June 24, 2011

The National Soldiers Home Historic District in Milwaukee was recently named one of America’s 11 Most Endangered Historic Places by the National Trust for Historic Preservation.

The National Soldiers Home was created in 1867, just after the Civil War, under the authorization of President Abraham Lincoln. The 90-acre campus, located near Miller Park and the Clement J. Zablocki VA Medical Center, was built to provide care and a place of solitude for U.S. war veterans. Several historic buildings remain at the campus, which is owned by the Department of Veterans Affairs. However, maintenance has been deferred on many of the buildings and they are in poor condition. The Ward Memorial Hall building is in imminent danger of collapse and one portion of the roof of the Old Main building collapsed when a roof truss gave way under the weight of snow, according to the National Trust for Historic Preservation.

This afternoon Congresswoman Carolyn Maloney (D-NY) and Senator Robert Menendez (D-NJ) re-introduced the Equal Rights Amendment. The ERA currently has 160 co-sponsors in the House, including Congresswoman Gwen Moore (D-WI), Chair of the Congressional Women’s Caucus.

Feminist Majority President Eleanor Smeal spoke at a press conference today announcing the bill’s re-introduction, stating, “Women and men deserve and need full equal rights. Without constitutional equality, too many women, and thereby too many families, are cheated. Americans overwhelmingly support constitutional equality. It is time- in fact, it’s long overdue- for us to move forward. That’s why the Feminist Majority and other women’s organizations are this year going to score co-sponsorship of the ERA as a yes vote for constitutional equality for women; failure to co-sponsor will be on record as a vote against women’s constitutional equality. It is simple as that-do you value women as full equal citizens under the law or not?” The National Organization for Women will also score whether or not a Member of Congress supports the ERA.