Sarah Palin is NOT a choice women should be making.. drill drill drill...READ ME!!!

Eve Ensler, the American playwright, performer, feminist and activist best known for "The Vagina Monologues", wrote the following about Sarah Palin.

Drill, Drill, Drill

I am having Sarah Palin nightmares. I dreamt last night that she was a member of a club where they rode snowmobiles and wore the claws of drowned and starved polar bears around their necks. I have a particular thing for Polar Bears. Maybe it's their snowy whiteness or their bigness or the fact that they live in the arctic or that I have never seen one in person or touched one. Maybe it is the fact that they live so comfortably on ice. Whatever it is, I need the polar bears.

I don't like raging at women. I am a Feminist and have spent my life trying to build community, help empower women and stop violence against them. It is hard to write about Sarah Palin. This is why the Sarah Palin choice was all the more insidious and cynical. The people who made this choice count on the goodness and solidarity of Feminists.

But everything Sarah Palin believes in and practices is antithetical to Feminism which for me is part of one story -- connected to saving the earth, ending racism, empowering women, giving young girls options, opening our minds, deepening tolerance, and ending violence and war.


I believe that the McCain/Palin ticket is one of the most dangerous choices of my lifetime, and should this country chose those candidates the fall-out may be so great, the destruction so vast in so many areas that America may never recover. But what is equally disturbing is the impact that duo would have on the rest of the world. Unfortunately, this is not a joke. In my lifetime I have seen the clownish, the inept, the bizarre be elected to the presidency with regularity.

Sarah Palin does not believe in evolution. I take this as a metaphor.

In her world and the world of Fundamentalists nothing changes or gets better or evolves. She does not believe in global warming. The melting of the arctic , the storms that are destroying our cities, the pollution and rise of cancers, are all part of God's plan. She is fighting to take the polar bears off the endangered species list. The earth, in Palin's view, is here to be taken and plundered. The wolves and the bears are here to be shot and plundered. The oil is here to be taken and plundered. Iraq is here to be taken and plundered. As she said herself of the Iraqi war, "It was a task from God."


Sarah Palin does not believe in abortion. She does not believe women who are raped and incested and ripped open against their will should have a right to determine whether they have their rapist's baby or not.


She obviously does not believe in sex education or birth control. I imagine her daughter was practicing abstinence and we know how many babies that makes.


Sarah Palin does not much believe in thinking. From what I gather she has tried to ban books from the library, has a tendency to dispense with people who think independently. She cannot tolerate an environment of ambiguity and difference. This is a woman who could and might very well be the next president of the United States. She would govern one of the most diverse populations on the earth.


Sarah believes in guns. She has her own custom Austrian hunting rifle. She has been known to kill 40 caribou at a clip. She has shot hundreds of wolves from the air.


Sarah believes in God. That is of course her right, her private right. But when God and Guns come together in the public sector, when war is declared in God's name, when the rights of women are denied in his name, t hat is the end of separation of church and state and the undoing of everything America has ever tried to be.


I write to my sisters. I write because I believe we hold this
election in our hands. This vote is a vote that will determine the future not just of the U.S., but of the planet.

It will determine whether we create policies to save the earth or make it forever uninhabitable for humans. It will determine whether we move towards dialogue and diplomacy in the world or whether we escalate violence through invasion, undermining and attack. It will determine whether we go for oil, strip mining, coal burning or invest our money in alternatives that will free us from dependency and destruction. It will determine if money gets spent on education and healthcare or whether we build more and more methods of killing. It will determine whether America is a free open tolerant society or a closed place of fear, fundamentalism and aggression.


If the Polar Bears don't move you to go and do everything in your power to get Obama elected then consider the chant that filled the hall after Palin spoke at the RNC, "Drill Drill Drill." I think of teeth when I think of drills. I think of rape. I think of destruction. I think of domination. I think of military exercises that force mindless repetition, emptying the brain of analysis, doubt, ambiguity or dissent. I think of pain.


Do we want a future of drilling? More holes in the ozone, in the floor of the sea, more holes in our thinking, in the trust between nations and peoples, more holes in the fabric of this precious thing we call life?

"It's A Man's World, And These Things Will Never Stop"

On July 14, three young Pakistani women en route to marriage to the young men of their choice were abducted, beaten, tortured, and buried alive by their male relatives. Two female relatives--the mother of one, the aunt of another--begged for the young women's lives. For their pains, they were shot and killed and tossed into the young women's grave.

Media exposure has caused the government of Pakistan to open an "investigation." The Pakistani senator who represents Balochistan province, where the murders occurred, believes such a probe not only unnecessary, but wrongheaded. In his view, the killings were justified.

"This action was carried out according to tribal traditions," says Israr Ullah Zehri. "These are centuries old-traditions and I will continue to defend them. Only those who indulge in immoral acts should be afraid."

An elderly woman from the same village as the dead women declined to give her name to inquiring reporters. Her view: "It's a man's world, and these things will never stop."

The three young women, identified in this piece as Fatima, Fauzia, and Jannat Bibi, ages 16-18, had asked their male relatives and tribal elders for permission to marry young men from another tribe. Permission was refused.

On July 14, the three young women boarded a taxi in the village of Babakot. During the hour's drive to the village of Usta Mohammed, the women happily discussed their plans to meet their young men at a restaurant, and then proceed to a civil court to enter into matrimony.

The cab driver, a rat fink of both pathetic and monstrous proportions, dropped off his fares "and then drove straight back to Babakot to inform their families about the secret plans he had overheard in the back of his taxi."

Almost immediately after the taxi driver’s return, a posse of male relatives, including fathers, uncles and brothers, set out from Babakot for the village of Usta Mohammed to bring the girls home. The men arrived in land cruiser jeeps bearing Balochistan government license plates--one belonging to the district mayor[.]

The girls were kicked, punched and then pushed into the vehicles at gunpoint[.] Once back at home in Babakot, the girls were beaten again and interrogated by their fathers and uncles for almost one hour before their "verdict" was announced.

They would be killed--buried alive.

The girls were dragged into vehicles and taken to the end of a back road in Babakot accompanied by two female relatives[.] The men dug ditches and ordered the girls to be thrown in. When the female relatives saw the ditches, they tried to intervene and begged for the girls’ lives[.]

There was "pandemonium at the site," according to the findings of the Asian Human Rights Commission, and a tribal elder gave orders to shoot the two older women. They died immediately and were thrown into the wide ditch. The three girls, who were wounded in the gunfire but still alive, were then thrown in and covered with sand and mud.

It is necessary here to remember again what it was to be 16. To feel what it would be like: in one hour but moments away from marrying the boy of your dreams; in the next, rattling out your last breath, suffocating in mud and stones, extinguished by your father.

Pakistan outlawed "honor killings" in 2004, and the penalty for those who perpetrate them is death. But, as we know, law enacted in Islamabad does not mean much out in the provinces. Islamabad can condemn Osama bin Laden, but cannot catch him; Islamabad can outlaw honor killings, but cannot stop them.

The families of the murdered young women belong to the wealthy feudal Umrani tribe; the uncle of one of the dead is a minister in the provincial government and a deputy leader of the Pakistan Peoples Party. As this person puts it, in an understated way:

The delay in action against those responsible, who enjoys perks and privileges as feudal lords in the area, has called into question the credibility of erstwhile pro-women policies of the ruling Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) of slain premier Benazir Bhutto, who always advocated civil and political liberties for women.

Official sources in the country‘s capital Islamabad say that the PPP-led government had been reluctant to take action against the perpetrators as it feared it might lose the votes of a number of legislators sympathetic to Sadiq Umrani, who is also deputy parliamentary leader of the party in Baluchistan Assembly, in the just-held September 6 presidential elections.

The local reporter who publicized the story, Saarang Mastoi, says he has been threatened by "powerful people" in the Umrani tribe. Mastoi said everyone in the village of 7000 knew of the killings; shortly after the women were buried alive, local shepherds guided Mastoi to the burial site. Now, he says, "everyone is too afraid to talk."

The "investigation" will probably not get much of anywhere. According to the Asian Human Rights Commission, "the Balochistan police have removed three of the five bodies and started destroying any evidence that might prove useful to an eventual investigation."

According to this source, the individual assigned to "investigate" the killings has been prevented from visiting the scene of the crime, and is instead "made to sit in Islamabad, with a limited mandate to only monitor investigations."

Observed an editorial in the Pakistan Daily News International:

"Even as the Senate passed a unanimous resolution condemning the incident and demanding punishment for its perpetrators, an attempt at a cover-up is on. The government presented an extremely dubious report before the Senate, stating three women and not five had been killed, that the incident involved a property dispute and was not a case of 'honor' killing and that the women had been killed before being buried."

Meanwhile, Pakistan flies US-supplied F-16s; plans are afoot to kick an additional $226.5 million in US "counter-terrorism" funds to the Pakistanis in order to trick out their jets so they can better give the boot to "Islamic extremists." The total amount of military aid provided by the US to Pakistan cannot be known; too much if it is shrouded in classified appropriations. What is known is that Congress is currently considering providing to Pakistan $7.5 billion in non-military aid over the next five years. Pakistan itself would prefer $20 billion.

Stop the Mothers Act: Save Expectant Mothers from Mandatory Drugging with Antidepressants

by: Mike Adams

Big Pharma is pushing hard for passage of The Mothers Act, a bill that would require all pregnant women to be "screened" for depression and then drugged with patented antidepressant drugs. The bill is being reintroduced by Sen. Harry Reid, who is reportedly attempting to include it in a legislative package called the "Coburn Omnibus Bill."

Antidepressants are linked to violent thoughts and suicidal behavior in expectant mothers and new moms. Rather than treating the root cause of maternal depression -- nutritional deficiencies -- the medical industry wants to put expectant mothers on dangerous psychotropic drugs that may impact the health of their newborns.

NaturalNews interviewed one mother who, after being forcefully put on antidepressant drugs, began to hallucinate murdering her newborn. When she sought help at the local hospital, they doubled her dose of SSRIs and had her arrested and held against her will. Later, once she realized the drugs were causing her violent thoughts, she stopped taking the drugs and her violent hallucinations vanished within days.

This woman, Amy Philo, founded UNITE (www.UniteForLife.org) and is organizing grassroots opposition to The Mothers Act in order to protect women (and their children) from mandatory medications with psych drugs.

NaturalNews urges readers to contact their Senators in Washington (see below) and voice their opposition to The Mothers Act.

To learn more about this issue, watch this YouTube video:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FUiszFyIby4

Also, visit Amy Philo's website at www.UniteForLife.org

Also consider printing and signing the following letter, then faxing it (or mailing it) to your Senator:

Letter of opposition to the Mothers Act

DON'T LET THE 110th CONGRESS BE RESPONSIBLE FOR INCREASING ANTIDEPRESSANT-RELATED BIRTH DEFECTS AND INFANT DEATHS.

DO NOT PASS THE MOTHERS ACT AS PART OF AN OMNIBUS PACKAGE.

The MOTHERS Act is a highly controversial bill, considering the growing public awareness that antidepressants have serious and even deadly side effects. This bill, if passed, will assuredly increase the number of pregnant women and new mothers being put on antidepressant drugs. There are already too many pregnant women being put on antidepressants evidenced by the FDA's adverse reaction reports (MedWatch) listed below. This bill will assuredly increase the number of pregnant women and new mothers being prescribed antidepressants documented by the U.S. FDA to cause suicidal ideation, mania, worsening depression and birth defects. FDA's MedWatch System (Adverse Drug Reactions) Already Has Overwhelming Evidence of Spontaneous Abortions, Premature Babies and Birth Defects from SSRI Antidepressants:

Doctors, other health care providers, pharmacists, lawyers and consumers filed the following adverse drug reaction reports with the FDA's MedWatch system during 2004-2007 concerning pregnant women taking antidepressants (the most common and recommended treatment for women diagnosed with postpartum depression). In all the reports below, antidepressants were cited as the primary suspected drug to have caused the adverse reaction in pregnant women:

145 spontaneous abortions
150 premature babies
208 babies born with heart disease
218 babies born with defects

The FDA states that only 1-10% of side effects are even reported to their MedWatch database. Using a median range of 5% being reported, the actual number of pregnant women experiencing adverse reactions to antidepressant drugs is estimated as follows:

2,900 spontaneous abortions
3,000 premature births
4,160 babies born with heart disease
4,360 babies born with birth defects

The "Melanie Blocker-Stokes Postpartum Depression Research and Care Act," also known as "The MOTHERS Act" was named after Melanie Stokes, a new mother who was subjected to a cocktail of psychiatric drugs and electroshock after being diagnosed with post-partum depression. It was only after she had been administered drugs documented by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to cause suicidal ideation that she committed suicide. There is too much controversy over antidepressants to pass any legislation that could increase the administration of these drugs to pregnant women and new mothers. Do not allow the pharmaceutical interests to put new mothers and their unborn children at risk. Do not pass the MOTHERS Act.

Signed

___________________________

Printed Name:

McCain-Palin: 15th Century Solutions for the 21st Century!

This week, we asked you to vote for the winning bumper sticker slogan to help educate the public about the dangerously anti-choice views of the McCain-Palin ticket. The response was incredible!

And the winning slogan picked by our supporters is: McCain-Palin: 15th Century Solutions for the 21st Century!

With just 46 days left until Election Day, the time to turn up the heat is now! So we’re asking you to donate $15 in the next 48 hours to support our work, and we’ll send you the winning bumper sticker. It takes $10.87 for us to educate a voter about the most anti-choice ticket we’ve ever seen.

Every dollar you can give matters as we work to elect pro-choice Barack Obama as our next president. Your contribution will support our vital efforts to defeat this extremist anti-choice ticket and protect choice at every level.

John McCain and Sarah Palin are serious about overturning Roe v. Wade -- and I need you to help us spread the word. At the Saddleback Forum a few weeks ago, McCain said: "I will be a pro-life president and this presidency will have pro-life policies." Believe me, he has the voting history to prove it. And Palin has expressed support for a constitutional amendment outlawing abortion, opposes abortion in cases of rape or incest, and described herself as “pro-life as any candidate can be.”

So get your bumper sticker now by donating $15 or more. Put it on your bumper to get the word out about the McCain-Palin ticket’s extremist views on reproductive rights!

Why give to NARAL Pro-Choice America now? Because we know that when pro-choice swing voters learn just how strongly John McCain and Sarah Palin oppose freedom and privacy, they'll reject the anti-choice ticket and support Barack Obama for president.

Tell the McCain-Palin ticket, “Thanks but no thanks.” Protect a woman’s right to choose by donating today to the political leader of the pro-choice movement!

My best,

Nancy Keenan
President, NARAL Pro-Choice America

P.S. And after you've requested your own anti-McCain-Palin bumper sticker, forward this email to your friends and family in the next 48 hours and ask them to get a bumper sticker too!

Lipstick on a Pig: Privacy/Choice the McCain-Palin Way

John McCain on NBC's, Meet The Press, 1/30/00

Mr. Russert: “A Constitutional Amendment to ban all abortions?”

McCain: “Yes Sir”

Mr. Russert: “But, Senator, women across the country would say, prior to Roe v. Wade, hundreds of thousands of women a year went to the back alleys to have abortions.”

McCain responded: “I understand that.”

Mr. Russert: “Many died.”

McCain, “I understand that.”

Stop McCain-Palin Now!

Gov. Palin had a good applause line last night about hockey moms and lipstick on pitbulls. Well, we have an expression here, too: Dress it up any way you like, but the McCain-Palin rhetoric about women’s freedom and privacy is nothing more than lipstick on a pig!

John McCain and Sarah Palin would leave American women with no choice and no privacy. And we can’t let voters be deceived. Not when reproductive health is on the line. And make no mistake, it is!

When you take away the rhetoric, chants, signs, and spin -- the McCain-Palin ticket is one of the MOST anti-choice campaigns we’ve seen and the platform on which they are running is the most anti-choice ever put forward.

Contribute now to defeat McCain-Palin.

Both McCain and Palin believe that Roe. v. Wade should be overturned. They believe politicians should be involved in our most personal medical decisions. And their party platform clearly states abortion should be outlawed with no exceptions.

Make an online donation right now to stop McCain-Palin.

Listen carefully tonight. I doubt you will hear anything about outlawing abortion when McCain addresses a national audience. And you didn’t hear it from Palin either.

Why? Because if pro-choice Republican and Independent women find out how extreme they really are, they will not vote for McCain-Palin.

In the next 60 days, NARAL Pro-Choice America will get out the truth about the McCain-Palin ticket but we need your help.

Your contribution to NARAL Pro-Choice America now is crucial. Even if you’ve given recently, we need all the resources we can raise to let voters know the clear difference between a McCain administration and a pro-choice Obama administration.

No exceptions. No apologies. It’s the McCain-Palin way.

Your privacy. Your choice. Your dollars right now will help elect pro-choice Obama on November 4.

Please make an urgent contribution right now.

My best,

Nancy Keenan
President, NARAL Pro-Choice America

Don't Let Them Swift Boat Obama on Choice

As my speech to the Democratic National Convention reflects, I believe the future of choice depends on electing Barack Obama as our next pro-choice president.

The “take away” is this: It’s not what we do here that will decide whether Obama or McCain wins. It’s what you do every day between now and the election.

I need every one of you to do all you can financially to help us defeat anti-choice John McCain. So please give as much as you can now to help make sure America elects a pro-choice president in November!

The other “take away” is that our opponents are ready to play dirty. CNN recently reported that an anti-choice group calling themselves “The Real Truth About Obama, Inc.”, is trying to “Swift Boat” Barack Obama by running false ads “in key states during the ‘electioneering communication’ blackout period 60 days before the general election.”1 This is the very time period in which our unique MCFL status allows NARAL Pro-Choice America to expressly advocate for the defeat of John McCain! Donate today, so we can stop these dirty Karl Rove-like tactics!

Americans deserve to know the truth before they vote. You can help get the truth to them. It takes $10.85 to educate one pro-choice voter.

Your contribution right now -- can help us reach one more pro-choice voter, or five, or ten! So give as much as you can to help us reach as many as we can and protect choice at every level.

If McCain is elected, we will face four more years of destructive, hypocritical, Bush-style, anti-choice attacks on women’s reproductive rights. It is within YOUR power to help us -- it only takes $10.85 to educate one more pro-choice voter!

One, five, ten more voters -- your gift makes a profound difference. It’s time for choice we can believe in, and the time is now! Donate today!

Sincerely,

Nancy Keenan, President
NARAL Pro-Choice America

John McCain Is No Choice for Women!

John McCain has an alarming history of disrespecting women and their contributions to society. He's violently opposed to womens' reproductive freedom, has voted against women's access to health care, and has repeatedly opposed women receiving equal pay for equal work. None of us can afford to vote for a person like John McCain, who shows such utter disrespect for women.

John McCain Opposes A Woman's Right to Choose

John McCain clearly opposes a woman's right to choose. John McCain would appoint Supreme Court Justices who would overturn Roe vs. Wade, and support radical religious extremists' efforts to ban birth control. Meanwhile, Barack Obama strongly supports a woman's right to choose, a position shared by a majority of Americans.

John McCain's Record on Denying A Woman's Right To Choose:

John McCain has received a 0% rating from Naral Pro-Choice America over his past eight years in the Senate. In his career in the House and Senate, John McCain has cast 130 votes on womens' choice, 125 of which oppose women's choice.
Source: NARAL
http://www.prochoiceamerica.org/elections/statements/mccain.html

His website states, "John McCain believes Roe v. Wade is a flawed decision that must be overturned, and as president he will nominate judges who understand that courts should not be in the business of legislating from the bench."
Source: JohnMcCain.com
http://www.johnmccain.com/Informing/Issues/95b18512-d5b6-456e-90a2-12028d71df58.htm

John McCain's views are out-of-touch with the majority of Americans, 62% of which support Roe v Wade and a woman's right to choose.
Source: Planned Parenthood
http://www.plannedparenthoodaction.org/campaigns/know-john-mccain-122.htm

John McCain has weakened his support for abortion rights for women who are the victims of rape or incest, or in the case of risk to the mother's life.
Source: ABC News, May 9, 2008
http://www.abcnews.go.com/Politics/Vote2008/story?id=4824779&page=1

John McCain has voted against family planning, against access to women's clinics, and even against funding for teen-pregnancy prevention. He supports abstinence-only education, even though studies show that it only increases pregnancy and puts teens at greater risk for disease.
Source: NPR, February 2, 2008
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=18632802

According to Planned Parenthood, John McCain is even more conservative than George W. Bush on women's reproductive rights.
Source: Express Milwaukee, April 28, 2008
http://www.expressmilwaukee.com/article-1803-think-you-know-john-mccain.html

John McCain voted against a bill that strengthened laws against violence at women's clinics and against gynecologists. This bill was an act against domestic terrorism designed to help prosecute attacks on women's clinics.
Source: Jed Report
http://www.jedreport.com/2008/04/john-mccains-do.html

Barack Obama's Record on Supporting A Woman's Right To Choose:

Barack Obama has received a 100% rating from NARAL Pro-Choice America for each year he served in the Senate, indicating his absolute support for women to make their own reproductive decisions. NARAL endorsed Obama for President because of his strong support for womens' reproductive rights.
Source: NARAL
http://www.prochoiceamerica.org/elections/statements/obama.html

Obama's website states, "he has been a consistent champion of reproductive choice and will make preserving women's rights under Roe v. Wade a priority as President. He opposes any constitutional amendment to overturn the Supreme Court's decision in that case."
Source: BarackObama.com
http://my.barackobama.com/page/content/womenissues

John McCain Opposes Access to Contraception and Women's Health Care

John McCain not only opposes a woman's right to choose, he has also consistently voted against funding family planning clinics and sex education, which actually reduce unwanted pregnancy. His record in the Senate suggests that he is extremely hostile to women's health issues.

John McCain's Record on Opposing Women's Health Care:

John McCain's health care plan will leave 47 million Americans uninsured. His plan would largely force families to buy their own insurance through a private insurer, and decrease insurance offerings through employment.
Source: CBS News, April 30, 2008
http://www.cbsnews.com/blogs/2008/04/30/politics/fromtheroad/entry4057951.shtml

John McCain voted to shut down the Title X family-planning program, which provide millions of women with breast cancer screenings and birth control.
Source: Huffington Post, May 26, 2008
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/arianna-huffington/unmasking-mccain-his-reac_b_103580.html

John McCain supported George W. Bush's veto of children's health insurance. McCain opposes expanding the plan that will provide health care for millions of uninsured children.
Source: CNN, October 3, 2007
http://www.cnn.com/2007/POLITICS/10/03/mccain.interview/index.html#cnnSTCVideo

John McCain voted against a bill that funded sex education, provided access to emergency contraception to prevent pregnancy, increased funding to family planning services, and expanded teen-pregnancy-prevention programs.
Source: OnTheIssues.org
http://www.ontheissues.org/SenateVote/Party_2005-75.htm

John McCain voted against requiring health insurance companies to cover the cost of prescription birth control. When asked if health insurance plans that covered Viagra should also cover prescription birth control, McCain had no answer.
Source: Katha Pollitt; CNN
http://www.alternet.org/reproductivejustice/92281/mccain_opposes_contraception_--_pass_it_on/
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D6IlGXhCUHo

John McCain strongly supports abstinence-only education in schools, despite extensive research demonstrating that it increases teen pregnancy and sexually-transmitted disease rates.
Source: San Francisco Gate, February 16, 2007
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/n/a/2007/02/16/politics/p144216S42.DTL&type=printable

John McCain doesn't know if condoms work to prevent the spread of HIV, the virus that causes AIDS. When asked at a rally in 2007 if condoms helped stop the spread of sexually transmitted diseases, McCain said he didn't know. Importantly, research by amFAR, The Foundation for AIDS Research, released a report demonstrating that when used correctly, condoms are 80-95% effective< in reducing the risk of HIV infection.
Source: The New York Times, March 16, 2007; amFAR Issue Brief, January 2005
http://thecaucus.blogs.nytimes.com/2007/03/16/mccain-stumbles-on-hiv-prevention/
http://www.amfar.org/binary-data/AMFAR_PUBLICATION/download_file/34.pdf

Barack Obama's's Record on Supporting Women's Health Care:

Barack Obama's health insurance plan will provide access to health care for all Americans, women and men alike. Right now, than 19 million women are uninsured in this country. Women are more likely than men to deny themselves medical care because of high costs.
Source: BarackObama.com
http://my.barackobama.com/page/content/womenissues

Barack Obama is a strong supporter of research into women's health issues. His own mother died of ovarian cancer at age 53. Barack has consistently fought for women's health issues as an Illinois State Senator and in the Senate.
Source: Chicago Tribune, September 20, 2007
http://www.swamppolitics.com/news/politics/blog/2007/09/obamas_mother_in_new_ad.html

Obama supports pre-natal care and maternity leave. With Obama as President, women will be able to receive coverage of prenatal care under the new public health plan. Private insurers will be required to provide the same coverage. Obama has also proposed a $1.5 billion fund to encourage paid leave programs, which would provide women with paid maternity leave.
Source: Obama Campaign via RH Reality Check
http://www.rhrealitycheck.org/blog/2007/12/21/sen-barack-obamas-reproductive-health-questionnaire

John McCain Opposes Fair Pay for Women

John McCain's history of votes in the Senate demonstrates that he thinks sex discrimination in the workplace is just fine. He has repeatedly stated that there is no need to make sure that women are paid the same as their male colleagues for equal work. Barack Obama, on the other hand, was raised by a single, working mother, and a grandmother who worked on the World War II assembly lines, and later rose from the position of secretary to vice president of a bank. Barack Obama respects and wants to equally reward the efforts of hard-working women.

John McCain's Record on Opposing Fair Pay for Women:

John McCain opposes fair pay for women. He thinks it is fine for employers to pay women less than men for equal work. In 2008 he refused to vote for the Lily Ledbetter Fair Pay Act, which allows women to receive equal pay for equal qualifications to a man. John McCain said that instead of fair pay for equal work, women need more "education and training."
Source: Huffington Post, April 23, 2008
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2008/04/23/mccain-opposes-equal-pay-_n_98342.html

In 1990, John McCain also voted against a bill that would have strengthened civil rights in the workplace and banned discrimination on the base of sex.
Source: Senate.gov
http://www.senate.gov/legislative/LIS/roll_call_lists/roll_call_vote_cfm.cfm?congress=101&session=2&vote=00304

Barack Obama's Record on Supporting Pay Equality for Women:

Barack Obama voted in favor of the Lily Ledbetter Fair Pay Act, and wants women to earn an equal wage for equal work. He also supports requiring employers to provide seven days of paid sick-leave per year. 40% of women currently have no paid sick days per year.
Source: obama.senate.gov
http://obama.senate.gov/press/080423-statement_of_se_18/

Barack Obama has a history of supporting fair pay for women. In the Illinois State Senate, he passed a law that helped 330,000 women prevent paycheck discrimination.
Source: Real Clear Politics
http://www.realclearpolitics.com/articles/2008/06/obamas_remarks_to_working_wome.html

Obama's website states that he "believes the government needs to take steps to better enforce the Equal Pay Act, fight job discrimination, and improve child care options and family medical leave to give women equal footing in the workplace."
Source: BarackObama.com
http://my.barackobama.com/page/content/womenissues

Barack Obama wants to invest in women-owned businesses. He supports investing in women-owned businesses and reducing discrimination in business lending against female business owners.
Source: BarackObama.com
http://my.barackobama.com/page/content/womenissues

John McCain Makes Offensive and Derogatory Comments About Women

John McCain has a history of making offensive comments about women. He even thinks jokes about rape are funny, and spends time with other men who think the same way. On the other hand, Barack Obama praises the women in his life and credits them with enabling and empowering him to achieve what he is capable of.

John McCain's History of Derogatory Comments About Women:

John McCain told the following "joke" on the campaign trail in 1986: "Did you hear the one about the woman who is attacked on the street by a gorilla, beaten senseless, raped repeatedly and left to die? When she finally regains consciousness and tries to speak, her doctor leans over to hear her sigh contently and to feebly ask, 'Where is that marvelous ape?'"
Source: Tucson Citizen, via Jed Report
http://www.jedreport.com/2008/07/john-mccains-ra.html

At a Republican Senate fundraiser in 1998, McCain told following "joke": "Why is Chelsea Clinton so ugly? Because her father is Janet Reno."
Source: Salon.com
http://www.salon.com/news/1998/06/25newsb.html

One of McCain's fundraisers, Clayton Williams, once told the following "joke" comparing rape to the weather: "As long as it's inevitable, you might as well lie back and enjoy it."
Source: The Independent (UK)
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/rape-joke-returns-to-torment-mccain-campaign-848499.html

After returning from Vietnam, John McCain cheated on his wife, Carol, who had been horribly disfigured in an accident. He eventually divorced her and one month later married his second wife, Cindy, the heir to an Arizona brewing fortune.
Source: The Daily Mail (UK)
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/femail/article-1024927/The-wife-John-McCain-callously-left-behind.html

In 1992, when Cindy McCain teased her husband about his thinning hair, he replied, "At least I don't pile on the makeup like a trollop, you c**t."
Source: Cliff Schechter, The Real McCain, PoliPoint Press 2008
http://rawstory.com/news/2008/McCain_temper_boiled_over_in_92_0407.html

Barack Obama's History of Immense Respect For Women:

Barack Obama credits the women in his life with making his achievements possible. He states on his website, "My mother, Ann Dunham, was the kindest, most generous spirit I have ever known, and what is best in me, I owe to her. My grandmother, Madelyn Dunham, helped raise me, sacrificed again and again for me, and loves me as much as she loves anything in this world. And the mother of my daughters Sasha and Malia - my wife Michelle - is the rock of the Obama family and a woman who continues to make me a better person."
Source: BarackObama.com
http://www.barackobama.com/2008/05/11/senator_obamas_mothers_day_sta.php

Barack was raised by a single mother who was a teenager when he was born. His mother worked hard to provide Barack with an education and opportunity to succeed.
Source: Chicago Tribune, March 27, 2007
http://www.chicagotribune.com/entertainment/chi-0703270151mar27,0,1310554.story

Barack's grandmother raised him during his high school years. His grandmother started as a secretary, and worked her way up to vice president of a bank, in an era when women were routinely denied promotions.
Source: USA Today, April 7, 2008
http://www.usatoday.com/news/politics/election2008/2008-04-07-obamagrandma_N.htm

Barack married a strong working woman, Michelle. Michelle worked as a lawyer, and later a hospital administrator. Michelle says of her husband, "He is incredibly smart, and he is very able to deal with a strong woman, which is one of the reasons why he can be president -- because he can deal with me."
Source: ABC News, August 25, 2008
http://abcnews.go.com/GMA/Vote2008/Story?id=5643969&page=1

Barack repeatedly praises his wife, Michelle, introducing her at speeches as "my rock."
Source: Newsweek, February 25, 2008
http://www.newsweek.com/id/112849/page/1

Barack's two school-aged daughters, Malia and Sasha, motivate him to work hard to give all children a brighter future. He wants all of our daughters to have full equality in society, so that "that they'll be able to dream without limit, achieve without constraint, and be free to seek their own happiness."
Source: National Women's Law Center, obama.senate.gov
http://obama.senate.gov/speech/051110-remarks_of_sena_1/

John McCain Is No Choice for Women.

John McCain has a history of fighting against women's rights, whether it is their right to receive equal pay for equal work, access to health care, or the ability to make their own reproductive decisions. He will continue this anti-woman agenda in the White House. Women cannot afford another President like George W. Bush, who actively tries to hurt.

Barack Obama has a history of strong support for women's issues, from our right to choose to our right to reliable medical care. As President he will work to protect these rights and expand women's equality, not only for his own daughters but for all women in America.

On this anniversary of women gaining the right to vote, we need to remember: women have a choice. This November, our choice is clear: women should vote for the candidate that supports their rights, their issues, and their freedoms. This candidate is Barack Obama.

For more information about Barack Obama on women's issues, please check out the following information:

Links:
Barack Obama's Speech to the National Women's Law Center -- http://obama.senate.gov/speech/051110-remarks_of_sena_1/
Barack Obama's Women's Issues Page -- http://my.barackobama.com/page/content/womenissues
Barack Obama's Plans to Help American Families -- http://www.barackobama.com/issues/family/
Women for Obama -- http://www.womenforbarackobama.com/Home_Page.html
BarackTV: Women for Obama Videos -- http://www.barackobama.com/tv/women.php

Downloads:
Barack Obama's Economic Plan and Impact on Working Women -- http://obama.3cdn.net/51f774d367c050dd21_ram6bhdat.pdf
Obama vs. McCain: Their Record on Women's Issues -- http://my.barackobama.com/page/-/Nikki/Constituency%20Groups/Women%20Compare%20PUBLIC%20FINAL%208-18.pdf
Obama's Blueprint for Women and Families -- http://my.barackobama.com/page/-/Nikki/Constituency%20Groups/Working_Women_Families_Blueprint.pdf

Now, Pass It On! We need to spread the word about John McCain's history of undermining women, and share Barack Obama's history of strong support for women's issues. Please send this in your email to every woman you know. It's critical that all women understand the stakes of this election. This November, John McCain is no choice for women. Vote for Barack Obama!