Relationships and Going Places
Jo Freeman: There’s Plenty To Do at the RNC – If You Have the Right Credentials
by Jo Freeman
Every national nominating convention has plenty of auxiliary events, some authorized, some not. Getting space can be a challenge; getting the word out even more so. But they do it nonetheless. Press were given a RNC 2024 Master Event Calendar, which was updated a few days later. Events began on Sunday and ended on Thursday. The actual convention sessions were just one item on the list. The calendar said if an event was Open or Closed to press, and also whom to contact to register. I’m going to describe some of the events, including a couple I went to, and a couple I was turned away from.
Since my focus is on women, I obviously wanted to go to those events – if I could.
The National Federation of Republican Women is the largest grassroots Republican women's organization in the country with hundreds of clubs. Founded in 1938, its members made the phone calls and knocked on the doors that elected Republican candidates for decades. It’s Tuesday luncheon featured Arkansas Governor Sarah Sanders. The Master Calendar said it was SOLD OUT and they wouldn’t let me in. I was able to get into their lounge at the Fiserv Forum Wednesday evening, where I was repeatedly asked if I was a member, and if not, would I join. “I’m press,” I said. “I can’t join anything partisan.” I then said: “What brings you here?” On hearing that, finding anyone willing to chat with me was like pulling teeth.
Moms for Liberty met in a concert hall that afternoon. I had pre-registered, and I got in. From high in a balcony seat I listened to several people talk about the evils of transgenderism. It’s webpage says WE BELIEVE Power Belongs to the People. Sound Familiar? With a focus is on parental rights, it wants to “STOP WOKE indoctrination.”
Tuesday I went to “The New Mavericks” reception co-hosted by the Black Republican Mayors Association and the Georgia Republican Party. They honored Sen. Tim Scott, four Congressmen and two Georgia delegates – all male. There was only one mayor on stage, from Aurora, IL. The chair of the Georgia Republican Party was the one white man on the stage. At that event, women served; they didn’t speak. The RNC reported that 55 delegates to the 2024 convention are Black, up from 18 in 2016.
I missed the Independent Women’s Forum toast to “Women Who Make Our Country Great” because I went to Convention Fest: The Official Delegate Experience, which was held in the streets outside the Fiserve Forum and Baird Hall as well as some space inside Baird. To get to that one you not only needed a credential of some sort, but a USSS pass (which I have).
Concerned Women for America parked its pink bus across from the Baird Center the week before the RNC. No one was home. When Convention Fest opened on Tuesday afternoon, they set up a pink tent, from which its leaders preached to whomever passed by. It calls itself “the nation’s largest public policy women’s organization” but its focus is evangelical Christian. The slogan on the side of its pink bus captures this emphasis: “She Prays, She Votes.” A prayer precedes each sermon.
A Busy Congressional Action Week: Diversity in the Boardroom, Poverty in America, SNAP, Quality Family Planning Care, Veterans Survivors of Military Sexual Assault and Who Was Vera Rubin?
Human Trafficking — On Thursday, the Senate Committee on the Judiciary is scheduled to mark up S. 1494, the Secure and Protect Act of 2019; a Legislative Fix to the Crisis at the Southwest Border, a bill to amend the William Wilberforce Trafficking Victims Protection Reauthorization Act of 2008. On Thursday, the House Committee on Science, Space, and Technology is scheduled to mark up several bills, including H.R. 36, the Combating Sexual Harassment in Science Act; H.R. 2528, the STEM Opportunities Act; more »
*GAO Investigates Elder Care: As Many as 1 in 10 Older US Adults are Abused Each Year with Physical, Sexual, or Emotional Abuse, Financial Scams and Neglect
Researchers estimate that as many as 1 in 10 older US adults are abused each year. This includes physical, sexual, or emotional abuse, financial scams, and neglect. It can occur at the hands of family, guardians, caregivers, or others. The Department of Justice has investigated and prosecuted cases of elder abuse, provided training and grants, and taken other actions to combat it. However, DOJ has not developed goals that could help guide these efforts. The GAO recommended that DOJ develop and document elder justice goals and outcome measures to better guide its elder justice efforts. Examples of Scams Commonly Committed Against Older Adults in the US are included. more »
Collection of 20th Century Souvenir Buildings at the National Building Museum: A Reminder of Travel and a Record of Popular Architecture
These pocket-sized buildings are at once a reminder of travel, and a record of popular architecture. Included in the collection are iconic tourist destinations, like the Tower of Pisa; Empire State Building; the Parthenon; the Space Needle; the Alamo; the Eiffel Tower; and the Temple of Heaven. Also included are more modest buildings, like dozens of suburban American banks, grain silos, and football stadiums, as well as souvenirs from places with less architectural, but nonetheless popular, pedigrees: Lincoln’s log cabin; Elvis’ Graceland; and the Disneyland Castle. After decades of display in museums and private residences, the entire collection was donated to the Museum in 2019. more »
Swedish Parental Leave Policies: Parents are Entitled to 480 Days of Paid Parental Leave When a Child is Born or Adopted
Before a baby is born, expectant mothers in Sweden get prenatal care through free or subsidised courses that help them prepare for the delivery, with breathing techniques, coaching sessions and group support. Women who work typically strenuous jobs that require heavy lifting or in risky work environments such as construction sites are entitled to additional pregnancy benefits by taking time off work earlier during their pregnancy. Benefits can be paid as early as 60 days into the pregnancy and continue up to 11 days before the due date. The amount received is roughly 80 per cent of the mother’s daily pay and is paid by the Swedish Social Insurance Agency. Many Swedish hospitals have adjoining ‘hotels’ where new mothers and their partners may stay for two or three days (with all meals included) after a birth so nurses can monitor the mothers and provide postnatal care for newborns. more »
