Letter: Peter Roskam, Todd Akin Are 'Birds of a Feather'
Glen Ellyn Patch welcomes letters to the editor. Send letters to Local Editor Mary Ann Lopez at maryl@patch.com.
To the editor:
Don’t be fooled! Peter Roskam and Todd Akin are birds of a feather. We may be appalled by Akin’s ridiculous claims about legitimate rape not resulting in pregnancy, but both Roskam and Akin are of the same mind when it comes to women, women’s rights and women’s health. Peter Roskam is a proud co-sponsor of HR 3, which redefines rape to narrow a woman’s right to choose. Both Roskam and Akin would like to redefine to separate so-called “forcible rape” from statutory rape. As our President said, “rape is rape.” Gentlemen, do you really want to legitimize rape that results from adults taking advantage of vulnerable, underage children? Shame on you Peter Roskam!
If you are skeptical, just look at Roskam’s voting record on women’s issues. Roskam voted against HR 2831, the Equal Pay Act that would designate that unequal payment based on race, religion, sex, national origin, age or disability is a new violation with each payment. He voted against S 181, the Employment Discrimination Law that requires that employers be able to prove that any disparities in pay between male and female employees are job-related (Sec. 3) and that prohibits employer retaliation against employees who inquire about, discuss, or disclose their own wage or that of another employee. He also voted for amendment 95 to HR 1 that prohibits use of federal funds for Planned Parenthood – never mind that the main business of Planned Parenthood is to provide critical health care and cancer screening for millions of women who otherwise would not have access.
But hey, Peter Roskam did vote for HR 3541, the Prenatal Nondiscrimination Act that prohibits abortions based on the race or gender of the fetus. I guess he believes in equality of the sexes until a baby is born. Then all bets are off – especially if you were born female!
If the women of District 6 would wise up and see Peter Roskam for the anti-female congressman that he is, they would vote for one of their own – Leslie Coolidge. Remember, this vote is not just for today’s women, but to ensure a safe, healthy and prosperous future for our daughters as well.
Dianne Kennedy
Elmhurst, IL
VP Emerging Technologies
Patrick Henry
9:26 am on Tuesday, August 28, 2012
"War on woman"? Laughable! It's all smoke and mirrors, by the slash and burn Obama administration. The right for a woman to do what she wants with her body is not going anywhere. And what Akin said? Who cares, he's nuts! The shame is however, we have arrived at a point in time where the act of abortion itself is now used as a means of birth control in our urban ghettos. And why the heck ought I, or anyone other tax paying citizen have to pay for that kind of behavior?
Carol F
12:31 pm on Tuesday, August 28, 2012
I am getting bored with Old white men who continue to focus on women's issues as if banning birth control will fix the economy.
Mark Garrity
12:41 pm on Tuesday, August 28, 2012
Why do Republicans insist on using phony names Mr "Give Me Liberty or Give me Death"? Could it be you don't want your real name associated with your phony arguments?
In any event here are just a few of the examples of the GOP War on Women since they took over the house in 2010. http://mediamatters.org/research/2012/04/10/republican-war-on-women-is-not-a-left-wing-inve/186151
Mark Garrity
1:02 pm on Tuesday, August 28, 2012
BTW very good letter Dianne. HR 2831 or what became known as the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act has that provision where unequal payment is a new violation with each payment because of the radically rightwing Roberts Supreme Court's awful ruling in Mrs Ledbetter's initial case.
For those who don't know Lilly Ledbetter was one of the first women hired to salaried middle management at the Goodyear tire plant in Gasden AL back in 1979. She took early retirement in 1998 and discovered she had been earning $1000 to $2000 a month less than men doing the same job even though she had higher job evaluations than many of them. She sued Goodyear and it went all the way up the Supreme Court where the conservative Republican majority ruled against her on a technicality they invented claiming she should have sued within 180 days of the first discrimination against her. Never mind that it took her many years to discover she was getting paid much less for equal work.
So after Democrats had tried for years to change this law so the SC couldn't rig the game in favor of big business against their employees with opposition from Republicans like Peter Roskam and Judy Biggert finally once President Obama was sworn into office it was the first bill passed and signed into law in January 2009.
JanS
1:33 pm on Tuesday, August 28, 2012
Had the equal pay law passed, the main outcome would have been a new revenue stream for lawyers. In white color jobs, everyone negotiates for their own pay - it is a trade off, money & benefits for time, energy & knowledge. So long as there is no fraud, the government should stay out of it.
JanS
1:35 pm on Tuesday, August 28, 2012
As for extreme stance on birth control.... Expecting someone to fund it is extreme. Obama's vote as an IL Senator to kill babies born alive as a result of a botched abortion... that is extreme.
Mark Garrity
2:12 pm on Tuesday, August 28, 2012
"white color jobs"? Pray tell what is that?
Mark Garrity
2:28 pm on Tuesday, August 28, 2012
Roskam's positions on women's issues are just as extreme as Akin's and Ryan's. What's surprising is knowing that Romney picked Ryan anyway. IL Republican party leaders didn't want the extremist Roskam running for senate in 2010, that's why he stepped aside for the more moderate Kirk. It made no sense for Romney to pick the equally radical Ryan for VP nominee. Not very smart choosing a guy who has so much economic and cultural political baggage.
These guys are way out of step with America. We're stuck in a jobs crisis and instead of focusing like a laser on jobs as they promised they'd do the GOP House has spent their time passing anti-women measures and tried to repeal Obamacare 34 times. It is the least productive congress since 1947-48.
http://www.usatoday.com/news/washington/story/2012-08-14/unproductive-congress-not-passing-bills/57060096/1
Lisa Bucaro
4:47 pm on Thursday, August 30, 2012
I for one, am proud to be a wife and mother living in Peter Roskam's district. Congressman Roskam has been unfailing in his dedication to women's rights. He was recently named one of the top member of Congress by Working Women Magazine when it comes to his efforts on behalf of not only working women, but all working parents. He is upstanding and forthright and has been a proven leader in Congress on issues that men AND women care about: like the economy. Disagree completely with this "War on Women" nonsense. Stop trying to put me in a box and assume you know what I care about. "Women's Issues" includes the economy, and Coolidge is not the right choice to get our economy back on track.