Women with Opinions

Abstinence-Only Education Gets Failing Grades

Arlene Schenker, of Brighton, a board member and past president of the National Council of Jewish Women, Greater Rochester Section, has a Speaking Out piece in today's Democrat and Chronicle about abstinence-only education.

Schenker's group knows how stupid and dangerous abstinence-only education is and so has launched "Plan A: NCJW's Campaign for Contraceptive Access."   Read all about it here.

The New York Civil Liberties Union (NYCLU) has also done extensive work on this issue and has published an informative report on the subject pertaining to how abstinence-only education is working in NY State.  The report is titled "Financing Ignorance: A Report on Abstinence-Only-Until-Marriage Funding in New York."   As the report reveals, the Catholic Church is very much to blame for helping spread this irresponsible idea.

Permission to use the Ann Telnaes cartoon granted by Women's eNews (womensenews.org).

Stand Up For Us, Senator Robach!

The Rochester Chapter of NOW staged a protest in front of State Senator Joe Robach's office in Greece on Tuesday, April 22.  At issue is the New York State Fair Pay Act (S.2936), which Robach (R,Greece) and his fellow Republicans are  trying to scuttle. 

As the  new head of the Senate Labor Committee, Robach can keep the bill bottled up in committee so it can't be voted upon.  And, that's just what he's doing.

He'll See You in Court

Jack Davis is mad and he's taking the matter to court, the high court.  We're talking the US Supreme Court, and you can't get no higher than that.

One thing about Jack, you make him mad, he doesn't let it fester; he acts.  Back in 2003, for instance, when Jack was still a Republican, he plunked down money for two tickets to a $1000 a plate fund raiser in Buffalo so he could have a word with the guest of honor  Vice President Dick Cheney about free trade.  Jack hates free trade, thinks it's ruining our country, destroying jobs.  Don't get him started.

Anyway, Cheney wouldn't speak to Jack, and Jack didn't take it well.  In fact, he threw a fit, a super-sized fit.  The upshot of that was, Cheney's goons  ejected Jack from the room.  That's right, threw him OUT.  Next thing you know, Jack left the Republican Party (Take that, Cheney!) and signed up as a Democrat.   

Now Jack Davis is running for Congress in the 26th District (That's the seat that Tom Reynolds is vacating, the seat that Alice Kryzan and Jon Peters also want to sit in.).  This will make the third time Jack has run for that seat.   The first two times, he spent a total of $3.5  million dollars of his own  money (Jack's an industrialist, a rich one, a millionaire, in fact).

Whoopee! Whoopi Backs Hillary

Alice Kryzan Has a Plan (to End the War)

One of the most critical issues facing this country is how to extract ourselves from Iraq, that fiasco created by George W. Bush to send a message to his father (Look, Daddy, I was man enough to invade Iraq and you weren't.).  Two  candidates running for the US House of Representatives in our area, Alice Kryzan and Eric Massa, think they know the best way to get us out of that mess. 

Kryzan, who is a lifelong Democrat, is running for a House seat in the 26th Congressional district, which is being vacated by Republican Tom Reynolds.   Massa, who is also a Democrat, is running for a seat in the 29th district against encumbant  Randy Kuhl, a Republican.    

Read about the plan Kryzan and Massa are advocating here and listen to Alice Kryzan talk further about the issue in this video (Note: The video was shot shortly before General David Petreus reported on the progress of the war to Congress on April 8.)

Leading by Example, Not

Jon Powers wants to go to Congress and fill the House seat being vacated by Tom Reynolds.  Thus far, six of the seven county Democratic committees in the 26th district have endorsed Powers, Erie County being the lone holdout.

Powers, who is still in his twenties, served  in Iraq and is trying to use his military experience, like many men before him, as a springboard into high public office.   His campaign slogan is  "Leading by Example."

Powers' campaign, which up until this point had been going  swimmingly, hit a pothole this week when it was revealed that Powers has been using campaign funds to help pay the rent on his apartment in Buffalo.  This is a violation of federal election laws. 

Powers promised to repay the money, $4000 in total, "immediately," said his campaign manager John Gerken.

Here's what the Water Buffalo Press blog has to say about the mess: "Worst case scenario is that Powers is using campaign funds for personal gain, best case is that the campaign management is completely inept."

Political Advice from the Ivory Tower

In his column today in  the Democrat and Chronicle, Mark Hare discusses the part race and gender are playing in the November presidential election.  Hare interviewed Anthea Butler, assistant professor in the Department of Religion and Classics at the University of Rochester, for her take on the subject. 

According to the professor,  to beat Obama Hillary needs to show more of her mothering or nuturing side. "I'd like to see her kiss a few babies,"  says Butler.

Well, it certainly worked for George Bush, didn't it?

Rise, Hillary, Rise

A Sports Hall of Fame for Women! What Next?

In May, the Sports Museum of America will open in New York City.  It will include the Billie Jean King International Women's Sports Center, which will be the nation's first permanent women's sports hall of fame and exhibit.  About time, I say!

Billie Jean made her mark in history in 1973 when she defeated Bobby Riggs in one of the most famous tennis matches in history.  Riggs was the former No. 1 men's player.  King  went on  to do  tons of other great things for women's sports, including founding the Women's Tennis Association and the Women's Sports Foundation and getting women tennis players equal pay with male players.  Listen up, Joe Robach (State Senator Robach (R-Greece) is helping to block the Fair Pay Act in Albany.) 

Why is Alice Kryzan Running for Congress?