2008 is the Year of the Woman. So, how is that turning out? Not so well, unless, as Marie Cocco put it, you consider becoming an object of national ridicule to be a symbol of advancement.

Great articles have already been posted on No Quarter about sexism and misogyny and how the candidacies of Hillary Clinton and Sarah Palin revealed hideous examples of what we had long assumed would be met with harsh condemnation. But, what crawled out from under the rock is alive and well—and shameless. The media fed it until it became beefy and gigantic.

But everyone can take action NOW. There is something really easy that we all concerned women and men can do, and it starts at the highest level of government. It costs nothing except for one minute of your time.

Two very fine groups, (I know some of those involved, and vouch for them 100%) are involving organizations and blogs all over the country to establish a Presidential Commission on Women. The Campaign for Gender Equality realized back in July that a Presidential Commission was the place to start and partnered with WomenCount , a group of highly talented women that early on supported Hillary Clinton. Together these first-rate groups are making Herculean efforts to get signatures—20 million would be nice—of women and men who were appalled by what slithered out from under the rock.

But, isn’t that just another do-nothing committee, you ask? Not at all. According to
The Campaign for Gender Equality, past commissions have provided the basis for legislative and administrative reform as well as affecting the very social climate itself via their sometimes forceful role as public educators. They can promote redefinition of critical social and political issues, increase awareness, lend legitimacy to previously marginal points of view, and actually inspire the national conscience.

Please ask President-Elect Obama to establish a Commission on Women to address gender issues as an early goal. In the end, women came though for Obama. He must now be encouraged to come through for women.

Go to petition (with more info) HERE. Please also share this information to your like-minded friends.

Thanks!

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Earlier: According to MSNBC, U.S. Representative Stephanie Tubbs Jones has been admitted to a Cleveland-area hospital, a spokesman said early Wednesday. No further information is known on her condition. [UPDATE: Her office now states that she suffered an aneurysm.]

Tubbs Jones was admitted to Huron Road Hospital in East Cleveland on Tuesday, said Joyce Persuade. Tubbs Jones’ family members have asked that no other information on the five-term Cleveland Democrat be made public, Persuade said.

MSNBC reported the following:

The 58-year-old Tubbs Jones became the first black woman to represent Ohio in Congress when she was elected in 1998.

Tubbs Jones is set to be a superdelegate at next week’s Democratic National Convention in Denver. One of Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton’s biggest boosters during the primaries, she threw her support to Barack Obama in June.

Tubbs Jones is expected to speak at the launch of WomenCount.org with Senator Hillary Clinton on August 26, 2008 in Denver.

Here is the announcement of this newly formed group:

Join Senator Hillary Clinton
and Rep. Stephanie Tubbs Jones

To celebrate the launch of WomenCount.org
Let’s continue the journey and make the feminist movement fresh, hip & wholly irresistible!!!

Here are the women responsible for giving the feminist movement a new look, Stacy Mason, Rosemary Camposano, and Jehmu Greene.

Despite throwing her support to Obama, we wish Representative Tubbs Jones a quick and speedy recovery.

On CNN’s Larry King Live Thursday night, Cynthia Ruccia of Women For Fair Politics debated Ellen Moran (a different Ellen) who represents Emily’s List — which has disappointingly decided to back Barack Obama instead of sticking to its founding charter of supporting women candidates:

Don’t miss all of Ellen4Hill’s story here, “My Response to Emily’s List’s E-Mail.”

Emily’s List should stick to its fundamental goal: To elect qualified women across the country.

The last thing that Emily’s List should be doing is seeking to dilute its funds needed for female candidates by backing Barack Obama, who permitted and participated in the sexist attacks on Hillary Clinton.

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This, and many other videos, are available at the JustSayNoDeal.com channel at YouTube, as are videos at our NoQuarter channel.

When you read the I Own My Vote Pledge, keep in mind that the demands it contains are not admissions of defeat, nor are they conditions precedent to your vote. Hillary’s campaign is only suspended, not ended. And only you can decide when your vote has been earned. Whether you are a PUMA activist, a WomenCountPAC donor, a Just Say No Deal blogger, a Clinton Democrat for McCain, a yellow dog Democrat for VoteBoth, or simply a Hillary Clinton supporter who feels like the Party leaders and their presumptive nominee are ignoring everything that you value, the most powerful statement you can make right now is that YOU OWN YOUR VOTE. Only in finding that common ground will we be counted, for only in that common ground will we be able to count ourselves.

I stand together with Hillary Clinton’s 18 million voters to demand that Senator Obama and the Democratic Party:

• Bring us together by seating 100% of the Florida and Michigan delegations in Denver with 100% of their votes, allocated in accordance with the popular vote of each state.
• Bring us together by adopting policies on the Platform Committee that Hillary Clinton has championed.
• Bring us together through reform of the primary and caucus system to reflect the basic principle of one person/one vote.
• Bring us together through outspoken denunciation of all gender bias, racism and other forms of discrimination.
• Bring us together by fairly and respectfully including Hillary and her supporters at the Democratic National Convention in Denver by, among other things, placing her name in nomination for President, conducting a roll call vote, and providing her a prominent speaking role during prime time on August 26th, the 88th anniversary of women’s suffrage.

I own my vote. It does not belong to any party. It does not belong to any candidate. It does not belong to any mob that would impose its will on me. Only I can decide how to use my vote, and I can decide based on any criteria I choose. Therefore I pledge not to give my vote to anyone who does not earn it.

Click here to sign the pledge: http://iownmyvote.com/

Via Clinton Democrats, today’s action item of the day:

Today Senator Barbara Mikulski joined Senators Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.), Barbara Boxer (D-Calif.), Patty Murray (D-Wash.), Mary Landrieu (D-La.), Blanche Lincoln (D-Ark.), Debbie Stabenow (D-Mich.), Maria Cantwell (D-Wash.), Claire McCaskill (D-Mo.) and Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.) to announce their “Checklist for Change,” a list of ten issues Congress can immediately address to improve the lives of the American people. They include: providing equal pay for equal work, keeping jobs in America, making health care affordable, taking care of our military families and veterans, restoring America’s credibility in the world, protecting our environment, making America energy independent, preparing for future disasters, enforcing fiscal accountability and protecting the family checkbook. This is a blatant pander - a “checklist” of hot button items to women.

Call me cynical, but this sudden urge to “do something” about issues most important to women strikes me as “just words.”

Please contact these leaders and tell them if they really care about the concerns of women they should stand up and endorse Hillary Clinton. If they care about equal rights and equal treatment that they should stand up against sexism in the Democratic party.

If they care about women’s rights they should investigate the treatment of Hillary Clinton by the media. If they care about reforming healthcare, they should help Hillary Clinton get into the White House. If they care about keeping jobs in America, they should not be endorsing the guy that once again has flip-flopped on NAFTA.

Specifically ask Senator McCaskill “Why, after accepting approximately $500,000 from Emily’s List did you feel no obligation to back the more qualified female candidate for President?”

Sen. Klobuchar accepted roughly $300,000 from Emily’s List. Why didn’t she endorse Hillary?

Sen. Boxer was mum during this whole primary season. Why the sudden concern about women’s issues now? Senator Boxer launched an investigation into the horrific treatment of the Dixie Chicks after one of them publicly criticized Bush. Where is that outrage about the treatment Hillary has received? Where is the investigation?

Senator Claire MCCASKILL Contact Senator McCaskill

Senator Debbie STABENOW Contact Senator Stebenow

Senator Barbara BOXER Contact Senator Boxer

Senator Amy KLOBUCHAR Contact Senator Knobuchar

And remind them that it is hypocritical to support Barack Obama as an advocate for energy independence when he voted for the Bush-Cheney Energy Policy that was nothing more than than a giveway of taxpayer money to oil and energy companies. Remind them that Barack Obama has received more contributions from energy companies that all other candidates combined.

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From my blog, By The Fault.

Now I know that some say Dick Morris knows women’s toes, and I know that he has been suspected of paying for women in lieu of being able to have one for free, but his assessment of what women are thinking with respect to Barack Obama is Toe-tally off.

Dick Morris Inaccurate Assessment Number One: Women are only making a fuss because they want Hillary to be Barky’s VP.

The thing is, Dick, that’s the last thing most of us want. Some of us have spent enough time in Corporate America to recognize the habit of hiring a superior woman to hold up a mediocre man, while he prances around and preens and takes the credit. This describes Barack Obama’s character completely.

Most women would not only regard the “bridesmaid” idea as degrading, but most of us don’t want Hillary to be caught standing next to Barack Obama when he goes down in flames in November. We know that she could help him win and we do not want him to be President. Therefore, the thought of Hillary as the VP candidate is not attractive to us. We intend to provide as much help to defeat him as possible, although we probably won’t have nearly as much impact as all those “bitter hicks”. And finally, most of us wouldn’t vote for Barack Obama if he picked our own Mother as his VP.

It’s not about Hillary at this point. It’s about Barack Obama. We don’t trust him with our country and we don’t trust him with our lives. And mostly, we don’t trust him with our rights as women. So get that idea out of your head, Dick, mkay? We wouldn’t want you to appear as out of touch as Howard “The Confident” is.

Dick Morris Inaccurate Assessment Number Two: Women will vote for Barack Obama “because of the Supreme Court”. Those were his words yesterday, no kidding. I didn’t make that up.

I am going to assume here that Dick means the ominous Roe v. Wade scare. Well, Dick, I’m here to tell you that this has been a tool the Democrats have used to keep us in line for far too long. With this tool, Tools like Howard Dean have gotten women to make their phone calls, do their precinct work, carry their water and otherwise do the grunt work for “The Party”. I’m also here to tell you that this argument means nothing to us any longer.

For starters, if the Democratic party cared about a woman’s right to choose, big shots like Nancy Pelosi and Harry Reid would have done something about it legislatively long ago. But that wouldn’t have been any fun, would it? I mean, how would they keep all those women in the voting line pulling that “D” lever if that were to happen?

We’re onto the Democratic Party patriarchs and we aren’t buying the threat any longer. Roe v. Wade is going nowhere, and we all know it. If it could have gone anywhere, the other side of the Barack Obama Extremist Whackjob Coin, namely George W. Bush, would have made it happen long ago. And even if Roe v. Wade were in danger of being “overturned,” the only result would be that the Federal government would be out of the picture and states would take over. Then you would all have to find something else to threaten us women with in order to get us to vote for a sexist pig like Sweetie Obama.

Ok, I’ll be the devil’s advocate here. Let’s assume that this lame threat that the Democratic Party has used on us for decades were to come to fruition by some absolute freak of luck. I have an opinion about that too–and it in no way resembles Dick Morris’ opinion.

In my opinion, any woman who falls for the misogynist pig named Barack Obama is already in danger of losing her rights as a complete person. Roe v Wade is the least of her worries after that happens, because once Sweetie Obama starts setting the Example for the workplace, it will be downhill all the way. The President of the United States has always set the tone in the workplace. As his attitude goes, so goes the attitude of all those corporations. Considering that Barack Obama has already set gender relations back 30 years, good luck with the thought that things will be just fine for women when he is President.

In my opinion, if my younger sisters lose Roe v Wade it will be their own fault for taking the rights they have for granted, because they didn’t fight for them. They think these rights will always be there and nothing could be further from the truth. If this year’s Democratic Primary showed us one thing, it’s that these rights are precarious. In fact they would be completely gone in the wrong hands. And the wrong hands belong to Barack Obama, the man who secretly chuckled with glee as women were bashed by-proxy by his surrogates, his followers, the press and him.

I see many very young women who are dangerously complacent enough to take the time to swoon over a sexy empty suit who has already set gender relations back a minimum of 30 years. And we haven’t even gotten to the General Election campaign yet. If these women lose Roe v Wade because they all want to be the Obama Girl, then it serves them right. Not my problem. I know how not to get pregnant.

It’s my job to protect the rights I fought for that matter to me. I do not take these rights lightly. This is a misogynist’s campaign and if squealing young women are too busy spawning over Leland Gaunt handing out Needful Things and discussing his vibrating cell phone when he leans on one of them, then they will have to learn to take the consequences of their own folly along with the consolations. Maybe then they will Get It. I have already done well enough in my life. Complacency is their enemy, not mine. If they don’t appreciate what the previous generation of women went through so that they could act like they want to spawn for Barack Obama, then they don’t deserve our help any longer. Let em eat vibrating cell phones.

I sincerely hope this clears things up for Dick Morris.

Evidently, Obama has hijacked the DNC and moved it lock, stock, and barrel to CHICAGO!!! WOWIE ZOWIE!! How do the OTHER 57 states feel that the DNC has now become the BONC? Holy freakin’ Toledo.

This is really hard to fathom. Obama is a JUNIOR Senator. Hell, he has barely been there for his first term, and certainly has done very little real work since he has been so busy stealing - um, I mean - campaigning - for votes.

As we all know by now, he could not even chair his own subcommittee on piddly matters like AFGHANISTAN and NATO because he was busy running around the country on his Unity Unicorn. And now, and NOW - he has essentially taken over the ENTIRE DNC.

How does this happen, I ask you? Is it that people have HANDED over that much power to him, and if so, WHY? Why would they give a junior senator who has essentially ZERO experience, the reins to the WHOLE enchilada??? If I were still a Democrat, I’d be mighty upset by this.

Even still, I have never, in my entire 50 years on this planet, EVER heard of a presidential candidate having THIS much power over the organization, never mind one who had so little experience. Oh, wait - there hasn’t BEEN a presidential candidate with so little experience before - maybe THAT’S the issue!!

If we only had people who had relationships with nefarious people, some flat-out criminal, and NO real Congressional experience, maybe THEY would have hijacked their entire political organization, too!!! Who knew?!

Well, good luck with all of that. As Texas Darlin’ has already pointed out at NoQuarter, Obama and the DNC are having a hard time raising money.

Wow - what a surprise, NOT!!! See, evidently, none of the muckety mucks at the DNC bothered to read all of our emails telling them we would not give them one more NICKEL if they kept shoving the least experienced, most poorly prepared, candidate down our throats. And, they must have hit the Spam button when we kept telling them we would NOT support their pick over the most QUALIFIED candidate, who was heads and shoulders above her competition. Maybe they thought we would all fall in line after all, being the good little women (and men who support a qualified woman) we were, and toe the line after all, hanging the specter of John McCain over our heads. Oooohhhh, scary!!! (Seriously - I am not voting for McCain, but he cannot be anywhere NEAR as bad as Bush, could he?)

Surprise!!!! We were all telling the truth!! We WILL NOT VOTE FOR OBAMA PERIOD!! We will NOT support their mind-boggling choice to be the DNC nominee. Nope - not when we have seen the one whom we COULD have had!!

Why in the HELL would we want someone who really DOES flip flop around on every single issue and answer, someone who makes OUTRAGEOUS claims like NO ONE has done more for the LGBT community, or for women, or for Israel, or just NAME a group, than Obama has.

After I picked myself up off the floor laughing myself silly on THOSE stupid comments, you have this guy saying he NEVER said he would pull the troops out of Iraq. WHAAA??? Is Obama REALLY so naive as to think we don’t have VIDEO TAPE?!?!?!? Really?? He said it over and over and OVER again in every single one of those debates.

Now, I thought HIS people were supposed to be all of the edumacated (!) ones, but thank HEAVENS I had a good Logic professor while pursuing my undergrad degree in Philosophy, and a good ethics professor for my Master’s of Divinity, concentrating in Ethics, ’cause I detect not only some logical fallacies here, but some downright LIES.

This man’s lack of an ethical base is but ONE of the MANY reasons I will never vote for him. I have seen the alternative, and having seen her, someone who really HAS done a lot for the LGBT community, for women, for the working poor, for veterans, and I could go on and on, cannot, absolutely WILL not, support this sham of a candidate who has hijacked the entire party. Like I said, Good luck to ‘em all!

I guess THIS will learn me to take a vacation during a presidential election cycle!! Sheesh.

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From my blog, Rabble Rouser Ruminations.

* represent the 18 million Americans who voted for Hillary;

* acknowledge Hillary’s 35 years of experience;

* reform a flawed nominating process, especially caucuses;

* address the flagrant, often hostile, gender bias in the campaign;

* assure parity to the 52 percent of Americans who are women;

* apologize for their public silence in the wake of the
outrageous attacks leveled by Father Pfleger against Hillary;

* and support the issues we hold dear, such as health
insurance for everyone, a good start for all children, a strong economy,
and a smart environmental policy.

Here is a sneak preview of their next ad that may be out on Monday.

To contribute, go to www.womencountpac.com . Remember that the quickest way to get the funds to them is to send a check by overnight mail or print out and fax back the credit card form you can download from the web site.