The new campaign slogan for the Permanent Commission on the Status of Women certainly gets right to the point. And if anyone is unconvinced of their assertion, then I wish you could have attended Women’s Day at the Capital on Tuesday.  Invited speakers and the public submitted testimony on Tuesday and called attention to many issues like health care, domestic violence and protection, education, employment, women in politics, and childcare.  Two high school students from the Young Women’s Leadership Program essay contest also read their winning essays which focused on breaking the cycle of domestic violence and the need for more women in leadership positions.

Women’s Day was really more just like the morning which was noted by two young women sitting behind me who discussed why there wasn’t a day full of activities.  Ironically, these two left a bit before noon but I internally hoped that was because they were heading over to Trinity College for their program on reproductive health “I had an illegal abortion: telling my story” at 12:15pm.  These women also noted the lack of diversity in the room.  True, most of the women there were white, well dressed and in 40+ age category.  There were several men in attendance.  The attorney general, a male photographer, the father of one essay contest winner, and two men who sat at the center table.  They didn’t have the appropriate name cards so I couldn’t find out who they were.  The morning must have been a bit boring for them because one left about an hour into the testimony and the other looked like he was sleeping.  After studying him for a few moments I noticed that it wasn’t because he was sleeping that he was so still, it was because he was typing on his phone…possibly updating his twitter page as a call for action on these women’s issues?

When one woman noted that the medical field has historically been dominated by females as midwives and mothers and it wasn’t until you could get paid $300k a year that men started taking over, the room erupted with laughter.  It wasn’t all jokes though, and Executive Director Teresa Younger took that very seriously.  I internally applauded Younger when she shushed two female political leaders talking during the testimony of Dr. Stefanie Chambers, which focused on the effect the recession had on women.

Younger has every right to be tense about this day.  For the second year, Governor Rell is calling for the elimination of the (Permanent) Commission on the Status of Women (which has been around for 37 years) in the state’s proposed budget.  Younger fought back last year and managed to save the commission but with a 65% cut in budget which eliminated half of the staff.  Community organizers presenting testimony also talked about the need to have the commission.  Several years ago a women’s clinic in New London faced closure due to funding. The PCSW stepped in to provide support and saved the clinic.

Enjoy this sprinkling of statistics from the morning!

- White women make .77 cents on the dollar compared to male counterparts while African American women make .70 cents and Latina women make .62 cents.

- 56% of medical bankruptcy filers are women.

- 1 in 7 women put off their annual obgyn appointment because of cost.

- Our current state childcare licenses can only care for 40% of children under the age of 5.

- Less than 4% of women serving on state commissions and boards are women of color.

- 80% of philanthropy is given by women, but only 10% of that reaches girls.

- 1 in 8 women are diagnosed with breast cancer, which is the 2^nd leading cause of death for women behind lung cancer.  The risk of getting the cancer is lower in African American women but are 35% more likely to die from the disease then white women because of financial barriers.

- Women spend 68% more on health care then men because of reproductive health.

Any interested individuals may testify by submitting oral and/or written or electronic testimony. For oral testimony, sign-up will begin at 9:00 a.m in the same room as the hearing. Oral testimony should be no longer than 3 minutes. Please refer to the Connecticut General Assembly website for testimony formats (http://www.cga.ct.gov/asp/Content/YourVoice.asp).

Please note the first hour of the hearing is reserved for invited speakers.

For written testimony, submit 25 copies on the hearing date or mail it (18-20 Trinity Street, Hartford, CT 06106) or email it to PCSW (pcsw@cga.ct.gov) by Friday, February 5, 2009.

Women’s Day at the Capitol (formerly known at Making Women Visible Day) is an educational opportunity for the public and PCSW to present testimony regarding issues that affect women in Connecticut to legislators.  The Young Women’s Leadership Program high school essay contest winners will also read their essays.

Among the list of line-item victims are Urban Oaks Organic Farm, Americorps, Ansonia Nature Center, AIDS Interfaith Network, Children of Incarcerated Parents, youth centers, DOC distance learning, pilot asthma awareness, Manchester food pantries, and a youth/substance abuse project in Bridgeport. A complete list of earmarks to be cut is available here (Excel format).

Environmental, educational, and health interests will be among the biggest losers when the budget officially takes effect next week.

CT News Junkie has additional coverage of the losers and winners with this budget.

Photo credit: rbglasson http://www.flickr.com/photos/rbglasson/3505347521/

Shawn Lang (CT AIDS Resource Coalition) and Matt O’Connor (SEBAC) of BetterChoicesforCT.org discuss advocacy efforts at the state capitol to create a more progressive and egalitarian state budget.

Click here to download the MP3

Click here to download the MP3

With the elimination of Hartford’s Social Studies Curriculum Coordinator back in 2006 and now the elimination of funding for this grant, students in Hartford will be spending less time learning about the state and city they live in and the history behind it.  The elimination of the grant also means that three CHS staff members will be out of work starting July 1^st.  Museums included in the grant like the Old State House, Noah Webster House, Pequot Museum, New Britain Museum of American Art, and others will have a significant drop in income from education programs causing more problems keeping staff on payroll.

Hartford County is blessed with being the home to dozens of important and appealing museums.  But it should come as no surprise that the economic troubles of late are having a drastic and immediate effect on arts organizations and museums.  Some museums have been forced to close their doors for several months just to pay electric and heating bills (Bristol Carousel Museum).  Others have decided to forgo filling vacant crucial positions and instead doubling the workload of existing employees (Windsor Historical Society and the Butler McCook House).

Last summer, the Old State House in downtown Hartford was forced to close its doors and lay off eight staff members because the State of Connecticut refused to provide the appropriate funding to the Connecticut Historical Society who had been managing the building since 2004, at the State’s request.  Since then, the Legislative Office Building has been running the building but new hours mean that the building is closed on the weekends.  Now the Governor’s current budget proposal calls for the elimination of funds to keep the Old State House open in addition to cutting funding to other arts organizations, including the new Connecticut Science Center that opened last week.

Museums provide meaningful hands-on experience that cannot be imitated in the classroom.  A 90 minute field trip on the American Revolution in Connecticut covers not only history but science, math, and reading through engaging activities using actual objects that build upon lessons learned in the classroom.  Museums are finding it increasingly difficult to compete with stricter testing guidelines in the public schools or children who would rather stare at video games for hours a day.

Think about it: Why is it that consumers will spend $10.50 to go see a two hour movie at the theater with artificial experiences, but won’t spend $6 to go to a museum and experience the past right at your fingertips?

Photo credit: http://www.flickr.com/photos/keithlam/

Click here to download the MP3

Click here to download the MP3

The governor is going all out in an effort to protect the rich and corporations from making the sacrifice that she is asking of the working class and the poor. We have heard about the charge that Rell intentionally came up with a deficit calculation $ 2 billion lower than the Democrats’ estimate, so she could submit a budget proposal which didn’t include tax increases.

This week Rell pulled the plug on an absurd plan to submit a proposal which would have allowed casinos to serve alcohol 24 hours a day, following the tragic death of Connecticut College student and humanitarian Elizabeth Durante, who was riding in a vehicle that was struck by a drunk driver traveling the wrong way on I-395. Daniel Musser, who faces numerous charges including second degree manslaughter with a motor vehicle while intoxicated, told police that he had been drinking at Mohegan Sun.

The governor has also taken a meat cleaver to crucial social services in her budget proposal, including mental health and substance abuse treatment. During a February 20 Appropriations Committee public hearing at the Capitol, community residents and their loved ones pleaded with committee members to preserve an assortment of services that have brought hope and stability to their lives. One beneficiary of state services spoke about being blown off by Rell’s office staff after making numerous phone calls to explain how he would be harmed by the governor’s budget proposal. That’s a stark contradiction of the Oscar worthy performance we saw from Rell during her State of the State Address last month, as she paused dramatically while telling state residents how she had lost sleep while crafting her budget.

During this economic downturn, the state’s most vulnerable populations will need more help, not less. Submitting bogus budget proposals, slashing funding for already underfunded social services, scapegoating state employees and sanctioning revenue enhancing drinking marathons are not the answers to Connecticut’s fiscal dilemma. The wealthy and corporations are the group best equipped to sacrifice during one of the darkest periods in our state’s history.The governor should not be trying to balance Connecticut’s books on the backs of those who are already overburdened.

Photo credit: Spike55151 – http://www.flickr.com/photos/spike55151/418782213/

Governor Rell: 860-566-4840 Toll Free: 800-406-1527 TDD: 860-524-7397 or Governor.Rell@ct.gov

Senate Democrats: 860-240-8600 Toll Free: 800-842-1420

Senate Republicans: 860-240-8800 Toll Free: 800-842-1421

State Representatives House Democrats: 860-240-8500 Toll Free: 800-842-1423

State Representatives House Republicans: 860-240-8700 Toll Free:800-842-1423

Log on to www.votesmart.org to identify your legislators. For more info, contact me at 860-570-0782 or samuelssloflo@aol.com .