Action Alert: Help Save Crime Victims Fund

One of the most important things you can do to help victims of crime.

contact your U.S. Senators and U.S. Representative and ask them to support "The Crime Victims Fund Preservation Act of 2009."

On Thursday, July 30, 2009, Representatives Ted Poe (R-TX) and Jim Costa (D-CA), co-chairs of the Congressional Crime Victim Rights Caucus, introduced H.R. 3402, "The Crime Victims Fund Preservation Act of 2009." This is a companion to S. 1340, introduced in June by Senators Patrick Leahy (D-VT) and Mike Crapo (R-ID) which would ensure a continued and substantial increase the the amount of Crime Victims Fund to be made available to support critical crime victim services. '

The Crime Victims Fund Preservation Act would establish a minimum VOCA cap through 2014 and still leave a substantial balance in the Fund to ensure ongoing stable services. Both bills specify the minimum amount of the Crime Victims Fund to be allocated in FY 2010 at $705 million and then increases the cap by 23 percent for each of the next four years. By FY 2014, the VOCA cap would be $1.6 billion, an amount that is essential to help meet victims' needs.

Please visit the National Association of VOCA Assistance Administrators for a fact sheet and complete information about the Act, and then please

contact your U.S. Senators and U.S. Representative to encourage their support for this critical bill.

And please cut and paste this request and send it to your colleagues, families and friends -- Congress needs to know how important this bill is to provide continued, stable funding for our important work!

Posted by,
Jerin Alam
National NOW Young Feminist Task Force
NOW-NYS Young Feminist Task Force Chair
National Organization for Women (NOW)

Action Alert: Stop Opponents of Health Care Reform from Distorting the Truth

	Stop Opponents of Health Care Reform from Distorting the Truth Statistics have been at the center of the current battle over health care, but opponents of reform have been deceiving the public with biased data that fits their ideological arguments. The Washington Post just revealed that the Lewin Group, which is commonly cited by Republican lawmakers as an "independent, nonpartisan" think tank, is owned by UnitedHealth, one the country's largest health insurance companies. This is bad, even by Washington standards. The Lewin Group's research has heavily influenced the health care debate, and its supposedly objective projections have been used to scare Americans away from supporting health care reform. Tell opponents of health care reform to stop falsely presenting insurance industry research as unbiased information > It's not surprising that a private insurance company would publish biased information to misinform people about health care reform, which threatens their billions of dollars in annual profits. But for lawmakers who oppose reform to repeat these biased reports as facts without acknowledging their true source is disingenuous and irresponsible. The American people deserve an honest, straightforward debate on the merits of health care reform. Tell members of Congress to stop using biased numbers provided by the insurance industry and start an honest debate about how to fix health care in America > Thanks for lending your voice, - The Change.org Team Posted by: Jerin Alam National NOW Young Feminist Task Force National Organization for Women (NOW)		Click here to sign your name Stop Congressman from using biased research intended to scare people about health care reform.

Action Alert: Tell Congress Women's Health Matters In Health Care Reform

Our partners in Albany, Family Planning Advocates of New York State, are calling on supporters to help get the word out about health care reform. Please take a few minutes to find out how you can use your voice to protect access to our services. Congress is heading home for August recess without taking action on health care reform. Planned Parenthood's role in this reform process is to ensure that comprehensive reproductive health services remain available for all women and families. August is a critical time when your Member of Congress will be home, hearing from constituents on this important issue. We need your help to send the message to Congress that Women's Health Matters! Lately, anti-choice forces and lawmakers have come together in a dangerous attempt to halt our efforts, threatening to take away women's access to essential services like cancer screenings, contraception and abortion. Time is of the essence. The public and Congress need to know that millions of women across the country depend on community health centers like Planned Parenthood for their reproductive health care and, in many cases, for their primary health care. Writing a letter to the editor of your local paper can have a big impact in the little time that Congress is home. And, sending a letter is easy. In just a few clicks you can send a personalized letter to your local newspaper. Please take a moment to help spread the word about how important it is to include this type of care in health care reform. Women shouldn't be worse off after health care reform than they are today. CLICK HERE TO START WRITING YOUR LETTER Spread the word. Visit the web address below to tell your friends about this. Tell-a-friend! If you received this message from a friend, you can sign up for Planned Parenthood of New York City Action Network. Posted by: Jerin Alam National NOW Young Feminist Task Force National Organization for Women (NOW) visit plannedparenthood.org © 2009 Planned Parenthood® of New York City | Privacy Policy

Action Alert: Urge Representatives Today to Support Single-Payer!

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Support NOW's Work |	July 28, 2009	| Tell a Friend

Action Needed Background All NOW Actions More about Health		Urge House Members Today to Support Single-Payer The House of Representative may vote this week on its bill (America's Affordable Health Choices Act of 2009, H.R. 3200) to reform our dysfunctional health care system. Act NOW to keep state single-payer options in this important piece of health care reform legislation! Tell your representatives to support single-payer health care After taking action, please support our work! Action Needed: Thanks to your recent calls, this important amendment was adopted in committee. Now the challenge is to keep it in the larger House health care reform bill, H.R. 3200, when it goes to a floor vote. Your calls and emails to House members are critical to support retention of a state single-payer option in health care reform legislation, so take action now! Background: On July 17, the Education and Labor Committee approved an amendment offered by Rep. Dennis Kucinich, (D-Ohio) to H.R. 3200 that would allow states to pass and implement single-payer plans. The amendment provides for automatic waivers from the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA), which might otherwise prevent states from enacting single-payer plans. This was a huge victory for single-payer but if we are to build on this victory, we must act now. The Kucinich amendment must be retained in the final version of the House bill, H.R. 3200, and perhaps made even stronger. There is no time to waste. Pressure is needed directly on those members who have the ability to act in support of the amendment's retention. The National Organization for Women adopted a resolution in 1993 that supports a single-payer type approach (Medicare for all) as the best way to control costs and cover everyone. Women, especially, will benefit from a single-payer system because all medically-necessary services are covered and the single-payer system's approach is the only way to bring costs under control. No up-front deductibles would be required and no exclusions for reproductive health care services would be allowed. Further news: An amendment to be offered by Rep. Anthony Weiner in committee that would establish a national single-payer system (H.R. 676) may take place before the floor vote, though we are not sure when and if this may come up. Insiders believe that the national single-payer plan has little chance of being adopted in a floor vote. However, if action in the House speeds up this week before August recess, we do want to make sure the state single-payer option is retained. As we celebrate Medicare's 44th Anniversary on Thursday, July 30, join us in taking action to support single-payer as the way to provide health care for all and promote economic justice in our nation. and then
SUPPORT NOW: Support NOW's Work for Equal Rights | Join NOW | Monthly Giving | Catalog | Shop Amazon TAKE ACTION: Get Involved | Find Your Nearest Chapter | Tell a Friend | Learn More LISTS: Unsubscribe, Edit Profile | Subscribe | All Lists Posted by: Jerin Alam National NOW Young Feminist Task Force National Organization for Women (NOW)

Action Alert: Help Pass the Women's Equality Amendment

Join NOW with Congresswoman Carolyn Maloney as she Reintroduces the Women's Equality Amendment. Take Action! Send an Email to Congress and President Obama to say "YES" to Women's Equality. Congresswoman Carolyn Maloney to Reintroduce Women's Equality Amendment on Capitol Hill Take Action! Tell Congress and President Obama and Congess that it's time! Did you know that women are not represented in the U.S. Constitution? Join NOW and Congresswoman Carolyn Maloney as she proudly introduces the WOMEN'S EQUALITY AMENDMENT ON CAPITOL HILL! Tuesday, July 21st, at 10 a.m. House Triangle (on the Capitol side of Independence Avenue across from the Rayburn building). Show your support for putting women's rights in the U.S. Constitution. We need as many organizations and individuals as possible to join the Congresswoman on Tuesday to demonstrate the breadth and intensity of our commitment to equal rights. Please bring signs from your state, your home town, or your organization. Invite friends and family. Include your staff and summer interns. Come watch history being made. Lend your voice to the fight for women's rights! Call of email Congresswoman Maloney and thank her for her leadership: http://maloney.house.gov/index.php?option=com_email_form&Itemid=73 Washington Office: 202.225.7944 phone, Manhattan Office: 212-860-0606 phone Posted by: Jerin Alam National NOW Young Feminist Task Force National Organization for Women (NOW)

THF: Recipe for awesome

Posted by: THF (HappyFeminist@gmail.com)
Image via: Seagull

My recipe for today? Two parts good news, four parts activism, stir.

Good domestic news: D.C., starting today, will recognize same-sex marriages.

The D.C. Council has passed a gay marriage recognition bill. Mayor Adrian M. Fenty has signed it. The Board of Elections and Ethics has rejected a referendum effort aimed at overturning it. A Superior Court judge has upheld that decision.

Good foreign news: Uganda will pass a bill that outlaws female genital mutilation (FGM).

"The way God made it, there is no part of a human body that is useless," President Yoweri Museveni told a gathering in the eastern Karamoja district.

These things don't happen by themselves! Keep up the good work, feminists (wherever you may be!)

With that in mind, now is a good time for some quick activism:

1. Give your Member of Congress a call today and remind them health care can’t wait!
2. Sign the petition and declare your independence from the insurance industry.
3. Tell Congress that we want real healthcare reform now.
4. Make sure reproductive-health services are covered in the new health-care system.

And don't miss Sarah Haskin's latest!



News via: California NOW, Twitter's @Haliburton, @FeministCampus (the girls from the Feminist Majority Foundation or FMF), and @ShelbyKnox. Thanks so much!

THF: A call to activism (a.k.a., letter-writing)

I, The Happy Feminist, am happy today to accept the title of President-elect of the Women's Rights Coalition. Feel free to add me on facebook (I'm listed as President-elect in our facebook group); you can message me anytime with anything you may need. I write my first blog from D.C. today.

I am not feeling awesome about the assassination of Dr. Tiller, but I took a page (pun...is it a bad time for puns?) from Carolyn Maloney's book and decided to make a call for action.

I invite you all to take any outrage you may have about Dr. Tiller's death and write to your senators and congressmen/women about it. Whether it be New York, Connecticut, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Transylvania, whatever. Contact them! Here's a letter I sent to mine, please read it and send it along:

To my esteemed Senators:

I would like to begin my letter explaining how much I appreciate the work that you do; I am fully aware of how little like a picnic your job must be.

I write to you today to ask for renewed enforcement of the FACE Act of 1994, and I am sure you know why. Dr. Tiller’s work is controversial to some, but we can at least agree that civil disobedience may be a tradition we respect in this country, sure, but violence is not. Trusting women is the belief of the pro-choice movement, but the health of a human being is the belief of those who support late term abortions.

Politics aside, domestic terrorism is unacceptable. I cannot imagine what those people attending church the morning of Dr. Tiller’s death felt upon hearing the gunshots. My fear of domestic terrorism is not unfounded:

“The man charged with murdering a high-profile abortion doctor claimed from his jail cell Sunday that similar violence was planned around the nation for as long as the procedure remained legal, a threat that comes days after a federal investigation launched into his possible accomplices.” (Roxana Hegeman, Associated Press Writer, http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090607/ap_on_re_us/us_abortion_shooting)

I am calling on you for renewed enforcement of the Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances (FACE) Act of 1994. “FACE makes it illegal to intentionally use force, the threat of force, or physical obstruction to injure, intimidate, interfere with, or attempt to injure, intimidate or interfere with individuals obtaining or providing reproductive health care services. FACE also punishes anyone who intentionally damages or destroys a facility that provides reproductive health services.” (http://www.prochoice.org/about_abortion/facts/face_act.html)

I know that this issue will continue to be debated in the years to come, but I hope that we can at least do so peacefully.

Sincerely,

THF: Badasses to be rewarded, finally

HOLY CRAP. WOMEN PILOTS. (NO, I did NOT know they existed in WWII, thank you education).

"All 17 female senators want to see female pilots who served during World War II receive the Congressional Gold Medal, the highest civilian honor Congress can give."

Dude, a female senator coalition. That shit is dangerous and awesome in every way. What else are they capable of!? Has this happened before? I'll have to get Steven on this!

They want to award the "WASPs" (Women Airforce Service Pilots) Congressional Medals of Honor, "the highest civilian honor Congress can give." Why hasn't this happened before?

More on the Women Airforce Service Pilots available on their webpage or in the book Flygirl by Sherri L. Smith (of which, PBS provides an exerpt).

Via Jezebel/AP


PS: Don't forget to follow the WRC's Tweets from the Conference this weekend!

Edit: The PBS excerpt comes from A WASP Among Eagles by Ann Baumgartner Carl. My mistake!