Free Books @ The Guttenberg Project

The internet is not just the sewer of porn and political debate it would sometimes appear to be. If you are looking for that sort of thing it’s easy enough to find. But, look a little bit deeper, past all those pop up ads and gossipy tidbits designed to numb your brain and drain your soul, and you can actually be rewarded with some pleasant surprises.

When I first started using the internet in 2004; that’s right, I was one of the last to fall prey to its siren call; I got bogged down in all of the usual stuff, like chat rooms and Classmates, etc. But I also stumbled onto a lot of great things as well. One of those was, and still is, the Gutenberg Project site; which houses many books and works of literature for which there is no current copyright; making them free.

I have downloaded several things from there, which I keep on my computer, and also on a portable flash drive, making some of my favorite works of literature available wherever I go, even when there is no internet service. Some I have even printed out; things like “The Narrative of A. Gordon Pym” by Edgar Allan Poe, or this book of poetry by Edna St. Vincent Millay, the American poet who won the Pulitzer Prize for her 1922 collection of poetry “A Few Figs from Thistles.”

From the opening verse of this collection until the last, these poems reflect the spirit of Ms. Millay and her vibrant way of looking at life. She was way ahead of her time in so many respects, yet her poetry remains timeless. It speaks as poignantly now as it did when she wrote it. I’m pleased to be able to share it here, as well as call your attention to the Gutenberg Project, which can be accessed by the following link. I hope that you will visit their site and I am certain that you will come away with something long forgotten, or perhaps never knew about in the first place.

http://www.gutenberg.org/

A Few Figs from Thistles

Poems and Sonnets

By Edna St. Vincent Millay

This edition of "A Few Figs from Thistles" contains several poems

not included in earlier editions.

First Fig

  My candle burns at both ends;

    It will not last the night;

  But ah, my foes, and oh, my friends--

    It gives a lovely light!

Second Fig

  Safe upon the solid rock the ugly houses stand:

  Come and see my shining palace built upon the sand!

Recuerdo

  We were very tired, we were very merry--

  We had gone back and forth all night on the ferry.

  It was bare and bright, and smelled like a stable--

  But we looked into a fire, we leaned across a table,

  We lay on a hill-top underneath the moon;

  And the whistles kept blowing, and the dawn came soon.

  We were very tired, we were very merry--

  We had gone back and forth all night on the ferry;

  And you ate an apple, and I ate a pear,

  From a dozen of each we had bought somewhere;

  And the sky went wan, and the wind came cold,

  And the sun rose dripping, a bucketful of gold.

  We were very tired, we were very merry,

  We had gone back and forth all night on the ferry.

  We hailed, "Good morrow, mother!" to a shawl-covered head,

  And bought a morning paper, which neither of us read;

  And she wept, "God bless you!" for the apples and pears,

  And we gave her all our money but our subway fares.

Thursday

  And if I loved you Wednesday,

    Well, what is that to you?

  I do not love you Thursday--

    So much is true.

  And why you come complaining

    Is more than I can see.

  I loved you Wednesday,--yes--but what

    Is that to me?

To the Not Impossible Him

  How shall I know, unless I go

    To Cairo and Cathay,

  Whether or not this blessed spot

    Is blest in every way?

  Now it may be, the flower for me

    Is this beneath my nose;

  How shall I tell, unless I smell

    The Carthaginian rose?

  The fabric of my faithful love

    No power shall dim or ravel

  Whilst I stay here,--but oh, my dear,

    If I should ever travel!

Macdougal Street

  As I went walking up and down to take the evening air,

    (Sweet to meet upon the street, why must I be so shy?)

  I saw him lay his hand upon her torn black hair;

    ("Little dirty Latin child, let the lady by!")

  The women squatting on the stoops were slovenly and fat,

    (Lay me out in organdie, lay me out in lawn!)

  And everywhere I stepped there was a baby or a cat;

    (Lord God in Heaven, will it never be dawn?)

  The fruit-carts and clam-carts were ribald as a fair,

    (Pink nets and wet shells trodden under heel)

  She had haggled from the fruit-man of his rotting ware;

    (I shall never get to sleep, the way I feel!)

  He walked like a king through the filth and the clutter,

    (Sweet to meet upon the street, why did you glance me by?)

  But he caught the quaint Italian quip she flung him from the gutter;

    (What can there be to cry about that I should lie and cry?)

  He laid his darling hand upon her little black head,

    (I wish I were a ragged child with ear-rings in my ears!)

  And he said she was a baggage to have said what she had said;

    (Truly I shall be ill unless I stop these tears!)

The Singing-Woman from the Wood's Edge

  What should I be but a prophet and a liar,

  Whose mother was a leprechaun, whose father was a friar?

  Teethed on a crucifix and cradled under water,

  What should I be but the fiend's god-daughter?

  And who should be my playmates but the adder and the frog,

  That was got beneath a furze-bush and born in a bog?

  And what should be my singing, that was christened at an altar,

  But Aves and Credos and Psalms out of the Psalter?

  You will see such webs on the wet grass, maybe,

  As a pixie-mother weaves for her baby,

  You will find such flame at the wave's weedy ebb

  As flashes in the meshes of a mer-mother's web,

  But there comes to birth no common spawn

  From the love of a priest for a leprechaun,

  And you never have seen and you never will see

  Such things as the things that swaddled me!

  After all's said and after all's done,

  What should I be but a harlot and a nun?

  In through the bushes, on any foggy day,

  My Da would come a-swishing of the drops away,

  With a prayer for my death and a groan for my birth,

  A-mumbling of his beads for all that he was worth.

  And there'd sit my Ma, with her knees beneath her chin,

  A-looking in his face and a-drinking of it in,

  And a-marking in the moss some funny little saying

  That would mean just the opposite of all that he was praying!

  He taught me the holy-talk of Vesper and of Matin,

  He heard me my Greek and he heard me my Latin,

  He blessed me and crossed me to keep my soul from evil,

  And we watched him out of sight, and we conjured up the devil!

  Oh, the things I haven't seen and the things I haven't known.

  What with hedges and ditches till after I was grown,

  And yanked both ways by my mother and my father,

  With a "Which would you better?" and a "Which would you rather?"

  With him for a sire and her for a dam,

  What should I be but just what I am?

She Is Overheard Singing

  Oh, Prue she has a patient man,

    And Joan a gentle lover,

  And Agatha's Arth' is a hug-the-hearth,--

    But my true love's a rover!

  Mig, her man's as good as cheese

    And honest as a briar,

  Sue tells her love what he's thinking of,--

    But my dear lad's a liar!

  Oh, Sue and Prue and Agatha

    Are thick with Mig and Joan!

  They bite their threads and shake their heads

    And gnaw my name like a bone;

  And Prue says, "Mine's a patient man,

    As never snaps me up,"

  And Agatha, "Arth' is a hug-the-hearth,

    Could live content in a cup;"

  Sue's man's mind is like good jell--

    All one colour, and clear--

  And Mig's no call to think at all

    What's to come next year,

  While Joan makes boast of a gentle lad,

    That's troubled with that and this;--

  But they all would give the life they live

    For a look from the man I kiss!

  Cold he slants his eyes about,

    And few enough's his choice,--

  Though he'd slip me clean for a nun, or a queen,

    Or a beggar with knots in her voice,--

  And Agatha will turn awake

    While her good man sleeps sound,

  And Mig and Sue and Joan and Prue

    Will hear the clock strike round,

  For Prue she has a patient man,

    As asks not when or why,

  And Mig and Sue have naught to do

    But peep who's passing by,

  Joan is paired with a putterer

    That bastes and tastes and salts,

  And Agatha's Arth' is a hug-the-hearth,--

    But my true love is false!

The Prisoner

  All right,

  Go ahead!

  What's in a name?

  I guess I'll be locked into

  As much as I'm locked out of!

The Unexplorer

  There was a road ran past our house

  Too lovely to explore.

  I asked my mother once--she said

  That if you followed where it led

  It brought you to the milk-man's door.

  (That's why I have not traveled more.)

Grown-up

  Was it for this I uttered prayers,

  And sobbed and cursed and kicked the stairs,

  That now, domestic as a plate,

  I should retire at half-past eight?

The Penitent

  I had a little Sorrow,

    Born of a little Sin,

  I found a room all damp with gloom

    And shut us all within;

  And, "Little Sorrow, weep," said I,

    "And, Little Sin, pray God to die,

  And I upon the floor will lie

    And think how bad I've been!"

  Alas for pious planning--

    It mattered not a whit!

  As far as gloom went in that room,

    The lamp might have been lit!

  My little Sorrow would not weep,

    My little Sin would go to sleep--

  To save my soul I could not keep

    My graceless mind on it!

  So up I got in anger,

    And took a book I had,

  And put a ribbon on my hair

    To please a passing lad,

  And, "One thing there's no getting by--

  I've been a wicked girl," said I;

  "But if I can't be sorry, why,

    I might as well be glad!"

Daphne

  Why do you follow me?--

  Any moment I can be

  Nothing but a laurel-tree.

  Any moment of the chase

  I can leave you in my place

  A pink bough for your embrace.

  Yet if over hill and hollow

  Still it is your will to follow,

  I am off;--to heel, Apollo!

Portrait by a Neighbor

  Before she has her floor swept

    Or her dishes done,

  Any day you'll find her

    A-sunning in the sun!

  It's long after midnight

    Her key's in the lock,

  And you never see her chimney smoke

    Till past ten o'clock!

  She digs in her garden

    With a shovel and a spoon,

  She weeds her lazy lettuce

    By the light of the moon,

  She walks up the walk

    Like a woman in a dream,

  She forgets she borrowed butter

    And pays you back cream!

  Her lawn looks like a meadow,

    And if she mows the place

  She leaves the clover standing

    And the Queen Anne's lace!

Midnight Oil

  Cut if you will, with Sleep's dull knife,

    Each day to half its length, my friend,--

  The years that Time takes off _my_ life,

    He'll take from off the other end!

The Merry Maid

  Oh, I am grown so free from care

    Since my heart broke!

  I set my throat against the air,

    I laugh at simple folk!

  There's little kind and little fair

    Is worth its weight in smoke

  To me, that's grown so free from care

    Since my heart broke!

  Lass, if to sleep you would repair

    As peaceful as you woke,

  Best not besiege your lover there

    For just the words he spoke

  To me, that's grown so free from care

    Since my heart broke!

To Kathleen

  Still must the poet as of old,

  In barren attic bleak and cold,

  Starve, freeze, and fashion verses to

  Such things as flowers and song and you;

  Still as of old his being give

  In Beauty's name, while she may live,

  Beauty that may not die as long

  As there are flowers and you and song.

To S. M.

  If he should lie a-dying

  I am not willing you should go

  Into the earth, where Helen went;

  She is awake by now, I know.

  Where Cleopatra's anklets rust

  You will not lie with my consent;

  And Sappho is a roving dust;

  Cressid could love again; Dido,

  Rotted in state, is restless still:

  You leave me much against my will.

The Philosopher

  And what are you that, wanting you

    I should be kept awake

  As many nights as there are days

    With weeping for your sake?

  And what are you that, missing you,

    As many days as crawl

  I should be listening to the wind

    And looking at the wall?

  I know a man that's a braver man

    And twenty men as kind,

  And what are you, that you should be

    The one man in my mind?

  Yet women's ways are witless ways,

    As any sage will tell,--

  And what am I, that I should love

    So wisely and so well?

Four Sonnets

I

  Love, though for this you riddle me with darts,

  And drag me at your chariot till I die,--

  Oh, heavy prince! Oh, panderer of hearts!--

  Yet hear me tell how in their throats they lie

  Who shout you mighty: thick about my hair

  Day in, day out, your ominous arrows purr

  Who still am free, unto no querulous care

  A fool, and in no temple worshiper!

  I, that have bared me to your quiver's fire,

  Lifted my face into its puny rain,

  Do wreathe you Impotent to Evoke Desire

  As you are Powerless to Elicit Pain!

  (Now will the god, for blasphemy so brave,

  Punish me, surely, with the shaft I crave!)

II

  I think I should have loved you presently,

  And given in earnest words I flung in jest;

  And lifted honest eyes for you to see,

  And caught your hand against my cheek and breast;

  And all my pretty follies flung aside

  That won you to me, and beneath your gaze,

  Naked of reticence and shorn of pride,

  Spread like a chart my little wicked ways.

  I, that had been to you, had you remained,

  But one more waking from a recurrent dream,

  Cherish no less the certain stakes I gained,

  And walk your memory's halls, austere, supreme,

  A ghost in marble of a girl you knew

  Who would have loved you in a day or two.

III

  Oh, think not I am faithful to a vow!

  Faithless am I save to love's self alone.

  Were you not lovely I would leave you now;

  After the feet of beauty fly my own.

  Were you not still my hunger's rarest food,

  And water ever to my wildest thirst,

  I would desert you--think not but I would!--

  And seek another as I sought you first.

  But you are mobile as the veering air,

  And all your charms more changeful than the tide,

  Wherefore to be inconstant is no care:

  I have but to continue at your side.

  So wanton, light and false, my love, are you,

  I am most faithless when I most am true.

IV

  I shall forget you presently, my dear,

  So make the most of this, your little day,

  Your little month, your little half a year,

  Ere I forget, or die, or move away,

  And we are done forever; by and by

  I shall forget you, as I said, but now,

  If you entreat me with your loveliest lie

  I will protest you with my favorite vow.

  I would indeed that love were longer-lived,

  And oaths were not so brittle as they are,

  But so it is, and nature has contrived

  To struggle on without a break thus far,--

  Whether or not we find what we are seeking

  Is idle, biologically speaking.

"Eighty Days" by Matthew Goodman (2013)

To really understand this book, and what this journey meant at the time, the reader must be made aware of Jules Verne; the first “science-romance” author; and his fabulous writings in the 1870’s, including “Around the World in 80 Days”; and how that book came about. Though the story itself is fantastic; that book involves only technologies which had already been invented; unlike his other works “Journey to the Center of the Earth”, and “20,000 Leagues Under the Sea”, which both relied upon new inventions which were still decades away. His hero, Phileas Fogg, embarks upon his journey as the result of a dare, or wager, made at the local club where he plays whist.

Much to the author’s credit; not only does he supply that background, but he also provides ample background to the story of Ms. Bly, working for the New York World and her race around the world with Elizabeth Bisland, working for Cosmopolitan Magazine. This information really gives an extra dimension to the book, as well as offering a glimpse of what the times were like for women in the days when these two daredevils made their separate journey’s, each traveling around the world in opposite directions.

The feat had been accomplished before, by men who were working their way around the globe. But this was the first trip to be made by a woman, traveling alone, and for the express purpose of traveling, rather than working; though both women were employed in their separate endeavors by their respective publishers.

Embarking from New York; Ms. Bly by steamship to England; and Ms. Bisland by train to San Francisco; the two set off on a journey that each hopes will beat the 80 day’s envisioned in the Jules Verne novel. Filled with all of the charm and mystique of the era, along with wonderful descriptions of what each women saw on her journey, make this book both a history and a travelogue. Some of the countries that these women visited would be erased by the First World War, and some even came back into being after the Cold War. At any rate, the book is crafted in such a way that it would be impossible for any reader to come away from this book without having gained something from the experience.

With women’s rights on the run in the present, sometimes it’s enlightening to look back and relearn the obstacles, and struggles, which women once faced in almost every walk of life. Just ask Nelly Bly; all she wanted to be was a news reporter. If you want to know who won the race you’ll have to read the book, or look it up. I may be many things; but a spoiler is not one of them.

"All or Nothing" by Small Faces (1966)

This song was used in the film “Made in Dagenham” which deals with the Equal Pay Act in Britain, and was passed in 1970 as a result of the Ford strike by sewing machinists in 1968. The law went into effect in 1975; we’re still waiting for ours here in America; the champion of Human Rights.

The song is a real old favorite of mine, coming from the first album by Small Faces, the group which later became known as Faces, with Rod Stewart and Ronnie Lane; of future Rolling Stones  fame; on guitar. Their hits eventually eclipsed the brilliant work done by the band when it was under the leadership of Steve Marriott and Ronnie Lane; shown here; before they left the band in 1969.

Although Faces was tremendously successful; commercially; for me they never came up to the artistic achievements of Small Faces earlier works; such as “Itchycoo Park”, “Lazy Sunday” or even the concept album “Nut Gone Flake”, which was a heavy influence on other pop artists such as Pete Townsend and the Kinks’ Ray Davies.

According to Steve Marriott’s mother, this song was apparently written by Steve Marriott about breaking up with his girlfriend. However, Steve Marriott disputes this, claiming the song is about Rod Stewart’s first wife breaking up with Rod Stewart. Personally, I believe Steve's mother.

This song is from the album “From the Beginning" which is on Decca records and was released at the beginning of 1966. The original lineup of musicians was changed once during their short tenure; Jimmy Winston, the keyboard player, was replaced by Ian McLagan around the time of this film from BBC television.

The Brooklyn Navy Yard - December 1941

This photograph, released by Life magazine for the 71^st anniversary of the attack on Pearl Harbor, was taken at the Brooklyn Navy Yard within a week of the attack. Probably December 14^th, 1941. It wasn’t a spontaneous demonstration in the immediate wake of the attack that Sunday afternoon; the banners are too well done to have been so hastily prepared.
Several things “pop” out at me in this photo, the first being that the buildings are still there. Fulton Avenue is in the extreme background; with the “dry docks” and the river behind the photographer.

The next thing I noticed was the complete absence of women in the workforce. This was something which was about to change drastically. Within a few more months Rosie the Riveter would make her appearance in every shipyard, aircraft manufacturing plant, and ammunition factory in the country. And, this would have a profound effect on the nation once the war was over.

Women would never again settle for less than they had previously been limited to, although it would take decades to overcome discrimination in the workplace. And, even today, aside from the toothless Lillie Ledbetter Act; women in the private sector still remain paid less than their male counterparts. But, that aside, women were now; for the first time, able to build upon their basis of experience; which brought on by the war, helped them to achieve a future for themselves and their daughters. Fields that were formerly closed to them were now wide open.

Some may say that I am misguided in my belief that many social changes have been achieved only as a by-product of war. But, history bears me out, as in the case of African-Americans proving their worth in battle. Although the change in their status was not instantaneous, their service was a stepping stone on the long path to equality.

So, when I look at this photo I see the harbinger of change. I see the determined faces of men who would largely go off to war; but I also see the future of equality in the workplace for women and blacks. War, as such, is the most terrible dysfunction of mankind. It illustrates a complete lack of understanding and communication. It represents; on the one hand; the breakdown of all social order. Yet; on the other hand; it also represents change. And when that change is for the better, you have to wonder about the nature of mankind, and why it takes a war to recognize that. That’s what this photo says to me.

"Grace and Grit" by Lilly Ledbetter (2012)

I have been waiting for this book. I recently wrote about the dichotomy between the Lily Ledbetter Act, which was signed into law by President Obama in 2009, and the Supreme Court’s decision in the Wal-Mart versus Doris Duke case last year. To my mind, that decision flew in the face of reason. Having heard about Ms. Ledbetter's fight for equal pay at Goodyear, I was more than interested to read her story. And, as usual, the local library came through with this up front, and gutsy book about Ms. Ledbetter, and her fight on behalf of all people, not just women.

With a keen ear for telling her story, Ms. Ledbetter begins at the beginning, in the small town of Possum Trot, Alabama. Growing up in the 1940’s was not easy in many small towns around America. Ms. Ledbetter’s father worked at the Army Depot after his discharge from the Navy at the close of the Second World War. But the real good jobs were over in the next town, New Liberty, which was home to most of the workforce at Goodyear Tire. This, to Ms. Ledbetter’s thinking, was upward mobility, and she aspired to be a part of that circle. To have a store bought dress was a luxury for her; in New Liberty it was the norm.

Picking cotton and corn were a way of life for her, and her family, as they struggled to make ends meet. When the 1950’s rolled in, although her family was among the first in their area to have a TV, Ms. Ledbetter wanted access to the American Dream. Excelling in school was a natural for her, having been instilled to a life of hard work at an early age. But, without money, Jacksonville State, just 8 miles down the road, was out of the question. So, as was customary at the time, she got married. With the arrival of two children, life should have been complete. But, her narrow and restricted life drove her to want more. Eventually, after working at General Electric; where she made filaments for bulbs; she landed a job at the very University where she had wanted to study. She even took courses in her spare time. But money remained an obstacle to be overcome, month by month. And that’s what brought her to Goodyear. With a hard work ethic and a desire to succeed; that’s what all it would take to win the dream, right? Not really.

Although Goodyear had many women working in their plants during the Second World War, by the time Ms. Ledbetter arrived, there were only a handful of women working among the thousands of men at the Goodyear plant in Gadsden, Alabama. This was around 1979, and though many things were changing for women, many doors were, and still are, shuttered for them. The author does an excellent job in describing the harassment endured by women in the more industrialized jobs at that time. The Unions were largely unsympathetic to the problems faced by their female members. Ms. Ledbetter describes in detail some of the more blatant abuses suffered by the women who dared to work there. One of these involved the threat of being “picked”, which is a practice in which the other men would strip, and then pluck the pubic hairs of a fellow employee. This was something that had been done to men in the past, and they were supposed to just endure it. It was like a rite of passage. When some of the women are threatened in this manner one brave woman simply dropped her pants and dared them to do it. No one ever bothered her again.

Throughout the book, Ms. Ledbetter does a wonderful job of relating the unique challenges suffered by all true trailblazers. And as she forges ahead, she also is busy raising her 2 children, while dealing with a loving, but unsympathetic husband. Mired; as he is; in his belief in the Bible, he wants his wife to be an appendage to him. This does nothing for her self-esteem. Added to this mix is the illness of her son, Phillip, who suffered from chronic allergies requiring health care which was simply not affordable. Eventually she brings her son to a very sympathetic woman pediatrician who helps her navigate through some of these difficulties.

But by far the most important, and far reaching decision she would make, involved working at Goodyear. There was no way around it, the Goodyear plant, with its higher than average wages, was the logical choice.  Against the wishes of her husband, she applies for work at, and is hired by Goodyear. And, ironically; in her quest to better herself and help her family; this is where her struggles really begin.

One morning, after arriving at work, she finds a slip of paper in her mail at work. This piece of paper lists the salaries of the men and women who are doing the same work, the only difference being that the men are being paid a lot more. After working at the plant for 19 years she was stunned to learn of the disparity in pay being doled out to the women. And, as a female area manager, she was a valued employee. This was like rubbing sand in the wound. She was rewarded with the promotions for her excellent work, but denied the financial reward of all her efforts.

With the salaries so skewed; she was making $44,724 per year versus $59,028 for the same work being done by men; Ms. Ledbetter sought  the counsel of the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. Their investigation would take some time, while she continued to work at the plant knowing how underpaid she was. Just reading this part of the book had me seething. I cannot imagine how she endured the next few years while waiting for the EEOC to finish its investigation, and prepare for a trial.

Through layoffs, and continued harassment, the author finally makes it to the trial in January of 2003, which took place in the Anniston County Courthouse. The trial was a farce, with Goodyear’s lawyers attempting to make her look like a fool. They had picked the wrong woman for such tactics. After all she had been through; they should have realized that she wasn’t going to be intimidated.

When the jury awards her $3.8 million dollars in damages and back pay, she is stunned. But, she would never see that money. Even if Goodyear lost the appeal, the law capped off damage awards at $360,000, which is just about the sum of back pay she was owed.  According to the laws in place at the time, under Title VII, Compensatory and Punitive damages were dictated by the company’s size. In addition,  race claims were not subject to this cap. Had Ms. Ledbetter been African-American, and able to prove discrimination, she would have been eligible to receive the original amount determined by the jury. But, as a white woman, she was only entitled to the lesser amount. This is one of many reasons why the ERA, which was never ratified by the Senate, is such an important issue for women to tackle.

The case reached the Supreme Court in 2007. She lost. The court struck the case down on a technicality; if a worker is being paid less than another for equal work, then that complaint must be filed within 180 days; or else the applicant is stuck with the unequal pay for the remainder of their employment. That, in itself, is ridiculous on its face, considering it could be years before the employee learns of the discrimination. But the firestorm ignited by her attempts would lead to the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Restoration Act, spearheaded by Senators Steny Hoyer and Ted Kennedy. Senate Bill 1843 would take until April of 2008 to come up for a vote in the Senate. With both Secretary of State Hillary Clinton; who does receive equal pay as a government employee; and then Senator Obama pulling for her, the bill would eventually become law. It had been a hard battle by one courageous woman that hopefully would have a real impact on the question of Equal Pay for Equal Work.

And therein is the dichotomy I spoke of earlier. How can the President sign into law something that the Supreme Court had denied? And to top it off, how could the Supreme Court, only one year later, side with Wal-Mart on the issue of pay disparity within its  ranks? I have no real answer to these questions.

This is an engaging read, which raises many questions as it tells the story of one woman’s struggle to make a better life for herself, and her family. I only hope that many women will read this book and be inspired to make this issue of Equal Pay a hallmark of the coming election. We are one of the only industrialized nations in the world today without such protection for women. The Lilly Ledbetter Act is a nice piece of paper, but the Supreme Court is the final arbitrator of the issue. And with the courts recent Wal-Mart decision, we all have reason to be angry and ashamed.

The Lilly Ledbetter Act and The Wal-Mart Discrimination Case

When Doris Dukes sued Wal-Mart over unfair wages last year, and lost, something did not seem quite right with the Supreme Court's decision in the case. We all know, or should know, that American women do not have an Equal Rights Amendment. It was passed by Congress in 1973, but never ratified by the Senate. And it has largely been ignored ever since, even by women of both parties who were in a position to do something about it. I'm thinking about both Condi Rice and Hillary Clinton, who, during their respective terms as Secretary of State, travelled the world over talking about Human Rights in every country they visited. Women's Rights were also big on both of their foreign agendas. But never once have I ever heard an American woman, in a position of authority, tackle this seemingly simple issue; Equal pay for equal work.

To his credit, President Obama signed the Lilly Ledbetter Act into law in January 2009. But, much to the discredit of all those involved in writing that law, they never addressed the employers right to enforce a policy which prohibits an employee from disclosing to another employee, how much they earn for the same job. When Lilly Ledbetter sued Goodyear Tire and Rubber in 2007 this was the very issue at the heart of the matter. The Courts decision essentially told her that she and her fellow female employees had no right to compensation simply because they had learned too late about the discrimination, in other words, it was okay for Goodyear to have not made full disclosure to them about their terms of employment. That was a travesty of justice, as is the Wal-Mart case decision, in which the plaintiffs amounted to more than all of the female members of our Armed Forces, who do receive equal pay by law. Where is the consistency here?

I cannot help but wonder how the Court arrived at their logic in either case. In the Lilly Ledbetter decision it is akin to telling the victim of a crime that they have no civil recourse now, based on the fact that they didn't realize the unfairness with which they were treated at the time. It flies in the face of logic, especially at the present time, when compensation is being awarded to victims of the governments Eugenics Program, in which people were sterilized by court order. Those orders were both legally and morally wrong, and compensation, such as it is, is the correct remedy. What is the difference in the legal principle involved? I fail to see it.

These two episodes have now set the stage for corporations, such as Wal-Mart, to continue to dance about, and skirt the real problem, for years to come. In this election year, all women should be concerned about this inequity. Sadly, the majority seem to be unaware of the entire issue.

ERA - The Amendment That Never Was

I have been asking women for several months now if they thought that the ERA was a law. Most replied with either "yes", or, "I'm not really sure." Only a few knew that the law had been passed by Congress but not yet Ratified by the Senate. It was only 6 votes short of Ratification in 1973, and can be recalled for a new vote at any time.

Forgive me, for I am just a man, ignorant of many things. But I can no longer remain quietly on the sidelines while the major parties get ready to spilt the masses, once again, on issues of morality. Their focus would be better employed on fixing the economy, but that's another story.

This is the story of the Amendment that never was, and how it can be easily accomplished now, and why it is important that we do so in the year ramping up to the coming elections. The story begins in 1972, at a time when women were burning bras and demanding their rights concerning abortion and job opportunities. They got the former via Roe v. Wade, but the latter seems to have eluded them, and the frightening thing is this - the ones that don't know, don't seem to care, even after you tell them.

Right now the ERA sits, already passed by the House, and can be recalled at any time for ratification by the Senate. It was only 6 votes shy of Ratification in 1973. There are now 17 women serving in the Senate. Why have none of them called for a vote? And more importantly, why haven't the women's rights groups, like NOW, been withholding campaign contributions from these candidates, who should be trumpeting the cause of the ERA? Why are women afraid, or indifferent to, the prospect of being declared equal? As I said, I am but a man, and such questions are beyond my abilities to provide answers.

But I can tell you this, the wording of the ERA, as it now stands, encompasses people of ALL sexual persuasion, thus nullfying the debates over Gay Marriage and Rights. The bill, as written, is not gender specific. Perhaps that is what makes it too hot an issue to touch? I have printed it here before, and do so now, with the hope that you will read it;

Section 1. Equality of rights under the law shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any state on account of sex.

Section 2. The Congress shall have the power to enforce, by appropriate legislation, the provisions of this article.

Section 3. This amendment shall take effect two years after the date of ratification.

That's it! That's the entire earth shaking amendment which every one is afraid of!Can you imagine if this were passed before the election? The economy would become the issue, rather than the window dressing issues of morality encompassed within this propsed Amendment. Women Senators,of both parties, who enjoy EEO protection and equal pay under Federal Law, should be lobbying for this bill to be voted upon for the benefit of their Constituents. And those Constituents should be demanding to know why they have not.

Here is a link listing all the Senaors by State, and their contact numbers, give them a call, and tell 'em "Rooftop" sent ya'.


http://www.senate.gov/general/contact_information/senators_cfm.cfm

The 19th Amendment

Last week was the 90th anniversary of the 19th Amendment to the Constitution being ratified. It had been proposed in June of 1919, but was not ratified until August 18th, 1920. Women had been struggling for the Right to Vote for decades, usually citing the 14th Amendment, one of the so-called “Reconstruction Amendments”, as the legal basis for that right. The 13th, 14th and 15th Amendments were all proposed and ratified between 1865 and 1870. They were the first Amendments to the Constitution in over 60 years, the last Amendments having been ratified in 1804 to clarify the limits of Judicial Powers and the manner in which the electoral process was to operate in choosing the President.

In the days following the Civil War women across America had begun to agitate for the Right to Vote, some arguing that since African –Americans were now equal, women should be granted at least the same rights as those who had so recently been disenfranchised. This was a losing argument. The Constitution itself limited the Right to Vote to free men only, and later, after the Civil War, in the 15th Ammendment, to all men regardless of race or servitude.

When Susan B. Anthony began her struggles to acquire the vote for women, it usually took the form of a challenge to the 14th Amendment with it’s broader scope of “Citizenship Rights Not to be Abridged.” The fallacy of this approach was that the 14th Amendment was very clear in it’s definition of who could vote. Men, 21 years or older and even then only if they had not taken part in an insurrection, or rebellion, against the United States, were allowed to vote.

The “Reconstruction Amendments”, under which so many of our present day rights have been granted, were all ratified at a time when Congress, and the Senate, were in a state of turmoil and confusion following the Civil War. The 14th Amendment, in particular, has always lived in the shadow of whether or not it was even properly ratified. Although ratified by the Senate on July 9th, 1866, it was not declared the law of the land until July of 1868, when the Secretary of State proclaimed that it was, indeed, ratified.

In 1872 Myra Bradwell challenged the Constitutionality of that law in Bradwell Vs. Illinois, after being denied entrance to the State Bar, for which she was qualified, based on the fact that she was not a man. The case went to the Supreme Court, where the law was upheld and her case was denied. Justice Bradley wrote this in his concurring opinion;

"It is true that many women are unmarried and not affected by any of the duties, complications, and incapacities arising out of the married state, but these are exceptions to the general rule. The paramount destiny and mission of women are to fulfill the noble and benign offices of wife and mother. This is the law of the Creator. And the rules of civil society must be adapted to the general constitution of things, and cannot be based upon exceptional cases. "

I’ll run that by my wife and let you know how it turns out. But my point is that they were barking up the wrong tree. Clearly, there needed to be an Amendment that directly addressed the question of whether or not women were fully citizens of this country. It was to be a long haul.

Between the 1870’s and 1920, when the 19th Amendment was ratified, there were scores of attempts by women to vote. The movement, known as the Women’s Suffrage Movement, had run several candidates for president, all to no avail.

After World War One had ended, and women had proved their worth once again in a time of national strife, there was an increased call to right this wrong. And this time they were successful in their quest for the Right to Vote.

As a matter of fact, during the final years of President Wilson’s second term in office (1916-1920), his affairs were largely handled by his wife Edith. It was she who had made the trips across the Atlantic in furtherance of President Wilson’s goal to establish the League of Nations. It can be successfully argued, that in the absence of her husbands ability to function fully after his stroke, Edith Wilson was the first woman to administer the affairs of the office of the President of the United States.

And so it was, that in 1920, women gained the Right to Vote. I remember growing up in the 1950’s and 60’s and the lack of women in every major field. There were no women police officers, letter carriers, cab drivers etc. It was a man’s world. Women were generally relagated to jobs such as teachers, librarians, nurses, cleaning and other mundane tasks that men were not interested in. I also remember the ridicule heaped upon women in 1960 when they went nuts over a handsome candidate from Massachusetts, John Kennedy. It was joked that women were voting for President based on looks alone.

Now fast forward to the world of today. We have women in Congress and the Senate, there are women Governors, there are women in outer space and we have even had our first serious woman contestant for President of the United States. There are still areas in which women have not attained true equality, but the 19th Amendment was a big step towards that end.