Archive for June 6, 2009

Oversimplifying Sexism: the Cancer at the Heart of PUMA-ism

PUMA-ism is dying. None too soon, either – it’s been a full year. But while all sane estimates suggest that President Obama is building the most progressive presidency in history, these former Clinton malcontents will continue to foam at the mouth about imaginary sexism, until the end. Their latest is a reflection on Obama’s sexist campaign, embodied in, apparently, roughly five quotes.

“ I understand that Senator Clinton, periodically when she’s feeling down, launches attacks as a way of trying to boost her appeal.”

“You challenge the status quo and suddenly the claws come out.”

“Tea parties with ambassadors.”

“Hold on one second, sweetie.”

“You can put lipstick on a pig.”  “It’s still a pig.”

Let’s give the PUMAs the benefit of the doubt on this, and agree, for the sake of argument, that these five out-of-context quotes, excerpted from thousands of public appearances spread out over three years, somehow make his entire campaign one long, running insult to America’s women. Still, these perceived offenses stand to naught against real accomplishments, like the Lily Ledbetter Fair Pay Act, the withdrawal of the “Mexico City Policy,” and the appointment of Sonia Sotomayor, who will be (yes, will be) only the third woman to ever serve on the Court, and a reliable fifth vote to keep Roe on life support. The PUMA’s ’08 favorite, John McCain, opposes or opposed every one of these policies, vocally, and before you say it, no, being friends with a woman because she looks good on TV doesn’t excuse his anti-feminist positions. In fact, it almost makes it worse: McCain and the Republican Party basically treated Palin as a prop, or a chance for a good news story, hardly an empowering move.

No, Obama isn’t perfect, nor is his administration. But when judging his record on women’s rights, let’s focus on his actual record, shall we?

Our Current CSS Sheet

If you have any recommendations to enhance readability, and know your CSS, we’d appreciate your help! The current sheet is below the line: Continue reading »

Heroes of the Republic

We salute you, one and all.

Ius belli.

Sixty-five years ago last night, General Eisenhower drafted two speeches – one announcing a glorious victory, and the imminent end of World War II; and the other, taking full blame for a defeat that, thank God, never came. Only three years earlier, my grandfather and his shipmates stood on the deck of their sub chaser and somberly wondered, what would New York harbor look like, when a tyrant’s banner ultimately replaced the American flag? Because of General Eisenhower, the Allied armed forces, and thousands of operatives across Europe, they never had to find out. We should never forget, American victory in World War II was by no means a certainty. We owe our lives to the brave men that fought and died for the idea of America, and the brave men and women that sustained them.

New Theme & Home

Thanks to everyone for bearing with a rough transition. My esteemed co-writer deserves even more of your thanks, for updating broken image links…. she’s basically a hero.

We’ve used the move back to WordPress to take advantage of newer, sleeker themes, more easily workable with new widgets and such. Although I kind of liked “Masthead,” the three-columned monstrosity we used today, it turns out it was basically a disaster, and everyone hated it. We’d like to avoid that in the future…

So please, your candid feedback on the new theme, and the new site design. Let us know what if anything needs to be changed!