rise of female television journalists?

Salon composite

we'll see.

Check out Salon's article on women journalists...

Ladies of the nightly news

The Best Kept Secret

Philadelphia Alliance for Labor Support (PALS) will be screening
Orgasmic Birth, The Best Kept Secret on November 6th at 6pm at the Rotunda (4014 Walnut St).

Woah! According to the flier I picked up, this film is "A documentary that examines the intimate nature of birth and the powerful role it plays in women's lives when they are permitted to experience it fully."

There will be a panel discussion after the film. This goes along very well with our health and sexuality series so if anyone goes please let me know!

for more info email palsdoulatraining@gmail.com

Phinally!

Outrageous

Apparently new evidence suggests a huge disparity in the amount of money men and women pay for individual insurance policies, for the exact same plan.

Reasons?

Some of my favorites from the New York Times article by Robert Pear:

The Childbearing Excuse.....

Insurers say they have a sound reason for charging different premiums: Women ages 19 to 55 tend to cost more than men because they typically use more health care, especially in the childbearing years.....

Representative Xavier Becerra, Democrat of California, said that “if men could have kids,” such disparities would probably not exist.

Man....I always thought both my mom and dad were my parents, but apparently men don't have kids.

Women are more health conscious...

Elizabeth J. Leif, a health insurance actuary in Denver who helps calculate rates for Nebraska and other states, said: “Under the age of 55, women tend to be higher utilizers of health care than men. I am more conscious of my health than my husband, who will avoid going to the doctor at all costs.”

So now women are being punished for taking care of themselves, staying healthy, and practicing preventative medicine? And men are rewarded for not going to the doctor "at all costs"?! Using this logic, men would cost insurance companies more money in the long run.

Presidential Election

Last night we had a great discussion on the Presidential election! Please check out the articles if you haven't done so already:

Economists Grade Presidential Candidates on Ten Issues Vital to Women
Election 2008: Presidential Candidate Ralph Nader
Bob Barr on Reproductive Health Issues

The Pennsylvania ballot will include Barack Obama (D), John McCain (R), Ralph Nader (I), and Bob Barr (L). The Green Party candidate, Cynthia McKinney is not on the ballot but can be written in.
In our discussion, we focused heavily on Cynthia McKinney, as she is the only woman running for President. Other topics included:

• the two-party system and its faults
• the role of third parties
• the centrist politics of Barack Obama
• what's left, what's right, and what's Libertarian?
• "radicalism" vs. the perception of radicalism

So now, LET'S ALL VOTE ON NOVEMBER 4!

Death for just TALKING about women's rights?!

Parwez Kambakhsh (right) with his lawyer, Mohammad Afzal Nuristani (photo: Rahamat Gul/AP)

Parwez Kambakhsh, a 24-year-old Afghan journalism student, was originally sentenced to death for "blasphemy" for an article he had shown to others discussing women's rights under Islam. The court kindly overturned that decision, and his sentence is now 20 YEAR IN PRISON.

Laura King reports for the Los Angeles Times.

Election: PA State Treasurer

On November 4, we will elect a new state treasurer. The incumbent, Robin L. Weissman, is not running (took over for Bob Casey when he won his Senate seat). The responsibilities of treasurer include investing the tax revenues, paying bills, and managing a budget of 60 million and a staff of 520 people.

Here is some of the information discussed at our last meeting on the major candidates:

Rob McCord (Democrat, age 49)
Montgomery County

Experience:

• Cofounder and Director of Pennsylvania Early Stage Partners
• Cofounder of Eastern Technology Fund
• 10 years working with Budget and Regulatory issues on Capitol Hill, working with notable figures such as Al Gore, Norm Mineta, Bob Edgar, and Tony Coehlo.
• Board Member for United Way of Pennsylvania and United Way of Southeastern Pennsylvania

Education:
BA in Economics & History from Harvard University
MBA from UPenn's Wharton School of Business

Self-described objectives as treasurer:

• Cut wasteful spending
• Protect pensions of seniors
• "Attract new innovative business to Pennsylvania to encourage job growth."

Criticism:

Reuters

Tom Ellis (Republican, 49)
Montgomery County

Experience:

• Cheltenham Township Board of Commissioners (1990-2002)
• Montgomery County Board of Commissioners (2003-2006)
• Partner in the Public Finance Department of the law firm Ballard Spahr Andrews & Ingersoll (1985-present)

Education
BA in Political Science from University of Pennsylvania
University of Pennsylvania's School of Law (editor of its Law Review)

**Issues:

• Cut spending in order to reduce taxes
• Preservation of land (by stopping "urban sprawl") and reduction of greenhouse gas emissions
• Public safety

Berlie Etzel (Libertarian, age 77)
Clarion County

Experience:

• 12 years as Math & Science Teacher
• Professor of Math at Cheyney University (1969-1986)
• Assessor of Ashland Township

Education:
BS in Education from Clarion State College
M.Ed from Penn State University

Issues:

• Open books for 'bonusgate' investigations
• Retrieve lost money from PHEAA (see Auditor General blog below)
• Making sure there's a "constitutional basis" for all payments

Rape in the Congo

We have frequently discussed the urgency of the sexual violence epidemic in the Congo. Recently, many organizations, as well as the United Nations, have put forth efforts to prosecute rapists and encourage victims to speak out. As displayed in many parts of the world, both past and present, women often are silenced by family members and shunned by society if they speak out.

Jeffrey Gettleman reports:

Rape Victims' Words Jolt Congo Into Change

PA 2008 Election for Auditor General

At the last meeting, we discussed the upcoming PA election. I researched the Auditor General. Here is my report.

Auditor General – Independent fiscal monitor. In addition to monitoring fiscal matters, the auditor general also looks at the effectiveness and efficiency of laws, government programs, and legislative changes.

2008 Election

Democrat- Jack Wagner, Incumbent. In office since 2005. Jack is pictured above.

Republican – Chet Beiler

Libertarian – Betsy Summers

Beiler, 45, of Lancaster County, is a businessman whose primary enterprise is AmishGazebos.com. Hmm.) He is a fiscal conservative. Beiler criticizes Wagner for not regulating the accuracy of gasoline pumps and taking too long to release his report on PA higher education.

Summers has held the office of PA Judge of the Elections. She believes abortions should always be legal, but not publicly funded in any way. She is for gay marriage and wants to end affirmative action.

Get to know the candidates for Auditor General: http://www.smartvoter.org/2008/11/04/pa/state/race/paau/

Since Wagner is the Incumbent, the most information is available on him. Here is a summary of Wagner’s performance. These reports also give some information on the state of affairs in PA.

Education report from 2007 found:

-schools will not have enough money to cover budget costs in the following year if spending is not adjusted now.

-lack of proper documentation for bus drivers (some drivers did not have a child abuse or criminal background check).

Wagner produced a report about the Department of Conservation and Natural Resources addressing their elimination of life guards in state parks. His report concluded that DCNR should reinstate life guards and provide better signage in the interim. Basically, the DCNR had said that “it’s a trend to not use life guards.” To see the report: http://www.auditorgen.state.pa.us/Department/Info/DCNRBeachesSpecialRpt051408.pdf

Charter Schools - He identified several charter schools that were receiving more funding than necessary for their operations. When a child transfers from a public school to a charter school, the charter school receives funding from the public school for that child. Since the charter school starts out with a base amount of money for operations, if too many kids transfer, the charter school can turn a profit. Wagner said he supports charter schools but encourages Randall to properly monitor their funding so that they do not place unnecessary burden on public schools and taxpayers.

Audited PHEAA for the first time in it’s 45 year history. (Pennsylvania Higher Education Assistant Agency). Uncovered 7.5 million of bonuses given to employees. To see the report: http://www.auditorgen.state.pa.us/Department/Press/WagnerFindsPHEAAGaveMillionsInBonuses.html

Audit of Megan’s law calls for more complete and accurate info to be posted to website. Also, Wagner suggests that increasing the scope of the information on website (adding physical description) will increase the safety that law provides to children. He also points out the need for the state police website to improve organization of the information on the website, so that it is easier to sort through to find the most violet predators (roughly 110 out of the 8,100 listed.)

Mandatory HPV Vaccine for Immigrants

So, more on this topic which I posted about a few weeks ago. I have to admit I haven't read this whole post (I'm in class right now...ha) but it looks like it has a lot of information.

The State Can Violate Women's Bodies if They Want to (via Feminist Law Professors)

P.S. GO PHILLIES!

Connecticut Allows Gay Marriage

Connecticut today joined Massachusetts and California by legalizing gay marriage.

Huffington Post article

MSNBC article

Gender Bias in Fine Dining

Frank Bruni wrote an article in the New York Times investigating sex discrimination in finer New York restaurants. He writes that restaurants regularly participate in gender profiling, assuming women will eat a certain way, are less profitable, and lack the authority or knowledge to choose wine. Many also use an order-tracking software allowing servers to specify which seats "ladies" occupy.

Read the whole article here:

Old Gender Roles With Your Dinner?

What strikes me most is the willingness of women to perpetuate this system, rather than participate in the rejection of male chivalry and power. It's also interesting how "manners" and "etiquette" come into play.

UPDATE: a note on this from Feministing

Salmon with a side of gender stereotyping please

Register to Vote

Pennsylvania's deadline is Monday, October 6th. The following link takes you to Obama's website to register in any state:

Register Here