Sandra Fluke

I feel I would be remiss to not make her our WOD this week, unless you have been living under a rock you have heard of our WOD for Tuesday March 6, 2012 is Sandra Kay Fluke (born April 17, 1981). She is the American feminist and activist enrolled at Georgetown University Law Center. 

Fluke graduated from Cornell University in 2003 and spent five years working for Sanctuary for Families, a New York-based nonprofit aiding victims of domestic violence, where she launched the agency's pilot Program Evaluation Initiative. She co-founded the New York Statewide Coalition for Fair Access to Family Court, which successfully advocated for legislation granting access to civil orders of protection for unmarried victims of domestic violence, including LGBTQ victims and teens. Fluke was also a member of the Manhattan Borough President's Taskforce on Domestic Violence and numerous other New York City and New York State coalitions that successfully advocated for policy improvements impacting victims of domestic violence.

While at Georgetown University Law Center, she worked on issues that involved domestic violence and human trafficking.

While these accomplishments are impressive and worthy of her being considered as a WOD, I also feel that she has demonstrated poise and class with respect to the vicious attacks perpetrated on her by the Vile sub-human radio talk show host Rush Limbaugh.

You see, Sandra Fluke testified before Democratic members of the House of Representatives on why she believed free contraception is generally essential.

In Fluke's testimony, she argued in favor of requiring all private insurance plans to cover contraception coverage, even religious institutions. She argued that over the three years as a law student, birth control could cost $3,000 in some cases. She continued that the lack of free contraception would induce many low income students to go without contraceptives and that women's free health clinics cannot meet the need.

She then discussed the consequence of such policies, anecdotally citing a friend with polycystic ovary syndrome. While the condition was "covered by Georgetown insurance", getting treatment was difficult because of the policy. According to Fluke, her friend was denied coverage, even with a verified condition from her doctor. She also added that this is not a rare event for women with these medical conditions under insurance plans that did not coverage contraception. She then stated that she wanted equal treatment for women's health issues and did not see the issue as being against the Catholic Church.

What did that mean to Rush? Well of course that meant that she was a “slut” who wanted the US taxpayers to pay for her birth control so that she can have even more sex. The fact that this man has been married 4 times to younger women and still does not know how birth control works is troubling to say the least. He even went so far as to say he wanted her to videotape herself having sex and post it on-line so the taxpayers who pay for her birth control could watch where their money was going. He continued his attacks on Miss Fluke for three days on his show. Limbaugh repeated his previous attacks against Fluke and insurance coverage for contraception until his advertisers started dropping his show. 

The pressure of the almighty dollar finally forced his hand to issue a statement. He released an apology on his official website, which wasn’t an apology as much as it was an attack on the Left for bringing him to the point that he just Had to “sink to their level”

Fluke responded to his latest apology on ABC's The View saying:

I don't think that a statement like this, saying that his choice of words was not the best, changes anything, and especially when that statement is issued when he's under significant pressure from his sponsors who have begun to pull their support from the show. / I think any woman who has ever been called these types of names is [shocked] at first. / But then I tried to see this for what it is, and I believe that what it is, is an attempt to silence me, to silence the millions of women and the men who support them who have been speaking out about this issue and conveying that contraception is an important healthcare need that they need to have met in an affordable, accessible way.

She said Limbaugh's comments were not "one person who went crazy" and made one inappropriate remark. "He insulted me more than 50 times over three days," said Fluke

Sandra Fluke, standing up for women’s reproductive rights and holding her head high since March 2012. Her parents should be very proud…a sentiment shared and conveyed to her by our president.

Lizz Winstead

Today Tuesday February 21, 2012 The WOD is Lizz Winstead. Born August 05, 1961 in St. Paul Minnesota Lizz Winstead is a famous political satirist.

She is the co-creator and former head writer of “The Daily Show” and is one of the founders of Air-America Radio. Her ability to educate, enlighten and at the same time entertain is a rare and impressive talent.

Lizz Winstead has emerged as a critically acclaimed political writer and producer. As a performer, Winstead brought her political wit to "The Daily Show" as a Correspondent and later to the radio waves co-hosting "Unfiltered," Air America Radio's mid morning show with citizen of the world and Hip Hop legend Chuck D, and political big brain Rachel Maddow.

Winstead has appeared numerous times on television including HBO's "Women of the Night,""The US Comedy Arts Festival" in Aspen, Comedy Central Presents, and too many basic cable stand-up shows and VH-1 "50 Greatest This" and "100 Greatest That" to mention. As well as writing and producing for air and television, Winstead performs in clubs and theaters across the country in recurring shows like "Shoot the Messenger" at Ace of Clubs. She is also busy filming episodes of her Internet series "Bad Gift Road Show" for Lifetime.

Her comedic talents have been recognized in Entertainment Weekly's 100 Most Creative People issue, and she was nominated Best Female Club Performer by The American Comedy Awards. Winstead is also featured in the film, "American Cannibal."

Recently, Lizz wrote and produced an independent pilot of her Off-Broadway hit, “Wake Up World,” a scathing satire about morning chat shows that Rachel Maddow called, “The funniest thing I have seen in years.”

Her weekly segments on “The Ed Show” on MSNBC and HLN’s “The Joy Behar Show” feature her hilarious spin on breaking news.

And now Lizz Winstead is hitting the road in support of Planned Parenthood! Lizz's "Planned Parenthood, I Am Here For You" Tour! Her unique talent to educate through humor is a breath of fresh air and in my opinion makes her worthy of her being our WOD.

Planned Parenthood / Margaret Sanger

Today I am highlighting Planned Parenthood with a sidebar to Margaret Sanger. I know we have done her recently, and I am aware of the eugenics and racism in her history. However, given the cooked up controversy over insurance coverage of contraception and the beyond ridiculous old white man hearings in congress,(Though I did get a chuckle from hearing Nancy Pelosi say, "Duh") I thought we need some reminders. Not only of Planned Parenthood, which does so much good for so many women and girls, but for Ms. Sanger, who founded PPH and endured much hardship in her life to do it.

 

Planned Parenthood - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

en.wikipedia.org

Planned Parenthood Federation of America (PPFA), commonly shortened to Planned Parenthood, is the U.S. affiliate of the International Planned Parenthood Federation (IPPF) and one of its larger members. PPFA is a non-profit organization providing reproductive health and maternal and child health serv...

Constance Johnson

I didn't think I'd be able to provide an AWOD today, but Constance Johnson (D) Oklahoma is my Awesome Woman today.

"Following in the footsteps of Janet Howell, the Virginia state senator who added a rectal exam amendment to a bill that required women to get an ultrasound before having an abortion, Oklahoma Senator Constance Johnson found a clever way to protest the controversial “fetal personhood laws” cropping up in conservative states. Johnson’s “Every Sperm Is Sacred” amendment, which she voluntarily withdrew but not before emphasizing that her point was to draw attention to the sexism inherrant in these “fetal personhood laws,” would have added language stating “any action in which a man ejaculates or otherwise deposits semen anywhere but in a woman’s vagina shall be interpreted and construed as an action against an unborn child.”"

Oklahoma Senator Constance Johnson Suggests “Every Sperm Is Sacred” www.thefrisky.comFollowing in the footsteps of Janet Howell, the Virginia state senator who added a rectal exam amendment to a bill that required women to get an ultrasound

Janet Denison Howell

Today Tuesday January 31, 2012 the Woman of the Day is Janet Denison Howell the Virginia State Senator representing the 32nd district in Fairfax County. She has proudly served the residents of the 32nd Senate District since 1992. Janet has used her position in the Senate to benefit the residents of Northern Virginia. She currently has several important responsibilities and is using them to champion change in Richmond.

She was born to Edward Fulton and Elsie (Lightbown) Denison. Her father was a prominent economist at the U. S. Department of Commerce and the Brookings Institution, and fellow Oberlin alumnus.
Mrs. Howell taught in the Philadelphia school district, 1968-1969, and was a legislative assistant in the Virginia State Senate from 1989 to 1991.

Janet was a community leader for more than 15 years prior to her election to the Senate. As a former PTA president and head of the Reston Council of PTAs, Janet worked hard to increase the quality of local schools and Virginia's fine colleges and universities. She was president of the Reston Community Association for three years, expanding the association's activities and accomplishments in land use, transportation and healthcare. She served five years on the State Board of Social Services, including a term as its chairman.

Janet has received numerous awards for her community service. She was named National Child Advocate of the Year by the American Academy of Pediatrics, Senator of the Year by Virginia Sheriffs Association, Distinguished Leadership Awardee by the Coalition for Mentally Disabled Citizens, Legislative Champion by the League of Conservation Voters, and Legislator of the Year by the Alzheimer's Association.

Called the "Technology Senator" because of her work in that area, Janet was presented the first Lifetime Achievement Award by the Northern Virginia Technology Council. She serves on the Joint Commission on Technology and Science.

She is the first woman to serve on the prestigious Senate Finance Committee. In this capacity she has focused on education, transportation, human services and public safety. She is a leader in streamlining and downsizing state government as well as instituting cost-reduction measures.

Janet's responsibilities on the Finance Committee have grown dramatically in recent years. She is one of six budget conferees who negotiate the final budget with House conferees. She is also chair of the Public Safety Subcommittee which oversees over $3 billion yearly in programs including State Police and local police, juvenile justice, prisons and jails. She is working with the McDonnell administration to reform prison re-entry programs so as to imrove public safety by reducing recidivism. She is also engaged in a multi-year effort to provide appropriate services for persons with mental illness who too often tragically end up in our jails and prisons.

Janet chairs the Virginia Crime Commisssion which reviews all matters dealing with crime and punishment. Over the years, she has been nationally recognized for reforming Virginia's domestic violence laws and establishing the Sex Offender Registry. Janet also was chief patron of the Omnibus Mental Health Law Reform Legislation.

As chairman of the Senate Privileges and Elections Committee, Janet's responsibilities include all election law and confirmation of gubernatorial appointments.

In addition to her chairmanships, Janet serves on the Education and Health Committee, Courts of Justice Committee, Joint Legislative Audit and Review Commission, and Joint Commission on Technology and Science.

Clearly, Janet takes seriously the trust the voters have placed in her. She works full-time to make state government responsible and responsive.

While she is obviously a very accomplished woman with a passion for service to her state and its constituents’ that is not why she is today’s Woman of the Day. She is the woman of the day because she did this:

To protest a bill that would require women to undergo an ultrasound before having an abortion, Virginia State Sen. Janet Howell (D-Fairfax) on Monday attached an amendment that would require men to have a rectal exam and a cardiac stress test before obtaining a prescription for erectile dysfunction medication.

"We need some gender equity here," she told HuffPost. "The Virginia senate is about to pass a bill that will require a woman to have totally unnecessary medical procedure at their cost and inconvenience. If we're going to do that to women, why not do that to men?"

The Republican-controlled senate narrowly rejected the amendment Monday by a vote of 21 to 19, but passed the mandatory ultrasound bill in a voice vote. A similar bill in Texas, which physicians say has caused a "bureaucratic nightmare," is currently being challenged in court.

Howell said she is not surprised her amendment failed.

"This is more of a message type of an amendment, so I was pleased to get 19 votes," she said.
She pointed out that there are only seven women in the Virginia senate, and six of them voted in favor of her amendment, along with 13 male senators. Sen. Jill Vogel (R-Fauquier County), the sponsor of the mandatory ultrasound bill, voted against it.

Keep on fighting for womens equality in these barbaric legislations Senator Howell! Kudos to you our AWU Woman of the Day!

Margaret Sanger

The Awesome Woman of the day is Margaret Sanger.

With the recent laws in Congress and some states (especially Mississippi's granting 'personhood' to any embryo) I thought Margaret Sanger was relevant.

http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/amex/pill/peopleevents/p_sanger.html

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Margaret_Sanger

American Experience | The Pill | People & Events www.pbs.org
Margaret Sanger devoted her life to legalizing birth control and making it universally available for women. Born in 1879, Sanger came of age during the heyday of the Comstock Act, a federal statute that criminalized contraceptives. Margaret Sanger believed that the only way to change the law was to ...