Women’s Political

Education & Action Group

 a.k.a. WONDER WOMEN!

After the 2012 election a group of local Democratic  and Independent women banded together to form a political discussion and action group. We’re still going strong. We meet once a month and do everything from discuss political issues to take action. Our discussions include every current and relevant issue. Our actions run the gamut from putting up yard signs to testifying at the state house in Concord.

Our Vision – 
– To understand political issues in depth, and to work out ways to take action on these issues
– To socialize with women of similar minds

Our Goals – 
– Identify pertinent political issues on local, state, and national levels
– Research and discuss these issues 
– Become a vehicle for continuing political action.

10.10.2017   Recap of WPEAG Meeting 10/10/17 We began our meeting today with a report from Alice on a meeting that she attended. A family benefits plan, 

HB628 – FN Relative to a family and medical leave insurance program, 
was described as a state wide plan for individuals to contribute at work to their own fund, essentially saving their own money for time off if they need it. This bill was introduced in the legislature last year and has passed in the Health and Human Services Committee. We’ll probably hear more about it as the legislature heats up in the current session.

Sue also mentioned several bills that will come up in the coming legislative session. The first is aimed at children’s playgrounds and ball fields and the second is the bill to divert public school money to parochial and home schools. We’ll be watching for these. We may have some opportunities to testify.

HB399  Relative to pesticide use and notification in places where children play. 

SB193   Establishing education freedom savings accounts for students. 

In conjunction with the greater NGCDems, there will be upcoming opportunities to do some visibility. The plan at this point is to pick one day a month and gather a group at different places, morning and afternoon commuting times, each month with signs proclaiming what we stand for. Keeping it positive and letting the North Country know that we Democrats are here and we’re active. Maybe we can recruit some new participants.
Deb and I are looking into having some signs made at Staples. Their prices are reasonable. Stay tuned for more information on when and where we’ll begin.

Another way to get our message out there is through Letters to the Editor. The NGCDems are scheduling at least 2 letters a week to go into the local papers on such topics as education, gun control, voter suppression/intimidation, environmental protection, reproductive freedoms, ACA, and tax reform. There is lots of information on line about how to write LTEs so don’t hesitate to join the group. The more letters we have in the papers the better.

We spent some time on Harvey Weinstein and the general issue of sexual harassment/assault.  

Deb Bassett has started a webpage for our group which is linked to the NGCDems website. It’s a private page and only members of our group can have access to it.
The address is NorthernGraftonDemocrats.org/ww 

Check it out. 

The speaker from the ACLU, Leah Plunkett, drew a crowd of about 13 people to the Bethlehem Library on October 3rd. Leah was a compelling speaker. NH has an active chapter. Check out their website aclu-nh.org for more information and ways to be involved.

Don’t forget the meeting tomorrow night at the Franconia Town Hall. 6 PM. Come and find out about NH Powerlink the possible alternative to Northern Pass.

Our next meeting will be on November 14th.

10.8.2017 Sadly, a friend to us all, Roxanne Busch, passed away this Sunday morning. She was a loyal, caring and generous person who loved her friends and her animals. She has been a  member of this group since the beginning. We’ll miss her. 

At this time there is no information about services or donations  but I will let you know more when the information is available. The following message came from her brother, Michael:

“I am so sad to have to tell you that Rox passed away at 7:15 am today.  She was in no pain and passed peacefully. She was loved by her family and friends. She will be missed but always remembered.”

10.3.2017 We hosted Leah Plunkett from the ACLU and about 13 interested community people at the Bethlehem Library. She filled us in on the workings of the ACLU and encouraged us to “show up and ask questions” in our daily lives. There was a lively conversation with good questions and lots to think about. Thanks to Claire for setting this up and for arranging Leah’s visit.

Followup: Earlier this month NH ACLU Board member, Leah Plunkett spoke with us about the different ways the organization defends civil liberties in the Granite State, and how we can support it’s efforts. Leah chairs the Education and Economic Justice Committees.