Durham Democratic Women

* pay your dues * pay your dues * pay your dues * pay your dues * pay your dues *

It's time for Durham County Precinct Meetings! See meeting info by precinct here.
Snow Cancellations:
meetings scheduled for Tues, 2/24 will mostly likely be held Tues. 3/3. Updates will be posted at the link above as they come in.

If your precinct is not organized, email durhamcosecretary@gmail.com to help organize it!
Don't know your precinct? Look it up here.

Durham County Democratic Party
Next meetings:

March 17 - Stanford L. Warren Branch Library

County Convention April 18
District Conventions May 16

This ERA resolution has been prepared for you to take your precinct meetings to be considered for adoption by your precincts. See/download PDF here.
Resolution How-to here

Feb 24: Equal Rights Amendment to Be Introduced Next Week in North Carolina House by

Feb. 19: Senator Floyd McKissick confirmed that he will be the primary sponsor of the ERA bill in the State Senate this long session. Please contact his office to thank him.
(919) 733-4599
Floyd.McKissick@ncleg.net
Legislative Assistant: Rosita Littlejohn.
Let him know we are behind him 100%.

ERA legislation fell just 3 states short of ratification in 1982.
In 2015, just a few states are introducing ratification legislation, and one of them is
North Carolina. Get Involved!

Go to the NC4ERA Website!

Become Informed - Visit our ERA Page

Visit Planned Parenthood Action

Visit NARAL
Pro-Choice North Carolina

NCDP precinct organizing underway
by Betsy Muse 2/19/2015

...Over the next few weeks, precincts will be organizing, meeting and electing new officers. It is not too late to get in on the action. OK, I know, it really isn't that big of a deal, right? Wrong.
It can be a very big deal, especially if you are a precinct involved in replacing an elected official who leaves office before their term is up [hint: see Senator Jeff Jackson, below, and here]...
Being involved at the precinct level is also a big deal if you are part of an active precinct that works together to get out the vote... If your precinct is already organized, all you have to do is show up. You do not have to volunteer to do anything right away... If your precinct is not organized, consider volunteering to lead that effort. Initially, it only takes five registered Democrats attending a precinct meeting along with an election of officers to organize a precinct. Only five people. How hard can it be?

Organized precincts are the key to winning elections, so whether you are attending an existing meeting or trying to organize your own precinct, the effort is well worth your time. read article

See Durham precinct meeting info by precinct here.
If your precinct is not organized, email durhamcosecretary@gmail.com to help organize it!
Don't know your precinct? Look it up here.

Living Wage Project Launch Party

Tuesday, March 10
7pm
Fullsteam Brewery [map]

726 Rigsbee Ave, Durham, North Carolina 27701

Come join the People's Alliance, along with community partners and allies, for the launch of the new Durham Living Wage Project - Durham's first voluntary, living wage certification program. The celebration will take place at Fullsteam Brewery, a Certified Living Wage employer and one of the founding businesses of the campaign. The event is open to the public, so come learn about why we need a living wage in Durham and how the certification program works. Meet local living wage businesses and hear about plans to publicize the program, including a crowdfunding campaign to raise additional support and spread the word.

DDW Exclusive:
See the Fact-Filled Presentation of our January meeting
Losing 2014: The Missing Pieces

click above to enlarge

Help make International Family Planning a Priority Today!
Join Population Connection
for Capitol Hill Days
Friday, April 10 -Tuesday, April 14 in Washington, DC.

The weekend consists of informational sessions and interactive advocacy training focused on the pressing need for U.S. investment in international family planning, leading up to lobby visits on Capitol Hill. The program is free to attend. Student scholarships are available for student travel and housing, but registration is required. For more information, contact Christina Ospina at 202-332-2200, ext. 7715 or cospina@popconnect.org.
Registration form Website Event Page

Make a Donation

Durham Democratic Women is entirely run by volunteers and financed by generous donations like yours!
Thank you for your support.

Become a Member

Speak Out!
Write a Letter To The Editor !

...of your local paper or news outlet. This is a very important and effective tool. We need many different people to write on topics we care about.

--or--
Write effective op-eds to make your voice heard!

Everything you need to know to write letters is on our advocacy page.
And when you send it -- send a copy to us too -- we'll print it on our website…
durhamdemwomen@gmail.com

Thank you so much!

click above to enlarge

This is the best explanation of gerrymandering you will ever see
How to steal an election: a visual guide
By Christopher Ingraham March 1
Washington Post

Gerrymandering -- drawing political boundaries to give your party a numeric advantage over an opposing party -- is a difficult process to explain. If you find the notion confusing, check out the chart above -- adapted from one posted to Reddit this weekend -- and wonder no more. read article

What the massive snowfall in Boston tells us about global warming
By Chris Mooney February 10
Washington Post

...The snowfall in Boston lately is simply insane...
You could treat this as ordinary weather, or, you could think about it in a climate context. Counter-intuitive though it may sound, the fact remains that ... some kinds of winter precipitation could indeed be more intense because we’re in a warming world.

...“Sea surface temperatures off the coast of New England right now are at record levels, 11.5C (21F) warmer than normal in some locations,” says Penn State climate researcher Michael Mann. “There is [a] direct relationship between the surface warmth of the ocean and the amount of moisture in the air. What that means is that this storm will be feeding off these very warm seas, producing very large amounts of snow as spiraling winds of the storm squeeze that moisture out of the air, cool, it, and deposit it as snow inland.” ...Heavy snows mean the temperature is just below freezing, any cooler and the amount would be a lot less,” adds Kevin Trenberth, a climate expert at the National Center for Atmospheric Research. “Warmer waters off the coast help elevate winter temperatures and contribute to the greater snow amounts. This is how global warming plays a role.”

... sooner or later we’re going to have to get past the idea that global warming and huge amounts of snow are somehow contradictory. read article

Massive crowd attends vigil for Chapel Hill shooting victims Feb 11, 2015 WNCN watch

The Myth of the Good Guy With a Gun
The NRA is wrong: Owning a gun is far more likely to harm you than protect you.
By Evan DeFilippis and Devin Hughes Slate

Wayne LaPierre of the National Rifle Association issued a passionate call to arms last year, painting a bleak picture of a dystopian America on the brink of collapse... LaPierre’s central message: Owning a gun is the solution... Tragically, a record number of Americans subscribe to some version of this mythology, with 63 percent... believing that guns truly do make them safer. The public’s confidence in firearms, however, is woefully misguided: The evidence overwhelmingly shows that guns leave everybody less safe, including their owners.

A study from October 2013 analyzed data from 27 developed nations to examine the impact of firearm prevalence on the mortality rate. It found an extremely strong direct relationship between the number of firearms and firearm deaths. The paper concludes: “The current study debunks the widely quoted hypothesis that guns make a nation safer.” ...The evidence against firearm ownership becomes even stronger when suicides and accidents are included in the analysis... another recent study from May of 2013 analyzed the impact of state firearm laws on firearm-related fatalities. It found that the most gun-restrictive states have significantly fewer firearm fatalities than the states with the least restrictive laws. read comprehensive article
Go to our
Preventing Gun Violence Page

'Religious freedom' bill filed amid protest
January 28 By Laura Leslie WRAL

The first Senate bill filed Wednesday would allow magistrates and employees of county registers of deeds offices to refuse to perform marriages or issue licenses due to religious objections. Some Democratic lawmakers and gay rights advocates say it would legitimize discrimination. Senate Bill 2, filed by Senate President Pro Tem Phil Berger, would allow any magistrate or register of deeds employee to recuse himself or herself from performing all types of marriage for a period of six months for "sincerely held religious objection."

...At a press conference Wednesday morning, Democratic lawmakers and advocates for gay and lesbian North Carolinians said such a proposal would allow public servants sworn to uphold the Constitution to decide which parts they wish to uphold. "In this nation, we as citizens do not have to pass any government employee's personal religious test in order to receive a government service," said Sen. Jeff Jackson, D-Mecklenburg. "Whether it's a prosecutor policeman, magistrate or mailman, government offices that are open to the public must be open to everyone on the same terms." read article/watch video
Go to our LGBTQ Page

The Secret History of Women in the Senate
By LIZA MUNDY January/February 2015
Politico

Kay Hagan just wanted to swim. It was late 2008, and the Democrat was newly arrived on Capitol Hill as North Carolina’s junior senator-elect. But Hagan was told that the Senate pool was males-only. Why? Because some of the male senators liked to swim naked. It took an intervention by Senator Chuck Schumer, head of the Rules Committee, to put a stop to the practice, but even then “it was a fight,” remembers pollster Celinda Lake, who heard about the incident when the pool revolt was the talk among Washington women...
In the entire history of the United States Senate, a mere 44 women have served. Ever. Those few who have were elected to a club they were never meant to join, and their history in the chamber is marked by sexism both spectacular and small.
read story

Go to Our Women's Rights Page

High poverty schools receive vast majority of state’s D and F grades
Lindsay Wagner Thursday, February 5, 2015
Progressive Pulse

Of the nearly 30 percent of North Carolina’s schools receiving letter grades of D or F from the state, almost all of them are designated as high poverty schools with at least 50 percent of their students receiving free or reduced lunch. “The only thing these grades tell us is where our poor children go to school and where our rich children go to school,” said Lynn Shoemaker, a 23 year veteran public school teacher representing the advocacy group Public Schools First NC at a press conference held by Senate Democrats. read article
Go to our North Carolina Page

ICYMI: The Daily Show’s Jon Stewart washes his hands of Senator Thom Tillis
Clayton Henkel Feb. 5, 2015 Progressive Pulse

GOOD NEWS ABOUT DEMOCRATS!
DECEMBER 12, 2014
CONGRATULATIONS TO THE TEN COUNTIES WHICH PRODUCED
THE HIGHEST PERCENTAGE
OF VOTES FOR SENATOR HAGAN IN 2014!
HIGHEST PERCENTAGE –
DURHAM COUNTY – 76.62%
COUNTY CHAIR TRACY BURNS-VANN
pictured above with Michelle Obama
read Good News About Democrats here

WNC women call for passage of Equal Rights Amendment
Beth Walton March 3, 2015
Citizen Times

...State Sen. Floyd McKissick, D-Durham, is co-sponsoring the bill in the Senate. "It's hard to imagine this is something that should even be debated," he said. "It is so far beyond comprehension that we are actually debating that women deserve equal rights in 2015."

...Congress passed the ERA in the early 1970s, but after 10 years of lobbying, the amendment fell three states short of ratification. At the 1982 deadline, the ERA had been ratified by 35 states — just short of the 3/4needed to add it to the Constitution. Lawmakers have since reintroduced the ERA in every session of Congress to no avail. Polls continually show bipartisan, widespread support for constitutional protection of women's rights, but the Supreme Court has denied claims of sex discrimination by women, said Neuwirth, who published the book "Equal Means Equal: Why the Time for an Equal Rights Amendment Is Now" this year. "The law is insufficient,"

State Rep. Carla Cunningham, D-Mecklenburg, is a primary sponsor of the bill in the House. "I believe 2016 is going to be the year of the women," she said. "Even though we are starting the push now, we know it probably won't happen this time, but at least it is on the minds of women across the state." read article

Adopt the ERA resolution at your precinct meeting: See/download PDF here.
Resolution How-to here

click above to enlarge

March is
Women's History Month!
Presidential Proclamation here

Black, queer, feminist, erased from history: Meet the most important legal scholar you’ve likely never heard of
BRITTNEY COOPER FEB 18, 2015 Salon

Ruth Bader Ginsburg is this Supreme Court's liberal hero, but her work sits on the shoulders of Dr. Pauli Murray read article

Tillis votes to oppose NC native's nomination for US Attorney General; Burr concurs
by Renee Schoof February 26, 2015
News & Observer

...The Senate Judiciary Committee voted Thursday morning to advance the nomination of Loretta Lynch as U.S. Attorney General, minus the support of fellow North Carolinians Sen. Thom Tillis and Sen. Richard Burr. The 12 to 8 vote sends her confirmation to the full Senate. All of the votes against her came from Republicans.
...In a statement announcing his intentions, Tillis said: “...it appears that she would represent little, if any, tangible policy or management difference from Attorney General Eric Holder.”
Tillis added: “By all indications, Ms. Lynch would continue to pursue the costly and frivolous lawsuit against the state of North Carolina to overturn a commonsense and constitutionally sound voter ID law.”

The Associated Press reported late in the day that Burr said he was also unable to support Lynch’s nomination, because of the voter identification lawsuit. read article

-also see-
Charlotte Observer O-Pinion:
Sen. Thom Tillis opposes Loretta Lynch nomination

Same-sex marriage debated as magistrates law passes Senate
By Mark Binker Feb 25, 2015 WRAL

Senators debated the rights of same-sex couples Wednesday morning as they voted in favor of a bill that would allow certain court officials to opt out of participating in marriages... The vote was 32-16 after a roughly two-hour debate. The bill now heads to the state House. read article
-- Also see --
NC Policy Watch: Senate leaders push to legalize discrimination

N&O: NC Senate approves bill to exempt magistrates from marriages with videos of Sen. Jackson and Sen. Newton

Equal Rights Amendment to Be Introduced Next Week in North Carolina House by Representative Carla Cunningham
For the first time since 1982, equality without regard to gender leads the women's agenda as the state considers regulatory issues limiting access to reproductive health care, fair wages, and educational opportunities
Edited by: Christopher Simmons
Feb. 24, 2015 (SEND2PRESS NEWSWIRE)

Ninety-two years after the Equal Rights Amendment was first introduced, North Carolina Rep. Carla Cunningham says she is ready to bring it back to life, according to the Asheville Chapter of the National Organization for Women. Cunningham (D, Mecklenburg) announced at a North Carolina Women United gathering Monday night, which included Asheville NOW leaders, that the Amendment would be introduced in the N.C. House. Sen. Terry Van Duyn (D, Buncombe) said she will introduce it into the N.C. Senate.

"...We will get it done," Cunningham said. "I believe 2016 is going to be the year of the woman. I believe we will get it done." read article

Lawmaking Is Art Professor’s Unfinished Work
By SHERYL GAY STOLBERG
FEB. 23, 2015 New York Times

Representative Alma Adams, a freshman Democrat from North Carolina, set a record the moment she took the oath of office. After winning election in November, she was sworn in immediately to fill a vacant seat, and for the first time in history, there were 100 women in Congress. read article

Durham Democratic Women
at the Moral March on Raleigh!
What a great day for a march! Thanks to all who marched with us. Rev. Barber was awesome! See photo gallery

click above to enlarge

DDW in
Good News About Democrats!
Feb 16, 2015

Lawsuit Might Mean Loss For NC Women
February 19, 2015 by Jennifer Ferris
Women AdvaNCe

...In a few short weeks, the Supreme Court will hear opening arguments on King v. Burwell, a lawsuit that alleges Obamacare subsidies are actively harming a small subset of taxpayers. If the suit wins, insurance healthcare subsidies in the 37 states that use the federal insurance marketplace will be cut. For the average North Carolina marketplace subscriber, this could mean insurance going up by more than $3,320 a year. That’s 182,000 people who might lose their ability to afford health insurance overnight. Let’s add those to the 319,000 North Carolina residents who fall into the Medicaid Gap, and the picture becomes clear: the health and livelihood of our state’s residents is not a legislative priority. ...What’s frustrating is that if NC had set up its own health insurance marketplace, this lawsuit wouldn’t be a threat. read article

Also see N&O:
King v. Burwell puts the ACA at risk

Gene Nichol's response to recommendation by UNC Board of Governors' group to close UNC Poverty Center
February 18, 2015 N&O

...I have been repeatedly informed, even officially, that my opinion pieces have “caused great ire and dismay” among state officials and that, unless I stopped publishing in The News & Observer, “external forces might combine in the months ahead” to force my dismissal. Today those threats are brought to fruition. The Board of Governors’ tedious, expensive and supremely dishonest review process yields the result it sought all along – closing the Poverty Center. This charade, and the censorship it triggers, demeans the board, the university, academic freedom and the Constitution... The Poverty Center runs on an annual budget of about $120,000. None comes from the state. Grant funding has been secured through 2016. These private dollars will now be returned. UNC will have fewer resources, not more. read column

Sen. Jeff Jackson has Senate to himself
By Jim Morrill
Feb. 17, 2015
Charlotte Observer

Sen. Jeff Jackson has had a busy day.

He’s expanded Medicaid, restored university funding, approved non-partisan redistricting, made investments in wind and solar energy, outlawed puppy mills and enacted broad-based economic development.

And he may just be getting started. On a day when icy roads and a curtailed schedule kept most lawmakers home, Jackson, a Charlotte Democrat, showed up at his legislative office for a morning meeting. When his appointment failed to show, he went to work. “I thought I would fix the state,” he said read article

also see him on Rachel Maddow ---
This Southern Democrat Showed the Tea Party Who’s Boss Today

North Carolina

Webpages for:
HOUSE & SENATE
As we continue through the 2015 session, see what our NC lawmakers have been up to on our "North Carolina" page. Also see NAACP/Moral Mondays Page

The War on the War on Poverty:
North Carolina conservatives are ousting the state's anti-poverty advocates
By Michael A. Cooper Jr. Feb 15, 2015
New Republic

...Ranked better than average in poverty in 2005, North Carolina has since experienced the
greatest increase in concentrated poverty in the country... The Center on Poverty, Work and Opportunity was formed by [John] Edwards... and UNC Law School Dean Gene Nichol with a stated mission to “advocate for proposals, policies and services to mitigate poverty in North Carolina.” ...Then Republicans [gained] control of Raleigh for the first time since the Reconstruction. Despite the state's fifth-highest unemployment rate in the nation, legislators cut unemployment benefits, refused to expand Medicaid, slashed taxes on the rich and raised them on the poor. North Carolina fell to eleventh worst in poverty. So Nichol joined the state's Moral Mondays civil disobedience movement and began excoriating state government in columns for the News & Observer.

...With the American labor movement in decline, the last bastion of liberalism, especially in the south, is academia. But Nichol, and the center he helped build, today are on the verge of being ousted by the very same right-wing, free-market ideologues who are partly responsible for--and see no problem with--the state's spiraling poverty... Last month, the [The University of North Carolina system’s Board of Governors]
BOG forced UNC system President Tom Ross into early retirement, for no reason except need for a “leadership transition...” Later this month, the BOG will vote whether to close the Poverty Center, a goal of North Carolina Republicans since the day it was founded. read article

Five bills you may have missed this week, but will want to keep on your radar
Clayton Henkel February 13, 2015
Progressive Pulse

1. Omnibus Economic Development Improvements - This bill ... would restore the Film Incentive and Historic Rehabilitation Tax Credits. House Bill 89 also calls for the the state Earned Income Tax Credit to be re-established, which ended in 2014.
2. Disapprove MEC Oil and Gas Rules – This measure is intended to slow down the fracking process...
4. Curbside Voting ID’s – If you thought the omnibus voter ID bill of 2013 covered it all, you were mistaken. Senate Bill 49 would extend the need for a photo ID to those individuals who use curbside voting – typically the elderly or those with a physical handicap. If signed into law by Gov. Pat McCrory, this measure would take effect January 1, 2016. read all

Tea Party Legislature Targets University of North Carolina In Major Assault On Higher Learning 02/11/2015 by Igor Bobic Huffington Post

Art Pope, the wealthy owner of a chain of dollar stores, became a pioneer in the use of big money to seize power at the state level in 2010, when he underwrote a tea party takeover of the state legislature. It was the first time Republicans controlled both chambers in more than 100 years, and it was fueled largely by the Koch-allied Pope Foundation.

While North Carolina is a swing state in presidential elections, the dominance of Pope and the tea party has shifted the state's politics in a dramatically conservative direction, sparking the Moral Mondays protests... because North Carolina was the first state to be so thoroughly dominated by big money from a single donor with a deeply ideological agenda, what's happening there now could serve as a window into the future fate of other states... If North Carolina is any indication, the nation's system of publicly funded higher education, as of now the envy of the world, will be threatened. read article
Go to our Education Page

Check out Larry Hall's great new website to help us stay informed and involved! ncdemocraticleader.com

Call the Governor
(919) 814-2000
Email McCrory

Looking for something that used to be on this page?
Check Out Pages for Each Issue Under "Advocacy" Tab Above

Time to renew your DDW membership!
$20 covers one calendar year, from January-December.
please print and fill out this form;
then mail with your check.
100% of your $20
goes toward our local and statewide Democratic Women campaigns and events.

Links:
Durham County Board of Elections
Democratic Women of NC
Durham Co. Democratic Party
NC Democratic Party
Durham People's Alliance
NAACP of NC
NC State Board of Elections
BarackObama.com

Tweets by @durhamdemwomen

Voter Protection
Hotlines:
1-888-OUR-VOTE
[1-888-687-8683]

Your source
for voter information
ncelectionconnection.com

League of Women Voters
Voter Information Page

NORTH CAROLINA VOTER GUIDELINES--Good website to quickly check all the dates and facts about voting now in NC

Letter-Writing Info

Represent Durham Democratic Women:
Buy yourself a shirt!

click above for info on these fair judges

PRINT SHOP
Handouts to view or print:

two
important handouts:
North Carolina
Voter’s Bill of Rights

Don’t Be Fooled. You Can Vote!

Click to print your own little DDW info cards, cut & hand out!

Durham Democratic Women
Headlines
go to our
members page
to see all news & photos.

Great Meeting on January 11th!
Election Wrap-Up &
The War on Women
Thanks so much to our special guest speakers, Steve Gheen, Marena Groll, and Suzanne Buckley
See Photo Gallery
If you missed our meeting or want details -- more on the 2014 Election, NARAL and ERA , and other Women's Issues, is on our
Elections 2014 Page
Women's Rights Page
and
Our New ERA Page

Congratulations to Durham Democrat
Angie Elkins!
Angie received the President's Award at the convention of the NC Democratic Women in New Bern over the weekend. Angie served as National President of the National Federation of Democratic Women and has held many other positions in the Democratic Party. Yea Angie!
You are the BEST!

Links - Groups

Democracy North Carolina
NC Policy Watch
Protect Our Vote NC
Lillian's List of NC
NARAL Pro-Choice NC
Planned Parenthood
Planned Parenthood NC
Roe Is Here For Good
Orange Co. Democratic Women
NAMI (Mental Health)
NAMI Durham
EqualRightsAmendment.org
MomsDemandAction (guns)
Food & Water Watch

Links
News and Blogs
Assembly Issue Tracker
N&O Under The Dome
Indy Week
Nation of Change
Daily Kos
Media Matters

THIS AND THAT

Don't Buy Koch--

Here is a list of Koch products.

Makers: Women who Make America

See Trailer
The story of the women's movement told through the eyes of the women who were there. A must-see!
Watch it online at makers.com

Video Selects from North Carolina
About the Project… Story of America is a web series and feature documentary that explores the polarization that exists in America today along political, economic and cultural lines.