Portland Feminist Action League

“Between the years 1980 and 2005 80% of all new...

Mon, 14 Mar 2011 23:16:00 -0400

“Between the years 1980 and 2005 80% of all new income generated in this country went to the richest 1%. … Say 100 Americans get together and order a 100 slice pizza. The pizza arrives, they open the box and the first guy takes 80 slices. And if someone suggests,

‘Why don’t you just take 79 slices?’

‘That’s SOCIALISM!’”

Wisconsin Assembly Underway, with Two Hours of Debate on Public...

Thu, 10 Mar 2011 14:30:07 -0500

Wisconsin Assembly Underway, with Two Hours of Debate on Public Employee Rights-Stripping Bill

The sale of public assets clause is still in the bill.

You can contribute money to the campaign to recall these senators by clicking on the picture!

Wisconsin GOP's Late-Night Bill Allows State to Fire Employees for Strikes, Walk-Outs

Thu, 10 Mar 2011 14:26:42 -0500

Wisconsin GOP's Late-Night Bill Allows State to Fire Employees for Strikes, Walk-Outs:

wisconsinforward:

This is how quickly people can be stripped of their rights when elected officials abuse power. If it happened in Wisconsin, it could happen anywhere.

motherjones:

Yep, it’s in the fine print: Scott Walker can declare a “state of emergency” and fire teachers, firefighters, and janitors if they so much as stage a sick-out. Democracy in action!

OHSU Students Offer Free Health Screenings for Uninsured, Homeless

Wed, 02 Mar 2011 19:53:23 -0500

OHSU Students Offer Free Health Screenings for Uninsured, Homeless:

A week-long alternative to the usual round of clinics (link to them at bottom).

03/02/11 Portland, Ore.

OHSU’s annual, student-led “Cover the Uninsured Week” features a free health-screening event, public lectures

WHAT:

Oregon Health & Science University’s medical, nursing, dental, pharmacy and physician assistant students will provide free health screenings to the uninsured, under the guidance of OHSU faculty, during the annual “Health Screening Fair.” Last year, more than 100 OHSU students and community health professionals provided services for more than 220 uninsured Oregonians. This year’s fair will be in conjunction with the weekly free meal service “Pot Luck in the Park.”

Coalition of Community Health Clinics

"“But let’s be clear: mostly I dislike Teach for America because it is not school reform and it..."

Wed, 02 Mar 2011 16:24:28 -0500

“

“But let’s be clear: mostly I dislike Teach for America because it is not school reform and it claims to be. It is a neo-liberal romance about the ways in which volunteerism by elites can replace a political and fiscal commitment to lifting Americans out of poverty by supporting, and investing in, the schools that poor people attend.”

Interesting, been thinking a lot about education policy and reform since the hype about “Waiting For Superman” left a Walker-ian, union-busting taste in my mouth. I’m skeptical about charter schools, vouchers for private schools, Teach For America-like programs, and now, Race To The Top. Band-aid solutions.

”

- http://tenured-radical.blogspot.com/2010/07/is-teach-for-america-program-for-poor.html (via zoemelisa)

This makes me think of this blog post, which is mostly thinking out loud but makes some really interesting points, among them that the narrative of the amazing white lady genius teacher (Michelle Pfeiffer, Hilary Swank, and… Denzel Washington?!) obscures the actual problems with the current structure of our school system and especially problems within the new Waiting For Superman, charter school style narrative.

Support Wisconsin!

Wed, 02 Mar 2011 16:18:02 -0500

Support Wisconsin! :

Posting this and reposting contact info for the entire Wisconsin Senate. Keep the pressure on!

This site has a list of Republican Senators you can contact to share your feelings with them, as well as ways to contact Walker.

You can also go to the site of you want to contact the Democrats as well:

http://legis.wisconsin.gov/w3asp/contact/legislatorslist.aspx?house=senate

“CONVEY YOUR OPPOSITION IMMEDIATELY TO THE LEGISLATORS AND GOVERNOR

This legislation can be stopped in the Wisconsin Senate. The state has shut down the Legislative Hotline (!) through which you could reach the Wisconsin Senators. So each needs to be contacted directly.

The Republicans
We need only 3 Republicans to vote “no” to stop this. I’m listing here Republicans who may be willing to listen:
Eau Claire area — Terry Moulton Sen.moulton@legis.wisconsin.gov (608) 266- 7511 District 23
Green Bay area — Rob Cowles Sen.cowles@legis.wisconsin.gov (608) 266-0484 District 2
LaCrosse area — Dan Kapanke Sen.kapanke@legis.wisconsin.gov (608) 266-5490 District 32
Ripon area — Luther Olsen Sen.olsen@legis.wisconsin.gov (608) 266-0751 District 14
Richland County — Dale Schultz Sen.schultz@legis.wisconsin.gov (608) 266-0703 District 17
Racine area — Van Wanggaard Sen.Wanggaard@legis.wisconsin.gov (608) 266-1832 District 21
Sheboygan area — Joe Leibham Sen.liebham@legis.wisconsin.gov (608) 266-2056 District 9
Menasha/Fox Valley — Michael Ellis Sen.ellis@legis.wisconsin.gov (608) 266-0718 District 19
Fond du Lac area — Randy Hopper Sen.Hopper@legis.wisconsin.gov (608) 266-5300 District 18
Dodge County — Scott Fitzgerald Sen.fitzgerald@legis.wisconsin.gov (608) 266-5660 District 13

To contact other Republican Senators, or if a voice mailbox is full, try sending an email. Email addresses are above, or at the senate home pages. Try this link: http://legis.wisconsin.gov/senate.

…

Try his phone 608-266-1212. That mailbox will probably be full. There are several email routes, I’ve used them both. Email him directly at govgeneral@wisconsin.gov or go to http://walker.wi.gov and scroll down to the “Citizen Suggestion” box and give him your suggestion.”

And don’t forget to mention your total disapproval of the sale of public assets clause:

“(1) Notwithstanding ss. 13.48 (14) (am) and 16.705 (1), the department may sell any state−owned heating, cooling, and pow…er plant or may contract with a private entity for the operation of any such plant, with or without solicitation of bids, for any amount that the department determines to be in the best interest of the state. Notwithstanding ss. 196.49 and 196.80, no approval or certification of the public service commission is necessary for a public utility to purchase, or contract for the operation of, such a plant, and any such purchase is considered to be in the public interest and to comply with the criteria for certification of a project under s. 196.49 (3) (b).”

All our love to the people of Wisconsin, and, yeah, everywhere else,

PFAL

Devery’s menstrual-activism is awesome, and can be used...

Wed, 02 Mar 2011 12:13:13 -0500

Devery’s menstrual-activism is awesome, and can be used for more than Bobby Franklin!

Devery’s menstrual-activism post is up! And is amazing. As is Devery.

Many of us have been stirred by Devery’s unswerving commitment to finding the killer within. Although, sadly, US law prohibits us from sending unsolicited, used tampons and pads — don’t do it! Don’t do it or you will GO TO JAIL, REAL TALK — we are collecting photos of such, as evidence, which we will be sending to Rep. Franklin along with our reports on the potential crime, and our urgent pleas for him to investigate the OBs, Tampaxes, Keepers, sea sponges and other potential crime scenes in our possession. You may send Bobby Franklin your crime reports and photographed evidence here:

Rep. Bobby Franklin
401 Coverdell Legislative Office Building
Atlanta, Georgia 30334

Fax number: 404-656-5562.

E-mail: bobby.franklin@house.ga.gov

Matt Stoller: The Liquidation of Society versus the Global Labor Revival « naked capitalism

Wed, 02 Mar 2011 12:10:00 -0500

Matt Stoller: The Liquidation of Society versus the Global Labor Revival « naked capitalism:

“[Thursday] the city of Providence, Rhode Island sent out layoff notices to every single teacher in the city. Every single one of them. If you want to understand why this is happening, why wages in the US keep getting cut, this chart from Doug Henwood tells the story”

—-

Closer to home (Portland, OR),

EUGENE, Ore. - Eugene 4J School District teachers got notice Friday if they will be laid off as part of efforts to balance the district budget.

The district sent out notices to 108 teachers and other instructional staff on Friday, said Kerry Delf with Eugene 4J. Many of those who received layoff notices work part-time.

The layoffs add up to the equivalent of 84 full-time jobs.

The layoff notices were based on seniority, Delf said.

The numbers could change depending on the state’s next budget forecast and the outcome of a vote in May on a proposed City of Eugene income tax to support Eugene 4J and Bethel schools.

Virginia Bill Would Shut Down 17 of the State’s 21 Abortion Clinics

Wed, 02 Mar 2011 12:06:00 -0500

Virginia Bill Would Shut Down 17 of the State’s 21 Abortion Clinics:

RH Reality Check explains that under the law, clinics that perform five or more first-trimester abortions will be subject to hospital standards such as a parking spot for every bed in the clinic–which is ridiculous since first-trimester abortions don’t require an overnight stay—and wider hallways so two gurneys can go through simultaneously. This essentially shuts down most of the state’s clinics, since the cost of making these changes would be impossibly high.

Even the four remaining clinics, all Planned Parenthood facilities, may not be safe from the law. Though they are set up to meet hospital standards, Tarina Keene, executive director of NARAL Pro-Choice VA, worries that “this bill is so broad, we don’t know how far they’ll go.”

…

Virginia can ill afford to lose its abortion clinics. According to the Guttmacher Institute, as of 2008, 85 percent of Virginia counties had no abortion provider and 54 percent of Virginia women lived in those counties.”

So what's next?

Wed, 02 Mar 2011 11:49:00 -0500

standupforwomen:

Seriously, I need to know. When are we storming Washington DC? When are we having sit-ins at the capital? I can’t just sit here an watch the news or I’ll go insane.

A. The House just passed a two-week stop gap measure, which means we have a little more time. Stay tuned, we’ll be going to DC soon!

!! So ready.

Contacting Wisconsin Senators and Walker

Wed, 02 Mar 2011 11:39:00 -0500

Contacting Wisconsin Senators and Walker:

This site has a list of Republican Senators you can contact to share your feelings with them, as well as ways to contact Walker.

You can also go to the site of you want to contact the Democrats as well:

http://legis.wisconsin.gov/w3asp/contact/legislatorslist.aspx?house=senate

…

And don’t forget to mention your total disapproval of the sale of public assets clause:

Video

Wed, 02 Mar 2011 11:35:24 -0500

The War on Women -- NYTimes.com

Sun, 27 Feb 2011 14:55:25 -0500

The War on Women -- NYTimes.com:

The House resolution would slash support for international family planning and reproductive health care. And it would reimpose the odious global “gag” rule, which forbids giving federal money to any group that even talks about abortions. That rule badly hampered family planning groups working abroad to prevent infant and maternal deaths before President Obama lifted it.

… In negotiations over the health care bill last year, Democrats agreed to a scheme intended to stop insurance companies from offering plans that cover abortions. Two bills in the Republican House would go even further in denying coverage to the 30 percent or so of women who have an abortion during child-bearing years.

…

Beyond the familiar terrain of abortion or even contraception, House Republicans would inflict harm on low-income women trying to have children or who are already mothers.

Their continuing resolution would cut by 10 percent the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants and Children, better known as WIC, which serves 9.6 million low-income women, new mothers, and infants each month, and has been linked in studies to higher birth weight and lower infant mortality.

The G.O.P. bill also slices $50 million from the block grant supporting programs providing prenatal health care to 2.5 million low-income women and health care to 31 million children annually. President Obama’s budget plan for next year calls for a much more modest cut.

These are treacherous times for women’s reproductive rights and access to essential health care. House Republicans mistakenly believe they have a mandate to drastically scale back both even as abortion warfare is accelerating in the states. To stop them, President Obama’s firm leadership will be crucial. So will the rising voices of alarmed Americans.

fuckyeahkathleenhanna: Kathleen Hanna speaks at the Rally for...

Sun, 27 Feb 2011 02:46:13 -0500

fuckyeahkathleenhanna:

Kathleen Hanna speaks at the Rally for Women’s Health, NYC, 2/26/11 (via starlight448)

Dear Planned Parenthood,: theladylaurasaurus: I think one of my favourite parts of the rally was...

Sat, 26 Feb 2011 21:34:28 -0500

Dear Planned Parenthood,: theladylaurasaurus: I think one of my favourite parts of the rally was...:

theladylaurasaurus:

I think one of my favourite parts of the rally was near the end, when Mary Alice Carr, Vice President of Communications for NARAL Pro-Choice New York, said that people always talk about how the young are apathetic and how the young don’t care about politics, but this…

Devery's menstrual-activism post is up! And is amazing. As is Devery.

Sat, 26 Feb 2011 15:14:56 -0500

Devery's menstrual-activism post is up! And is amazing. As is Devery.:

Rep. Bobby Franklin
401 Coverdell Legislative Office Building
Atlanta, Georgia 30334

Fax number: 404-656-5562.

E-mail: bobby.franklin@house.ga.gov

Virginia legislature passes law shutting down 17 of the state's 21 abortion providers.

Sat, 26 Feb 2011 15:14:01 -0500

garlandgrey:

By insisting that any facility that performs 5 or more first trimester abortions a month be subject to the same structural requirements as hospitals.

17 clinics in one, fucking. day. 17 clinics. All part of the Targeted Regulation of Abortion Providers (T.R.A.P.) plan, to make abortions so impossible to get that they are de facto illegal for all but the richest Americans.

Walk for Choice 2011: Participating cities so far! And there's still time to add YOURS!

Sat, 26 Feb 2011 14:11:00 -0500

Walk for Choice 2011: Participating cities so far! And there's still time to add YOURS!:

Portland’s is today at 12, Pioneer Sq!

walkforchoice:

If you are not in any of these cities, contact the closest one. Facebook is the best way to contact your community organizers; if you don’t have Facebook, ask someone who does to obtain a phone number or email address for you.

City names link to facebook event pages. We have provided all…