Alaska Women Reject Palin

Juneau rally ridicules Palins

2008-10-12T16:27:00.000-08:00

by Channel 2 News staffSaturday, October 11, 2008
JUNEAU, Alaska -- A group of about 200 gathered in front of the state capitol Saturday, announcing they won't be supporting Sarah Palin on the McCain ticket next month.
The protestors said they wanted to get a message to the state and country about why some Alaskans aren't rooting for their governor.
"There's the ethics issue, there's the issue that she doesn't have the experience to be vice president and she supports policies that are not good for our country and not good for Alaska," Jeannette Lacey said.
Rally topics ranged from right to life differences to her lack of experience to help lead the country.
One protestor said she supports Palin as the governor, a fellow mom and woman, but is disappointed with how she handled the Troopergate investigation and allowed her marriage to interfere with her elected position.
"Todd Palin has been involved in many closed door meetings and I find that very unethical," Sara Plotnick-Epstein said. "Also, his involvement as the First Dude -- he went beyond the average Joe Citizen and she should have reined him in."

CA Nurses Association speaks out with new ad

2008-10-07T13:36:00.004-08:00

Provocative New Ad to Run in Six Swing States During This Week of the Vice Presidential Debate

The nation's largest union of registered nurses this morning unveiled a striking new television ad that calls attention to one of the most significant, and least talked about, issues in the current election campaign – the possible presidency of Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin.
One Heartbeat Away, sponsored by the 85,000-member National Nurses Organizing Committee/California Nurses Association, begins a run this morning in six battleground states – Ohio, Wisconsin, Michigan, Minnesota, Colorado, and Missouri.

Fostered by the growing concern among healthcare professionals over the health status of Sen. John McCain, the ad also provides a reminder of some of the controversial moments of Palin's record as governor of Alaska and mayor of Wasilla, Alaska.
The timing of the ad coincides with a report Tuesday from Bragg Associates, an actuary firm, that John McCain would have a 1 in 4 chance of dying in office from natural causes, which would lead to Palin completing his term.
Concurrently, NNOC/CNA leaders called on Sen. McCain, who has a history of skin cancer, to release his full medical records.

Earlier this year McCain permitted a select group of reporters just a few hours to review more than 1,100 pages of records, but not make copies, falling far short of the full disclosure that all major candidates to the presidency should provide, said NNOC/CNA today.
"As nurses who see patients like Sen. McCain every day, we respect his wishes for medical privacy but his reluctance to make his records fully available only raises further questions and concerns about his ability to fulfill the obligations of the office he seeks," NNOC/CNA co-president Malinda Markowitz, RN said.
"As an oncology nurse, I'm very concerned about John McCain's history of melanoma," added CNA/NNOC Secretary Jan Rodolfo, an oncology RN at Alta Bates Summit Medical Center in Oakland, Calif. "Melanoma is the most deadly form of skin cancer and leads to 75 percent of all deaths from skin cancer."
Similar concerns have been voiced by a number of physicians across the U.S. in recent days.

One Heartbeat Away was produced by Bill Hillsman and North Woods Advertising.
Representing 80,000 RNs in 50 states, the California Nurses Association/National Nurses Organizing Committee is the largest and fastest-growing association of direct-care RNs in the nation. Learn more at www.calnurses.org.

To see ad:
http://www.calnurses.org/media-center/press-releases/2008/october/america-s-rn-union-highlights-who-might-be-one-heartbeat-away-provocative-new-ad-to-run-in-six-swing-states-during-this-week-of-the-vice-presidential-debate.html?log-event=sp2f-view-item&nid=37173386

Authors of 'Our Bodies, Ourselves" speak out

2008-09-29T12:33:00.004-08:00

A Letter from Some of the Original Authors and Founders of Our Bodies, Ourselves*

Forty years ago, in discussions that led to the writing of 'Our Bodies, Ourselves,' we began to express our need for accurate information about our bodies and for quality health care for everyone. Our voices joined the voices of hundreds, thousands, and now millions throughout the world in asserting that these needs are basic human rights. We are proud to be part of this global women's health movement. So it is with great sadness that we watch Sarah Palin's candidacy negate so many of the advances women across the globe have made over the past four decades.

We cannot support her for the following reasons:
She stands beside McCain in backing insurance industry lobbyists who push to erode existing health benefits for workers and for the poor. Under his plan fewer people would be able to afford coverage. Women have the most to lose from these changes because so many women are not only responsible for themselves but also for their children and families.
She is opposed to government help for people suffering from this severe economic downturn. Looming deficits and mortgage foreclosures hurt families, especially single mothers, who are generally among the lowest paid workers in our society. Her running mate has openly stated that he is against Equal Pay for Equal Work.
Disregarding the best environmental science, Palin's energy policy relies too heavily on off-shore drilling. We can no longer afford to feed our dependency on oil. We must instead seek healthier, greensolutions to the energy crisis, solutions which, in the search for fossil fuel alternatives, will create new US jobs.
The Republican platform contains no plan for making improvements to the nation's deteriorating infrastructure, a plan which wedesperately need and which will create new jobs. It also perpetuates the anti-regulatory climate that has created the most serious economic crisis since the Great Depression, affecting women and single mother families the most.

Palin does not provide a well-reasoned, practical educational policy for preparing our children for a 21st century global job marketplace. Indeed, her views on scientific theories about evolution and globalwarming imply that she would like to see intelligent design (creationism) taught in public schools along with the theory of evolution and that she does not believe human activity has a major effect on global warming.
She turns back the clock on hard-won reproductive rights, advocating against a woman's right to choose abortion even in the case of rape or incest. She opposes Roe vs. Wade and would likely nominate Supreme Court Justices who would criminalize abortion. What's more, she endorses abstinence-only sex education programs for teenagers, which have been proven ineffective and have actually increased the numbers of unwanted teen pregnancies.

These are some of the reasons why we cannot support Sarah Palin. We ask the women of America to look carefully at her candidacy. If she were to become president, she would endorse the policies that have shaped the Bush regime, an administration which lied about the supposed "weapons of mass destruction" in Iraq and led us into the disastrous war that has spilled so much blood and damaged our country's standing in the world.

We urge you to explore these topics in reasoned discussion within your own communities. We know that one day a woman will lead this country with wisdom and skill, but we, the undersigned, do not believe Sarah Palin is that woman.

Ruth Bell Alexander, Pamela Berger, Vilunya Diskin, Joan Ditzion,Paula Doress-Worters, Miriam Hawley, Elizabeth MacMahon-Herrera, Pamela Morgan, Jane Pincus, Wendy Sanford, Norma Meras Swenson.

*For identification purposes only - we are not speaking for the current organization, which is non-profit and does not participate inany electoral campaigns.--
Laura X, founder/director of the former National Clearinghouse on Marital and Date Rape
Women's History Library(510) 524-1582
Berkeley, Ca.
WEB SITE: http://ncmdr.org/

Anti-Palin and pro-Obama rallies in Anchorage

2008-09-24T21:06:00.005-08:00

"HOLD PALIN ACCOUNTABLE" RALLY SATURDAY 27 SEPT. @ NOON

Join your Alaskan neighbors in demanding that: Gov. Palin uphold her promise to us for an “open, honest & transparent” government. Gov. Palin uphold her promise to us to cooperate fully with the independent investigation as initiated by the bi-partisan Legislative Council. We, the People of Alaska, also Demand the immediate resignation of Attorney General Talis Colberg. Demand the McCain campaign immediately remove itself and its influence from our state and local government. Demand the McCain Campaign ends its attorney, Ed O’Callahan’s unlawful intrusion into our Department of Law. Sponsored by “Alaskans for Truth” Media Contact Linda Kellen Biegel 830-9458 CC 277-3733.
Saturday, September 27 at 12:00 PM
Anchorage Park Strip / Veteran's Memorial (Anchorage, AK) Downtown between I Street and L Street by the Veterans' MemorialAnchorage, AK 99501

There is also an Obama Rally on Saturday, Oct. 4, on the Park Strip at noon. http://my.barackobama.com/page/event/detail/communityservice/gsxj5b

NOW rejects Palin

2008-09-21T21:32:00.002-08:00

America's largest women's rights organisation delivered a snub to Sarah Palin's history-making candidacy yesterday by endorsing Barack Obama and Joe Biden's bid for power.
The National Organisation for Women (NOW) is 500,000 strong and hugely influential. The feminist organisation almost never supports a presidential candidate, but the Alaska governor's Christian fundamentalist faith and her opposition to abortion rights has forced its hand.
Other women's rights organisations are also campaigning against Governor Palin, pushed along by a spontaneous anti-Palin movement among women.

http://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/news/world-news/us-election/national-organisation-for-women-snubs-palin-13974795.html

Women disagreeing with Palin’s politics holding rally despite hateful backlash

2008-09-17T22:30:00.002-08:00

Women disagreeing with Palin’s politics holding rally despite hateful backlash

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