Women Speak out Against Pahlin

Just got this E-mail beginning to be circulated by women for women on Sarah Pahlin. I personally agree with this one; hence, I'm helping spread the word.

Subject: Fwd: WOMEN SPEAK OUT

Just in from a friend. Within this message is an invitation to make
your own personal statement and send it along to
womensaynopalin@gmail.com
Lend your voice, if you wish.

*Friends, compatriots, fellow-lamenters,

We are writing to you because of the fury and dread we have felt
since the announcement of Sarah Palin as the Vice-Presidential
candidate for the Republican Party. We believe that this terrible
decision has surpassed mere partisanship, and that it is a dangerous
farce in the part of a pandering and rudderless Presidential
candidate that has a real possibility of becoming fact.


Perhaps like us, as American women, you share the fear of
what Ms. Palin and her professed beliefs and proven record could lead
to for ourselves and for our present or future daughters. To date, she
is against sex education, birth control, the pro-choice platform,
environmental protection, alternative energy development, freedom
of speech (as mayor she wanted to ban books and attempted to fire
the librarian who stood against her), gun control, the separation of church
and state, and polar bears. To say nothing of her complete lack of real
preparation to become the second-most-powerful person on the planet.

We want to clarify that we are not against Sarah Palin as a woman, a
mother, or, for that matter, a parent of a pregnant teenager, but
solely as a rash, incompetent, and all together devastating choice for
Vice President. Ms. Palin's political views are in every way a slap in
the face to the accomplishments that our mothers and grandmothers and
great-grandmothers so fiercely fought for, and that we've so
demonstrably benefited from.

First and foremost, Ms. Palin does not represent us. She does
not demonstrate or uphold our interests as American women. It is
presumed that the inclusion of a woman on the Republican ticket could
win over women voters. We want to disagree, publicly.

Therefore, we invite you to reply here with
a short, succinct message about why you, as a woman living in this
country, do not support this candidate as second-in-command for our
nation.
Please include your name (last initial is fine), age, and place of residence.

We will post your responses on a blog called "Women Against Sarah Palin,"
which we intend to publicize as widely as possible. Please send us your
reply at your earliest convenience the greater the volume of responses
we receive, the stronger our message will be.

Thank you for your time and action.

VIVA!

Sincerely,

Quinn Latimer and Lyra Kilston
New York, NY
womensaynopalin@gmail.com

**PLEASE FORWARD WIDELY! If you send this to your women friends and
acquaintances, you could be blessed with a country that takes your
concerns
seriously. Stranger things have happened.
Type rest of the post here

Notes from the Front Lines

I received this e-mail in my inbox this morning from Boone area protesters at the RNC:

greetings. i'm sorry i haven't sent out an update, but it has been hard
to take one minute to rest or send emails. the actions have gone well,
and we have certainly achieved some of our goals -- most especially
movement building!

the police violence is unprecedented. starhawk says she has never seen
this level of violence perpetrated on innocent nonviolent protesters --
even seattle. we have witnessed beatings, tasings, pepperspray,
concussion grenades; we were teargassed on monday.

our boone six are safe, but we had two of our larger group snatched from us
in the march on tues, and jason was tasered with 3 protrusion guns & 4
handheld tasers. he was beaten by at least 8 riot cops and has multiple
lacerations to head, face, torso & a black eye. he is still pulling
copper out of his hip & was given alcohol wipes & antibiotic cream. his
partner ryanna was released last night, but he is still inside. they
picked up another 90 people last night. they are denying phone calls,
macing, tazing, beating these kids in custody. lots of folks being
charged with felony conspiracy charges.

i want to write a personal appeal to you for the younger boone group of
folks who will be heading home today. we have witnessed some incredibly
brutal attacks on our friends, including deborah (she is safe & with us,
but badly bruised). these four folks (along with thousands of others!!!)
have had one of the most radicalizing experiences a young person can have
in this country.

emma, ally, nate & will are leaving today, and should be home tomorrow
night. they are going to need major support -- we're all doing well, but
we are all very tweaked & edgy -- lots of tears & many emotions.

please be sensitive to their needs to be heard, to be loved on, to be fed
yummy food, whatever you can do for them that is low stress & loving!! we
are definitely going to have some emotional trauma to deal with. they are
all doing well in general, but just lots of ups & downs & shaky energy.
i'm
trying not to cry writing this -- and it's not working -- i can't even
begin to tell you how horrible the police violence is here and then in
turn how concerned i am that these four folks get the support they may not
realize they are going to need. please call them, check in, anything you
can do that is supportive.

deborah & i will head back as soon as we can. we'll need your support
too, but for now, let's focus on helping these four young folks feel safe
& supported.

thank you so much for all you do in the world.

biglove. elizabeth


p.s.
we will definitely want to organize an event where we can show images &
tell these stories. if anyone wants to help us start thinking about when
that might be able to happen in the next two weeks or so, that would be so
helpful.

here are numbers you can call if you would be willing.
St Paul Mayor Chris Coleman: 651.266.8510 Ramsey County Sheriff Bob
Fletcher: 651.266.9333 Ramsey County Chief Judge Gearin: 651.266.8266
Head of Ramsey County Jail: 651.266.9350

here is footage of our friend jason's arrest -- he is in pink shirt -- he
helped us put the roof on our house -- he is my beloved; keep him in your
thoughts.
http://www.startribune.com/video/27795154.html?elr=KArks5PhDcU9PhDcUiD3aPc:_Yyc:aUU

http://www.kare11.com/news/news_article.aspx?storyid=523539&catid=14

http://www.startribune.com/photos/?c=y&img=4protest090308.jpg

if you have money to share, we are still in desperate need of more
resources to get these folks out safely & get them the medical care they
need. if you want to contribute, you can send to my p.o. box or find
coldsnap legal online. thank you.

More trouble at the RNC

Police Arrest Four Journalist on Rioting Charges

Police Raid and Detainment of I-Witness Journalists 083008

Losing two of the five first amendment rights: Free Press, right to gather in public place