Support the Fair Pay Restoration Act

We've been tracking the Fair Pay Restoration Act since the Supreme Court ruled against Ledbetter last May.

Next week, the Senate Committee holds its hearings on the bill. (The House passed it in July.)

Take two minutes to thank Senators Clinton and Schumer for sponsoring this bill. Fewer than a third of the senators have committed themselves as co-sponsors, so our senators need our support and appreciation.

"The U.S. Supreme Court's decision in the Ledbetter v. Goodyear case in May severely limited the ability of victims of pay discrimination to sue under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. The Fair Pay Restoration Act restores the law to how it was previously applied to be consistent with Congress' intent and the Court's own precedents. The bill would also apply to all claims of discrimination in compensation. Thanks to the hard work of AAUW members and other coalition partners, the House passed its companion bill, the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act (H.R. 2831), in July."

To send your thanks just click on this link:

American Association of University Women - Two Minute Activist

AAUW Member To Participate in Bard Teach-In Feb 1st

We're delighted that Doris Goldberg, has had her art installation accepted for this Focus the Nation exhibit and teach-in.

Make plans to attend the reception Feb. 1st at 6:30 pm.

Bard College Press Releases - Full Story: "ANNANDALE-ON-HUDSON, N.Y.—On Friday, February 1, Bard College will participate in Focus the Nation, an unprecedented teach-in on global warming solutions. “Today’s college students are truly the greatest generation,” says ... professor of economics Eban Goodstein, author and project director for Focus the Nation. “No other generation has ever had to face this kind of civilizational challenge. And we as educators would be failing if we did not prepare them to meet this challenge.”"

1/19/08: Branch Meeting and Annual Luncheon

Have you made your reservations for our annual AAUW Kingston winter luncheon?

This year, Arnold Jones, our speaker, will talk about Wilderstein, the Rhinebeck home of Daisy Suckley (cousin of FDR), its restoration, and its fascinating collection of memorabilia.

This will be a most interesting presentation, so bring your family and friends. Non-members are welcome.

Saturday, January 19th, noon at Deisings. Reserve a place for lunch now.

We will be ordering from Deising's lavish menu and each paying for our individual choice.

For reservations, contact Anne Gordon, 331-7380, by January 16th.

AAUW Says "Say No To Violence Against Women"

Jeanne Townsend reports that the International Federation of University Women (IFUW) is encouraging us all to support Say No to Violence Against Women. This is a campaign sponsored by UNIFEM -- the United Nations Development Fund for Women. The IFUW is a launch partner.

Some statistics from the Say No to Violence Site:

• At least one out of every three women around the world has been beaten, coerced into sex, or otherwise abused in her lifetime — with the abuser usually someone known to her.
• For women aged 15 to 44 years, violence is a major cause of death and disability - with rape and domestic violence rated higher as risk factors than cancer, motor vehicle accidents, war and malaria.
• One in five women will become a victim of rape or attempted rape in her lifetime.
• Some 70 percent of the casualties in recent armed conflicts have been non-combatants — most of them women and children. Women’s bodies have become part of the battleground for those who use terror as a tactic of war — they are raped, abducted, humiliated and made to undergo forced pregnancy, sexual abuse and slavery.
• Estimates of the number of trafficked persons range from 500,000 to two million per year, and a few organizations have estimated that up to four million persons are trafficked every year; the majority are women."

What can we do?

We can start by learning more about the campaign and lending our names to the virtual book of supporters here.

Then, we can ask our friends to do the same.

Note: Although AAUW is no longer an IAUW member organization, the two organizations support each other's efforts.

Holding Schools Accountable

There's a management truism that applies here -- if it's important, measure it.

National AAUW sent a Two-Minute Activist request this morning about participation in sports --

American Association of University Women - Two Minute Activist: "Title IX's fight against sex discrimination in federally-funded schools and educational programs in the U.S. has led to a 400 percent increase in the rate of female participation in college sports and a more than 800 percent increase in participation at the high school level."

They go on to say, though, that under Title IX, high schools don't have to report on the level of funding and participation. Colleges do, and we've seen a terrific growth in women's sports as a result.

But high school is where life-long interests and habits begin. And, it's far too easy for opportunities for girls to be slighted when budgets are tight and no one is paying attention. Reporting will focus that attention.

So, I encourage you to take two minutes to tell our senators' staff that we support the High School Sports Information Collection Act (S.518). Just click on the link, enter your zip code, and tailor your message.

Photo by MarkHaertl

Two minutes. It's important, so let's measure it.

11/28/07: A United Nations Day Trip

On November 28th, 2007, seven branch members traveled to the United Nations. AAUW-NYS is one of the co-sponsors of the League of Women Voters' annual briefing at the UN in NYC.

This year's topic was Briefings on the Effects of War on Women Around the World.

Trip impressions follow.

Garnette Arledge: We left Kingston at a peach and rose dawn, shortly pulling off the FDR Highway to see the sun highlighting the UN tower. I hadn't been there for 30 years; my heart soared to see the symbol of one Earth. Such hope and necessity founded this institution. We immediately found security was high, school groups and tourists, official visitors, an
international melee.

The tour focuses on world tragedies amidst some spectacular art work donated by member nations: nine-foot carved ivory from China too delicate to imagine the artists' eyes; intricate Persian wood and gold gateway; giant sculpture and murals from multiple nations. An outlaw NY cockroach almost Kafkaesque crept out of the ceiling over the display of women's deprivations.

I have not yet released the image of nuclear radiation: 8- and 10-year-old male and female soldiers, super-billions of dollars for weaponry vs. millions for health care, etc.

And then the briefing: Speaker Sylvia Hordosch cataloging the too-horrible to be named sexual abuses of women around the world perpetrated as acts of war. I knew about rape but to destroy a woman's ability to bear children as an act of war. To impregnate as an act of war. To abort as an act of war.

Yet, as horrific as the presentations could have been, Sylvia enabled me to understand that one of the major roles of the UN is to observe, catalog, and report to the world what is out of personal sight due to global distance.

So how have I dealt with the sorrows of our potentially beautiful planet?

For me, and I am not suggesting my way is to be your way, I have upgraded my prayer time. Somehow, despite the inspiring array of the nations' flags, the encouragement of seeing so many multi-cultural peoples serving and working for a united nations, I came away resolving to take a part that works for me. I can, and do, pray more.

It was of great benefit personally for me have the opportunity offered by the AAUW to be reminded of the UN. I am not really able to actively know what the ins-and-outs of international policy, life and death squabbles in the UN, although I can imagine. What I can do well as Rev. Matthew Fox suggested is “pray the news.”


ViVi Hlavsa: Most memorable to me was the statistic that in 1950, the civilian population constituted 5% of the deaths from war; now the figure is 70%! And most of these people are, of course, women and children.

I found myself somewhat disappointed to return to the site where, as a teenager, we had all been so full of hope for the UN. Although many of their goals have been achieved since that time (for example, the decolonization of most of the world), the UN seems enmeshed in intractable power politics, especially with the rise of the new form of colonialism – globalization.

On the other hand, I enjoyed the good company of fellow Kingstonians at lunch and on the ride home.


Susan Holland: On our way to the General Assembly Hall, we passed through a corridor in which both walls were lined with large color photographs, each of a single child in native dress, from countries all over the world. Then came a huge inverted triangle painted on the left wall. The largest part at the top showed the billions and billions we spend on all things military, compared to the much smaller parts of the triangle below for everything else: incidentals such as the environment, education, and health care.

Our guide, a young Japanese woman, next focused our attention on a small glass display case holding remnants of melted coins and clothing – fallout from the atomic bombs we dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki in 1945. At the center of the disarmament exhibit: a statue of St. Agnes, which once stood in front of a Nagasaki church. The church was completely destroyed in the explosion. The 1.5-ton statue fell forward, lost its right arm, and sustained ripples on its back from the radiation.

As I circled the stone saint, tears blinded my eyes. What have we learned in the past 62 years?

Happy New Year!

We welcome the new year with this quote from Benjamin Franklin:

Be at war with your vices; at peace with your neighbors, and let every new year find you a better [wo]man.

The Kingston Branch of AAUW celebrated the holidays by sharing favorite holiday traditions. Pictured here is Susan Holland reading the Polar Express -- her favorite Christmas story.

We were pleased to send armloads of simple gifts to the women at Family of Woodstock's shelter for victims of domestic violence.

We look forward to a great year together.

Kingston AAUW Trip Reservation Form

Complete the reservation form below to reserve your place for any of our trips. After you submit the form, Kingston AAUW will send you a message, usually within 48 hours, that either confirms that we are holding a place for you, or where you are on a waiting list if the trip is full.

The Small Print

We look forward to having you join us and we believe that clarity yields happy fellow travelers. We hope this information brings clarity.

Payment terms: generally, we expect payment within a week of your confirmed reservation. Your confirmation message will note any exceptions -- for example, the Washington DC trip requires an initial $200 deposit and full payment by March 4th.

Send your check, made out to AAUW–Kingston Branch, to Garnette Arledge, PO Box 14, Glenford, NY 12443

Cancellation Policy: No refunds unless KAAUW cancels the trip. If you find you cannot attend you may arrange for someone else to take your spot. If you aren't coming, do let us know. If there is a waiting list we may be able to help you find someone, but we make no promise to do so.

In some cases, you may be able to arrange private trip insurance. If you provide your address on the reservation form, we will send you information about a company that offers it. Please note: we have no connection to this insurance company. If you choose to contract with them, it is strictly between you and them.

Departure and Return: All trips leave promptly from the rear of the former Ames in the Kingston Plaza. Departure times are firm. Return times are estimates that may be impacted by traffic or weather.

Questions? Leave a Garnette Arledge message at 845-704-2120 or send her an email. She will get back to you.

To reserve your space on one or all of our summer 2008 trips,
go to our reservation form here.

Thanks! We look forward to traveling with you.

Literary group: more on Island at the Center of the World

Hi Everyone,
For those of you who read Island at the Center of the World, there is an interesting article on the Op-Ed page A29 in the Thurs. 12-27-07 issue by Kenneth Jackson. The article mentions how NYC, when it was still New Amsterdam developed religious tolerance.
From, Marjorie

Editor's note: I recommend this brief article to anyone interested in the issue of religion and its place in politics today. Jackson, in A Colony with a Conscience, offers up the story of early settlers in Flushing, Queens who, in 1657, stood up for a principle they believed in. They still stand tall as role models for us today.

12/18/07: Branch meeting & holiday party -- Simple Gifts

Branch Meeting and Holiday Party

Tuesday, December 18
3 PM, Kingston Library

This year's theme was Simple Gifts. We, ourselves, were the program. People brought and shared readings, poems, songs, and memories that evoked the holidays for them.

In addition, we shared "simple gifts" with the women living in the Homeless Shelter and Domestic Violence Shelter run by Family of Woodstock -- books, board games, puzzles, bath & beauty sets, art supplies, winter hats & gloves, writing supplies...