Reminder: Post-Election Analysis Call on Monday, 11/12 at 8 PM EST

You might be wondering: What do the election results mean for AAUW’s priority issues? How will the presidential election results affect our push for pay equity legislation? Is the 113th Congress likely to make changes to education policy, or confirm federal judges who uphold civil rights laws and established precedents?

To answer these questions and more, AAUW is holding an exclusive post-election call for you, our top members and supporters, on Monday, November 12, at 8 p.m. EST. AAUW’s Director of Public Policy and Government Relations Lisa Maatz will provide an expert analysis of the election results and what they mean for AAUW’s priority issues, as well as an overview of how women voted and their impact on the results.

WHAT: Post-Election Analysis Call for AAUW Members and Supporters

WHEN: Monday, November 12, at 8 p.m. EST

RSVP using this online form

*NOTE: You must complete the RSVP form to receive the call-in information.

Call-in information will be provided on Monday morning to everyone who completes the RSVP form.

The International Committee to Meet on November 11

The International Committee is set to meet at 2:00 PM, on Sunday, November 11, at the Olympic Diner in Kingston (map).

The committee hopes to carry forward the momentum of the influential New York State AAUW international program, My Sister’s Keeper (MSK), which wrapped up earlier this year. We will discuss ways to continue working toward the goals of MSK, as well as potential new directions that the Branch can take in our international advocacy.

Please join us to talk about ideas for programs, charities to support, potential areas of focus, and more.

If you have any questions, please contact Jennifer Mayfield at jennifer.a.mayfield@gmail.com.

10/20: Hear about Clean Elections & Move to Amend at Kingston Library

Saturday, October 20
1 PM
Kingston Library
2nd Floor, Community Room
55 Franklin Street, Kingston

Irene Miller will talk to us about Clean Money, Clean Elections and Maggie Williams will speak about the fast-growing Move to Amend initiative to overturn the Supreme Court’s 2010 Citizens United decision.

Bring a friend or two and join us!

http://www.facebook.com/events/443688779001181

Susan H., 845-389-3961
susan-holland@usa.net

Happy Ada Lovelace Day!

Today, October 16, is Ada Lovelace Day, a day to celebrate women’s achievements in the STEM fields (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math).

In 2009, a group called Finding Ada started a petition on the PledgeBank website, calling for a day of blogging about women’s achievements in STEM. The group called out the lack of role models and examples of women’s successes as one of the biggest obstacles to increasing women and girls’ participation in STEM. Fitting for a group devoted to science, the organizers had scientific evidence to back up their argument: psychological studies have shown that is more important and helpful for women to have female role models than for men to have male role models.

As psychologist Penelope Lockwood, a member of the founding group and an author of studies on women in STEM said, “Outstanding women can function as inspirational examples of success, illustrating the kinds of achievements that are possible for women around them. They demonstrate that it is possible to overcome traditional gender barriers, indicating to other women that high levels of success are indeed attainable.”

With that guiding philosophy, Finding Ada launched a publicity campaign to showcase women with successful STEM careers. While many people might cite the low rate of women’s participation in STEM as a cause for a dearth of female role models, the charter members of Finding Ada knew better. As successful STEM professionals themselves, they recognized that there are plenty of unsung success stories to be shared and tons of role models waiting to be discovered. Finding Ada pinpointed their objective: identify these accomplished women, increase their visibility, show the world the diverse spectrum of successful women in STEM disciplines, and inspire women.

Ada Lovelace, the English mathematician and writer that the group picked as their namesake is one of the world’s earliest women STEM pioneers and among the most inspiring. Lovelace’s most famous work was creating an algorithm for Charles Babbage’s “analytical engine,” which is widely regarded as the first model for a computer. Lovelace’s algorithm, written to be processed by Babbage’s machine, is history’s very first computer program. A woman far ahead of her time, Lovelace wrote her code in the 1840s. She also recognized the potential power of “analytical engine” that eluded everyone else in her era, even the machine’s creator. While Babbage saw the machine as merely a type of calculator, Lovelace could envision far more creative functions using more abstract mathematical operations. “Supposing, for instance,” she wrote, “that the fundamental relations of pitched sounds in the science of harmony and of musical composition were susceptible of such expression and adaptations, the engine might compose elaborate and scientific pieces of music of any degree of complexity or extent.” While Babbage could only picture his theoretical machine solving math problems, Lovelace foresaw computer programs that would compose complex music.

A century after she wrote them, Lovelace’s notes became integral in Alan Turning’s work developing the first modern computers in the 1940s. Now, nearly every day, we all interact with computer programs and algorithms—Lovelace’s legacy, but very few people know about her work. Finding Ada chose to illuminate Lovelace because of her innovative vision and massive contribution to the foundation of modern technology. Discovering her story is an electrifying inspiration for women in tech, especially in consideration of the infamously male-dominated culture of computer sciences today.

While her contributions were certainly singular, Lovelace’s story of relative obscurity is not unique. Many contributions by women to STEM fields throughout history and presently are overlooked, overshadowed, or unknown. Using Lovelace’s poignant example, Finding Ada hopes to collect stories and information about STEM women and spread them around the world to inspire new generations of women STEM professionals. In this, the event’s fourth year, the group has organized large events on three continents and the internet and hopes to expand even further in years to come. To learn more or contribute your own stories about women in STEM, visit http://findingada.com/.

Ada Lovelace

To learn more:

Learn about Planned Parenthood, Regionally and Nationally, Oct. 16

Ruth Ellen Blodgett

Ruth-Ellen Blodgett is President and CEO of Planned Parenthood Mid-Hudson Valley, which extends from Albany to Rockland County.She is familiar with the issues specific to health care in New York State, having worked in health care administration in upstate New York . She is known for her clarity as a speaker and her knowledge of the issues affecting Planned Parenthood.

Ruth-Ellen Blodgett’s talk on “Planned Parenthood, Locally and Nationally” is scheduled for Tuesday, October 16 at 5 PM in the Kingston Library Community Room, 55 Franklin Street.

The talk and discussion is part of the Kingston Branch of AAUW’s Public Policy Committee meeting and is open to the public, with special invitation to members of the Ulster County Activist Council of the Planned Parenthood Mid-Hudson Valley Action Fund.

After the discussion with the audience, all are invited to Keegan Ales, located around the corner from the library at 20 Saint James Street. All are welcome.— Doris Goldberg

10/2: Common Council to vote on Climate Action Plan at 7:30 tonight – please come out!

The Climate Action Plan will be discussed at the Common Council Meeting tonight (10/2) at City Hall, 420 Broadway, Kingston. The meeting starts at 7:30 PM, with public comment 8th on the agenda. Please come out to give support!

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Kingston Common Council to vote on Climate Action Plan Tuesday

KINGSTON, N.Y. – A Common Council committee has unanimously recommended the adoption of a 268-page report outlining ways in which the city’s government and residents can save energy costs and “become a more sustainable” community.

Alderman Thomas Hoffay, D-Ward 2, the council’s majority leader, said the so-called “City of Kingston Climate Action Plan” was endorsed by the Public Safety/General Government Committee Thursday night.

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Kingston aldermen debate ‘Climate Action Plan’ on eve of vote (video)

KINGSTON, N.Y. – Debate turned feisty Monday night between two Democratic members of the Common Council over a so-called “Climate Action Plan” for Kingston.

Alderman Robert Senor, D-Ward 8, questioned the wisdom of adopting the plan, which has earned the endorsement of the Public Safety/General Government Committee.

Community Read: The New Jim Crow

Lecture Series and Community Read on Issues
of Race and Imprisonment in the United States

Everette Hodge Center, 15-21 Franklin Street, Kingston

First Meeting: Tuesday, October 9, 6 PM to 8 PM

The Sadie Peterson Delaney African Roots Library of Poughkeepsie is teaming up with AAUW Kingston, Occupy Kingston, and other groups to sponsor a lecture series and community read organized around The New Jim Crow: Mass Incarceration in the Age of Colorblindness by Michelle Alexander, a New York Times bestselling book about the mass incarceration rates of African Americans in the contemporary United States. The group will meet on six Tuesdays: 10/9 10/23, 11/6, 11/20, 12/4, and 12/18.

The United States has the highest incarceration rate in the world. Starting in the 1970s, the number of Americans residing in jails has risen more than 500% to total 2.2 million people. Though African Americans make up a little more than 12% of the total U.S. population, nearly half of those behind bars, or roughly 900,000 inmates, are black.

These statistics mean that African Americans are nearly six times as likely to be incarcerated as whites.
The racial disparity also encompasses Hispanics, who are twice as likely to be sent to jail as whites.
Laws and other targeting devices currently in place help to maintain and grow this tremendously unjust and repressive situation. The laws are there for specific reasons which have little to do with enhancing public safety and welfare.

We will be running this program with the dual purpose of educating ourselves on the facts today as well as looking at all we can do to change this untenable, destructive state of affairs. We will have guest speakers familiar with the particular topics highlighted in different chapters, and we’ll be encouraging a robust dialogue amongst ourselves leading to resolute and productive action.

Copies of the book are available. Come even if you are not reading the book!
Contact: Odell Winfield, 914-388-3092, odell_winfield@yahoo.com

Have You Taken Steps to Prepare for an Emergency?

September is National Preparedness Month. Severe weather causes the most frequent emergencies, but there are other emergencies, too. Have you taken steps to prepare for an emergency?

According to the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), three elements of good preparation are:

FEMA | Federal Emergency Management Agency (Photo credit: Inventorchris)

Being Informed— Learn about the potential emergencies that can happen where you live and know the appropriate ways to respond to them.
Making a Plan
— Your family may not be together when disaster strikes, so it is important to plan what you would do in different situations. How would you get to a safe place? How would you contact one another and get back together?
Building a Kit — Find a list of suggested items to include in an emergency supply kit.

These links will connect you with great material to help you prepare. Thanks to branch member Marj Roberts for providing this reminder of the importance of preparing.

9/12: NYS Senate District 46 Democratic Candidate Forum in Kingston

Hello, AAUW Kingston and friends! Please join our branch, which is sponsoring this forum, this Wednesday evening:

NYS Senate District 46 Democratic Candidate Forum
Wednesday, September 12
6 PM to 8 PM
Kingston High School Auditorium
403 Broadway, Kingston, NY

All three Democratic Senatorial candidates — Thomas Dolan, Monica Arias
Miranda, and Cecilia Tkaczyk — have been invited to, and plan to participate
in, the forum.

The Democratic Primary will take place the following day, Thursday, September
13, from noon to 9 PM.

The purpose of this forum is to give the residents of Ulster County, and beyond, an opportunity to ask questions and get answers about issues that are important to them, so they can make an informed choice at the polls on Thursday, and then again in November. These issues include a broad range of topics related to economic development, education, the environment, government spending, health care, and much more.

The moderator, branch member Irene Miller, will ask each candidate the same opening question, followed by a series of questions. Members of the audience and the news media will be invited to submit their questions, which will be presented by the moderator to the candidates.

NYS SD 46 map:
http://www.latfor.state.ny.us/maps/2012s/fs46.pdf

Facebook event link:
http://www.facebook.com/events/256038337833058/

Women’s Equality Day Protest, August 26, 2012

HUDSON VALLEY PROTEST TO DEFEND WOMEN’S RIGHTS

On Sunday Aug. 26, Women’s Equality Day in America, AAUW Kingston joins with other Hudson Valley advocates of women’s rights in New Paltz, N.Y., to march and rally in opposition to what is being called the ongoing “War on Women.”

Women’s Equality Day commemorates the 1920 passage of the 19th Amendment, giving women the right to vote after a 100-year struggle for basic rights including suffrage for women. Congress in 1971 designated Aug. 26 a perpetual “Women’s Equality Day” after New York Congresswoman Bella Abzug introduced the legislation.

Protests in support of women’s rights will take place in a number of cities, such as Los Angeles, San Francisco, New York, and Chicago on Aug. 26, the day before the Republican Party Convention in Tampa, in opposition to legislative and rhetorical attacks on women and women’s rights taking place across the nation.

These attacks, according to the American Civil Liberties Union, “include a wide range of policy efforts designed to place restrictions on women’s health care and erode protections for women and their families. Examples at the state and federal level have included restricting contraception; cutting off funding for Planned Parenthood; state-mandated, medically unnecessary ultrasounds; abortion taxes; abortion waiting periods; forcing women to tell their employers why they want birth control, and prohibiting insurance companies from including abortion coverage in their policies.”

According to Donna Goodman of New Paltz, an organizer of the local demonstration: “Women have always known that winning the right to vote ‹ as important as it was ‹ still left many rights yet to be gained. Some additional advances have been obtained in recent decades, but political attacks on women’s rights from the right wing have been sharply increasing in the last couple of years. Last year alone, 26 different states enacted new anti-choice laws. The Women’s Equality Day protests in the mid-Hudson region and elsewhere are part of the fightback. We demand full equality!”

The Hudson Valley demonstration begins with a 1 p.m. rally in Peace Park next to New Paltz Village Hall (25 Plattekill Ave.). This will be followed by a march with signs through the downtown village district, returning to the park for a brief final rally. (In event of inclement weather, the rally will be inside the hall.)

The various actions in the U.S. Aug. 26 are in response to a call for protests by a new activist/feminist organization titled Women Organized to Resist and Defend (WORD), which “is dedicated to building the struggle for women’s rights and equality for all.” The organizers emphasize “Women and men of all ages, nationalities and sexual orientations are invited to join in this campaign.”

An endorser list for the New Paltz event is in formation, but so far includes: the American Association of University Women (Kingston), Hudson Valley Activist Newsletter, NAACP (Ellenville), Occupy New Paltz, Peace and Social Progress Now, Women in Black (New Paltz), Middle East Crisis Response, End New Jim Crow Action Network, Real Majority Project. A partial list of those endorsing the national events Aug. 26, including the New Paltz rally, include: Roseanne Barr, actor; Heidi Boghosian, Executive Director, National Lawyers Guild; Leah Bolger, President, Veterans for Peace; Farheen Hakeem, National Co-Chair, Green Party of the United States; Sarah Sloan and Peta Lindsay, ANSWER Coalition.

The Aug. 26 demonstration is being organized by the Hudson Valley Activist Newsletter on behalf of nine Mid-Hudson women activists: Ariana Basco, Donna Goodman, Elizabeth Gross, Margaret Human, Judith Karpova, Terry Leroy, Helaine Meisler, Joanne Steele, Barbara Upton: For information about the New Paltz event contact donna0726@earthlink.net, or (845) 255-5779.

Details about the national events are at http://www.defendwomensrights.org/