truesee's Blog

9 Things American Women Take For Granted

Angela Epps
8:30AM, Tuesday March 2nd 2010 

 Chicago Tribune

Women have never had it easy, but we have more opportunities and freedom than we did even a century ago. Keep reading for nine rights you should take advantage of.

1. The right to vote. The 19th Constitutional Amendment was passed by Congress June 4, 1919, and ratified Aug. 18, 1920.
2. The right to make as much money as men. There are still many out there fighting for women to make the same higher wages as their male counterparts, but 1938’s Fair Labor Standards Act, which “established minimum wage without regard to sex,” made it possible for us to even be pissed about making less.
3. The right to have a “man’s” job. Sure, you had to be paid as much as the guys at work, but you could never, ever be promoted above one. At least not until the Civil Rights Act of 1964. But it wasn’t until the 1973 Supreme Court upheld a 1968 ruling that sex-segregated ads for employment were made illegal.
4. The right to go to college. Back in the day, educating women wasn’t a priority. In 1870, just one-fifth of resident college and university students were women. Today, women outnumber men on college campuses.
5. The right to choose our own religion. Way back when, the religion of the man that you chose to marry is what you would convert to. No questions, no nothing. Even if you’re an atheist, you can appreciate this.
6. The right to own our own property. The first law that said it was permissible for a woman’s name to be listed on a deed came into effect in the middle 1800s. The catch? She had to have her husband’s permission to do so.
7. The right to choose to have children, or not. Everyone knows about the birth control movement of the ‘70s; the struggle started even earlier.
8. The right to work while pregnant. The 1978 Pregnancy Discrimination Act declared that a woman cannot be fired or denied a job or a promotion because she is, or may become, pregnant. It also stated that she cannot be forced to take pregnancy leave if she is willing and able to work.
9. The right to not have sex with our husbands. It wasn’t until 1976 that a law was established making it illegal for a husband to rape his wife. Enough said.

http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/maryland/baltimore-county/bal-md.murder08mar08,0,3077137.story

http://www.miamiherald.com/2010/03/08/1519639/international-womens-day.html

Mary Jo Ray departs peacefully, at age 114

JIM FENNELL
New Hampshire Union Leader 
March 8, 2010

Mary Josephine Ray hadn't been feeling well for the past couple of weeks, frequently staying in bed in her room at the Maplewood County Nursing Home in Westmoreland for much of the day. But the woman known for her longevity perked up one day recently when a reporter came around for an interview.

Barbara Ray said her mother-in-law got dressed, hopped into her wheelchair and did the interview, even singing a few of songs.

"She loved all the attention," Barbara Ray said.

Mary Josephine, born on May 17, 1895, passed away just after midnight yesterday at the age of 114. She was recognized by the Gerontology Research Group, which certifies claims of extreme old age, as the second oldest living person in the world at the time.

  Hooper/APMary Josephine Ray, certified as the country's oldest woman, has died. She was 114 years old.

 

Barbara Ray, who lives in Westmoreland with her husband, said she received a call from the nursing home just past midnight to tell her of Mary Josephine's passing.

She was told the lady known at Mary Jo died peacefully in her sleep.

"I think we're going to miss her; she was a big part of our day," said Trisha Moore, a licensed nursing assistant who worked on the floor where Mary Josephine lived.

A funeral will be held Thursday in Madison, Maine (See Obituary on Page B4). Mary Josephine was a native of Prince Edward island, Canada, but lived in Maine for nearly 60 years.

She will be buried in Forest Hill Cemetery in Madison, joining her husband Walter Ray, who died in 1967.

Mary Josephine moved into Maplewood at the age of 102 to live close to her son, daughter-in-law and a granddaughter, Katherine Ray.

"She had been with us so long," Barbara Ray said. "I always said God knows best, and He would know when to take her. I think everything just gave out."

The Cheshiremen Chorus, an a cappella group that sings in barbershop style, would visit the home every year on Mary Josephine's birthday to sing to her.

Mary Josephine was recognized as the second oldest person in the world in November when a woman in upstate New York died at the age of 114. The oldest person in the world is believed to be a woman in Japan, Kama Chinen, who was born one week before Mary Josephine.

"When she got mail from fans, she got really excited," Moore said, adding Mary Josephine was particularly pleased recently when one girl wrote asking for her autograph.

Neva Morris, 114, of Ames, Iowa, is now considered the oldest person in the United States. 

http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/sns-ap-us-obama-health-overhaul,0,2453936.story

Shocked witness Maureen Quinn, pictured talking immediately after the shooting, was close by as the drama unfolded.

NYPDThe silver imitation handgun that was held by a 23-year-old man before being shot by cops

Cops in Brooklyn shot dead a man who pointed an imitation pistol at them in a Monday afternoon confrontation outside an elementary school.

Students at Public School 194, in Sheepshead Bay, had been dismissed a half-hour earlier, but some were in a fenced-off area nearby, witnesses said.

Police were called to the scene, on Knapp Street, after getting a 911 call about a man with a gun.

When uniformed officers from the 61st Precinct arrived at about 3:10 p.m., the 22-year-old suspect pointed the silver gun - inscribed with Zebra-II - at them and refused orders to drop it, police sources said.

"We fired three times," the source said.

Maureen Quinn, who lives nearby, said she ran out of her house and "saw a body laying down on the street."

"I heard a cop tell another 'He pulled a gun on me,'" she said. "He was not moving. It was scary."

Another witness said the shooting officer holstered his gun when he realized the suspect wasn't moving.

"It's a shame,'' said another nearby resident, Joe Vigilant. "It really is. He looked young too."

The suspect was rushed to Coney Island Hospital, where he died at 4:11 p.m.

Department of Education spokeswoman Margie Feinberg said no children were outside at the time of the shooting.

Kerima Amer, who had had just picked up her two daughters at the school, said there were students in a fenced-in patio area just up the block.

"I can't imagine if it had happened two minutes earlier," she said.

Police sources said it appears the shots were fired by one officer, who has been on the force less than two years.

Read more: http://www.nydailynews.com/ny_local/2010/03/08/2010-03-08_cops_shoot_dead_man_pointing_suspected_toy_gun_after_he_refuses_orders_to_drop_i.html#ixzz0hdIaxB1b

Kathy Griffin Takes Aim At Sarah Palin

Comedian Skewers Former Governor In Alaska

MARK THIESSEN

Associated Press Writer

POSTED: 2:41 am EST March 6, 2010
UPDATED: 12:51 pm EST March 6, 2010

ANCHORAGE, Alaska -- Comedian Kathy Griffin has brought her "Life on the D-List" show to Sarah Palin's home state, skewering the former Alaska governor at a raucous show in Anchorage.

Griffin was escorted on stage on Friday by Playgirl model Levi Johnston, who fathered a child with Palin's oldest daughter and is involved in a child support battle with Bristol Palin.

Griffin said she spent a day ice fishing with Johnston in Wasilla, and was surprised when 19-year-old Levi's friend brought along a camera -- but only to photograph the fish they caught.

Griffin helped Johnston's celebrity star to rise, taking the aspiring actor to an awards show last year as her date. While in Wasilla, Griffin said she also went to Palin's home. There she left a note, inviting Palin to Friday's performance.

She asked the crowd to look around and see if anyone was doing a pageant wave.

Griffin said John McCain picked Palin to be his running mate on the Republican ticket after "talking to her for 10 minutes."

Of Palin's monologue this week on "The Tonight Show," Griffin only promised the audience she would never try to be a mayor.

Griffin also claimed Palin is a "gift that keeps on giving."

Griffin welcomed news that Palin is trying to shop a reality show or docudrama about Alaska. She called that a "gift from God."

Griffin is in Anchorage to coincide with Saturday's start of the Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race. She was to have attended several events leading up to the race, including the musher's banquet and made many jokes about the annual Trappers and Miners Ball.

An emailed "joke" from an Tennesee CEO comparing the First Lady to a famous movie chimp ended up being no laughing matter.

The CEO of the Tennessee Hospitality Association issued an apology this weekend for an offensive e-mail he recently sent to several people, including members of the press and a public official, comparing Michelle Obama to Cheetah from the Tarzan movies.

"I deeply apologize to anyone who is offended by this action," Walt Baker said in a statement.

"I hope that those who know me realize that the message was not intended to be malicious or hurtful in any way and can find it in their hearts to forgive me."

However, Baker is apparently confused on why someone would find it offensive, describing the joke as "political humor."

"I did not think or consider its implications, other than that it was political humor," he wrote. "I am saddened that anyone misinterpreted the sentiments behind the e-mail."

Baker's e-mail, which someone had sent him and he forwarded, contained a photo of Michelle Obama along side a photo of Tarzan's chimpanzee sidekick.

"I have never considered myself bigoted, or racially insensitive, or a racist," Baker told News Channel 5.

The president of Nashville's Convention & Visitors Bureau, Butch Spyridon, was one of the people to receive the e-mail, and said he was "embarrassed" by the gag.

"The content is deeply hurtful to all in our city and beyond," he wrote in a statement. "The attitudes expressed in the email are both appalling and unacceptable, and are not shared or condoned in anyway by the NCVB or by me personally."

Spyridon said Baker's marketing firm, Mercatus Communications, has since lost its contract to help promote the city's new convention center.

"The e-mail was extremely offensive," Nashville's Mayor Karl Dean said in a statement. "It does not reflect who we are as a city and our values."

According to WSMV Channel 4 News in Nashville, this isn't the first time an e-mail with racist content has caused a controversy in the southern city.

Back in October, several hundred state workers received an e-mail proclaiming "white pride," and shortly after that, 20 Senate staffers were sent an e-mail from a legislative aide with President Obama seen on a black background as just a pair of eyes.

"I regret having done it," Baker said on News Channel 5. "I wished I had not pushed that button."

LINK TO VIDEO 

http://www.wbaltv.com/video/22768444/

Read more: http://www.nydailynews.com/news/national/2010/03/07/2010-03-07_tennessee_ceo_walt_baker_sorry_for_humor_email_gag_comparing_michelle_obama_to_c.html#ixzz0hYF8gxJm

Scratch-off ticket theft suspect caught

News Chief

Published: Friday, March 5, 2010 at 8:27 a.m.
Last Modified: Friday, March 5, 2010 at 8:27 a.m.

BARTOW - A Circle K store clerk helped Polk County Sheriff's Office detectives in their investigation of a scratch-off ticket theft suspect, when she told the man she needed his driver's license in order to give him the cash prize he came to claim Monday.

According to an arrest affidavit, Allen Nguyen, 22, of 1859 Emily Drive, Winter Haven, is accused of stealing $70 worth of scratch-off lottery tickets from the store Sunday. When he scratched off one of the tickets, it revealed he had won $50.

According to the affidavit, Nguyen went back to the store the next day to claim his money. The clerk, who was aware of the crime, asked for the man's driver's license and made note of his name and information. She then passed that information on to Sheriff's Office detectives.

Nguyen was placed under arrest and charged with one count of retail theft, the Sheriff's Office reported. He was booked into the Polk County Jail in Bartow.

http://www.wkyt.com/wymtnews/headlines/86682077.html

http://www.wbaltv.com/news/22761106/detail.html

         WARNING GRAPHIC VIDE0

                                http://www.wisn.com/news/22755436/detail.html

9oz Miracle: World's Smallest Ever Baby Boy

3:23pm UK, Friday March 05, 2010

Damien Pearse,

Sky News Online

Meet the world's smallest ever surviving baby boy - weighing just nine ounces.

The tiny child - smaller than a can of coke - was born after just 25 weeks.

He was so little at birth that a tape measure laid next to his body was wider than his limbs.

Doctors in Germany were convinced he would not survive but refused to give up hope.

Now - eight months after the birth - medics have finally released a picture of the mite, confident he is strong enough to make it through.

The child weighed just 275g and is the smallest baby boy ever to survive. There have been three girls who have been lighter.

Doctors are confident the boy - now eight-months-old - will pull through

The most premature baby to survive is believed to have been born after 21 weeks, a girl born in Miami in America in 2004.

Experts on medical ethics advise doctors not to resuscitate babies born before 23 weeks in the womb.

More than 80,000 babies are born prematurely in Britain every year and half need to be treated in intensive care.

Doctors expect babies weighing less than 12oz not to survive.

The baby in Germany was delivered by Caeserean section at the University of Medicine at Goettingen in June 2009.

A spokesman for the university told Sky News Online that doctors were "extremely proud" of the boy and the parents were overjoyed.

"This was an incredible fight for life," the spokesman said.

 LINK TO VIDEO AND PHOTOS:

http://news.sky.com/skynews/Home/video/Is-This-The-Worlds-Most-Premature-Baby-Tom-Thumb-Germany/Video/201003115567914?lpos=video_Article_Body_Copy_Region_0&lid=VIDEO_15567914_Is_This_The_Worlds_Most_Premature_Baby_Tom_Thumb_Germany

http://www.wbaltv.com/video/22751833/

A man uses a body scanner at Schiphol airport in the Netherlands. Ten more U.S. airports will be equipped with the scanners. Photo: AP

Ten more U.S. airports are getting new scanners capable of detecting explosives like those carried by the alleged Christmas Day bomber, an administration official said Friday.

The new machines at airports including Boston’s Logan, Chicago’s O’Hare and Charlotte’s Douglas will take full body scans of airline passengers and can detect explosives hidden under clothing. LAX airport in Los Angeles, which already has one of the advanced scanners operating in its international terminal, will receive eight additional scanners, a Democratic member of Congress said.

The Transportation Security Administration bought 150 of the advanced imaging technology machines in September with $25 million in stimulus cash. POLITICO reported last month that it took the Department of Homeland Security seven months just to place the order — and it still hasn’t released a list or developed a complete plan for where to send them. Major airports still without the scanners, even after this new deployment, include all three of New York City’s hubs — Newark, LaGuardia and JFK.

The Obama administration announced a push to get up to 1,000 of the scanners into 75 percent of the country’s largest airports in the wake of the Christmas Day bombing attempt. The 2011 budget request includes nearly $215 million to build more of the scanners and $218 million to pay some 5,300 TSA staff to operate the machines.

Installing the scanners is complicated because they are much larger than traditional metal detectors. Airports also have to build separate, windowless rooms where TSA agents can look at the scans without seeing passengers — the scans are so detailed that it is easy to determine a person’s gender, raising privacy concerns. The addition of the new machines brings the total number of U.S. airports operating them up to 29, including 17 of the country’s largest.

Republicans have questioned the dramatic increase in funding, particularly because the money for the machines had to come out of other areas of the DHS budget.

“I am apprehensive because it is unclear whether such a costly and manpower-intensive approach is the absolute best course of action, especially when the initial deployment of whole-body imagers appears to be an interim step towards the use of even more advanced technology,” Rep. Hal Rogers (R-Ky.) said Thursday. “Far too often, government overreacts in the wake of a crisis.” Rogers serves on the Appropriations subcommittee that authorizes the DHS budget.

New York Rep. Peter King, the top Republican on the Homeland Security Committee, has blasted the DHS budget because it cuts five of the Coast Guard’s maritime counterterrorism teams, including the one charged with protecting New York City.

A full list of the airports that will get new scanners, according to an administration official:

Boston Logan

Los Angeles

Charlotte Douglas, N.C.

Oakland, Calif.

Chicago O'Hare

Port Columbus, Ohio

Cincinnati

San Diego

Fort Lauderdale, Fla.

San Jose, Calif.

Kansas City, Mo.

IMAGES SEEN WITH FULL BODY SCANNER:

http://images.search.yahoo.com/images/view?back=http%3A%2F%2Fsearch.yahoo.com%2Fsearch%3Fei%3DUTF-8%26p%3Dairport%2Bfull%2Bbody%2Bscanners%2Bimages&w=300&h=240&imgurl=earthhopenetwork.net%2Fx-ray_backscatter_naked_human_body.jpg&size=9.9kB&name=x+ray+backscatter+naked+human+body+jpg&rcurl=http%3A%2F%2Fearthhopenetwork.net%2Fforum%2Fshowthread.php%3Ftid%3D278&rurl=http%3A%2F%2Fearthhopenetwork.net%2Fforum%2Fshowthread.php%3Ftid%3D278&p=airport+full+body+scanners&type=jpeg&no=1&tt=64&oid=e4842f6b3a29e3e6&tit=x+ray+backscatter+naked+human+body+jpg&sigr=11ohs92lp&sigi=11rad0k8b&sigb=12b8o0j2o#FCar=e4842f6b3a29e3e6