Women’s Independent Press

August 20, 2012

While reading the Pittsburgh Post Gazette on Sunday,
by chance I noticed a block on page 4, section B bottom
of the page on the far left side that caught my eye.
I noticed it when I went to refold the paper. This, by the way,
would be easy to miss.

An analysis by www.4thEstate.net concluded that women are
underrepresented in the 2012 election coverage. No real surprise.
One needs to just turn on any news outlet, NPR unfortunately included,
to see that when an issue related to women comes up,
i.e. Abortion, Birth Control, Planned Parenthood or Women’s Rights,
the news outlets frequently go to a man for comment.

It is difficult to give the media any credibility with this disparity in reporting
on issues that affect women.

For instance, the analysis show
s that on the topic of Abortion:

Men are quoted 81%, Women 12% ,
Organizations 7%

On Birth Control:
Men 75%, Women 12%,
Organizations 6%

On Planned Parenthood:
Men 67%, Women 26%,
Organizations, 7%

On Women’s Rights:
Men 52%, Women 31%,
Organizations 17%

This morning the TV was on CBS and when the question was asked about the reprehensible remark
by Republican Congressman Todd Aiken about this statement:

“First of all, from what I understand from a doctor [pregnancy from rape] is really rare…
If it’s a legitimate rape, the female body has ways to try to shut that whole thing down”

(Todd Akin is on the House Science and Technology Committee and should be removed from Congress.
Someone who believes nonsense like this has no part overseeing science policy)
A man gave his opinion on that CBS show about the absurd remark from Todd Aiken.

I am a woman and there is no doubt in my mind that on issues related to women, the obvious person
to call for a comment is a woman. The media needs to be held accountable for its unbalanced reporting
on the news. I hope you will do that.

Anna Marie

www.nwlc.org

but Public Sector Job Losses Continue to Slow the Recovery for Women and Men, NWLC Analysis Shows

(Washington, D.C.) Analysis by the National Women’s Law Center (NWLC) of jobs data released today shows that women made stronger job gains in July than they have for several months and added more jobs for the month (86,000) than men did (77,000). Men gained slightly more private sector jobs in July than women did – 89,000 compared to 83,000. But, in a change from the overall trend during the recovery, men bore the brunt of public sector job losses in July. Since the start of the recovery in June 2009, women have gained 970,000 net private sector jobs—and lost 403,000 net public sector jobs. Men have gained 2,414,000 net private sector jobs—and lost 239,000 net public sector jobs. For every 10 private sector jobs women have gained since the recovery began, they have lost more than four public sector jobs.

“Women’s job gains picked up last month, and that’s welcome news,” said Joan Entmacher, NWLC Vice President for Family Economic Security. “However, in the recovery, women have only regained 27 percent of the jobs they lost during the recession, compared to 41 percent for men. For both women and men – but especially for women – the recovery has been slowed by public sector job losses. Policy makers are causing job losses by continuing cuts to education, health care, public safety and other public services. They need to stop pretending that giving more tax cuts to the richest two percent will somehow trickle down and help the economy. It’s time to get serious about putting Americans back to work.”

The sectors with the most growth last month for women were professional and business services (including temporary help services), where women added 37,000 jobs, and education and health services, where women added 35,000 jobs. Men made the strongest gains in manufacturing (25,000 jobs) and leisure and hospitality (21,000). Men’s heaviest job losses were in the public sector, where they lost 12,000 jobs. Women gained 3,000 public sector jobs in July.

The unemployment rate for adult women (ages 20 and older) in July 2012 was 7.5 percent in July, up 0.1 percentage point since June. Adult men’s unemployment rate was 7.7 percent in July, down 0.1 percentage point from June.
The unemployment rates for some vulnerable groups of women moved in multiple directions last month. The unemployment rate for adult black women dropped dramatically, to 11.5 percent from 12.7 percent in June. For adult Hispanic women, the unemployment rate increased slightly, to 10.5 percent from 10.3 percent in June (not seasonally adjusted). The unemployment rate for single mothers declined slightly, to 11.7 percent from 11.8 percent in June (not seasonally adjusted). The long-term unemployment rate remained high; over four in ten jobless adult women and men had been looking for work for six months or longer.

“Millions of families still are struggling to get back on their feet,” added Entmacher. “We need to strengthen the economy for those who need help, not give more tax breaks to those who need them least.”

www.enjapc.com 
3223 W Liberty Ave, Pittsburgh · (412) 440-0099

Performing some basic PC maintenance can keep your PC running at its finest and may even save you some money. Here are just a few tips to keep your PC running at its finest.

1.Blow out the dust - Dust can clog up the cooling unit of you PC, reducing its ability to cool itself and possibly damaging the internal components. With the PC turned off, use a can of compressed air to blow out any dust from air vents and fans. With notebooks, blow into the fan outlet and ensure that the fan spins freely.

2.Delete them cookies- Internet Explorer has a built-in feature to clean your tracks including cookies and browsing history that accumulate while you browse. In IE9, simply click the gear icon on the top right-hand corner, select “safety” then “delete browsing history…” At least delete the temporary files and cookies.

3.Update Windows, Java, Adobe, etc. - Windows update is easily accessed via the Windows Update logo via the Start menu. In the case of the other products, we recommend removing Java, Adobe Flash, Shockwave and Reader via the Add/Remove or Uninstall Programs menus in the Control Panel. All that’s left is a reboot and going to each respective website to download the newest version.

4.Check your antivirus software - If you don’t have any, get some. If you have a reputable program, open it up. Double check that you have a valid license and the most recent edition. Most new programs will update many times during the day, be sure your virus definitions are no more than 48 hours old.

5.Backup, back-up, BACK IT UP - No matter how you say it, it needs to be done. PC hard drives frequently fail, people accidentally erase files, and laptops get stolen. For many different reasons, backups should be done often

By Patricia Thibault
Social Security District Manager in Pittsburgh, PA

These days it is more common than ever for a person to travel across the globe – either for vacation or to live in another country permanently. If you are one of these people, Social Security offers a special website: “Social Security Payments Outside the United States.” The website features all you need to know about Social Security while living abroad. You can find it at www.socialsecurity.gov/international/payments.html.

If you’re in the planning stages of moving to another country, you may want to check out our “Payments Abroad Screening Tool.” It will ask you a few short questions and will let you know whether your payments can continue. It may make a difference in your decision to live abroad.

The page also offers links to publications, such as Your Payments While You Are Outside The United States, which explains how your benefits may be affected and other important information you need to know about receiving Social Security benefits while outside the country.

In the top, right corner of the page, you’ll find important information on how to contact Social Security when you are abroad — to ask questions, make requests, or report events and changes that may affect payments.
Whether you’re stateside or abroad, you’ll want to pay a visit to www.socialsecurity.gov/international/payments.html.

Check whether you are registered at :
https://www.pavoterservices.state.pa.us/Pages/voterregistrationstatus.aspx

Because this only confirms if the first and last name exactly match the search, any middle name or initial is not used or displayed in the result. Call (412) 350-4500 (Allegheny County Elections Division) to get the complete registered name. Check, you may not be registered, many people have discovered they are ,in fact. not registered.

If it is necessary to change the name on your registration, you can use the same process to do a new registration as can be found from the above link. This has to be completed before Oct. 9 this year.

If you are aware of someone who may not have the proper credentials to vote in the upcoming election, find a way to get her or him the correct documents in order for that person to exercise their right to vote. Many senior citizens are without picture id’s or driver’s license, may not have access to a computer or social media and not have transportation, or
be physically be able to wait in the long lines for a photo ID

Information was obtained from this web site, check your state to see if this law affects you or your community:
www.ncsl.org/legislatures-elections/elections/voter-id.aspx

Pennsylvania
Each elector who appears to vote and desires to vote shall present proof of identification.

Identification must satisfy the following:

Shows the name of the individual, which must substantially conform to the individual’s name on the precinct register

Show a photograph of the individual to whom it was issued
Be issued by the U.S. government, Commonwealth of PA, a municipality of the Commonwealth to an employee of the municipality, an accredited PA private or public institution of higher learning or a PA care facility.

Include an expiration date and not be expired (exception for a military ID with an indication that it has an indefinite expiration date or a PA driver’s license or non-driver ID card that is not more than 12 months past the expiration date)

A voter who is indigent an unable to obtain ID without any payment or fee, or who is otherwise unable to obtain ID, may vote a provisional ballot.
A voter who casts a provisional ballot because he or she is unable to provide proof of identification must execute an affirmation that he or she is the same person who appeared to vote on election day and do one of the following within six calendar days after the election:

Appear in person at the county board of elections to complete the affirmation and present proof of identification;
Submit an electronic, facsimile or paper copy of the affirmation and the proof of identification.

A voter who is indigent and unable to obtain proof of identification without payment of a fee must submit an affirmation that he or she is the same person who appeared to vote on election day and that he or she is indigent in the same time frame and manner as described above

Women’s Independent Press/Women’s Yellow Pages (through ProMobile and Miracle Mobile) will provide two different mobile marketing offerings that can be used separately or together.

1.Mobile website and QR Code

2.Mobile/Texting Program

There are several differences between these offerings which are detailed below:

Mobile Website and QR Code

ProMobile will develop a mobile website for the WIP advertiser. This website will be hosted by Promobile. The advertiser can use this website and the QR code that links to it in any marketing communications (not only in the WIP ad). The QR code will be sent to the advertiser via email.

Once the site is setup on the WIP ‘mobile mall’, the advertiser will be able to update their own site information.

The website will be formatted for smartphone web browsers and can include up to 4 pages. Functionality can include:
•text/narrative
•company logo
•one photo per page
•one embedded video (youtube video) per page
•coupon or offer
•Google map and directions
•standard contact form
•buttons that link to call and email or other web content

We will provide a form that you can fill out regarding what information you want to use for your mobile website.

Costs will be an additional $279 for the year in addition to whatever size ad you purchase.

If you want texting to go with this package the following will explain that additional monthly cost:

Texting program for WIP mall or Individual advertisers

• The text plans includes:

Premium Text Short Code Number at No Additional Charge

Offerings on my text platform, such as SMS text mobile coupons, appointment reminders, corporate text communication, mobile e-cards, MMS Text, voting / polling, and much more!

1 hour of free training in one sessionis included with your text program purchase. All people who need trained need to be present at the training session. We can offer group training for multiple clients at one time.

Additional Keywords are 10.00 per keyword per month.

Text Support:

Level 1 Support: Video Technical support (24 x 7)

Level 2 Technical Support: Phone technical support Monday - Friday 9-5 412*259*3799

250 texts per month - 29.00 per month

500 texts per month - 54.00 per month

1000 texts per month - 103.00 per month

1,500 texts per month - 129.00 per month

3,000 texts per month - 184.00 per month

Anna Marie Gire, Publisher
Women’s Independent Press/ Women’s Yellow Pages
P.O. Box 9687
Pittsburgh Pa. 15226
www.womensindependentpress.com 
412-563-6712
wip@fastmail.fm   

Business Program Series Calendar
August 2012
Summer Film Festival
Programs are held on Thursdays at 12:15 pm at the Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh – Downtown & Business, 612 Smithfield St., Downtown. They are free and open to the public.

August 2 The Greatest Movie Ever Sold (DVD – 80 minutes)

If you enjoyed the film “Supersize Me”, (observations on the fast food industry as director Morgan Spurlock eats every meal at McDonalds for a month), you’ll want to see his revealing documentary about what it takes to get advertisers’ products, such as cars, shampoos, and beverages strategically placed in movies and on television. It’s big business for both the companies and the entertainment producers; you’ll be surprised to find out how this brand awareness influences consumer purchases.

August 9 Lucky: If Money Can’t Buy Happiness, Can Winning the Lottery Come Close?
(DVD – 80 minutes)

Everyone who buys lottery tickets fantasizes what life would be like if they won a multi-million dollar prize – financial security for life, travel, a luxury home, and gifts to charity and family members who need help. Director Jeffrey Blitz interviews a cross-section of winners around the country to learn how their new circumstances have changed them and their relationships with other people.

August 16 Power Surge: Are We Finally on the Brink of a Clean Energy Revolution?
(DVD – 60 minutes) A PBS NOVA production

Can emerging technology defeat global warming? NOVA travels the globe to reveal the surprising technologies that just might turn back the clock on climate change. Focusing on the latest and greatest innovations, including everything from artificial trees to green reboots of familiar technologies like coal and nuclear energy, NOVA asks: “Can our technology, which helped create this problem, now solve it?”

August 23 Neuromarketing: Consumers Under the Influence
(DVD – 53 minutes)

Are you aware that advanced research in brain science has opened up new ways for the marketing industry to manipulate consumers? The revolutionary science of neuromarketing targets the gray matter in which an individual’s real and measurable decisions occur. This can measure how the brain reacts to a specific product.

August 30 No program. Enjoy the Labor Day holiday!

That in 1848 the first women’s rights convention was held in Seneca Falls, New York. After 2 days of discussion and debate, 68 women and 32 men signed a Declaration of Sentiments that outlines grievances and sets the agenda for the women’s rights movement. A set of 12 resolutions was adopted calling for equal treatment of women and men under the law and voting rights for women.
That in 1850 The first National Women’s Rights Convention took place in Worcester, Mass., attracting more than 1,000 participants. National conventions were held yearly (except for 1857) through 1860.
That in May of 1869 May Susan B. Anthony and Elizabeth Cady Stanton form the National Woman Suffrage Association. The primary goal of the organization is to achieve voting rights for women by means of a Congressional amendment to the Constitution.
That in November of 1869Lucy Stone, Henry Blackwell, and others formed the American Woman Suffrage Association. This group focused exclusively on gaining voting rights for women through amendments to individual state constitutions?
That on Dec. 10 1869The territory of Wyoming passed the first women’s suffrage law. The following year, women begin serving on juries in the territory?
That in 1890 the National Women Suffrage Association and the American Women Suffrage Association merged to form the National American Woman Suffrage Association (NAWSA). As the movement’s mainstream organization, NAWSA wages state-by-state campaigns to obtain voting rights for women.
That in 1893 Colorado was the first state to adopt an amendment granting women the right to vote? Utah and Idaho follow suit in 1896, Washington State in 1910, California in 1911, Oregon, Kansas, and Arizona in 1912, Alaska and Illinois in 1913, Montana and Nevada in 1914, New York in 1917; Michigan,South Dakota, and Oklahoma in 1918.
That in1896 the National Association of Colored Women was formed, bringing together more than 100 black women’s clubs? Leaders in the black women’s club movement include Josephine St. Pierre Ruffin, Mary Church Terrell, and Anna Julia Cooper.
That in 1903 The National Women’s Trade Union League (WTUL) was established to advocate for improved wages and working conditions for women.
That in 1913 Alice Paul and Lucy Burns formed the Congressional Union to work toward the passage of a federal amendment to give women the vote? The group is later renamed the National Women’s Party? Members picket the White House and practice other forms of civil disobedience.
That in 1916 Margaret Sanger opened the first U.S. birth-control clinic in Brooklyn, N.Y. Although the clinic was shut down 10 days later and Sanger arrested, she eventually won support through the courts and opens another clinic in New York City in 1923?
That 1919 The federal woman suffrage amendment, originally written by Susan B. Anthony was introduced in Congress in 1878, and passed by the House of Representatives and the Senate. It was then sent to the states for ratification.
That in 1920 the Women’s Bureau of the Department of Labor was formed to collect information about women in the workforce and safeguard good working conditions for women.
That on Aug. 26 The 19th Amendment to the Constitution, granting women the right to vote, was signed into law by Secretary of State Bainbridge Colby?

President Obama Leads Romney in PA
53-42 percent among likely voters in Pennsylvania
according to the Quinnipiac University/CBS News/New York Times Swing State Poll that was released on August 1.
Peter Brown, assistant director of the Quinnipiac University Polling Institute, said Mr. Obama’s lead is built squarely on female voters. “He has a 59-35 percent lead among women voters, while men go to Romney 50-47 percent. Independent voters also back Mr. Obama 58-36 percent.”
The poll also shows President Obama leading Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney 53-42 percent among likely voters in Pennsylvania and that U.S. Senator Bob Casey is leading Republican challenger Tom Smith 55-37 percent.
President Obama is in front of Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney 53-42 percent among likely voters in Pennsylvania. The Quinnipiac University/CBS News/New York Times Swing State Poll also shows U.S. Senator Bob Casey ahead of Republican challenger Tom Smith 55-37 percent.
Mr. Brown noted that a recent survey by Quinnipiac shows a “marriage gap” for male and female voters, with single women tending to support Mr. Obama, and married women leaning toward Romney. Similarly, Romney leads among married men, while Mr. Obama has a small lead with single men.
This recent poll of likely voters could not be compared to previous surveys because those were based on registered voters, rather than likely voters. Brown noted that the President’s margin mirrors his lead over Republican U.S. Senator John McCain heading into the general election in 2008.
The two other swing states surveyed, Florida and Ohio, have President Obama leading Romney 51-45 percent, and 50-44 percent, respectively.

•Contact your state, county and local development departments. Many offer funding programs to foster business within a certain geographic area.

•Take advantage of organizations aimed at helping you. The National Organization of Women Business Owners offers special funding programs for women entrepreneurs, for example, and the National Minority Supplier Development Council has an arm that works with minority entrepreneurs.

•Call on the community banks in your area. These smaller banks pride themselves on helping small business owners.

•Find out of there are any revolving loan fund (RLF) programs for which you might qualify. They provide “gap financing” that your bank won’t or can’t offer. Your banker should know of any RLFs available.

•Visit www.sba.gov/financing, the finance section of U.S. Small Business Administration’s Web site. It provides details on SBA’s many funding programs. Perhaps you qualify for one.
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