women

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.  

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.

 

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.

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.

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."

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.

Speaking of women who made history...

Meg Whitman is leading in the CA polls.  From CNN

Whitman was not the founder but she was the driving force behind eBay.  Will history remember her incredible contribution to the ecommerce we all use?

(CNN) – A third straight poll of California voters indicates that Meg Whitman has a slight lead over Jerry Brown in this year's battle for California governor.

A Los Angeles Times/University of Southern California survey released Monday indicates that Whitman's multi-million dollar television commercial campaign has erased her once-unknown status in the Golden State.

If the general election for California governor were held today, 44 percent of registered voters in the state would back Whitman, with 41 percent supporting Brown, according to the poll. Whitman's three point advantage is within the survey's sampling error. Fourteen percent of those questioned say they are undecided.

Whitman also narrowly leads Brown in two other recent surveys, by three points in a Field Poll and five points in a Public Policy Institute of California survey.

New York Times

KABUL, Afghanistan — After initially denying involvement or any cover-up in the deaths of three Afghan women during a badly bungled American Special Operations assault in February, the American-led military command in Kabul admitted late on Sunday that its forces had, in fact, killed the women during the nighttime raid.

....

And in what would be a scandalous turn to the investigation, The Times of London reported Sunday night that Afghan investigators also determined that American forces not only killed the women but had also “dug bullets out of their victims’ bodies in the bloody aftermath” and then “washed the wounds with alcohol before lying to their superiors about what happened.”

March ends today but I cannot let it go without a h/t to another of the many unsung heroes we have been reading about.

Throughout the month, BJ has posted an article about women nearly every day that is well written and informative.  She has brought us light from the dark corners of the world.

My thanks to BJ, this "friend of mine that I don't even know" for all her efforts during this month to show women in a different light. 

This song seemed so appropriate and gave me my subject line.  Perhaps some of you will remember the Andrews Sisters rendition.  Here's a few lines.  You can find the rest here.

Quanta LaGusta

We're on our way (we're on our way)
Pack up your pack (pack up your pack)
And if we stay (and if we stay)
We won't come back (we won't come back)
How can we go, we haven't got a dime?
But we're goin' and we're gonna have a happy time

Cuanto la gusta, la gusta, la gusta, la gusta, la gusta, la gusta, la gusta
Cuanto la gusta, la gusta, la gusta, la gusta, la gusta, la gusta

That doesn't seem like news to me.  I always thought the girls were smarter in high school.  Maybe now people are just waking up or the statistics are real.  Boys are falling behind girls in math and speaking.  Or as Kristof says, "they just seem to try harder".

By NICHOLAS D. KRISTOF
Published: March 27, 2010

...The latest surveys show that American girls on average have roughly achieved parity with boys in math. Meanwhile, girls are well ahead of boys in verbal skills, and they just seem to try harder.

The National Honor Society says that 64 percent of its members — outstanding high school students — are girls. Some colleges give special help to male applicants — yes, that’s affirmative action for white males — to avoid skewed sex ratios.

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/03/28/opinion/28kristof.html
 

 Read that last line again.  Affirmative action for male white students.  We can't let the boys fall behind some uppity girls now can we?

Last year, research showed that 1.37 million (39%) of the total homeless population are children under the age of 18. Given the increase in unemployment, we can only assume that number has increased this year. The transience of homelessness is difficult for the hardiest of souls, but it is especially hard on young people, who need consistency and a sense of safety and permanence to grow and flourish. Homelessness is a major problem; when it includes children, it’s a national disgrace.

 Diane Nilan (photo, L) gave up her job as director of a Chicago homeless shelter in 2005. She sold her town house and bought an RV and video equipment to chronicle homelessness in America. Nilan is convinced that if she can shed a light on the type of people she met in her 15 years of shelter work, she can make homelessness a national priority.

Driving her RV, she has visited 48 states, in an 80,000-mile cross-country journey that has found her relentlessly chronicling poverty and homelessness. She uses film, blogs, her book and public appearances to give a voice to the homeless, especially homeless families and young people.