The Columbus Dispatch

Women military veterans invited to conference

- Samantha Sawmiller, USMC OIF, Upper Arlington

Ohio is home to 67,000 women veterans, which represents 8% of the total veteran population in the state, and the work ethic, leadership and commitment that is behind that number is more powerful than you can imagine.

More women are serving in our military today than ever before. I am a Marine Corps veteran who has decided that having served my country in uniform is not enough. I feel it is my responsibi­lity to advocate and organize women who have given so much of their life — if not their actual lives — for Ohio and this nation.

As a member of a group of Ohio women veterans dedicated to the cause of lifting up every single woman who has worn a uniform, I am proud to say that I am helping the Ohio Department of Veteran Services to hold its biannual Women Veterans Conference on Aug. 10 at the Ohio Union on the Ohio State University campus.

If you are one of these women, please join us on Saturday, Aug. 10 to learn from, bond with, and mentor the next generation of women in uniform. The deadline to register is July 31 at ohiovets.gov. will be able to pursue their own goals unimpeded by such massive and imposing projects. Only local residents know what is right for their area.

Readers can contact state Sen. Steve Wilson, chairman of the committee that is hearing the bill, at wilson@ ohiosenate.gov, and the entire Senate Energy and Public Utilities Committee and urge them to reinsert the local wind referendum into HB 6.

Chris Aichholz, Bloomville and mother-to-be Ashlee Baracy, I would submit that it was mean-spirited, especially when characteri­zing Baracy’s criticism of her detractors as a publicityg­rabbing stunt.

Kudos to Ashlee for her brave disclosure of the brutal comments directed at her, and to The Dispatch for its Friday editorial in support of her efforts to quell these kinds of unwarrante­d attacks.

I suggest that, in the future, anyone submitting a letter to the editor containing such bullying commentary be required to attach a full-profile photo of themselves.

Donald Depalma, Westervill­e to the participat­ing teams. This year’s women’s World Cup was expected to generate $131 million, with $30 million (23%) going to the participat­ing teams. (All figures from a recent Forbes article.) This hardly argues for equal pay between the men’s team and the women’s team.

What those advocating for equal pay are really asking for is a subsidy from the men to the women. They are asking for the men’s team to take much smaller salaries so that the women’s team can make much larger salaries. But that argument would not fly with the public, so we are left with the equal-pay argument.

Advocates of the above should not try to obfuscate the issue by making it about women’s rights.

William Ruschau, Columbus

seriously, they often cut corners when it comes to sustaining our Internatio­nal Affairs Budget.

The Trump administra­tion is working to make major cuts to internatio­nal funding, but if the proposed cuts are finalized, American jobs, economic growth, national security and global health risk being impaired.

The Internatio­nal Affairs Budget is a tiny component of the overall federal budget, but its impact can be greater than just putting a few extra pennies in your own pocket.

April Burton, Columbus

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