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Is this what we meant by advancement?
Tweet Share on Facebook April 28, 2006 Comment (2)Rape is just part of the price of admission. How crazy is that? Yet it's true, according to the Associated Press. As more women enter the United States illegally (a decade-long trend), more of them are raped in the desert and the rough-and-tumble border towns they must traverse to get here. The AP reports, "Rape has become so prevalent that many women take birth-control pills or shots before setting out to ensure they won't get pregnant. Some consider rape 'the price you pay for crossing the border,' said Teresa Rodriguez, regional director of the U.N. Development Fund for Women."
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No 'ace' here
Tweet Share on Facebook April 26, 2006 CommentTalk about bad timing! On Equal Pay Day, Wimbledon announces it's still going to pay male players more than females. Love-30. That is, Wimbledon 0-Venus Williams 30, if Williams goes ahead with a possible boycott—or, shall we say, girl-cott?
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Madison Avenue: liberated?
Tweet Share on Facebook April 25, 2006 Comment (1)Is Madison Avenue discovering big money in real women? TV long ago recognized the riches in reality. Yes, lots of eyeballs (to wit, people) tune in to watch other real people in reality shows. But Madison Avenue has been slow to follow. Seems people still want to buy products that look better when they're modeled by, well, models and celebrities, rather than age-ridden real people.
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The antiabortion T-shirt is here–is the no-birth-control bumper sticker next?
Tweet Share on Facebook April 24, 2006 Comment (15)Bet you don't know what day Tuesday, April 25, is. It's the American Life League's National Pro-life T-shirt Day. Seems as if interest groups on the left and right and in the messy middle have turned every day, week, and month of the year into some cause-related marketing event. Are there any days, weeks, or months left unclaimed? Perhaps, but this event was still news to me.
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The high cost of preschool
Tweet Share on Facebook April 20, 2006 Comment (2)And you thought college tuition was the most extortionate expense associated with child rearing. Think again. USA Today reports that daycare costs are rising so quickly, sticker-shocked parents are comparing preschool with the cost of a second mortgage. In some cities, day-care centers (not private nannies, remember, but a supposedly less-expensive alternative) charge almost $2,000 per month.
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House party turnover depends on stoking the base, fixing the lines
Tweet Share on Facebook April 19, 2006 CommentTwo more national trends to watch as Democrats' chances in individual House races become more clear: how the parties energize their respective bases and the effect of gerrymandering following the 2000 census.
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Can the Dems retake?
Tweet Share on Facebook April 17, 2006 Comment (1)Washington is all atwitter over Democrats' chances in November of taking back one or both chambers of Congress. But before Democrats go wafting off into ether (and few have), progressive partisans have some Himalayan-size mountains to scale. Most pundits are focusing on the House as the Democrats' best shot for a takeover. That, of course, requires a pickup of at least 15 seats. Will national polls showing Republicans in big trouble with voters prove right? Or will local issues, incumbency, and new candidates' strengths or weaknesses swing elections?
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Sex, lies, and government health literature for young women
Tweet Share on Facebook April 13, 2006 Comment (1)Can young women trust government reports on women's health? This month's issue of Glamour magazine says "No." In an article entitled "The New Lies About Women's Health," the magazine reports that the federal government has posted inaccurate information on federal government websites used widely by young women and that states are now passing laws requiring doctors to give inaccurate information to young women seeking birth control and abortions.
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Caught in the 'boy wars' crossfire
Tweet Share on Facebook April 10, 2006 Comment (19)In the 1974 classic movie Chinatown, there's a mind-searing scene in which Jack Nicholson smacks Faye Dunaway's face repeatedly from side to side, like a human ping-pong ball. In so doing, Nicholson persuades Dunaway to reveal the scandalous truth about a young, enigmatic character–-a truth that Dunaway's been hiding: "She's my sister . . . she's my daughter . . . She's my sister and my daughter! . . . My father and I . . . understand?"
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Bush wants women off the field, into the lab
Tweet Share on Facebook April 7, 2006 CommentWhatever else history places on the Bush administration's legacy list, "concerted booster of women's rights" is unlikely to merit a mention. But the administration launched a curious effort this week to counter its normally woman-neutral posture. This summer, the U.S. Department of Education will probe, in depth, how colleges and universities are treating female and male students and faculty in science and mathematics departments.
