Saturday, December 31, 2022

Writing, Making Money, Getting Famous, Getting Happy, Stephen King

“Writing isn't about making money, getting famous, getting dates, getting laid, or making friends. In the end, it's about enriching the lives of those who will read your work, and enriching your own life, as well. It's about getting up, getting well, and getting over. Getting happy, okay? Getting happy.” ― Stephen King, On Writing: A Memoir of the Craft

Found in Goodreads' Stephen King quotes section.

Friday, December 30, 2022

Too Angry, Keep Your Mouth Shut, Keep You Silent, Your Story, Michelle Obama, Ms. Magazine

“Don't ever, ever let anyone tell you that you're too angry, or that you 'should keep your mouth shut.' There will always be those who want to keep you silent, to have you be seen but not heard, or maybe they don't even want to see you at all. But those people don't know your story, and if you listen to them, then nothing will ever change.” - Former First Lady Michelle Obama, speaking to the graduating class of 2020.

Found in Ms. Magazine, Fall 2020 issue, page 6.

Wednesday, December 28, 2022

Applying Pressure, Despair, Resignation, Elie Wiesel

"It may well be that our means are fairly limited and our possibilities restricted when it comes to applying pressure on our government. But is this a reason to do nothing? Despair is not an answer. Neither is resignation. Resignation only leads to indifference, which is not merely a sin but a punishment." - Elie Wiesel

This can be found at http://www.wisdomquotes.com/authors/elie-wiesel/.

Tuesday, December 27, 2022

Empathy, Trying to Imagine, Do Something About it, Cornel West

“Empathy is not simply a matter of trying to imagine what others are going through, but having the will to muster enough courage to do something about it. In a way, empathy is predicated upon hope.” ― Cornel West

Found on Goodreads at https://www.goodreads.com/author/quotes/6176.Cornel_West.

Saturday, December 24, 2022

Liberal, Jesus Christ, Change Things, James E.C. Perry

"Yes, I'm a liberal. Jesus Christ was a liberal, was he not? I mean, it's not a dirty word - to want to change things." - James E.C. Perry, retiring Florida Supreme Court justice, in December 31, 2016's Tampa Bay Times ("Perry Steps Down, But He's Not Finished"). A shortened version of the article was posted on the Times' blog at http://www.tampabay.com/blogs/the-buzz-florida-politics/justice-perrys-exit-interview-go-back-to-the-original-thinking-of-the/2307922.

Sunday, December 18, 2022

Love, Sea, Moving Thing, Shore, Zora Neale Hurston

“Love is like the sea. It's a moving thing, but still and all, it takes its shape from the shore it meets, and it's different with every shore.” ― Zora Neale Hurston, Their Eyes Were Watching God

Found on Goodreads at https://www.goodreads.com/author/quotes/15151.Zora_Neale_Hurston.

Friday, December 16, 2022

Stupidity, Retrospect, Missed Chances, Stephen King

“Stupidity is one of two things we see most clearly in retrospect. The other is missed chances.” - Stephen King, '11/22/63'

Wednesday, December 14, 2022

Joy and Pain, Friendship, That's Living, Zora Neal Hurston

“I have known the joy and pain of friendship. I have served and been served. I have made some good enemies for which I am not a bit sorry. I have loved unselfishly, and I have fondled hatred with the red-hot tongs of Hell. That's living.” ― Zora Neale Hurston

Found on Goodreads at https://www.goodreads.com/author/quotes/15151.Zora_Neale_Hurston.

Monday, December 12, 2022

Iroquois Society, Seven Generations, Past, Future, Wilma Mankiller

“In Iroquois society, leaders are encouraged to remember seven generations in the past and consider seven generations in the future when making decisions that affect the people.” - Wilma Mankiller

Found on Inspiring Quotes at https://www.inspiringquotes.us/author/7249-wilma-mankiller.

Thursday, December 8, 2022

Mourn, Organize, Gloria Steinem

“We will not mourn. We will organize.” - Gloria Steinem, in the Special Elections 2016 issue of Ms. Magazine, page 11.

Wednesday, December 7, 2022

Live in Infamy, Franklin D. Roosevelt

“Yesterday, December 7, 1941 — a date which will live in infamy — the United States of America was suddenly and deliberately attacked by naval and air forces of the Empire of Japan.” – Franklin D. Roosevelt on the morning after the Pearl Harbor attack

I wanted to post this to commemorate the attack on Pearl Harbor, which "helped shape the course of World War II."

Found on Pearl Harbor Warbirds at https://pearlharborwarbirds.com/12-powerful-pearl-harbor-quotes/.

Tuesday, December 6, 2022

Gratitude, Humanity, Elie Wiesel

"When a person doesn't have gratitude, something is missing in his or her humanity. A person can almost be defined by his or her attitude toward gratitude." Elie Wiesel

Found at Brainy Quote. Read more at: https://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/quotes/e/eliewiesel599768.html.

Monday, December 5, 2022

Saturday, December 3, 2022

Friday, December 2, 2022

Marched Many Thousands of Miles, Human Rights, Social Justice, Si se Puede, Dolores Huerta

"We've already marched many thousands of miles in our struggle for human rights and social justice, and tomorrow we march again. We must do this. We can do this. Si se puede!" - Dolores Huerta, Co-Founder, United Farm Workers, in the Special Elections 2016 issue of Ms. Magazine.

Thursday, December 1, 2022

Duty of Our Generation, Solidarity, Humanizing, Elie Wiesel

"This is the duty of our generation as we enter the twenty-first century -- solidarity with the weak, the persecuted, the lonely, the sick, and those in despair. It is expressed by the desire to give a noble and humanizing meaning to a community in which all members will define themselves not by their own identity but by that of others." - Elie Wiesel

This can be found at http://www.wisdomquotes.com/authors/elie-wiesel/.

Wednesday, November 30, 2022

Tuesday, November 29, 2022

Reality, Leading Cause of Stress, Jane Wagner, Jennifer Unlimited

“Every time I close the door on reality it comes in through the windows.” - Jennifer Unlimited

“I made some studies, and reality is the leading cause of stress amongst those in touch with it.” - Jane Wagner

Both quotes found in Women's Lip: Outrageous, Irreverent and Just Plain Hilarious Quotes, edited by Roz Warren, page 100.

Monday, November 28, 2022

Fight, Ladylike, Mary "Mother" Jones

"No matter the fight, don't be ladylike! God almighty made women and the Rockefeller gang of thieves made the ladies." - Militant labor organizer Mary "Mother" Jones, one mean maternal unit to mess with.

(Found in Loose Cannons: Devastating Dish from the World's Wildest Women, compiled by Autumn Stephens.)

Sunday, November 27, 2022

Defend the Rights, Not Stopping Now, Cecile Richards

“We will defend the rights we've won. We'll defend access to care millions depend on. We've been doing it 100 years. We're not stopping now.” - Cecile Richards, President, Planned Parenthood

From Ms. Magazine special election issue, page 10.

Saturday, November 26, 2022

Powerless, Injustice, Protest, Despair, Working, Elie Wiesel

"There may be times when we are powerless to prevent injustice, but there must never be a time when we fail to protest." - Elie Wiesel

"We have to go into the despair and go beyond it, by working and doing for somebody else, by using it for something else." - Elie Wiesel

Read more at: https://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/authors/e/elie_wiesel.html

Friday, November 25, 2022

Call to Action, Come Too Far, Eleanor Smeal, Kathy Spillar

"This is not the time for feminists to sit on the sidelines. We must fight on. We have come too far and worked too hard to go back now.

"This is a call to action. If you have the ability, desire and drive to volunteer for your favorite feminist cause or organization, the time to do so is now. Clinics need escorts; nonprofits need volunteer researchers, event organizers, administrators, lawyers, artists, designers, computer techies and fundraisers. Everyone and every skill count. We all need your passion, encouragement, skills, commitment, financial support—big or small." Eleanor Smeal, Kathy Spillar, Ms. Magazine, from the special election issue's and blog's "This is a Call to Action".

Wednesday, November 23, 2022

Mother, Noble Status, Change, Florynce Kennedy

“Being a mother is a noble status, right? Right. So why does it change why you put 'unwed' or 'welfare' in front of it?” - Civil rights lawyer Florynce Kennedy, once lionized by the press as “Radicalism's Rudest Mouth” and as a “loud-mouthed middled-aged colored lady” by herself.

Found in Wild Words from Wild Women: An Unbridled Collection of Candid Observations & Extremely Opinionated Bon Mots, Compiled by Autumn Stephens, page 193.

Sunday, November 20, 2022

Applying Pressure, Despair, Resignation, Elie Wiesel

"It may well be that our means are fairly limited and our possibilities restricted when it comes to applying pressure on our government. But is this a reason to do nothing? Despair is not an answer. Neither is resignation. Resignation only leads to indifference, which is not merely a sin but a punishment." - Elie Wiesel

This can be found at http://www.wisdomquotes.com/authors/elie-wiesel/.

Saturday, November 19, 2022

Peaceful Revolution, John F. Kennedy

“Those who make peaceful revolution impossible will make violent revolution inevitable.” - John F. Kennedy

Found in Great Quotes from Great Leaders, by Peggy Anderson, page 84.

Friday, November 18, 2022

Thursday, November 17, 2022

Tuesday, November 15, 2022

Take Sides, Neutrality, Silence, Elie Wiesel

“We must take sides. Neutrality helps the oppressor, never the victim. Silence encourages the tormentor, never the tormented.” - Elie Wiesel

Read more at: https://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/authors/e/elie_wiesel.html.

Saturday, November 12, 2022

Anti-Feminist, Church, Court, Flo Kennedy

“It is interesting to speculate how it developed that in two of the most anti-feminist institutions, the church and the law court, the men are wearing dresses.” - Flo Kennedy

Found in Women's Lip: Outrageous, Irreverent and Just Plain Hilarious Quotes, edited by Roz Warren, page 36.

Thursday, November 3, 2022

Country, Deep Trouble, Serving Others, Cornel West

“The country is in deep trouble. We've forgotten that a rich life consists fundamentally of serving others, trying to leave the world a little better than you found it. We need the courage to question the powers that be, the courage to be impatient with evil and patient with people, the courage to fight for social justice. In many instances we will be stepping out on nothing, and just hoping to land on something. But that's the struggle. To live is to wrestle with despair, yet never allow despair to have the last word.” ― Cornel West

Found on Goodreads at https://www.goodreads.com/author/quotes/6176.Cornel_West.

Tuesday, November 1, 2022

Wealthy, Democracy, Rights as Voters, America Ferrera

"I am most concerned about the wealthy owning our democracy. [It] feels as if very real efforts to disable our democracy are underway. Between the way our rights as voters are being attacked, the way elections themselves are being gerrymandered... I really think that if we don't show up in this moment, we will [have] missed potentially our last opportunity to really check this administration." America Ferrera, Actress and Political Activist

Found in Parade at https://parade.com/1084647/stephanieosmanski/election-voting-quotes/.

Sunday, October 30, 2022

South, Disenfranchised, Vote, Michelle Alexander

“By the turn of the twentieth century, every state in the South had laws on the books that disenfranchised blacks and discriminated against them in virtually every sphere of life, lending action to a racial ostracism that extended to schools, churches, housing, jobs, restrooms, hotels, restaurants, hospitals, orphanages, prisons, funeral homes, morgues, and cemeteries. Politicians competed with each other by proposing and passing ever more stringent, oppressive, and downright ridiculous legislation (such as laws specifically prohibiting blacks and whites from playing chess together).” - Michelle Alexander

Found in The Sun, June 2018, pg.48, “Sunbeams”.

With any luck - and a whole lot of people deciding to vote, instead of sitting back to watch democracy - this will not happen again. Some "retro" things should not return.

Saturday, October 29, 2022

We the People, Whole People, Men, Rights, Women, Susan B. Anthony

"It was we, the people; not we, the white male citizens; nor yet we, the male citizens; but we, the whole people, who formed the Union. And we formed it, not to give the blessings of liberty, but to secure them; not to the half of ourselves and the half of our posterity, but to the whole people -- women as well as men." - Susan B. Anthony, speech after her arrest for voting in the 1872 presidential election

"Men, their rights and nothing more; women, their rights and nothing less." - Susan B. Anthony, The Revolution, Jan. 8, 1868

First quote ("It was we, the people...") found at http://www.notable-quotes.com/a/anthony_susan_b.html.

Second quote ("Men, their rights...") found at http://www.notable-quotes.com/a/anthony_susan_b_ii.html.

Friday, October 28, 2022

Vote About Us, Without Us, Lauren Book

"No vote about us without us." - Florida state Sen. Lauren Book (D) to the Tallahassee Democrat, summing up her proposed amendment to the state constitution, which would prohibit the Florida legislature from passing bills that limit women's access to abortion unless 50 percent of the House and Senate are omen; men currently make up 70 percent of both chambers.

From Ms. Magazine, Fall 2019 issue, page 6.

Thursday, October 27, 2022

Deprive the American People, Right to Vote, Franklin D. Roosevelt

"Nobody will ever deprive the American people of the right to vote except the American people themselves and the only way they could do this is by not voting." - Franklin D. Roosevelt

Found on Brainy Quote. Read more at: https://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/franklin_d_roosevelt_403816.

Wednesday, October 26, 2022

Vote, Consent of the Governed, Susan B. Anthony

"Here, in this very first paragraph of the Declaration, is the assertion of the natural right of all to the ballot; for how can 'the consent of the governed' be given if the right to vote be denied?" - Susan B. Anthony

Found on BrainyQuote at https://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/susan_b_anthony_765245.

Tuesday, October 25, 2022

Vote, Powerful Nonviolent Change, John Lewis

“The vote is the most powerful nonviolent change agent you have in a democratic society.” - The late Rep. John Lewis

Found on page 1, Ms. Magazine, Fall 2020

Monday, October 24, 2022

Saturday, October 22, 2022

Women, Vote, Own Self Interest, Michelle Williams

“Women...when it is time to vote, please do so in your own self interest. It's what men have been doing for years, which is why the world looks so much like them. But don't forget that we are the largest voting body in this county. Let's make it look more like us.” - Actor Michelle Williams, accepting a Golden Globe for her starring role in Fosse/Verdon with an impassioned speech in support of abortion rights

Found in Ms. Magazine, Winter 2020, page 6.

Wednesday, October 19, 2022

Pregnant, Personhood, Autonomy, Jia Tolentino

“Anyone who can get pregnant must now face the reality that half of the country is in the hands of legislators who believe that your personhood and autonomy are conditional – who believe that, if you are impregnated by another person, under any circumstance, you have a legal and moral duty to undergo pregnancy, delivery, and, in all likelihood, two decades or more of caregiving, no matter the permanent and potentially devastating consequences for your body, you heart, your mind, your family, your ability to put food on the table, your plans, your aspirations, your life.” - Writer Jia Tolentino in an op-ed for The New Yorker.

Found in Ms. Magazine, Fall 2022 issue, page 4.

Thursday, October 13, 2022

Monday, October 10, 2022

Be Critical, Women, Tillie Olsen

“Be critical. Women have the right to say: This is surface, this falsifies reality, this degrades.” - Tillie Olsen. After twenty years of transcribing other people's words, the long-suppressed author of Silences finally found her own voice.

Found in Wild Words from Wild Women: An Unbridled Collection of Candid Observations & Extremely Opinionated Bon Mots, Compiled by Autumn Stephens, page 13.

Friday, October 7, 2022

Cooking, Creative, Imaginative, Talent, Julia Child

“Cooking is just as creative and imaginative an activity as drawing, or wood carving, or music. And cooking draws upon your every talent – science, mathematics, energy, history, experience – and the more experience you have the less likely are your experiments to end in drivel and disaster. The more you know, the more you can create.” - Julia Child

Found in Treasury of Women's Quotations, by Carolyn Warner, page 30.

Tuesday, October 4, 2022

Ordinary People, Elites, Cornel West

“When ordinary people wake up, elites begin to tremble in their boots. They can't get away with their abuse. They can't get away with subjection. They can't get away with subjugation. They can't get away with exploitation. They can't get away with domination. It takes courage for folk to stand up.” ― Cornel West, Hope on a Tightrope: Words and Wisdom

Found on Goodreads at https://www.goodreads.com/author/quotes/6176.Cornel_West.

Tuesday, September 27, 2022

Sunday, September 25, 2022

Saturday, September 24, 2022

People Were Afraid, Caricature, Michelle Obama

"The one thing they knew people were afraid of was the strength of a black woman. So they turned that into a caricature." - former First Lady Michelle Obama at the Essence Festival in New Orleans in Juyl, reflecting on the attacks she faced when her husband was in office.

From Ms. Magazine, Fall 2019 issue, page 6.

Thursday, September 22, 2022

Important Moments, Advertised Ones, Real Milestones, Susan B. Anthony

"Sooner or later we all discover that the important moments in life are not the advertised ones, not the birthdays, the graduations, the weddings, not the great goals achieved. The real milestones are less prepossessing. They come to the door of memory unannounced, stray dogs that amble in, sniff around a bit and simply never leave. Our lives are measured by these." - Susan B. Anthony, The Ghost in My Life

Found on Notable Quotes at http://www.notable-quotes.com/a/anthony_susan_b.html.

Sunday, September 18, 2022

Books, Perfect Entertainment, Stephen King

“Books are the perfect entertainment: no commercials, no batteries, hours of enjoyment for each dollar spent. What I wonder is why everybody doesn't carry a book around for those inevitable dead spots in life.” ― Stephen King

Found on Goodreads at https://www.goodreads.com/author/quotes/3389.Stephen_King.

Saturday, September 17, 2022

Friday, September 16, 2022

Burn Books, Destroy a Culture, Ray Bradbury

“You don't have to burn books to destroy a culture. Just get people to stop reading them.” ― Ray Bradbury

Found on Goodreads; click here.

Thursday, September 15, 2022

First Function of Art, Effect Change, Ruby Dee

“The first function of art is to effect change. Nothing really exists in isolation, and artists are providers of direction for change.” - Ruby Dee, in Washington Post, Oct. 12, 1989

Found in Contemporary Quotations in Black, compiled and edited by Anita King, page 52.

Monday, September 12, 2022

Country, Deep Trouble, Serving Others, Cornel West

“The country is in deep trouble. We've forgotten that a rich life consists fundamentally of serving others, trying to leave the world a little better than you found it. We need the courage to question the powers that be, the courage to be impatient with evil and patient with people, the courage to fight for social justice. In many instances we will be stepping out on nothing, and just hoping to land on something. But that's the struggle. To live is to wrestle with despair, yet never allow despair to have the last word.” ― Cornel West

Found on Goodreads at https://www.goodreads.com/author/quotes/6176.Cornel_West.

Friday, September 9, 2022

Thursday, September 8, 2022

Blame Anyone, Blame Yourself, Katharine Hepburn

“...We are taught you must blame your father, your sisters, your brothers, the school, the teachers – you can blame anyone, but never blame yourself. It's never your fault. But it's ALWAYS your fault, because if you wanted to change, you're the one who has got to change. It's as simple as that, isn't it?” - Katharine Hepburn

Found in The Quotable Woman, by Running Press, Editor, page 26.

Sunday, September 4, 2022

Thursday, September 1, 2022

Arabian Proverb, He Who Knows Not, He Who Knows, Lady Isabel Burton

“An Arabian proverb says there are four sorts of me:/He who knows not and knows not he knows not: he is a fool – shun him./He who knows not and knows he knows not: he is simple – teach him./He who knows and knows not he knows: he is asleep – wake him;/He who knows and knows he knows: he is wise – follow him.” - Lady Isabel Burton

Found in Treasury of Women's Quotations, by Carolyn Warner, page 3.

Tuesday, August 23, 2022

Friday, August 19, 2022

Tuesday, August 16, 2022

Woman Must Not Accept, Challenge, Struggles for expression, Margaret Sanger

"Woman must not accept; she must challenge. She must not be awed by that which has been built up around her; she must reverence that woman in her which struggles for expression." — Margaret Sanger, founder of Planned Parenthood

Found on Brainyquote.com, at https://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/authors/m/margaret_sanger.html.

Sunday, August 14, 2022

Saturday, August 13, 2022

Cats Aren't Happy, Mood, Ways to Get Even, Penny Ward Moser

“When my cats aren't happy, I'm not happy. Not because I care about their mood but because I know they're just sitting there thinking up ways to get even.” - Penny Ward Moser

Found in Women's Lip: Outrageous, Irreverent and Just Plain Hilarious Quotes, edited by Roz Warren, page 8.

Friday, August 12, 2022

Older I Get, Greater Power, Snowball, Susan B. Anthony

“The older I get, the greater power I seem to have to help the world; I am like a snowball – the further I am rolled the more I gain.” - Susan B. Anthony, the formidable founding mother of 19th-century American feminism.

Found in Loose Cannons: Devastating Dish from the World's Wildest Women, complied by Autumn Stephens, page 66.

Thursday, August 11, 2022

Wednesday, August 10, 2022

Tuesday, August 9, 2022

Understand a Person, Point of View, Atticus Finch, Harper Lee

“You never really understand a person until you consider things from his point of view... Until you climb inside of his skin and walk around in it.” (Atticus Finch) ― Harper Lee, To Kill a Mockingbird

Found on Goodreads, at https://www.goodreads.com/work/quotes/3275794-to-kill-a-mockingbird.

Sunday, August 7, 2022

Goes to Heaven, Leave my Breath Behind, Sojourner Truth

“To someone who commented that she couldn't get to heaven with smoke on her breath: 'Yes, child, but when I goes to heaven I expect to leave my breath behind.'” - Sojourner Truth

Found in Women's Lip: Outrageous, Irreverent and Just Plain Hilarious Quotes, edited by Roz Warren, page 115.

Wednesday, August 3, 2022

How Great You Are, Threat, Cicely Tyson

“The moment anyone tries to demean or degrade you in any way, you have to know how great you are. Nobody would bother to beat you down if you were not a threat.” - Cicely Tyson

Found in Quotes for Nasty Women: Empowering Wisdom from Women Who Break the Rules, by Linda Picone, page 70.

Monday, August 1, 2022

Any Rights, Just Take Them, Sojourner Truth

“If women want any rights more than they have, why don't they just take them, and not be talking about it.” - Abolitionist orator Sojourner Truth. Seize the day, ladies – or shut the hell up!

Found in Loose Cannons: Devastating Dish from the World's Wildest Women, complied by Autumn Stephens, page 72.

Sunday, July 31, 2022

What Feminism Is, Differentiate Me From a Doormat, Rebecca West

"I myself have never been able to find out precisely what feminism is: I only know that people call me a feminist whenever I express sentiments that differentiate me from a doormat." - Rebecca West

Found on Brainy Quote. Read more at: https://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/rebecca_west_105140.

Wednesday, July 27, 2022

Mental Attitude, Creates Results, Wally Amos

“It's your mental attitude that creates results in your life.” - Wally Amos, founder of Famous Amos Chocolate Chip Cookie Corp., and a new company, Uncle Noname, in Parade Magazine, May 22, 1994

Found in Contemporary Quotations in Black, compiled and edited by Anita King, page 5.

Friday, July 22, 2022

Solely Responsible, Our Choices, Elisabeth Kubler-Ross

“I believe that we are solely responsible for our choices, and we have to accept the consequences of every deed, word, and though throughout our lifetime.” - Elisabeth Kubler-Ross

Found in The Last Word: A Treasury of Women's Quotes, by Carolyn Warner, page 60.

Wednesday, July 20, 2022

Tuesday, July 19, 2022

People in Any Art, Good, Lucky, Katharine Hepburn

“I think most of the people involved in any art always secretly wonder whether they are really there because they are good – or there because they are lucky.” - Katharine Hepburn

Found in Treasury of Women's Quotations, by Carolyn Warner, page 5.

Friday, July 15, 2022

Monday, July 11, 2022

In Germany, Speak Up, Protestant, Communists, Jews, Catholics, Martin Niemoller

"In Germany they first came for the Communists, and I didn't speak up, because I was not a communist. Then they came for the Jews, and I didn't speak up, because I wasn't a Jew. Then they came for the Catholics, and I didn't speak up, because I was a Protestant. Then they came for me, and by that time there was no one left to speak up for me." - Martin Niemoller, 1945 (WW1 war hero & U Boat Captain, WW2 pastor who spent 7 years in Nazi prisons).

This is one variant of the quote by Martin Niemoller. Variations include trade unionists, social democrats, and others. We are now witnessing a regression of rights for women. What group is next?

You can view this and some of the variants at https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Martin_Niemöller, or Google Martin Niemoller for more links.

Sunday, July 10, 2022

Women's Work, Never Done, Underpaid, Unpaid, Boring, Reptitious, What We Look Like, Joyce Stevens, The Torch

"Because women's work is never done and is underpaid or unpaid or boring or repetitious and we're the first to get fired and what we look like is more important than what we do and if we get raped it's our fault and if we get beaten we must have provoked it and if we raise our voices we're nagging bitches and if we enjoy sex we're nymphos and if we don't we're frigid and if we love women it's because we can't get a "real" man and if we ask our doctor too many questions we're neurotic and/or pushy and if we expect childcare we're selfish and if we stand up for our rights we're aggressive and "unfeminine" and if we don't we're typical weak females and if we want to get married we're out to trap a man and if we don't we're unnatural and because we still can't get an adequate safe contraceptive but men can walk on the moon and if we can't cope or don't want a pregnancy we're made to feel guilty about abortion and...for lots of other reasons we are part of the women's liberation movement." - Author unknown, quoted in The Torch, 14 September 1987

I first read these words on a poster at Brigit Books in St. Petersburg, Florida. Brigit Books has long since closed (darn!). But I was able to find out that Joyce Stevens wrote the above quote as a Union Song for Women's Liberation Broadsheet, International Woman's Day, 1975.

Numerous links had this listed as "Author unknown, quoted in The Torch." While I was able to find links to several magazines and newsletters listed as The Torch, none of them were ones that had listed this quote. However, we now know who wrote these words.

Saturday, July 9, 2022

Defense, Protecting Women and Children, What They Think, Pat Schroeder

“When men talk about defense, they always claim to be protecting women and children, but they never ask the women and children what they think.” - Pat Schroeder

Found in The Quotable Woman, by Running Press, Editor, page 103.

Sunday, July 3, 2022

Keep Fightin', Freedom, Justice, Have Fun, Molly Ivins

“So keep fightin' for freedom and justice, beloveds, but don't you forget to have fun doin' it. Lord, let your laughter ring forth. Be outrageous, ridicule the fraidy-cats, rejoice in all the oddities that freedom can produce.” - Molly Ivins

Found in Quotes for Nasty Women: Empowering Wisdom from Women Who Break the Rules, by Linda Picone, page 34.

Saturday, July 2, 2022

Friday, July 1, 2022

Real Courage, Gun, You Begin Anyway, Atticus Finch, Harper Lee

“I wanted you to see what real courage is, instead of getting the idea that courage is a man with a gun in his hand. It's when you know you're licked before you begin, but you begin anyway and see it through no matter what." - (Atticus Finch) ― Harper Lee, To Kill a Mockingbird

Found on Goodreads, at https://www.goodreads.com/work/quotes/3275794-to-kill-a-mockingbird.

Thursday, June 30, 2022

Never Been, Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg

“They have never been a 13-year-old girl.” - Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, About men on the court, after her male colleagues appeared indifferent about a girl's strip-search by school administrators.

Found on CNN at https://www.cnn.com/2020/09/19/politics/best-ruth-bader-ginsburg-quotes-trnd/index.html.

Monday, June 27, 2022

Make Life a Little Better, Community, Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg

"To make life a little better for people less fortunate than you, that's what I think a meaningful life is. One lives not just for oneself but for one's community." - Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg

Found on CNN at https://www.cnn.com/2020/09/19/politics/best-ruth-bader-ginsburg-quotes-trnd/index.html.

Sunday, June 26, 2022

In Germany, Communists, Jews, Catholics, Didn't Speak Up, Martin Niemoller

"In Germany they first came for the Communists, and I didn't speak up, because I was not a communist. Then they came for the Jews, and I didn't speak up, because I wasn't a Jew. Then they came for the Catholics, and I didn't speak up, because I was a Protestant. Then they came for me, and by that time there was no one left to speak up for me." - Martin Niemoller, 1945 (WW1 war hero & U Boat Captain, WW2 pastor who spent 7 years in Nazi prisons).

This is one variant of the quote by Martin Niemoller. Variations include trade unionists, social democrats, and others. We are now witnessing a regression of rights for women. What group is next?

You can view this and some of the variants at https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Martin_Niemöller, or Google Martin Niemoller for more links.

Saturday, June 25, 2022

Thursday, June 23, 2022

Empathy, Trying to Imagine, Do Something About It, Cornel West

“Empathy is not simply a matter of trying to imagine what others are going through, but having the will to muster enough courage to do something about it. In a way, empathy is predicated upon hope.” ― Cornel West

Found on Goodreads at https://www.goodreads.com/author/quotes/6176.Cornel_West.

Saturday, June 18, 2022

Quiet Retirement, Take a Risk, Satenig St. Marie

“We can go into a quiet retirement, which is the traditional stereotype of a 65-year-old, or we can take a risk and put ourselves out where the action is.” - Satenig St. Marie

Found in Treasury of Women's Quotations, by Carolyn Warner, page 24.

Friday, June 17, 2022

Thursday, June 16, 2022

Wednesday, June 15, 2022

Tuesday, June 14, 2022

Last Tree, Cut Down, Last River, Poisoned, Last Fish Caught, Money Cannot Be Eaten, Cree Indian Proverb, Prophecy

"Only when the last tree has been cut down; Only when the last river has been poisoned; Only when the last fish has been caught; Only then will you find that money cannot be eaten." - Cree Indian Proverb/Prophecy

This can be found at Quoteland.com on this page.

Monday, June 13, 2022

Disappointed if You Fail, Doomed, Beverly Sills

“You may be disappointed if you fail, but you are doomed if you don't try.” - Beverly Sills

Found in The Quotable Woman, by Running Press, Editor, page 25.

Saturday, June 11, 2022

Accept, The Best, Eleanor Roosevelt

“You have to accept whatever comes and the only important thing is that you meet it with the best you have to give.” - Eleanor Roosevelt

Found in Treasury of Women's Quotations, by Carolyn Warner, page 6.

Thursday, June 9, 2022

Love is Like The Sea, Zora Neale Hurston, Their Eyes Were Watching God

“Love is like the sea. It's a moving thing, but still and all, it takes its shape from the shore it meets, and it's different with every shore.” ― Zora Neale Hurston, Their Eyes Were Watching God

Found on Goodreads at https://www.goodreads.com/author/quotes/15151.Zora_Neale_Hurston.

Tuesday, June 7, 2022

Sunday, June 5, 2022

We The People, Formed the Union, Men Their Rights, Women Their Rights, Susan B. Anthony

"It was we, the people; not we, the white male citizens; nor yet we, the male citizens; but we, the whole people, who formed the Union. And we formed it, not to give the blessings of liberty, but to secure them; not to the half of ourselves and the half of our posterity, but to the whole people -- women as well as men." - Susan B. Anthony, speech after her arrest for voting in the 1872 presidential election

"Men, their rights and nothing more; women, their rights and nothing less." - Susan B. Anthony, The Revolution, Jan. 8, 1868

First quote ("It was we, the people...") found at http://www.notable-quotes.com/a/anthony_susan_b.html.

Second quote ("Men, their rights...") found at http://www.notable-quotes.com/a/anthony_susan_b_ii.html.

Saturday, June 4, 2022

I Have Known, Served and Been Served, Zora Neal Hurston

“I have known the joy and pain of friendship. I have served and been served. I have made some good enemies for which I am not a bit sorry. I have loved unselfishly, and I have fondled hatred with the red-hot tongs of Hell. That's living.” ― Zora Neale Hurston

Found on Goodreads at https://www.goodreads.com/author/quotes/15151.Zora_Neale_Hurston.

Wednesday, June 1, 2022

Quiet Retirement, Take a Risk, Satenig St. Marie

“We can go into a quiet retirement, which is the tradition stereotype of a 65-year-old, or we can take a risk and put ourselves out where the action is.” - Satenig St.Marie

Found in The Last Word: A Treasury of Women's Quotes, by Carolyn Warner, page 24.

Monday, May 23, 2022

Saturday, May 21, 2022

Monday, May 16, 2022

Ordinary People, Elites, Cornel West

“When ordinary people wake up, elites begin to tremble in their boots. They can't get away with their abuse. They can't get away with subjection. They can't get away with subjugation. They can't get away with exploitation. They can't get away with domination. It takes courage for folk to stand up.” ― Cornel West, Hope on a Tightrope: Words and Wisdom

Found on Goodreads at https://www.goodreads.com/author/quotes/6176.Cornel_West.

Friday, May 13, 2022

Saturday, May 7, 2022

Nation of Sheep, Government of Wolves, Defend Freedom, Edward R. Murrow

"A nation of sheep will beget a government of wolves." - Edward R. Murrow

"We cannot defend freedom abroad by deserting it at home." - Edward R. Murrow

Both of these can be found at Goodreads, specifically at https://www.goodreads.com/author/quotes/178884.Edward_R_Murrow.

Friday, May 6, 2022

Remember Anything, Whether it Happened or Not, Mark Twain

“When I was younger I could remember anything, whether it happened or not; but my faculties are decaying, now, and soon I shall be so I cannot remember any but the latter. It is sad to go to pieces like this, but we all have to do it.” - Mark Twain

Can be found at Goodreads or by clicking here.

Thursday, May 5, 2022

Test of Our Progress, Abundance, Provide, Franklin D. Roosevelt

"The test of our progress is not whether we add more to the abundance of those who have much it is whether we provide enough for those who have little." - Franklin D. Roosevelt

Found on Brainy Quote. Read more at: https://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/franklin_d_roosevelt_163168.

Sunday, May 1, 2022

Liberal, Jesus Christ, Change, James E.C. Perry, Tampa Bay Times

"Yes, I'm a liberal. Jesus Christ was a liberal, was he not? I mean, it's not a dirty word - to want to change things." - James E.C. Perry, retiring Florida Supreme Court justice, in December 31, 2016's Tampa Bay Times ("Perry Steps Down, But He's Not Finished"). A shortened version of the article was posted on the Times' blog at http://www.tampabay.com/blogs/the-buzz-florida-politics/justice-perrys-exit-interview-go-back-to-the-original-thinking-of-the/2307922.

Friday, April 29, 2022

Democracy, Safeguard, Education, Franklin D. Roosevelt

"Democracy cannot succeed unless those who express their choice are prepared to choose wisely. The real safeguard of democracy, therefore, is education." - Franklin D. Roosevelt

Found on Brainy Quote. Read more at: https://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/franklin_d_roosevelt_402955.

Tuesday, April 26, 2022

Strong Men, Role Models, Michelle Obama

“Because let's be very clear, strong men, men who are truly role models, don't need to put down women to make themselves feel powerful.” - First lady Michelle Obama, campaigning for Clinton in October after the release of Donald Trump's Access Hollywood video.

From Ms Magazine: Winter 2016, page 6.

Monday, April 25, 2022

Country, Deep Trouble, Serving Others, Cornel West

“The country is in deep trouble. We've forgotten that a rich life consists fundamentally of serving others, trying to leave the world a little better than you found it. We need the courage to question the powers that be, the courage to be impatient with evil and patient with people, the courage to fight for social justice. In many instances we will be stepping out on nothing, and just hoping to land on something. But that's the struggle. To live is to wrestle with despair, yet never allow despair to have the last word.” ― Cornel West

Found on Goodreads at https://www.goodreads.com/author/quotes/6176.Cornel_West.

Sunday, April 24, 2022

Joy and Pain, Friendship, Living, Zora Neale Hurston

“I have known the joy and pain of friendship. I have served and been served. I have made some good enemies for which I am not a bit sorry. I have loved unselfishly, and I have fondled hatred with the red-hot tongs of Hell. That's living.” ― Zora Neale Hurston

Found on Goodreads at https://www.goodreads.com/author/quotes/15151.Zora_Neale_Hurston.

Saturday, April 23, 2022

Reject, Politics, Targets People, Race, Religion, Barack Obama

"We need to reject any politics that targets people because of race or religion. This isn't a matter of political correctness. It's a matter of understanding what makes us strong. The world respects us not just for our arsenal; it respects us for our diversity and our openness and the way we respect every faith." - Barack Obama

Found on Brainy Quote. Read more at: https://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/barack_obama_733946.

Thursday, April 21, 2022

Any Woman, Intellectual, Discrimination, Bell Hooks

“Any woman who wishes to be an intellectual, to write non-fiction, to deal with theory, faces a lot of discrimination coming her way and perhaps even self-doubt because there aren't that many who've gone before you. And I think that the most powerful tool we can have is to be clear about our intent. To know what it is we want to do rather than going into institutions thinking that the institution is going to frame for us.” - Bell Hooks

Found on Inspiring Quotes at https://www.inspiringquotes.us/author/1212-bell-hooks.

Tuesday, April 12, 2022

Perfectionism, Oppressor, First Draft, Anne Lamott

“Perfectionism is the voice of the oppressor, the enemy of the people. It will keep you cramped and insane your whole life, and it is the main obstacle between you and a shitty first draft. I think perfectionism is based on the obsessive belief that if you run carefully enough, hitting each stepping-stone just right, you won't have to die. The truth is that you will die anyway and that a lot of people who aren't even looking at their feet are going to do a whole lot better than you, and have a lot more fun while they're doing it.” ― Anne Lamott, Bird by Bird: Some Instructions on Writing and Life

Found on GoodReads at Anne Lamott's quote page.