The Political Voices of Women

While the US may be moving one step closer to health care reform with the passage of the Baucus Bill by the Senate Finance Committee, it is clear that a very important element in the health care discussion is being overlooked. What is making Americans so sick?

Health care costs wouldn’t be so high and there wouldn’t be so much concern about the cost of a public health care plan if so many Americans weren’t so sick.

Right?

On Monday, the New York Times reported on the hundreds of thousands of gallons of toxic waste being dumping into the nation’s water supply by coal-fired power plants. In the article, “Cleansing the Air at the Expense of the Waterways“, Charles Duhigg reported:

“For years, residents here complained about the yellow smoke pouring from the tall chimneys of the nearby coal-fired power plant, which left a film on their cars and pebbles of coal waste in their yards. Five states — including New York and New Jersey — sued the plant’s owner, Allegheny Energy, claiming the air pollution was causing respiratory diseases and acid rain.

So three years ago, when Allegheny Energy decided to install scrubbers to clean the plant’s air emissions, environmentalists were overjoyed. The technology would spray water and chemicals through the plant’s chimneys, trapping more than 150,000 tons of pollutants each year before they escaped into the sky.

But the cleaner air has come at a cost. Each day since the equipment was switched on in June, the company has dumped tens of thousands of gallons of waste water containing chemicals from the scrubbing process into the Monongahela River, which provides drinking water to 350,000 people and flows into Pittsburgh, 40 miles to the north.

‘It’s like they decided to spare us having to breathe in these poisons, but now we have to drink them instead,’ said Philip Coleman, who lives about 15 miles from the plant and has asked a state judge to toughen the facility’s pollution regulations. ‘We can’t escape.’

Even as a growing number of coal-burning power plants around the nation have moved to reduce their air emissions, many of them are creating another problem: water pollution. Power plants are the nation’s biggest producer of toxic waste, surpassing industries like plastic and paint manufacturing and chemical plants, according to a New York Times analysis of Environmental Protection Agency data.”

If the air pollution caused by coal-fired plants has already been linked to chronic asthma and COPD, just imagine the result of ingesting large quantities of the same toxins in your drinking water.

In an article for Care2.com, Melissa Breyer reported on the link between pesticides and Parkinson’s Disease.

A study by eminent oncologists Dr. Leonard Hardell and Dr. Mikael Eriksson of Sweden concludes that there is a link between “the world’s biggest selling herbicide, glyphosate (commonly known as Roundup, marketed by Monsanto), to non-Hodgkins lymphoma, a form of cancer.”

The following video clip is from the documentary “The World According to Monsanto” which took an in-depth look into the bio-chemical companies impact on agriculture, the environment and health.

And while we’re discussing Monsanto we certainly can’t forget their efforts to bury the truth about rBGH (bovine growth hormone) in milk.

There are many, many more instances of links between toxic waste and disease but I think that you get the picture.

Corporations have been dumping toxins in the water, air and food supply with impunity. The American public has grown sicker which has in turn driven up health care costs. Health care insurers are profiting from this illness. And now the corporate lobbyists and insurance industry spin machine are waging a full scale assault on health care reform.

Dear Members of Congress and President Obama,

if you really want to reform health care please take a comprehensive approach to this problem. How can you not pass health care reform with a public option when the government agencies which were supposed to protect the environment, agriculture and public health have failed us so miserably.

The previously cited New York Time article shows that the Riverhead International Coal Plant in Macon GA has been cited for 124 violations, paid $0 in fines and hasn’t been inspected since 1979. 1979 – 30 years ago.

Let the teabaggers and birthers rant, rave and spread lies about “death panels” but don’t give in to the insanity.

Americans can diet, exercise, visit the doctor and take all the pills we want. But if the biochemical and power industries continue to poision the air, water & food, we will grow sicker and sicker. Health care costs will both bankrupt consumers and increase the federal deficit. And in the end, we will die. Those without health care coverage will just die much quicker.

Congress must pass health care with a public option and if you want to reduce costs take on the corporations that have contributed to this crisis. Fine them. Shame them if you have to. Expose them for the greedy, heartless profiteers that they have become.

How dare Wellpoint sue the State of Maine to ensure that it is guaranteed a profit!

Enough is enough.

originally posted on Pam’s Coffee Conversation

Hi everybody.  GREAT NEWS!  Me and my daughter are going to the Barack Obama & Hillary Clinton Rally, in Orlando tomorrow.  We both have press passes to cover the rally.  Woo-hoo!  How cool is that?

We will be live blogging and hopefully getting some video interviews from the press room.

The rally doesn’t start until 6pm, but, I plan on posting some of the “behind the scenes” stuff, throughout the day.  This is the first time I am doing anything like this, so I’m not 100% sure what to expect.

Oh, and even though I’m somewhat new to the Twittering thing, I’ll be doing that too.   You can tweet me at…

http://twitter.com/catherinemorgan

Maybe, if we’re lucky, we’ll get a chance to meet Barack Obama or Hillary Clinton.  Either way, it’s gonna be quite the mother/daughter adventure.  Well…That’s it for now, come back tomorrow and see how we’re making out. 

There are some conservatives who want John McCain to “take the gloves off” and fight Barack Obama like there is no tomorrow. There are some conservatives who are furious that he isn’t going after Obama with something akin to saturation bombing.  Let’s be honest here.  These are the johnny come lately conservatives who are only supporting McCain because he chose Sarah Palin for VP.  Then there are the non-Republican conservatives who pretend to be Republican to make as much trouble as possible.  They don’t even like Palin.  These are the conservatives who don’t want a Republican to win under any circumstances.  As usual, they are making as much mischief as possible.

The johnny come lately conservatives who are supporting John McCain becasue of Sarah Palin, don’t understand him.  Because they aren’t ‘students’ or fans of John McCain they neither understand nor appreciate the honor of the man.  They don’t realize that John McCain is behaving like John McCain.  There are no excuses.  There is nothing hidden below the surface.  There is only the honor of John McCain.  Those who cannot appreciate the fact that McCain would rather lose with honor than be victorious with dishonor, don’t understand the very nature of the man.

This is the real John McCain.  He will never back down from a fight.  He has always fought with honor.  If you don’t realize this, go back and look at his time as a POW in North Vietnam.  The honor he displayed as a tortured prisoner of war is the same honor that will not allow dishonorable attacks on Barack Obama.  It’s that simple.  He has displayed this honor all of his life.  Why stop and compromise now?

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President Bill Clinton in Richmond…

Clinton Stumps for Obama…

President Clinton campaigned for Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama in Roanoke on Sunday evening, exciting a crowd of thousands with his praise for Obama’s commitment to policy change.

At the outdoor rally at the City Market in downtown Roanoke, Clinton said that Obama had the instincts to be president, citing his plans for financial recovery and proposals for health care reform.

“Barack Obama and Joe Biden are going to win here on Election Day with your help,” Clinton said. “For the first time in 40 years, Virginia will be a Democratic state. We have a chance to fundamentally change the direction of the country.”

Hillary Clinton in Scranton with Joe Biden…

Here is a guest post from community member Marcia G. Yerman, who also blogs at The Huffington Post.

[If you would like to be a guest blogger on The Political Voices of Women, just join our community, and start posting.]

New York City – On Sunday, September 21, Women for Obama held a press conference on the steps of City Hall. Arriving early, after navigating the security point guarding the government edifice (referred to by one official as “the house of the people”), I had a chance to interview some of those who had been invited to attend.

In contrast to the narrative that has been promulgated about disgruntled Hillary supporters, the women I conversed with had moved on without trauma. Martha Baker, a consultant on work/family issues, was sporting a button that announced, Hillary Supports Obama, So Do I. “He’s our candidate,” she told me. One of the forces behind the Women For Parity website, which began as “Hillary Voices,” she referenced viewing “the campaigns through a women’s issues prism.”

Carol Greenman, a retired medical administrator and Hillary turned Obama advocate said, “I’m scared to death of another Republican administration.” For her, the major questions were the future of the Supreme Court, and how life would be for her five grandchildren in a country that could be shaped by McCain-Palin ideology.

Grandmothers, ranging in age from 62 – 77, were out in force. Worried about the path that faces the younger generation, members of Grandmothers Against the War and the Granny Peace Brigade were quite vocal about their apprehensions.

Diane Dreyfus, a retired architect and activist (Code Pink) since 2001, was wearing a “We Will Not Be Silent” shirt with Arabic, Hebrew, and English writing. Asked about Sarah Palin she shuddered, “She’s frightening. If she can gut a moose in five seconds, imagine what she can do to health and welfare.”

Actress Kathleen Turner, a featured spokesperson, related to me her commitment to the Obama candidacy. She pronounced her mission as, “Whatever I can do.” Chair of the Planned Parenthood Federation of America Board of Advocates, Turner has testified before Congress on Title X (family planning program), and on the Equity of Prescription Insurance Contraception Coverage Act.

Behind those charged with addressing press and supporters, was a phalanx of women with a set of diverse signs…Nurses for Obama, Latinos for Obama, Put Children First, and Don’t Vote Race – Don’t Vote Gender – Vote Intelligence.

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Here is a guest post by community member Zatfig Redhead from The Zatfig Redhead’s Blog

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Barack Obama has just had a particularly good week with the ladies. In fact, it was a noticeably big week for women’s endorsements for the Obama campaign. Can you say “gender gap?” I knew you could. In a week that saw Republican VEEP candidate Sarah Palin’s approval rating drop precipitously, these activities aimed at women voters well timed.

First, a group of women’s organizations — those few that have PACs and thus can endorse without jeopardizing their precious non-profit status — endorsed the junior senator from Illinois. Prominently featured was the still-not-as-happy-as-they-could-be NOW, who joined their shero Hillary Clinton in saying “no way, no how, no McCain.” Other groups included the Feminist Majority with the ever colorful Ellie Smeal, the Business & Professional Women/USA, the National Congress of Black Women, and the National Association of Social Workers. Watch portions of the press event here:

But the real coup de grace in my mind was this week’s Obama endorsement from Lilly Ledbetter. The plaintiff of Ledbetter v. Goodyear fame headlined the Democratic National Convention in Denver, and on September 18 made it official — she’s for Obama, in a big way. Ledbetter made the announcement at a series of events in the critical state of Virginia, and was treated like a rock star by adoring crowds. The New York Times has referred to Ledbetter as “the Democrats secret weapon,” and they may be right.

Take a look at this ad featuring Ledbetter, below, just released this past week — she’s a humble grandmother from Alabama who packs a punch, and women nationwide are cheering her on. Why? Because her experiences are so familiar, so universal to us all, and she’s speaking up and trying to change things for future generations — despite the fact that her own case is closed. Now, the Democratic Senate needs to do the right thing by Ledbetter’s vocal support and national advocacy and pass the Ledbetter Fair Pay Act. The House has already passed this critical bill that would right the Supreme Court’s FUBAR handling of the Ledbetter case. However, the legislation is currently stuck in a defacto Senate filibuster on the more pompous, ponderous side of the Hill. But if we can get more Dems elected to the Senate — and inch our way closer to that magic number of 60 — I predict the Ledbetter bill will be one of the first bills signed by an Obama Administration.

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Here is a post by community member Lindsay Ross from Young, Political & Fabulous.

[If you would like to be a guest blogger on The Political Voices of Women, just join our community, and start posting.]

One of the many blatant hypocrisies that has stood out for me during this election is the fact that Hillary Clinton and Sarah Palin supporters, who are so quick to cry sexism, remain silent when seemingly sexist connotations are assigned to Michelle Obama.

Most recently, Bill O’Reilly stated, “Now, I have a lot of people who call me on the radio and say she looks angry. And I have to say there’s some validity to that. She looks like an angry woman.” I wouldn’t be surprised that if such a description was attributed to Clinton or Palin, supporters would assert that there’s a double standard that women who are smart, serious and professional are considered “angry.” Not to mention that such a statement seems completely untrue. At most appearances, Michelle is either smiling or serious – and certainly does not come off as an “angry woman.” What’s more, the Fox News’ characterization of Michelle Obama as “Obama Baby Mama” in June was also met with radio silence from the feminist community. But why?

Could it be that the intersection of race and gender just gets too hairy and so the battle is best left alone? The “Obama Baby Mama” comment is soaked in both sexist and racist connotations and perhaps many supporters of Clinton and Palin would rather avoid a subject where racism plays a role. It is clear that some republicans are trying to associate Michelle with pejorative images that are specific to African-American females. They would like to perpetuate the image of the “angry black woman” to instill hatred and fear in small-minded people – much like Ronald Reagan tried to do with the image of the “welfare queen” during his presidential campaign.

Or are we dealing with that aged-old taboo question from the Suffragist Movement that Women’s Rights has always been an exclusively white middle class woman phenomenon and black women are rarely invited to the dinner table? Such a question reemerged during the primary election, when Geraldine Ferraro asserted that; “Gender is the most restricting force in American life.” It is a zero-sum game to try to quantify sexism, racism or any other “ism” for that matter, but many women of color shuttered when they heard this comment. It brought back the fears that women of color and black women in particular have always been on the sidelines when it comes to fighting for equal rights for women and that they are virtually ignored when sexist comments are hurled their way.

Here is a guest post from community member Marcella Peralta Simon.

[If you would like to be a guest blogger on The Political Voices of Women, just join our community, and start posting.]

I just heard a brilliant commentary by Michel Martin of NPR. She decries the patriarchal and patronizing attitude of Democratic leadership toward Sarah Palin. For all my dislike of her and her policies, I would be the first to admit that she is a smart and capable politician- any woman that can climb through the male bastion of electoral politics has got a few tricks up her sleeve, not to mention some grit and drive. I recall several people who know her saying that it is risky to underestimate her, and I believe them.

Therefore, it scares me to hear that Obama has decided to ignore her and concentrate on issues and the top of the ticket. In the meantime, he is losing white women, who identify with her, and white men, who are not threatened by her, as they were with Hillary. Of course, you still have a double standard which Sarah Palin knows and uses full well to her advantage – people do not like to see a man “beating up” on a woman but they do enjoy a woman, if she is sufficiently feminine, being tough on a man.

So again I say call a press conference with top female democratic politicians, send out the ads with working mothers talking to working mothers about what is important to them (from the heart) and for heaven’s sake treat women (and Sarah) with respect- or it will come back to bite you. Hillary knows this and that is why she refuses to be the “attack dog”, she does not want to lose her constituency for 2012.

Here is a post from our newest community member Anita S. Lane.  You can read more from Anita at her blog Unconventional Politics.

[If you would like to be a guest blogger on The Political Voices of Women, just join our community, and start posting.]

I’m a firm believer that we as women can “have it all”—just not at the same time. I’ve said it often to women I know. But now I’m wondering if the emergence of Governor Sarah Palin onto the national scene has debunked that theory.

Whether you like her or not, Governor Sarah Palin is a bold example of one woman who has shown courage and fortitude. She is one woman—unlike most—who thought she could hold elected office, maintain her marriage and raise her growing family at the same time. Remarkably, she has managed to do just that.

I’ve heard the reports of Governor Palin—back at work three days after delivering her fifth baby with him nestled under her desk—or how she would campaign door-to-door with her young children in tow. This may seem inappropriate to some, but it definitely shows her determination and commitment to her role as public servant.

I know Sarah Palin is not the first political mom in the spotlight. Hillary Clinton has also inspired millions as a mom and First Lady. But Hillary Clinton wasn’t the one in the Governor’s seat in Arkansas (or the Oval Office in D.C.). Hillary waited until after Chelsea was an adult to run for elected office.

As a mother of four young children, I know that the emotional, financial and logistical challenges of managing multiple personalities, sibling conflict, meal preparation, homework, scheduling, and travel are huge. So, how Governor Palin manages her life is beyond me.

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Because we all really could use a laugh right now, here is the full video of Sarah Palin and Hillary Clinton on SNL…

Saturday Night Live – Palin/Hillary

ALSO SEE:

McCain Campaign is Manipulating The Media with Sara Palin.