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Printer Friendly September 12 Newsletter - Word Doc. WOMENSPEAK READER'S THEATER TO BE ON WFHB TONIGHT!!!SRO Monday: Words of inspiration from women who dared to make a difference September 12 August 26th, 2005 marked the 85th anniversary of the passage of the 19th amendment to the US Constitution, the day it became federal law that all women have the right to vote. This day came twelve years AFTER our Monroe County Courthouse was built. Here in Bloomington the Monroe County Democratic Women's Caucus celebrated the anniversary of the end of suffrage by hosting a Women's Equality Day Dinner. The evening included a performance by the WomenSpeak Readers Theater, a showcase of the words of prominent historical figures in the women's suffrage movement read by the women of today - the women of Bloomington. Your host for this rousing and sometimes quite dramatic performance is the Vice Chair of the Democratic Women's Caucus, Susan Sandberg. This event also included a keynote address by U.S. Congresswoman Julia Carson, which is available for download as a separate program: news.wfhb.org/mp3/DLN20050829.mp3 "Standing Room Only" is a locally-produced weekly radio program featuring lectures, town hall meetings and other public forums. "Standing Room Only" amplifies voices not represented in the mainstream media, focusing on issues and events that impact life here in south-central Indiana and beyond. The program airs Mondays at 6pm on WFHB 91.3 and 98.1 FM and is also available online after 8pm at news.wfhb.org for free download For more information: Chad Carrothers, News Director
WIP READING GROUP, SUNDAY SEPT 18th.The W Effect: Bush's War on Women And mark your calendar for upcoming reading group meeting: Sunday September 18 @ 4 pm @ Julie's house. We will be discussing The W Effect: Bush's War on Women edited by Laura Flanders Book Description: In this unique and essential collection, Katha Pollit, Patricia Williams, Barbara Ehrenreich, Jill Nelson, Vandana Shiva, and a host of other frontline thinkers, journalists, and activists employ wit, outrage, and cold, hard facts to expose the "W Effect,"a comprehensive incursion into women's rights. In recent years, women around the globe have come under attack-both literally, in the case of war and punitive repression, and more subtly, in the case of eroded rights and economic power. Yet this dangerous trend has not, to date, been comprehensively documented and deconstructed-in part because women are finding it harder to gain access to the mainstream media. Both a harsh reality check and a hopeful starting point for new action, The W Effect brings together the premier feminist voices to provide cutting-edge reports; fresh, empowering analyses; and engaging, provocative ideas for the future-including a resource guide for information and activism. At this pivotal time, The W Effect is a necessary book for feminists of all ages and genders, for all progressive activists, for students, and for anyone interested in current politics and the future of women's rights and women's lives in America and around the world. With reports on: affirmative action, the Patriot Act, welfare "reform," sexual freedom, reproductive rights, the impact of the religious right, education funding and Title IX, public health policy, globalization, international HIV/AIDS policy, the International Court and the U.N., and more. Journalist and broadcaster Laura Flanders was the founder of the Women's Desk at FAIR (Fairness & Accuracy in Reporting), where, for 10 years, she hosted the syndicated radio program CounterSpin. Flanders currently hosts "Working Assets Radio" and is a contributor to The Nation, The Progressive, Ms. and In These Times. She is the author of Real Majority, Media Minority, The Cost of Sidelining Women in Reporting and Bushwomen: Tales of a Cynical Species (April 2003). Directions to Julie's house (September meeting): From Campus, take 10th street East. Drive past the bypass, the post office, and Smith Road. Once you are past Smith Road, you will see University Elementary on your left (this is the corner of 10th and Russell Road). Take a left onto Russell Rd (can only take a left). 3030 is about 1 and 1/3 miles down Russell Rd, on the right-hand side of the street. We are the second house past Timbercrest Drive (on the right-hand side of the road). Questions? E-mail REDISTRICTING THE COUNTY COUNCIL DISTRICTSRedistricting fiasco continues on Wednesday at the courthouse 5 pm City Council on Wednesday. It is assumed that the commission on redistricting will vote to make a recommendation on a set of maps for the commissioners to adopt at this meeting. It's important that some of us reasonable folks monitor this process, and then make a public comment at the commissioners meeting on Friday, Sept 16th. There are many reasons to oppose a redistricting at this time. While allowable under state law, a redistricting at times other than after the decennial census has not been practiced. The only other county to redistrict at this time is Hamilton County. They have experienced such population growth in certain areas, that the county has paid for a mid-decennial census in order to even out their council districts. Monroe County has not experienced such growth, and there has been no determination, some 4 years after the last redistricting, that the district lines were drawn outside of the guidelines of state law. The populations of the four council districts are well, WELL, within the boundaries of the law regarding population variance. The commissioners have formed this committee to study the redistricting issue, but did not tell them why this needs to be done at this time. Ask the commissioners why. We've not really received an answer. The commissioners and the committee have been asked publicly why this redistricting should proceed now, four years and two elections after the 2001 redistricting. No satisfactory answer has been given. If there were problems with the way these districts were drawn, why is it coming to light now, several years after the commissioners adopted the present maps? Why at this time, when folks who are seriously thinking about running for public office on the county council, making a decision that will affect the viability of their candidacy and the decision of if they want to run at all, will the sands be shifted and part of the rules of the game changed? It undermines the process of recruiting candidates if the boundaries of the districts are continually shifting…. or maybe that's exactly the idea that the Republicans have here. Democrat Pat Williams, who is serving on this committee at the request of the commissioners has asked that the committee get clarification from the commissioners on the formation of the committee and has also asked that public comment be taken on the need for redistricting. Her questions and suggestions have not been fully addressed. The fact is that the Republican candidates for county council won three out of four of the seats that had been redistricted in 2001, after the census numbers were available. Three out of four. The R's have been totally blown away by last year's council race where three out of three seats (at large, not district) were won by Democrats. Now they want to draw the districts for this upcoming election so that they have some sort of edge, or may be they have specific candidates that want to run, but are in the same district as another one… Please consider coming to watch the meeting after work on Wednesday, and perhaps forming a comment to present to the commissioners on Friday morning at their regularly scheduled meeting. CAMPAIGN SEMINAR FOR WOMEN'S CAUCUS on SEPTEMBER 2411:00 am to 3 pm, Phi Delta Kappa International Headquarters, 408 N. Union If we're REALLY going to make some positive changes in the next couple of elections (the county election in 2006 and the city election in 2007) we need to start working. And although we're calling this a campaign seminar, you are welcome to attend whether you are running for office yourself, or whether you are interested in supporting a progressive, Democratic woman for office. Preparation and organization are the keys to our success here! This first in a line of seminars will set the stage for the series. We hope to host a talk by Kristi Robertson from the Indiana Election Commission that will address the new state laws concerning showing an ID at the polls. We'll also hear from other women who have had the opportunities to run for office, or have served as campaign managers for other women. Well study the profile of voting and voters in Monroe County, share information about the upcoming election cycles, talk about other opportunities that will arise in the next cycles, provide helpful tools in preparing one for a candidacy, and also some specific information about the mechanics of how to run. We'll have some good materials that will help a person decide if this is a good time for them to run, seasoned candidates and campaign workers to help with feed back, and some good organizing tools for campaigns. It's going to take all of us together to increase the number of women (progressive, Democratic women!) in the political scene here in Monroe County. Emily's List Training was wonderful for those who attended. This is an extension of that training, bringing it to a local level, filling in with the LOCAL information that you need to be successful in campaigns. To reserve a space email: regina@bluemarble.net PEAK OIL: THE CHALLENGE AND OPPORTUNITY OF PETROLEUM'S WANING DAYSRichard Heinberg, a leading authority, author and lecturer on the topic of Peak Oil and its consequences will be visiting Bloomington Wednesday, September 14th at 7pm. He will give a talk titled: Peak Oil: The Challenge and Opportunity of Petroleum's Waning Days at the Buskirk-Chumley Theater (http://www.buskirkchumley.org/) that evening. The talk will serve as The keynote for the Center for Sustainable Living/City of Bloomington's Simply Living Fair. Dr. Heinberg, (http://www.museletter.com/Richard-Heinberg.html) a faculty member at the New College in California, has traveled extensively for the past year, participating in the ASPO (Association for the Study of Peak Oil) conference in Lisbon, presenting at an energy depletion related food security conference in Dublin, and traveling throughout South Africa for a number of speaking engagements. We are fortunate that he has accepted our invitation to come to our community to present his lecture with the latest information and meet with localcity and county representatives. You are all cordially invited to attend (free admission). There will be a book signing and an opportunity to speak with him following his talk. Richard has authored two books on the subject of Peak Oil (The Party's Over and Powerdown), and both are highly recommended. | |||||
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Contact: Regina Moore | |||||
