Greater New Orleans NOW

Explanation of Senate Voting on Paycheck Fairness Act

2010-11-14T13:59:00.002-06:00

Pay Equity Advocates,

If you have never participated in our lobbying efforts before, I urge you to do so now! The women of America need your help as never before!

Below is an explanation of the voting that will be taking place in the U. S. Senate on the Paycheck Fairness Act beginning the week of November 15th.

Please note that the legislation itself will not be voted on first. Here's why:

First, a cloture vote will take place on the Senate floor, currently scheduled for the week of the 15th. This is not a vote on the actual legislation--this is a vote to cease debate on the legislation. Cloture will only take place if 60 Senators vote yes to cease debate. If 60 Senators do not vote yes, there will not be cloture, and most importantly, there will not be an actual vote on the bill itself!

If cloture passes, then the vote on the actual Paycheck Fairness Act will take place soon thereafter. This vote only needs a simple majority, or 51 votes, to pass the legislation itself and send it to President Obama's desk for signature. The President has promised he will sign the bill if it passes the Senate!

To this end, in Louisiana we must not only lobby Senator Vitter, who is not a co-sponsor of the bill, but we must also continue to lobby Senator Landrieu as well, even though she is a co-sponsor. You are probably wondering why we need to keep lobbying Landrieu--because we must keep her support and co-sponsorship, and most importantly, because we must ensure that she is present for the cloture vote.

If she is absent for the cloture vote, her vote on cloture is counted as a no vote for cloture. Since we need 60 yes votes for cloture, it is imperative that Landrieu is present for the cloture vote! There may be a lot of absences among the Senators for voting during the lame duck session, but we must make sure that the two votes on the Paycheck Fairness Act are not votes with a lot of absences!

I need only remind you of what happened during our Louisiana state pay equity vote in 2007 on the House floor when seven of our co-sponsors walked out when the bill was called for a vote. Those seven co-sponsors were counted as no votes. The bill lost by only three votes. If those seven co-sponsors would have been there for the vote, and voted yes, the bill would have passed the House by four votes, and then gone to the Senate. Instead, the bill died on the House floor.

Don't let what happened in 2007 to the Louisiana state bill happen to the Paycheck Fairness Act! Please call both Senators Vitter and Landrieu today, and ask them to vote yes two times--YES for cloture and YES for the Paycheck Fairness Act bill itself!

Please call the Senators' District offices in your area, and also call their Washington offices. For those of you living in Louisiana, I have attached a list of the contact info for the Senators' District and Washington offices. For those of you living in other states, contact your Senators today at both their District and Washington offices. Contact info for each state can be found at www.contactingthecongress.org.

We can make this happen, but it can't happen without each and every one of you! So CALL NOW and spread the word to your friends, family, and colleagues to tell their Sentors to VOTE YES for the women of our nation!

Thank you,
Camille Moran
Louisiana Pay Equity Lobbying Director
(318) 357-0748 (home/work)
(318) 471-1740 (cell)
caramor@wnonline.net

OFFICE LOCATIONS FOR U. S. SENATORS FROM LOUISIANA

SENATOR DAVID VITTER:

Washington, DC Office:

516 Hart Senate Office Bldg.
Washington, DC 20510
Phone: (202) 224-4623 (ask for Legislative Director)
FAX: (202) 228-5061

District Offices:

1) Central Louisiana Office
2230 S. MacArthur Dr., Suite 4
Alexandria, LA 71301
Phone: (318) 448-0169 (ask for Quint Carrieux)
FAX: (318) 448-0189

2) Northeast Louisiana Office
1217 N. 19th St.
Monroe, LA 71201
Phone: (318) 325-8120
FAX: (318) 325-9165

3) Northwest Louisiana Office
920 Pierremont Road, Suite 113
Shreveport, LA 71106
Phone: (318) 861-0437
FAX: (318) 861-4865

4) Southeast Louisiana Office
2800 Veterans Blvd., Suite 201
Metairie, LA 70002
Phone: (504) 589-2753
FAX: (504) 589-2607

5) Southwest Louisiana Office
3221 Ryan St., Suite E
Lake Charles, LA 70601
Phone: (337) 436-0453
FAX: (337) 436-3163

6) Acadiana Office
800 Lafayette St.
Suite 1200
Lafayette, LA 70501
Phone: (337) 262-6898
FAX: (337) 262-6373

7) Baton Rouge Office
858 Convention St.
Baton Rouge, LA 70802
Phone: (225) 383-0331
FAX: (225) 383-0952

SENATOR MARY LANDRIEU:

Washington, DC Office

328 Hart Senate Office Bldg.
Washington, DC 20510
Phone: (202) 224-5824 (ask for Legislative Director)
FAX: (202) 224-9735

District Offices:

1) Shreveport Office
U. S. Courthouse
300 Fanin St.
Room 2240
Shreveport, LA 71101
Phone: (318) 676-3085
FAX: (318) 676-3100

2) Lake Charles Office
Capital One Tower
One Lakeshore Dr., Suite 1260
Lake Charles, LA 70629
Phone: (337) 436-6650
FAX: (337) 439-3762

3) New Orleans Office
Hale Boggs Federal Bldg.
500 Poydras St.
Room 1005
New Orleans, LA 70130
Phone: (504) 589-2427 (ask for Laverne Saulny)
FAX: (504) 589-4023

4) Baton Rouge Office
Room 326
Federal Bldg.
707 Florida St.
Baton Rouge, LA 70821
Phone: (225) 389-0395 (ask for T. Bradley Keith)
FAX: (225) 389-0660

What’s Up With The F-Word?

2010-11-12T10:40:00.002-06:00

THE GILLESPIE MEMORIAL COMMUNITY BREAKFAST Presents: What’s Up With The F-Word?

Activists Charlotte Klasson and Chris Day will discuss the status of feminism and the local chapter of the National Organization of Women

SATURDAY NOVEMBER 13
9:30am to 12:00pm

First Unitarian Universalist Church
5212 South Claiborne Av. New Orleans
(Enter via the wheelchair ramp on Soniat Street)

Progressive Community Networking
Coffee, juice and light breakfast pastries
$3.00 suggested donation

For more information, contact Kit Senterat(504) 866-8257 or via email.

Held every second Saturday of each month, the Gillespie Memorial Community Breakfast has been a project of the First Unitarian Universalist Church Social Justice Committee since 1983.

"Lunch and Learn" at the Tulane Law School

2010-10-28T14:12:00.005-05:00

The Tulane Law School Domestic Violence Clinic

Presents: LUNCH AND LEARN

November 3, 2010
11:40 to 1:00pm

Tulane University Uptown Campus
Tulane Lavin-Bernick Center for University Life
Kendall Cram Room

Speaker: Dr. Pam Jenkins
"Examining the prevalence of domestic violence in our community"

Dr. Jenkins will discuss what statistical information tells us about domestic violence in the New Orleans area, and what the numbers tell us about what programs have worked to address domestic violence in our community.

Please RSVP if you haven’t already to: Kati Bambrick (kbambric@tulane.edu or (504) 862-8817)

Food and drinks will be provided

State Pay Equity Bill (HB 673)....support this bill!

2010-05-04T16:22:00.008-05:00

Representative Barbara Norton's HB 673on Employment/Wages- Creates the Equal Pay for Women Act will be heard by the Labor and Industrial Relations Committee

Thursday, May 13 at 9am
House Committee Room 5
LA State Capital
Baton Rouge

We are asking all constituents to call their legislators to vote in favor of HB 673.

For more information please call Representative Barbara Norton's office at 318-632-5887

Honorable Barbara Norton
State Representative-District 3
3245 Hollywood Avenue
Shreveport, LA 71108
Phone: 318-632-5887
Fax: 318-632-5889
Email: nortonb@legis.state.la.us

Members of House Labor and Industrial Relations Committee

Ponti, Erich E.
pontie@legis.state.la.us
Chairman 69 R
7341 Jefferson Hwy.
Suite J
Baton Rouge, LA 70806
(225)362-5301
(225)362-5303 (Fax)

Dixon, Herbert B.
dixonh@legis.state.la.us
Vice-Chair 26 D
804 Broadway Avenue
Alexandria, LA 71302
(318)487-5661
(318)487-5506 (Fax)

Henry, Cameron
henryc@legis.state.la.us
Member 82 R
201 Evans Road
Suite 101
New Orleans, LA 70123
(504)736-7135
(504)736-7137 (Fax)

LaBruzzo, John
Larep081@legis.state.la.us
Member 81 R
3331 Severn Ave., Ste. 204
Metairie, LA 70002
(504)833-7788
(504)212-7644 (Fax)

Morris, James
larep001@legis.state.la.us
Member 1 R
P. O. Box 217
Oil City, LA 71061
(318)995-6852
(318)995-6890 (Fax)

Smith, Patricia Haynes
smithp@legis.state.la.us
Member 67 D
525 Florida Street
3rd Floor 300G & 300H
Baton Rouge, LA 70802
(225)342-7106
(225)342-7117 (Fax)

Talbot, Kirk
talbotk@legis.state.la.us
Member 78 R
9523 Jefferson Hwy.
Suite B
River Ridge, LA 70123
(504)736-7299
(504)736-7113 (Fax)

Williams, Patrick
larep004@legis.state.la.us
Member 4 D
609 Texas Street
1st Floor
Shreveport, LA 71101
(318)676-5990
(318)676-5992 (Fax)

Simon, Scott M.
simons@legis.state.la.us
Member 74 R
P.O. Box 1297
Abita Springs, LA 70420
(985)893-6246
(985)893-6247 (Fax)

Family Court Watch....detailed instructions for volunteers!

2010-04-01T18:02:00.003-05:00

Greetings NOW members and supporters!

Attached are instructions for becoming a volunteer court watcher for the New Orleans Civil District Court.

Some of you have been part of our training classes in the past several months and we hope to have another public training in the next few months.

If you have questions, please feel free to contact us!

Custody Justice Project
Court Watch Instructions

1. Go to Gmail (www.google.com/accounts)

2. Enter user ID: cjpcourtwatch

3. Enter password: volunteer

4. Click on ‘calendar’ in upper left corner

5. Court watch weekly calendar will pop up with available times
blocked in for the following domestic court divisions:

Division A (room 406)- Tiffany Chase
Division F (room 200B)- Chris Bruno
Division J (room 200A)- Paula Brown

6. Add your initials followed by a dash and the division letter to the hours you would like to observe by doing the following: Click on the time to the right of the blocks you want (_not inside them_); a box will pop up prompting, ‘what’: add your initialsfollowed by a dash followed by division letter (for example, Joseph Smith would be JS-A), then click on ‘edit event details’ in same box and adjust the hours under ‘when’ depending on when you will be observing.

7. At most, there should be only 2 volunteers per division per block of time (you don’t have to do a full block at once)

8. On the afternoon prior to your observation day or the morning of your observation day, please call the division to find out if the schedule is still same:

Division A (592-9200)
Division F (592-9216)
Division J (592-9230)

9. Drive or take a bus to the courthouse, which is at 421 Loyola Ave. (Map is available on Gmail site under ‘documents’ in upper left corner on the calendar page) (You can park in the lot at La Salle St. and Perdido St. for 3-5 dollars.)

10. Take multiple copies of both of the monitoring forms with you, for protective order hearings and custody hearings.

(If you need the originals, you can download them from the Gmail site under ‘documents’ in the upper left corner on the calendar page).

11. Observe and document what you see and hear (bring an extra notebook).

12. When you are done, please send the filled forms and extra notes to the following address:

Custody Justice Project
2220 Jena St.
New Orleans, LA 70115

OR you can scan and attach the forms and notes to an email: send to cjpcourtwatch@gmail.com (UNO students may hand the observations into their instructor)

13. Please include contact info so that we can contact you with questions concerning the notes if need be. Your contact info, whether email or phone number will not be distributed to anyone nd will only be used to contact you regarding the court watch.

If you have any questions, please call 504-376-5738.

Custody Justice Project

Meet National NOW President Terry O'Neill at UNO

2010-03-09T16:10:00.002-06:00

In celebration of Women's History Month, national NOW President (and former New Orleanian) Terry O'Neill is speaking to students at UNO begining at 3pm and then we will host a reception for her beginning at 4:30pm.

All NOW supporters are invited to both events, so if you can't come to the early presentation, please join us for the casual reception!

It's a great opportunity to learn more about what National NOW is doing for women's rights and to meet a wonderful woman who has our back in Washington, DC.

Tuesday, March 16
3:00 PM

University of New Orleans
Earl K. Long Library
Room 407
2000 Lakeshore Drive
New Orleans, LA 70122
504-280-6355

NOW Mid-South Regional Conference 2010

2010-02-05T09:53:00.003-06:00

It's time for another Mid-South regional conference for NOW activists from Louisiana, Arkansas, Tennessee, Mississippi and Alabama!

Friday, March 5 - Sunday, March 7

Where:
Willie Morris Library
4912 Old Canton Rd.
Jackson, MS 39211
(601) 987-8181

If you have an interest in becoming more involved locally or simply want to meet other people who share your committment to women's rights, then this is a perfect event to do it. And it's just a short drive to Jackson, MS. We can make plans to caravan up there...let me know if you are interested.

To register, check in at the conference website.

The meeting will take place at the Willie Morris Branch Library Unfortunately, there are no union hotels in Jackson. Mississippi NOW reccomends the following:

The Roberts Walthall
225 East Capitol Street
Jackson, MS 39201
(601) 948-6161

Cabot Lodge Millsaps
2375 North State Street
Jackson, MS 39202
(601) 948-8650

For questions regarding the regional conference:
Cynthia Bennett, Regional Director
615.269.7141
cybennett@deloitte.com

For questions regarding the location or agenda:
Jenni Smith, Mississippi NOW President
jen@nowms.org
601.566.3722

Civil Court Watch Training Class set for January

2010-01-09T13:00:00.006-06:00

NOW is collaborating with local advocates for women and children to host our first "court watch" training where activists can help women who are dealing with divorce and domestic violence by attending Orleans family court proceedings to act as observers and take notes.

Thursday, January 14
7pm
Whole Foods Community Room
5600 Magazine St. at Arabella

We are delighted that for our first training, Richard Ducote, a nationally recognized child advocate and attorney, will be available to answer questions and offer his observations. Representatives of the Tulane Domestic Violence Clinic will also be in attendance.

Because court proceedings are held on weekdays and due to the limited number of training seats, we are requesting that if you would like to become a court watcher you MUST be available on weekdays. If your current work schedule doesn't allow for that, there are other ways for you to assist with our efforts. Please got to The Custody Justice Project to offer your services.

To learn more about the family court system, we recommend that you watch "Breaking the Silence", the PBS Documentary that discusses how the judicial system nationwide gives custody of children to the very same violent abusers who have abused them and their mothers.

For Free Legal Information in Louisiana...!

2009-11-27T17:10:00.002-06:00

This is an invaluable resource for women in our state!

It's a toll-free phone line in Louisiana that provides pre-recorded legal information to the public 24 hours a day, 365 days a year.

For a list of topics, check out the list of library transcripts.

Tel-Law, a public service of the Louisiana State Bar Association, is a collection of tape-recorded messages written by lawyers to tell you what you should know about the law and the justice system. Tel-Law is a general legal information program, AT NO COST, to help you understand and use the legal system. Tel-Law is available 24 hours a day, 365 days per year.

Tel-Law’s tape library includes information on various areas of law, including separation, divorce and child custody, personal injury, bankruptcy and creditor’s right, employment, criminal law, inheritance, subpoenas and trial procedures. Some Tel-Law tapes focus on the attorney/client relationship, auto accidents, consumer matters and financial investments.

What Can You Find Out?
If you have a problem; general legal information concerning your problem; and where to go for help.

What Tel-Law is Not?
Tel-Law is not intended to answer specific questions. Only a lawyer should do that. Instead, the tapes give general background information so that you become more aware of the law, our legal system and your legal rights and duties.

How does Tel-Law Work?
1) Select your topic

2) Call (800)4-TEL-LAW [(800)483-5529 or, in Lafayette, call (318)262-5850.

3) A recorded message will answer. When you are signaled, simply enter your topic's code number. You can then hear a brief discussion of your particular topic.

2009-11-07T09:22:00.004-06:00

Disheartened by the election results? Angered that we are still being denied full citizenship? Tired of enduring a barrage of lies and insults? Furious that your dignity and humanity has been attacked and undermined?

Don't Agonize - Organize!

Come to the Rally For Equality at the New Orleans City Hall at noon on Saturday, November 7th.

Hear from leading organizations about the efforts being made to secure equality and justice for all. Besides working with national organizations on Federal efforts like Don't Ask - Don't Tell, ENDA and repealing DOMA, there are actions you can take right here in Louisiana to join the fight to protect your rights.

Organizers include ACLU of Louisiana, Big Easy MCC, Brotherhood Inc, Forum For Equality, Human Rights Campaign, National Organization of Women, NO/AIDS Task Force, PFLAG, and The Community Coalition. Many other allies and groups (including the LGBT Community Center, Christ the Liberator, NO Gay Men's Chorus, Universalist Unitarian Church, Women with a Vision, etc) will be there with resources for activists.

What happened in Maine was wrong, unfair and un-American. Join us at the Rally For Equality and become a part of the movement to ensure that all citizens have basic rights and protections.

In New Orleans, You Can Get Your Message Across in Mardi Gras Parade Fashion

2009-10-11T20:56:00.008-05:00

Announcing that it is reopening the fight for Louisiana to ratify the Equal Rights Amendment , Louisiana ERA members carry their banner in the Jazz Funeral parade in New Orleans on inauguration day, Thursday, January 20th. The jazz funeral was to show opposition to most of President Bush's agenda . Louisiana's ERA committee marched in the parade to raise consciousness about the Equal Rights Amendment., for, though hundreds fought for it in the 1980's, many today have no idea what it is about.

In this photo, Sandra Hufstetler, president of the new committee, with Jacqui Ceballos, Donovan Smith and an unknown young woman carry the banner. A second reason for the participation was the fact that, like many democratic laws and customs, the ERA was indeed killed in the state -- but will "RISE FROM THE DEAD."

The parade began with three jazz bands playing tunes of old church spirituals and rolled through the streets of the French Quarter. The event had the appearance of a lugubrious Mardi Gras ball, a raucous street protest, Halloween freak show and traditional New Orleans jazz funeral rolled into one. A mock coffin containing copies of the Patriot Act and the U.S. Constitution. drawn on a horse pulled wagon hearse followed. Then came a line with dancers and people festooned with capes, masks, signs and anti-war buttons.

Women in military uniforms and skeleton masks said they represented America's foreign policy: Death. And, among all this, the plain ERA banner stood out and got the attention of onlookers and the paraders. In New Orleans you can get your message across in a Mardi Gras parade fashion.

(Pictured in photo: ERA president, Sandra Hufstetler, Jacqui Ceballos, Donavon Smith and an unknown young woman . Photograph taken by Felicia Kahn.)

"Women At Risk"

2009-10-11T20:53:00.002-05:00

August 8, 2009

By BOB HERBERT

“I actually look good. I dress good, am clean-shaven, bathe, touch of cologne — yet 30 million women rejected me,” wrote George Sodini in a blog that he kept while preparing for this week’s shooting in a Pennsylvania gym in which he killed three women, wounded nine others and then killed himself.

We’ve seen this tragic ritual so often that it has the feel of a formula. A guy is filled with a seething rage toward women and has easy access to guns. The result: mass slaughter.

Back in the fall of 2006, a fiend invaded an Amish schoolhouse in rural Pennsylvania, separated the girls from the boys, and then shot 10 of the girls, killing five.

I wrote, at the time, that there would have been thunderous outrage if someone had separated potential victims by race or religion and then shot, say, only the blacks, or only the whites, or only the Jews. But if you shoot only the girls or only the women — not so much of an uproar.

According to police accounts, Sodini walked into a dance-aerobics class of about 30 women who were being led by a pregnant instructor. He turned out the lights and opened fire. The instructor was among the wounded.

We have become so accustomed to living in a society saturated with misogyny that the barbaric treatment of women and girls has come to be more or less expected.

We profess to being shocked at one or another of these outlandish crimes, but the shock wears off quickly in an environment in which the rape, murder and humiliation of females is not only a staple of the news, but an important cornerstone of the nation’s entertainment.

The mainstream culture is filled with the most gruesome forms of misogyny, and pornography is now a multibillion-dollar industry — much of it controlled by mainstream U.S. corporations.

One of the striking things about mass killings in the U.S. is how consistently we find that the killers were riddled with shame and sexual humiliation, which they inevitably blamed on women and girls. The answer to their feelings of inadequacy was to get their hands on a gun (or guns) and begin blowing people away.

What was unusual about Sodini was how explicit he was in his blog about his personal shame and his hatred of women. “Why do this?” he asked. “To young girls? Just read below.” In his gruesome, monthslong rant, he managed to say, among other things: “It seems many teenage girls have sex frequently. One 16 year old does it usually three times a day with her boyfriend. So, err, after a month of that, this little [expletive] has had more sex than ME in my LIFE, and I am 48. One more reason.”

I was reminded of the Virginia Tech gunman, Seung-Hui Cho, who killed 32 people in a rampage at the university in 2007. While Cho shot males as well as females, he was reported to have previously stalked female classmates and to have leaned under tables to take inappropriate photos of women. A former roommate said Cho once claimed to have seen “promiscuity” when he looked into the eyes of a woman on campus.

Soon after the Virginia Tech slayings, I interviewed Dr. James Gilligan, who spent many years studying violence as a prison psychiatrist in Massachusetts and as a professor at Harvard and N.Y.U. “What I’ve concluded from decades of working with murderers and rapists and every kind of violent criminal,” he said, “is that an underlying factor that is virtually always present to one degree or another is a feeling that one has to prove one’s manhood, and that the way to do that, to gain the respect that has been lost, is to commit a violent act.”

Life in the United States is mind-bogglingly violent. But we should take particular notice of the staggering amounts of violence brought down on the nation’s women and girls each and every day for no other reason than who they are. They are attacked because they are female.

A girl or woman somewhere in the U.S. is sexually assaulted every couple of minutes or so. The number of seriously battered wives and girlfriends is far beyond the ability of any agency to count.

There were so many sexual attacks against women in the armed forces that the Defense Department had to revise its entire approach to the problem.

We would become much more sane, much healthier, as a society if we could bring ourselves to acknowledge that misogyny is a serious and pervasive problem, and that the twisted way so many men feel about women, combined with the absurdly easy availability of guns, is a toxic mix of the most tragic proportions.

Are we hidden from history? Good question!

2009-07-06T16:35:00.006-05:00

I recommend this powerful article to all feminist-minded people. Consider it your homework for this summer.

It's from the July/August 2009 issue of The Humanist magazine by Cleo Fellers Kocol, an award-winning poet and novelist who was awarded the American Humanist Association's "Humanist Heroine" in 1988.

Hidden from History

NOW Activists Elect New President Terry O'Neill to Succeed Kim Gandy!

2009-07-06T15:59:00.004-05:00

June 20, 2009

Members of the National Organization for Women (NOW) cast their votes for a new team of leaders to direct the largest grassroots feminist organization in the country over the next four years. NOW delegates elected former New Orleanian Terry O'Neill, who served as the national group's membership vice-president from 2001 to 2005, to succeed President Kim Gandy also a former Louisiana NOW leader. Gandy will retire from her office on July 20 due to the organization's term limits; she has been a leader in NOW for 36 years, with 22 years of service at the national level, including the last eight as president.

"NOW is the organization that fights for the rights of all women no matter the circumstances of their birth, their race or sexual orientation, no matter if they live in poverty or are trying to escape violence," said NOW President-Elect Terry O'Neill.

"My experience with domestic violence as an abused wife left me humiliated and embarrassed. I only began to talk about this publically five years ago as I realized that to keep quiet was to continue the abuse. I want to empower women and telling my story does just that. Women are fed up with persistent inequality and are ready for change. I am honored and eager to lead NOW in making that change."

O'Neill cut her political teeth working to defeat David Duke's gubernatorial campaign in Louisiana. She also served as the president of New Orleans NOW from 1998-2001 and as the president of Louisiana NOW from 1996-1998.

As an attorney, she served a clerkship at the U.S. Court of Appeals in Chicago before practicing law in New Orleans. She taught at the University of California Davis Law School and Tulane Law School. Currently, she is chief of staff to a Montgomery County (Md.) councilmember whose successes include a transgender equality law and Maryland's first Family Justice Center for survivors of domestic violence. O'Neill's national positions also include executive director of the National Council of Women's Organizations.

NOW-LA and NOW-NOLA Congratulates Terry O'Neill!

The busy month of....March, April & May!

2009-04-10T16:19:00.012-05:00

We are entering our less active time of the year for New Orleans NOW, but not for all of you, of course. Everyone is finishing classes, going to festivals and getting ready for the humidity. That's why we take a break for a few months while everyone gets their "ya yas" out.

Last month was Women's History Month and New Orleans was lucky to have national NOW president Kim Gandy in town to give this year's D'Orlando Lecture at the First Unitarian Church on Claiborne. This is her final few months in office and we have been lucky to have her visit us many times in the past 4 years.

She spoke about the new administration and how we have about a year, realistically, to get as much progressive stuff done for women's issues before that will be set aside for the 2010 mid-term elections. Sobering, but we have accomplished so much thus far: passage of the Lily Ledbetter Law for pay equity and dismissing the Global Gag Rule to name a few wins. Gandy reminded us that we still have a long way to go , but this is encouraging. President Obama seems willing to give women's rights a huge boost after 8 years of horrible setbacks.

Our feminist potlucks this year have been enjoyable and we're lucky that both Mary Griggs (February) and, most recently, Beth Deitch (April) opened their lovely homes to host us. We had good feminist energy, excellent conversations and great food. We also had several new people each time and we hope that they become part of our regular crew. You are always welcomed to join us and to meet interesting women for women-centric conversations...it may not fit your calendar every month, but when it does, don't be shy!

In March, we joined forces with Wine & Women on Wednesdays at Ralph's On The Park for a lively happy hour and we hope to be part of their social networking efforts for women in the year to come.

Stay tuned for our summer ideas and let us know if we can add you to our email list for monthly events. If you are interested in serving a more active role as a chapter officer or would like to involve our members in an event of interest to NOW women, please let us know.

"Roe"bama Happy Hour

2009-01-19T12:01:00.002-06:00

Join us during this historic week to toast the anniversary of Roe vs.Wade!

While January 2009 will be most remembered for the inauguration ofPresident Barack Obama, women's rights supporters should cometogether to remember another historic moment that took place on Jan.22, 1973 -- the Roe v. Wade Supreme Court decision.

The National Organization for Women has been on the front lines ofthe fight for reproductive justice since its founding in 1966, andNOW activists have been fiercely defending Roe, one of the mostcritical legal decisions of our time, since it was issued 36 yearsago.

This will be unfussy social outing and a great opportunity to meetother progressive women in New Orleans!

Friday, January 23
6:00 PM

Helix Wine Bar
936 St. Charles Ave.
On Lee Circle in Hotel La Cirque

Help NOW set a Feminist Agenda for the New Administration...!

2009-01-01T13:10:00.001-06:00

Take this easy and quick survey to help the National Organization for Women to develop a feminist agenda for the Obama Admistration

http://www.now.org/surveys/survey.php?sid=36

Check out the nine priority items developed by NOW for our 2009 Action Agenda (more detailed information is available by clicking on eachone). Then take a moment to let us know what you think by rating theimportance of each item on a scale of 1 (most critical) to 5 (leastcritical).

We've left the tenth spot open for you to add your own agenda item. We'll post a report on the results on Inauguration Day, so be sure tocheck back!

Make 2009 your year to get involved!

Important Days of December

2008-12-07T13:47:00.002-06:00

Despite the blustery holidays and the sour economy, you can always be mindful of important issues and other ways to give of your time:

World AIDS Day
December 1

International Human Rights Day
December 10

Winter Solstice
December 21-22

Festivus
December 23

Human Light Celebration
December 23

A Blogging We Will Go!

2008-06-01T17:47:00.005-05:00

Feministing
Pandagon
Shakesville
Feministe
La Chola
Muslimah Watch
Having Read the Fine Print
The Silence of Our Friends
Hugo Schwyzer
Finally, A Feminism 101 Blog
Carnival of Feminists

NOW Love Your Body Quiz

2008-05-13T11:43:00.000-05:00

What It Takes To Achieve "Real" Beauty

2008-05-13T11:40:00.002-05:00

Pose your money questions to the women at Merrill Lynch...

2008-05-06T11:10:00.000-05:00

If you missed the NOW "Women and Investing Workshop" held in April, the presenters from Merrill Lynch would like me to pass on their contact info to any woman who couldn't be there that afternoon.

Since the goal of the workshop was to educate women of all ages about how to make money work more profitably and to achieve financial independence, please feel free to contact them directly about any questions you may have about your personal situation:

IN NEW ORLEANS—
Kelisha G. Bartholomew
Pan American Life Center
601 Poydras St., Ste. 2500
504-586-7741
KELISHA_BARTHOLOMEW@ml.com

IN MANDEVILLE—
Sally L. Kingston
The Hebert Chassaniol Group
2681 N. Causeway Blvd.
985-246-6423
Sally_Kingston@ml.com