Friday, August 26, 2011

Ladies, today is YOUR day! The President even said so!

From the White House:

WOMEN'S EQUALITY DAY, 2011 BY THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA 

A PROCLAMATION 

The 19th Amendment to the United States Constitution tore down the last formal barrier to women's enfranchisement in our Nation and empowered America's women to have their voices heard in the halls of power. This Amendment became law only after decades of work by committed trailblazers who fought to extend the right to vote to women across America. For the women who fought for this right, voting was not the end of the journey for equality, but the beginning of a new era in the advancement of our Union. These brave and tenacious women challenged our Nation to live up to its founding principles, and their legacy inspires us to reach ever higher in our pursuit of liberty and equality for all. 

Before the Amendment took effect, women had been serving our Nation in the public realm since its earliest days. Even before they gained the right to vote, America's women were leaders of movements, academics, and reformers, and had even served in the Congress. Legions of brave women wrote and lectured for change. They let their feet speak when their voices alone were not enough, protesting and marching for their fundamental right to vote in the face of heckling, jail, and abuse. Their efforts led to enormous progress millions upon millions of women have since used the power of the ballot to help shape our country. 

Today, our Nation's daughters reap the benefits of these courageous pioneers while paving the way for generations of women to come. But work still remains. My Administration is committed to advancing equality for all of our people. This year, the Council of Women and Girls released "Women in America: Indicators of Social and Economic Well-Being," the most comprehensive report in 50 years on the status of women in our country, shedding light on issues women face in employment, crime, health, and family life. We are working to ensure that women-owned businesses can compete in the marketplace, that women are not discriminated against in healthcare, and that we redouble our efforts to bring an end to sexual assault on college campuses. 

On the 91st anniversary of this landmark in civil rights, we continue to uphold the foundational American principles that we are all equal, and that each of us deserves a chance to pursue our dreams. We honor the heroes who have given of themselves to advance the causes of justice, opportunity, and prosperity. As we celebrate the legacy of those who made enormous strides in the last century and before, we renew our commitment to hold true to the dreams for which they fought, and we look forward to a bright future for our Nation's daughters. 

NOW, THEREFORE, I, BARACK OBAMA, President of the United States of America, by virtue of the authority vested in me by the Constitution and the laws of the United States, do hereby proclaim August 26, 2011, as Women's Equality Day. I call upon the people of the United States to celebrate the achievements of women and recommit ourselves to the goal of gender equality in this country. 

IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand this twenty fifth day of August, in the year of our Lord two thousand eleven, and of the Independence of the United States of America the two hundred and thirty-sixth. 

BARACK OBAMA

You know with Sarah Palin and Michele Bachmann doing everything they can to roll back all of the progress made by the Women's Movement in the last hundred years, it is really nice to know that SOMEBODY has the back of the females in this country.

But then what would you expect from a man raised by a single mother, and married to a strong representative of the female gender like Michele Obama?

Have a great day ladies!

20 comments:

  1. Anonymous4:09 AM

    Riiiiight. Female federal employees can't even use their own health insurance to pay for abortions.

    Tell me it is "Ladies Day" again?

    ReplyDelete
  2. Anonymous4:13 AM

    Congrats on your day!

    ReplyDelete
  3. Anonymous4:20 AM

    Lovely. Thanks for posting this. I plan to send a copy to my daughter and my nieces.

    ReplyDelete
  4. Son of a feminist, husband of a feminist, feminist himself.

    I want to read A Singular Woman.

    ReplyDelete
  5. a woman and proud of it4:46 AM

    Female? Ladies?

    What is it about the word "women" that makes it so hard to use? Jeeez

    Say it loud and say it proud!

    ReplyDelete
  6. Anonymous4:46 AM

    President Obama again looks out for his citizens. Something the repubaggers would never do.

    GoL

    ReplyDelete
  7. AKinPA5:22 AM

    Thanks, Gryphen. Really appreciate it.

    ReplyDelete
  8. Chenagrrl5:44 AM

    If you'd like a taste of what the world was like before women got involved in politics and government, take a gander at retro-beotch Phyllis Schlafly (early Palin and Bachmann).

    If teabaggers (Conservative wing of GOP) get any power this is what we all have to look forward to. Schafly's latest rant as an antifeminist is against food stamps. She claims it is a criminal enterprise. (Any ambitous conservative attorneys general listening?)

    Nothing like kicking a group of jobless people when they are down.

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  9. Anonymous5:58 AM

    Riiiiight. Female federal employees can't even use their own health insurance to pay for abortions.


    ***

    incorrect. Federal employees are allowed to purchase a supplemental insurance which is then reimbursed by the government.



    However, IMO, abortions are a personal decision and are none of my business.

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  10. linda6:21 AM

    @4:46 #1 you know we're all "girls" anyway, right? i, like you, wish the words woman and women were used more. i get annoyed when women, themselves, refer to themselves as girls (except, of course when they do it jokingly). now that i am older i have to stop myself from calling younger women -- like my daughter and her friends -- girls. it's insulting to call any woman over age 18 a "girl."

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  11. Anne In DC6:50 AM

    This is another reason why I love this president. He has a broad-based view of the world that stems from his education and the way he was raised. None of the GOP neanderthals--including the women--would have ever done this.

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  12. Anonymous6:53 AM

    @4:46 has it right. The correct term of address, the one used by the president, is "women," not ladies. We will achieve something closer to equality when people don't have to think about the correct term or how to handle a gender issue.

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  13. Cracklin' Charlie7:17 AM

    Thanks, Gryphen!

    And thank YOU for such a great week at IM, and for helping roll back any progress Sarah Palin has made in trying to take away my rights.

    Great features this week! You rock!

    ReplyDelete
  14. Our President is so wise and thoughtful. May he enjoy another four years providing leadership to our country. I would not blame him for deciding against a run with all the barbs and arrows sent his way, but I sure hope he keeps on keeping on.

    Kudos to all the women out there today!

    ReplyDelete
  15. From wiki: NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED, the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, that August 26th of each year is designated as "Women's Equality Day," and the President is authorized and requested to issue a proclamation annually in commemoration of that day in 1920, on which the women of America were first given the right to vote, and that day in 1970, on which a nationwide demonstration for women's rights took place.

    So it's been around since 1971, and each year the President is supposed to mention it.

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  16. Anonymous12:05 PM

    I was recently interviewed on my experiences as a woman engineer. When I told the (young) interviewer about being told I was unwelcome in a certain program, might as well give up on passing courses, working with guys who posted pinups with my name on them, having to hide a pregnancy (my first- barely made it through 4 months) and on and on.... he was astonished. The other woman in the session, also a student in the 60s, just nodded in agreement. We need to be certain our daughters and granddaughters never have to face the ugliness that we did.

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  17. Anonymous2:37 PM

    That was almost a century ago and women desperately need the equal legal standing, that can only be given by the Constitution, that allows them to stand on the same step that that gives them the full rights and protections as men.

    This is true of EuroAmerican women but especially true of many women from other cultures.

    Obama doesn't to seem to have any concern for the down trodden in this country or for those who are not treated equally under law.

    Even gays are still waiting for implementation of the total removal of DADT almost a year after it became illegal, by federal law.

    The Equal Rights Amendment for woman was introduced when I was an undergraduate. It looks very much as though I will die and still not be recognized as equally protected by the laws of this country.

    And as a older woman who is single and, for all practical purposes, lost all her money in 200-2002 I am about to pass into the phase of my life when I will be most discriminated against as a woman and least able to defend myself physically, financially, or even legally.

    I can't tall you how deeply depressing and frightening that is.

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  18. Anonymous2:47 PM

    Anonymous said...
    Riiiight. Female federal employees can't even use their own health insurance to pay for abortions.
    ***
    incorrect. Federal employees are allowed to purchase a supplemental insurance which is then reimbursed by the government.
    5:58 AM


    So if they pay upfront and then beg prettily they can get some of their money back, eventually. Travel expenses, meds and meals not included, I bet.

    What do you want to bet the insurance companies use that extra payment as an indication of a preexisting condition.
    Its called being a woman of child bearing years.

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  19. Anonymous2:54 PM

    I know how to get the tax money to help pay for prenatal and post natal care for the uninsured women of this country.

    Charge a small "sir" tax on all sexually adult men who cannot prove that they have had a vasectomy. That money to go to the medical support of pregnant women who can't afford abortions or sufficient medical support during and after pregnancy.

    Hey fair is fair dads should pay as well. Whether is an abortion of just your basic very expensive medical prenatal and neonatal care.

    ReplyDelete
  20. Anonymous6:53 PM

    I despise "ladies" almost as much as "ma'am", but thanks for the sentiment, now can we get equal pay for equal work for ONCE?"

    "ladies" reminds me of ths side entrances to bars, as if we're not capabale of entering an establishment unescorted by a "man".

    We're talking about Men and Women, not Gentlemen and Ladies,
    We're women, it's "Women's Equality". I'm a Woman, but there are time's I'm no Lady, not by a long stretch!

    In any event, sematics aside, it's nice to have it recognized on paper, it's a start.

    ReplyDelete

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