Met Edith Windsor: The 83 Year Old Woman Who Is Fighting To Strike Down DOMA With The Supreme Court Hearing

Met Edith Windsor: The 83 year old woman who is fighting to strike down DOMA With the Supreme Court hearing arguments for and against DOMA (the Defense of Marriage Act) in the case Windsor v. United States, I thought an info post about the woman who brought suit against the U.S. federal government was necessary. If the Supreme Court strikes down DOMA, her last name will live forever in constitutional law, but her life with the woman she loved for over 40 years, is really the heart of story. — Edith Windsor was a top IBM programmer in the 1960’s… in other words, bad-ass! Windsor moved to New York City after divorcing her husband to work as a secretary while earning a master’s degree in mathematics from NYU. She also had a a fellowship at Harvard University, you know, just because she was awesome. — Edith Windsor didn’t know how to get a date with a lady Like a lot of lesbians who move to a big city to be free, gay versions of themselves, Edith didn’t know exactly how to pursue a dating life (sound familiar, Tumblr?). She asked friends, “If you know where the lesbians are, please take me.” Her friends took her to a Greenwich Village restaurant called Portofino where she caught the eye of Thea Spyer, a psychologist. They danced. “We immediately just fit, our bodies fit,” said Thea. — Edith Windsor was engaged to Thea Spyer from 1967 to 2007 Thea proposed to Edith with a round diamond pin. She got down on one knee during a drive to the countryside in 1967. “She was beautiful,” Edie said in a recent interview. “It was joyful, and that didn’t go away.” At 45, Thea was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis and in 2007, the doctors gave Thea the grim news that she didn’t have much time left. Edith and Thea flew to Toronto and on May 22nd, 2007 they were married. — Edith Windsor’s case is about estate taxes, but about so much more Despite being together for more than 40 years, in a relationship that most of us can only dream of and having a marriage that is legally recognized in Canada, when Thea passed away in 2009, Edith was saddled with a tax burden of $600,000 in state and federal estate taxes because her marriage isn’t legal in within the borders of the United States. This is one of the 1,138 benefits afforded to couples who are married in the United States. DOMA only recognizes a legal union between a man and woman and thus these benefits do not extend to same sex couples EVEN IF their marriage is legally recognized by the State. But in reality, this case is about so much more than just benefits and protections. Edith Windsor says, “The fact is, marriage is this magic thing. I mean forget all the financial stuff, marriage symbolizes commitment and love like nothing else in the world. And it’s known all over the world. I mean, wherever you go, if you’re married, that means something to people, and it meant a difference in feeling the next day.”

Summer is Coming...

My sister and I have been so lazy lately, just sitting around on the couch watching TV all day. Since summer is here and with it bikini season we decided to turn our lazy TV watching marathons into a workout. This is the ab workout I made for Game of Thrones:

And for those who don’t know what Supergirls are, it’s when you lay flat on your stomach and raise your arms and legs off the ground (like you’re flying like superman).

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stuffilikebyjen-blog

13 years ago

You are awesome too, Amy Poehler

Amy Poehler's a member. Are you? Make your membership gift by June 30 and it will be matched dollar for dollar. Dear You know who is awesome? Cecile Richards. She's the president of Planned Parenthood Federation of America. She's smart, she's tough, and she's totally dedicated to fighting for women's health. And you know who else totally rules? Every single doctor and nurse and receptionist and volunteer who shows up at a Planned Parenthood health center to make sure that every person who walks through their door gets the care they need. And when it comes to Planned Parenthood, there's one more group of people who are really, truly, no-kidding awesome: the members who give money and time to make it all possible. I should know. I'm one of them. You should be, too. In fact, you should stop reading this email right now and click here to become a Planned Parenthood Federation of America member like me this very second. Helping Planned Parenthood help women is always a good thing, but right now it's even better because some very generous people will match your membership bucks (but only until June 30, so do it now). You get these emails, you pay attention — you already know how important Planned Parenthood is. But now is an important time to give and become a member. Give a dollar right now, and it magically turns into two. Give $50, and that's a hundred dollars for Planned Parenthood. There's no better way to have an impact for women's health than being a Planned Parenthood member —and if you give now, you have twice the impact. Admit it, that's pretty convincing. You know it's time to reach for that credit card and make your donation. But if you're still not sold, think back to the first time you went to a Planned Parenthood health center, scared or broke or confused or hopeful. Think about your friends, or your sister, or your daughter, son, niece, or nephew. Think about every person out there who has nowhere else to go, nobody else to count on, nobody but Planned Parenthood. It's up to us to make sure Planned Parenthood is strong enough to protect their rights and their health. Especially because we are having a moment right now when people are trying to come up with new ways to make the lives of all the folks who rely on Planned Parenthood pretty difficult. What makes it possible for Planned Parenthood to make a real, irreplaceable difference for those folks are members like me — and hopefully you. So why are you still reading? You should be click-click-clicking right here to become a member! Thanks for reading this, thanks for joining or renewing, thanks for sticking with the incredible people at this incredible organization, and thanks for joining me in saying that Planned Parenthood is awesome! Sincerely, Amy Poehler

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stuffilikebyjen-blog

14 years ago

Washington Post

Stuff I like - strong, competent women

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stuffilikebyjen-blog

12 years ago