Tag: Women For Freedom

Women For Freedom #36 Dorothy Levitt

British journalist and racing driver Dorothy Levitt died 101 years ago on May 17 1922, with a unique catalogue of achievements summarised like this on wikipedia:

“She was the first British woman racing driver, holder of the world’s first water speed record, the women’s world land speed record holder, and an author. She was a pioneer of female independence and female motoring, and taught Queen Alexandra and the Royal Princesses how to drive. In 1905 she established the record for the longest drive achieved by a lady driver by driving a De Dion-Bouton from London to Liverpool and back over two days, receiving the soubriquets in the press of the Fastest Girl on Earth, and the Champion Lady Motorist of the World.”

She advised women drivers: Don’t be afraid of your car. Dress well. Don’t forget your gun. You can fix your own car.

Geoff Fox, 17th May, 2023, Down Under

Women For Freedom # 34 Victoria Woodhull

On May 10, 1872, Victoria Woodhull became the first female candidate for US President.

She was implacably opposed to government control of the individual, saying,”I shall not change my course because those who assume to be better than I desire it.”

She was a libertarian when it came to sexual morality: “I am a free lover. I have an inalienable, constitutional and natural right to love whom I may, to love as long or short a period as I can; to change that love every day if I please.”

Geoff Fox, 10 May, 2023, Down Under

Women For Freedom # 33 Joan Of Arc

On this day, 8th May, in 1492, a courageous teenage French peasant girl, Joan of Arc, who had been seriously wounded the day before, lead the armies which broke English Siege at Orleans. This was the crucial turning point in the Hundred Years War leading to French victory decades later. It was not easy. It took guts and determination.

She was soon to die in the cruel hands of the English invaders.

For me. Joan of Arc’s passion for her country and the inspiration she gave can be summed up in two words “Freedom Works”.

Geoff Fox, 8th May, 2023, Down Under

Women For Freedom #32 Margaret Thatcher

Margaret Thatcher became the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom on May 4, 1979.

She fully understood how freedom is at the core of the many factors we must consider in protecting national strength. Her words prove it:

“I love argument. I love debate. “

“Disciplining yourself to do what you know is right and important, although difficult, is the highroad to pride, self-esteem, and personal satisfaction.”

“I am not a consensus politician. I’m a conviction politician.”

“To wear your heart on your sleeve isn’t a very good plan; you should wear it inside, where it functions best.”

“It pays to know the enemy – not least because at some time you may have the opportunity to turn him into a friend.”

“……… no government can do anything except through people, and people must look after themselves first. It is our duty to look after ourselves and then, also, to look after our neighbours.”

” …….. human progress is best achieved by offering the freest possible scope for the development of individual talents, qualified only by a respect for the qualities and the freedom of others ……… “

” …….. we must build a society in which we encourage rather than restrict the variety and richness of human nature.”

” ……… there is no freedom where the State totally controls the economy. Personal freedom and economic freedom are indivisible. You can’t have one without the other. You can’t lose one without losing the other.”

” The signposts of socialism point downhill to less freedom, less prosperity, downhill to more muddle, more failure.”

And, perhaps most importantly, the prayerful words she brought to Number 10 Downing Street and spoke on the doorstep there on May 4, 1979:

“Where there is discord, may we bring harmony;
Where there is error, may we bring truth;
Where there is doubt, may we bring faith;
And where there is despair, may we bring hope.“

God Bless Margaret Thatcher

Geoff Fox , May 4, 2023, Down Under

Women For Freedom #31 Annie Dillard

“You can’t test courage cautiously.” wrote Annie Dillard, an author born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, on April 30, 1945.

The above two peices of Word Art are my words added to a photo of Annie Dillard from Free Software Foundation and are published under this GNU Free Documentation license

She undetstood the complexities and straightforwardness of robust life:

“There is a muscular energy in sunlight corresponding to the spiritual energy of wind.”

“Eskimo: ‘If I did not know about God and sin, would I go to hell?’ Priest: ‘No, not if you did not know.’ Eskimo: ‘Then why did you tell me?’ “

Dillard knew that how we discipline ourselves to use our freedom is important:

“There is no shortage of good days. It is good lives that are hard to come by.”

“The dedicated life is worth living. You must give with your whole heart.”

God Bless Annie Dillard.

Geoff Fox, 30th April, 2023, Down Under

Women For Freedom # 30 Carolyn Jones

Born April 28, 1930,in Armarillo, Texas, Carolyn Jones played Morticia in The Addams Family.

But I like this quote of hers more than that role:

“I like men. I like the sound of their voices, the way they think. They’re more sensitive than women. With a woman, everything is either this or that, black or white. But a man can see shades of gray. That’s what I call being sensitive.”

Geoff fox, former midwife, 28th April, 2023, Down Under

Women For Freedom #29 Paulette Goddard – A Hollywood Babe Who Got Rich And Gave 20 Million Bucks To Fund European Studies At NYU

Paulette Goddard died on April 23, 1990.

She was a woman who refused to be tied down, saying “I don’t like collecting anything I can’t pack” and “The future doesn’t concern me. I’ll just do what comes to mind at the time”.

She was equally dismissive of the past: “The past bores me, to tell you the truth; it really bores me. I don’t remember many movies and certainly not my own.”

A friend of Paulette’s, Anita Loos, was the author of “Gentlemen Prefer Blondes”. Anita said Paulette was the inspiration for her heroine, explaining, “Gentlemen prefer blondes, until they get a load of Paulette!”

Paulette Goddard made $375,00o out of her first divorce at the age of 21. (In 1945, by contrast, she lost a case against her father, when he sued her for damage to his reputation, after Goddard had claimed in a 1938 interview that he was not her biological father. She was forced to pay him all of $35 a week as compensation for loss of income. Paula Goddard knew how to accumulate money.

Between 1936 and 1949, she had marriages for six and five years to two very talented and, in some ways, notorious actors, Charlie Chaplin and Burgess Meredith.

In 1958, she married “All Quiet On The Western Front” author, Erich Maria Remarque, who had fled Nazi totalitarianism in 1933. Their marriage ended in 1970 with his death of heart failure at the age of 72. Goddard donated $20,000,000 to fund an Institute at NYU, named after Remarque and devoted to European Studies. The goal was to better understand the whole of Europe, not just the familiar Western European nations.

From a babe bored by the past to a benefactor of modern history studies.

God Bless Paulette Goddard.

God Bless Freedom.

Geoff Fox, 23rd April, 2023, Down Under

Women for Freedom #28 Valerie Hobson

When does a libertine become a libertarian?

Perhaps never.

” If you get the chance, even if it may be a passing thing; even if the void seems all-encompassing when it comes, even if the heart bleeds almost to death, passionate love is worth it, it is worth it, it is worth all of it ……… ” – Valerie Hobson

Not all passion is love.

Geoff Fox, 14th April, 2023 American time

Women For Freedom #27 Claire Windsor

Claire Windsor was born in Phillips County, Kansas, to Scandinavian parents on April 14, 1892.

She was married twice and well known for her love affairs.

“Love” she said, “shouldn’t be about rules. ……..

When you meet that person, everything will be calm.

Everything will be good.

Everything will feel like it’s been leading up to the moment when you stopped, laid eyes on them, and your life completely changes.”

God Bless Freedom.

It leads us to love.

Geoff Fox, former Registered Midwife, April 14, 2023, Down Under

Women For Freedom #26 Maria Tallchief

Maria Tallchief of the Osage Indian Nation died on this date in 2013. She had revolutionised ballet in America with her athleticism, commitment and skill. She was known for “dazzling audiences with her speed, energy and fire” and an “electrifying passion.”

Artistic Director, Ashley Wheater said of Tallchief, “there is a burning passion she brought to her dancing ………. she was consumed both inside and out. She was not just a great dancer, but a real artist …….. who brought her personality to bear on the dancing.”

Maria’s mother took the family to California so Maria and her sister, Marjorie, could learn to dance and strive to be among the best in the world. “Being a ballerina,” said Maria later on, “is like being a five-star general.”

In New York, she became America’s first major Prima Ballerina.

“A ballerina ” she said, ” takes steps given to her and makes them her own. Each individual brings something different to the same role.”

In Maria’s America, freedom, family and disciplined effort worked out fine.

Geoff Fox, 11th April, 2023, Down Under