* Great American Historians, Father & Son

Arthur Schlesinger, Jr. (1917-2007)

As a historian, I confess to a certain amusement when I hear the Judeo-Christian tradition praised as the source of our present-day concern for human rights.... In fact, the great religious ages were notable for their indifference to human rights ... not only for acquiescence in poverty, inequality, exploitation and oppression, but also for enthusiastic justifications for slavery, persecution, abandonment of small children, torture, and genocide. Religion during most of the history of the West saw the trials visited on mankind in this world as ordained by the Almighty to test and purify sinful mortals.... Moreover, religion enshrined hierarchy, authority, and inequality; hated blasphemy; and feared heresy.... It was the age of equality that brought about the disappearance of such religious appurtenances as the auto-da-fe and burning at the stake. ~ Arthur Schlesinger, Jr., from his speech at the inauguration of Vartan Gregorian as president of Brown University, 1989, from James A Haught, ed, 2000 Years of Disbelief

Arthur Schlesinger, Sr. ~ (1888-1965)

Schlesinger pioneered the new social history and women's history. He was a Progressive School intellectual who stressed material causes (like economic profit) and downplayed ideology and values as motivations for historical actors.

Simone de Beauvoir (January 9, 1908 – April 14, 1986)

"What had been an important and strong relationship with God slowly dwindled, as Simone became more and more interested in nature. She came to the realization that earthly joys are not to be given up (as her religion espoused) but instead, to be appreciated. This way of thinking changed Simone for life. She lived passionately and for the moment. In giving up religion she gave up the idea of living for eternity. She also developed a deep sense of aloneness, without a 'witness' or a god to talk to. This feeling lasted for quite some time as well."

"Later in her life, she was dedicated to the feminist movement and spoke out against the way the French institutionalized poor unmarried mothers. She was also a committed atheist who felt strongly that religion supplied a reason to evade truth."

The Second Sex, a detailed analysis of
women's oppression and a foundational tract of
contemporary feminism.

"In the essay Woman: Myth and Reality, Beauvoir argued that men had made women the "Other" in society by putting a false aura of "mystery" around them. And she argued that men used this as an excuse not to understand women or their problems and not to help them. She argued that this stereotyping was always done in societies by the group higher in the hierarchy to the group lower in the hierarchy so that the lower group became the "other" and had a false aura of mystery around it. And she said that this also happened with other things such as race, class, and religion. But she said that it was nowhere more true than with sex in which men stereotyped women and used it as an excuse to organize society into a patriarchy."

* AYAAN HIRSI ALI

Daughter of the Enlightenment

by CHRISTOPHER CALDWELL
Published: April 3, 2005

" ...As always, Hirsi Ali's armed security detail was there. They have been her companions since she started receiving death threats in September 2002. Hirsi Ali, who was born in Somalia and has been a member of the Dutch Parliament since January 2003, had endorsed the view that Islam is a backward religion, condemned the way women live under it and said that by today's standards, the prophet Muhammad would be considered a perverse tyrant. She had also announced that she was no longer a believing Muslim. The punishment for such apostasy is, according to strict interpretations of Islam, death ..."

Updates:

Slate
Los Angeles Times
Newsweek
Reason Magazine

Islam’s Silent Moderates by AYAAN HIRSI ALI
Published: December 7, 2007,
New York Times

* Religion is Deadly

The unbelievably sad and tragic story of Jaswinder 'Jassi' Kaur Sidhu (Canadian) and her husband Mittoo Singh Sidhu (Punjab, India) was aired again on CNN last night. The 25-year old Jassi married for love instead of accepting the 61-year old man chosen for her by her mother and uncle who had her killed for disobedience. Their tradition was more important than Jassi. Indian authorities say that Jassi's uncle and mother got away with murder.

CBC Timeline
The Province
Wikipedia

See post: The Origins of Religious Violence by Nick Gier and his book-in-progress.

* Gerda Lerner ~ Feminist/Historian, Author, Teacher, Jewish Atheist

Feminist/Historian, Born April 30, 1920 in Vienna, Austria.

Gerda Lerner is one of the founders of the field of women's history and African-American history. She was a founding member of the National Organization for Women and is a former president of the Organization of American Historians. Lerner has played a key role in the development of women’s history curricula at Long Island University (1965-1967), at Sarah Lawrence College from 1968 to 1979 (where she established the nation's first Women's History graduate program), at Columbia University (where she was a co-founder of the Seminar on Women), and since 1980 as Robinson Edwards Professor of History at the University of Wisconsin, Madison. She is a professor emerita of history at the University of Wisconsin-Madison and a visiting scholar at Duke University.

Lerner's books "have been a staple of women's studies classes for decades. In her collection of essays, Why History Matters, Lerner described her experiences as a female Jewish atheist: 'More difficult and public was my refusal, four weeks before the appointed date, to go through with my Bar Mitzvah on the grounds that since I no longer believed in God nor in what was taught in religious instruction, it would be hypocritical for me to go through the ceremony. This provoked a family crisis, much noise, anger and pressure of various sorts, but in the end I prevailed. But more--I refused to set foot in a synagogue again and kept to that refusal for over fifty years.' Lerner links her experiences as an atheist with her eventual career choice as a historian. According to Lerner, "What is left to a Jew who refuses the religious community? Antisemitism and history."

Biography

Fireweed: A Political Autobiography,
Introduction and Chapter One

Books

• No Farewell (1955) an autobiographical novel
• The Grimké Sisters from South Carolina: Rebels against Authority (1967)
• The Woman in American History [ed.] (1971)
• Black Women in White America: A Documentary History (1972)
• The Female Experience: An American Documentary (1976)
• A Death of One's Own (1978/2006)
• The Majority Finds Its Past: Placing Women in History (1979)
• Teaching Women's History (1981)
• Women's Diaries of the Westward Journey (1982)
• The Creation of Patriarchy (1986)
• Why History Matters (1997)
• The Rise of Feminist Consciousness (1993)
• Scholarship in Women's History Rediscovered & New (1994)
• Fireweed: A Political Autobiography (2003)

* Let's build an international secular movement! ~ by Azar Majedi

Azar Majedi is a veteran women’s rights activist from Iran. Victim of political Islam and president of the Organisation for Women's Liberation, Azar Majedi calls for international support and solidarity in the battle for freedom and equality.

Majedi writes: Religion is not only an oppressive institution, suppressing freedom of thought, speech and criticism and oppressing women. It is also the machinery for terrorizing societies. In the history of mankind, more people have died under the name of the God, than any other ideology or cause. In fact religion is a mafia-liken institution.

And the Lord your God said ...

*MISSION STATEMENT
Violence is the main obstacle to human development. There is an intrinsic link between violence and religion, patriarchal gender violence being the most pervasive expression of religious violence. Mitigating violence therefore requires overcoming the patriarchal mindset, especially in religious institutions. The mission of this independent newsletter is to provide a digest on current research and emerging issues related to human solidarity, ecological sustainability, and both religious and secular non-violence. The United Nations' Millennium Development Goals are used as a point of reference.

Luis T. Gutierrez, Editor

* American Women Lose 34 Years of Progress ~ Back to Alleys and Coathangers

Top court upholds ban on abortion procedure

'Partial birth' law at issue; first time for justices to ban a specific procedure

April 18, 2007

WASHINGTON - The Supreme Court's conservative majority upheld a nationwide ban Wednesday on a controversial abortion procedure in a decision that sets the stage for additional restrictions on a woman's right to choose.

For the first time since the court established a woman's right to an abortion in 1973, the justices said the Constitution permits a nationwide prohibition on a specific abortion method. The court's liberal justices, in dissent, said the ruling chips away at abortion rights.

* The new law, in the works for a long time, was effected by five old duffers, all men, two of whom were appointed by Bush, i.e., Roberts and Alito. The ruling includes two years in federal prison for doctors who violate the law even if the woman's health is at stake.

The preservation of the sanctity of human life is critical for everyone but so is the human right to self-determination. A law forbidding vasectomies can be slightly likened to this new law.

Bush 'pleased'

Reacting to the ruling, Bush said that it affirms the progress his administration has made to defend the "sanctity of life."

"I am pleased that the Supreme Court has upheld a law that prohibits the abhorrent procedure of partial birth abortion," he said. "Today's decision affirms that the Constitution does not stand in the way of the people's representatives enacting laws reflecting the compassion and humanity of America."

It was the first time the court banned a specific procedure in a case over how - not whether - to perform an abortion.

* Oh, please! "The compassion and humanity of America"? So why not end the Iraq war, Mr. President!

blogHillary

* Dump Religion in Favor of People ~ Women's Rights, not Religion!

I wish someone would have told me that, just because I'm a girl, I don't have to get married. ~ Marlo Thomas

One of the things about equality is not just that you be treated equally to a man, but that you treat yourself equally to the way you treat a man. ~ Marlo Thomas

Amnesty International

German Judge Cites Koran, Stirring Up Cultural Storm

New York Times
by Mark Lander FRANKFURT, March 22 — "A German judge has stirred a storm of protest by citing the Koran in turning down a German Muslim woman’s request for a speedy divorce on the ground that her husband beat her.

"In a ruling that underlines the tension between Muslim customs and European laws, the judge, Christa Datz-Winter, noted that the couple came from a Moroccan cultural milieu, in which it is common for husbands to beat their wives. The Koran, she wrote in her decision, sanctions such physical abuse.

"News of the ruling brought swift and sharp condemnation from politicians, legal experts and Muslim leaders in Germany, many of whom said they were confounded that a German judge would put seventh-century Islamic religious teaching ahead of German law in deciding a case of domestic violence.

"The court in Frankfurt abruptly removed Judge Datz-Winter from the case on Wednesday, saying it could not justify her reasoning. The woman’s lawyer, Barbara Becker-Rojczyk, said she decided to publicize the ruling, which was issued in January, after the court refused her request for a new judge.

“It was terrible for my client,” Ms. Becker-Rojczyk said. “This man beat her seriously from the beginning of their marriage. After they separated, he called her and threatened to kill her...” Full Article

* British Grandmother Sends Pics of Aborted Fetuses to Pharmacies

‘Offensive Abortion’ Case Appeals to Lords Following ‘Bizarre’ Judgement

Christian Today

by Daniel Blake
February 16, 2007

To protest the morning after pill, a Catholic woman sent photos of fetuses to pharmacies in order to 'educate' pharmacists who dispense the morning after pill.

The judgment was handed down on the case, "ruling that while Mrs Connolly was entitled to send pictures of aborted foetuses in expression of her anti-abortion beliefs, they should have only been sent to people such as MPs, who have a direct opportunity to influence debate, or a change in the abortion law, not members of the public, even if they are professionals actively involved in the moral implications of such a law."

It is not an original revelation that many Christians concern themselves with upholding rights of the unborn but completely disregard the rights and circumstances of women who are, apparently, less important to people like Mrs. Connelly. If I could, I would suggest to those of such religious zeal that they just carry it to the logical end, i.e., have abortion criminalized with life sentences in prison for murder for women who abort and for their health care providers and doctors who are accessories to the crime. Of course this would have to be extended even further to developers and manufacturers of the morning after pill and a huge network of people with other abortion involvements. Thought about in this way the whole thing is ridiculous.

* Religion is Overruled in Favor of Women's Health Needs ~ Making Progress

Texas Is First to Require Cancer Shots for Schoolgirls

by Ralph Blumenthal
February 3, 2007

HOUSTON, Feb. 2 — "Texas on Friday became the first state to require all 11- and 12-year-old girls entering the sixth grade to be vaccinated against a sexually transmitted virus that causes cervical cancer.

"Averting a potentially divisive debate in the Legislature, Gov. Rick Perry, a Republican, signed an executive order mandating shots of the Merck vaccine Gardasil as protection against the human papillomavirus, or HPV, starting in September 2008.

"Mr. Perry’s action, praised by health advocates, caught many by surprise in a largely conservative state where sexual politics is often a battleground. ... Some parents have voiced concern that the plan could send a message that sexual activity was condoned or that vaccinations made it safe. On the whole, however, conservative and religious groups have not come out strongly against the vaccinations as long as families can opt out."

Centers for Disease Control & Prevention

* Congratulations & Thanks to Nancy Pelosi for Giving Us This Special Day in History

60th United States Speaker of the House
Incumbent
In office since
January 4, 2007

American women have been waiting for this for over 200 years, and I hope Speaker Pelosi will be welcomed by men, as well.

Nancy Pelosi is hoping to start off big with her "100 Hours Agenda," the first step towards larger changes. The proposals are progressive, including cutting oil subsidies to invest in clean energy, getting cheaper prescription drugs for seniors, and raising the minimum wage. Corporate lobbyists--the big drug companies, oil companies, and business lobbies--are already working hard to defeat the agenda, and we need to show where the American people stand. Please add your name to MoveOn.org's petition calling on Congress to pass the 100 Hours Agenda.
Pass the First 100 Hours Agenda

Here's a brief summary of the 100 Hour Agenda package:

Good Government: Cutting off lobbyist gifts and restoring fairness and transparency in the way laws are passed

Fiscal Responsibility: Stop recklessly driving up the national debt

National Security: Implement all of the 9/11 Commission security recommendations

Fighting Poverty: Increase minimum wage to $7.25 an hour, helping 15 million working families

Health Research: Increased funding and availability for stem cell research

Affordable Health Care: Negotiate for lower prices on prescription drugs, passing savings on to seniors

Education Access: Cut interest on federal student loans in half

Clean Energy: Cut oil company subsidies and invest in safe alternatives
Pass the First 100 Hours Agenda

Hey, it looks like somebody cares about us! How refreshing. But where is Iraq in the plan? MoveOn.org states, "Later this month, we'll organize local meetings with our representatives, urging them to take on the really big issues that Americans care most about, like health care for all, clean energy and Iraq. Stay tuned for more details."

To read a more detailed summary of the 100 Hours Agenda legislation,
Click Here.

METAXY, Earlier Postings on Nancy Pelosi

Photo from Wikipedia

* Bush Appoints Abstinence-Only Nutcase to Interfere with Women's Issues

Doc's Appt. Angers Family Planning Group

by ANDREW BRIDGES

The Associated Press
Saturday, November 18, 2006; 6:12 AM

WASHINGTON -- "The Bush administration, to the consternation of its critics, has picked the medical director of an organization that opposes premarital sex, contraception and abortion to lead the office that oversees federally funded teen pregnancy, family planning and abstinence programs.

"The appointment of Eric Keroack, a Marblehead, Mass. obstetrician and gynecologist, to oversee the federal Office of Population Affairs and its $283 million annual budget has angered family-planning advocates.

"Keroack currently is medical director of A Woman's Concern, a Christian nonprofit. The Dorchester, Mass.-based organization runs six centers in the state that offer free pregnancy testing, ultrasounds and counseling. It also works to "help women escape the temptation and violence of abortion," according to its statement of faith. And it opposes contraception, saying its use increases out-of-wedlock pregnancy and abortion rates.

"A Woman's Concern is persuaded that the crass commercialization and distribution of birth control is demeaning to women, degrading of human sexuality and adverse to human health and happiness," its contraception policy reads in part.

"The appointment of anti-birth control, anti-sex education advocate Dr. Eric Keroack to oversee the nation's family planning program is striking proof that the Bush administration remains dramatically out of step with the nation's priorities," Cecile Richards, president of the Planned Parenthood Federation of America, said in a statement."

Keroack's appointment as deputy assistant secretary for population affairs for the Department of Health and Human Services does not require Senate confirmation.

* Women Without Superstition: "No Gods - No Masters"

Images from Wikipedia

The Degraded Status of Woman in the Bible, 1896
~ Elizabeth Cady Stanton

“I have endeavoured to dissipate these religious superstitions from the minds of women, and base their faith on science and reason, where I found for myself at least that peace and comfort I could never find in the Bible and the church. . . the less they believe, the better for their own happiness and development. . .

"For fifty years the women of this nation have tried to dam up this deadly stream that poisons all their lives, but thus far they have lacked the insight or courage to follow it back to its source and there strike the blow at the fountain of all tyranny, religious superstition, priestly power, and the canon law.”

* * *
Women Without Superstition: "No Gods - No Masters,"1997
Edited by Annie Laurie Gaylor

The Collected Writings of Women Freethinkers of the Nineteenth and Twentieth Centuries.

The first anthology of women freethinkers, featuring more than 50 activists and writers critical of religion. Includes biographical sketches, selected writings,51 photographs, and full index. (ISBN 1-877733-09-1)

Stanton & Anthony =>

Selected Quotes
Freedom From Religion Foundation

Susan B. Anthony, One Such Notable

A creed of perfect equality

February 15, 1820 - March 13, 1906

"Cautious, careful people, always casting about to preserve their reputation and social standing, never can bring about a reform. Those who are really in earnest must be willing to be anything or nothing in the world's estimation, and publicly and privately, in season and out, avow their sympathy with despised and persecuted ideas and their advocates, and bear the consequences." (The Life and Work of Susan B. Anthony, Volume I)

"Work is my gospel." (New York Press, February 6, 1905).

"I pray every single second of my life; not on my knees but with my work. My prayer is to lift women to equality with men. Work and worship are one with me. I know there is no God of the universe made happy by my getting down on my knees and calling him "great." (Interview by Nellie Bly, New York World, February 2, 1896)

* Democrats Given Their Voice by the American People

Click to Enlarge
Created by Brian Narelle
* * *
Part of email from Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee:

Nancy Pelosi wrote:

"Together, we can set a new course for America. Nowhere did the American people make it clearer that we need a new direction than in the war in Iraq. We are committed to finding a new solution to Iraq, but we know that actions speak louder than words.

"That's why we will go forward with our "Six for '06" agenda:

- To make our country safer by implementing the 9/11 commission recommendations
- To make our economy fairer
- To make college and health care more affordable
- To move toward energy independence
- To guarantee a dignified retirement
- To do this in a fiscally sound way with civility, integrity, and bipartisanship."

"That's the kind of tangible progress that you have brought within reach by devoting yourself so enthusiastically to supporting the work of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee."

With deep appreciation,





Nancy Pelosi

* Nancy Pelosi ~ America's Top Goose

Representative Nancy Pelosi, First Woman Speaker of the House

~ Ellen Malcolm

“... millions of women cheered as [Democrat] Nancy Pelosi became the first woman Speaker of the House. This is the highest political leadership position ever held by a woman and puts Pelosi in the driver's seat as we begin to fulfill the will of the electorate and reshape the national agenda. Seeing this smart, tough, effective woman leading the Congress will help pave the way for the future of all women in politics.”

We've come a long way, baby ...

* * *
Frances Wright, 1829, History Suffragist Movement, Timeline

"Author Frances Wright travels the United States on a paid lecture tour, perhaps the first ever by a woman. She attacks organized religion for the secondary place it assigns women, and advocates the empowerment of women through divorce and birth control."


"A DownWright Gabbler, or a goose that deserves to be hissed - "

" ... an 1829 caricature which takes a hostile view of Frances Wright's public lectures. Many at the time considered the mere fact of a woman lecturing in public to be a shameless act of brazen impudence and effrontery in itself (regardless of the particular content of her lecture), and the fact that Wright preached radical views of slavery abolition and giving women the right to vote only increased the criticism she received.

"The caricature depicts her with a goose's beak and eyes, wearing a black dress and reading from a book as she lectures. A young man with a somewhat vacant look, and a hand tucked into one side of his vest (à la Napoleon) patiently holds her fashionable bonnet. (This was probably intended to be interpreted as going a little bit beyond an ordinary daily act of chivalry into a more or less subserviently deferential role.)"

Wikipedia

* Emily's List ~ Grassroots Political Network

Who We Are

"EMILY's List, the nation's largest grassroots political network, is dedicated to taking back our country from the radical right wing by electing pro-choice Democratic women to federal, state, and local office. We are a network of more than 100,000 Americans -- from all across the country -- committed to recruiting and funding viable women candidates; helping them build and run effective campaign organizations; training the next generation of activists; and mobilizing women voters to help elect progressive candidates across the nation.

"EMILY's List has helped to change the face of power in America. Until EMILY's List was founded in 1985, no Democratic woman had ever been elected to the U.S. Senate in her own right, no woman had ever been elected governor of a large state, and the number of Democratic women in the U.S. House had declined to 12 -- less than three percent of the chamber's 435 members. Since then, our grassroots network has helped elect 61 Democratic pro-choice members of Congress, 11 senators, and eight governors. EMILY's List has also become the largest financial resource for minority women seeking federal office. We know how to win."

Learn More