women

http://www.bostonmagazine.com/articles/in_defense_of_martha/

Wow! This is one heck of an article on Boston Magazine.  Eileen McNamara writes about the double standard in a refreshing way I haven't seen before. 

In Defense of Martha
Massachusetts’ problem with women candidates

LAST JANUARY, MARTHA COAKLEY lost a special election to an affable fellow with a handsome face, a thin résumé, and an independent streak, a defeat that got her branded as the worst campaigner in American history. “The Incredible Incompetence of Martha Coakley,” read one headline in the final days of the campaign. “Coakley is like the Waterworld of American politics, an indelible symbol of failure and, yes, arrogance and stupidity,” Jonathan Alter wrote in Newsweek.

 

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The Herlocaust Wall of Global Crimes Against Women and Girls 

" How then, how then can we stop it... by confronting it full force. Reaction in history has
never been pushed back by appeasing it, by excusing it, by tolerating it, by respecting it.
It has been pushed back by looking it straight in the eye and standing up to it full force. "
herlocaust.org/hernews/

[The Wall] contains actual documentaries and news stories – not docu-dramas where the scripts may have been enhanced for greater impact or the stories simply re-enactments. Nor, have any of the names and faces of the victims been changed “to protect their privacy.”

These women want their names and faces known and the horror of their stories told, exactly as the they are living through them, in hopes that the voice of humanity will cry out all over the world against the atrocities they are enduring in their daily lives, simply because they were born female.

 www.mediaite.com/online/krystal-ball-responds-to-photos-dont-let-them-shame-women-candidates/

"Krystal Ball, the 28-year-old Democratic candidate for Congress in the first district of Virginia, has recently been faced with a leak of several Facebook photos of her from a Christmas party six years ago. The photos have frequently been called racy and the credibility of her campaign has been questioned as a result."

Nisha Chittal really does tear this incident apart for what it is.  Plain old double standard sexism.  A friggin 22 yr. old woman having fun at a party is totally ridiculed by the right, the same ones who gave Scott Brown's 22 yr. old nude spread in Cosmo a pass.

On September 22, Citizens United will premiere the documentary, Fire from the Heartland: The Reawakening of the Conservative Woman.  Press releases say it is “the story of the awakening of a new generation of women that are at the forefront of today's conservative movement.”  In short, the flick showcases the political story of this election cycle, the impact that Republican women are having on the GOP.

Here's the trailer:

_________________ 

(Fire From The Heartland from Citizens United on Vimeo.)

This site was started in support of a woman.  A woman fighting to convince America that work ethic, knowledge of issues and an open mind were all critically more important than oratory might. 

Well, we can't win them all but we will never give up the core belief of Partizane, that any woman, even a so-called whacko from Delaware, that any woman is more qualifed to debate and solve the issues facing this country than are the men playing little boy's games with our future.

I admit it.  I am 100% gender biased and devote my limited politcal time to the support of women candidates.  Some would say that is just as bad as supporting Obama because he is black.  I say it is just as bad as supporting Dems because they are blue and Repubs because they are red.  Ideology no longer really matters, does it?  All those Obama supporters thought they had a leftie but they got a DINO (Democrat in Name Only).

What does matter is to support those we trust to work towards the best solutions to the problems facing our great country.  For me, that trust falls to women.  I don't always understand the female psyche but I know that my Mother and my spousal bot get things done.  Getting things done is sorely lacking in DC.  Let's work to change that.

I was thinking of my mother's 90th birthday today.  She was born the day after.  Two days before, she would not have had the vote.

The 19th Amendment

"The right of citizens of the United States to vote shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any State on account of sex."

Recent research shows that just having women around, makes men healthier.

(These researchers could have saved themselves the trouble by just asking any woman, since most of us figure out their "finding" at an early age.)

A Harvard research team has found that men who reach sexual maturity in an environment with few available women are at risk of dying sooner. The Harvard study points out that its finding may have important public health implications in countries where sex ratios are skewed against women.

(Better send a copy to China and India, telling both emerging economies that the “stronger sex” can't do it alone.) 

The Economist tells the story of the Harvard research led by Nicholas Christakes in its August Issue:

The mere presence of women seems to bring health benefits to men.  

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From Huffington Post

One more glass ceiling appears to have been broken as Long becomes the first woman to lead one of our intelligence agencies.

"Letitia A. Long is being elevated Monday to director of the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency in a ceremony at the agency's half-built, high-tech campus in Springfield, Va.

Women represent 38 percent of total intelligence work force, according to Wendy Morigi, spokeswoman for the Director of National Intelligence. In six most prominent agencies, 27 percent of senior intelligence positions are held by women."

More here From Huffington Post

Just the formality of the swearing in, but she is confirmed.

http://www.cnn.com/2010/POLITICS/08/05/kagan.supreme.court/index.html?hp...

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2010-08-05/kagan-is-confirmed-by-senate-as...

The Taliban pounded on the door just before midnight, demanding that Aisha, 18, be punished for running away from her husband's house. Her in-laws treated her like a slave, Aisha pleaded. They beat her. If she hadn't run away, she would have died. Her judge, a local Taliban commander, was unmoved. Aisha's brother-in-law held her down while her husband pulled out a knife. First he sliced off her ears. Then he started on her nose.

This didn't happen 10 years ago, when the Taliban ruled Afghanistan. It happened last year.

Read more: http://www.time.com/time/world/article/0,8599,2007238,00.html#ixzz0v63izry9

Thank you Richard Stengel for having the guts to hit America in it's collective gut.  His reasoning and preparation are a study in a journalistic thought process.  Click Here for his message to readers.

http://thedianerehmshow.org/shows/2010-07-27/former-astronaut-sally-ride

What a great woman she is promoting science and math for girls. 

Astronaut Sally Ride was the first American woman in space. Today she is on a new mission: to make science cool for kids – especially girls. How she plans to encourage students to prepare for careers in science, technology, engineering...

Listen:  thedianerehmshow.org/audio-player

They said women could never be officers as they could not command and men would never take orders from them.  But the Navy has shown this to be just another fallen shibboleth. 

The Navy's Sailor of the Year awards went to four women -- from left, Cassandra Foote, Shalanda Brewer, Samira McBride and Ingrid Cortez -- for the first time in the fleet's history. The women were also promoted to chief petty officer in a ceremony at the Navy Memorial in Washington on Thursday. (Photos By Dayna Smith For The Washington Post)

By Lisa Rein
Washington Post Staff Writer
Friday, July 23, 2010

 

The submarine school in Groton, Conn., will include 19 women this year, the first group since the Navy lifted its ban on women serving on submarines.

 

On Thursday, the Navy reached another milestone, when women swept the annual Sailor of the Year awards for the first time.

 

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UK - just change the names and it sounds much like US.

Mary Ann Sieghart: Women on top? You've got to be joking

For at least 20 years, we have been fed the line that the 'Future is Female'. But the future has always failed to materialise

 

What a depressing week it has been to be female. A psychopathically violent woman-beater and murderer is lionised. A film director who drugs and then sodomises a 13-year-old girl is let off. A famous actor tells his ex-partner she deserves to be "raped by a pack of niggers". And the Catholic Church elevates women's ordination to the same level of offence as child abuse. Thanks, chaps.

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Filed under Sunday funnies.  The brilliant leaders of Gaza have decided to enforce lomg standing tradition banning women from smoking the hooka in public cafes.  Reason.  Their husbands may divorce them for public smoking so Hamas is really just preserving the family.

From AP via USA Today:

Gaza's Hamas rulers are banning women from smoking water pipes in cafes, claiming it violates tradition and leads to divorce.

Plainclothes security officials handed out the ban order to Gaza City cafes over the weekend.

Police spokesman Ayman Batneiji said Sunday that officers are enforcing Gazan traditions. He said husbands often divorce women seen smoking in public but offered no evidence to support that claim.

The pipes are popular with both men and women in Gaza.

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http://www.thedailybeast.com/blogs-and-stories/2010-07-16/obama-ban-on-a...

Women’s organizations are crying foul at an Obama administration ban on abortion coverage in a new insurance program.

from the Daily beast Dana Goldstein

As President Barack Obama heads off to vacation in Maine, yet another interest group is furious with his administration. Feminist organizations say Obama has stepped beyond the letter and spirit of the new health-care reform law by banning abortion coverage in a new insurance program for people with pre-existing conditions.

<snip>

It is beginning to get lovely.  Little articles pop up here or there saying Mrs. Clinton should run against Obama for the 2012 nomination.  But as Mediaite said, "this is the first time I can recall seeing it in a serious publication".

Wall Street Journal op-ed by: Pete Du Pont

<snip>

And why would the Democratic Party want to do that? Because the re-election of President Obama is becoming more problematic. The latest Rasmussen Reports polls show the dramatic decline of the presidential approval index, the difference between those who "strongly approve" of Mr. Obama's performance and those who "strongly disapprove." It began at plus 25% when the new president was sworn in, and has steadily declined to minus 13%.

It isn't just the president whose poll numbers are falling fast. According to recent Harris polling, Vice President Biden viewed favorably by 26% of the public and unfavorably by 45%. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi does even worse, 20% positive to 49% negative. A June Nevada poll gave Sen. Harry Reid, the majority leader, 33% approval and 52% disapproval.

But the greatest contrast and most interesting statistic is Secretary of State Hillary Clinton's ratings: 45% favorable and only 35% unfavorable.

<snip>

Meenal Vamburkar wrote and interesting piece based on Naomi Schoenbaum's piece in the New Republic concerning Elena Kagan and her gender identity or lack thereof.  Interesting reading both.

It’s almost human nature to reflect back and think, “look how far we’ve come.” In a sense, this is what The New Republic’s Naomi Schoenbaum does in her piece, “Post-Gender Justice.” Examining what being a woman means to Elena Kagan, Schoenbaum notes that Kagan does not explicitly define herself as a woman leader in the law. But while the soon-to-be-confirmed Supreme Court nominee might not be defining herself through her gender, the media has tried its best to do it for her.

Schoenbaum contrasts Kagan with those who came before her — citing that while Justices Sandra Day O’Connor and Ruth Bader Ginsburg might not have had a choice, Sonia Sotomayor deliberately brought up her gender identity:

Schoenbaum's article.

Australia's Julia Gillard has become the country's first female prime minister after Kevin Rudd stood aside from a party ballot.

Mr Rudd took the step in the knowledge he would suffer an embarrassing defeat, correspondents say.

His successor said the government had been losing its way and she promised to make it strong for this year's general election.

The Labor Party had suffered a sharp drop in support in opinion polls.

Ms Gillard, who was deputy prime minister before the challenge to Mr Rudd, stood unopposed at a vote of the Labor Party's 112 members of parliament at a meeting on Thursday morning.

<snip>

For his part, Mr Rudd said he would devote himself to helping Labor get re-elected.

"I have given it my absolute all and in that spirit I am proud of the achievements we have delivered to make this country fairer," he said.

"I am proud of the fact we kept Australia out of the global economic recession."

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Women won big last night and the MSM are shocked.  Shocked I say.

Visit me on the flipside for some interesting takes on why.

 Talented Rue McClanahan has passed away, and many of us feel the world is a colder place without her. She made us laugh, touched our hearts, and helped our nation confront the falsehoods perpetrated against women as they age. Hers was a life worth celebrating.

Rue McClanahan played Broadway and appeared in Hollywood flicks, but her career took flight through television. The role that catapulted her to national stardom was Blanche Deveraux in the long running Golden Girls. The series ran from 1985-1992; it was a special gift to women.

Through the talents of McClanahan, Bea Arthur, Estelle Getty, and Betty White, Golden Girls taught America that a woman can be vital, energetic, and involved member of society throughout her lifetime. It celebrated the fact that age doesn’t change a woman’s intrinsic worth, and that life does not end with the loss of a partner. It showed that women can have enriching relationships with other women, a fact often belied by “mean girl” Hollywood scenarios.

And yes, I do believe this is a case of more of the same in the treatment of an incredible woman.

Lee DeWyze is a good singer and a hell of a kid.  In most Idol seasons he would never have made it this far due to much stronger competition on the mens side in previous years.  Season 9 has been a woman's year from day one and the early and continual favorite has always been Crystal Bowersox.

But Crystal you see is too good.  All the judges rated her higher last night and all but 2 shows this year.  Simon once said it is hers to lose. The others, Lee included, were always judged on their improvement.  Crystal was judged against herself and it is hard to improve on perfection.  The judges have even spoken of this, yet they have pushed the public to vote for the so improved Lee with the great back story.  The hard working kid from the paint store.

Not only the youngest to sail around the world unassisted, she's a 16 year old girl.

NPR Story

A 16-year-old Australian who spent seven months at sea in her pink yacht sailed across the finish line of her round-the-world journey Saturday, becoming the youngest sailor to circle the globe solo, nonstop and unassisted.

Thousands of spectators erupted into cheers as Jessica Watson sailed into Sydney Harbour, the finale to an epic adventure in which she battled 40-foot (12-meter) waves, homesickness and critics who said she'd never make it home alive.

"She said she'd sail around the world, and she has," a tearful Julie Watson said as she watched her grinning daughter cruise past the finish line from a nearby boat. "She's home."

But of course there is a downside.  The male establishment of sailing says she didn't go far enough north to count.  The 'round the world group no longer has a "youngest" record so the boy who did it in 2009 at 18 will always hold the record.

You get the picture.  Another wonderful accomplishment by a strong woman is gonna be ignored by many old farts.  Thankfully, most Aussies don't give a rats ass what the old farts think.

Watson's feat, however, will not be considered an official world record, because the World Speed Sailing Record Council discontinued its "youngest" category.

And though she sailed nearly 23,000 nautical miles, some sailing enthusiasts have also argued that Watson didn't travel far enough north of the equator for her journey to count as a true round-the-world sail as defined by the record council's rules. Watson's managers have dismissed those claims and argued she doesn't need to adhere to the council's rules anyway, since they won't be recognizing her voyage.

And this will make 3 women on the court.

One hopes the morning rumors are true and he does nominate Elena Kagan to the Supreme Court.  Another sensible and strong woman, and a Jew no less!

It's the last part that may give her trouble in confirmation.  She'd be replacng the last Protestant on the court.  Odd to think of this mostly Protestant nation with a court full of Catholics and Jews.  Also odd how I believe that religion will be more important than any liberal or conservative leanings she may have.  I of course know almost zero about her.

I know she is not a judge, a good thing.  I know she was the first female Dean of Harvard Law.  I know people say she is much in the mold of Justice Stevens but nobody really knows about Justices until they are actually Justices responsible for defining the direction of our country.

A thumbs up to Obama on this one.  What do you think?

It seems a Brit company has given in to protest and removed the Padded bikinis for 7 year old girls.  WTF?

Daily Mail

High street giant Primark pulled padded bikini tops for seven-year-olds off its shelves this morning after children's protection experts warned that they exploited children.

The store had been selling £4 sets in a low-cut halterneck style with padding in the cups which meant girls from the age of seven looked as if they had breasts.

The tops, which come in candy pink with gold stars or black with white polka dots, were 'withdrawn with immediate effect' after accusations that the high street chain was encouraging the sexualisation of young girls.

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1265859/Primark-condemned-sellin...

Today's New York Times

When I was in Saudi Arabia, I had tea and sweets with a group of educated and sophisticated young professional women.

I asked why they were not more upset about living in a country where women’s rights were strangled, an inbred and autocratic state more like an archaic men’s club than a modern nation. They told me, somewhat defensively, that the kingdom was moving at its own pace, glacial as that seemed to outsiders.

How could such spirited women, smart and successful on every other level, acquiesce in their own subordination?

I was puzzling over that one when it hit me: As a Catholic woman, I was doing the same thing.

I, too, belonged to an inbred and wealthy men’s club cloistered behind walls and disdaining modernity.

I, too, remained part of an autocratic society that repressed women and ignored their progress in the secular world.

She goes on to assail the Vatican and very cleverly points out that it is the Church's treatment of women that led to the disgusting treatment of children.

Good Op-Ed and worth a read.