5/24/11: Public Policy Film/Discussion - The Economics of Happiness

Check out the updated AAUW Kingston "Public Policy Plus" calendar, which includes information about:

- Ulster County Reapportionment Commission meeting at 5 PM today

- our Public Policy Film/Discussion this month -- The Economics of Happiness, Tuesday, 5/24, 7 PM at the Rosendale Theater

- plus a whole lot more!...

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Click on the link below for the updated calendar:

http://tinyurl.com/3cd3gfo

Click on the file name (kaauwpp+.pdf)
or the green DOWNLOAD button to save
and view the calendar.

Considering the Spiritual; Different from the Religious

Sister Maria Lopez and Program VP Bev Sloane

Sister Maria Lopez says in her hospice work she provides spiritual support to Buddhists, Baptists, atheists and people of every other or no religious persuasion. And, there's a difference between spiritual and religious.

At the May 14 branch meeting,  Sister Maria explained  what spiritual care  is and used many of her hospice experiences to show the difference it has made in the lives of many.     The discussion ranged widely from our personal experiences with hospice to how our belief systems impact our relationships with others.

Sister Maria Lopez, a  member of the  Sisters of the Presentation,  has been a hospice chaplain in Ulster and Dutchess counties for 11 years.    Maria received a BA in Education from Mount Saint Mary College and an MA in Religious Studies from Manhattan College in the Bronx.  

Maria has extensive experience in education,  spirituality, and missionary work in Latin America, and pastoral work in NY.   She also served as  Executive Director of the Presentation Sisters International Association, where she directed the IPA  Global Social Justice Network,  and  established the Presentation Sisters as an NGO in consultation with ECOSOC at the UN.

Reapportioning and more...

Check out the updated AAUW Kingston "Public Policy Plus" calendar, which includes information about:

- Ulster County Reapportionment Commission meetings at 5 PM today, Monday, 4/25, and at 3 PM on Wednesday, 4/27

- our Public Policy Film/Discussion next month -- The Economics of Happiness, Tuesday, 5/24, 7 PM at the Rosendale Theater

- plus a whole lot more!...

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Click on the link below for the updated calendar:

http://tinyurl.com/3wae9y5

Click on the file name (kaauwpp+.pdf)
or the green DOWNLOAD button to save
and view the calendar.

4/19/11: Public Policy film/discussion @ BSP

Carbon Nation
a climate change solutions movie

Tuesday, April 19
6:30 PM -- Set up
7:00 PM -- Doors open
7:30 PM -- Film (discussion afterwards)

Backstage Studio Productions (BSP)
323 Wall Street
Kingston

Cost: free (donations accepted)
Cash bar with hot and cold drinks, including beer and wine

What do an entrepreneur in Alaska, a cotton farmer in Texas, a civil rights activist in California, and the CEOs of Stonyfield Farms and Duke Energy have in common? They are saving energy, creating jobs, and boosting the economy - all the while turning a profit in the process. You can see the stories behind these people in Peter Byck's latest film Carbon Nation.

Come see how climate change solutions can address other social, economic and national issues. Get a glimpse of some of the industries that can aid economic recovery, the power of entrepreneurship around the country, and the feisty, inspiring nature of the challenge of climate action today.

Hosted by:
League of Women Voters - Mid-Hudson Region

Other Sponsors:
Catskills Live! Trails & Wilderness Association
Hudson Valley Smart Growth Alliance

Supporters:
AAUW Kingston Public Policy Committee
BSP
Hudson River Sloop Clearwater
Sustainable Hudson Valley

Photo: Peter Byck
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For more information, call or e-mail
Susan Holland, 845-389-3961
Please let Susan know if you can
come at 6:30 PM to help set up.
See you at BSP!

Reflections on Geraldine Ferraro

Image via Wikipedia

From Rokki Carr:

Geraldine Ferraro was my contemporary in some respects: age, immigrant parentage, profession delayed by motherhood, teaching careers, tenure as lawyers in the Queens County criminal justice system.

By sheer chance, I never met her until her campaign for Vice President of the United States, the first Italian American and the first woman to run for that office.  Without a doubt, she was persecuted by the press as well as by her political opponents based uniquely on her gender, treated as no male candidate had ever been, subjected to unnecessary scrutiny, even by her Church, all of which she withstood heroically, and with a display of intellect and moral character rarely so eloquently displayed.  She never won another political race although she continued to serve the public even through her long battle with multiple myeloma.  Her reflection on the failure of the Mondale-Ferraro ticket was a demonstration of her wit as well as of her feminism.

“Throwing Ronald Reagan out of office at the height of his popularity, with inflation and interest rates down, the economy moving and the country at peace, would have required God on the ticket, and She was not available!”

I identified with Gerry more than with any other woman in public life.  So where have we organized Hudson Valley women been  these thirty years?    Certainly not out there honoring or even acknowledging this Newburgh born champion of our rights.  Until her death this week, we just allowed her to recede into a very faint memory.  During the Sara Palin pantomime, her name never came up.  Like Frances Perkins, her predecessor pioneer on the national scene, we have allowed her to be forgotten.  She campaigned beside Hilary Clinton, but appeared only as a remote shadow.  I think it's time we awakened to the reality of how complicit we are in this feminine amnesia.

It's not too late to make amends for our communal transgression.

What's at Stake for Women in Wal-Mart v. Dukes

 On Tuesday, March 29, the Supreme Court will hear oral arguments in the Wal-Mart v. Dukes case. In addition, our Public Policy Film and Book Meeting will watch Wal-Mart: The High Cost of Low Price. 5:30 pm in the Kingston Library Community Room.

What's at Stake for Women in Wal-Mart v. Dukes: "Set against the backdrop of widespread disparities in pay, there is a tremendous amount at stake in the pay and promotions discrimination class action that will be argued in the Supreme Court on March 29th. In Wal-Mart v. Dukes, the Supreme Court will determine whether a nationwide class of women workers challenging alleged sex discrimination by Wal-Mart in pay and promotions can proceed. According to the plaintiffs’ evidence, women at Wal-Mart on average earned $5,000 less than men, even though women tended to have higher performance ratings and more seniority. Women also were less likely to be promoted to store manager positions and had to wait significantly longer for promotions than men. The Court’s decision will also effectively determine whether workers can continue to challenge company-wide discrimination by larger employers."

Title VII was intended to eradicate precisely the type of pernicious discrimination that is alleged in this case. Indeed, a company-wide class challenge is the only effective way to remedy company-wide discriminatory practices. With the average wage gap at 77 percent, women and their families are watching closely to see whether the Court’s holding will continue to allow the class action vehicle to be a critical tool for employees to challenge pay discrimination. In this economy, the stakes could not be higher.

AAUW's Legal Action Fund supports the plaintiff's case financially. Join us and bring a friend to discuss the film and its implications for us personally and as a branch.

3/22/11: World Water Day, Carbon Nation, & more!

Check out the updated AAUW Kingston "Public Policy Plus" calendar, including:

- Today is World Water Day

- Two films in the Kingston Library Community Room:

1. Tonight - 6:30 PM, Carbon Nation

2. Tuesday, 3/29 - 5:30 PM, Wal-Mart: The High Cost of Low Price

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Click on the link below for the updated calendar:

http://tinyurl.com/5t45hd3

Click on the file name (kaauwpp+.pdf)
or the green DOWNLOAD button to save
and view the calendar.

KAAUW "Public Policy Plus" calendar

Check out the 3/16/11 update, including:

Today
Wed., 3/16, 3 PM, change of location for Ulster County Reapportionment Commission Weekly Meeting -- for today only: 29 Manor Avenue, Kingston

Tonight: 6:30 PM, Race to Nowhere, Saugerties High School Auditorium

Tomorrow, 3/17/11, 4:30 PM, A Global Conversation about the Lives of Women and Girls, Kingston Library Community Room with Lois Shapiro-Canter, president, CEO, and founder of the Saratoga Foundation
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Click on the link below to check out the updated
AAUW Kingston "Public Policy Plus" calendar:

http://tinyurl.com/4mz6uza

Click on the file name (kaauwpp+.pdf)
or the green DOWNLOAD button to save
and view the calendar.

3/17/11: Public Policy Committee to Continue a Global Conversation

A Global Conversation about

the Lives of Women and Girls

Thursday, March 17, 4:30 PM

Kingston Library, Community Room

As part of My Sister's Keeper, an AAUW-NYS Initiative, the Public Policy and International Committees of the Kingston AAUW are pleased to welcome our guest speaker Lois Shapiro-Canter, president, CEO, and founder of the Saratoga Foundation for Women Worldwide (http://saratogafoundation.org/). This meeting is a continuation of our Half the Sky book discussion. Come and join in the conversation!

Click here to download a flyer for this event.
Then, click on the file name (kaauw_msk_17mar11.pdf)
or the green DOWNLOAD button to save and view the flyer.

AAUW Kingston Branch Meeting March 19, 2011

Nurturing the Body as Well as the Mind

March 19, 2011, 1 pm

Kingston Area Library Community Room

Jill Taylor is a physical therapist who will talk with us about ways to care for ourselves. She will cover some norms for strength, endurance, and flexibility as we age. She'll share some of the research about the impact of exercise on our well being and its interaction with many disease processes. She will also information on community and internet resources.

Jill graduated from Ithaca college and has been a physical therapist for 35 years. She has worked in a variety of settings including private practice with an emphasis on orthopedic and sports medicine. For the last 10 years she has worked in a hospital setting with an emphasis on balance and vestibular patients as well as the general geriatric population. She recently took the exam for  specialist certification in geriatrics from the American Physical Therapy Association.

Join us on March 19th to have your questions answered.