Women's Equality Day

Or should I say inequality? How come there's not a Men's Equality Day? I mean, really, would we even need a Women's Equality Day if there was true equality between the sexes?

In any event, today we are celebrating the passage of the 19th Amendment, giving women the vote on this day in 1920. I'm thankful for the women (suffragists and suffragettes) who, 88 years ago fought hard and won the right for women to vote equally in the eyes of the law. Women like Alice Paul, Sara Bard Field, Ernestine Kettler, and many others went from tea rooms to prison in order to secure the equal right for women to vote. Read their stories here:
http://bancroft.berkeley.edu/ROHO/projects/suffragist

You can also watch the HBO version of their story, Iron Jawed Angels.
http://www.hbo.com/films/ironjawedangels/

I honor their sacrifice, and vow to continue to keep secure the rights of women in this century, despite obstacles and seriously misguided women like this former Hillary Clinton supporter.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2008/08/26/former-clinton-backer-wro_n_121429.html

Debra Bartoshevich, who is apparently clueless that John McCain doesn't recognize the same woman's right to choose that Hillary does, went from being a pledged democratic delegate to pariah in less than 24hrs. Way to go Deb!

Apparently she was confused by the 'mixed messages' (aka flip-flopping or outright deceit) of the McCain Campaign, who are pandering to prior Hillary backers with a wink and a nod about not overturning Roe v. Wade. Despite the fact that John McCain himself has publicly stated that he is (now) pro-life, and believes that life begins at conception.

This stance on the origin of life, in effect, completely denies any validity of a woman as a separate being, nurturing and hosting a growing child within her womb, seeing her only as some sort of controllable and unfortunately necessary, egg-producing incubator. Sound harsh? I don't think so. If life begins at conception, then the only role a woman has is in donating her egg. I wonder if McCain has seriously considered exactly what hard-line dogma he's buying into? I think this is a bit of projection on the part of the male run neo-con movement, and wanting to control the right to a woman continuing or not continuing a pregnancy after being raped, or if her life is in jeopardy negates the life of the very person necessary to birth a child in the first place. This kind of religion based, fanatical belief system is insulting and infuriating. All women should take notice and be aware that these attitudes become pervasive, and then become law.

Someone seriously needs to talk some sense into this Debra Bartoshevich, pronto, before she does something stupid, like vote against her own beliefs. Geez, what an idiot.

But I'm off topic myself now. Where was I? Before the right to decide whether or not you want to bring a child into the world, or whether doing so would be too great a risk to life and health? The right to vote.

Here's the statement that Barack Obama put out today. It's posted on his blog:
http://my.barackobama.com/page/content/hqblog
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Sen. Obama issued a statement today honoring Women’s Equality Day...

Beginning with a meeting in Seneca Falls, New York in 1848, women organized themselves and worked to secure the right to vote so they could make their voices heard through the ballot box. On this day in 1920, the 19th Amendment passed and women could no longer be denied that right.

As we honor the heroic women who would not accept the world as it was, we are reminded that we hold the ability to remake the world as it should be. That belief drove women like Hillary Clinton and Speaker Pelosi to shatter myths and breakdown barriers. That belief drives me today as I think about the kind of world I want for my daughters and future generations.

Now, 88 years later, women's voices make up a majority of the electorate but women are still fighting for change - equal pay, affordable child care, sick days, retirement security, and the sort of programs that help women balance work life and home life- and as President, I will lead that fight.