My Absentee Ballot Swallowed by Superstorm Sandy

I am a registered voter in New York State and tomorrow I will not vote.

For the second time in my life my absentee ballot has not arrived in the mail in time for me to vote. 

For the second time in my life I will spend Election Day not exercising my right as a US citizen because of the US mail.

The first time this happened to me was in 1992 during Clinton vs. Bush vs. Perot.  I was in California.  My absentee ballot arrived the day after Clinton won.

I am currently in Florida and I spent today waiting for the mail.  Absentee ballots must be postmarked by the day before the election (today) in order to be counted.  Because of Hurricane Sandy absentee ballots don’t have to arrive back in New York until 13 days after the election BUT they must be postmarked by today.  The special hurricane  extention means squat because it’s obvious that what us NYers need is an extention on the postmark date.

I did all the right things.  I applied for an absentee ballot weeks in advance.  But Sandy knocked out lower Manhattan and my Board of Elections is on Varick Street.  The mail stopped in New York for three days entire days and was slowed down for another 7.  My absentee ballot is probably floating down the Hudson right now.

It was the right call to cancel the marathon.  But what about the election?  How are those without gas, food, homes going to vote? 

Today I called the Manhattan Board of Elections and was put on hold for 45 minutes.  I finally got through 4 minutes before they closed.  A very nice but obviously exhausted election employee told me that I was his last call and that, unfortunately, he didn’t work in the absentee section.  He looked up my name and confirmed that nope, no absentee ballot application from me had been received.  There was nothing he could do.

I started to cry.  I told him I was an activist and that I had spent 16 years of my life in a rubber gorilla mask touring the US and trying to inspire people to vote.  I was going to be pissed if I couldn’t vote for Obama.

“I can’t discuss politics” he replied.  All he could do was suggest that I go to a local board of elections in Florida and demand to submit a presidential ballot.  Apparently in New York State you can demand to vote during a presidential election if you can prove that it’s an emergency and you can’t vote anywhere else. 

Thanks, I’ll try that, I grunted. 

And then he broke his own rule.  “I’m voting for Romney,” he said. 

I wanted to kill him. 

Tomorrow I won’t be voting.  But I will be thinking of that guy manning the phones at the Manhattan Board of Elections. 

Don’t think for a second that your vote won’t count or that one vote doesn’t matter. 

Get out and vote.

-Aphra Behn 

Penn State

8 hours on the road and we finally arrive in PA and find a fantastic Italian restaurant (A Taste Of Italy) where Julia and I unwind and bed down for the night. Next day it’s off to State College and our much anticipated return to Penn State. We are met by a great tech crew of Tom, Greg and Matt who take us smoothly through our now seamless show…well, except for the ad libs. Susan of the Women’s Center shows up with dinner platters and smiles and we are all set to go for our show in Heritage Hall.
Julia and I performed to a SRO crowd in Heritage Hall at Penn State. Fabulous feminist audience and the show rocks. Can’t ask for more than that. Here is excerpts from our review.

FROM THE DAILY COLLEGIAN March 18, 2009-04-05
“Feminist performers wearing gorilla masks and wigs threw bananas and bread at a full house Thursday night. A slide show of the women in their masks at various locales around the world played as attendees filed in. The show opened with a routine announcement to turn off all cell phones that quickly became humorous, saying that the Guerrilla Girls would pause for hot flashes, menstrual cramps and contractions that are two minutes apart. When the show began, two women ran onto the stage, wearing bras and control tops over their clothing and dancing like King Kong. They then tore off the bras while making loud monkey sounds, eventually throwing the bananas at the audience. They introduced themselves as Child and Behn, giving a mini-biography for each woman and explaining why they wear the masks and use alternative names. During the performance, feminist topics were pulled out of a hat by the women and then discussed. They began with "memories," which involved the performers showing pictures of the Guerrilla Girls On Tour at places around the world and with people from around the world, including a doctored photograph of them drinking beer with the Pope. The women asked the audience members if they considered themselves feminists. Both men and women alike raised their hands, proving the women's point that feminists come in all shapes, sizes and genders. Next, the performers read letters they had received over the years. Some letters complimented them; others were threatening. One was a letter from a boy who apologized for a fellow student who threatened to kill them. The performance took a more serious note during a discussion on rape. There was no laughter from the audience as the women displayed images of a marriage scene, a little girl holding someone's hand and a man's hand on a woman's thigh, all with the words "this is not an invitation to rape me" stamped across them. However, the moment didn't last long, as the women then put on President Barack Obama and Vice-president Joe Biden masks and blazers and danced to "Saturday Night Fever," ending it with a kiss. They also provided statistics about Obama's achievements for women, such as recently signing an act that now protects women from pay discrimination. The women also graded Pennsylvania and gave the state an F on its "reproductive rights report card" because 78 percent of communities in the state have no abortion providers, they said. They also informed the audience that only seven states guarantee a woman's right to birth control; pharmaceutical employees in the other states are allowed to refuse a prescription because of religious beliefs, they said. The performance ended with a skit about a woman who wanted to produce a play, but the theater owner only produced white men's plays. Penn State's own Serenity Ireland played the female playwright. "They're hilarious. I love it," said Ireland (freshman-theatre). "I might be a Guerrilla Girl On Tour in the summer."

XXXOOOO,
Aphra Behn
March 19, 2009

At Penn State there were crowds for days that stretched to the far corners of the ballroom. We gussied up our Guerrilla suits in an industrial kitchen while ambitious students put tupperwares of ziti in the fridge before the show. I thought about hanging out backstage the whole show and eating ziti, but then I remembered that only 12.6% of NYC theatre productions were written by women, so I combed my back hair and went onstage. I had a pretty big crush on the audience. They were cute and had good taste in entertainment, not to mention the fact that they were really into changing things round those parts. (and they gasped in a kind, concerned way when I tripped up the stage.) sweeties. We hurled bread
and bananas at them to their and our delight.. Bombs over Baghdad!

I had a fabulous time and hope to return soon!

Rubber chickens,
Julia child
March 19, 2009
http://www.facebook.com/pages/Guerrilla-Girls-On-Tour/49259246907
http://www.twitter.com/GuerrillaGirlsOT
© 2008

Eastern Michigan University - Guerrilla Girls On Tour

The dozen students who participated in our street theatre workshop were all energized by the end of the day and created engaging 3 minute musicals about sexual assault, transgender issues and the destruction of art. There was a lovely reception at the art gallery on campus after (currently full of women artists in a show called “Women’s Work”).

Julia Child and I tweaked the new version of “Feminists Are Funny” the next morning and we were both pleasantly surprised when we stepped onto the Sponberg Theatre stage. It’s an intimate house with about 250 seats and a savvy tech crew of students…thanks to Josh and Lorenzo for a great tech. And to Michelle Hartung – pictured at right – who spent a year organizing our tour.

We played to a SRO house and the audience was rockin’ as Julia and I went through the issues – feminism, rape, Obama, “Saturday Night Fever” (you had to be there to get this).
Engaging questions from the audience post show. We both felt very satisfied and welcomed for our Midwest tour and leave with warm memories of the funny feminists in Ohio and Michigan that we will carry in our hearts as we head east.

See us in “Feminists Are Funny” at Bridgewater State College and Penn State next. It’s not a performance, it’s a party!

Aphra Behn
http://www.facebook.com/pages/Guerrilla-Girls-On-Tour/49259246907http://www.twitter.com/GuerrillaGirlsOT© 2008

Musings on history from a sick GGOT who has been watching too much TV.

I write on the eve of history. I have been watching the television coverage as we inch closer to the Obama Presidency with a mixture of joyful tears and awe. This is really happening!

I have been recovering from a bad cold and been locked in the house with nothing to do but take cold medicine and watch TV. It has made my mind make strange connections.

There has been a lot of talk from the conservatives about the "Hollywood elites" and their "liberal conspiracy" and I think they might be right and it might be working!

It is natural for humans to become used to things they see around them. Before TV you only were familiar with those who lived in your town and what they looked and acted like. Then TV and movies came and create different realities and opened viewer’s eyes to different visions and views.

What am I talking about?? Well, take “24” - the TV show were Jack Bower saves the world every 4 years or so. Seems like a typical conservative show, rah, rah get the bad guys etc. However, they had not one but two African American presidents on the show. And they were well-loved, honorable presidents. The American eye is getting used to the idea of an African American president. Hey if it is good for Jack Bower, right?

And now in real America we are going to have an African American President! Could it have been in part to movies and television showing us that it would be OK? Daring to show a better world then we actually lived in at the time?

This season “24” has a woman president who seems like she will make a great president. Well, if it's good for Jack...maybe our next president (after a full 8 years of wonderful Obama presidency) will be a woman, just like on TV. (I am, of course, ignoring the rest of the content of “24” but I think you see what I am saying).

I think our “liberal” media really has helped open the minds of American's. Which only makes what we do in film, TV and theatre that much more important. With more voices writing, directing and performing from different back grounds, the more we become open to other ways of living other then what we see from our front porch.

More plays by women, more people see the women's point of view. More movies about gays and lesbians, the more people will understand and accept.

So go on out there American enjoy the new president. We can make this country a better place for all of us. Get out your box of tissues, sit back and enjoy the inauguration, be inspired, dare to reach for equality for all and go out there and celebrate.

And next time I expect we will have a woman president, or I will send Jack Bower out to get you.

-Gracie Allen
GGOT 10:05 pm
www.ggontour.com
http://www.facebook.com/pages/Guerrilla-Girls-On-Tour/49259246907
© 2008

JANUARY 19th

January 19th is Martin Luther King Jr. Day and Obama calls for Americans across the US to join him in a national day of service. Organize an event or find one at wwww.usaservice.org

In 1994, Congress transformed the Martin Luther King, Jr. holiday into a national day of community service to further commemorate a man who lived his life in service to others. As a tribute to that legacy and the very real needs of our nation, the President-elect and Vice President-elect have launched a national organizing effort on the eve of their Inauguration to engage Americans in service. This national day of service will fall on Martin Luther King, Jr. Day, January 19, 2009 and, unlike past calls to service, President-elect Obama is calling on all Americans to do more than just offer a single day of service to their cities, towns and neighborhoods. He is asking all of us to make an ongoing commitment to our communities. Never has it been more important to come together in shared purpose to tackle the common challenges we face.

Guerrilla Girls On Tour vows to maintain our ongoing committment to the feminist community to continue to fight discrimination with smart humor and style.

www.ggontour.com
http://www.facebook.com/pages/Guerrilla-Girls-On-Tour/49259246907
© 2008

How Sweet It Is!

It is now November 6th, and I guess I've been waiting to put my thoughts down because I have been walking around in a daze since the results came in Tuesday night. I was afraid to go to sleep for fear that I would wake up and find that either it was all a dream or the results had somehow changed as they did with Gore.

I am so proud of the voters of this country. I spent election night with a small group of close friends, all of us so afraid to get our hopes up....so afraid that it was too good to be true....so afraid that this election would somehow be stolen once again. When it became clear that an Obama landslide was indeed happening, we all ran onto the balcony cheering, laughing, chanting, crying, hugging, dancing and were joined by people across the street on their balconies and pedestrians walking by and cars honking, bells ringing, amazing euphoria.

For the first time in a long time, I have hope for this country. I am filled with a sense of possibilities to unfold. Equality and justice for all seems to actually be in reach.

We have made history, and how wonderful it feels!

-Dorothy Parker
www.ggontour.com
© 2008

Finally!

I woke up this morning with a funny feeling and I realized it was happiness. Is this what it felt like for the people of Germany when the Berlin wall came down? It is a good feeling.

Hope was in the air yesterday when I went to vote…long lines, excitement. Could this really be happening?

On the way to vote I passed a Catholic school. The 8th graders were out for recess. They were cheering and clapping for people going to and from voting. They would ask “did you vote for Obama?” and when they go a yes they high-fived each other and cheered. I thought- this is something, I want this to happen for those kids. I want that enthusiasm and hope rewarded. The future voters deserve this as much as the current voters.

But would it happen? I voted I got a tear in my eye; I walked by the kids and got high- fived. I got another tear in my eye.

Many years ago I was a Catholic school kid cheering people on to vote and then Reagan won. I didn’t understand. I remember seeing all the old Republicans cheering, wearing weird straw hats and red white and blue vests. I was so disappointed.

I’m happy to know that this year’s group of Catholic school kids got their wish. And I suppose the little school kid inside me finally got what she wanted too.

Thank you Americans.

Gracie Allen
www.ggontour.com
© 2008

Dear President-Elect

Congratulations. Guerrilla Girls On Tour takes partial credit for your being elected the 44th President of the United States.

You see we are a touring theatre company that humorously addresses issues that effect women. For the past 8 years we’ve been hitting President Bush hard on his anti-woman policies and more recently we’ve worked on skits and songs about John McCain’s 97% anti-choice voting record. We urged our audiences to Vote Obama! OK, so we did do a bit about you and Hillary acting out a scene from “Waiting For Godot” which was very funny. But we promise that we’ll only use you in our future shows if you need to be reminded that women need access to health care, reproductive rights, protection against violence and discrimination, and pay equity. I am certain that you won’t forget us.

In closing we are inspired by your promise to work for change, to lift up those who are still disenfranchised and to make our country once again great for all women and men.

Good luck and Goddess speed.

Guerrilla Girls On Tour!
www.ggontour.com
© 2008

Phew!!!

Election day is done. A conclusion has been reached. It is a good one. I started the day reading a quote on a daily website of Lake District photos, saying how men and women win elections more for who we vote against then who we vote for. It reminded me of how aware the world is that the Americans were at the polls and that this time around there was someone to vote for. And that made all the difference.

My favorite photo of the day was my Republican (from Ohio) friends' photo of himself casting his vote for Democrat Barack Obama - though I'm not sure he should have photo'd in the booth.

I came across one person who didn't vote. Tsk. Tsk. And, really.

I didn't partake in the freebies, but I didn't poo-poo either. Yesterday definitely had an air of the festive with people on the streets going off to parties and bars well into the night. Let it rock on, I say, and good stuff.

The longest wait to vote I heard - one and a half hours. (Just after 9 AM.)

I am disappointed in the passing of bans to gay marriage.

I applaud South Dakota for again supporting a woman's right to choose.

Congratulations to Beverly Perdue, North Carolina's first female Governor.

I thought the president-elect's victory speech had a delightful ring of Shakespeare's Henry V.

I am really looking forward to such an intelligent, articulate President. I have complete confidence in his ability to lead us through such a difficult time. And I am sad that at such a glorious time in his life, there is also such grief.

Well done America!

Edith Evans
www.ggontour.com
© 2008

Thank you, America

I am crying tears of joy. Barack Obama is the next president of the USA. I am proud of my country for the first time in a long while. I sit here breathing in history. It is a new era. I can say to my children that they can be anything they want to be and really mean it now. New possibilities are opening. The dawning of a new America is here, one that is embracing of differences, that is open to change, that is willing to grow. I await tomorrow with a new sense of hope and possibility. Thank you, America.

Fanny Brice
www.ggontour.com
© 2008

The Street Where I Lived

I grew up on a racially charged street where the blacks lived on one side and the whites on the other. I remember being around 7 years old and having a girl friend that I could talk to only with the fence that enclosed our front yard between us. It wasn’t acceptable for either of us to cross that fence. But sometimes it happened. One day the woman who lived directly across from us came over and asked my mother if she could use our phone. I remember that my mother helped her find the number she needed to dial. It wasn’t hatred that divided my street, it was more like confusion. As a child I was expected to act a certain way that didn’t feel right. Yet, everyone on the street at one time or another smiled at each other and said hello. We just did not mingle beyond that. Today as I cast my vote for Obama I thought of my old street. If I went back I would not find it the same, I am sure of that. I might be able to recognize some patch of it, some small broken down fence, perhaps. But for the most part my old street is far away and gone.

-Aphra Behn
www.ggontour.com
© 2008

My Fellow Feminists

Going to Pittsburgh, I felt the pressure of the election; being that it is so close to the voting date. Obama's and McCain's supporters are everywhere, everywhere, everywhere! You can tell the Pittsburgh/Washington community is torn between the two political parties. I saw the McCain and Obama campaign signs all over Washington Jefferson College campus and surrounding areas. However, our message to vote was only heard by a moderate-sized audience when we performed "Feminists are Funny". I hope our message was clear and that they will vote... for Obama. ; )
I really want Obama to win. I just can't deal with another Republican President; someone who doesn't care about poor and middle class issues, health insurance coverage, affordable education, and unemployment. Everyday I read in the news that people are losing their jobs and homes. It's enough to make me lose my mind. That's why if Obama doesn't win, I vow I am moving to Toronto sometime next year. Sorry people, but that's what I have to do, since citizens of this country are not listening to the truth of the matter; and the truth of the matter is McCain can afford to lose one of his seven houses, whereas I just need a place to sleep! I'll be moving to a country where I can get free education, free health coverage, and more job opportunities. I can honestly say I have tried to be a force for change; from protesting against the war in Iraq, to writing our Senators and congressmen and women about issues of concern to me. I feel sad as I write this, because I don't know what is going to happen come Nov 4th. All I know is, it's time for change!!!!

Frances Harper
www.ggontour.com

This Shilly-Shallying is Absurd!

I interrupted my evening of revisiting my lines from "The Important of Being Ernest" to watch the third Presidential debate. Even though I won't be voting (because I’m dead) I do like to keep up with these things. The Senator from Illinois' name is Barack Obama and his wife's name is Michelle Obama. If you don't know, even at this stage, it's better to ask than remain ignorant.

Senator Obama, Senator McCain, Lily Ledbetter - THE EQUAL RIGHTS AMENDMENT WAS NEVER PASSED IN THE UNITED STATES.

I wonder where they got those lovely water glasses?

Troops to Teachers - Just because it employs triple alliteration doesn't make it a good idea. (PTSD + children? See where I'm going with this?) I do want to add that even though Senator McCain said "with no evaluations or certification" - the Ed.gov site does work to get the soldier’s certificate, qualifications and licenses - which makes me feel a little better.)

I learned a new phrase "The Great Society." (I am not originally from this country.)

At least no one talked about cutting funds to the Arts when talking about trimming corners.

The only Joe I want any follow up on is Senator Joe Biden.

47 MILLION AMERICANS ARE WITHOUT HEALTH INSURANCE.

THE UNITED STATES SPENDS MORE MONEY PER CAPITA ON EDUCATION THAN ANY OTHER NATION.

My favorite quote:

Senator Obama - "I don't think America's youth is a special interest group."

Well the kettle is boiling, so I must be off. I think a nice oolong ought to pick me up.

As always,

Edith Evans


P.S. Please excuse my previous blog where I misspelled traveled as traveled. Thank you.