Womens Rights Archives

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May 08, 2008

Interesting that after trashing women, the working class, and minorities - after a misogynistic campaign against a senior, more qualified woman candidate - the Democratic party-backed Obama machine now plays the Roe card with rightfully disenchanted women. What little we know about Obama does not inspire further confidence - and it could be argued that an experienced executive, even if Republican, could pick a justice more likely to rule prudently and uphold Roe. With Obama's lackluster performance regarding womens' issues, propensity to pander for favors, and general inexperience in national government of any kind, I believe he is far more likely to make poor choices of justices. For years, women have been told, with much disdain, do not be single issue voters. We have been told to suck it up and back anti-choice men in top Democratic offices, time and time again. For example, the Democratic party picked anti-choice Harry...

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April 28, 2008

"I don't know if I continue, even today, always liking myself. But what I learned to do many years ago was to forgive myself. It is very important for every human being to forgive herself or himself because if you live, you will make mistakes - it is inevitable. But once you do and you see the mistake, then you forgive yourself and say, 'well, if I'd known better I'd have done better,' that's all. So you say to people who you think you may have injured, 'I'm sorry,' and then you say to yourself, 'I'm sorry.' If we all hold on to the mistake, we can't see our own glory in the mirror because we have the mistake between our faces and the mirror; we can't see what we're capable of being. You can ask forgiveness of others, but in the end the real forgiveness is in one's own...

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April 20, 2008

National Organization for Women for Hillary...

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From WRAL (video link there): Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Rodham Clinton set the tone for her campaign event in Winston-Salem by announcing that she and poet Maya Angelou would be having a "conversation." "If you came for a political speech, I hope you aren’t disappointed," Clinton said. The event was relaxed; the two sat in front of the audience at Wait Chapel on the campus of Wake Forest University. Angelou tossed Clinton questions on topics, including racism and education. Clinton also touted her comprehensive plan to create 5 million clean renewable energy jobs in the next 10 years. The jobs would be funded by taking subsidies from oil companies, she said. Clinton praised the state's education system, specifically its strides for early childhood education. She discussed the need for making college education, including community colleges, more affordable. "Community colleges should be viewed as the 13th and 14th years of public...

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The emperor has no clothes, and Helen, after 47 years of covering the White House, is not afraid to say it. Comments while promoting her book, "Watchdogs of Democracy?: The Waning Washington Press Corps and How It Has Failed The Public," on April 19 at the Bethesda Literary Festival: "We're in the midst of a presidential campaign which is really getting rotten - down and dirty between Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama. The Democratic candidates - Obama has the edge, he's a rock star. He's galvanized the youth vote of this country, but I have yet to see what he has done to take the highest office in the land. He is no Martin Luther King and his campaign, like all others, is backed by people with deep pockets." Has Obama gotten a free pass by the media? "Hell yes, he sure has. Hillary has been pilloried. And, I'm not...

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April 19, 2008

From ABC: Jessop said she remembers the sect's dress as hot and uncomfortable, especially during the Southern summers, when temperatures can often top 100 degrees. "You end up with layers and layers and layers of clothes. There's a health issue here, because it's like my body had lost the ability to heat and cool. Think about how you would feel if you're weighed down with all that clothing. It affects your personality in a very literal way." When the women of a Texas polygamist cult emerged from self-imposed seclusion into the media spotlight this week, it looked to some outsiders as if they had stepped out of another century. Wearing heavy pastel-colored dresses buttoned up to the neck and reaching down to the ground, their hair pinned up into tight, tall waves, the women congregated on the porches of the sprawling Yearning for Zion Ranch and pleaded for the return...

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April 18, 2008

On my way in to work sometimes I catch XM Radio's Good Morning America (ABC) - which is mostly the same feed as the TV show with a radio host occasionally engaging in live discussions with ABC news "poltical experts" (all men). They're running the primary race like a soap opera. Poor Obama, bravely enduring having to run against a - gasp - woman! When will she discover her place is, after all, supporting the man, not challenging him! Stay tuned for more of, As The Primary Turns. After the debate she won, in a state she's going to win, here's their gem about the sad little woman scorned: "She's talking about what was, not about what is." Say what? What her opponent said last week, disparaging the people in a state that's going to vote next week, is not what is? And she has been repeatedly outlining her policy...

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April 11, 2008

From Donna O'Donnell in the Philadelphia Inquirer: In a Pennsylvania speech, as she fielded unfiltered questions, the reasons for Hillary's election were ever more apparent. Her analysis of issues, foreign and domestic, is as deep as it is wide. In response to a question on renewable energy, her recitation on ethanol alone was doctoral-quality research synthesis. Her grasp of the foreign-policy implications of oil makes it clear that in Hillary's administration, the moon we will be shooting for is energy independence. Her position on health care is clear: We must spend our national resources - time, talent and treasury - on insuring all Americans. We can and must and will do better, if she is president. When Virginia Kelley, Bill Clinton's late mother, wrote her book about raising a president, I rushed to read it. In Leading With My Heart, this self-made woman, born to poverty and hard luck, became...

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April 08, 2008

Wow, check out the photo below of Faith Hill, before and after airbrushing. She looked far more appealing in the before picture, with wrinkles and 15 extra pounds - and character! The airbrushers even canted her head (society's preferred submissive posture for women). In the first picture, she looks spirited and full of life. In the retouched picture, she looks inhuman - even young girls have more lines on their faces than that. It's funny how in the quest for youth, the ideal has become not what real young people look like, but scooped out eyes that never occur in nature (young people have naturally draped eyes), faces with no expression, and malnourished bodies. And the funny thing is, the audience for Redbook is older women with families, so they could relate a lot better to the real Faith Hill. There was a Twilight Zone episode where Ann Francis was...

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Markos Moulitsas AKA Kos of The Daily Kos is the piggiest of all male chauvinist pigs. But he's got plenty of company. The sexism of Josh Marshall of Talking Points Memo, part 76 in a series of sexism against Hillary Clinton documented by Shakesville (check out the bottom for parts 1 - 75)......

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April 02, 2008

"I have never seen in my career greater favoritism applied in the national media." ~ Lou Dobbs...

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April 01, 2008

From Hillary's Blog: You may write me down in history With your bitter, twisted lies, You may trod me in the very dirt But still, like dust, I'll rise. This is not the first time you have seen Hillary Clinton seemingly at her wits end, but she has always risen, always risen, much to the dismay of her adversaries and the delight of her friends. Hillary Clinton will not give up on you and all she asks of you is that you do not give up on her. There is a world of difference between being a woman and being an old female. If you're born a girl, grow up, and live long enough, you can become an old female. But, to become a woman is a serious matter. A woman takes responsibility for the time she takes up and the space she occupies. Hillary Clinton is a woman. She...

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What an inspirational diary! Alegre on MyDD...

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March 28, 2008

From Lynn Harris in Broadsheet: Here's reminder No. 4,297 about the gulf between the legal right to abortion and physical/financial access to abortion -- that is, the right to abortion on the long road to the only goddamn provider in your whole entire state. Well, that's Mississippi (oh, and South Dakota); now let's talk about Texas, where 93 percent of counties have no abortion provider. I mean, 80 percent is bad enough -- and that's Rhode Island. Texas, remember, is big. Which brings us to reminder No. 7,185 -- that many women with limited access to safe, legal abortion will find some other way to get one. An article in the Brownsville Herald (via AlterNet) reports that "based on data about the number of self-induced abortions seen by local clinics and social workers, it is likely that many of the abortions undergone by women in this area are done using...

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March 27, 2008

Gender and presidential elections Hillary Clinton's lead in the Democratic contest has been boosted by her extraordinary strength among women. About 60 percent of Democrats are women, while Republicans and independents tilt in the male direction. Women have been voting in substantial numbers in Democratic primaries all year, regularly casting more than 55 percent of the ballots. On Super Tuesday, women were 57 percent of the electorate and they voted for Clinton by a 10-point margin. In Wisconsin, they split their votes evenly, leading some analysts to suggest her campaign was in serious trouble given her weakness among her core female supporters. But women came back again in Ohio and Texas. In Ohio, they were 59 percent of the electorate, up from 52 percent in 2004. In Texas, they were 57 percent, up 4 percentage points. In both states, women's support helped to put her over the top in the...

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March 26, 2008

A recent Gallup poll shows 28% of Hillary Clinton supporters will vote for John McCain if Barack Obama is the Democratic nominee. Those numbers show a marked difference in Hillary vs. Obama supporters, where many more Hillary supporters feel alienated to the point of taking a rather drastic step - voting for a moderate Republican. Women feeling alienated because of misogyny against Hillary and themselves during this campaign have been told, Hon, that's just too damn bad. Deal with it. Pompous ass Markos Moulitsas AKA Kos (Daily Kos) tipped his hand about women earlier ("I certainly won't let the sanctimonious women's studies set play that role on this site. Feel free to be offended. Me, I'll focus on the important shit."), and now says "as I'm concerned, [Hillary] doesn't deserve "fairness" on this site" after decimating her with illogic. Josh Marshall (Talking Point Memo)'s editorial associate dismisses women thusly: "I...

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March 23, 2008

I got a math degree/computer science degree and trust me, I know. There would be 5 women in a class of 60. The male professors would buddy with the male students. Mr. This, Mr. That. The professors would never meet my eye, even when handing out test papers and it turned out I got the best grade in the class. In the good ole boys clubhouse, I could only look in the door from the outside. I persevered but it wasn't easy - the boys helped each other, and they always seemed to always be a step ahead of me. One professor even said I only had my high GPA because I was clever, not because I understood. Many is the time, since I discovered I was really good at math in grade school, to the time I graduated, that I wanted to give up. But I was too damned...

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March 20, 2008

The sexist attitude of Kos (AKA Markos Moulitsas) is nothing new. He's hardly the first insecure person who, having established an unthinking gang of followers, is emboldened to put down others to establish dominance. A couple of things distinguish Kos, though. The hypocrisy in calling oneself "progressive" and not respecting women as equals. It's kind of like Bush naming former mountaintop removal execs to head the Bureau of Beautiful Mountains. Kos' lack of political savvy is also striking. He barely gets through a sentence without displaying his political naivte. One is reminded of Shakespeare: "The fool doth think he is wise, but the wise man knows himself to be a fool." And think about it - what is the thing that turns you off most about people like Bill O'Reilly? Even more than the illogic of what they say is the way they say it. There's this arrogant offhandedness that...

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March 14, 2008

In the past 50 years, 51 countries have been headed by women. But never America. And American women lag behind even third world countries in the legislative branch, as well - in Rwanda, for example, women hold 49% of seats in Parliament and 35% of the seats in the Senate. But in America, women hold just 16% of the seats in the House and 16% of the seats in the Senate. From Barbara Mikulski: March is Women's History Month – and this year it's truly one for the books as we watch Hillary Clinton get closer and closer to becoming the first woman President of the United States. Every generation, in every century has a particular rendezvous with destiny. I know about making history. I was the first Democratic woman elected to the Senate in her own right. We've been waiting for this a long time – since 1776. We...

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March 10, 2008

I loved the part where she said Oprah was playing to demographics. From Tina Brown in Newsweek: Much has been written about how boomer women have rallied to Hillary's cause (she won an impressive 67 percent of the white women voting in Ohio; they were 44 percent of the total). It's fashionable to write off this core element of her base as rabid paleo-feminists fighting the tired old gender wars of the past. But Hillary's appeal to the boomer gals is wider and deeper than that. Cynthia Ruccia, a grass-roots political organizer in Columbus, told me that in these last beleaguered weeks, women started showing up in waves at Clinton headquarters—women who told her they had never volunteered in a campaign before. "There was just an outpouring about the way she was being treated by the media," Ruccia said. "It was something we hadn't seen in a long time. We...

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It's when they don't even try to hide it that you know they are feeling strength in numbers. Emboldened by each other and Junior Senator boy Barrack, Talking Points Memo boys Josh & Andrew and Daily Kos boy Markos and the rest, well, there's a big old sign painted in red letters on the clubhouse door and it says, "No girls allowed - and that means you, Hillary". And I love the way, when a woman tells them the emperor has no clothes, they knee-jerk with a "don't let the door hit your ass on the way out" smart remark. Proof they aren't thinking people - because heaven forbid a viewpoint other than their own should be considered. And proof they aren't even very good at bread-winning - I mean, to summarily dismiss half of your potential audience, how dumb is that? The sad thing is, they aren't too smart...

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March 08, 2008

Taylor Marsh has a great post......

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March 06, 2008

I was googling this and came across this interview of Clinton campaign co-chair, Weldon Latham, from The Hill: When did you first meet the Clintons? I’ve known Hillary for years and have been a supporter. I was co-chair for Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton’s Senate campaign in 2000. Every few months we’d get together. I couldn’t be more supportive. You were recently named co-chairman of Hillary Clinton’s presidential campaign. What makes you qualified? That’s easy. I’m a voting citizen of the United States. What makes me want to do it? Passion. I’m passionate about the candidate. The last seven years have been the worst [under] any president in my lifetime. In January I started informally helping her. What do you mean, “informally”? In February I started making calls for her. You were rooting for this position. I didn’t know the position existed. Why Hillary? I believe deep down that the best...

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March 04, 2008

"I'm a fighter." ~ Hillary Clinton Hillary Clinton, you have shown strength and courage under fire of such extreme intensity that most men will never in their lifetimes come close to knowing. I am proud to stand with you. Women are 50% of the world, but much of the time, we are invisible to all but each other. "As a woman, I have no country. As a woman, my country is the world." ~ Virginia Woolf...

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Misogynist Sexist Network & Boys Club...

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From Tom Watson: What kind of progressive American leader would stand silent, supporting with the cold reserve of ambition the disgracefully sexist, blatantly anti-feminist attack on a well-respected woman of the same party, a political foe perhaps, but a national Democratic leader? Barack Obama - so far... At the start of the campaign, I didn't think the national media could possibly be successful in an anti-woman campaign against a Democrat. I thought surely that the left wouldn't allow it, that the rest of the Democratic field - avowed feminists all - would object, and object loudly. I may be proved wrong. And Barack Obama is silent....

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Lots of comments to read on Corrente Wire... One comment: My mother is 85 years old. She will vote tomorrow in Rhode Island for Mrs. Clinton. My mother rarely says anything negative about anyone. The last President she criticized was Nixon. Called him a crook. On Bush, she goes well he is not the nicest man but they attacked us and it is not easy being President. On Obama she told me: “That man is so full of hate. I can’t believe that his wife lets him say those things.” The sexist and the misogynistic comments and attitudes from Obama to Matthews & Olberman to even Bill Maher are something I did not expect. On the blog I contribute, we get comments like she is a whiner, or she would throw that red phone if they called at 3 AM or even that she must be menopausal. She is 61....

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March 03, 2008

"Her candidacy is extraordinarily important. If ever a qualified woman could hold the presidency of the United States, this is the qualified woman. And for those of us that are part of "a woman need not apply" generation that goes back to the time I went out to get my first job following college and a year of graduate work, this is an extraordinarily critical race. And I hope she stays the course and stays in it. And then we count up the delegate votes and we make a decision. "I read a lot of columns. I'm amazed at the number that are spent on really picayune things about Senator Clinton — her hair, her suits. And I think some of this just drives toward the insecurity of having a woman running for this office. ...I think some of it is driven by the fact that it's easy to hit...

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Let's see, which one of the usual feelings of inadequacy is motivating poor little Joel Stein's hatred of women. Judging by his simpering photo and juvenile writing style (that completely gives away his unfamiliarity with adult relationships), I'd say take your pick and you'd be right. One after one, the male-dominated media trots out insecure little boys (oh, and wanna-be insecure little boys, like Maureen Dowd), emboldened by each other and the worst case of puppy love ever for their crush of all crushes, Barack Obama. And don't even bother crying to mommy once the boys from the other neighborhood kick your collective asses. Because she will be cheering them on. And Joel, the bigger boys - you know, the ones who don't still pee their pants like you? - won't needlessly tick off women (you know, the ones who will actually vote in the general election) with flower articles....

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March 02, 2008

SNL gets it right! Calls the media out and gives our girl top billing....

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March 01, 2008

I was looking for someone to relate to what I am going through with my mother, and I found it in this beautiful essay. From Ellen Pall in the New York Times: WHEN my father was fairly well along into the dementia of Alzheimer's - not as far as he was to go, but four or five years in - he developed a taste for looking attentively at trees. At the time I was not aware that this is a common pleasure for Alzheimer's patients, some of whom are known to enter a Zenlike state of meditation before them. In my ignorance I speculated as to what the allure of looking at trees might be for my father. All he could say about it, or would say, was, "Look," pointing out the window (or, in better weather, up from a chaise lounge) at the gently moving branches of an oak...

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February 29, 2008

Check out these and other Hillary-friendly coverage on Make Them Accountable (scroll down to the Media section): Comment on a CNN story about the Democratic primary, dated February 2, 2008: I did a quick check of the total number of votes using data posted by CNN… Without Michigan, and adding primary votes and caucus votes (I know they are not equivalent, but this shows the stupidity of the caucus system), and including Florida (where both candidates where equally placed) Hillary has 10,090,248 and Obama has 9,525,645 votes. If we take out Florida, Hillary has 9,233,040 and Obama has 8,956,604. So, why does [the media never] tell this story? I would welcome a better account of the total number of votes so some of you stop this propaganda that Obama represents the voice of the majority of voters. No, so far she seems to be ahead regarding the popular vote… If...

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February 28, 2008

From Carol Jenkins at Alternet: In the run-up to the Tuesday debate, we watched Chris, Tucker, Keith, and Chris again, then Tim with Brian Williams (the only one of the evening, by the way, to come off looking journalistic.) What was wrong with this picture? As the Women's Media Center has pointed out before, and to NBC executives personally, we believe the absence of women in this prime time line-up does a disservice to viewers -- and to the information process. And knowing the history of line-crossing, it's hard not to read disdain on their faces as they describe Hillary Clinton. It was perhaps surprising to hear a presidential candidate reference the irreverent comedy workhorse, Saturday Night Live, in a nationally televised debate -- but for those who've been tracking Hillary Clinton's sometimes rough handling by the media, it made sense for her to bring it up in Tuesday's debate....

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Video on YouTube...

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YouTube - This One's for Ann...

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From AP: Fighting to survive, Hillary Rodham Clinton is counting on female power to energize her faltering presidential bid. She's hoping a double-digit lead among women in Ohio is the answer. "I am thrilled to be running to be the first woman president, which I think would be a sea change in our country and around the world," the New York senator said this week in Cleveland, emphasizing anew the pioneering aspect of her candidacy. A woman in the White House, Clinton said, would present "a real challenge to the way things have been done, and who gets to do them and what the rules are." The remarks had a call-to-action flair and underscored just how much she is relying on women, always a key part of her support, to help her win Ohio and, perhaps, Texas on Tuesday as she seeks to get back on track in the Democratic...

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February 25, 2008

From Age Differences in Marriage and Female Longevity, Laurel Klinger-Vartabedian, Lauren Wispe, Journal of Marriage and the Family, Vol. 51, No. 1 (Feb., 1989), pp. 195-202: Analysis of 1968 mortality data and comparable 1970 census data for women showed that women married to younger men tended to live longer than expected, while women married to older men tended to die sooner than expected....

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The Guardian......

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February 21, 2008

From Divorce Magazine: Percentage of population that is married: 59% (down from 62% in 1990, 72% in 1970) Percentage of population that has never married: 24% Percentage of population that is divorced: 10% (up from 8% in 1990, 6% in 1980) Percentage of population that is widowed: 7% Median age at first marriage: Males: 26.9 Females: 25.3 Median age at first divorce: Males: 30.5 Females: 29 Median age at second marriage: Males: 34 Females: 32 Median age at second divorce: Males: 39.3 Females: 37 Median duration of first marriages that end in divorce: Males: 7.8 years Females: 7.9 years Median duration of second marriages that end in divorce: Males: 7.3 years Females: 6.8 years Median number of years people wait to remarry after their first divorce: Males: 3.3 years Females: 3.1 years More info on divorce here: The divorce rate in America for first marriage, vs second or third marriage...

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February 20, 2008

I agree completely with this diary on MyDD. I am a woman without a party. As Virginia Woolf said, "As a woman, I have no country. As a woman my country is the world." All our cherished progressive principles have been trampled into the dirt in Elmer Gantry's tent filled with frat boys and fools. This person said it well for me: ...Frankly, with Obama at the head of the party, I no longer have a clue as to what the party is suppose to stand for; other than being hipper than the Republicans. His own supporters, when they are honest, admit that he isn't an economic progressive. His foreign policy doesn't differ from Clinton's (and his advisors are all former Clinton people). And, his own behavior suggests that he simply doesn't understand issues of gender and class. In fact, insensitivity to issues of gender and class are the things...

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February 19, 2008

Men are choosing a less qualified candidate for the most important job in the United States, just because he's a man. A man who has even said himself their positions on the issues differ very little. After all we have done for them over the years, men aren't going to help us achieve equal representation. We'll have to try another way. Check out The White House Project. From founder Marie Wilson: Though they make up 51% of the population, women constitute only 16% of Congress and 23% of state legislators. Only 5% of the women serving in statewide elective offices are women of color. Of the 50 states, women lead a mere 8 of them as governors. And as of September 2007, among our nation's 100 largest cities, only 10 had women mayors. As we envision a different kind of country, invigorated by robust dialogue and diverse viewpoints, perhaps the...

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There was already a feeling of betrayal among viewers when Oprah backed misogynist Arnold Schwarzenegger for the California governor's race in a more low-keyed way (spending a very flattering hour fawning over him in the heat of the race). So why did she go all out for Barack Obama this time, over the more qualified woman? Her wise mentor, Maya Angelou, backed Hillary Clinton. From The Times: America’s favourite television presenter is paying a painful price for her intervention in the US presidential campaign last month. Oprah Winfrey has been dubbed a “traitor” by some of her female fans for supporting Barack Obama instead of Hillary Clinton. Winfrey’s website, Oprah.com, has been flooded with a barrage of abuse since the queen of daytime chat shows joined Obama on a tour of Iowa, New Hampshire and South Carolina in mid-December. Her intervention was widely credited with broadening Obama’s national appeal -...

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February 18, 2008

Media Matters...

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From Dana Goldstein at American Prospect: What are exit polls for? When responsibly analyzed, final exit poll results -- not the early, leaked numbers that so often misrepresent outcomes -- are most helpful in determining not who won an election, but what types of voters supported which candidates. Exit polls have identified Hillary Clinton's strong showing among women, highly educated voters' affinity for Barack Obama, and confirmed evangelicals' affection for Mike Huckabee. They've also shed light on peculiarities such as John McCain's support among pro-choice Republicans, even in Florida, when the nominally pro-choice Rudy Giuliani was still in the race. Over 40 percent of Sunshine State GOP voters believe abortion should be legal, and McCain won more of their votes than any other candidate in the race. Those folks need a political reality check; McCain's opposition to Roe v. Wade is increasingly vociferous. But what's usually ignored is that Democratic...

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February 17, 2008

In a side by side objective comparison, Hillary is clearly the most qualified candidate for the job, in every way. Her wealth of experience on a national and international level is most impressive....

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February 16, 2008

From Erica Jong at Huffington Post: Unfortunately the Hillary-Haters are in charge. They monopolize the networks, the newspapers, the talk shows -- both radio and TV. They are crossing their legs for fear of castration. They are wearing the body armor our troops never got. Or got too late to matter. They are determined that a woman will not prove herself competent as Commander in Chief. We've seen this all before in the United States of Amnesia (Gore Vidal's brilliant phrase). Remember Geraldine Ferraro -- tarred with the brush of her Italian-American husband, whom they claimed was a mafioso? Remember Bella Abzug, attacked for her hats (which covered too large a brain)? Remember Eleanor Roosevelt, attacked for her teeth? Remember Victoria Woodhull (the first woman to run for president) "hanged" as a whore? Remember Emma Goldman rode out of town on a rail -- for being Jewish, liking to dance...

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From Tom Toles in the Washington Post:...

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February 15, 2008

Thank you sir. From MSNBC: Well, you know, you gotta be strong. You gotta be appropriately emotional. You can't be too critical of your opponent, but you've got to be critical enough. It goes on and on and on. There are assessments made of Sen. Clinton that would never be even considered for a male candidate. Ohio Gov. Ted Strickland, a Clinton backer, said the senator would win big in this delegate-rich state. Strickland also lamented the "triple" and "quadruple" standard he believes Clinton faces as a woman running for president. "We are not going to let up for the next few days and weeks," he said after a roundtable on the home foreclosure crisis here Thursday. "I believe that Ohio will speak loudly and clearly. That she will have an impressive victory in Ohio and that that will send a message across America." Recent polls show the New York...

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February 14, 2008

The thing I don't understand, and this applies to any enterprise whose audience is primarily liberals: why alienate half of your potential audience? All the polls are showing the race for Democratic candidate is neck and neck. So there are undeniably a large number of Hillary supporters out there. But instead, alpha males (with the help of a few beta females) used every institutional advantage at their disposal (read: all) to vilify Hillary Clinton. They've revealed a lot about themselves by the way they have treated Hillary (and by extension, the half of the Democratic base who voted for her). They don't even bother to hide their misogyny. Two candidates, the same positions (or seemingly - we know very little about Obama for sure), the woman far more qualified for the job - and they not only back the man, but bash the woman. Their fear at the prospect of...

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February 13, 2008

"A lot of people are just relationship junkies. You roll from relationship to relationship because you’re afraid of being alone. When I was lonely, I’d get into relationships just to alleviate the loneliness. I stayed in some too long. You need something to fill the emptiness. It can be another person, drugs, prestige or whatever. I’ve tried those things. They don’t do the trick." "I don’t look at the world the way I used to. I needed a kind of rebirth. Ultimately, I had to find my place in the world again, and I had to do it by myself. When I was younger, I looked at each movie I made, each relationship I was in, as if it was such a big deal. Now I know that these are only stations along the way of life." ~~ Matt Dillon (Also see my previous post called Addicted to "Love")....

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February 12, 2008

From ABC News: A Houston, Texas woman, who says she was gang-raped by her co-workers at a Halliburton/KBR camp in Baghdad, says 38 women have come forward through her foundation to report their own tragic stories to her, but that many cannot speak publicly due to arbitration agreements in their employment contracts. Jamie Leigh Jones is testifying on Capitol Hill this afternoon. She says she and other women are being forced to argue their cases of sexual harassment, assault and rape before secretive arbitration panels rather than in open court before a judge and jury. Jones returned from Iraq following her rape in 2005. She was the subject of an exclusive ABC News report in December which led to congressional hearings. After months of waiting for criminal charges to be filed, Jones decided to file suit against Halliburton and KBR. KBR has moved for Jones' claim to be heard in...

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I chose Hillary of the two candidates entirely on her merits as a candidate. She is quite simply the best qualified in every sense. But I have to say, the actual act of voting for a female president for the first time in my life was an unexpectedly moving experience. The misogyny we have seen in this campaign shows we haven't come such a long way, baby, so maybe I'll never get another chance to do it. But I'll always remember the way it felt - as though, for one day, we women really counted in this enterprise called America. Hillary, I will always thank you for having the courage to put yourself forward and face what you have faced, so I could have that day....

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February 10, 2008

Count me in as one miffed by the "pimp" remark on MSNBC. Most of all, because, unlike the fool who uttered the slur, I've actually been paying attention to Hillary Clinton's campaign. And it's crystal clear that Chelsea is her own woman and campaigning for her mother for the simple reason that she knows Hillary well, and knows she would make a wonderful president. And what mother would not be proud of Chelsea - classy, thoughtful, intelligent - she's a lady in every sense of the word. Which is why I think she'll know just how to respond to the latest in a long line of misogynistic outbursts by fools. From Newsweek: After a round of applause and a smattering of cheers at Creighton University in Omaha, Neb., last Friday, Chelsea Clinton immediately got down to business. No fiery stump speech. No applause lines. Just this: "Does anyone have a...

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February 06, 2008

Gloria Steinem and Maya Angelou back Hillary- who more do I need to hear from? The wise women have spoken. From Alternet: "Goodbye To All That" was my (in)famous 1970 essay breaking free from a politics of accommodation especially affecting women (for an online version, see http://blog.fair-use.org/category/chicago/). During my decades in civil-rights, anti-war, and contemporary women's movements, I've avoided writing another specific "Goodbye … " But not since the suffrage struggle have two communities -- joint conscience-keepers of this country -- been so set in competition, as the contest between Hillary Rodham Clinton (HRC) and Barack Obama (BO) unfurls. So. Goodbye to the double standard … -Hillary is too ballsy but too womanly, a Snow Maiden who's emotional, and so much a politician as to be unfit for politics. -She's "ambitious" but he shows "fire in the belly." (Ever had labor pains?) -When a sexist idiot screamed "Iron my shirt!"...

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From Erica Jong in the Washington Post: In the 1990s, when they became "Billary" as president, she gave her all. When the White House beckoned, she was true blue. When he took the hardest job in the world, she helped. As a senator she has learned compromise and negotiation. She has gotten to know red America as well as blue. If she could win over the rednecks in upstate New York, she can win over any American. She knows this country is full of "security" moms as well as soccer moms. Since she is a woman, she has to show she's ready to be commander in chief. "Look, the only people for Hillary Clinton are the Democratic establishment and white women," said Bill Kristol yesterday on Fox News Sunday, one of the many "news" outlets to expose Kristol's reliable sexism. "The Democratic establishment would be crazy to follow an establishment...

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February 01, 2008

From Scientific American: Kevin Stein, a researcher at the American Cancer Society who was not involved in the Dutch study, said it is inappropriate and factually incorrect to blame a woman's personality for her breast cancer. Among other misconceptions about cancer, the American Cancer Society debunks the idea that using underarm deodorants or antiperspirants can increase breast cancer risk, or that wearing under-wire bras raises the risk for breast cancer. The idea that a woman's personality traits can make her more prone to breast cancer appears nothing more than a myth, according to a Dutch study. Women who were unemotional, depressed or anxious were no more or less likely to get breast cancer than any other women, the study found. Nor were women who were optimistic, angry or understanding, or had any combination of personality traits. The Dutch researchers measured 11 personality traits in 9,705 Dutch women in a survey...

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Can one survive with integrity intact in the parlor of a gossip queen? Isn't one complicit if one settles in for a visit? And isn't one foolish to believe one won't be the subject of her gossip as well? Is it possible to extricate oneself without too much damage? I think the answers are no, yes, yes, and no. Make as little noise as possible to avoid retaliation while you slip away. Carry on as best you can until you are healed. And avoid such traps in the future. Some insight from Virginia Ironside in the The Independent: [The story of the person asking the question does not accompany the answer, so I'm going to change some of the wording around to make sense in a general way...] Gossip is a two-way process, which is also why one should be wary of keeping this woman as a friend. You can't...

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January 29, 2008

America Ferrera & Amber Tamblyn interviewing Hillary on YouTube...

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“As a child, Hillary Clinton was taught that all God’s children are equal, so as a mother she understood that her child wasn’t safe unless all children were safe. “I know what kind of president Hillary Clinton will be because I know who she is. Hillary Clinton has always been a strong woman and a passionate protector of families. For 35 years, that’s exactly what she has been doing. “Each generation stands on the shoulders of those who came before. Today, the challenges facing us threaten the dreams we have had for our children. We need a president with the experience and strength to meet those challenges. “I am inspired by Hillary Clinton. A daughter, a wife, a mother — my girl.” Radio Ad...

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