Women's issues key in 2012 election

BY JILL WHALEN (STAFF WRITER)

Published: April 16, 2012

Whether spoken during election season or viewed on the local airwaves, its seems the past few months have been laden with women's issues.
Presidential candidates have discussed access to birth control and debated women's roles in the military as they travel around the United States on the campaign trail.
Even locally, women's issues are being spotlighted. Just this year, two made-for-women programs were launched by Hazleton television stations.
This isn't the first time that women's issues have received so much attention, said Eileen Morgan, English instructor at Penn State University's Hazleton campus. Candidates have incorporated women's topics into campaigns before.
"The issue that seems to be most discussed right now is women's health care and what should or should not be covered or required to be covered by employers based on those employers' religious affiliations," said Morgan, who also teaches a Women in the Arts and Humanities course at Penn State. "Lesbian women are also particularly concerned with gay marriage issues being discussed. The right to abortion is another issue that many women are concerned about as well."
She added that many women are "very concerned with the health care coverage issues and control over their own reproduction." And they're angered by the inflammatory comments conservative talk show host Rush Limbaugh made about Georgetown University law student Sandra Fluke after she testified before Congress about contraception for college students.
And while the issues are hitting a nerve, Morgan believes the 2008 presidential election saw more female influence.
"I think the last election featured a number of powerful women voicing concerns and having a major impact on what happened in the election - Sarah Palin, Hilary Clinton, Michelle Obama, and even Tina Fey's voice -were powerful and important. This election I see a lot of talk 'about' women but not actually 'by' women," she explained. "I think women had more say in the last election than this one.
"Congresswomen were walking out of the hearings after no women were allowed to speak in the health care hearing examining employers being required to provide coverage for contraception and full female health care. This election year is all about women, but without having powerful female voices in the forefront of the discussion."
"Whether they like it or not, yes, women's issues are being highlighted by candidates," said Dr. Thomas Baldino, political science professor at Wilkes University in Wilkes-Barre. "Rush Limbaugh managed to inject himself into the debate about contraception, and (presidential) candidates were then forced to discuss the issue for better or for worse."
A Gallup poll released earlier this month hints that women's issues are hurting Republican candidates because the issues are so divisive, he said.
Baldino said the "most visible" and "most controversial" issue, Baldino said, is contraception because of its ability to unite or divide. And while contraception is the hot button issue, women are also concerned about "the glass ceiling that they experience in the workplace" and provisions of the health care law introduced under President Barack Obama, he noted.
"They're interested in lifetime limits, caps on insurance, extending health care coverage to kids under 26," Baldino said. "These are issues that women see as important to families."
Presidential elections are no strangers to women's issues, however. Women's rights were discussed in the 1960s and 1970s, and 1992 was named "The Year of the Woman" after a number of female senators were elected, he recalled.
Debbie Lesante, host of "The Girls" on SSPTV Channel 13 in Hazleton, said she developed the idea of a women's talk show years ago. "The Girls" debuted in January - a time when "everything just fit into place," Lesante said.
"The concept of the show is women of different generations getting together to talk about what's on their minds," Lesante said. Viewers can easily relate to the topics, she said.
She and her three co-hosts discuss "light and refreshing" subjects ranging from holiday traditions to tattoos, to more serious topics like cosmetic surgery and hot flashes. They're the kind of topics she could picture discussing with her mother, aunts, female friends and cousins.
"When I was a girl, we lived in a row home, and our aunts and uncles lived nearby," she said. "All of the women would get together on the porch or in the kitchen and just talk. No one ever had to see a psychiatrist. Nobody was on pills because we had that support system."
"Women Today" began airing in February on WYLN-35 in Hazleton.
Liz Tolan, the show's producer and co-creator, said 15 shows were booked in a short period of time.
"So obviously it's something the area has been looking for for a while," she said.
"Women Today" focuses on topics like surviving abuse and breaking free; divorce and infidelity, aging and acceptance and permanent cosmetics. Experts from the community are brought in to discuss topics with Tolan and her three co-hosts.
"Everything is relevant to women," she said, noting that the show is produced in cooperation with the Greater Hazleton Health Alliance. "We try to bring in the best we can find. We stay true to the topic, and there is not a lot of chatter per se. When you watch the show it is very rich in info."
And the Penn State Hazleton campus recently wrapped up its Sixth Annual Symposium on Contemporary Women's Issues. The event is funded through an endowment by local businesswomen E. Lee Beard and is designed to engage women's interest in topics related to professional and personal development, said Tracey Morgan Chopick, chairwoman of the event's committee and assistant financial officer at Penn State.
Morgan Chopick said the symposium focuses on a different theme each year and all women are encouraged to support and attend the free event.
"Women face unique challenges in life. As women and educators, we need to pass our knowledge and expertise onto other women," Morgan Chopick said. "The Women's Symposium empowers women to be successful in both their personal and professional lives."

Read more: http://standardspeaker.com/news/women-s-issues-key-in-2012-election-1.1300610#ixzz1sDb6G3Nq

Women of Arab Spring

In a way, the surprise didn't matter. Westerners may have been astonished at the sight of women protesting alongside men during the Arab Spring uprisings, taking part equally in the battles, absorbing the blows and forcing the issue. But the women themselves had a different view.

"It wasn't a surprise for women to see themselves out there," says Rania Al Malky, editor-in-chief at Daily News Egypt. "It was only natural, since women have been a part of all major struggles in Egypt, and so not new for them to be there in a key moment in Egyptian history."

Women at the forefront of the struggles that started in Tunisia and fast carried over into Egypt, Libya, Yemen and Syria have spoken of the protests as reawakening a sense of equality that had long been buried under layers of corruption, repression and social conservatism.

The problem now is of a retreat to the past, and already we're seeing a claw-back. Women were underrepresented in the recently held Egyptian elections, while that same nation has witnessed brutal repression and humiliation of some women at the hands of security forces, guided by a transitional military council that to some observers seems intent on crushing the aims and spirit of the revolution.

Dr Laleh Khalili, a senior lecturer in Middle East politics at London's School of Oriental and African Studies, says that revolutions are often "fought over the terrain of women's bodies" because that's what ends up being a defining issue. "It tends to be the issue that is polarising in all contexts. It forces the different sides to clarify a position and is a distraction from other points of contention, because it's so emotive."

But Khalili also points out that, once women have tasted the power and the equality of a revolutionary time, there is no going back to old roles - it's a transformative experience. That's something reiterated by the activist and Nobel Peace Prize winner Tawakkul Karman - dubbed the "Mother of Yemen's Revolution" - who says: "Women know and have practised something different now, so they will never go back. Past revolutions around the world have ignored women, but no - not this time."

http://www.thenational.ae/lifestyle/women-of-the-arab-spring-give-voice-to-their-hopes-and-aspirations

Chapter 24 Part 1

The main overall topic of this chapter was globalization. I was kind of interested reading over this part because of how recent it was. I thought it was kind of funny how the used Barbie and Ken dolls to relate to current times. Thats how you could tell that we are nearing the end of history stuff. In our book, I mean. Anyways, accelerating global interaction, which was the title of the chapter, became really busy in the 1900s! Around the mid-1900s, countries interacting with each other for trade and stuff could not be helped and we started to think of the world market kind of as a whole thing. Not like separate countries had their own interactions just with each other anymore. Everyone was kind of in everyone else's business and that helped trade and globalization. I'm interested to learn more about what exactly the reglobalization period was.

MLK and Gandhi

Gandhi: "A small body of determined spirits fired by an unquenchable faith in their mission can alter the course of history."
Martin Luther King Jr.: "Faith is taking the first step even when you don't see the whole staircase."


I think that these two quotes go hand in hand because the first one talk about how a small group of people who have faith in a certain cause can really make a difference. And the second quote talks about what exactly faith is. If some people believe that they can do something, both Gandhi and MLK believe that they can make a change in the world; the thought of that is very inspiring. 

Chapter 23 Part 1

This chapter is about independence in European and other countries. It really focuses on India and South Africa. And of course, they talk about Gandhi. I like to hear about Gandhi because of the peaceful actions that he took part in. He is one of the main people to thank for India gaining their independence. I always think it's crazy that we have people like Gandhi and Mother Theresa. And then we also have people like Hitler and KKK members.

Chapter 22 Part 1

This chapter is focusing on the rise and fall of communism. Some people accused Barack Obama of being a communist. On a very reliable website called "commieblaster.com" they boast this slogan: PROGRESSIVES = SOCIALISTS = COMMUNISTS = LEFT-WING RADICALS = ANTI-CAPITALISTS = UNAMERICAN. They have also apparently confirmed that Obama is marxist. This is frustrating because when people do not like something they begin to search for excuses. Which can be extremely ridiculous. Communism is a socialist movement that strives to make everyone equal for the most part. This is one by eliminating social classes and such. It sounds like a good idea... in theory. But it has never really worked out. The Soviet Union and China are the most popular communist countries that I know of. Russia went through a revolution which resulted in the Cold War! And then look at China, bad stuff happened under their dictator, Mao Zedong, and millions of people died in the search for social perfection.

Chapter 20 Part 1

The focus of the beginning of this chapter is all about colonialism! As it says in the book, there were two different kinds of waves of European conquest. The first place that they went to was America. This is the story that most people now about Europe colonizing America. But the second place that they invaded was Asia and Africa. And people kind of know the story about this, but it is not as broadcasted as their trip to Americas. The major countries that were into colonialism were France, Britain, Italy, Germany, Portuguese, and Russia. Lots of people, besides the rich, disliked the colonies however because the rulers took many things from the people that they invaded including land and money.