The Terminator is Back
What governor - once an actor, then a Terminator, married to a major women's leader - has the chutzpah to wipe out 100 percent of the domestic violence budget of California, the biggest state in the country, with a single grope of his veto pen?
What same governor does this as the state economy is plummeting and violence is escalating? When the STAND Hotline, that serves Contra Costa County, fielded more than 12,500 calls for help in the first seven months of 2009, triple the number in a normal year (if violence is ever normal)? In a state where over the past six months at least five men, desperate from losing their jobs, have murdered their families and themselves? What other governor is willing to sacrifice the lives of his constituent daughters and mothers in order to protect oil corporations from paying taxes on their multi-billion-dollar profits - fair taxes that could easily fund these same programs?
I try to imagine what the governor thinks as he draws his veto pen through 40 years of women's struggle and work, how he sleeps knowing women across his state who are exposed to brutality will be left without escape, shelter or even a friendly voice at the end of a hotline. How he justifies women having to choose between becoming homeless or staying in the midst of danger. Then I am reminded he is the Terminator - no pity, no remorse, no fear.
Fortunately, other governors do feel pity and remorse. They know that having muscle isn't what makes a man, but it is compassion and wisdom and respect for women and girls. In New Mexico, Governor Bill Richardson has not only preserved funds for domestic violence programs, but has made a sincere and deep commitment to ending violence against women in his state.
Schwarzenegger has always had contempt for the vulnerable, or maybe it's just his own inner girlie man he despises. But now he has gone too far.
This cut is reckless and dangerous. It could begin a wave of cuts throughout the country. It sends a message to perpetrators. It basically says no one is watching, no one is coming. All bets are off. Having just spent months in the Democratic Republic of Congo, I can tell you that this climate of free-for-all spreads violence like a California wildfire.
Governor, too many hours in your cigar smoking corporate oil drilling boy's tent has made you think that you can get away with this. We've got your number. Unlike you we don't act alone. There are thousands of us, we are organized, and we won't be stopped by one muscle-bound veto.
Don't terminate. Reinstate the funds. Don't annihilate. Alleviate the suffering.
Eve Ensler, a playwright and activist, is the founder of V-Day, a global movement to end violence against women and girls.
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He made the promise of no tax increase on anybody to get elected, which was the number one thing anyone wanted to hear, and they voted him in.
I don't know why anyone is surprised with any of this? It takes money to finance things, and since they just can't possibly bring themselves to pay a cent more in taxes, where did people expect him to come up with the funds?
This is a beautiful example of 'taking from the poor to give to the rich'
- and its also the California way, as demonstrated by the voters.
I'm sure the next candidate who again promises no tax increases for anyone, by way of whatever scheme they manage to devise and push over on the voters, will also be the next governor of CA.
Good work on this very important topic. :)
It was mostly men that put clo wns like reagen, bush sr, bush jr and their il k into office over 30 years, allowing these types of Social Protection cuts. However it was the Women that gave them enough of an edge to win.
You girls have GOT to keep each other, INFORMED and Educated about these gop and their willingness to sac rifice Fundamental Social Protections for Military Warfare spending.
There is nothing more important for women than staying in school AS LONG as possible and LEARNING SELF DEFENSE
Don't know what to take? Look up Tia Chi, you can find lessons at places like Asian community centers or Tia Chi centers/schools.
It's not like seeing martial arts movies, there is no ye lling every time you make a movement, no bull ies (well none I have ever seen), no magic flying or power to shoot from your body (I know bummer, right? :). It's much more like a beautiful dance, everyone is nervous at first and it feels odd because it's not like anything you have done before, well for most people in the US.
There are no special uniforms or belts, except for shoes. Magic shoes, well I bet they feel like magic shoes to women who wear heals. :) They usually cost under $20 especially if you get them at your local Asian community center. You just wear lose baggy clothing, cotton is best.
Good Luck. :)
well, it's clear you are not going to let any more comments through from someone who knows the consequences of this sort of thing first hand, so i am outta here.
this issue is too important for you to keep muzzling the voices of experience, especially when they suggest that other people educate themselves, although that grotesquely insensitive comment got through in the first place. how did that happen, i wonder, when you won't let others through?
you won't even let my suggestions for fixing the funding problem through, so i guess this issue isn't as important you as you would like people to think it is.
regardless, it IS a matter of life and death, and there is no gettng around that.
and try to remember, some things, like feeding children, providing safety for abused women should never be partisan issues. they are human issues that cut across all economic classes, all social boundaries.
find a way to amend prop 13 to eliminate the 2/3 majority passing taxes, and reinstate the car tax. it's something most people can manage, not as scary as an increase in property taxes, and would go a long way to fixing the economic problems the state is suffering from now.
Good work on this very important topic. :)
It was mostly men that put clowns like reagen, bush sr, bush jr and their ilk into office over the last 30 years, allowing these types of Social Protection cuts. However it was the Women that gave them enough of an edge to win.
You girls have GOT to keep each other, INFORMED and Educated about these gop and their willingness to sacrifice Fundamental Social Protections for Military Warfare spending.
There is nothing more important for women than staying in school AS LONG as possible and LEARNING SELF DEFENSE
Don't know what to take? Look up Tia Chi, you can find lessons at places like Asian community centers or Tia Chi centers/schools.
It's not like seeing martial arts movies, there is no yelling every time you make a movement, no bullies (well none I have ever seen), no magic flying or power to shoot from your body (I know bummer, right? :). It's much more like a beautiful dance, everyone is nervous at first and it feels odd because it's not like anything you have done before, well for most people in the US.
There are no special uniforms or belts, except for shoes. Magic shoes, well I bet they feel like magic shoes to women who wear heals. :) They usually cost under $20 especially if you get them at your local Asian community center. You just wear lose baggy clothing, cotton is best.
Good Luck. :)
(part 2 of 2)
being beaten and abused on an almost daily basis is one of the demoralizing, degrading, dehumanizing things that can happen to a person. i know this because i endured it for many years. you run out of excuses for the broken bones, the stitches and the bruises curiously shaped exactly like a hand. i was too ashamed to ask for help, but when i did, i was very, very lucky. the last straw was him killing some of my cats, and trying to strangle me to death, in which he was nearly successful.
had it not been for my local domestic violence shelter, i could never have escaped. they helped me gather together funds when i had none, find a place to go where i could be safe and take my remaining beloved pets, and start over. without the dedication and courage of that shelter, i know i would be dead now.
please governor schwarzenegger, re-instate these funds. i would not wish for you to wonder the rest of your life if someone died because of your choice, or for there to be a victim of such violence who dies that could be saved. bring back the car tax. in the amount of time you have been governor, the revenues from that alone would have saved the state from this budget crisis, and closed the deficit gap entirely.
those of you who write as though domestic violence is something in the abstract, need to understand a few things. i hope this will get through and be posted.
this cut IS going to cost someone her life. there is no ifs and or buts about it. an abused woman WILL die because of this, if something is not done. the only thing that men who beat their wives understand is jail. but when a man is arrested for beating his wife, he is often quickly released after arraignment so he is at home until his trial, giving him plenty of time to continue beating her or finish her off entirely. some states require a minimum holding time of at least 24 hours to allow the woman and her children and/or pets time to escape to somewhere safe. a domestic violence shelter can provide the necessary security that a friend's house cannot.
there are no words to describe the inimaginable hell an abused woman lives in. it has been an uphill battle to make even a dent in the mindset of "well, she should just leave." it is not that easy and never has been. police are often not properly trained to handle a situation if she finds the courage to call in the first place, or a neighbor does. she is terrified that if she does, he will carry out his threat to kill her or the children or her pets.
(part 1 of 2)
Let's see. A person has two or three mansions, in some cases ten, and takes several vacations a year and he can not afford to pay higher taxes so women who are in abusive situations can find a place to survive. We cannot have a tax on yachts, cannot have a tax on smoking, cannot have a tax period but we can cut, cut, cut expenses to the bone on schools, firemen, and the poor and disabled. Taxes on the wealthy were much higher before the Reagan years and we got along fine. The trickle down theory was supposed to stimulate jobs. Where are the jobs now? Unemployment has never been higher.
Domestic violence is an ugly thing that I believe our society abhors. But this is what tightening the belt means in America. The interests of the people are a distant second to the interests of corporate greed. No republican, no democrat that I know of has to courage oppose this.
Housing, health care, welfare. All the cuts fall hard on women and kids who can't fight back.
How about cutting programs that serve the wealthy like golf courses, marinas,medical schools,
That would get the interest of the powerful and vocal and politician would be forced to be honest and take sensible action.
cutting a sector of our population off from help that means the difference between life and death is NOT what "tightening the belt" means.
http://ballotpedia.org/wiki/index.php/California_Proposition_58_(2004)
Proposition 58 requires state legislators to pass a balanced budget every year.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/California_Proposition_13_(1978)
In addition to lowering property taxes, the initiative also contained language requiring a two-thirds majority in both legislative houses for future increases in all state tax rates or amounts of revenue collected, including income tax rates.
***
Between falling tax revenues from the bad economy, and a must-have balanced budget, Schwarzenegger is between a rock and a hard place. He warned he was going to have to make painful cuts if he didn't get the votes, and he didn't the votes. This is simply one of many ugly social cuts that are coming.
But don't pity the Governator, just remember that he got into office by getting Dem. Gov. Gray Davis recalled. I like seeing him smooshed between a rock and a hard place. I just wish I didn't have to get splattered with Schwarzenuggets when he bursts.
he is not the one that's going to pay the price for this though.
it is helpless women, children and pets.
amend prop 13 to do away with the 2/3 majority on taxes.
bring back the automobile tax.
had schwarzenegger not rescinded that in the first place the state would not be in this mess now,
Point. Many people will suffer from this, but it is just the tip of the iceberg. More social cuts will be coming. Schwarzenegger doesn't want to do this either, but the conservatives are holding firm on the tax issue and the laws are on their side. Conservatives don't want to pay for social services, they believe charities should perform those services and their tax money shouldn't be used to pay for it.
All we can do is support those charities / shelters. Can you suggest an honest one? Too many charities in California seem to be persons lining their own pockets.
he is not the one who will suffer the consequences of his choices.
it is the innocent, and helpless.
I fail to see how oil company proifits should be in the same debate as womens protection legislation?
wecome to america 2009 . We are going to be missing alot of stuff we take for granted will be there for us when we needed it . if teh money was not pulled from domsic violence it would have been pulled from schools , health care or some other important program . no matter how you look at it no one is a winner in this situation . now the private sector , churchs community groups will have to step up to fill the void if they can
this doesn't even compare to pulling money from schools.
please educate yourself. this isn't a "vanity" issue.
Repeal 13.
The only real option. Good luck with that.
Prop 13 has nothing to do with this. CA is the #1 state in sales tax and income tax and we are #6 overall. Revenue isn't the problem SPENDING is! Our eleceted officials have to stop spending and make cuts. Why does it cost 42,000 a year in CA to house a criminal and only 19,000 in TX and FL - what's up with that?
Charities can't do it all. Obama is like Hoover and we have Hoovervilles already.
As the world's 5th largest economy, California is ever on the bleeding edge of trends. For over thirty years, California voters have steadfastly refused to correct the enshrined disaster that is Prop 13. Among other ramifications, they've sacrificed what was once among the finest K-12 educations in the nation to stupidity and greed.
Your playing the "macho asshole" card at this point would be funny were it not so tragic. Forgive me, Ms. Ensler, but your concerns suffer from tunnel vision. One more special interest group screaming for its crumb of the vanished pie is not going to help anything at all. The more we fight over the scraps of what was, the less we are invested in what might be.
Also... "They know that having muscle isn't what makes a man, but it is compassion and wisdom and respect for women and girls."
May I be excused from your creepy hetero gender war between the sexes? That statement is every bit as offensive as "you're not a real woman until you've born a child." If Governor Schwarzenegger is indeed a macho monster, it is in part from living in a world where people expound on what "makes a man."
Stooping so low damages your cause.
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