(Elje
Page 6
sportiani» (Obstruer
July 9, 2014
New Prices
Effective
May 1,2010
Martin
Cleaning
Service
Carpet & Upholstery
Cleaning
Residential &
Commercial Services
Minimum Service CHG
$45.00
A sm all distance/travel charge
m ay be applied
CARPET CLEANING
2 Cleaning Areas or
more $30.00 Each Area
Pre-Spray Traffic Areas
(Includes: I small Hallway)
1 Cleaning Area (only)
$40.00
Includes Pre-Spray Traffic Area
(Hallway Extra)
Stairs (12-16 stairs - With
O ther Services): $25.00
Area/Oriental Rugs:
$25.00 Minimum
Area/Oriental Rugs (Wool):
$40. (X) Minimum
Heavily Soiled Area:
Additional $10.00 each area
Fully Supporting Women’s Equality
Senate should
ratify UN treaty
(Requiring Extensive Pre-Spraying)
UPHOLSTERY
CLEANING
Sofa: $69.00
Loveseat: $49.00
Sectional: $ 109 - $ 139
Chair or Recliner:
$25 - $49
Throw Pillows (With
Other Services): $5.00
ADDITIONAL
SERVICES
• Area & Oriental Rug
Cleaning
• Auto/Boat/RV Cleaning
• Deodorizing & Pet
Odor Treatment
• Spot & Stain
Removal Service
• Scotchguard Protection
• Minor Water Damage
Services
SEE CURRENT FLYER
FOR ADDITIONAL
PRICES & SERVICES
Call for Appointment
(503) 281-3949
by T erry O ’N eill and D on
K raus
T h ere is a lot o f talk these days
a b o u t th e im p o r ta n c e o f th e
w om en's vote for the 2014 elections.
D em ocrats and R epublicans alike
are courting w om en voters - R e
publicans are w orking as hard as
they can to shed their anti-w om an
im age stem m ing from the 2012 elec
tion cycle, w hile D em ocrats are
w orking equally hard to shine as the
party that fully supports w om en's
equality.
President O b am a is in full co u rt
ship m ode, speaking out on issues
like the gender w age gap, w orkplace
discrim ination and sexual assault
on college cam puses. As w ell, p e r
haps, he should: H e arg u ab ly ow es
his 2008 and 2012 w ins to w om en
voters, and neglecting them m ay
have cost D em ocrats the H ouse in
2010.
B ut w ith control o f C ongress
again at stake, the p resid en t should
do som ething bo ld er to get w om en
v o te rs’ attention. O ne possibility is
to call on the S enate to ratify the U N
C onvention on the E lim ination o f
All Form s o f D iscrim ination A gainst
W om en, o r the W o m en ’s E quality
T reaty.
T h e W o m en ’s E quality T reaty is
a landm ark international agreem ent
on fundam ental hum an rights and
equality for w om en everywhere. The
U nited States helped draft the pact
in the 1970s and signed it in 1981,
but rem ains one o f only seven co u n
tries that have not ratified it — along
w ith Iran, Sudan, South Sudan, So
m alia, and the tw o sm all Pacific Is
land nations o f Palau and Tonga.
T hese are em barrassing bedfellow s.
T he U nited States has a long
history o f leading the global drive
f o r w o m e n ’s r ig h t s . E le a n o r
R oosevelt helped ensure that the
1948 U niversal D eclaration on H u
m an R ights included provisions on
g en d er equality. T he State D ep art
m ent, especially under fo rm er S ec
retary H illary C linton, w o rk ed to
em p o w er w om en in developm ent,
econom ics, post-conflict resolution
and m ore.
B ut it hasn ’ t been en o u g h . O ne in
every three o f the w o rld ’s w om en
has suffered v iolent assault at som e
point in h er life, and w om en w o rld
w ide are denied equal rights to ed u
cation, health care, w ork, legal sta
tus, and m ore.
Even in the U nited States, prob
lem s like dom estic violence, sexual
assault, and w orkplace d iscrim in a
tio n d is p r o p o r tio n a te ly p la g u e
w om en. R atifying this agreem ent
w ill not fix these o r any oth er in
equalities by itself, but it w ill give
w o m en ’s rights advocates another
tool to use in pressing legislators
and em ployers to fix them , using our
usual dem ocratic processes.
A nd b ecause w e have not jo in e d
187 other countries in ratifying the
W o m en ’s Equality T reaty, A m erica
is blocked from m any conversations
about w o m en ’s rights around the
world.
T h e U N ’s c o m m itte e o n the
W o m en ’s E quality T reaty, fo r e x
am ple, oversees treaty im plem enta
tion, issuing nonbinding recom m en
dations fo r action tow ard gender
equality. B ut com m ittee m em bers
can only com e from countries that
are parties to the treaty. T his m eans
w e cannot contribute o u r w ide e x
perience o r our otherw ise strong
U N presence to prom oting the rights
o f w om en.
U n til w e ra tify th is a g re e m e n t,
w e c a n ’t u se all th e to o ls a v ailab le
to c o m b a t v io le n c e and d is c rim i
n a tio n b a se d o n g en d er. A n d the
tre a ty is ju s t th a t - a to o l. S o m e
a rg u e th a t r a tif i c a tio n w o u ld
th re a te n U .S . s o v e re ig n ty , bu t
th a t’s a red h e rrin g - th e U n ited
S tates has ra tifie d sim ila r tre a tie s
u n d e r p re sid e n ts o f b o th p a rtie s
w ith no su ch p ro b lem .
T h e re a l p ro b le m is th a t so m e
s e n a to rs fla t-o u t o p p o s e e q u a l
rig h ts fo r w o m e n , an d P re s id e n t
O b a m a c o u ld g a lv a n iz e w o m e n
v o te rs b y sa y in g so.
In an election year, a ratification
cam paign w ould ignite instant c o n
troversy and excitem ent. But it m ight
also generate bipartisan support in
the S enate, w here tw o -th ird s o f
those present and voting w ould be
needed fo r ratification.
A s th e p re sid e n t is ro u tin e ly
pointing out these days, U.S. w om en
still are only paid an average o f 77
cents fo r every d o llar paid to a m an,
and they m ake up only 19 percent o f
m em bers o f C ongress. W e believe
that voters deserve a clear o p p o rtu
nity to know w hich o f their senators
truly are w illing to m ake w o m e n ’s
equality a priority.
M alala Y o u safzai, the P ak istan i
te e n a g e r sh o t by th e T a lib a n fo r
d e fe n d in g g ir ls ’ e d u c a tio n , said ,
“ S o m e p e o p le o n ly a sk o th e rs to
d o so m eth in g . I b e lie v e th a t, w hy
sh o u ld I w ait fo r so m e o n e e lse ?
W hy d o n 't I ta k e a step an d m o v e
fo rw a rd ? ” C a llin g fo r S e n a te r a ti
fic a tio n o f th e W o m e n ’s E q u a lity
T re a ty w o u ld be th a t s te p fo r
P re sid e n t O b am a.
Terry O 'Neill is president o f the
National Organization for Women
and Don Kraus is chief executive
officer o f the Citizens for Global
Solutions.