Senator Kerry and the "Girl Effect"

I know it's been a few months under this new leadership, but I still get pretty bowled over when politicians publicly champion women's rights and not in a we-should-respect-women-by-not-letting-them-have-abortions-or-birth control kind of way. First our amazing new Secretary of State Hillary Clinton announces that the rights of women will "always be central to our foreign policy."

Then our new President Obama creates a first ever Council on Women and Girls led by Obama's senior aid, Valerie Jarrett. Signed into law on International Women's Day March 8th, the council will, according to Jarrett, "examine all the programs at the federal level that touch on women and girls and we're going to work to coordinate and make sure that each of those programs is doing everything that it could do to help support women and girls." So awesome that it's tear inducing:



Now today, Sen. John Kerry (D-Mass) chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee has an excellent piece published in the Washington Times discussing the state of women and girls around the world and highlights the importance of investing in our futures. Here are his main talking points:

It's up to all of us to ensure that this economic crisis does not become a global women's crisis, too. At moments like these in developing countries, women are asked to bear the brunt of the hardship. When food is scarce, economists have found that women and girls are pressured to forgo their share altogether so that men and boys have enough to eat. In the same way, we must now make sure that women workers aren't pushed aside as businesses downsize and that daughters aren't taken out of school as families search for extra income

I find it so refreshing to hear the political discourse shift from how we should cut the rights of women globally to how to champion them instead. I am always sensitive, however, to how we discuss global women's issues as to not sound like the great western world sweeping down to save the poor eastern women from their backwards society. I think this is a great piece, though. What are your thoughts? Read the entire commentary here.

Thanks to Colin for the link

Get Active: Sign the Petition to Overturn More Bush Bullshit!

So back in November, only weeks away from being booted out, the Bush administration put through some legislation that would keep even basic reproductive information out of the hands of patients. According to Planned Parenthood the new rule allows "almost 600,000 health care entities that receive federal funding to redefine abortion to include the most common forms of birth control — and then refuse to provide these basic services." Pretty sleazy, huh? Not to mention ridiculously dangerous.

Of course now that Obama is in office, the still-hard-to-believe-I'm-not-dreaming trend of slowly but surely fixing and reversing all the abuses of power/asshat decision making continues. Obama is looking to overturn this rule, but he needs to hear from you. Please visit the Planned Parenthood website here and sign a petition urging him and the Dept. of Health and Human Services to reverse this unethical intrusion into women bodies and lives.

Jocular Jaunt Overs: Life Imitating Art and Vice Versa Edition

The awesomeness of Obama's State of the Nation address last night is really threefold. Not only did we get to see a positive, excited, fresh, can do attitude from the US president, we also got to bask in the warmth of VP Joe Biden's ear to ear smile (as a friend of mine said "I need a piece of currency with his face on it!"). However, though both of these things are undeniably awesome, the the sweetest cherry of them all was the GOP response from Louisiana Gov. Bobby "Castrate 'Em!" Jindal. We learned so much from Jindal last night. Mainly that Americans can do anything (sweet! take that laws!) and that Kenneth the Page from 30 Rock isn't really the exaggerated character we all thought him to be. So for those of you who have not had the pleasure of comparing Gov. Jindal to Kenneth the Page in the last 24 hours, here's your chance! Just jaunt on over to The Huffington Post and check out Jindal's white, spindly doppelganger in action.

But wait! I've got something else up my sleeve...I know you hunger for more hilarity so jaunt on over to Geekologie and enjoy some Obama sushi.

Jocular Jaunt Overs: Presidential Audiobook Edition

For those of you who haven't listened to the Dreams of my Father audiobook and would be amused at hearing President Obama using the best swears around, jaunt on over to April Winchell's blog and read/listen to her article, "Obama is Tired of Your Motherfucking Shit."

*Thanks to John for the link

Fad-tastic: Money for Nothing Edition

Forget pillbox hats and dark stockings, this season is all about not paying your taxes! This is the new (for this administration) fad sweeping Washington this season, and boy-oh-boy has it got people's heads a-turnin'. And as of this week, tax evasion is not just for stuffed shirts and anarchists anymore...it's for the douchey elite, too!

So not paying your taxes, or letting them slip by you unknowingly is pretty ridiculous, and yes Tim Geithner, Tom Daschle, Nancy Killefer we expect better from you (not you though, Joe Francis, this smacks of your special brand of asshat-ness). More than the taxes, I wish these politicians would have thought ahead, as in how their lack of keeping up with these things can reflect poorly on an administration, and even a whole party. It didn't take more than a few minutes after Daschle stepped down for the squawkboxes to gear up against Obama and his so-called ethics. Even the The NYTimes had this to say:

Every four or eight years a new president arrives in town, declares his determination to cleanse a dirty process and invariably winds up trying to reconcile the clear ideals of electioneering with the muddy business of governing. Mr. Obama on his first day in office imposed perhaps the toughest ethics rules of any president in modern times, and since then he and his advisers have been trying to explain why they do not cover this case or that case.

Yeah, the new President sucks on ethical policy, nothing like the Ned Flanders-esque ethics of the last guy. It's a shame that people he thought he could trust turned out to be hoarding some extra cash, and that he didn't know about it right off the bat. Perhaps, though, we should cut him a little slack considering all he has accomplished in his first two weeks (Global Gag Rule gone, Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act signed, etc). I'm not of the belief that we should just be happy with anything that is remotely better than the last administration. We should always expect and demand higher of our leaders, especially one as determined and dedicated as Obama.

Though, anyone who has ever worked in an office (hell, anyone who has ever watched "The Office") should know that getting in and fixing everything that is wrong with a broken system on the first try is near impossible. Mostly because you often work with people who are used to doing things the shittier way b/c it's easier than learning something new (the new way usually includes more work also, and no one cottons to that). Obama can only control so much, he's trying to surround himself with honest, intelligent, dedicated people, but as it's his responsibilty to vet, dig and learn about them, it's also their responsibility to not fuck him over once he gives them a chance. These couple of people (all respected politcal figures mind you) shouldn't be represenitive of Obama breaking his promise of new ethics in Washington. We've got time for this to suss out. Just give him a hot minute.

Inauguration Day: the Sights, the Sounds, the Salesmanship

After what is the longest break I ever intend to take from writing I'm gonna dive back in with a topic you most likely haven't heard very much about, the Inauguration of Barack Obama. While I was on a writing hiatus he got elected President and now he actually is President and as it turns out this is the greatest thing to ever happen to America. Ever. So for those of you who only get news from this blog, you're all caught up now.

So if you watched CNN at all on Inauguration Day, you may have seen them slobbering over this new robot camera that's the latest and greatest in Hi-Def capability. Intended for FBI surveillance, it takes lots and lots of pictures that can all be crammed together for an interactive smorgasbord of zooming in and out, as well as 'round and 'round. Now that the events have ended and everyone is safe, sound, and as presidential as ever, the internet has brought us this tool so we can try and see what Oprah's "It's too fucking cold out here" face looks like. I actually wasn't able to find her, but I did enjoy trying to find where I was standing only to realize I was clearly behind a tree trunk, thus not visible at all. Ha - tricked you, FBI. Maybe instead of Hi-Def you should have been working on X-ray.

It's fun to play with for a few minutes if you don't mind waiting a good 30 seconds each time you zoom for the image to reload. Hey, it's Hi-Def, not magic. If you want to try to find yourself, your congressperson, a celebrity, and/or your friends, you can here. If you're curious what kind of seats you get if you work for the campaign as a field organizer I will describe where the boyfriend and I were standing. You're dying to know, you say? Well then, we are on the far right side of the original panorama between the botanical gardens and the congressional reflective pool. So click on the far left side of the pool and just keep clicking until your the screen is centered on the closest left corner of the pool. There's a section of the pool that peeks through a sparse patch of tree branches, then to the left side of that there is a section of people pushed up against a barricade and some yellow police tape. We're like 10 - 15 people back from the front of the barricade, most likely behind the trunk of that tree. That was the very front of the silver section (aka, the least best tickets). We were as close as our tickets allowed us to be really, we were lucky to get there early and elbow around for a good position. The silver section stretched back to where the big white screen (jumbo tron) is behind the pool and the guy-riding-a-horse monument.

As for the actual Inauguration, there's not a lot to say that hasn't already been said. Seeing Obama and Biden get sworn in was like when Harry Potter killed finally Voldemort, and having said that, it took about as long to defeat the Dark Lord as it did to defeat the Republicans...connections? Duh. All in all, it was a fun effing day. It was cold, but as I predicted to the boyfriend when the freezing temps were tempting him to stay home, I don't really remember how painful the cold was now, I only remember the excitement of the crowd. There were chants, tears, screams, and boos (mainly for Bush, Cheney, and a few police officers who were trying to corral some of the more pushy participants), and all day, every where you went, everyone was doing at least one of these. The chanting was really the best, sure it reeked of mob mentality, but you don't realize how awesome it is to be packed into the Metro with 1 million rabid democrats until they start a call and response at 6am.

Then after Obama spoke, we hopped the barrier and ran off towards the nearest open metro (5+ blocks) escaping the dreaded crowds for the most part. I'm glad I live here, because the whole thing would have been impossible to navigate as a touron. Luckily, I've spent a good amount of time milling around the mall, so even though it was packed to the hilt, we did much better than the people with neon "Akron for Obama" t-shirts on who were trying desperately, but hopelessly to keep their large group from breaking apart and getting lost forever.

Better than anything, though, were the Obama vendors. Scattered throughout the city for the entire week, you could not walk two feet without an overly pumped up street salesman offering something for the low low once in a lifetime historical price of ___. Of course there were the usual suspects: sweatshirts, t-shirts, baseball hats, knit ski caps, stickers, buttons. Then a few more items that I wouldn't usually count on, nor have ever planed to buy from a card table on U St, included: "silk" ties with various probama slogans, leather jackets with "Obama" and "Hope" stamped on the sleeves and breast, Barack bookmarks, even glossy photo calendars of the first family looking adorable month after month. But my absolute favorite of the paraphernalia were the wild cards - things you would only expect to win at a parking lot carnival or find in a dusty forgotten basket at a dimly lit dollar store. These treasures ranged from useless (novelty coins with Barack's face painted on them), to titillating (Obama condoms!), to downright ridiculous/awesome (Obama light up watches, or glow in the dark sneakers adorned with a "picture" of Barack's face - that for accuracy's sake, looked a lot more like Slimer). I didn't buy any of these wares, as at the time it seemed like a ludicrous waste of money...yeah, I'm totally regretting that now.

More than that though, I regret not taking more pictures. It's really hard to further describe an energy that millions of people around the world from bloggers to newscasters have been trying to hit upon for the last week and a half. Pictures, though, they always do the trick. When words have become trite and redundant, there's nothing like a good photograph of a bright yellow condom stamped with an outline Barack's face to really capture the spirit of the moment. U-S-A! U-S-A!

Joe Biden = Swoontastic

Before you get your vote on in 11 days, be sure to watch this piece highlighting the groundbreaking strides Joe Biden has made for victims and survivors of domestic violence and abuse. This 6 minute video lets one woman tell her story and her voice echoes the millions of women in this country who are now safe because of The Violence Against Women Act (VAWA) or who will find safety through it. 1 out of 4 women report being victims of interpersonal violence, this number is absurd and unconscionable. If elected, the Obama/Biden administration is one that will fight for the eradication of violence against women and girls guaranteed.

I Don't Want To Live In My Own Shit and Garbage So I Like to Pay My Taxes

I've stopped my head from spinning right off my shoulders for the first time in like two weeks just long enough to say...WTF? Since when is paying your taxes a bad thing?!

Taxes Pay For:
*Public Education (including after school programs, sports, extra curriculars)
*Police, Fire Department, Hospitals, Ambulances (any type of emergency response team)
*Garbage Removal Service
*Water Treatment
*Energy (aka keeping your power on)
*Road Repairs, Street Cleaning, Snow/Ice Removal
*Crime Prevention Programs
*Parks and Recreation Programs (including little leagues, public pools, ice skating rinks)
*Public Transportation (including buses, light rails, metros, subways)
*Social Programs (including Domestic Violence and Sexual Assault helplines, counseling, and safe housing)

and much much more!

Taxes are based on the idea of "ability to pay," we can't all just pay full price for what we use because no one person on their own could afford all the things that they use on a daily basis. Examples of this are things that are free or provided at a low cost like school, waste management, or turning on your television. Then there are things that not everyone uses, but everyone pays for with the idea that everyone uses something and helping to pay for these programs makes our communities cleaner, safer, more welcoming, and easy to live in. These are programs like little leagues, buses, jails, ambulances, food stamps, and park programs (like watching fireworks on the 4th of July).

I know it's popular to for some reason hate people who are on welfare (y'know because they clearly don't have enough problems). Certain citizens want to know why they have to pay for someone else's misfortune, and my answer to that is why do I have to pay for your damn ambulance when you fall off your ladder cleaning your gutters? I don't have gutters, and if I did, I wouldn't fall off of them like a clumsy effing idiot, so I don't want to pay for the ambulance that will come pick you up and safe your life because it's not my problem. Sounds heartless doesn't it? Yes, of course I'll pay for your ambulance, and your welfare, and your drug rehabilitation! I'll pay for you to get a free education just like I did. I will pay for you to get better, because someday I'll need you to pay for my pension. I owe you a nice public transit system because when I was little you paid for me to play softball for 6 years, and I got to ice skate in a public rink that was safe, beautiful and fun because you helped keep it that way.

Look, taxation and redistribution of the wealth is a main principal of democracy. Remember democracy? What we needed to fight a never ending war for in the Middle East? A principal that the GOP likes to wave around desperately while pointing fingers at the democrats like we're about to make it on the McCarthy blacklist.

Under and Obama/Biden administration, no one will be paying more taxes unless they are making over $200,000 - if you're making that much do you really think you can't afford to pay some extra taxes to make your community a better place for all to live in? Don't you want to be safe and happy? So does everyone else.

Way to Go Joe!

The text message arrived at 3:41 am this morning confirming that Joe Biden is indeed Barack Obama's running mate for Vice President!

So if you'll notice the blog directly below this one, uh yeah, I totally called that. Cnn should probably hire me as senior political analyst now.

Also this weeks convention looks like it will be very pro-woman rights according to NOW president Kim Gandy. With Joe Biden championing ending violence against women, what I believe is the biggest issue affecting women and girls, I think this administration has a chance to create a huge positive step in the right direction for women's rights. We may have lost Hillary, but I don't think women have lost their voice.

Top 10 Reasons Why Joe Biden Would be the Most Awesomest Choice for Vice President

10) He was born in Scranton Pennsylvania, thus I assume he is a rabid fan of "The Office"

9) He saves our resources and air quality by commuting by train from Delaware to DC

8) We share the same birthday (that means once he moves down here we could totally have a joint party!)

7) He is a strong supporter of gun control, receiving a "F" rating from the NRA

6) His experience with foreign relations, coupled with his moderate stance on the Iraq War will help to win over the middle of the road democrats and republicans who view Obama as too liberal

5) Opposes jerky things like capital punishment, oiling drilling, and throwing illegal immigrants out by their coat tails

4) He has a working class background, and is outspoken as well as knowledgeable about the importance of agriculture and family farms - two qualities that make Ohioans swoon

3) He's excellent on civil rights, from combating discrimnation based on sexual orientation to working to end the wage bias against women, Biden has a long history of speaking out against injustice

2) He openly called "Bullshit!" on Bush, thus solidifying Biden's new title: Senator Badass

-And most importantly to me-

1) Senator Biden wrote the ground-breaking Violence Against Women Act (VAWA) in the 1990s that set the national agenda on criminalizing violence against women and holding batterers truly accountable.

Biden has changed the country and millions of lives for the better with this act. This along with a 100% score from NARAL, proves to every woman who is still skeptical about the ousting of Hillary that this will finally be an administration that values women. We wanted a feminist, and whether or not he identifies as such, we're getting one with Joe Biden.

I love you, Joe! Good Luck!

Rescued Pets are the Best Pets

As an update to the entry I wrote about the AKC lobbying the Obama family to choose one of their pure-bred freak show dogs, here's a little bit from the Best Friends Network urging the soon-to-be presidential family to pick a shelter dog in need of a loving home. What I like about their argument is that they want everyone to get involved. They don't to make this an issue about republicans or democrats, instead their website focuses on the importance of finding homeless animals a loving family. BFN goes on to say, "For a candidate focused on 'hope' and 'change,' adopting a homeless pet is the right choice. Win or lose, this is an opportunity for Obama to effect change on this very important issue." I agree, and I encourage all of you to check out their website and see what you can do to affect your own change. At the least sign the petition, at the most bring home your own shelter pet!

Don't Get Bichon Frised Out! Vote Now!

So the Obamas are great, right? The whole lot of 'em, smart, funny, progressive, attractive... you'd be hard pressed to find a flaw in this group. Until now. The American Kennel Club has shone a light on a major flaw of this White House bound family: no pets! It's true. While the McCains are littered with pets, from dogs with theme names to a gender queer iguana, the Obamas have nothing to offer us but a promise of bringing a dog into the picture after the campaign is over. Well the AKC doesn't want to take any chances here, so they've decided to "help" the Obamas out by letting the public (you!) vote for which breed would be best suited for the job of first dog. I know you are chomping at the bit to have your voice be heard on this somewhat pressing matter, but wait! You can't type in just any ol' mongrel! They've already narrowed down some that you can pick from:

Bichon Frise
Chinese Crested
Miniature Schnauzer
Poodle
Soft Coated Wheaten Terrier

So go now! Cast your vote! Or if this finicky group of "those are dogs? really??" bothers you, check out this angry blogger who is super pissed about the whole ordeal. No, for serious. He calls the AKC "a Madison Avenue Club of Clowns ."

Also, who knew the Bushs have a cute cat? I mean, he's no Socks, but he's in there swingin'.

I'm Not Sexist, I Voted for Hillary

Many supporters see Hillary Clinton loosing the democratic nomination as one more injustice to be tallied on that bitch of a glass ceiling that, though now cracked in 18 million places, is still holding women back after all this time. And we finally seemed so close to equality. So close to seeing a strong, capable, outspoken, liberal woman in the spotlight. A talented woman finally getting the respect she deserved. And now, we feminists have no leader...no great hope...

Wait, what?!?

Why have all the feminists seemed to have forgotten that other strong, capable, outspoken, liberal woman in the spotlight known as Michelle Obama? She has been in this race as long as Hillary, but once HRC stood aside, all eyes (and what jerky eyes they are) were on Michelle. From being Barack's "Baby Mama" to being labeled time and time again as an "angry black woman," Michelle has been taking it from every side, in much the same way as Hillary. This time, however, it's not only about being a woman, but being (dun dun dun) a woman of color, This allows for a whole new wave of insults, and injustice, the likes of which not even Hillary Clinton has seen.

So, why the silence, ladies?

I'm not the only one who finds the sudden clamming up of America's great feminist voices suspect. Over the weekend Mary C. Curtis had a few thoughts on the matter as well (from The Washington Post):

"What does Gloria Steinem think? She was out front with her support of Clinton, promoting the importance of a female president. She has even endorsed Barack Obama. What's her reaction now that the knives are out for another strong woman?

How about Geraldine Ferraro the former vice presidential nominee whose racially tinged denunciations of Barack Obama sparked a media firestorm?"

She goes onto say how she has long considered herself a feminist and once "cheered" Steinem's words, " I'd like a little of that solidarity back now, not suspicion because someone of my race defeated someone of our sex."

As both a life-long feminist, and Hillary supporter, I have noticed the large gap in our media where the justified howls of sexism against Hillary used to reside. Now feminists far and wide seemed to have stepped down, licking their wounds, discouraged in the trenches. I can only assume, feeling as though they've lost the fight, they are laying low. But why now? The show isn't over . The second act, ripe with the intersectionality of race and gender, is just beginning. Since we first started fighting for suffrage, mainstream feminism has been criticized for ignoring women of color. Criticized for acting as though the problems facing all women were that of the suburban, middle-class, white women. Now, here we are possibly on the verge of the fourth wave, still dealing with the ghosts of our fore mothers. Don't get me wrong, without their triumphs we wouldn't have the rights we do, but because of their missteps we find ourselves still unable to look beyond our own self-interest. Unable to be okay enough with our loss to stand together and make sure to prevent another.

We either care about these issues or we don't. Ignoring Michelle for the next 4 months is not only going to keep that glass ceiling we beat on for the last year and a half whole, it might even mend a few of its cracks.

And while we're at it, let's send a little love Cindy McCain's way.