New York Feminists for Peace endorse Barack Obama!

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In the coming elections, it is important to remember that war and peace are as much "women's issues" as are health, the environment, and the achievement of educational and occupational equality. Because we believe that all of these concerns are not only fundamental but closely intertwined, this Tuesday we will be casting our vote for Senator Barack Obama as the Democratic nominee for President of the United States.

Since the terrorist attacks of September 11, we have watched with shock and sorrow as our country has become mired in war. The resulting tragedy for our own soldiers, their immediate families and for the people of Iraq has been incalculable.

Less obvious, but no less grave has been the impact on our domestic institutions and economy. With a defense budget of half a trillion dollars and expenditures now averaging $12 billion a month for wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, resources that might have been used for health care, housing, education, repair of infrastructure, relief of poverty and community development have been drained away.

We urgently need a Presidential candidate, who understands that "pre-emptive" attacks on other countries and the reliance on military force have diminished rather then strengthened our national security. And we urgently need a Presidential candidate whose first priority is to address domestic needs. We do not believe that Senator Hillary Clinton is that candidate

We base our judgment on her seven-year record as the Senator from New York. As a member of the Senate Armed Services Committee, she has carefully identified herself as a supporter of a strong, enlarged and proactive military. In 2002, she voted to authorize the "use of force" against Iraq, while voting against an amendment that would have mandated further diplomacy. In subsequent years, she expressed enthusiastic support for the war effort, objected to fixed timelines for the withdrawal of U.S troops and until last summer voted for the "unconditional funding" of the war.

Under pressure from the Democratic base, Senator Clinton has recently issued numerous statements about bringing the troops home "responsibly" But her actual plan would leave tens of thousands of Americans soldiers in Iraq over a period of many years. Her record of embracing military solutions and the foreign policy advisers she has selected make us doubt that she will end this calamitous war.

Choosing to support Senator Obama was not an easy decision for us because electing a woman President would be a cause for celebration in itself and because we deplore the sexist attacks against Senator Clinton that have circulated in the media. However, we also recognize that the election of Barack Obama would be another historic achievement and that his support for gender equality has been unwavering.

In backing Senator Obama, we are mindful of the inconsistencies in his voting record and the limitations of his own plans for withdrawal. Yet it is noteworthy that at a time when this position was politically unpopular and when he was aiming for national office, Barack Obama opposed the U.S. invasion of Iraq and has spoken out against the war ever since. This puts him in a far better position to articulate a clear challenge to a Republican opponent.

We are also moved by the positive tone of the Obama campaign, the tremendous energy it has released across the country, the dramatic engagement of young people and the impetus for change that his candidacy embodies.

We are speaking out now because we cannot afford to elect another President who will continue the aggressive, interventionist policies of the present.

Signed

(partial list, still in formation, institutional affiliations are for identification purposes only)

Janet Abu-Lughod, Graduate Faculty, New School, emerita

Lila Abu-Lughod, Institute for Research on Women and Gender, Columbia University

Rev. Patricia Ackerman, environmentalist

Meena Alexander, Poet, Hunter College, CUNY

Frances Anderson, Progressive Democrats of America

Laura Anker, American Studies, SUNY/Old Westbury

Electa Arenal, writer, translator

Ilana Attee, clinical psychologist

Caron Atlas, arts & culture consultant

Eleanor J. Bader, teacher and writer

Eva-Lee Baird, peace activist

Ellen Baker, high school teacher

Valerie Barr, Union College

Rosalyn Baxandall, State University of New York/Old Westbury

Nan Bauer-Maglin, City University of New York, emerita

Seyla Benhabib, Yale University

Carolyn Patti Blum, human rights lawyer

Cynthia Bogard, Hofstra University

Aranzazu Borrachero, Queensborough Community College

Marsha Borenstein, Major Owens Communications Services Center

Rosalind Boyd

Cynthia Brown, writer

Pamela Allen Brown, University of Connecticut/Stamford

Kim Bryan, registered nurse

Alice Bucker

Mary Ann Bunten, retired housewife

Candace C. Carponter, lawyer

Veronica Casano, retired social worker

Kathleen Chalfant, actor

May Chan, UNITE HERE, Vice President

Ellen P. Chapnick, Dean for Social Justice Initiatives, Columbia Law School

Kathy Cicerani

Erin Clermont, writer/editor, Veteran Feminists of America

Lorraine Cohen, LaGuardia Community College

Sandra Coliver, human rights lawyer

Louise Fischer Cozzi, Jewelry Designer

Judy D’Angio, Executive Secretary

Sally Davidson, Mother of Iraq Veteran, Military Families Speak Out

Dana-Ain Davis, Queens College

Rev. Holly Haile Davis

Thulani Davis, writer

Ann Decker, Art Director

Victoria de Grazia, Columbia University

Diane Dreyfus, environmental activist

Erika Duncan, writer

Sue Donnelly, peace activist

Sandra Dunn, translator, educator

Gina Eichenbaum-Pikser, student nurse-midwife

Zillah Eisenstein, Ithaca College

Carolyn Eisenberg, Hofstra University

Kate Ellis, Rutgers University

Julie Elson, state worker retired

Kathy Engel, poet

Sally Fisher, HIV / VAW Activist

Michelle Fine, Graduate Center at City University of New York

Louisa Flood, lawyer

Nanette Funk, Brooklyn College

Lin Goodwin, professor

Katherine Gallagher, human rights attorney

Judi Gardner, middle school home & careers teacher

Reena Geevarghese, peace activist

Celia Gerard, artist and teacher

Joan P. Gibbs, Esq. National Conference of Black Lawyers

Stephanie Gilmore, Trinity College

Linda Gnat-Mullin, Energetic Empowerment

Tami Gold, Hunter College

Stephanie Golden, free-lance author

Nancy Goldner, psychotherapist, Returning Veterans Response Network

Linda Gordon, New York University

Vera Graaf, filmmaker

Farah Jasmine Griffin, professor and writer

A Lin Goodwin, professor

Carol Gruber, William Paterson University, emerita

Lynne Haney, New York University

Sheila Hanks

Saidiya Hartman, Columbia University

Melinda Hass, psychoanalyst

Barbara Hawkins, Teachers College, Columbia University

Lena Hayes, teacher and youth advocate

Jane Hirschmann, community organizer

Katherine Hite, Vassar College

Carol Horwitz, lawyer

Rebecca Horwitz, teacher

Martha Howell, Columbia University

Carol Huston, peace activist

Margo Jefferson, writer

Randi Johnson, writer

Sally Jones, peace activist

Daphne Joslin, William Paterson University of New Jersey

Anneliese Z. Kamran, graduate student, Graduate Center/CUNY

Sherry Kan, NY Metro Area Join Board, UNITE HERE

Donna Kelsh, Educator

Alice Kessler Harris, Columbia University

Mona Khalidi, Columbia University

Cheryl Klein, book editor

Laura Kogel, LCSW, psychotherapist, faculty, The Women's Therapy Centre Institute

Lucy Koteen

Tamar Kraft-Stolar, criminal justice advocate

Nancy Kricorian, writer

Susan Kricorian, artist & educator

Jane Kurinsky, LMSW, peace Activist

Anna Lappé, author/activist

Tanya Laurer, artist

Diane Green Lent, photographer

Gail Lerner, peace activist

Gloria Levitas, formerly Queens College/CUNY

Andrea Libresco, Hofstra University

Sandy Livingston, writer

Barbara Machtinger, Bloomfield College

Holly Maguigan, New York University School of Law

Karen Malpede, writer

Emily Martin, professor, anthropology, New York University

Vicki McFadden, mother of Iraq vet and peace activist.

Elizabeth A. McGee, social sector consultant

Oseye Mchawi, Center for Law and Social Justice, Yoruba Society of

Brooklyn, Inc.

D. H. Melhem, poet

Margaret Melkonian, Hague Appeal for Peace

Ellen Meyers, educator

Eliza Migdal, teacher/writer

Maria E. Montoya, New York University

Esther Moroze, peace activist

Leith Mullings, Graduate Center/ CUNY

Cheryl Mwaria, Hofstra University

Paula Nesoff, LaGuardia Community College

Judy O'Brien, educator

Susan O’Malley, Kingsborough Community College

Mojubaolu Olufunke Okome, Political Science/Women’s Studies, Brooklyn College

Lynn Otty, peace activist

Patricia Paley, school social worker

Gail Pellett, filmmaker

Patricia Paley, school social worker

Rosalind Petchesky, Hunter College & the Graduate Center, CUNY

Jamie Peters

Linda Penn, psychologist

Dr. Charlotte Phillips, pediatrician

Katha Pollitt, writer

Alexandra Ponce de Leon, Media Research Analyst, Universal McCann NY

Dr. Linda Prine, reproductive rights activist

Amy Quinn-Suplina, community peace & justice activist

Rachel Pecker

Marcuse Pfeifer, retired art dealer

Frances Fox Piven, Graduate Center/CUNY

Elizabeth Pochoda, Writer

Alice Radosh, research psychologist, retired

Janet Randall, Northeastern University

Rayna Rapp, anthropologist, New York University

Marci Reaven, historian

Judith Reppy, Cornell University

Nina Reznick, lawyer

Jennifer Romanello, Grand Central Publishing

Nancy Romer, Brooklyn College

Constancia Dinky Romilly, registered nurse, retired

Esther Rowland, Barnard College Emeritus

Sandra St. Victor, artist

Susan Sarandon, actor

Martha Saxton, Amherst College

Donna Schaper

Ellen Schrecker, Yeshiva University

Adrianne Shropshire, activist

Lucy Sikes, retired graphic designer

Alice Slater, lawyer & peace activist

Marjorie Siegel, Teachers College, Columbia University

Betty Smith, International Publishers

Judith Stacey, New York University

Gretchen Stromberg, senior citizen

Dr. Joan Sturgis, physician

Meredith Tax, writer

Tinka Topping, educator

Melissa Van, peace activist

Andrea A. Vasquez, American Social History Project, The Graduate Center/CUNY

Lise Vogel, Rider University, emerita

Ha My Vu, teacher

Kerry Washington, actor

Sandy Weinbaum, non-profit administrator

Barbara Weinstein, New York University

Cora Weiss, U.N. Representative, International Peace Bureau

Michele Westervelt, school aide & military mom

Joan Wile, author

Maggie Williams, William Patterson University

Bethany Yarrow, singer

Rosalie Yelen, peace activist

Susan Yohn, Hofstra University

Marilyn Young, New York University

http://www.ipetitions.com/petition/NYfeministsforpeace/

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most importantly....De Niro endorses Obama!

http://www.breitbart.tv/html/41624.html

[GaryC 7]

Why would feminists vote for a man?

[Alex+R 0]

Why would feminists vote for a man?

I'm not sure what you mean, Gary.

Feminists care about issues that impact women. They are voting for the candidate they feel would be best on women's issues, including the war.

[Mr. Big Dog 10,747]

That's a major blow to Hillary's campaign.

[wishbone 0]

Didn't Hillary emphasized on this? Good points for Obama.

[Marlita 0]

Most importantly the Governor of California's wife supports Obama: Woo Hoo, a Repulican politicians (of the most influential state) wife

Maria Shriver

[almaty 19]

I heard that any time Bill be endorsing Obama....

[Ban Hammer 12,837]

I heard that any time Bill be endorsing Obama....

you mean..........bill and obama.........

[almaty 19]

I heard that any time Bill be endorsing Obama....

you mean..........bill and obama.........

according to bill (arkansas born and raised) Obama has a pretty mouth./..

wait a second, i am wrong that was the governor of Missouri that said that