Rep Allyson Declares PA Governor Run | Republicans Say Americans Have No Stake In Educating Any Kids But Their Own

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FEMEN Strikes Again

Russian President Vladimir Putin had a bad day with the ladies yesterday. Standing next to German Chancellor Angela Merkel, Putin was chastised with Merkel’s government’s disapproval of the way nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) are treated by the Kremlin. The New York Times writes that Merkel’s comments make her the first Western leader to have confronted Putin publicly on this issue.

Two of Germany’s most important and respected foundations have been searched by Russian police.

“I made it clear that a vibrant civil society can only exist when the individual organizations can work without fear or concern,” Merkel said.

To emphasize the growing frustration with Russia’s crackdown on free expression, a group of female protesters bared their breasts while shouting that the Russian leader was a ‘dictator’. 

The well-known, principled activist group Femen posted a picture of the ‘sextremist’ attack on the group’s Facebook page at 10.00 am GMT. The same post said that activists had been shouting “F*ck you dictator!”. The message written- in Russian- across the back of the single topless activist visible, reads: “F*ck off Putin!”. The women were two Germans, two Ukrainians and a Russian. 

(Read: FEMEN & SlutWalks: Body Politics Is On The Move)

The Kremlin has called for the women to be punished as Putin traveled on to The Netherlands, where rainbow flags were flying in protest against a bill pending in the Russian Parliament that would make public events and the dissemination of information about the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender communities subject to fines up to $16,000. The Netherlands legalized same-sex marriage over a decade ago. German politicians have also criticized the bill. 

“Thank god, the gays didn’t strip naked here,” Putin joked at a press conference in Amsterdam. 

Melissa Harris-Perry’s Hot Seat

Are Kids Private Property?

MSNBC chost Melissa Harris-Perry’s recent Lean Forward ad for MSNBC has caused a dust up among Republican right-wing pundits. 

If you thought having a civic interest in properly educating America’s children so that our kids are properly prepared to continue America’s legacy as strong nation in the future, you are probably a communist, according to right-wing pundits like Sarah Palin, Glenn Beck and Rush Limbaugh. If you are a single professional believing that you have a civic obligation to contribute to the educating of America’s kids, you are probably targeting the destruction of America.

So call me a communist, but I am simply stunned by the right’s outrage over Harris-Perry’s comments. 

Glenn Beck told listeners that the Tulane University teacher’s comments reveal the United Nations’ plans to use mind control to establish a communist dictatorship in America. Beck also asserts that the Obama administration is using school testing standards for ‘leftist indoctrination.’ 

Beck doesn’t mention that these testing standards were introduced by the Bush Administration, not Obama, as part of Bush’s No Child Left Behind strategy. 

Sarah Palin tweeted that Harris-Perry’s remarks were ‘Unflippingbelievable’.

The National Catholic Register writes in the headline Proof that Progressives Hate Catholic Schools and Homeschooling Families:

“The media and the public school systems are the greatest vehicles of indoctrination for the progressive worldview. How long do you think they’re going to be ok with homeschoolers? How long will they be ok with Catholic schools filling kids heads with hate about traditional marriage and life beginning at conception? Not too much longer, right?”

Call me dumbfounded. Christianity embraces Aristotle as a founder of Western thought and principles. Note that Aristotle expunged women from being participants in civic society. But all free men brought a collectivist mentality to the concept of civic engagement in creating a thriving society. 

Rep. Allyson Schwartz Files

Rep. Allyson Schwartz will run for governor of Pennsylvania against Republican incumbent Tom Corbett in 2014.US Congresswoman Allyson Schwartz (D-PA) will run for governor of Pennsylvania against Republican incumbent Tom Corbett in 2014. 

Schwartz has established a state campaign committee, “Pennsylvania for Allyson,” which will allow her to raise money for her run and transfer the $3.1 million she’s already amassed from her Congressional account to the new one.

Like Alysson Schwartz Facebook page. 

“I am running because I can’t sit on the sidelines when I have a proven track record of getting results on the issues that matter — growing jobs in the private sector, investing in education, and making the tough choices on budget issues,” Schwartz said in a statement.  “That’s what our campaign will be about.”

Keystone Research Center wrote in July 2012: “In 2010, Pennsylvania ranked 12th out of the 50 states in job growth by percentage, but the state’s ranking has dropped to 36th over the past year (May 2011-May 2012) and 39th over the past six months (December 2011-May 2012), just as state budget cuts have begun to take a toll on the economy.”

The report compares Pennsylvania’s policies under Corbett to those of next-door neighbor New Jersey Republican governor Chris Christie. In New Jersey, public-sector job growth has fueled New Jersey’s resurgence, lifting if from 49th in 2010 to 13th between May 2011 and May 2012.

Allyson Schwartz will not run unopposed for the Democratic nomination to beat Corbett, who is one of the most unpopular governor’s in America. Her most viable challenger presently is wealthy York businessman Tom Wolf, who announced he will put $10 million of his own money and raise another $5 million into the campaign. 

Emily’s List is gearing up in a major way to support Schwartz. “Not only would she make history as Pennsylvania’s first female governor, she would provide a clear contrast to Gov. Corbett, who has led a crusade against women and families while putting job-creation on the back burner,” said Stephanie Schriock, president of Emily’s List.

Only ERA Can Protect American Women Against Right-Wing, Anti-Contraception Agenda | Sign Our Petition

1. Violence Against Women Act.  If today’s Republican party truly wants to explore its relationship with women, it has an opportunity to do so this week. The Senate voted 85 to 8 on Monday evening to renew its discussions of the Violence Against Women Act.

Renewal of the bill has stalled over Republican concerns that obscure issues like granting visa for abused illegal immigrants, treatment of same sex couples, and passages that strengthen the influence of American courts undermine the bill for the majority of American women.

The bill is expected to get Senate approval this week, with broad, bipartisan support.

In the House, the bill continues to struggle. Another sticking point is a provision in the bill that would allow American Indian women assaulted on reservations by non-Indians to go to trial courts, which currently have no jurisdiction over these assailants. 

Last week, the conservative Independent Women’s Forum said the Violence Against Women Act, passed first in 1994, was a waste of money that could actually be intensifying domestic violence, writes The New York Times.

“Although there is little credible evidence that V.A.W.A. programs are reducing the effects and occurrence of domestic and sexual violence, there is evidence that several of the policies instituted under V.A.W.A. may actually be harming the very victims they were designed to protect,” wrote Christina Villegas, a visiting fellow at the group.

2. 7 Key Facts About Domestic Violence

Villegas refers readers to the website SaveServices.org, with this reports prepared by Stop Abusive and Violent Environments. 

a. One in 10 American couples engages in intimate partner violence each year.

b. Men and women engage in domestic violence at similar rates. If the violence escalates, female are more likely to be injured. However, one-third of those requiring medical attention are male. 

c. Partner aggression is often two-way.

d. Domestic violence tends to be concentrated in Lower income couples, couples not in intact, married relationships, 

e. The US Centers for Disease Control has identified 25 different causes of domestic violence.

f. Since the mid-19702, domestic violence among intimate partners has fallen dramatically. 

g. Many victims of domestic violence face barriers to getting help. 

Due primarily to under-reporting, credible research suggests that mandatory arrest policies may actually increase partner violence.  A recent Harvard study found that such policies actually lead to more intense levels of violence. According to the study, “Intimate partner homicides increased by about 60 percent in states with mandatory arrest laws.” Another study found that women in states with mandatory arrest laws were less likely to report violence and request police assistance.

3. Support for Military Women

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Secretary of Defense Leon Penetta’s outgoing decision to lift restrictions on American women serving in combat has widespread support among American women, reports Pew Research.  

The latest poll results reflect nearly the same findings as two years ago in a Washington Post/ABC News survey. 

4. Ten Things to End Rape Culture

The Nation quotes Jessica Valenti in this piece on rape, one that would probably be rejected by Christina Villegas. 

Rape culture exists because we don’t believe it does.  From tacit acceptance of misogyny in everything from casual conversations with our peers to the media we consume, we accept the degradation of women and posit uncontrollable hyper-sexuality of men as the norm. But rape is endemic to our culture because there’s no widely accepted cultural definition of what it actually is.

“Rape is a standard result of a culture mired in misogyny, but for whatever reason—denial, self-preservation, sexism—Americans bend over backwards to make excuses for male violence.” 

5. GlamTribale Goes to Philly’s Headhouse Market

Anne is super excited to say that she’s joined Philadelphia’s Creative Collective where GlamTribale will be exhibiting on 17 Saturdays starting end of May at a marketplace founded in 1745, very near to Independence Hall!!! 

“I can’t think of a better place than Headhouse Market and Shambles to start my renewed drive for women’s independence, right down the street from the Liberty Bell,” Anne wrote on Facebook. 

 

Philadelphia’s Spittin’ Sister will be selling her art and jewelry while handing out pro-women pamphlets. Abigail Adams would be proud!

No taxation without representation is at the top of Anne’s agenda. For Republicans, Democrats and especially so-called progressive Democrats, Anne’s on record saying: “Don’t tax us if you won’t run women for office or give us major representation at your conferences.” 

6. Helicopter parenting is not good at playtime, reports Science Daily. Researchers at the University of Missouri have found that how direct a mother is and whether she tries to control the content and the pace of play among young children directly affected the attitudes expressed towards her by them. 

Children of these corrective and controlling moms were less engaged with her and displayed more negative emotion towards their mothers. 

Researchers argue that highly-directive moms may believe they are helping their kids by correcting them. In actual practice, they are limiting creativity and potentially negatively impact their child’s desire to be with her. 

Findings confirmed existing research that African American mothers are the most directive with young children, followed by Mexican-American moms and then European-Americans.  Although children expressed less positive regard from directive moms overall, the degree to which mothers expressed high levels of warmth towards the children, lessened the negative effect. 

Related

Nearly Half of Preschoolers Lack One Parent-Supervised Playtime Per Day Science Daily

Are Feminism and Attachment Parenting Practices Compatible Science Daily 

Call Us Stupified! Only An ERA Can Protect American Women Against Republican’s Intent to End Birth Control!

 

Sign our Petition NOW!!! Tweet! http://bit.ly/1146RWP

Anne of Carversville has said for several years that Republicans, led by the Catholic bishops, are coming for your birth control. 

Living with and writing about the Republican War on Women every day leaves us typically immune to the latest anti-woman rhetoric from the right wing. But talk show host and evangelical Kevin Swanson, has left us speechless.

Believing that utterly stupid statements like Todd Akins’ assertion that women’s bodies prevent us from getting pregnant as a result of rape were the bottom of the barrel, we simply weren’t prepared for Swanson’s recent assertions about birth control. 

Swanson: I’m beginning to get some evidence from certain doctors and certain scientists that have done research on women’s wombs after they’ve gone through the surgery, and they’ve compared the wombs of women who were on the birth control pill to those who were not on the birth control pill. And they have found that with women who are on the birth control pill, there are these little tiny featuses, these little babies, that are embedded into the womb. They’re just like dead babies. They’re on the inside of the womb. And these wombs of women who have been on the birth control pill effectively have become graveyards for lots and lots of little babies. 

Anne of Carversville has delivered well over 1000 of the 19,000 signatures supporting a renewed drive for an Equal Rights Amendment. Good Goddess, please, please sign our ERA petition before it is too late for American women. Tweet, Tweet, Tweet:  here  http://bit.ly/1146RWP Read Anne’s lucid analysis of anti-ERA arguments. 

 

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Majority of Americans Fear Power of Feds | Contraception Mandate Compromise? Nada | Hillary Rules Writes Lloyd Green

1. Hillary Clinton in 2016. ‘Be Afraid, Republicans’ writes Lloyd Green for The Daily Beast. Republican research counsel to the George H.W. Bush campaign writes that Hillary is set to pick up where Bill left off. Green walks us through a review of the last 50 years of politics. 

Clinton could perform in the South in a way Obama couldn’t — and she can kick back with steel workers and enjoy a beer. Educated, high-end America is also up for grabs in 2016. Hillary could be their girl — to say nothing of large numbers of half the gender base in America who see Hillary as the ultimate revenge on the GOP and Catholic bishops War on Women.

Recognizing Democratic Party potential in the next four years — and the total disarray of the Republican party — could be a reason why Top GOP Donors Seek Greater Say in Senate Races, writes The New York Times. 

Related:

Interview With Hillary Clinton New York Times

2. Government & freedom. A growing # of Americans see government as a threat to personal rights and freedoms, reports Pew Research.

Conservative Republicans lead the new poll results, in which a majority of Americans now says the federal government threatens personal rights and freedoms, with 54% describing the threat as ‘major’. Three years ago 62% of conservative Republicans saw the federal government as a threat; currently 76% agree.

About 62% of gun-owning households are in the threat column, compared with 45% without guns. 

Only one-quarter of the 1502 adult polled trust the federal government to do the right thing most of the time. ” Virtually identical majorities of Republicans (58%), Democrats (57%) and independents (56%) say that lawmakers, rather than the political system, are the problem with Congress.”

There is an 8-point gender gap in the poll results with 57% of men regarding the federal government as a threat, compared to 49% of women. 

See also: Public Trust in Government: 1958-2013. 

3. Contraception Mandate Compromise? On Friday Feb. 1, 2013, the Department of Health and Human Services proposed a solution to the conflict between religious figures and the Obama Administration over free contraception services to women employees.

Pew Research backgrounds the conflict and interviews legal scholars on the outcome. Clearly this issue is headed to the Supreme Court, even though the Obama Administration exempted to completely remove religious institutions — which include one in six US hospitals owned by the Catholic Church — as facilitators of birth control coverage. The Obama Administration says that insurance companies will be expected to offer women employees coverage directly and at no cost. Writes Pew:

” … all object to being put in a role where they are helping their employees gain access to such services. In light of these objections, the new rules may not sufficiently relieve these organizations of what they see as “sinful complicity” in the provision of pregnancy prevention services.”

4. AOC Carversville Country Coasters 4/$25

Anne writes: I never thought that when I wrote Smart Sensuality Angelina Jolie: Virtue Considered in Carversville’s Country Air, that I would be be looking at my own photography on GlamTribale’s first set of country coasters.

This set of four 4x4” Carversville coasters is decoupaged with my own photographs of theCarversville Inn and Carversville Country Store. The other two are scenes from Stover’s Mill Road and Fleecydale, running out of Carversville down to River Road. Fleecydale always reminds me of Chipping Campden in the Cotswold. 

Related Reading:

Chipping Campden, Carversville and an American Cry for Help

10 Reasons to Love Carversville, Pa.

Science News

5. Discovery in Synthetic Biology Takes Us a Step Closer to New ‘Industrial Revolution’ Science Daily

British scientists say their new method of making ‘parts’ for microscopic biological factories reduces time from 2 days to only 6 hours. The innovation could impact better drug delivery treatments, more effective ways to mine minerals from deep underground and advancements in biofuels.

6. Altruistic plants? Earlier this week, researchers presented a new study on innate altruism in bonobos. These findings will be widely adopted by social conservatives. Corn embryos with the same mother and father as the endosperm in their seed weighed significantly more than embryos with the same mother but a different father. The endosperm with a different father appears not to act nearly as cooperatively in nourishing its tethered embryo bit of corn.  via Science Daily

7. Dairy products intake: not all products are equal and bring health benefits in different parts of the body.

8. Want to talk to social conservatives about environmental action? Try disgust as a strong motivating argument. via Psychology Today

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