California NOW

California Women LEAD Dialogue

 Please join California Inspector General Laura N. Chick, member of the California Women Lead State Board of Directors for a “Women’s Dialogue - Women in Politics”. This, the first in a three part series, will focus on the challenges and opportunities women face in the political arena. Hear from women leaders from appointed and elected office, political consultants, lobbyists and the media on the important role women have in public policy. Meet other politically engaged women and join the discussion on how and why women are critical to the future of California politics.

MODERATOR: Laura N. Chick, Inspector General, State of California

PANELISTS: Karen Bass, Speaker, CA State Assembly (new addition!!)
Debra Bowen, California Secretary of State
Gale Kaufman, President, Kaufman Campaign Consultants
Carolyn McIntyre, President, CA Cable and Telecommunications Association
Ana J. Matosantos, Director, CA Department of Finance
Ginger Rutland, Associate Editor, Sacramento Bee
Mariko Yamada, Member, California State Assembly

DATE: Wednesday, February 10, 2010

TIME: 6:00 pm to 8:00 pm **light refreshments served at 6:00 pm; program starts promptly at 6:30 pm

LOCATION: Secretary of State Auditorium, 1500 11th Street, Sacramento

This is a free event, however, RSVP’s are MANDATORY! Space is limited, please RSVP to www.cawomenlead.org. For questions or additional information please call 916-551-1920.
Presented by: CALIFORNIA WOMEN LEAD 

Los Angeles Rape Kit Funding Cut - Take Action!

(Click on photo to see an expanded image of what a rape kit entails.)

After work by Hollywood NOW, California NOW, and activists across the state and country, the Los Angeles City Council had approved the budget last May, including continuing 16 positions for DNA analysis as well as adding 26 more positions and including $1.5 million for outsourcing.  

However, now we learn that these positions will remain unfunded and unfilled, making it impossible for LA to clear out the backlog of 7,000-12,000 untested rape kits.  Although the LAPD uses outside labs to test the majority of backlogged rape kits, outsourced results must be reviewed by a public crime lab employee before being entered into the DNA database, leading to an average delay of 72 days (on top of substantial delays in initial testing).

Los Angeles City Council President Eric Garcetti, with whom California NOW worked in resolving this issue last year, has introduced a motion that would redirect lost funding for lab personnel to outsourcing rape kit testing. This would be an important first step, but would not resolve the underlying problem. Given that Los Angeles was more than happy to spend $3.2 million on Michael Jackson's funeral we must insist that they treat their citizens' access to justice with equal importance, and allocate funds for rape kit testing without delay.  Take action NOW to contact the LA City Council!

A Day in Their Shoes: Poverty in California

Last week I attended the "A Day in their Shoes" event by Step Up California, designed to help advocates and policy makers experience what life is like for a family living in poverty in California.

We were divided into "families' and each person was assigned a role in that family.  I was Al Aber Jr., a 10-year-old living with hi mother, father, 8-year-old brother, and 2-months-pregnant 16-year-old sister.  Our father was out of work, and his unemployment insurance had just run out.  Our mother brought in $1,324/month (post-taxes) at her full-time job ($9/hour).  Our bills added up to $1,545/month ($610/housing, $285/utilities, $100/student loans, $110/food, $40/clothes, $150/credit card (minimum), $250/auto loan).

As we played out a month in the life of the family, with each week a 15-minute session, our family fell farther and farther behind.  The father got a new job, only to be fired a week later.  The pregnant sister attempted to access resources, only to be told after several weeks and visits, that she was not eligible until the baby was born.  Meanwhile, she had lost school time in trying to gain health coverage for her pregnancy.  The two younger children were picked up by social services three times for neglect because we could not afford after-school care, and there was no one home with us.  The younger brother eventually turned to theft to help support the family.

Monday's Action Checklist

We told you about a teenager who, according to a lawsuit filed by the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), was subjected to repeated sexual harassment while working for the nation's largest table grape grower--Giumarra vineyards.  Instead of dealing with the situation like a responsible employer, Giumarra Vineyards fired this young girl. It also fired two of her relatives and a friend who complained to management.  Sign the online petition to Giumarra Vineyards.  This petition will be handed in on February 15, by a delegation of women led by UFW co-founder Dolores Huerta.

The Tim Tebow Super Bowl ad may have been less offensive than we expected, but the website it directed people to isn't. Sign your name to Planned Parenthood's statement respecting every woman — including Mrs. Tebow — to make important personal medical decisions for herself.

In one of the worst decisions in U.S. history, the Supreme Court recently ruled that big corporations have the same First Amendment rights as people. This decision has opened the floodgates to unlimited political spending by big corporations. To fully undo the damage, Congress must pass a constitutional amendment overturning this terrible decision. Sign a petition to Congress now!  

It’s an easy equation – investing in women and their families equals investing in a healthy future for America. And with the release of his budget, President Obama showed he’s committed to programs serving women and children. Now it’s your turn to show your commitment — sign the pledge to fight for critical investments in women and families.  

Who should decide where to draw the lines for California's legislative districts? Why not you? But you'll have to apply soon! Friday is the deadline to be part of California's Citizen Redistricting Committee. The first step of the application process takes less than five minutes — fill out the application before the February 12 deadline at www.wedrawthelines.ca.gov.

Here are the qualifications for being a member of the Commission:
You must have been a registered California voter in the same (or no) political party for the last five years. Not sure? Check your status by contacting your county election offices.
You must have voted it at least two of the last three statewide general elections. Not sure? Check your status by contacting your county election offices.
Remember, the application deadline is Friday, February 12, so be sure to submit your application today at www.wedrawthelines.ca.gov.

Wear Red Today & Fight the #1 Killer of American Women!

 One woman dies every minute from cardiovascular disease (CVD) — more than the combined deaths from all cancers, chronic lower respiratory disease, Alzheimer’s disease, and accidents. 42 million women are currently living with heart disease in the United States. 
“Heart disease is killing more than 432,000 women a year – more than any other disease and more than all cancers combined. We hope to move the nation towards more effective diagnosis and treatment of heart disease in women, and support for the more than 42 million American women living with or at risk for heart disease,” said Lisa M. Tate, Chief Executive Officer of WomenHeart.

Today is National Wear Red Day, in which women are encouraged to wear red to bring awareness to the prevalence of heart disease among women. Did you know that many women who suffer a heart attack do not have chest pains? Rather, they experience back pain. Women account for only 20 to 25 percent of patients enrolled in most cardiovascular disease clinical trials, leading to less understanding of how the disease affects women, and how it should be successfully diagnosed and treated.  Events like Wear Red Day help us to turn a spotlight on women's health care, and the need to look at gender-related factors in diagnosis & treatment.

Responses to the Tebow Superbowl Ad

You may have heard by now that CBS plans to air a 30-second ad by right-wing anti-abortion group Focus on the Family, starring football player Tim Tebow, during the Super Bowl. And it just got even worse... There's rumor that CBS executives worked closely with Focus on the Family in crafting the ad's script. If this is true, they're not just making a buck at the expense of women's rights, but they're actually working behind the scenes to promote Focus on the Family's radical right wing agenda.

CBS still refuses - after thousands of emails - to withdraw the ad, though they quickly rejected an ad for a gay dating Web site. What hypocrites.

Send a letter to CBS protesting their decision and asking them to pull the ad.
Take action with the Feminist Majority as well.  
Then make a free phone call to CBS.

In the meantime, watch this great video from Planned Parenthood and sports figures supporting women's right to make their own choices, and the hilarious parody ad below.

Haiti Journal #6: Tylenol Baby

This series of guest posts is written by Leisa Faulkner, founder of Children's Hope.

We leave for Haiti again tomorrow, so folks have been busy dropping off donations.

After class last night, I got a call from a dear friend trying to catch me and we met up at Sac State campus.

“I wish it could have been more,” she explained as she handed me four bottles of Tylenol. “I have a state job now, but I was out of work for six months.”

Two of the bottles were infant Tylenol drops…so I thought she had heard the story about our three day old Tylenol baby in Haiti last week. She looked blankly at me when I mentioned it, and I realized I left out this story from my journals, so here it is:

We were in the Cite Soleil clinic last month, “The Lamp for Haiti” and had unloaded, sorted and stocked several duffle bags of medicines for the “Lamp”. We could finally catch our breath. One of the pleasant things about my work is that there are usually babies around. Sure enough, a young girl holding what I thought was her tiny baby came through the room. I bent over and kissed the three day old.

His head was burning up. Mimi, the office manager handed the infant to Dr. Jim as he was, wrapped in an old towel. Jim pulled back the towel. Little Natamayel Pierre’s pale heaving chest told the doctor all he needed to know. Natamayel’s sister peeked into the pink nylon panties that served as his diaper while we waited to know what to do.

“We can’t take care of him here,” Dr. Jim said, “he has to go to the hospital.” How was that going to happen? Streets are torn up, the doctor’s car broken down, traffic a nightmare…

Straight for Equality Aims to Improve LGBT Health Care

 While affordable healthcare continues to be a major national issue, this is only one of the challenges facing lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender people when it comes to their medical care. Too often, providers’ lack the basic cultural competency on LGBT issues, rely on misinformation or simply do not have access to simple and effective resources, creating barriers to adequate healthcare access for their LGBT patients. The release of Straight for Equality in Healthcare from aims to change this trend. This is the second publication from PFLAG National’s Straight for Equality project, which aims to help people have the everyday, nonpolitical conversations that need to occur in order to foster greater acceptance of LGBT people.

The new Straight for Equality in Healthcare guide was created with the assistance of a diverse committee if healthcare professionals in fields such as primary care, mental health, nursing, and allied health disciplines. Topics include:

• Why should I care about gay people in my practice?: The case for inclusion.
• Making a diagnosis: Understanding and identifying personal barriers around LGBT issues and specific steps on how to overcome them.
• Lidocane for your nerves: Being supportive need not be nerve-wracking. Simple, nonpolitical ways to start signaling acceptance of LGBT people in your practice are outlined.
• Resources: Basic terminology, sample inclusive intake forms, nondiscrimination policies, and connections to other resources.

“Making the case for inclusive and competent healthcare for LGBT patients is critical and by providing simple and accessible information to healthcare professionals, we can transform the experiences of LGBT people in the healthcare system. For many healthcare providers, it isn’t a case of not wanting to be inclusive of LGBT patients, but rather a sense that it isn’t an issue – or, when it is, confusion around how to talk about it – that gets in the way,” said Jody M. Huckaby, Executive Director of Parents, Families and Friends of Lesbians and Gays (PFLAG) National.

You can download materials for your own health care provider(s), and help ensure that the information is distributed to health care workers in your area.

National Girls and Women in Sports Day - Stay Strong, Play On!

 Today is National Girls and Women in Sports Day (NGWSP), which has evolved from a day honoring fallen Olympic volleyball player Flo Hyman, to a day devoted to acknowledging the past accomplishments of female athletes and recognizing current sports achievements, the positive influences of sports participation, and the continuing struggle for equality and access for women in sports.

Edith Green, who would have turned 100 last month, was the mother of Title IX. A Representative from Oregon from 1954-1974, Green introduced and championed Title IX to increase women's access to higher education at a time when colleges routinely limited women's enrollment. Although she may not have foreseen the ways in which Title IX would open up athletics to women and girls, her work was instrumental in creating athletics programs for girls and women in schools, thereby opening up the field of professional athletics to more women as well.

Despite the stunning advances made in the 38 years since Title IX was enacted, high school girls still receive 1.3 million fewer participation opportunities than do boys, and evidence suggests that the money spent on girls' sports programs lags significantly behind the money spent on boys' programs. NGWSD is celebrated in all 50 states with community-based events, award ceremonies, and activities honoring the achievements of female athletes and encouraging participation of girls and women in sports.

In honor of this day, urge your member of Congress to enforce Title IX in our high schools and strengthen its protections.

See a great round-up of coverage on the day on Women Talk Sports.

Labor Secretary Hilda Solis, on Equal Pay

 We were thrilled to hear President Obama explicitly address the wage gap in his State of the Union address. Since even more families are now dependent on women as primary wage earners, the wage gap is having an even greater impact. The next Equal Pay Day is Tuesday, April 20, 2010, a date which symbolizes how far into 2010 women must work to earn what men earned in 2009. The Paycheck Fairness Act, which would have been the missing piece in closing the wage gap, did not pass the Senate, but we hope it will be reintroduced in the 2010-2012 congressional session. Below is a letter from California's own Hilda Solis, now Secretary of Labor, on addressing the wage gap.

Was "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" Necessary to Show the Costs of Discrimination?

Today the Senate Armed Service Committee began a hearing on repealing the "Don't ask, don't tell" (DADT) policy which was implemented under President Clinton. At the time it was presented as a more humane policy, enabling gay and lesbian servicemembers to continue in military service as long as they remained closeted.

However, the policy has shown itself to have high costs, both in money and in military readiness. The policy has been responsible for the dismissal of more than 13,500 servicemembers since 1993, at a cost estimated to run as high as $500 million. It has also lost the military many highly-trained specialists, including much-needed translators.  It also appears to be enforced along racist and sexist lines, given that it impacts black women in the armed services disproportionately. Approximately 66,000 LGBT members are estimated to remain in U.S. military service. Lifting DADT could attract an estimated 36,700 active duty servicemembers, and an additional 12,000 to the guard and reserve. With the military forced to issue stop-loss orders and call up reservists for active service, it is unsound policy to continue dismissing servicemembers who want to remain in the military.  

Senator John McCain (R-AZ), senior member of the Senate Armed Services Committee, is opposed to repealing DADT, as is Representative Ike Skelton (D-MO), Chair of the House Armed Services Committee. Current military leaders such as Admiral Michael G. Mullen, Chair of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, and Defense Secretary Robert Gates have been supportive of a DADT repeal,  as have over 100 retired military leaders.  A study soon to be published by the Air University at Maxwell Air Force Base found, "Scholarly evidence shows that the ban on service by openly gay personnel is unlikely to impair military effectiveness or harm recruiting, retention, or unit cohesion." A recent survey also shows that only 40% of servicemembers support the ban on openly LGBT members of the military.

Is it possible that the 16 years of financial, human, and military costs were necessary to bring us to a point where military leadership and servicemembers would step forward and press for an end to this disastrous policy of discrimination? Without the data on costs of dismissals and loss of essential personnel, would military leadership have cared about revoking DADT?  Because dismissals actually increased during DADT, perhaps this was the impetus needed to show servicemembers the impact of discrimination on their own units.

The Pentagon is expected to ease enforcement of DADT, disallowing evidence from third-parties outside the military and leaving dismissal decisions in the hands of Admirals and Generals only. This is expected to lead to fewer dismissals overall. But we must see this as a temporary measure only, and continue working towards a full repeal of this policy, as President Obama asked during his State of the Union address, to allow our LGBT servicemembers to continue serving their country honorably without having to lie about who they are. Tell your representative and senators to repeal this discriminatory law NOW.

UPDATE: Colin Powell joins the ranks of those promoting a DADT repeal.
John McCain reverses previous stated position on a DADT repeal.

Monday's Action Checklist

Be sure to look at last Friday's Week End Actions too!

We have to act fast if we want to prevent the 2010 elections from becoming a special-interest driven tragedy. There are a number of good bills in the works to limit the damage caused by the Roberts Court's indefensible Citizens United ruling. But there is only one bipartisan proposal on the table right now with substantial support in Congress that would change the rules of the game in Washington and put voters – not corporations and unions – in charge of elections: the Fair Elections Now Act. Please call your Senators today and ask them to support the Fair Elections Now Act (S. 752).
Sen. Dianne Feinstein Phone: (202) 224-3841 or (415) 393-0707
Sen. Barbara Boxer Phone: (202) 224-3553 or (559) 497-5109
Click here to sign a petition to President Obama and the Congressional leadership telling them they must enact strong laws to save our democracy from the pernicious influence of corporate money.

CBS is set to run an ad during the Super Bowl from the extreme anti-choice group Focus on the Family. The Super Bowl is no place to discuss abortion. Call on CBS to stick to its original "no advocacy in advertising" policy and drop the ad.  
Click here to sign another petition to CBS insisting they follow their no-advocacy policy and reject the Focus on the Family ad before the Super Bowl on February 7.

Speaker Nancy Pelosi says the House Democrats don't have the votes to pass the Senate healthcare bill without changes. But 64 House Democrats are fighting for a plan that would get the job done and deliver the votes needed to pass real reform. The strategy is working. We need to call every single House Democrat and get them on board. CHECK OUT THE LIST OF SIGNERS - AND MAKE YOUR CALL RIGHT NOW.  

Senator Lisa Murkowski (R-AK) is moving to eliminate the Clean Air Act's ability to protect Americans from global warming. This attack would put public health at risk and jeopardize long-overdue action to hold the biggest polluters accountable, reduce America's oil dependence and jump-start a vibrant clean energy economy. Act now to secure the Clean Air Act. 

End-of-Week Actions

If the Senate stalls on health care, the whole effort is in jeopardy. And we simply can't afford to wait any longer for real reform—not with millions of Americans suffering from a lack of insurance, sky-rocketing costs, and bankruptcies caused by medical debt. What's more, there's a clear path for Senate Democrats to finish reform right. Through a process called "budget reconciliation," they can do it with just 51 votes. We urgently need to make sure every single Democrat in the Senate gets the message: it's time to stand up and fight. So we're flooding their offices with faxes telling them just that. Send a free fax to your senators, Dianne Feinstein and Barbara Boxer, today! 
Tell the Senate to use reconciliation to pass health care reform NOW!  
Call your Democratic Representative in the House (if you have one) and Speaker Pelosi and ask them to sign on right now to a letter supporting reconciliation.  
Join a health care rally in your town! 
Support the only single-payer bill still on the table: Improved Medicare for All, HR 676. 

President Obama's State of the Union addressed the nation and clearly outlined the need to focus Washington's attention on our country's current economic conditions:  from job creation, to tax credits for child care, to caps on the student loan program, and funding for programs that help families - who are already stretched too far - to care for their aging relatives. But the GOP are already talking about blocking such efforts - and as they always do - siding with Wall Street rather than Main Street.  We need to make sure President Obama's economic proposals won't be watered down to appease right-wing extremists.
Sign a Petition of Support to President Obama today. 
You can also call your members of Congress at 202-224-3121 and urge them to finish the legislative priorities they started in 2009.
Urge President Obama and Congress to act now to continue key economic supports for families like unemployment insurance extensions:  

Investing in early education is smart. Research indicates that every dollar spent on high-quality pre-kindergarten is worth $7 in taxpayer savings and economic productivity. Support early education funding.

According to recent reports, women are increasingly the primary or sole family breadwinner due to the recession. With women still earning only 78 cents on the dollar to their male counterparts, you gotta wonder: How are we supposed to win enough bread for our families, when we're not getting the dough? Urge your Senators to co-sponsor and move to quickly pass the Paycheck Fairness Act. 

Haiti Journal #5: Survivor Camp

This series of guest posts is written by Leisa Faulkner, founder of Children's Hope.

On a good day, Port au Prince streets are dusty evidence of years of road neglect mixed with sidewalk-kitchen's charcoal smoke and plumes of unchecked diesel exhaust. Now death mixes with the dust, causing folks to reach anxious arms into the back of our truck when I pulled out my own face mask, a tactical error on my part. Another bounce of our pick-up truck forced more dust up from earthquake rubble kicking back. Our six bags of meds and supplies were safe. We all felt safe, maybe even more than any other time in Haiti. The people are numb, my friends are numb and in lucky moments I felt numb too.

It’s those other moments you have to watch out for. Those times when the death and agony take on faces and sounds you think you will never stop hearing and seeing.
 
Working at the Matthew 25 house field hospital brought many of those moments; the near ghost of a woman carried out post-surgery from our dining room table, who wouldn’t make it through the night; the young girl who took her place on the dining room table; the newly arrived doctor from the states who couldn’t stop muttering as we transferred one of his patients onto a dirty piece of cardboard in the dust…“this is post-op?…this is post-op?….this is post-op?”
 
But between them all was a special end to the day. After working with a local doctor in the make-shift pharmacy we heard something quite welcome and different rise up from the field out back. Sweet voices raised in prayer and song drew us again out into the soccer-field-turned-survivor-camp. Without electricity, running water or enough to eat, everyone in the survivor camp seemed to remember it was Sunday, and welcomed us into their circle. I could have as well been in any Californian congregation during the “peace-be-with-you-welcome”. A local Haitian priest presided over the sacrament. Someone found a drum to gently respond to the cadence. We shook hands and felt lifted for a moment out of the shared sorrow, or maybe lifted because we were all sharing the same sorrow. There was mostly and profoundly, calm.
 
Days later, we distributed all the medical supplies we carried and came home. We stock up, and in just one week will return on Thursday with a team of ten and over a thousand pounds of medicine and supplies. Please remember to keep pledging…or just encourage someone you know to make their own pledge. We are in this recovery for the long haul…there is much work to do…but as the Haitian saying goes, “many hands make the burden lighter.”
 
If you want to see some of the images from our January trip into Haiti, please take a moment to look over these images by Paul Taggart (for AARP). Thanks Paul, for staying in Haiti and helping even after your assignment finished.

Peace,

Leisa

Prop. 8 Federal Trial Update

We've been following the Perry v Schwarzenegger Prop. 8 federal trial via numerous sites, and the consensus seems to be that the defense (that's the anti-marriage equality, pro-Prop 8 side) is doing a pretty poor job of presenting any kind of compelling argument in favor of maintaining the discrimination of Prop. 8.

It is certain that, whatever the outcome of the case, it will be appealed, and will eventually end up in front of the Supreme Court. The good news on that is twofold. First, the defense can't present new evidence as the case moves up on appeal. The case must be decided on the evidence and witnesses presented at the current trial, and as stated above, they haven't been doing a very good job so far. Secondly, the Supreme Court tends to be hesitant about overturning lower court judges without a compelling reason, so a win at this level would be important in an eventual SCOTUS win.

Unfortunately, those are counter-balanced by the huge negative that the current makeup of the SCOTUS is expected to be 5-4 against marriage equality. Many LGBT organizations were hesitant about challenging Prop. 8 on a federal level at this time for exactly that reason. The last thing the marriage equality movement needs is a "separate but equal" SCOTUS decision that would set back attempts to gain legal same-sex marriage rights.

You can follow the case day-by-day at these sites:
Firedoglake  
Pam's House Blend  (Latest analysis is here)  
Courage Campaign 

The Superbowl, Pam Tebow, and My High-Risk Pregnancy

The feminist blogosphere is on fire over the fact that CBS has stated that they'll let an anti-choice advocacy ad from Focus on the Family air during the Superbowl.  In the past, CBS has absolutely refused to allow advocacy ads to air during the Superbowl, including ads from PETA. MoveOn.org, and one from the United Church of Christ taking an LGBT-friendly stance.  Now they say they've changed their policies and will allow "responsible" issues ads to air. 

Unfortunately, their definition of responsible is not mine.  Personally, I think suggesting that women should continue high-risk pregnancies against the advice of their doctors because everything will work out and your child-to-be will grow up to play football (or cure cancer, or whatever) is pretty irresponsible.  And I say that as a mother who went through a high-risk pregnancy herself. 

But I wouldn't attempt to force my choice on anyone else.  I'm glad I had that choice, and if my life circumstances had been just slightly different, I would have chosen abortion as the safer option, despite very much wanting a pregnancy at that point in my life. I'm glad that I didn't get ordered to two months of bedrest and 24-hour medical care, like Pam Tebow, because then I would have had to have an abortion; unlike Tebow, I couldn't have afforded the time off or the medical care.  I'm glad I didn't get legally forced to undergo bedrest, like this woman in Florida, because I would have lost my job and that would have been just great for a new mother.

No matter what your convictions are, if your doctor tells you, "You may die, and your fetus may die anyway, if you choose to continue this pregnancy," that's a hard decision to make.  It is also an immensely personal decision.  I cannot understand how any woman who went through that could believe that her choice would be right for every women, or every family.  I cannot understand how any woman who faced that choice could believe it would be right to take it away from anyone else.

The fact is, anytime we restrict women's ability to control their own bodies and lives, women suffer, children suffer, and families suffer.  Having the right to choose to continue a risky pregnancy is part and parcel of trusting women with all the potential choices that a pregnancy entails.

You can take actions asking CBS to reconsider airing this ad. 

Send an email with the Feminist Majority 

with NARAL 

and with the Women's Media Center 

and email CBS directly. 

Interesting update, apparently Pam Tebow's life was not actually at risk from her pregnancy.  Instead, she was taking drugs to treat dysentery which could have adversely affected fetal development. Again, no one should tell a woman that she *must* take that kind of risk. Not every woman or every family has the mental, emotional or economic resources to raise a child who may need special medical care.

California 2010-2011 Budget Breakdown: Social Services & Aid to the Needy

 This is the third of our issue-specific breakdowns of Governor Schwarzenegger's proposed 2010-2011 budget, and in this article we will address the impact of the proposed budget on social services and aid to the needy.   Our first breakdown report was on education, our second covered health care, and you can read the rest of our posts on the budget here.  Much of our analysis is based on the California Budget Project report found here.

This has been the longest and most severe recession since WWII. Although financial experts believe the recession ended in late 2009, we are still seeing the effects of it, and will be for quite some time. In fact, unemployment in California is expected to grow in 2010, up to 12%. As a result, demand for social services will be high, and state revenues from personal income tax and sales tax will be low. The Governor proposes to solve this problem by slashing these much-needed social programs, such as food aid, CalWORKs, and and SSI/SSP grants rather than by looking for additional sources of revenue (such as taxing petroleum companies, who see lower taxation rates in California than in any other fuel-producing state).

Want to Change the State? Change the stats!

Did you read our article on the new California Citizen's Redistricting Commission?

Maybe wonder why it mattered?  Maybe decide you didn't know enough to apply?  Maybe thought it seemed too dry, or boring, or too complicated to care about?

Well here's a kick in the pants for you: this Commission is going to determine not just where the lines are drawn for state legislative districts, but who is in each district, and therefore, who can win each district.

It doesn't matter how great of a progressive feminist candidate is out there, if her district is gerrymandered so that she can't win a seat.  Who wins seats for the California State Senate and Assembly often determines who builds the political resume necessary to run for statewide or national office. If you care about getting women into government, you need to be on this Commission.

So far, only 1 in 6 applicants are female, which is miserable, given that we're 51% of the state's population and need to have a full voice in this process.  Moreover, the rates of applicants who are Latin@ or people of color are even worse.  Although our state is 36% Latin@ and 23% other POC, only 9% of applicants are Latin@, and 13% are other POC. 

Want to change the state?  Change the stats!

The initial application process is a simple online form that takes 5-10 minutes, and the deadline for applying runs until February 12, 2010.  Apply NOW! 

Did the Peddlers of Subprime Mortgages Target Women?

 In a three-part series for Women's eNews, Molly Ginty found strong evidence that they were. Among those who could have qualified for prime mortgages in 2006, at the height of the boom, 29 percent of men were stuck with subprime loans -- but 38 percent of women ended up with the faulty products, according to a new analysis of federal data performed for Women's eNews and the Investigative Fund. 

This bias is of particular concern, Ginty reports, because women tend to have their assets concentrated in home equity far more often than men do.

For decades, women were denied home loans because they were single, or were required to have their husbands co-sign if they were married. By 1995, women made up only 14 percent of homebuyers. Women poured into the market at a time when subprime loans were on the rise, comprising a quarter of homebuyers today. Viewed as more credulous by mortgage brokers, single and elderly women were particularly targeted for subprime products. Television ads featured women signing mortgage papers and radio spots featured female voice-overs. One broker even declared, "It's time to go granny hunting."

The racial bias in subprime loans has been widely reported. Ginty's series sheds light on another way in which the pain of the subprime crisis has not been felt equally.

Her reporting, supported by the Investigative Fund at The Nation Institute, may be found here:

Part 1: In Subprime Fallout, Women Take Heavy Hit  
Part 2: Women's Key to Home Ownership Opened Debt Trap 
Part 3: New Year Offers Promise of Mortgage Relief 

 

Upcoming Events for Women

The Filipina Women's Network has been able to secure a private meeting with Acting Lt. Goevrnor Mona Pasquil and invites you to join us for an afternoon of networking and womentoring. Limited reservations available - click here or go to www.ffwn.org/events and click on "Be Counted".
"Be Counted: A Private Dialogue with Mona Pasquil"
Wednesday, February 3, 2009
Office of the Lt. Governor, State Capitol, Sacramento, CA 95814
3:00 pm Meet at the Capitol entrance lobby
3:30 pm VIP Tour of the Capitol
4:30 pm Reception at the Lt. Governor's Office
7:00p Leave Sacramento
The meeting will focus on the challenges and opportunities women face in public service and the political arena, and the important role women and minorities have in public policy. Meet other politically engaged women and join the discussion on how and why women are critical to the future of California and U.S. politics.

You only have only two weeks left to apply for the National Women’s Law Center's 2010 Progressive Leadership Advocacy Network (PLAN) program. PLAN supports a diverse group of emerging advocacy leaders working to make positive change for low-income women and their families. Emerging leaders across the country are encouraged to apply. The deadline for applications is February 8. Apply today!  
The PLAN program experience includes: Participation in the intensive, three-day PLAN Spring Institute for new members; ongoing strategic leadership, policy, and advocacy learning opportunities; and access to individualized technical assistance from NWLC policy and advocacy staff.  By strengthening their leadership and advocacy skills and in-depth policy knowledge, the PLAN program helps advocates sharpen their abilities and deepen their understanding of the steps they need to take to be effective leaders.

Please join California Inspector General Laura N. Chick, member of the California Women Lead State Board of Directors for a “Women’s Dialogue - Women in Politics”. This, the first in a three part series, will focus on the challenges and opportunities women face in the political arena. Hear from women leaders from appointed and elected office, political consultants, lobbyists and the media on the important role women have in public policy. Meet other politically engaged women and join the discussion on how and why women are critical to the future of California politics.
DATE: Wednesday, February 10, 2010
TIME: 6:00 pm to 8:00 pm Light refreshments served at 6:00 pm; program starts promptly at 6:30 pm
LOCATION: Secretary of State Auditorium, 1500 11th Street, Sacramento. Parking available directly across the street on the street lot located on thecorner of O and 10th Street. Street parking is free after 6 pm.
This is a free event, however, RSVP’s are MANDATORY! Space is limited, please RSVP to www.cawomenlead.org no later than February 8, 2010. For questions or additional information please call 916-551-1920.

NWPC CA is a proud community partner with Project Working Mom 2010 and their event Women Who Rule the World. PWM helps deserving moms and dads find the time and money necessary to complete their college degrees.  This year the campaign will award 280 full-tuition scholarships worth approximately $5 million dollars. Check out the PWM website to enter to win a full-tuition college scholarship. You can also access the PWM community of parents and students, where you'll find support, advice, and great tips on everything from schoolwork to stress relief. Also, register for the Los Angeles Women Who Rule the World complimentary dinner on February 19th where you can obtain free career counseling, apply onsite for scholarships, and network with prominent women in your metro area. Space is limited, so register at www.projectsinglemoms.com.

CCRWF is pleased to once again host the California Working Families Policy Summit, which will be held on Thursday, February 25, 2010, at the Sacramento Convention Center from 9:00 am to 2:00 pm. Registration opens at 8:00 am. Please register soon as seating is limited.
We are extraordinarily honored to host Secretary of Labor Hilda L. Solis as our luncheon keynote speaker. In partnership with the California Work and Family Coalition, we are also delighted to feature an important message on working families from First Lady Michelle Obama. The theme for this year’s half-day Summit is Our Common Cause: Confronting Current Crises & Forging a New Vision.
HOW TO REGISTER: Go to www.ccrwf.org to view the agenda and register online. If you would like to mail or fax your registration, please download the agenda and registration form at www.ccrwf.org .
REGISTRATION DEADLINES: Due to limited seating, registration for the General Public will be opened in phases. From January 14 – February 10, early registration will be open only for the Full Summit (morning workshops and the luncheon). Beginning February 11, if seats are available, registration will also be open for luncheon-only and workshops-only. Summit registration closes on Monday, February 22.
QUESTIONS? Contact Cathy Murnighan, Summit Conference Coordinator, at (916) 944-4935 orsummit@ccrwf.org.

South Bay Women's Network is sponsoring an International Women's Day event on Saturday, March 6. This will be the first ever International Women's Day march in San Jose, CA. The march will begin at 11 am at Roosevelt Park and end at the Bibliotecha Latino Americana at 1 pm., where a resource fair will run to 4 pm. 
“I’m Every Woman!”: Celebrate the power of Women around the world! Come join us in Downtown San Jose for a march in solidarity to celebrate “the essence of women.” Envision the liberation of all women through the spiritual, individual, professional, and community levels as they continually struggle towards social change. Facebook link.

Sunday Comics: For Better or For Worse Jumps on the Retro-Sexism Bandwagon!

Click the strips to enlarge for easier reading.


Lynn Johnson who writes the comic strip For Better or Worse has been doing reruns of some of her classic early strips, but I have to wonder if we really needed to see strips like these again.  The thinking behind this humor seems to be, "Hur, hur, women are completely screwed by sexist expectations! What a laff riot!"  Frankly, I get enough of this BS in life already, I don't need it in my entertainment.

Who Draws the Lines that Determine California's Future? You Can!

 For decades, the state legislature designed the districts from which we elect our representatives to the legislature and congress. The result? A series of gerrymanders that protected parties and incumbents while ignoring community interests.

Now the responsibility for drawing new district maps will go to 14 voters chosen to serve on California's first Citizens Redistricting Commission. With a state as big and diverse as California, who draws the lines — and how those lines are drawn — will truly shape the future of our state. The commission gives this power to real people — political candidates, lobbyists and big political donors can't serve.

Do you bring an open mind, an appreciation for our state's diversity, and skills that would be helpful to serve on a redistricting commission? You may be one of the right people to do this job — or you may know someone who is.

Redistricting is a once-in-a-decade opportunity to redraw the state’s legislative districts. This single act may do more to influence the make-up of the legislature and its agenda over the next 10 years than all of the elections during that period combined. Every single policy issue is affected by who is elected to the legislature, and every single legislative election for the next decade is affected by redistricting. It’s that simple.

It's easy to apply! Go to: www.WeDrawTheLines.ca.gov. The initial application should take less than 5 minutes. Applications are accepted until February 12, 2010. The top applicants will be asked to participate in interviews in the summer and final selections will be announced in December 2010.

Have questions? Attend a training workshop near you! Training dates are approaching quickly in Daly City, Sacramento, San Diego, Modesto, Stanislaus, Los Angeles, San Gabriel, Oxnard, Orinda, San Francisco, Garden Grove, and San Jose, and other dates are being added soon!

Additional information on California redistricting.

Monday's Action Checklist

Both Houses of Congress have passed a comprehensive health care reform bill, and a compromise between the two was in reach. One election in Massachusetts doesn't mean we can abandon reform now, just when we're so close to the finish line. Some in Congress are talking about "scaling down" health care reform. That idea can't work. As the Associated Press noted, scaling back reform would mean no ban on denials of care, no affordable health care for all, no nothing. In short, scaling down health reform means no health reform. The insurance companies would win. We need to act fast to remind Congress that we support real reform, that they support real health care reform, and we expect them to finish the job. Call (toll-free) 1-877-264-4226 to get connected NOW!
Attend (or host) an Emergency Rally for Health Care.
Call Speaker Pelosi right now and ask her to be bold. Ask her to publicly commit to passing health care with a public option using the filibuster-proof "budget reconciliation" process.  

The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission has just filed suit against Giumarra Vineyards for allegedly violating federal law by sexually harassing a teenage female farm worker and retaliating against farm workers who came to her aid. One day after reporting the incident, the victim and people who helped her were fired. The EEOC suit states they "were summarily discharged in retaliation for their opposition to the sexual harassment." Take action with the UFW NOW! 

The goal of screening exams for early breast cancer detection is to find cancers before they start to cause symptoms, but now studies are showing that women need not be tested between ages 40 and 50. So what's the right answer? The answer is to protect yourself in whatever way possible and the key is early detection. Sign this pledge today to be a strong example for women everywhere. 

Did you know that children in quality pre-k programs -- especially at-risk children -- are more likely to succeed in school and in life? Quality pre-k programs can only happen, though, when there are well-trained teachers. Research shows that a Bachelor's degree is the minimum level of training required for teachers to provide high-quality pre-k education. Yet Rhode Island is the only state that requires one from all of its early education teachers. Better qualified instructors will lead to brighter students -- and brighter students will lead to a better future for our country. Tell your state Governor that pre-school teachers should meet the same standards as k-12 teachers. 

It has been one year since President Barack Obama signed an Executive Order calling for the closure of the prison at Guantanamo Bay. Today, 20 veterans are on Capitol Hill, representing over 2000 veterans who have signed the letter telling Congress to follow through and support President Obama's call to close the detention center at Guantanamo as a matter of national security. Let's join these veterans and tell Congress, Close Gitmo.  
And take action with the ACLU as well. 

Why, in 2010, is our own Environmental Protection Agency giving the go-ahead for some facilities to burn tires and plastic - something that we've known for decades is devastating to our environment? The EPA is considering a Bush-era initiative that would allow tens of thousands of incinerators at industrial facilities to burn tires, scrap plastics, spent solvents, used oil and other wastes -- allowing polluters to spew far more toxins into communities that are already overburdened with pollution. Don't let it happen. 

Eve Ensler @ UC Irvine's V-Day Performance of The Vagina Monologues!

V-DAY @ UC Irvine JOINS THE GLOBAL EFFORT TO STOP VIOLENCE AGAINST WOMEN AND GIRLS

with its 7th annual production of…

Eve Ensler’s THE VAGINA MONOLOGUES

With special guest, Eve Ensler, Playwright and Founder of V‐Day

Join us as we raise funds and awareness to end violence against women and girls.

 

Who: University of California, Irvine

What: Students of V-Day @ UC Irvine 2010, present a benefit production of Eve Ensler’s The Vagina Monologues, with Eve Ensler in attendance.

Where: The Bren Events Center of UC Irvine

When: 5:00pm Sunday, Feb 14th Valentine’s Day

Admission: $17 General Admission Tickets can be found on TICKETMASTER.COM
 

End-of-Week Actions

We hope that many of you have been able to join Roe v. Wade anniversary celebrations in your area (contact your local NOW chapter for info), but if you're stuck at home or at work, here are some quick actions you can still take for equality.

Speaker Pelosi needs to hear from us one more time. She needs to know that we don’t want health care reform to become another assault on reproductive freedom. Tell her to make the final health care bill fair to women who need full health coverage.  

President Obama and some Democrats in Congress are now considering scaling back health care reform. So MoveOn.org is launching an emergency campaign to save real health care reform. Will you add your name today? Just click here.  
Can you write a letter to the editor of your local newspaper today to let your Members of Congress know that one election shouldn't stop health care reform?
Both sets of swing voters don't think the current Senate bill goes far enough and over 80% of them want a public option. If a public option was in the Senate bill then these swing voters would have delivered victory to the Democrats. It's as simple as that. Turn up the volume and sign this emergency petition right now.  
We need to act fast and call on leaders in Congress to publicly state support for passing bolder healthcare reforms -- including the populist choice of a public option -- using reconciliation which requires only 51 votes in the Senate. Call the Democrat that represent you (if you have one in your district) and Speaker Nancy Pelosi right now. CLICK HERE FOR THE PHONE NUMBER AND SAMPLE SCRIPT TO MAKE YOUR CALL