We had no idea! Thank you for shedding light on this issue. Would you be interested in writing a piece for our blog about this, and giving specific information on what people can do to bring more attention to this?

Thanks! As soon as we read it, we knew this was a piece that really deserved wider distribution. We're very happy that Dr. Addison agreed to allow us to repost it.

Everyone agrees it's wrong to use that kind of language. Jerry Brown has personally apologized to Meg Whitman, and yesterday, Meg Whitman accepted his apology and said it's time to move on. We agree.

Everyone agrees it's wrong to use that kind of language. Jerry Brown has personally apologized to Meg Whitman, and yesterday, Meg Whitman accepted his apology and said it's time to move on. We agree.

Perhaps you misread the links above; at no time did the California NOW PAC threaten not to endorse Brown. In fact, the endorsement of Brown had been decided before the audio tape of his female staffer using the term "whore" had been released. It is unacceptable that in our political dialogue the only word used as a descriptor for unethical pandering behavior is one that seeks to denigrate sex workers, and that has historically been used to target women more than men. However, usage of the word "whore" to describe someone behaving unethically is also commonplace, as it was used by Ex-Governor Pete Wilson (one of Meg Whitman's campaign staff) to refer to Congress, and by Whitman supporters to refer to Gloria Allred. While our organization seeks to end sexist language completely, we also see this as a deliberate distraction from the real issues at stake for California women in this race.

Actually, the current definition of "obesity" is usually based off BMI, which is notoriously inaccurate in judging health status. Athletes often show up as "obese" based on BMI. Moreover, what the general public thinks of as "obese" is only a small percentage of people categorized that way. Here's a link to a project trying to educate people about the problems with BMI and our current standards for "obesity": http://www.flickr.com/photos/77367764@N00/sets/72157602199008819/

Thanks for the catch! Sometimes a typo does manage to slip through; we've corrected this one now.

Unfortunately it's not that simple, there is no federal pot of money with California's name already on it. Schwarzenegger suggested that California *should* be getting more federal dollars for various programs. As we point out in one of our recent pieces on the economy (http://www.canow.org/canoworg/2010/05/take-action-women-family-friendly-california-budget.html#more) Californians could receive additional federal funds if all those eligible applied for food stamps and participated in programs like the school lunch and breakfast programs. There are also federal grants which could cover some currently state-sponsored costs, but those must be applied for.

Thanks! We're grateful to have had someone willing to share her story with us and with our readers.

If you look at our election coverage, you'll find that California NOW was adamant about speaking out against sexism directed at Hillary Clinton and Sarah Palin. We speak up for women against sexism regardless of whether we agree on political issues. Just as we have spoken up against the sexism that was directed at Carrie Prejean, even as we also decried her views on Marriage Equality. We are always pushing for progress for women and girls at every level of society, which means supporting progressive politicians (women & men), progressive legislation, and progressive policies in employment, education, and other areas of life. While we recognize that many of the necessary changes of society towards justice take place incrementally, we believe in working towards our ultimate goal of a fair and equitable society in that process.

The full text is available as part of the download with the signature collection packet. The full text is six pages long, so we cannot include it all here. It would expand the definition of trafficking to include violating a person's liberty with intent to distribute obscene material, and taking travel documents to restrict a victim's movement. As we read it, it does not expand the police right to perform raids, but does insist that confiscated property from raids be used for victims' benefit, and that a trafficked person's participation in an illegal sexual activity cannot be used to prosecute them.

People are not "illegal", they are undocumented. It is useless to blame those who come here for a better life when the employers who seek the lowest-paid workers, documented or not, are not penalized or incentivized to change their practices. California NOW is committed to creating fair pay policies that encourage employers to pay a living wage to all workers, including agricultural and domestic care workers.

Thanks for sharing your link. You've commented about this a couple of times, which is fine, but please limit it to posts that directly address issues of fertility.

Please see our other post on this horrific assault, here: http://www.canow.org/canoworg/2009/10/richmond-high-school-rape-case-shows-schools-need-zero-tolerance-on-sexual-harassment-assault.html We are urging people to take action by contacting the school and attending the meeting at the school this Saturday, and we will continue working to get exactly the type of workshops and curriculum you mention into all of our high schools.

Molly, We like to give our guest writers a lot of latitude in their language, but you're right, this is not appropriate. Not because it's "bad" language, or unimaginative language, but because it plays into patriarchal stereotypes. Any of our writers should know better than to protest demeaning language by using demeaning language, and we'll be talking with Mickey about this.

Anita, We pass on as much MomsRising stuff as we can, a lot of us are moms too, and you're doing great work! Next up, that Kraft macaroni action.

We love MomsRising, and will gladly promote their actions! It's great to see a movement of women working for future generations of leaders.

GLAAD has been at the forefront on this campaign, doing some amazing work. the latest info is here: http://glaadblog.org/2009/06/07/update-krxq-radio-host-rob-williams-declares-failure/ It looks like they're finally admitting wrongdoing and will be making an official statement on Thursday.

You are misinformed. These are the Bylaws as they were approved by the membership on April 30, 2006, and they have been posted in exactly this form on the Chapter Leadership area of our website for the past nine months. While the California NOW Board has accepted nominations by proxy for positions such as committees, and even occasionally to fill a temporarily vacant position on the CA NOW Executive Committee, this process is for positions filled by the Board, not for the regularly scheduled Officer elections. As shown above, the process for regular Officer elections is clearly covered in the Bylaws, and does not allow for a by-proxy acceptance or confirmation of the automatic nomination of eligible candidates.

Article V Officers Section 2. Nominations of Officers. (b) It shall be presumed that, for each officer election all eligible members of the organization are automatically nominated sixty days prior to the annual meeting (state conference). Those members who wish to be listed in nominations committee report, required to be circulated to all members thirty days prior to the annual meeting shall confirm their nomination in writing no later than sixty days prior to the annual meeting. Nominees who do not submit such confirmation may confirm their candidacies by announcement from the floor during the appropriate portion of the annual meeting. Members whose nominations are not confirmed by either method stated herein shall be deemed to have withdrawn.

All qualified California NOW members are automatically nominated for our leadership positions, as specified in our Bylaws. No one was disallowed from being nominated. However, to *accept* a nomination a candidate must either submit their acceptance in writing 60 days in advance of the Conference, or accept the nomination from the floor during the appropriate portion of the Conference. The Parliamentarian, who is a non-partisan authority on proper procedure, ruled that a nomination could not be accepted by someone not on the floor. The Nominations Committee concurred. Therefore a nomination could not be accepted by proxy.

Great history of how the event built over time! Yes, I think next year we will take that angle in looking at how Mothers' Day has been co-opted.