politics." I haven't seen any of the positive feminine traits. Just the negative ones - the "I am a victim" being the most prominent. Sore loser, second.

And today I read an interview in the newspaper with one of the women who helped her when she was struggling to be content as the First Lady. She summed up my thoughts well:

....may be that Obama has given better voice to that new pattern of possibility -- that he embodies a more female, inclusive approach to problem-solving, while Clinton has become mired in proving herself capable of emulating the male model, which requires combat and the demonization of enemies.

Gillian Parrillo
SacWomen

Posted by Gillian Parrillo at 6:21 AM | Permalink | Can you digg it? | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

I am married to a lifer who got life for these stupid 3 strikes laws and he never killed anyone or hurt anyone it was just his drug addiction, if he could have gotten the help he needed for that instead of a life sentence.

I took this from a comment on a website. It could have been written about a large percentage of the prisoners in California. Never done anything violent, had a drug addiction, got locked up for life.

What does that mean to you as a taxpayer? A big bill. For each prisoner. $40,000 a year (and increasing each year) for 40 years. $1.6M.

The alternative? Cost of drug rehab? Let's be generous $10,000 - that allows for a relapse or two.

The difference? Savings of $1.5M which could be used for better education, health care for kids, name your passion of choice.

Remember, that's for each prisoner. And there are 170,588 prisoners as of 2007 in California.

And if that isn't enough, there is a plan to fuel this madness even more. It comes in the form of a constitutional amendment which will appear on your November ballot. There will be TV and radio ads right before the election that will pull at your heart strings. They have wrapped the whole package around a young girl who died years ago. They have named the law after her and she has a website to tug even harder at your heart strings. They even say it is a victims' rights bill.

But don't be fooled. This is not a victims' rights bill, this is one more blatant attempt to continue fueling the increase in the prison budget. They will play up the fact that if they don't allow prisoners to have annual parole hearings and conjugal visits that it will save taxpayers money, but it's simple not true. If you deny prisoners parole, then it will cost taxpayers hundreds of millions of dollars in increased prisoner housing costs.

Don't keep letting the state pour money into the prison system. Let's use it for schools and health care and after school care and job creation and green jobs for the unemployed and infrastructure repair or any number of positive things that are additive to our economy and population well-being.

Locking up drug addicts, providing them with no drug treatment, no training, little or no family contact, and no prospects when, and if, they get released is simply a bad deal.

This time, say no more.

Get informed - check it out.

1325. (07-0100, Amdt. #1NS) - Raw Count
Criminal Justice System. Victims’ Rights. Parole. Constitutional Amendment and Statute.

Summary Date: 02/08/08 Circulation Deadline: 07/07/08 Signatures Required: 694,354

Proponents: Henry Nicholas, Marcella Leach and LaWanda Hawkins c/o Ashlee N. Titus (916) 442-7757

Requires notification to victim and opportunity for input during phases of criminal justice process, including bail, pleas, sentencing and parole. Establishes victim safety as consideration in determining bail or release on parole. Increases the number of people permitted to attend and testify on behalf of victims at parole hearings. Reduces the number of parole hearings to which prisoners are entitled. Requires that victims receive written notification of their constitutional rights. Establishes timelines and procedures concerning parole revocation hearings. Summary of estimate by Legislative Analyst and Director of Finance of fiscal impact on state and local government: Unknown potential increases in state prison and county jail operating costs due to provisions restricting early release of inmates. To the extent that any such costs were incurred, they could collectively amount to hundreds of millions of dollars annually. A potential net savings in the low tens of millions of dollars for the administration of parole reviews and revocations if the changes related to parole revocation procedures were not overturned by potential legal challenges. (Initiative 07-0100.) (Full Text)

Italics added by me for emphasis.

Gillian Parrillo
SacWomen

Posted by Gillian Parrillo at 4:17 AM | Permalink | Can you digg it? | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Would you be willing to loose your teeth to be with your baby even if it meant you probably couldn't get a job in the future because employers don't like to hire people with missing teeth?

Do you think there is no way this can be a choice we are asking women to make? Think again.

Every day in California we are asking women in jail to make these choices. To gain access to a host of vocational-training and drug-rehabilitation programs for non-violent offenders - including a course that teaches them parenting skills while living with their children in special housing - they must be cleared of any pre-existing health problems.

One badly damaged tooth can cause them to be disqualified from these programs because, according to the State, there are no dental or medical personnel at the smaller sites where these programs are located. So women are choosing to have their teeth extracted so they can enter the programs. About 9,000 teeth are pulled each year in California's three female institutions, according to prison system records. More than 12,000 women are housed in those prisons.

Next hard to believe fact - moving the women into these programs saves the State more than $20 a day ($99 vs $121). But no one has bothered to figure out if contracting these medical and dental services out might still save money for the State.

But then, frankly, nothing to do with the prison system in California makes any sense at all. 170,000 prisoners at $121 a day. I think that's $7B+ a year. Want to trade some of that money for schools, drug rehabilitation, jobs?

Check out the full story in the Mercury News.

Gillian Parrillo
SacWomen

Posted by Gillian Parrillo at 4:51 PM | Permalink | Can you digg it? | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Lilly Ledbetter worked at Goodyear for nearly 20 years before she discovered that men in the same job were paid more. The Supreme Court ruled that wage discrimination complaints must be filed within 180 days of the initial discriminatory salary decision, even if the victim is unaware of the discrimination until much later. This 5-4 decision by the Bush Supreme Court reversed decades of precedent in wage discrimination cases decided under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act.

It is imperative that the Senate pass the Fair Pay Restoration Act, introduced by Senator Edward M. Kennedy (D-MA), with Senators Hillary Clinton (D-NY), Olympia Snowe (R-ME), and Arlen Spector (R-PA).

Please contact your Senator today and tell them to pass this important bill and not set back women's rights even further. You can do it easily by clicking here.

Public opinion works...but only if you exercise it.

Gillian Parrillo
SacWomen

Posted by Gillian Parrillo at 11:14 AM | Permalink | Can you digg it? | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

DENIM DAY CALIFORNIA!
APRIL 23, 2008

In 1998, the Italian Supreme Court overturned a rape conviction because the victim in the case was wearing jeans and therefore "invited the attack." Since that decision, people around the world wear denim to commemorate victims, support survivors and stand together against sexual violence. On Denim Day, April 23, wear your jeans as a visible sign of your pledge to end sexual violence.

We invite you to stand with other California leaders, wear denim, and sign the pledge to end sexual violence!

Date: 04/23/08
Time: 10:00am
Location: South Steps of the Capitol, Sacramento

To RSVP please contact:
Tammy Strobel, CALCASA Public Affairs Program Coordinator
tammys@calcacsa.org or 916-446-2520 x317

Posted by Gillian Parrillo at 12:22 PM | Permalink | Can you digg it? | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

From a piece by Slate writers Melina Henneberger and Dahlia Lithwick.

...what Obama did in 40 eloquent minutes for the conversation about race in America, Hillary Clinton could do for the conversation on gender. And here's just a rough outline:

1) I am proud to be a woman and a mother and the first serious female contender for the presidency, but my gender is only a part of who I am, and it doesn't define or constrain me.

2) I am part of a generation that faced and still faces all sorts of gender slights and slurs, and I honor the women who came before me for their commitment to achieving equal rights for women in the face of that.

3) But I would ask the women of this country to stop engaging in petty warfare over who has suffered more—women or blacks, women or men—as it is corrosive and fruitless. This country was founded on the promise that you can become the best thing you can dream for yourself; you are not trapped by the worst thing that's ever happened to you.

4) Things have improved for women in America in the last decades. They are not perfect; there is still much to be done. But women have made enormous strides in a few short decades, and to suggest otherwise is to devalue the life's work of too many heroes of the women's movement.

5) It is possible, indeed it is probable, that just as women have faced barriers and obstacles and derision, so have Hispanics, so have blacks, and so have men. No one in America can corner the market on suffering. Who the hell wants to spend their life in a corner, anyhow?

6) Men. What are they thinking? (Pause for applause.)

7) But seriously, if we in this country are ever going to move beyond Hooters, beyond date rape, beyond the wage gap and the glass ceiling, beyond Girls Gone Wild, and bulimic 12-year-olds, we need to start working together. We need to work with men on the gender signals called out by the media and with business about the value of women workers. We need to talk to one another respectfully and listen to one another's complaints.

8) Men, we understand and honor that many of you are taking paternity leave and folding the laundry and eating takeout because we forgot to turn on the crockpot. We get that everything has changed very, very quickly, and it's hard to come home to a wife who's coming home at the same time. You are doing more than your dads ever did around the house, and we still get mad when you forget to clean out the lint filter. It's nuts. But it's getting better. Stay with us.

9) Married guys, don't fool around with hookers. Don't fool around with staffers. Don't fool around with interns or Supreme Court justices. It's insulting to us and to you and to them. Marriage has to mean something. Gov. Spitzer. Bill, darling. I can respect the heck out of your political achievements even as I berate you for demeaning marriage. Life is complicated that way. Deal, buddies.

10) People of America, I understand why some of you are anxious at the prospect of a woman president. Sometimes I am nervous, too. But it's time. Also, I am sorry about that whole cookie comment.

The article goes on to say:

Only, she won't ever give that speech, will she? Because as much as Hillary Clinton the wife and the woman and the mom no doubt hates it, Hillary Clinton the candidate has largely benefited from her husband's extracurricular activities. That's because—and this is the tragic part—America seems to like her best when she's being victimized—by Bill or Rick Lazio or the media. In that sense, her husband is a useful prop who reminds us of the extent of her suffering.

She won't give that speech because the whole narrative of her candidacy—and more broadly, her life—is as rooted in grievance as Obama's is in getting past grievance.

Gillian Parrillo
SacWomen

Posted by Gillian Parrillo at 9:35 AM | Permalink | Can you digg it? | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

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

Posted by Gillian Parrillo at 8:45 AM | Permalink | Can you digg it? | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

I don't think every woman should support Hillary Clinton just because she's a woman. Smart women disagree all the time, and that has never been more obvious than in our heated discussions about Clinton.

I do, however, think every woman should support the notion of Hillary Clinton. That means judging her by her record and her plans for our future, not by her marital stamina, her choice in suits or her version of femininity. Even if we can't support her as a candidate, we ought to acknowledge the history that she is making -- for us and for our daughters and granddaughters. And we ought to point out to them that making history sure has a downside.

This is a quote from an article written by Connie Schultz in the Cleveland Plain Dealer

At the same time, I think that Senator Clinton has a great responsibility too as a role model for our daughters. Playing the victim is not one of the traits I think she should promote. I don't think it works in politics, at least not long-term. And, for sure, it never works in business.

Gillian Parrillo
SacWomen

Posted by Gillian Parrillo at 6:02 AM | Permalink | Can you digg it? | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

I have been working many hours a day on the Obama Campaign in Texas. One of the things I have been most struck with is all of the young adults accompanying their parents to help out. And they are fired up. They know all of the issues, they can't wait to watch the debates and discuss them with you afterwards. They accuse their parents of making them miss a life-changing event, if they weren't allowed to skip school the day of the 17,000 person rally at a local arena.

One of the more touching moments was a 9 year old girl who was at the HQ the other day. She was making posters for Obama. She had Hillary as the turtle and Obama as the 'bunny', which, I guess, is just as good as a hare. Obama, of course, was flying across the finish line. I am still pondering what all of this means in terms of an outcome.

She asked me, "What color do you think I am?" I was sort of startled. "Black, I guess?" I replied. But I am something else too, she said. "Brown, white?" I guessed. "No," she said, "Indian." And then she related to me her complicated heritage and the complex dynamics of her family and her life.

And for all that, she was a wonderful little girl who will long remember the time she hung out around a political headquarters and how fun it was. And when she is older, she will know she was part of making history..one bunny at a time.

Gillian Parrillo
SacWomen

Posted by Gillian Parrillo at 6:16 AM | Permalink | Can you digg it? | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

This is why he will win. A broad consensus of diverse participants. The people are amassing to take back their country.

Thank goodness, we do it in a lot more orderly fashion than in Pakistan.

Gillian Parrillo
SacWomen.com

Posted by Gillian Parrillo at 9:58 AM | Permalink | Can you digg it? | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

I am in heaven. Or, more exactly, I am in the middle of a perfect storm -Texas, a very meaningful battleground in the war for the Democratic presidential nomination. I am a political junkie, which means I am glued to MSNBC 24/7, even watching the guys on death row in case there is a break for some political news! I imagined that it would all be over by February 5th, and Texas, with its primary process on March 4th, would be much too late. But the fates intervened and here I am in Texas, a make or break state for Hillary.

Last Saturday night I went to delegate training. The voting process in Texas is very odd - truly the Texas Two Step. Vote early or on the day and then you are eligible to come back at 7:15 PM to be part of the caucus process. Historically, this is a non-event, but this year, expect big crowds.

Last night, we went to meet the national Obama team who had just arrived in town. Both events were mobbed - black, brown, white, able, disabled, young, old, rich, poor. It was truly inspiring. I saw the same guy at both events - lying prone in his wheelchair with breathing tube in his mouth, signing in with his foot. Wow, if this guy is ready to step out and support a presidential candidate, how can any of us doing anything less?

Sitting next to us was a young African American family with several small children. What an amazing memory this will be for them years from now. Or maybe not. Maybe they will not remember a time when having an African American presidential candidate was ever a big deal.

People were in long lines signing up to provide food, housing, phone-banking, office space - anything the campaign needs. We have signed up to have volunteers stay at our house and I am eagerly waiting a call to volunteer to do whatever is most helpful.

But no campagin material. Maybe that will come later when they move into their office space. So, not being one to wait around when I want something, I ordered 100 of these today. Please note the clever use of Dallas Cowboy's blue for the lettering!

I am pouring over blogs and writeups and anything that says that Obama can win Texas. I have started blogging on the Obama website. Last night, one of his supporters, a Latino politician, told us that in Texas there has never been contention between black and brown (his words). With that fact and the fact that Obama has been increasing his vote rate with Latinos in each of the previous contests, Texas could put an end to that perceived weakness.

I will keep you all posted on what's happening in the next 3 weeks from the middle of this perfect storm.

If you guys couldn't get an outcome in California, us Texans will have to jump in. After all, we owe you for the last Texan we gave you for President!

Gillian Parrillo
SacWomen

Posted by Gillian Parrillo at 11:38 AM | Permalink | Can you digg it? | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

In December, I had a post about discrimination that had been introduced into the Workers' Compensation Legislation introduced in 2004. Because the law allowed doctors to take into consideration 'other factors' that might have contributed to a worker's disability, factors such as osteoporosis in older women were limiting their awards. Other awards considered such factors as age, race, gender, national origin or genetic disposition.

San Francisco Democratic lawmaker, Carole Midgen, has introduced a bill to take away this unfairness. She will hold a press conference at the Capitol tomorrow, February 11th.

Gillian Parrillo
SacWomen

Posted by Gillian Parrillo at 7:17 AM | Permalink | Can you digg it? | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

If you sare registered as Decline to State in California, you can still vote for a Presidential candidate. Here's how:

Or Republican!

Gillian Parrillo
SacWomen

Posted by Gillian Parrillo at 9:52 AM | Permalink | Can you digg it? | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

I am visiting my daughter and grandchildren in Oregon. On Sunday, there was an hour to spare before the guests arrived for the Superbowl Party. I turned on CSpan and so began one of the most inspiring couple of hours that I have witnessed in a very long time. I think the closest was at the Women's March on Washington many years ago when I got the opportunity to watch Mollly Ivins, Anne Richards and Sara Weddington. This time, it was Caroline Kennedy, Oprah Winfrey, Michelle Obama and surprise, last minute guest, Maria Shriver.

Michelle Obama blew me away. What an amazing woman she is - smart, beautiful, strong, willing to say what is in her heart without wondering if it is politically expedient.

Oprah talking about being called a traitor for not endorsing Hillary and explaing that free women get to decide for themselves and even change their mind.

And Maria talking about the quote she has over her desk from Eleanor Roosevelt, that says everyday do something to scare yourself and how deciding to come and speak out today had been today's scary moment. And shes came without a fancy hairdo, makeup, jewelry, but to me, she looked beautiful because she came to share what was in her heart.

And Caroline Kennedy stepping out of her comfort zone to do what she overwhelmingly believed she must.

This is the group of women I believe can really make change happen because they know that change is about bringing empathy back to this country, measuring this nation on how we treat the weakest amongst us, and not on how much the rich can own. This is a group of women that can be great inspirational role models to the generation of young women and girls that will empower a strong country that can once again be a beacon of hope around the world.

Later that evening my daughter got an email from a woman she hadn't heard from in a long time crowing about this same event and how inspired she was to come back into the politlcal process that she had put aside many years ago.

I hope you will take the time to watch this amazing video. It's hard to find on the Internet but try this.

Today I was thrilled to see and hear and celebrate with the next generation of women who will stop making women stay in line through guilt and inspire them to go do their research and make the choice they feel is best for them - gender, race and party neutral. That's real power.

Gillian Parrillo
SacWomen

Posted by Gillian Parrillo at 8:42 AM | Permalink | Can you digg it? | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Here is the statement the New York chapter of NOW released after Senator Ted Kennedy endorsed Senator Obama:

Women have just experienced the ultimate betrayal. Senator Kennedy’s endorsement of Hillary Clinton’s opponent in the Democratic presidential primary campaign has really hit women hard. Women have forgiven Kennedy, stuck up for him, stood by him, hushed the fact that he was late in his support of Title IX, the ERA, the Family Leave and Medical Act to name a few. Women have buried their anger that his support for the compromises in No Child Left Behind and the Medicare bogus drug benefit brought us the passage of these flawed bills. We have thanked him for his ardent support of many civil rights bills, BUT women are always waiting in the wings.

And now the greatest betrayal! We are repaid with his abandonment! He’s picked the new guy over us. He’s joined the list of progressive white men who can’t or won’t handle the prospect of a woman president who is Hillary Clinton (they will of course say they support a woman president, just not “this” one). ‘They’ are Howard Dean and Jim Dean (Yup! That’s Howard’s brother) who run DFA (that’s the group and list from the Dean campaign that we women helped start and grow). They are Alternet, Progressive Democrats of America, democrats.com, Kucinich lovers and all the other groups that take women’s money, say they’ll do feminist and women’s rights issues one of these days, and conveniently forget to mention women and children when they talk about poverty or human needs or America’s future or whatever.

This latest move by Kennedy, is so telling about the status of and respect for women’s rights, women’s voices, women’s equality, women’s authority and our ability – indeed, our obligation - to promote and earn and deserve and elect, unabashedly, a President that is the first woman after centuries of men who ‘know what’s best for us.

The National Organization for Women has enormous respect and admiration for Sen. Edward Kennedy (D- Mass.). For decades Sen. Kennedy has been a friend of NOW, and a leader and fighter for women's civil and reproductive rights, and his record shows that. Though the National Organization for Women Political Action Committee has proudly endorsed Sen. Hillary Clinton for president, we respect Sen. Kennedy's endorsement. We continue to encourage women everywhere to express their opinions and exercise their right to vote.

Gillian Parrillo
SacWomen

Posted by Gillian Parrillo at 7:22 PM | Permalink | Can you digg it? | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

1. Must believe in evolution - this is non-negotiable. OK, Huckabee's out.

2. Must be able to bring the nation together to work on the many critical issues it now faces.
I imagine Day 1 in the Oval Office.

Who is flocking to offer unconditional help to Hillary?

Who is flocking to offer unconditional help to Obama?

OK, Hillary is out, too partisan.

And, I am concerned as to whether Hillary can control Bill. I am beginning to think he sees this as his 3rd term.

3. Must have expertise in international issues. OK, Guiliani is out, Romney is out.

4. Must be pro-choice because without it there is no basic respect for the intellect of women - OK, McCain is out.

And also because he thinks we might stay in Iraq for 100 years and warns there will be more wars. I want a President who doesn't see war as the first option, hardly as an option.

5. Must be able to sit down with all parties and bring out their desire for the common good versus each parties' individual good. OK, John Edwards is out. He's too mad at the corporations. So am I, but they will need to be part of the conversation.

6. Obama.

I knew the answer, all along.

Although as a lifelong feminist, I am sad that I am not going to be proudly voting for a woman for President.

But wouldn't it be great to be inspired again, to bring all people into the solution, to share again in what I believed America was, and for which I thought it so special, that day back in 1978 when I chose to become a citizen of the United States of America?

Gillian Parrillo
SacWomen

Posted by Gillian Parrillo at 2:44 PM | Permalink | Can you digg it? | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Remember all that talk about how young people are turned off by the voting process? Well, check out this heart-warming (and possibly result-changing) story in the Sacramento Bee written by Jocelyn Wiener, a wonderful reporter who continues to unearth important stories in South Sacramento and beyond:

A force of more than 100 teenagers knocked on the doors of grown-ups across Sacramento on Saturday, each delivering the same message: Vote.

The effort, which will be repeated again next Saturday, has twin agendas. In conjunction with Sacramento Area Congregations Together, the young people are trying to increase voter turnout in low-income neighborhoods where a small percentage of registered voters cast ballots in the last election.

Continue reading

Posted by Gillian Parrillo at 8:54 AM | Permalink | Can you digg it? | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

If you have vowed to get smart about what the candidates really think about issues important to you, your family and this country, check out what the democratic presidential candidates' positions are on reproductive health issues.

And consider joining a new initiative by Planned Parenthood, One Million Strong.

The goals of this campaign are to

identify, mobilize, and bring one million voters to the polls
elect a pro-choice president
win key Senate, Congressional, and legislative seats and ballot initiatives
enhance our lobbying efforts — at the national and state levels — with one million new activists

You can join up here

Gillian Parrillo
SacWomen

Posted by Gillian Parrillo at 12:01 PM | Permalink | Can you digg it? | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

When reproductive choice became the law of the land 35 years ago, it changed women's lives for ever. Many of us of a certain age remember well the horrors of the time before Roe vs. Wade.

But since that day, the law has been under constant attack, never more so than now.

If you, like most of us, want to keep abortion free, legal and rare, please put your efforts on changing these two items that will increase the number of women having to make decisions about an unintended pregnanacy:

Please contact your legislators and tell them that spending $178m on abstinence only sex education that has been proven not to work is not OK. Spend the money on proven methods - contraception for one.

And talking about contraception, check out a blog I wrote in November that has raised the price of birth control to unreachable levels. Senator Obama has entered a bill to restore and protect access to discount drug prices for university-based and safety-net clinics. And Senator Clinton is a co-sponsor. See they can get along on important issues related to women-reproductive health rights.

Gillian Parrillo
SacWomen

Posted by Gillian Parrillo at 8:25 AM | Permalink | Can you digg it? | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

A few years ago, I attended Reproductive Freedom Day with a friend. It was a wonderful day full of knowledgeable, inspirational speakers speaking on current reproductive issues. It provided many opportunities to meet activists from around the state. But the culmination of the day was the most challenging and worthwhile - actually lobbying members of the California legislature on women's reproductive issues.

This year the event takes place on Tuesday, March 25, 2008 at the Sacramento Convention Center. Register before February 14th for the early bird rate of $40. Now, that's a deal!

If you worry, as I do, that women are losing the rights they so desperately fought for and need, please make this event a priority.

You can learn more here.

Gillian Parrillo
SacWomen

Posted by Gillian Parrillo at 6:10 PM | Permalink | Can you digg it? | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Attend the West Coast premiere of Uncounted tonight at the Crest Theatre. Shows at 5:30PM or 8PM. Tickets are $10, or $8.50 for students or seniors. You can watch the trailer here.

You owe yourself to get educated. This movie has input from noted computer programmers, statisticians, journalists, and experienced election officials who provide startling, but logical facts about how easy it is to change election outcomes and undermine election integrity in the United States. Filmmaker David Earnhardt will be available to take questions at the event.

Gillian Parrillo
SacWomen

Posted by Gillian Parrillo at 7:09 AM | Permalink | Can you digg it? | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Courtesy: Seattle Post Intelligencer - David Horsey

Gillian Parrillo
SacWomen

Posted by Gillian Parrillo at 5:26 PM | Permalink | Can you digg it? | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Best analysis I read was from an unattributed reader of Andrew Sullivan's blog:

I am a 52 yr old, gay woman who is a resident of Illinois and who has enthusiastically supported Obama since he ran for State Senate. Iowa made me swoon and I looked forward to seeing the New Hampshire primary put the Clinton candidacy to bed. But, by Monday night, I was sputtering that "we are not electing Jesus here" and was appalled/furious at the undisguised and creepily malevolent glee that the talking heads (Fox bobbleheads/barbies and Chris Matthews deserve particular mention; and you, sir, [Andrew Sullivan] do not come out unscathed) were throwing up as "analysis" of the "Hillary meltdown" and of their frankly undisguised loathing of her. I thought it was sexist and so did every woman I know.

You dismissed the Steinem editorial as "old-line lefty". Newsflash: there were twenty copies of that editorial in my in-box before breakfast yesterday morning – all of them from women who are ardent Obama supporters. We remain Obama supporters and will work "until the last dog dies" (thanks, Hillary!) for his nomination. However, we are just about done with a media that cannot report, analyze or provide information on candidates without first filtering it through its self-aggrandizing, inside-the-beltway-fantasy- filter about what would provide a better election narrative. Okay, so much of the media does not like Hillary? Neither do I. They just have to stop with the comments about tears, wrinkles, brittleness, legs and her alleged cackle. I may not want to vote for her—but I have always respected her. Peggy Noonan was too-obviously thrilled to write that Obama "took Mama to school" in Iowa; looks to me like Mama took the country to school last night.

Great rundown, sums up exactly how I feel. Keep it up, media, and all of us guilty feminists (we know we should be voting for a woman for President. It's a culmination of our lifetime of work, but we just can't stretch to Hillary!) It won't take too much to push us over the edge...but we really don't want to go there!

Gillian Parrillo
SacWomen

Posted by Gillian Parrillo at 11:51 AM | Permalink | Can you digg it? | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Indeed, Obama, her chief rival, inspired our imaginations. But it was Clinton who inspired our confidence. Each time we met, she impressed us with her knowledge and her competence.

The times demand results. We believe as president she�ll do what she�s always done in her life: Throw herself into the job and work hard. We believe Hillary Rodham Clinton can do great things for our country.

But with McCain, Americans would know what they’re getting. He doesn’t parse words. And on tough calls, he usually lands on the side of goodness — of compassion for illegal immigrants, of concern for the environment for future generations.

The force of John McCain’s moral authority could go a long way toward restoring Americans’ trust in government and inspiring new generations to believe in the goodness and greatness of America.

You can read the whole Republican endorsement here

Gillian Parrillo
SacWomen

Posted by Gillian Parrillo at 1:03 AM | Permalink | Can you digg it? | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Oprah on the campaign trail:

"Experience in the hallways on government isn't as important to me as the pathway of life. So I challenge you to see through those people who try to convince you that experience with politics as usual in Washington is more valuable than 'wisdom' won from years of serving people outside the walls of Washington DC. We, the people, can see through all that rhetoric. We recognize that the amount of time that you spent in Washington means nothing unless you are accountable for the judgments you made with the time you had."

Three months ago, I wrote about Oprah's potential influence on the presidential election. And it's turning out to be huge and still there are those who, in my opinion, are underestimating her influence.

But now, I wonder, when will the dirty tricks start against Oprah? Notice, I don't say if, I say very deliberately when. And then I wonder how Oprah will handle it. These attacks, I am sure, will be more virulent than those she has had to deal with with previously.

My hat is off to Oprah. She is doing what each and everyone of us should be doing - refusing to watch our country be taken over by those who have no regard for the very fundamental values that made this such a special place to live. And she is doing it, hopefully, before it's too late.

Gillian Parrillo
SacWomen

Posted by Gillian Parrillo at 5:24 AM | Permalink | Can you digg it? | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Linda Chavez: Saudis need our reproach Its people, especially women, need a reasoned voice, says LINDA CHAVEZ

President Bush seemed at a loss for words last week when he was asked during a news conference if he would use his influence to help a Saudi rape victim who has drawn international attention. The young woman was raped 14 times by seven men and now faces her own imprisonment and 200 lashes in a sentence imposed by a Saudi court.

So what was the victim's "crime"? She happened to be in the company of a man who was not a close relative when she was attacked.

The president hemmed and hawed: "My first thoughts were these: What happens if this happened to my daughter? How would I react? And I would have been – I would have been – I'd have been very emotional, of course. I'd have been angry at those who committed the crime, and I'd be angry at a state that didn't support the victim."

When the reporter pressed him on whether he had raised the issue with Saudi King Abdullah in the last few weeks, the president demurred. "We'll have plenty of time. King Abdullah knows our position loud and clear."

No, Mr. President, he doesn't. The Saudi royals don't know what we think because we spend so much effort pretending that their country is a member of the family of nations like all others and that they are our allies in the fight against terrorism. No wonder they think they can violate the most basic human rights of their population with impunity, especially their women, so long as they are willing to sell us their bloody oil at whatever price they can extort.

You cannot respect a man you must lie to. The president would do the Saudi king, not to mention the Saudi people, a favor if he spoke honestly.

He should say to King Abdullah, "You cannot behave like barbarians and be treated like civilized people. A woman who has been viciously raped by common criminals should not be violated again by your courts. You appoint the Supreme Judicial Council. Now the council is punishing the victim's attorney for making her case public, threatening to disbar him. You know this is wrong. If you want my respect, then you must earn it."

Until the Saudis come face to face with the opprobrium they richly deserve, they will continue to flout common decency. The Saudis spend millions each year paying for slick ads in U.S. newspapers to convince Americans that their kingdom is a modern wonderland: beautiful, culturally rich and varied, a welcoming paradise to all who live and work there.

In reality, Saudi Arabia is a prison for its female population. Women may not travel outside their homes unless accompanied by a close male relative. They may not drive; they are subject to beatings by official religious police if they don't wear the abaya and veil; and they may not receive medical treatment without the permission of a male relative.

Their testimony in court is given only half the weight of a man's. Although women may study law and have recently been given licenses to practice law, they may not represent clients in court. Women may be divorced by their husbands without cause but must prove legally specified grounds if they wish to initiate a divorce. And divorced women lose custody of their children when their sons turn 7 and their daughters turn 9.

Nor is life in Saudi Arabia much better for many of its male foreign workers. Saudis import much of their labor from poor countries in South Asia, and many workers endure slave-like conditions, forced to work long hours with little pay while their employers hold their passports so they cannot leave the country.

The abuse of the rape victim, known only as the "Girl of Qatif," should shame the Saudi government. But it will only do so if the Saudi royal family is forced by the civilized world to account for the brutal society the House of Saud has created and rules. President Bush missed his opportunity to do so publicly this week. But it is not too late to do so quietly but directly. The fate of the "Girl of Qatif" could well turn on the president's intervention.

Linda Chavez is author of An Unlikely Conservative: The Transformation of an Ex-Liberal Her e-mail address is lchavez@ceousa .org.

Gillian Parrillo
SacWomen

Posted by Gillian Parrillo at 12:38 PM | Permalink | Can you digg it? | Comments (1) | TrackBacks (0)

One one hand:

British Prime Minister Gordon Brown has announced that Basra, the last Iraqi province under British control, will be handed back to Iraqi control within two weeks. 4,500 British troops are stationed there.

Mr Brown admitted that while not every difficulty had been overcome, great progress had been made. Government officials said that there had been a 90 per cent drop in violence in Basra since September, when troops withdrew from Basra Palace to the airport. However, MPs on the Commons Defence Select Committee have attributed this to the influence of Iranian-backed Shia militias and criminal gangs. (Courtesy: The Times)

On the other hand:

Religious vigilantes have killed at least 40 women this year in the southern Iraqi city of Basra because of how they dressed, their mutilated bodies found with notes warning against "violating Islamic teachings," the police chief said Sunday.

Maj. Gen. Jalil Khalaf blamed sectarian groups that he said were trying to impose a strict interpretation of Islam. They dispatch patrols of motorbikes or unlicensed cars with tinted windows to accost women not wearing traditional dress and head scarves, he added.

"The women of Basra are being horrifically murdered and then dumped in the garbage with notes saying they were killed for un-Islamic behavior," Khalaf told The Associated Press. He said men with Western clothes or haircuts are also attacked in Basra, an oil-rich city some 30 miles from the Iranian border and 340 miles southeast of Baghdad.

"Those who are behind these atrocities are organized gangs who work under cover of religion, pretending to spread the instructions of Islam, but they are far from this religion," Khalaf said.
(Courtesy: AP)

If 40 women have been murdered in the past year under British control of the region, will the women of Basra feel safer in the hands of the Iraqis? I wouldn't bet on it.

Murdering women in the name of religion is not new, but it is getting very old. And the British and US government's and even our own tacit support even older.

Gillian Parrillo
SacWomen

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SACRAMENTO (AP) The ACLU, AARP and other groups urged a state appeals court on Tuesday to strike down a portion of Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's workers' compensation reforms, saying it leads to discrimination against older workers and women.

The groups are challenging the use of asymptomatic medical conditions that often accompany aging to reduce benefits paid to workers for job-related injuries.

The workers' compensation overhaul that Schwarzenegger and employers pushed through the Legislature in April 2004 allowed use of those factors in determining how much of a disability was due to a work-related injury and not some other reason, the groups say.

The case before the 3rd District Court of Appeal involves Lois Vaira, a 76-year-old Sacramento woman who suffered a broken back in 2003 while working as a receptionist for the California Travel and Tourism Commission.

Her employer's insurer, the State Compensation Insurance Fund, reduced her workers' compensation benefits by 40 percent, claiming her loss of bone density because of osteoporosis made her more susceptible to injury.

Vaira said she hadn't had problems with her back before she broke it while putting together material for representatives of the commission to use in promoting California tourism. Since then she's been able to continue working, but the injury makes it tougher for her to do such things as household chores.

"That is very difficult,'' she said following a hearing before a three-judge panel.

Steve Hopcraft, a spokesman for the California Applicants' Attorneys Association, a group of lawyers who represent injured workers, said insurers can legally take into consideration a prior injury or condition that clearly affects the subsequent work-related disability.

But, under the 2004 law, they are reducing workers' comp benefits because of ``risk factors,'' such as hypertension in black men or bone density loss in women, Hopcraft said.

"That is brand new territory that we believe is clearly discriminatory and illegal,'' he added.

Brad Seligman, a Berkeley attorney representing the ACLU, AARP and several other groups supporting Vaira, said that penalizing her because she has osteoporosis is ``very much like saying that a pension agency can discriminate against women because they live longer than men.''

"If this plaintiff had been younger, she would have gotten more benefits,'' he said. ``If she had been a man, she would have gotten more benefits.''

But Leah Davis, an attorney representing the city of Los Angeles, which intervened in the case on the side of the State Compensation Insurance Fund, said employers and their insurers should only have to pay to cover the portion of the disability caused by the injury.

Men and younger women can also get osteoporosis, she said, although it's more prevalent in older women.

"What the Legislature wanted to do is make sure employers are only charged for the percentage of disability their employment actually caused,'' she said. ``If Ms. Vaira's disability was caused 40 percent by osteopenia or osteoporosis, then the employer should not be charged for that.''

A spokeswoman for Schwarzenegger, Sabrina Lockhart, said it was premature to comment on the case because it was still pending. But she said Schwarzenegger was proud of the 2004 legislation, "which has helped our economy by reducing workers' compensation premiums while still protecting injured workers.''

The case is Vaira v. Workers' Compensation Appeals Board, C054948.

Source: CBS5.com

Gillian Parrillo
SacWomen

Posted by Gillian Parrillo at 11:04 AM | Permalink | Can you digg it? | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Last year's Congress made a technical error writing a new law, and the cost of birth control in many clinics is rising to almost 900 percent of what it was just months ago. Women who were paying $5 to $10 per month are now paying $40 to $50 for birth control. For the college students and low-income women who will be affected by this cost hike, that's no small matter.

For 20 years, drug companies have made it possible for college health clinics and safety-net providers to purchase birth control at low prices in order to pass along the savings to the college students and low-income women who rely on them.

However, this fall, college women returned to campus to discover that the birth control that previously cost them $5-10 for a monthly supply now cost $40-50 per pack, making it far more difficult to afford. Due to a provision included in the Deficit Reduction Act (DRA), as of January 1, 2007, every college and university health center and hundreds of safety-net providers were unintentionally cut off from accessing low-cost birth control and passing on the low price to college women and low-income women. Skyrocketing prices are putting birth control out of reach for the college students and low-income women in need of family planning services to help them prevent unintended pregnancy.

Please ask your representative to co-sponsor the Prevention Through Affordable Access Act, legislation that would make a technical fix to the DRA and restore safety-net and university clinics' ability to access low-cost contraceptives. This legislation would not cost either the federal government or state Medicaid agencies. It would merely allow drug manufacturers to offer deeply discounted prices to safety net health care providers.

You can send an automated response by accessing the Planned Parenthood website. Source: Planned Parenthood

Gillian Parrillo
SacWomen

Posted by Gillian Parrillo at 8:25 AM | Permalink | Can you digg it? | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Remember all those dire warnings you have heard from industry groups about how California is losing numerous jobs because of its hostile business climate. Remember how the Governor refused to sign many bills that were considered to be additive to this hostile business climate. Well, it's all nonsense. A great scam by corporations to limit regulation, avoid taxation and limit benefits to employees while making us afraid. Oh, that fear thing again. Be afraid, very afraid, that all the jobs will move out of California because it is so hostile to companies and you won't have a place to work.

The real truth, according to a report written by the Public Policy Institute of California - during the last 15 years, California lost 11,000 jobs out of the 18 million it has. Sacramento was actually had a gain of 15,000 due to companies moving to the area from other California regions. That's 0.06%. It's a rounding error.

Let's get educated and then we won't be afraid anymore.

Read the report and read a more detailed explanation of the report on my other blog

Gillian Parrillo
SacWomen

Posted by Gillian Parrillo at 8:00 AM | Permalink | Can you digg it? | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Couldn't have said it better myself:

It's hard to be a Democrat, don't you think? There's no alternative, of course, but it's hard....It's especially hard to remember that the real enemies are the Republicans, when the Democrats tend to break your heart and the Republicans are just the boys you'd never go out with anyway.

Read the whole post by Nora Ephron. It's worth it!

Gillian Parrillo
SacWomen

Posted by Gillian Parrillo at 8:56 AM | Permalink | Can you digg it? | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Congratulations to Cristina Fernández Kirchner who on December 10th will take office as the first President of Argentina. It will also be the first time that a current President hands over his office to his wife (after a democratic vote).

Joining her on the platform after her speech was Ségolène Royal, France’s defeated presidential candidate, who reportedly told her how great it was that Argentinians were more intelligent than the French in voting for a woman.

So, do you think that Americans are more like the Argentinians or the French? I guess we will find out in a little more than a year.

Largest non-voting block in the 2004 elections - 20 million unmarried women. Please spread the word to every women you know to register to vote. It's easy. Don't believe it, watch this video.

Free entry to an upcoming SacWomen event for the first 5 women who provide me proof that they have registered to vote from this date forward. Email me at Gillian@SacramentoExecutive.com. Let's talk.

Gillian Parrillo
SacWomen.com

Posted by Gillian Parrillo at 10:41 AM | Permalink | Can you digg it? | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Let's stop treating violence against women as just a woman's issue. Whether it's hundreds of thousands of women being brutalized in the United States and around the world, or just a single friend whose boyfriend took advantage of her one night - when a woman is attacked on account of her gender, it is a human rights issue. And so long as it continues, the conscience of our nation cannot rest.

You can read the op-ed piece he wrote for the Chicago Defender on this issue here.

Gillian Parrillo
SacWomen

Posted by Gillian Parrillo at 3:34 PM | Permalink | Can you digg it? | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

What is the Global Gag Rule and why should I care about it?

You can visit the League of Women Voter's take action page, input your zip code, and with one click you can send an email or a personal letter to each of your elected representatives. It couldn't be easier and it couldn't be more important. The timeframe is short to provide your input.

Get Smart and Vote. Or are we going to let a small minority control whether poor women around the world can have access to contraceptives and poor men to condoms?

Gillian Parrillo
SacWomen

Posted by Gillian Parrillo at 9:27 AM | Permalink | Can you digg it? | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Something very exciting is happening in politics these days. Women are making political contributions in unprecedented numbers. Experts are unsure as to why: the presence of the first viable female candidate for president, anger over the Iraqi war, or just a deep seated desire by women for something completely different. But for whatever reason, data shows that more than half of the contributions to Senator Clinton and Senator Obama came from women, compared to previous campaigns, where women provided 28% of political donations source: Women's Campaign Forum). (Note: because men still write larger checks, they still win in the absolute amount raised - 56%).

May this be an election where women open their eyes to the truth, fill their brains with real facts, donate to the candidate they believe will represent their best interests, and VOTE.

It truly is up to us to change this country and this world for the better.

Gillian Parrillo
SacWomen

Posted by Gillian Parrillo at 7:23 AM | Permalink | Can you digg it? | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Today I received another note re the SacWomen meeting of last week. I am so thrilled as to what an impact the meeting and the blog are having!

The attendee wrote, in part:

I am strongly in favor of a woman's right to choose. I consider it a function of personal, religious or moral freedom and a matter of personal privacy and a basic human right to govern one's own body. From your blog I went via the hyperlink to the Guttmacher report on abortion. Very enlightening. I have always hated the conservative policies that limit access to contraceptives and abortion counseling both in the U.S. and via our overseas aid. This just verifies the wrongheadedness of that policy. So thank you for being my conduit to this information. I'll be sharing it broadly.

Please keep the comments coming!

Gillian Parrillo
SacWomen

Posted by Gillian Parrillo at 7:17 AM | Permalink | Can you digg it? | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Four women - Condoleezza Rice, Karen Hughes, Laura Bush and Nancy Pelosi. All deferring to local custom by wearing some form of a hijab. One woman is lambasted, pillaried and otherwise demeaned for doing so.

Can you pick which one? Can you come up with any plausible explanation which isn't entirely political? If you can, please send your comments. Otherwise, I will be continue to be in awe of the right wing spin machine.

Gillian Parrillo
SacWomen

Posted by Gillian Parrillo at 7:55 AM | Permalink | Can you digg it? | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Monday night I was watching Dancing With The Stars. (Disclaimer: I have never watched this series before and I have never watched any like program before but, being that I live in Dallas, Mark Cuban, owner of the Dallas Mavericks, needs all the help he can get).

The panel of judges is made up of two men and a woman, Carrie Ann Inaba. Popular star Jane Seymour and her partner finish their dance and Carrie Ann points out that, against the rules, the couple had a lift in their presentation. The audience yowls, the two male judges yowl and Jane and her partner vehemently deny it. And they all proceed to villify Carrie Ann. "Oh, you have that schoolmarm look," says one of the hosts. Twice more during the evening, Carrie Ann spies lifts and raises the issue and again, she gets nothing but grief and absolutely no support from the two other judges. And this despite the fact that the video clearly shows that the lifts were there and they were indeed against the rules.

Welcome to Corporate America - where the women are told the rules, attempt to follow and enforce the rules and then get made fun of for doing so. We are made out to be big bitches (I guess I can say that, it's my blog) with no sense of humor. Small minded, petty. Wink, wink, nod, nod among the men.

I can't even tell you the number of times that I insisted that the rules be followed and got left high and dry. The worst time was at a rewards trip in Hawaii when one of our senior executives continued to make a series of sexist and racists remarks when addressing the salesforce, despite being warned not to at a break. Being the most senior women in attendance (when wasn't I, there were so few of us then), I confronted him directly. He denied doing anything wrong and walked away. For the rest of the week I was person non grata - no one in management spoke to me. But, by the end of the week, the legal department had suggested that the company was on thin ground and the executive was made to get up before the assembled crowd and apologize. For months I was sure I would lose my job over the incident (embarassing a senior executive with my schoolmarmish ways!), but eventually it passed.

Back to Dancing with the Stars. Last night the show began by showing three sets of dancers that had broken the rules and a statement by the host that from now on the rules must be adhered to or the dancers will lose points. No apology to Carrie Ann. But then, that's the way it usually goes. They eventually comply but they never say sorry.

I wish I knew the answer. I just think it is in women's nature to follow the rules. I guess when you join a company try to sit back a little and see if the rules they tell you are really the rules that get enforced.

Gillian Parrillo
SacWomen

Posted by Gillian Parrillo at 7:21 AM | Permalink | Can you digg it? | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

On Monday, President Bush appointed Susan Orr to oversee federal family planning programs at the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). Orr, who is currently directing HHS child welfare programs, was touted by the administration as “highly qualified.”

But a look at Orr’s record shows that her strongest qualifications appear to be her right-wing credentials and endorsement of the Bush administration’s failed abstinence-only policies. Before joining HHS, Orr served as senior director for marriage and family care at the conservative Family Research Council and was an adjunct professor at Pat Robertson’s Regent University.

Some highlights:

– In a 2001, Orr embraced a Bush administration proposal to “stop requiring all health insurance plans for federal employees” to cover a broad range of birth control. “We’re quite pleased, because fertility is not a disease,” said Orr.

– At the 2001 Conservative Political Action Conference, Orr cheered Bush’s endorsement of Reagan’s “Mexico City Policy,” which required NGOs receiving federal funds to “neither perform nor actively promote abortion as a method of family planning in other nations.” Orr said that it was proof Bush was pro-life “in his heart.”

– In a 2000 Weekly Standard article, Orr railed against requiring health insurance plans to cover contraceptives. “It’s not about choice,” said Orr. “It’s not about health care. It’s about making everyone collaborators with the culture of death.”

– Orr authored a paper in 2000 titled, “Real Women Stay Married.” In it she wrote that women should “think about focusing our eyes, not upon ourselves, but upon the families we form through marriage.”

As Steve Benen notes, the office of family planning carries tremendous importance. Orr will “oversee HHS’s $283 million reproductive-health program, a $30 million program that encourages abstinence among teenagers, and HHS’s Office of Population Affairs, which funds birth control, pregnancy tests, counseling, and screenings for sexually transmitted diseases and HIV.”

Last year, President Bush appointed Eric Keroack to oversee the office. Keroack had previously worked for a Christian pregnancy counseling group that opposes contraception. He stepped down in March over ethical problems.
From: Think Progress

Every reasonable study shows that abstinence-only education doesn't work. Here's one to check from UPI. It's time to stop letting incompetents with narrow, biased and dangerous agendas move into positions of power in this country. If you are as disgusted as I am, scream. You, indeed, are the deciders (if you vote!)

Gillian Parrillo
SacWomen

Posted by Gillian Parrillo at 1:13 PM | Permalink | Can you digg it? | Comments (1) | TrackBacks (0)

What on earth has this country come to when a women and a mother makes the following statement and it gets censored from the broadcast. “If mothers ruled the world, there wouldn’t be any god-damned wars in the first place." That's what happened to Emmy winner Sally Field last night as she gave her acceptance speech at the Emmy Awards Ceremony.

Watch the uncensored version yourself....and demand that media that shows the most despicable TV programs - Temptation Island anyone? - might want to uphold First Amendment free speech rights.

I too believe that having equal participation of women and mothers and grandmothers would quickly slow the rush to war.

Gillian Parrillo
SaWomen

Posted by Gillian Parrillo at 11:31 AM | Permalink | Can you digg it? | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Could it actually be ten years ago that you died? I was in a hotel in France when I turned on the TV very early in the morning. Trying to figure out what had happened with my limited French from the French commentary was very frustrating. Diana has died, will die, might die, could die, should die. In fact, she had died - tragically in a tunnel chased by the paparazzi.

Oh what fun we had when you were alive. I brought a TV into my office the day of the wedding and all of us sat around transfixed by the pageantry. Little did we know, nor did you, that the wedding was a hoax and Charles' love and devotion belonged elsewhere. And then, the famous interview, where, with thick black eyeliner, you came off exactly as you planned, the tragic wife, abandoned by a callous husband and his cruel family. Oh, how we all hated Charles, and the rest of them. And then the mourning that just wouldn't end when you died. The Queen reviled by her usually loyal British subjects. The Queen, for once, not knowing what to do. The sweet young girl with the peaches and cream complexion and shy look, but you made them all sit up and take notice of you in the end.

Today, there will be a memorial service held in London. All members of the Royal Family will be in attendance, except one - Camilla Parker Bowles, Prince Charles' wife. Invited, ostensibly by the two Princes, with a plan for her to sit on the front row with Charles and Diana's two sons, there was such a howl of fury by the British public, that eventually Camilla pulled out and will be 'out of town'.

As Diana explained it during her famous TV interview shortly after the breakup of her marriage, "There were three of us in this marriage, so it was a bit crowded." Well, Diana, there will be plenty of space today - just Charles and your two sons! Guess you got the last laugh.

Gillian Parrillo
SacWomen

Posted by Gillian Parrillo at 12:34 AM | Permalink | Can you digg it? | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Today I was reading a blurb in the newspaper about John Edwards and HillaryClinton attending Lance Armstrong's Livestrong Foundation's meeting in Cedar Rapids, IA. Edwards continued to chide Clinton for taking donations from health care industry lobbyists. He explained that while Hillary believed in 'giving them a seat at the table', he believed that if you did, they would eat all the food.

While I genuinely like John Edwards and I have reservations about the genuineness of Hillary (which I feel very guilty about in that I should be ecstatic about supporting a women for President, finally!), I agree with Hillary on this one. As a leader, you have to reach out and hear all sides of the issue, but at the end of the day, you have to be strong enough to equitably pass out the 'food'. I think this is a wonderful example of the different way that women and men negotiate. Unlike men, for women, it's not all or nothing, it's about being equitable. Does that mean that you might end up with a less stacked outcome? Yes. But it also means that alot more of the parties will feel a part of the plan and therefore have a personal stake in its positive outcome.

Gillian Parrillo
Sacwomen.com

Posted by Gillian Parrillo at 5:39 PM | Permalink | Can you digg it? | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Watch CNN's documentary, "God's Warriors" - a 3-part series that shows how religious zealotry don't only exist in the Middle East. It's alive and well right here in this country too. Religion is being used to obfuscate the underlying political power grabs around the world I think this is one of the most (only?) hard-hitting pieces of journalism I have seen on commercial TV for a very long time. Great job, Christiane Amanpour. I am looking forward to the next two parts.

Gillian Parrillo
Sacwomen

Posted by Gillian Parrillo at 10:08 PM | Permalink | Can you digg it? | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

I read almost every day The Daily Dish, a blog by Andrew Sullivan, a conservative, a Brit and openly gay. I don't often agree with his conservative views, but I appreciate the breadth of his work, the international views and the fairness of his different takes on subjects important to me. (I.e., only rarely do I get so mad that I have to send an email calling him to task!) Today I really liked this take on Hillary as President:

I had another illicit thought about Hillary the other night. Yes, I was the worse for wear, so take this for what it's worth. I was thinking: however awful it would be to have Hillary as president, wouldn't the fact of a woman running the most powerful country on earth piss off the Islamists in all the right ways? Her appointing her own husband - an ex-president no less - to a lesser position would also tick the mullahs off. How better to tell those sexist pigs what we stand for? That's where my thoughts were. Maybe I should have left them where I found them. But what else is a blog for?

Gillian Parrillo
SacWomen

Photo credit: Fox News

Posted by Gillian Parrillo at 9:28 PM | Permalink | Can you digg it? | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Missouri passed a law in the last few hours of the 2007 legislative session that (among other things):

Abolishes the current requirement that sex-education programs in Missouri public schools include "the latest medically factual information regarding both the possible side effects and health benefits of all forms of contraception,” and allows school districts to opt instead for “abstinence-only” programs that Congress and several states have found to be ineffective in preventing sexual activity, pregnancy, and STDs.

Requires abortion providers' facilities to comply with new regulations that are vastly more expensive to maintain which will almost certainly mean that centers have to close and there will be fewer and less convenient options for women.

In Ohio, an even worse bill is moving through the legislative process. No abortions can be provided unless the women receives the consent of the father. If she is in doubt as to the father, she must provide results of a paternity test, even if it means testing multiple suspects. If she is raped, she must provide a police report. If she is pregnant due to incest, she must provide paternity test results. If she is found to have wrongly provided information about father, she is guilty of a misdemeanor, the second time is a felony. And the same applies to the guy who agreed to go along with the cover.

Watch out, little by little we are losing our right to determine the best use of our bodies. As Anne Richards so clearly pointed out, when women lose their ability to choose if and when to have children, they very negatively effect their career. Less women with careers, less women with money, less women with power. That is absolutely what this is all about. If it was really about the fetuses, then there wouldn't be 514,000 children in foster care in America and only 10% adopted. It takes all of us to stand up and say enough is enough.

Gillian Parrillo
SacWomen

Posted by Gillian Parrillo at 12:18 PM | Permalink | Can you digg it? | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

GQ has named the 50 Most Powerful People in DC and 2 women are in the top 5. In fact, Condoleeza Rice, Secretary of State, tops the list - "“Her power derives from her relationship with the president.” Nancy Pelosi, Speaker of the House, holds the number 5 slot. Harry Reid, Majority Leader, is second, followed by Robert Gates, Secretary of Defense, and then Sacramento native, Supreme Court Judge Anthony Kennedy at 4. One more woman in the top 10, Hillary Clinton, Senator, at number 8. So 3 women in the top 10.

As the list progresses, women's appearances get sparser. Dana Priest, the Washington Post reporter who most recently broke the story about the horrifying conditions at Walter Reid is at number 26. Susan Glasser, an Assistant Managing Editor at the Washington Post at number 39. Isabelle Goetz, a hairdresser at Cristophe Salon who is said to be remarkably discreet, comes in at number 45. Susan McCuee at 47th was formerly chief of staff for Harry Reid and now President and CEO of the One Campaign. Yes, that's the charity started by Bono. And rounding out the list at number 49, Nancy Jacobson, Democratic fundraiser and socialite. "She is known for the high-octane cerebral salons at her spectacular home in Georgetown. "

Ten in the top 50....we have a way to go to get our voices heard on an equal basis.

Gillian Parrillo
SacWomen

Posted by Gillian Parrillo at 6:31 AM | Permalink | Can you digg it? | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

From Women's enews

On Aug. 26 U.S. women mark the 87th anniversary of the 19th Amendment giving them the right to vote. By some measures there is plenty to celebrate.

Women have turned out to vote at a higher rate than men since the 1980s.

In the 2006 midterm election 2 million more young women voted than in the previous comparable cycle, according to the Center for Information and Research on Civic Learning and Engagement at the University of Maryland School of Public Policy, which credits the rise in part to the Feminist Majority Foundation's "Get Out Her Vote" effort aimed at college women.
Source: www.Barbaracorcoran.com

Moreover, 55 percent of female voters cast their ballots for Democrats in House races, while only 50 percent of male voters did. In fact, female voters were responsible for key Democratic victories in the House and the Senate.

However, those figures do not reflect the fact that many women's votes are missing from the count.

In the last presidential election, 8 million women registered but did not vote; another 36 million potential female voters were not registered at all, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.

Don't be one of those 8 million women. We need to have an active voice in the direction of our country. Women have different perspectives oftentimes than men. Not to generalize, but they are more nuturing, more thoughtful of others, less likely to shoot first and ask questions later. Starting right now, go find your voter registration card, or get on line, or call the Secretary of State's office and make sure you are registered, under the proper name and up-to-date address. And when you have made sure you are all set, then go bug your friends, your colleagues, your book club members, and anyone else you can think of. Then it's time to get involved with a local group that works to get people registered to vote. The upcoming election is too important to skip, for anyone.

Gillian Parrillo
Sacwomen

Posted by Gillian Parrillo at 2:02 PM | Permalink | Can you digg it? | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)