AAUW Kingston Book Club revises reading list for 12/08 to 6/09

Image by Wolf Gang via FlickrImage by Wolf Gang via Flickr

Dec. 16, 2008 - ViVi Hlavsa will help us explore the poems in Section 2 of the looseleaf binder that she has assembled. The binder can be purchased or borrowed from the library.

Jan. 13*, 2009 (* note the date change) - Leeway Cottage by Beth Gutcheon. A story about a couple who meet at Julliard and are separated by WW2, when the husband goes back to his native Denmark and becomes involved with the successful rescue of the Danish Jews.

Feb. 17, 2009 - The Known World by Edward P. Jones. Before the Civil War, a black slave buys his freedom and then buys black men to work for him.

March 17, 2009 - The House of Mirth by Edith Wharton. This heroine in early 20^th-century New York has no fortune and is unable to find her place in the upper level of society. A fictional depiction of the rigid class system of the time.

April 21, 2009 - ViVi Hlavsa’s One Book, One Community selection: Russian Journal and selected short stories by Andrea Lee.

May 19, 2009 - Enemy Women by Paulette Jiles (BCB). Adair Colley, an 18-year-old girl in Missouri at the time of the Civil War is arrested by the Union Army as an Enemy Woman. She is interrogated by a Union Major and they fall in love.

June 16, 2009 - Red Badge of Courage by Stephen Crane. Henry Fleming is a teenager who joins the Union Army during the Civil War. He is fearful of killing and dying and friends betray his fears. His wound is the red badge of courage. This is a coming of age story that does not glorify war. It has been called the first modern American novel.

AAUW Branch Members at the United Nations

AAUW Kingston Branch members visit the United Nations on December 2nd for the conference: The Impact of Climate Change on Women and Children. Left to right: Garnette Arledge, President, Janine Mower, Irene Miller, Susan Holland, and Denise Springer

What's Up With Voting Machines in New York?

Image via WikipediaWhat's Up With Voting Machines in New York?

• How does a mandated switch to op-scan computers in 2009 square with the Constitution?
• Can we save our levers---and millions of dollars, too?
• Can op-scan voting be trusted?

These questions will be covered in a public forum

7 pm, Tuesday, December 9

at the Kingston Library, 55 Franklin Street

The forum will begin with the video "Hacking Democracy", which shows how optical scan computers, even with paper ballots, can be secretly hacked without a trace.

The video will be followed by attorney Andi Novick's explanation of why op scan, or any other computer voting, does not square with the NY State Constitution, which demands an "observable, transparent, and secure" system that computers cannot comply with.

She will also update the public on a pending legal case to ensure that legislators adhere to the Constitution and will detail the enormous costs a switch to computers would entail now and over the years vs keeping our levers.

Sponsored by the American Association of University Women, the program is free, and questions from the audience will be encouraged.

For more information: contact Irene Miller at 518 678-3516

AAUW Members Attend UN Conf. on Women, Children, and Climate Change

Janine Mower attended the UN conference on Women and Children and Climate Change with others from our branch this week. She has a new, personal blog, the View From My Kitchen Window where she has posted a series on her trip to the city, her reflections on being at the UN, and her summary and comments on the conference speakers.

Visit her new blog, congratulate her in the comments, and read her impressions of the day.

View From My Kitchen Window: "We left the conference and as we drove back to Ulster county- thru the streets of one of the most important cities in the world, New York city, I was struck by how vulnerable we all are.

Many Americans are living one pay check away from financial disaster.

In order to not feel overwhelmed by the magnitude of the problems we face as humans on this wonderful planet, I seek out a small local problem and do my best to help it come to a resolution. I'm sure that there are many others out there that do the same."

Thanks for sharing your experience, Janine.

Who will you record this holiday season?

November 28th, this coming Friday, we celebrate the first annual National Day of Listening. It's an event conceived by StoryCorps, the folks who travel around the country in an Air Stream recording studio capturing conversations -- oral histories -- for the Library of Congress.

Exploring their site, listening to the excerpts they've posted, is a few minutes well spent -- exciting, moving, inspirational. Got me thinking of all the people I'd like to record.

Who will you record this holiday season?

StoryCorps provides a Do-It-Yourself guide and on-line video, a question-generator, toolkits for teachers and librarians, and great excerpts. Visit them here.

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• Participate in the National Day of Listening [Holidays]
• StoryCorps's ordinary tales a hit
• Stories from your neighbors recorded

Bush Administration Targets FMLA

Bush Administration Targets Family Medical Leave Act

From the AAUW Two Minute Activist:

Photo by minxlj

With only two months left in office, the Bush Administration is rolling back protections for which AAUW fought for more than a decade to enact. This week, the Department of Labor released regulations that will make it harder for most workers to take leave under the Family and Medical Leave Act. These regulations will take effect January 16, 2009-just four days before President Bush leaves office-but you can act now by urging House Speaker Nancy Pelosi to make expanding FMLA a priority in the 111th Congress.

Since the FMLA was enacted in 1993, millions of workers have been able to take unpaid leave to care for their families and themselves without the fear of losing their job. While the new regulations contain a few good provisions for military families, they make it harder for most workers to reap the benefit of this act. Workers will have less time to give notice of their need for leave, while at the same time, they will need to fulfill increased requirements for requesting leave. Workers will have a tougher time using paid leave in conjunction with FMLA leave, leaving many workers unable to afford to take leave at all. In addition, employers will have greater access to health information on workers and their families, jeopardizing their medical privacy.

In these tough economic times, losing a job could mean financial disaster for many families. Rather than making it harder for American workers to take the leave that they need to care for themselves and their families, we should be expanding the FMLA to ensure that all workers are covered and can afford to take the leave by making it paid.

AAUW's member-adopted Public Policy Program has long supported flexible workplace policies to address the family responsibilities of employees. AAUW believes that creating work environments that help employees balance the responsibilities of work and family is good public policy - good for workers, good for families, and good for business.

Take Action! (click this link and scroll down to send a quick message to Nancy Pelosi.)
Urge House Speaker Nancy Pelosi to make expanding FMLA a priority in the 111th Congress so that America's families don't have to choose between keeping a job and caring for themselves or a loved one. Simply scroll down and follow the instructions to compose and send your message.

For more information, read AAUW's position paper on family friendly workplaces.

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• Labor Dept. Nails Down Family Leave Rules
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AAUW Conference Call Available Until Monday

Image via WikipediaListen and Give Feedback to Replay of
Post Election Analysis Conference Call

If you weren't able to join AAUW's Public Policy and Government Relations Department on the phone last night for the AAUW Post Election Analysis Conference Call, then you can call in and listen to a recording of the call.

Hundreds of AAUW members joined AAUW's Executive Director Linda Hallman and the Public Policy and Government Relations Department staff on the phone last week to hear about the post-election environment and what it means for AAUW's public policy agenda. The call covered both legislative and grassroots components: a look ahead at AAUW's legislative agenda for the 111th Congress, and the role that you can play in moving our agenda forward.

The call was recorded and will be available for playback until Nov. 17. To listen to a replay of the call, call toll free 1-888-203-1112 and use the passcode 61901065. The call starts approximately two minutes into the recording, so don't worry if you don't hear the program immediately.

If you've listened to the call, we'd like to get your feedback. Please fill out our online survey at this link.

Gov. proposes state budget 21% cut for libraries Take Action.

Image via WikipediaFrom our friend Al Ahlstrom

As a library user and interested citizen, I urge you to follow through with this appeal from our library system NOT to cut libraries in the state budget. The governor plans a 21%(!) cut. Please follow through with this instruction and see the rationale for our protesting such a cut. Thank you.

Al Ahlstrom


Governor Paterson released his proposed cuts today and libraries were front and center: Governor Paterson has proposed a $20 million cut to library aid - that's a 21% cut to library and system funding that has been static for a decade.

Did that wake you up?

Take action:

* Take 5 minutes out of your day this week to send a letter through NYLA's automated faxing program - the letter is already written for you - it does not get any easier.

* Take 5 more minutes to call your legislator Here are some talking points:

• Libraries have already contributed their fair share toward reducing the state's budget deficit. Library Aid has already been reduced twice this year from $102 million to $99 million.

• Between 1998-2006, libraries and library systems received no increases, while other educational institutions received generous increases.

• Library use is up dramatically in every community across the state. [use stats from your own library here - circulation, program attendance, door count, computer usage]

• Library systems are the backbone of our libraries and information infrastructure. They are an example of how the library community has long been a champion and role model for regional cooperation, resource sharing and providing services in a cost-effective and efficient manner, that saves libraries of all types and their patrons money.

There is still room on the bus to Albany for the Rally next Tuesday, November 18th. Register online

Your voice matters - make sure it is heard. Thanks in advance for your time!

-Rebekkah

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Rebekkah Smith Aldrich, Coordinator of Member Information
Mid-Hudson Library System
103 Market Street
Poughkeepsie, NY 12601
845.471.6060 x239
FX: 845.454.5940
http://midhudson.org

Give Thanks to All Our Veterans; Remember the Often Forgotten Women Who Serve

Vietnam Women’s Memorial (c) 2005 Patty Hankins

The fact that today is Veterans Day has hovered in the background as I worked. I knew I wanted to post something in remembrance but the words weren't there yet.

I found myself thinking about Mary, a colleague of mine years ago, and the other nurses I know who served in the Vietnam War. After the war, they seemed to gravitate to assignments in the Emergency Department or the Intensive Care Units -- places where their competency and composure, well tested under fire, kept the daily threat of chaos at bay. These fine nurses served us well as soldiers and continued serving us as civilians.

As I reflected on them this afternoon, two things happened.

First Patty Hankins, a professional photographer and AAUW member in DC, posted a link to her memorial photos. They included her lovely photo of the Vietnam Women's Memorial sculpted by Glenna Goodacre honoring all the women who served in the Vietnam War.

Then, I saw this brief slide show:

President-elect Barack Obama and Iraq War veteran Tammy Duckworth shared a moment of silence at 11 a.m. this morning after laying a wreath at the Soldiers Memorial in Chicago.


These images captured what I wanted to say.

Today women stand side-by-side with their male colleagues in many military roles unavailable to women in Vietnam. We fought for the right for women in the military to take their place alongside men, just as we fought for the vote and continue fighting for pay equity, comparable worth, Choice, and childcare.

Today we honor and remember all our veterans -- men and women who serve us at great personal sacrifice. May we keep you in our minds and hearts everyday and care for you as you care for us.

Many thanks to Patty Hankins for permission to use her photo in this post. I encourage you to visit her site to see more of her photos available for sale.

Join Thanksgiving Food Collection for local Food Pantries

Image by Old Shoe Woman via FlickrLet's make this Thanksgiving food collection an AAUW special project for November.

Locally, Hanneford's food store's pitching in to help the urgent needs at our Food Pantries. I know Rondout Valley Food Pantry expects to provide 150 meals, a huge jump from last year.

So together with the Kingston Public Library, AAUW members (and pass this on to friends also) can purchase these Thanksiving food gift boxes for ten dollars while doing their own shopping. Hanneford's (I don't know about the other groceries, maybe, ask!) has a prepared holiday box with *everything* except turkey for Thanksgiving. Cans of corn, green beans, gravy, cranberry sauce; boxes of stuffing and brownie mix, plus spaghetti and tomato sauce for another meal.

When you come to shop for your holiday, you also pick up the very visible box in the front of the store. When it comes time to pay your own bill, the charge of $10 for each box can be added at the register. Final step, then you bring the gift box to Kingston Library.

Margie Menard, the Library director, is an AAUW member and will alert the staff to accept the boxes.

For those of you planning to come to book club or branch meeting, you can deliver the gift box upstairs to the book group at 1 p.m. Tuesday Nov. 18 and to the branch meeting that same night at 7 p.m. in KAL.

The boxes will be distributed to People's Place in midtown Kingston, and to the Rondout Valley Food Pantry that serves Stone Ridge, Accord, Marbletown and south residents.
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