My name is Catherine Morgan, I'm a writer, nurse, mother, and founder of "The Political Voices of Women". This is a blog dedicated to inform and educate the voting public through articles, ideas, and links. It's also a way of giving myself a voice, rather than just sitting back and watching politics and my opinion go by.
--- I am now also at the Care2 Election Blog.
It is so tiring and stressful to read the Hillary Clinton-bashing that has been allowed to go on at so many if the big “progressive” liberal blogs, such as americablog, Huffington Post, and Daily Kos. I read the quotes taken out of context, the facts misrepresented, and rumors posted as fact, and I am torn between just clicking away and standing up for her. The problem is, if I post a comment that defends Hillary Clinton on any of those sites, I am assured of hateful, often disgusting replies. Sometimes directed at Clinton, sometimes at me. So I’ve pretty much just given up on those sites.
I’ve been posting at DailyKos for nearly 4 years now and started writing diaries in support of Hillary Clinton back in June of last year. Over the past few months I’ve noticed that things have become progressively more abusive toward my candidate and her supporters.
I’ve put up with the abuse and anger because I’ve always believed in what our on-line community has tried to accomplish in this world. No more. DailyKos is not the site it once was thanks to the abusive nature of certain members of our community.
I’ve decided to go on “strike” and will refrain from posting here as long as the administrators allow the more disruptive members of our community to trash Hillary Clinton and distort her record without any fear of consequence or retribution. I will not be posting at DailyKos effective immediately. I will not help drive up traffic or page-hits as long as my candidate – a good and fine DEMOCRAT - is attacked in such a horrid and sexist manner not only by other diarists, but by several of those posting to the front page.
I have been checking in on those sites every once in a while, just to see what people are saying. But I have to say I agree with Alegre: I don’t want to have any part in driving up their traffic or giving them an audience.So, in addition to her writer’s strike, let’s have a reader’s strike, as well!
Today the Care2 Election Blog has a timely guest post by Diane MacEachern, the founder and CEO of Big Green Purse, Diane is passionate about empowering women to use their marketplace clout to protect the environment. She is a best-selling author, successful entrepreneur, sought-after public speaker, and long-time conservationist, she has launched the only company in the U.S. dedicated specifically to transforming women’s environmental concerns into measurable improvements in our quality of life.
Today is March Forth For Child Care and Head Start day, and you can help make a difference by calling or emailing your members of Congress. All day today, advocates for children will be joining-in to voice their support of an increase in funding for the Head Start program. This is such an important issue, and I hope you will consider taking action to support our children.
Head Start is one of the most cost-effective programs we have in this country. We need more Head Start, and we need full day Head Start programs (much of the funding only pays for a few hours of services) so that low income working parents can take advantage of the enormous benefits Head Start offers children and families. It is a comprehensive early learning program that supports the total well-being of children.
. . .
Further, study after study shows that quality early childhood programs like Head Start significantly reduce the incidences of teen pregnancy, juvenile crime, being held back in school, and other social ills that develop later in life. Every $1 we invest today in these programs saves taxpayers somewhere between $7 and $17 in future costs due to negative consequences of poverty.
Today, all across the country, thousands of advocates are joining together to March Forth in support of increased funding for child care and Head Start by calling or e-mailing their Members of Congress.
We are joining together because our children deserve a better and brighter future. Under the President’s budget, 200,000 low-income children and their families will lose child care assistance, and 14,000 children will lose Head Start.
Please add your voice by calling or e-mailing your Members of Congress today.
Here is how you can take action and help…
To call your representatives, use the script below and dial toll-free at 1-888-460-0813. The operator who answers the phone will ask which Senator or Representative you would like to speak to. To find out who your Senators and Representative are, search our directory before you call.
Tell the staffers who answer the phone in your representatives’ offices:
Hi, my name is (INSERT NAME.) I’m a constituent. (If you are also a parent, child care provider, community leader, etc., feel free to mention that as well.)
I am calling because I believe that child care and Head Start are essential programs for children and families. I urge Senator/ Representative (INSERT NAME) to support an increase of $874 million for child care and $1 billion for Head Start in this year’s budget.
And he cited the committee’s own calculations from last fall that showed that the money spent on the war each day is enough to enroll an additional 58,000 children in Head Start for a year,
The national Head Start program, which was a legacy of President Lyndon Johnson’s “Great Society,” offers preschool to families unable to afford a private program. We don’t know how it functions elsewhere in the country, but in Morris County, Head Start is as refreshingly bipartisan as can be. Republicans and Democrats are on its board, and Rep. Rodney P. Frelinghuysen, R-Harding, long has been a supporter.
During Women’s History Month, help make women’s voices heard.
WVWV is honoring those women that have utilized the internet to amplify their voices.
Nominate your favorite blogger by March 21, then check back to vote for your favorite among our top 10 women bloggers.
If you are reading this post, please take a minute to nominate one of the (over 300) Women Political Bloggers in our growing list. On March 21st, ten of the women bloggers who have received the most nominations, we be listed…and then the voting will begin.
There is an interesting dialog on the issue of Pro-Life, going on at BlogHer. Shannon has written a post titled Why I’m Pro-Life (there are already over 50 comments).
I wasn’t always pro-life.
In the early ’90’s, I was a card-carrying, sign-waving, Clinton-campaigning pro-choicer. I held to the notion that a fetus couldn’t fully be life, since it was dependent entirely on another for its existence. And I believed the notion that abortion is unfortunate, but it wasn’t any of the government’s business.
I wish I could point you to a specific point on my journey where my views shifted entirely. There was no dramatic morning where I woke up suddenly pro-life. My thoughts on the subject have meandered down many roads before winding up where they are today. I’ve been asked to tell you why I believe the way I do. — read full post at BlogHer
This is how I feel about the subject…
I’m pro-choice. And one of the things that makes me the most confused about the pro-life movement is - Their lack of outrage over the destruction of human embryos. Most people who are pro-life, are against embryonic stem cell research. But, every year 350,000 embryos are just thrown out with the trash at fertility clinics, because they can not be used for research. They can’t be used for research, because the pro-life movement considers them “life”…but yet they allow this “life” to be tossed out in the trash. It seems hypocritical to me. Why is this “life” only worth saving under certain circumstances? It’s like a mother who would want to donate a child’s organs to help save someone…Why can’t the parents of these embryos decide whether or not they are used for research?
The other issue that is confusing to me, is the lack of desire to help these children once they are born. The republican/conservative movement, is against funding for single mothers, family planning, WIC, Medicare, Medicaid, housing, education, and other programs…And when these programs are cut or eliminated (as they have been with the Bush administration), this leaves more and more children hungry, homeless, unhealthy, and uneducated. How is this justified? Shouldn’t the life of the unborn child be protected even after it is born? It seems to me this “life” should be even more important after it is born…this child now “knows” it’s alive, and it “feels” hungry, and it “suffers” without healthcare, and it “shivers” in the cold. Where is the outrage over this???
Is The EPA Really Protecting The Environment? — by Catherine Morgan (cross-posted at Care2 Election Blog)
Why is the EPA so determined to refuse to allow California and 17 other states from setting stronger emission standards? If this wasn’t so pathetic it might actually be funny. Our country has this thing called the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). As the name implies, this agency is designed to protect our environment. But oddly enough, the EPA doesn’t seem concerned with the environment so much anymore. In fact, the EPA has evaded disclosure of documents on why California’s emissions laws were struck down.
The refusal to provide a full explanation is the latest twist in a congressional investigation into why the EPA denied California permission to impose what would have been the country’s toughest greenhouse gas standards on cars, trucks and sport utility vehicles.
The EPA is claiming “executive privilege” - I can’t tell you how sick I am of hearing the words “executive privilege” every time an attempt is made to get to the truth about something.
Secrecy, secrecy, and more secrecy - These are the words that are the cornerstones of the Bush administration. Can there be true “democracy” in a government of secrecy? Does “freedom” exist in a country of secrecy? How can there be “unity” in the United States of America, in the face of so much secrecy? One thing is for sure…Global Warming will continue to thrive in this environment of secrecy.
The Care2 community is very concerned with the environment. If you would like to get involved with protecting the environment, here are a few groups you might want to check out…
Is Lethal Injection Cruel and Unusual Punishment? - by Catherine Morgan (cross-posted at Care2 Election Blog)
On Monday, the U.S. Supreme Court heard arguments on whether the method of execution used in most states violates the Constitution’s ban on “cruel and unusual punishment.”
Death penalty critics had hoped that the court would declare unconstitutional the use of a three-drug compound that has been the standard means of execution since the early 1980s. They say the use of a paralyzing drug could mask the fact that the condemned man may suffer searing pain when given a heart-stopping drug.
Let me begin by saying that I am not a proponent of the death penalty. However, I do believe that if you are going to have a “punishment” by death, the person being punished should NOT be granted a procedure that is not afforded to the most sick and dying of our own population.
Justice Antonin Scalia said states have been careful to adopt procedures that do not seek to inflict pain and should not be barred from carrying out executions even if prison officials sometimes make mistakes in administering drugs. “There is no painless requirement” in the Constitution, Scalia said. Chief Justice John Roberts and Justice Samuel Alito also indicated their support for the states’ procedures.
This is what the death row inmates are asking for…
There seems to be no question of whether or not CIA videotapes were destroyed. However, there are many other questions. What was on these tapes? Was what was on these tapes illegal? Who authorized these tapes to be destroyed? Was the destruction of these tapes violating any existing laws? Just to name a few.
But, I think the deeper issue for the American people is trust. Can we trust the administration to tell us the truth? Were these tapes destroyed for the purpose of deceiving us on the “torture” issue? Is there now an attempt to “cover up” who knew what and when? Will we ever know the truth? Well, not today.
On one day the Bush administration attempted to look like they are serious about environmental issues, and then the next day they pull the rug out from under an important emission policy that would have allowed 17 states the right to set their own standards for carbon dioxide emissions from automobiles. What is that about? — READ FULL POST HERE
Finally, some good news! The now signed Energy Bill will require an increase in fuel-economy standards, reduce U.S. dependence on oil, cut greenhouse gas emissions, and totally phase-out the inefficient 10-watt incandescent bulb by 2012.
Late Monday the Senate decided to delay a vote on a bill that would have given the telecom industry immunity for providing private customer information to the government. However, this is just one part of a much more complicated and troubling bill. It’s actually a new government eavesdropping bill that has more than a dozen amendments. This new surveillance bill is meant to replace a temporary law that Congress hastily passed back in August. The law expands the government’s authority to listen in on American communications, [and this is the most troubling part] without a court order.
So, if this law is passed (and it has only been delayed until January), it will give our government the right to eavesdrop on any American citizen, without first getting a warrant to do so from a judge.
I was pleasantly surprised today, to find that my political blog “Informed Voters” was receiving incoming links from The Huffington Post. It seems Carol Jenkins wrote a post about women in politics, and my list of over 275 women political bloggers got a nod. As happy as I am about being recognized by The Huffington Post, the overall message of Carol’s post is an extremely important one…
“Don’t let your voice be silent. Let’s change the conversation together.”
The Women’s Media Center has created Progressive Women’s Voices, a new program to change the conversation and ensure that all of our voices are heard. Through this program, the Women’s Media Center will train, brief and support 15 progressive women whose stories and expertise are critically missing from the national debate.
The Women’s Media Center is seeking participants who represent diverse backgrounds, with experience and knowledge of specific subject areas and with strong communication skills which they will help to further develop. Full program details are available here.
We need your help now - to identify these women and give them a chance to receive the training and support they deserve.
So tell us: Who are the great women out there whose voices deserve to be heard, but who are not yet a part of the national dialogue? Leave your suggestions here, and we’ll make sure that the program information gets in their hands.
And if you’re reading this and think that you may be that woman, then let us know. Whether your expertise is war or peace, leadership, climate change, health care, or technology, chances are you follow the news, and realize that progressive women’s voices, like yours, are missing.
My Opinion: This is the kind of thing that really infuriates me. With issues like the war, our broken healthcare system, education, the economy, and so on and so on…Tricking the voting public with wedge issues like this makes me sick. The only thing worse than using a wedge issue to manipulate the voting public, is a wedge issue that will take take away personal rights of women…This is an infuriating story.
Why would two of our male democratic legislators in Georgia buy into a republican strategy to put a wedge issue on the November 2008 ballot-an issue that is sure to energize the republican base and make it harder for all Georgia democratic candidates to get elected? Oh, and did I mention that this a part of a national GOP strategy, right out the Rove playbook? That’s right, the GOP is seeking to put this amendment on the ballot is several states, not just Georgia. So, why help them?
Mixed in with the water fight and the tax fight, during the next legislative session, Georgia women are going to be literally fighting for control of our eggs. Georgia republicans-with the help of two democratic co-sponsors-will try to pass legislation to put “The Personhood Amendment” or “Human Life Amendment” on the ballot in Georgia in November of 2008.
“The Human Life Amendment,” is a constitutional amendment that defines life as beginning at the moment of fertilization and offering constitutional protections to the fetus.
Ann Coulter Continues Her Diarrhea of the Mouth…Insulting Jews, Women, and Political Bloggers.
While I was putting together my YouTube video recap of the democratic debate last night…I had the misfortune of coming across another interview of Ann Coulter having diarrhea of the mouth. Nothing unusual for Ann. Of course she is given an opportunity to apologize for her hateful remarks about the Jewish faith, but she instead continue her rant, with her “perceived” superiority (Ann is a “profit” in her own mind…a delusional one at that).
Anyway, here is her YouTube “diarrhea of words”, where in the first few minutes she also insults women…Particularly women such as myself, who dare to blog about the “godless” political party of the democrats.
She says that the big story is…”the left wing blogosphere we keep hearing about and code pink lunatics…are they just irrelevant and gutless traitors?”
O.k. — I have know idea what a “code pink lunatic” is, but I’m sure it has something to do with the whole being a godless liberal Coulter delusion.
Part one…
Quick example of the Ann Coulter delusional mind-set…
[As Ann sits at the right hand of The Father, he declares to her, his republican party affiliation.] Of course, how else would she be able to channel God through her best selling books. Unless she’s sitting at the right hand of the “other guy”…more likely if you ask me.
