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Pending Legislation champions women's rights and safety

democracyad — Sat, 21 Nov 2009 08:20:50 GMT

I recently got very heartening news from Pennsylvania Senator Robert Casey about pioneering legislation he has introduced in the Senate championing the rights of women. Perhaps you can print some of it so women can be informed and vote to make the home and workplace safer.

Appended is an email from the Senator.

Please do not include my name!

Peace,

Leslie Holmes

Response from Senator Casey

From:	Senator Robert P. Casey, Jr. (senator@casey.senate.gov)
Sent:	Thu 10/22/09 5:59 PM
To:	democracy_advocate@live.com

Dear Sister Holmes:

Thank you for taking the time to contact me about domestic and sexual violence. I appreciate hearing from all Pennsylvanians about the issues that matter most to them.

We must do all we can to prevent domestic and sexual violence from occurring, to help victims receive the help and support they need and to punish the perpetrators of the crime.

In the 110^th Congress, I was proud to be a cosponsor of the Domestic Violence Volunteer Attorney Network Act. This bill would have given low income individuals who are victims of domestic violence access to legal aid and services. I believe that every victim of domestic violence should receive justice through our legal system. This legislation has not been reintroduced in the 111^th Congress.

I am also a strong supporter of the Violence Against Women Act (VAWA). I have on many occasions joined with colleagues in the Senate to advocate for full funding for the programs contained in VAWA. I am a cosponsor of S. 1340, the Crime Victims Fund Preservation Act of 2009, which would raise the cap on the Crime Victims Fund, the principle means by which the federal government supports essential services for crime victims under the Victims of Crime Act (VOCA). I have also consistently supported funding increases for other programs under VOCA. It is critical to ensure funding for these services, as failure to fund them would create an additional burden on state and local taxpayers while severely curtailing programs in Pennsylvania and around the country.

Earlier this year, I introduced an amendment to the Senate Budget Resolution that would pave the way for full funding of a program to provide long term and stable housing assistance to victims of domestic violence. The amendment would help women who leave abusive relationships to avoid two very negative potential outcomes – returning to their abusers or becoming homeless. The amendment would create a deficit neutral reserve fund to fully fund the Long-Term Stability/Housing for Victims Program under VAWA. This is an existing program that has never received funding. I am pleased that this amendment was adopted by the Senate and included as a part of the budget resolution.
I am pleased that the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act included additional funds to support VOCA and VAWA. Through this legislation, Pennsylvania will receive approximately $6.4 million for VAWA and $3.8 million for crime victim compensation and assistance to administer VOCA-funded crime victim compensation programs. The Omnibus Appropriations Act of 2009 included $415 million for the Office on Violence Against Women at the Department of Justice, $15 million above the 2008 funding level.

Finally, I recently introduced a resolution recognizing April, 2009 as National Sexual Assault Awareness Month. Recognizing National Sexual Assault Awareness Month provides a special opportunity to educate the people of the United States about sexual violence and to encourage the prevention of sexual assault, the improved treatment of its survivors and the prosecution of its perpetrators. The House concurrent resolution, H. Con. Res. 104, passed the Senate by unanimous consent on April 30, 2009.

Again, thank you for sharing your thoughts with me. Please do not hesitate to contact me in the future about this or any other matter of importance to you.

If you have access to the Internet, I encourage you to visit my web site, http://casey.senate.gov. I invite you to use this online office as a comprehensive resource to stay up-to-date on my work in Washington, request assistance from my office or share with me your thoughts on the issues that matter most to you and to Pennsylvania.

Sincerely,
Bob Casey
United States Senator

Highway accident

unclaimed — Sat, 21 Nov 2009 08:03:32 GMT

Vehicle rollover on the Saw mill parkway in new york, possibly due to wet conditions. Driver was walking around. Chris N., NY Sent via BlackBerry by AT&T

Art in Advertising-Street Art

mainstreet57 — Sat, 21 Nov 2009 07:57:25 GMT

Advertising From the Past

For hugo chavez ONLY

prophtnorman — Sat, 21 Nov 2009 07:56:20 GMT

"God has warned you"

Love,

Prophet Norman

For The Pope of Rome ONLY

prophtnorman — Sat, 21 Nov 2009 07:38:21 GMT

"God loves you VERY-MUCH"

Love, Prophet Norman

funny baby

freoguy — Sat, 21 Nov 2009 07:35:20 GMT

i took the pics early this morning in the train on the way home

christmas light

freoguy — Sat, 21 Nov 2009 07:32:50 GMT

i took those pics early on my way to the radio station

The Pensacola Junior College Permanent Collection

JamesAmerson — Sat, 21 Nov 2009 07:29:55 GMT

Tonight was Gallery Night in Pensacola Florida, a night when artist, shop owners and locals all meet together in downtown Pensacola to soak up some culture and check out what Pensacola has to offer in the arts. One of the focus art collections was featured at the Hancock Bank, a collection of renowned art dedicated in the name of Mrs. Anna Lamar Switzer who loved the arts and this community.

Now numbering over 400 pieces, the collection of renowned art is housed in the Visual Arts Gallery of the Anna Lamar Switzer Center for Visual Arts on the Pensacola Junior College Campus. The focus of the collection is on modern and contemporary art which has been acquired over a forty year period through purchases prizes, gifts and grants.

When Allen Peterson was hired back in 1974, his goal was to create a professional gallery program highlighting PJC’s already excellent academic and cultural programs.

Allen told me,

“I decided to do two things to accomplish that goal: start to develop a permanent collection of original art works that studio faculty could use in teaching, as well as bringing to the community a variety of contemporary art through changing exhibitions that they would be unlikely to see without traveling to a major metropolitan city.
I established a series of competitive exhibitions called The Pensacola Nationals that lasted for some twelve years and changed media focus each year. Starting with The Pensacola National Drawing Exhibition, national competitions in Painting, Ceramics, Sculpture,
Printmaking, Graphic Design, Crafts, Portraits, Calligraphy, and other media followed. Grant funded purchase prizes enabled us to add six or seven pieces to the growing collection each year. Over the years, gifts, donations, invitational exhibitions and other competitions continued to enlarge the collection that now numbers well over 400 pieces. In addition, we established a long series of grant funded workshops by a wide variety of established artists like potters Peter Voulkos, Bennett Bean, and Paul Soldner, whose works
were added to the collection. In 2002 with the grand opening of the Anna Lamar Switzer Center for Visual Arts, internationally known artists as photographer Clyde Butcher, architect Michael Graves and sculptor Albert Paley put the collection into a class of its own.

Portions of the collection have become traveling shows, visiting college galleries and museums and reviews have appeared in national magazines and newspapers.

The uniqueness of a junior college establishing a collection of such quality, of attracting major supporters such as the Reilly and Switzer familes who endowed the Switzer Center, and housing an exceptional visual art department with exceptional artist/teachers, has made the possibility of being recognized as a regional art center for the State of Florida a dream for the future.”

It has been my honor, if just for a brief moment, to photograph a portion of this collection and I hope that with this story, I can shed light on the great works of art and all the hard work that so many have done to gather such a collection that we all can enjoy.

Evangelicals within America

prophtnorman — Sat, 21 Nov 2009 07:09:25 GMT

"God warned ALL the leaders that you will ALL have Gods SWINE and you will DIE"...

Gods Atonement has started on 9-19-09

Love,

Prophet Norman

For Ayatollah Ali Hoseyni Khāmene’i and President Obama

prophtnorman — Sat, 21 Nov 2009 07:05:50 GMT

"God has warned you"

HUGE UFO floats over Ft. Collins and Loveland, Colorado skyline!! 11-19-2009

AlienPhotog — Sat, 21 Nov 2009 06:47:55 GMT

I was in the right place at the right time for this.

I've never seen anything like this.

Looking at how far away it is ... it MUST be HUGE!

Jost floats silently above skyline!

It is what it is ... whatever that is.

Sea of Galilee at Sunset

nomadicjames — Sat, 21 Nov 2009 06:34:20 GMT

While living in Israel in 2006, I took this photo of the Sea of Galilee after a day of hiking around the lake. In this land of conflict, there are still places of serenity and breathtaking beauty . Watching the peaceful waters and the golden sunset became an elixir of life to my spirit and soul.