So men are ... flies?

Sometimes it's really good to get outside the US media and our own little blogosphere, and see what's going on in the rest of the world. You really never know what you'll find. Apparently making the email rounds in the Middle East, is the following photo, which includes this message at the top:

“You can’t stop them, but you can protect yourself.”

The Arabist asks in his post Veil Your Lollipop, "Two obvious (and rhetorical) questions: Can we really not stop harassment? And does veiling really “protect” you?"

Click the image to see a larger version in all it's icky glory ....

America, women, and political office: Many miles to go ...

Before Hillary Clinton bowed out of the race for the Democratic nomination, I read an interesting piece in TruthOut, which I meant to post for you all. In the craziness at home and in the news lately, I never got around to it. Yet it is almost more powerful now that the passion and emotions of the Clinton vs. Obama discussions have died down.

We have a long, long way to go before America truly accepts women in political office as the norm. It has nothing to do with Barack Obama, so perhaps now that he's the candidate we can look at the subject of women without it becoming a "which is worse: sexism vs. racism" battle. Perhaps we can look at the issue of women in politics in America on its own merits and issues.

Like the rest of the world, the US has been moving forward in terms of women in politics, but it's doing so in spurts and slower than many of its neighbors. Ten years ago, this country ranked 37th in terms of women's political representation. It now sits in 71st place, according to a recent Interparliamentary Union study.

Twenty-eight of the 50 states have not yet elected a female governor. And women make up only 16 percent of both the US House and the Senate.

One roadblock to political equality for women may be an overly sunny self-perception on the part of Americans, according to Marie Wilson, founder of the White House Project, an organization aimed at upping women's political representation, and author of "Closing the Leadership Gap: Why Women Can and Must Help Run the World."

"People think we're already there," Wilson told Truthout. "They think we have a political meritocracy. As Americans, we like to think of ourselves as a fair country. That makes it harder to own up to the facts of the masculinity of the political system and the normalcy of recruiting men to run for office."

Even triumphs can be deceptive; there's a difference between achieving a milestone and establishing normalcy. The first woman to serve in the Senate took her oath in 1922. Yet in 1992, 70 years after that barrier was broken, the Senate contained only two women.

It is getting better, as more women are running for local office, learning how to fundraise, and gaining experience. Hillary Clinton's candidacy has been a huge step forward for women at the national level, but it does not mean that we will suddenly have a slew of women running for president next election. Instead, we'll have this collective (and false) feeling that women have reached equality with men in the political arena, and we'll take two steps backward before we see another woman run for the White House.

Read the rest of Maya Schwenar's article, Women in the Running, here.

Eat, drink, and be ... Mary?

So, finally, it's Friday. I've got loads of serious topics banging around in my head, but no time today to get them sorted out enough to post them. Besides, as mentioned, it's Friday.

And while I'm still trying to work through the disappointment of Hillary Clinton stepping out of the battle for the Democratic nomination, there is a great wall women did manage to push down this week: For the first time, the Top Chef is a woman! Stephanie, honey, you can cook for me anytime!


But wait! There's more! One of my favorite stops on my Friday blog travels is Dorothy Surrenders, writen by the snarkolicous Dorothy Snarker. She posts a weekly "My Weekend Crush," and who would it be this weekend but the equally adorable Iron Chef Cat Cora! Yay for foodies!

As Dorothy writes:

I particularly love it when Cat competes against the boys. Sometimes she wins, sometimes she loses. But what she proves is that women can go toe-to-toe with the culinary elite. Good food knows no gender. It’s ironic, really, that the rarefied world of haute cuisine should be so dominated by men. Women are, after all, most associated with cooking. But, of course, that’s just home cooking so that doesn’t count. Well, screw that. A woman’s place doesn’t have to be in the kitchen. But that doesn’t mean she can’t run one and be damn good at it.

McCain Watch: I guess barefoot and pregnant would be o.k., too

I was having trouble coming up with a topic to post on today, but fortunately John McCain steps right up to the plate with his latest insane move: Oppose the Equal Pay Bill in the Senate. Hey, thanks John! From AP:

Republican Sen. John McCain, campaigning through poverty-stricken cities and towns, said Wednesday he opposes a Senate bill that seeks equal pay for women because it would lead to more lawsuits.

Senate Republicans killed the bill Wednesday night on a 56-42 vote that denied the measure the 60 votes needed to advance it to full debate and a vote. Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., had delayed the vote to give McCain's Democratic rivals, Sens. Hillary Rodham Clinton and Barack Obama, time to return to Washington to support the measure, which would make it easier for women to sue their employers for pay discrimination.

Because, you know, we'll say say you women should get equal pay, but we can't have you taking it to court or anything! And true to his strong stands on the issues of the day:

McCain skipped the vote to campaign in New Orleans.

Hmmmm. Wonder how that's working out for him. I mean, the residents of New Orleans just love them some Republicans, don't they? And with good reason! But don't think the Senator hasn't been busy, busy, busy!

In recent weeks, McCain has proposed a series of tax breaks for corporations, government-backed refinancing for struggling homeowners and a summer holiday from gas taxes. He proposed another new program Wednesday: a tax write-off for companies that provide high-speed Internet access for underserved, low-income communities.

So, come on little ladies -- with all that good stuff going on, you don't want to sue your employer over something silly like equal pay, do you?

Celebrate Women's History Month by recognizing your favorite lady blogger!

Even though somehow my name was left off the ballot, you have a chance to vote for your other favorite woman blogger at Women's Voices Making History.

Ah well, there's always next year ....

Can you please NOT stand by your man for once?

Note to Mrs. Spitzer, Vitter, Craig, Clinton, etc., etc., and all the "Stand by Your Man" political wives: How about you refuse to be a part of their hypocrisy? How about you say,"No, I won't stand there next to you while you apologize for catting around in brothels/ men's rooms/ wherever. Maybe you could learn something by watching this video of a Chinese newscaster with a cheating husband. She refused to leave the podium during a pre-Olympics hoopla event, instead publicly calling out her husband and the others on stage for their part in this charade.

Of course, this being China, she is now in prison and certainly will be there until after the Olympics. But Human Rights don't seem to be much of a concern for Americans anymore... goes with the general atmosphere of hypocrisy, I suppose.

What are we doing for the women of Iraq?

Perhaps America could take a break from the discussions of super delegates and exit polls, and turn our attention to the dire situation for women in Iraq:

Since the US invasion of Iraq in March 2003, economic, social and political aftershocks have thrust the country into chaos. Present- day Iraq is plagued by insecurity, a lack of infrastructure and controversial leadership, transforming the situation for women from one of relative autonomy and security before the war into a national crisis.

Before Saddam Hussein came to power in the 1970s, women in Iraq did not suffer the same types of repression as many other women around the world. They were encouraged to attend school, they could own property, they were allowed to divorce. In urban areas women held professional positions in government, medicine, law and the arts. Two wars, authoritarian repression and UN sanctions left most of Iraq in crippling poverty, with people struggling to meet the most basic needs.

In March 2003, women’s rights and gender equity were mentioned as symbolic issues for Iraq’s new national agenda. However, as the overall situation in Iraq began to deteriorate after the invasion, the focus on women was lost in the problems and violence facing the country as a whole.

Abuse of women in Iraq: "democracy" means doing whatever you want to them

There is an alarming story in the Guardian this morning about the current state of women in Iraq. Despite George Bush's claims that the overthrow of Saddam Hussein has brought "new rights and new hopes to women," women in Iraq live a life of brutality and death.

[S]ince the 2003 invasion, advances that took 50 years to establish are crumbling away. In much of the country, women can only now move around with a male escort. Rape is committed habitually by all the main armed groups, including those linked to the government. Women are being murdered throughout Iraq in unprecedented numbers.

So-called "honor killings" have risen dramatically. Because there is no state government to regulate the safety of women, cultural and religious factions have taken it upon them selves to enforce rules as they see fit:

In October the UN Assistance Mission in Iraq (Unami) expressed serious concern over the rising incidence of so-called honour crimes in Iraqi Kurdistan, confirming that 255 women had been killed in just the first six months of 2007, three-quarters of them by burning. An earlier Unami report cited 366 burns cases in Dohuk in 2006, up from 289 the year before, although most were not fatal. In Irbil, the emergency management centre had reported 576 burns cases since 2003, resulting in 358 deaths.

The Iraqi penal code prescribes leniency for those who commit such crimes for "honourable motives", enabling some of the men involved to get off with no more than a fine.

[A] man from Kirkuk ... accused his sister of adultery. "When we asked him why he wanted to kill his sister, he said, 'Because it is now a democracy in Iraq'. He thought that democracy meant he could do whatever he wanted." But the man's stupidity hid an important point: under the new system of government developing in Iraq, family disputes are increasingly settled not in state courts but by local tribal or religious authorities.

We keep hearing from this administration that violence is down in Iraq. Just a week ago, General Petraeus seemed guardedly optimistic about the situation in Iraq, saying that there is improvement, although there is still a great deal of danger still. The drumbeat from the White House, however, is still "stay the course" (although I haven't heard that phrase in a while, have you? In fact, I think the trend has been: "Mission accomplished," Stay the course," and now "Guarded optimism.").

So while those in office and those running for office would tell us that things are improving Iraq, I remind them of the words of Abigail Adams: Remember the ladies.

UPDATE: From Human Rights Watch, more background on the deterioration of women's lives in Iraq since U.S. involvement there:

Historically, Iraqi women and girls have enjoyed relatively more rights than many of their counterparts in the Middle East. The Iraqi Provisional Constitution (drafted in 1970) formally guaranteed equal rights to women and other laws specifically ensured their right to vote, attend school, run for political office, and own property. Yet, since the 1991 Gulf War, the position of women within Iraqi society has deteriorated rapidly. Women and girls were disproportionately affected by the economic consequences of the U.N. sanctions, and lacked access to food, health care, and education. These effects were compounded by changes in the law that restricted women's mobility and access to the formal sector in an effort to ensure jobs to men and appease conservative religious and tribal groups.

And from the Washington Post recently:

Before the U.S.-led invasion in 2003, Basra, Iraq's second-largest city, was known for its mixed population and night life. Now, in some areas, red graffiti threatens any woman who wears makeup and appears with her hair uncovered: "Your makeup and your decision to forgo the headscarf will bring you death."

Khalaf said bodies have been found in garbage dumps with bullet holes, decapitated or otherwise mutilated with a sheet of paper nearby saying, "she was killed for adultery," or "she was killed for violating Islamic teachings." In September, the headless bodies of a woman and her 6-year-old son were among those found, he said. A total of 40 deaths were reported this year.

Right Wing Pundit on Hillary: "At least call her a Vaginal-American"

It looks like the gloves have come off, and the Hillary Clinton haters are now showing their true colors. As far as we have come in this country to treat everyone as equals, it's now back to slamming Clinton because ... she's a woman! Gasp!

Watch the clip from Tucker here.

From Crooks and Liars:

This clip from Monday’s Tucker pegged the creepy/sexist meter. Right wing pundit Cliff May and Washington Post columnist Eugene Robinson were talking about Senator Hillary Clinton and whether or not it should matter that some women may vote for her based on her gender.

Tucker throws out a frat boy style genitalia joke and spouts off about women’s loyalty to the Clintons. Not to be outdone, May, who is as whacked out as they come in the GOP, tells Tucker he doesn’t think people should vote for a candidate based on their race, religion or gender — then burps this beauty across the table which is sure to have the ladies lining up to join the Republican Party:

May: “At least call her a Vaginal-American.”

If anyone is still watching Tucker Carlson, please stop. Or explain to me why you are watching. He's immature, homophobic, sexist, and no, he can't dance. A recent poll showed that 94% of women under age 34 say they're more likely to vote in the next presidential election if there's a woman on the ballot, and Tucker Carlson is skeered!

Vaginal-American? I try to keep it clean here, so does that mean I can call May a Penis-Head?

Women, Politics, and Blogs

This is really shaping up into an interesting year for women in politics. For the the first time in U.S. history, a woman has a real shot at becoming president. A woman is already in the Speaker of the House for the first time, and in my hometown of Baltimore, we are looking at the 99% probability that we will have women in the positions of Mayor, City Council President, and U.S. States Attorney. I think it is really a pivotal time in U.S. politics for women.

Not surprisingly, this change has brought about a lot of discussion in both the MSM and the blogosphere about women in politics. Recently I told you about a wonderful list gathered by Catherine Morgan at InformedVoters of A List of (Over) 100 Women Blogging on Politics. That list is now at more than 200 sites!

One of the reasons Catherine posted this list was because of a story that appeared in the New York Times entitled “Women, Politics, and the Internet.” Author Katharine Seelye states: “We know that women slightly outnumber men online. But at least anecdotally, it seems as if more men are on the political blogs, writing specifically about politics, reading about politics and putting in their two cents in the comments sections.”

What do you think? Seelye received a storm of comments about her article. I encourage you to check it out here and let me know what you think. I suspect there are going to be a lot of informed women voters going to the polls in 2008.

Where to find the women bloggers

It was a wonderful surprise to come back to my blog after being sick for a few days and find that I had been included on something called “ 100 Women Blogging on Politics.” My blog has been such a fun, creative outlet for me that it is truly an honor when I am reminded that anyone else out there in the world is stopping to take the time to read what I have to say.

I do truly try to stay informed and only post things that I have researched (that is, I try to never post anything that smells of “rumor,” unless of course, it's concerning the possibility of Jenna Bush being pregnant, because the hypocricy of that would just be too wonderful). I try to alert you to news stories that you may not have heard in the mainstream media, and I hope that above all, I give you something new to think about.

However, I'm fully aware that this blog is still basically an outlet for my opinions, no matter how informed they may be. So, thank you for reading, and thank you for commenting. I encourage you to check out InformedVoters, which created the list (now at almost 200), and also to check out the sites on the list. It's a wide variety, from Michelle Malkin to, well, me!