Tag Archives: Domestic violence

National Women's Law Center - Don't Discount Women: Demand Fair Change Not Spare Change

Why are policy makers thinking about cutting Social Security behind closed doors? Because it’s easier for them if you don’t really know what’s happening.

Well, the cat is out of the bag.

According to recent news reports, the chained CPI is officially on the table and gaining buzz in the current deficit reduction negotiations. If the chained CPI (a new and lower Consumer Price Index) is adopted the cost-of-living adjustments (COLA) that Social Security recipients depend on would be calculated in a new way that cuts the value of benefits each year. And no matter how Washington insiders try to spin it, it means a CUT to Social Security benefits.

Act now: Urge policymakers to take the chained CPI off the table during budget negotiations.

Need a reason to take action? How about five?

The chained CPI will cut the value of benefits each year.
The cuts add up — quickly. The cut in the value of benefits will be equivalent to the cost of a week’s worth of food each month by age 80 and nearly two weeks’ worth by 95 for the typical single elderly woman.
The chained CPI cuts everyone’s benefits — including today’s beneficiaries — as soon as it goes into effect.
It particularly hurts women because, on average, they live longer than men and are already more likely to be poor.
It’s less accurate because it doesn’t account for the real increases in the cost of living the elderly face each year.

Oh, and there’s a 6th! As the White House has pointed out, Social Security isn’t the cause of our deficits. So switching the COLA to the chained CPI is just an underhanded move to balance the budget on the backs of the elderly, especially elderly women.

Your voice can make a difference! Tell your Members of Congress and President Obama that the chained CPI should NOT be part of deficit reduction talks.

Thanks for all of your support!

Sincerely,

Joan Entmacher
Vice President, Family Economic Security
National Women’s Law Center

P.S. Are you on Facebook? Help us spread the word about what the chained CPI would really mean for women.

P.P.S. Read just one of the many news reports here.

Black History

Congress: the Republican led House : the Senate on break until Dec.10

12/07/2012 Nativegrl77

11:00:00 A.M.		The House convened, starting a new legislative day.
11:01:10 A.M.		The Speaker designated the Honorable Andy Harris to act as Speaker pro tempore for today.
11:01:18 A.M.		Today’s prayer was offered by the House Chaplain, Rev. Patrick J. Conroy.
11:02:16 A.M.		The Speaker announced approval of the Journal. Pursuant to clause 1, rule I, the Journal stands approved.
11:02:20 A.M.		PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE TO THE FLAG – The Chair led the House in reciting the Pledge of Allegiance to the Flag.
11:02:50 A.M.		The House received a message from the Clerk. Pursuant to the permission granted in Clause 2(h) of Rule II of the Rules of the U.S. House of Representatives, the Clerk notified the House that she had received the following message from the Secretary of the Senate on December 6, 2012 at 9:42 a.m.: That the Senate passed S. 1947 and S. 3254.
11:02:52 A.M.		The House received a message from the Clerk. Pursuant to the permission granted in Clause 2(h) of Rule II of the Rules of the U.S. House of Representatives, the Clerk notified the House that she had received the following message from the Secretary of the Senate on December 6, 2012 at 5:22 p.m.: That the Senate passed H.R. 6582, without amendment, and passed S. 3666.
11:03:30 A.M.		The House received a message from the Clerk. Pursuant to the permission granted in Clause 2(h) of Rule II of the Rules of the U.S. House of Representatives, the Clerk notified the House that she had received the following message from the Secretary of the Senate on December 6, 2012 at 3:46 p.m.: That the Senate passed H.R. 6634, without amendment.
11:04:35 A.M.		The House received a message from the Clerk. Pursuant to the permission granted in Clause 2(h) of Rule II of the Rules of the U.S. House of Representatives, the Clerk notified the House that she had received the following message from the Secretary of the Senate on December 6, 2012 at 12:42 p.m.: That the Senate passed H.R. 4310, with an amendment, and requests a conference with the House, and appoints conferees; that the Senate passed S. 3331, and passed H.R. 6156, without amendment.
11:05:11 A.M.		The Speaker announced that the House do now adjourn pursuant to a previous special order. The next meeting is scheduled for 12:00 p.m. on December 11, 2012.

~ politics petitions pollution and pop culture

Jane Doe via Change.org

10/10/2012 Nativegrl77

Verizon will no longer punish victims of domestic violence with cancellation fees. Now Sprint should do the same.

Sign Jane’s Petition

My name is not Jane. I need to keep my real name secret because the man who abused me can’t know where I am — I fear for my safety. But when I was leaving him and needed to get him off the cell phone contract we shared, Sprint put my safety at risk.

The man who abused me is the father of my son. When our baby was just four months old, he watched as his father strangled me and threatened to stomp on my head with steel-toed boots. I left and got a restraining order the next day.

But at a time when I had no job, no steady place to live, and feared for my life and the life of my little one, Sprint refused to let me get my abuser off my cell phone contract unless I paid them $200 — even though the contract was in my name. I had no money, and the man who threatened to kill me could track exactly who I was calling and when.

I was inspired when I saw that another woman started a petition on Change.org asking Verizon to end contract cancellation fees for victims of domestic violence — and she won. So I started my own petition asking Sprint to do the same. Click here to add your name.

When I signed the petition asking Verizon to drop cancellation fees for victims of domestic violence, I was shocked how many other people who signed shared awful stories about Sprint. One woman wrote about how Sprint made her meet her abusive ex-boyfriend in person at the Sprint store before they’d let her cancel her contract.

As for me, I’m still so afraid of my abuser that I can’t even use my real name. But this issue is so important for women like me fighting for their lives, I knew I had to do something.

Cindy’s petition to Verizon made me realize that I am not alone. If she can get Verizon to change its policies to prioritize the safety of victims of domestic violence, there’s no reason Sprint can’t do the same. I know that if enough people sign my petition, Sprint will do the right thing, too.

Click here to sign my petition demanding that Sprint follow in Verizon’s footsteps and end cancellation fees for victims of domestic violence.

Thank you,

Jane Doe USA

~ politics petitions pollution and pop culture

Weekly Address: Congress Should Keep America Moving Forward

10/08/2012 Nativegrl77

by whitehouse

In this week’s address, President Obama says that Congress should act to keep our nation moving forward by keeping taxes low for 98 percent of Americans, cutting red tape so responsible homeowners can save about $3,000 a year on their mortgage by refinancing at lower rates, and creating a veterans jobs corps to help our returning heroes find work.

Weekly Address: Congress Should Keep America Moving Forward

In October, the White House is working to recognize a range of important causes:

Breast Cancer Awareness Month: On Monday evening, the White House was illuminated pink to mark the first day of Breast Cancer Awareness Month. President Obama wrote in a Presidential Proclamation, “we honor those we have lost, lend our strength to those who carry on the fight, and pledge to educate ourselves and our loves ones about this tragic disease.”
National Energy Action Month: On Monday, in an official proclamation, President Obama called on the American people to “recognize this month by working together to achieve greater energy security, a more robust economy, and a healthier environment for our children.” The President is pursuing an all-of-the-above strategy to help the United States achieve energy independence. Watch this video outlining the progress we’ve made and President Obama’s plan for the future.
Domestic Violence Awareness Month: This month also marks Domestic Violence Awareness month. The Obama Administration is committed to raising awareness and preventing domestic violence. Earlier this year, President Obama directed federal agencies (PDF) to develop policies to assist victims of domestic violence in the federal workforce. Through Vice President Biden’s 1 is 2 Many campaign, we released a public service announcement featuring professional athletes and other role models speaking out against dating violence.

Energy Datapalooza: On Monday, the White House hosted an Energy Datapalooza highlighting private-sector entrepreneurs and innovators who are using freely available data from the government and other sources to build products, services, and apps hat advance a secure and clean energy future.
MRAP Task Force: Also on Monday at the Pentagon, the Vice President commemorated the achievements of the Mine-Resistant Ambush-Protected vehicle (MRAP) Task Force—the men and women who helped accelerate the production and fielding of protective vehicles to our forces in Iraq and Afghanistan, saving the lives of thousands of Americans. Learn more about the MRAP achievement here.
Educating the Educators: On Wednesday, Dr. Jill Biden announced that more than 100 colleges have signed on to Operation Educate the Educators, a partnership between the American Association of Colleges for Teacher Education and Military Child Education Coalition. To learn more, read Dr. Biden’s blog post about this major milestone.
The Employment Situation in September: Today, the Bureau of Labor Statistics released the latest jobs report, showing that private sector establishments added 104,000 jobs last month, and overall non-farm payroll employment rose by 114,000. The economy has now added private sector jobs for 31 straight months. For more information, read Chairman of the Council of Economic Advisors Alan B. Krueger’s blog post.
Equal Futures: Last week, the United States, along with 12 other founding nations, announced Equal Futures, a new partnership between the U.S. and other nations to advance the rights and opportunities of women and girls. Today, the White House hosted a special Office Hours session with Valerie Jarrett, Senior Advisor to the President and Chair of the White House Council on Women and Girls and Samantha Power, Senior Director for Multilateral Affairs, to answer questions about how the Obama Administration is working to empower women and girls through the Equal Futures Partnership. See what you missed during the live Q&A on Twitter here.

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Senator Patty Murray & Education – Washington State

05/17/2012 Nativegrl77

Keeping College Affordable

Last week, I joined with students and administrators at South Seattle Community College to host a rally in support of the Stop the Student Loan Interest Rate Hike Act of 2012. Unless Congress acts, interest rates for over 100,000 students across Washington state will double on July 1 ^st , which would add $1,000 to the cost of these loans for millions of Americans and will be one more strain for students and families already fighting to afford college in this tough economy. At the rally, I called on Republicans to end their filibuster of this bill and work with Democrats to keep rates low for millions of students. I will continue to fight to make sure we avoid the automatic increase on July 1 ^st. We should be working to make it easier for students to afford college, not harder.

“Senator Murray rallies SSCC students to fight for student loan interest rate protection”
– West Seattle Herald

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Continuing to Push for Stronger Violence Against Women Legislation

Last week, House Republicans released their version of the Violence Against Women Act. The House bill, which passed with only Republican support and with strong bipartisan opposition, not only stripped the Senate version of the bill’s provisions making needed progress for LGBT, immigrant, and tribal victims, but also included dangerous rollbacks of existing protections for immigrant victims.

I believe the House Republican version of VAWA is a giant step backward for victims of domestic violence. This is dangerous and irresponsible and leaves women across the country more vulnerable to domestic abuse. Where a person lives, who they love, or what their citizenship status may be should not determine whether or not their perpetrators are brought to justice. I’m glad that in the Senate we were able to come together around an inclusive, bipartisan bill, and I remain committed to fighting to make sure my colleagues in the House of Representatives will do the same. We’ve made a lot of progress since VAWA was first passed in 1994, and I hope that my Republican colleagues will not insist on putting partisan politics ahead of protecting victims of domestic violence. I will continue to fight in support of the Senate’s bipartisan bill, and to make sure that Republicans do not turn back the clock on the important progress that has been made.

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Celebrating the Anniversary of Title IX

Megan Rapinoe, midfielder for the Seattle Sounders Women, recalling how Title IX opened the door for her as a young athlete.

A few weeks ago, I had the honor of joining with members of the Seattle Sounders Women and student athletes at Garfield High School in Seattle to mark the upcoming 40 ^th anniversary of Title IX, historic legislation that fundamentally changed the lives of women and girls across the country by allowing them equal access to athletic opportunities. Members of the Sounders Women talked about the ways this legislation helped open doors for them when they were younger, and I discussed legislation I am currently cosponsoring The High School Sports Information Collection Act in the Senate , that will strengthen the rights provided by Title IX, to ensure that future generations of young women are able to continue expanding opportunities and leveling the playing field.

“Sen. Murray teams up with Sounders Women to discuss Title IX”
– Bothell Reporter

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