October 2020 DWC NEWSLETTER DEMOCRATIC WOMEN’S CLUB OF MANATEE COUNTY FLORIDA WWW.DWCManatee.com We will have a October 13th DWC Meeting via Zoom at 11:30 am! Our speakers will be Alison Morano DEC Clubs and Caucuses Coordinator and Adrienne Bogen, Coalition Director of Women for Biden. Alison Bogen Adrienne Bogen Due to the pandemic our meeting will be conducted by Zoom. Each member will be emailed an invitation to join the meeting. In the email will be a link that to join the meeting. Click on the link in the email to join the meeting, and you will be taken to the meeting. Please re- member our President, Erika, will have to connect you once you have clicked the join meeting link. If this is the first time you have ever joined a Zoom Meeting, I have included a brief “how to” video which will give you a great overview of how to join the meeting. It really is very easy. CLICK HERE TO WATCH “HOW TO JOIN A ZOOM Early Voting Starts October 19th to Sunday November 1st 8:30 am to 6:30 pm at six locations Florida Dept. of Transportation Office Supervisor of Elections Office Rocky Bluff Library 14000 SR 64 600 301 Blvd W 6750 US 301 Lakewood Ranch Town Hall Manatee County Utilities Office Palmetto Library 8175 Lakewood Ranch Blvd. 4410 66th St W 923 6th St W 1 OCTOBER PRESIDENT’S LETTER “Take a deep breath and speak calmly.” RBG. My heart sank, along with the collective America, when we heard of the unfortunate passing of all women’s icon, the notorious RBG as she was affectionately known. She was the woman of all women and was first to create many roads into areas where women were simply not welcome. Ruth Bader Ginsburg became the second female justice of the U.S. Supreme Court. Born in 1933 in Brooklyn, New York, Bader taught at Rutgers University Law School and then at Columbia Universi- ty, where she became its first female tenured professor. She served as the director of the Women’s Rights Project of the American Civil Liberties Union during the 1970s, and was appointed to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia in 1980. Named to the U.S. Supreme Court in 1993 by President Bill Clinton, she continued to argue for gender equality in such cases as United States v. Vir- ginia. Americans have long been inspired by Justice Ginsburg and her work advancing equality and op- portunity. Her passing has left many feeling a great sense of loss. The future of the Supreme Court has also made the stakes in this election blatantly clear. Even she knew the ramifications of her death, as her last request was for her seat to only be filled with the next president. Of course, the orange president dishonors her by appointing another hard-core conservative to fill her position on the SCOTUS. She knew, as we all do that the next few months will determine if our democratic system endures, or if we live the rest of our lives in a dictatorship, with Trump as President forever. I leave you with these awe-inspiring words: “I asked no favor for my sex, all I ask of our brethren is that they take their feet off our necks.” RBG Honor her legacy, VOTE Erika Lundquist, DWC of Manatee President WE'VE HAD ENOUGH Lincoln Women,’ Led By Prominent GOP Women Current and former Republican women stand against four more years of Donald Trump Aug 24, 2020 – After four years of blatant misogyny, civil unrest, and failed leadership from President Trump, today The Lincoln Project continues our crusade to abolish his chances of reelection by announcing the first wave of fierce women to lead our Lincoln Women coali- tion. This coalition is comprised of current and former Republican women who have had enough of this president and will actively encourage other Republican women to vote him out of office on November 3. “President Trump’s weakness and incompetence have caused immeasurable damage to our country. His failure at managing the pandemic response has cost over 175,000 lives. His failure to preserve the economy has inordinately hurt women and cost millions of jobs. His assaults against women, immi- grants, and minorities demean the Presidency and the American people.” said Jennifer Horn, co- founder of The Lincoln Project. “Women will decide the outcome of this election. The coalition is dedi- cated to uniting all women who recognize the threat this President poses to the future of our Republic and turning them out to vote for Joe Biden and Kamala Harris. The future of our families, our communi- ties, and our country lie in our hands.” Source: The Lincoln Project 2 Here’s An Excerpt From a Recent MSNBC In- terview with Steve Schmidt Over the weekend, Republican Steve Schmidt, who ran John McCain's 2008 campaign for president, was interviewed on MSNBC. In response to a very general question regarding the Trump Presidency, Mr. Schmidt spoke for two solid minutes and gave the most insightful and brutally honest response of what the Trump Presidency has done to our great country. “Donald Trump has been the worst president this country has ever had. And, I don't say that hyper- bolically. He is. But he is a consequential president. And, he has brought this country in three short years to a place of weakness that is simply unimaginable if you were pondering where we are today from the day where Barack Obama left office. There were a lot of us on that day who were deeply skeptical and very worried about what a Trump presidency would be. But this is a moment of unpar- alleled national humiliation, of weakness.” "When you listen to the President, these are the musings of an imbecile. An idiot. And I don't use those words to name call. I use them because they are the precise words of the English language to describe his behavior. His comportment. His actions. We've never seen a level of incompetence, a level of ineptitude so staggering on a daily basis by anybody in the history of this country whose ev- er been charged with substantial responsibilities.” "It's just astonishing that this man is president of the United States. The man, the con man, from New York City. Many bankruptcies, failed businesses, a reality show, that branded him as some- thing that he never was, a successful businessman. Well, he's the President of the United States now, and the man who said he would make the country great again, and he's brought death, suffer- ing, and economic collapse on truly an epic scale." "And, let's be clear. This isn't happening in every country around the world. This place. Our place. Our home. Our country. The United States. We are the epicenter. We are the place where you're the most likely to die from this disease. We're the ones with the most shattered economy. And we are, because of the fool that sits in the Oval Office." Cindy McCain joins board of Biden transition team Cindy McCain, the wife of the late Sen. John McCain, has joined the board of Joe Biden's presidential transition team. Why it matters: McCain, who endorsed Biden last week after allegations in The Atlantic that President Trump had denigrated members of the military, joins for- mer Veterans Affairs Secretary Bob McDonald as the second registered Republi- can on the transition board. The big picture: Other high-profile members of the transition board include New Mexico Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham, former 2020 presidential candidate Pete Buttigieg, former Surgeon General Vivek Murthy, former national security adviser Susan Rice, and former Deputy Attorney General Sally Yates, according to the Wall Street Journal. What they're saying: "This transition is like no other, preparing amid the backdrop of a global health crisis and struggling economy, which makes Mrs. McCain’s experience as a business woman, philanthropist, and longtime advocate for issues impacting women and children all the more valua- ble," said transition co-chair and former Sen. Ted Kaufman. "Diversity of ideology and background is a core value of the transition, and today’s announcement is another step demonstrating the importance of unifying the country under a Biden-Harris administra- tion.” By: Axios 3 What is National Coming Out Day? October 11th is National Coming Out Day, a day tion foster greater well-being and mental health. dedicated to raising awareness of civil rights for They define coming out as "self-awareness of the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender com- same-sex attractions; the telling of one or a few munity. people about these attractions; widespread dis- closure of same-sex attractions and identification LGBTQ advocacy group the Human with the lesbian, gay and bisexual community." Rights Campaign (HRC) said National Coming Out Day is meant to help create an environment The three stages of coming out, according to the where living openly and honestly is possible. HRC, are opening up to oneself, coming out and living openly. "Coming out is one of the This is my coming out story. It is the most courageous acts any Coming out can be a difficult most personal video I have ever LGBTQ person makes, and time for many in the LGBTQ on this National Coming Out made. I don't know what else to say community, advocates say, Day that courage remains es- here so I'll just let the video do the and many organization offer sential to our continued pro- talking.— Ray Stauffer counseling and support.