By Courtney • 14 years ago

Fresh Reactions to State of the Union

@baratunde Obama says we’ll double our exports. Someone remind him all America makes is youtube cat videos

@jamiekilstein Please don’t bomb who ever comes into first place

@LilianaSegura In a just world, Obama would use his platform tonight to honor Howard Zinn.

I couldn’t help but lead in with some of my favorite tweets from the State of the Union. Obama really needed to pull out all the proverbial stops tonight. He needed to overcome criticism from just about every angle about his inability to get legislators to overcome partisan rancor and showboating. He needed to answer the frustration and lack of faith growing in the American people, who are facing the daily effects of a continuously shaky, though somewhat strengthened, economy. ...

@baratunde Obama says we’ll double our exports. Someone remind him all America makes is youtube cat videos

@jamiekilstein Please don’t bomb who ever comes into first place

@LilianaSegura In a just world, Obama would use his platform tonight to ...
By Vanessa • 14 years ago

What We Missed

CBS attempted to cover their ass over the anti-choice ad controversy during the Superbowl, stating they’ve had a change in their policy and are now open to airing advocacy ads — conveniently a mere week and a half before the event.
A new report shows that in 2009, states passed more pro-LGBT bills than the two previous years combined.
As mentioned in yesterday’s What We Missed, Andre Bauer compared people receiving government assistance to stray animals. The really interesting this is that as a kid, he was a beneficiary of subsidized lunch school programs.
This is despicable. Halliburton/KBR has filed a petition to the Supreme Court calling for the reversal of the ruling ...

CBS attempted to cover their ass over the anti-choice ad controversy during the Superbowl, stating they’ve had a change in their policy and are now open to airing advocacy ads — conveniently a mere week ...
By Lori Adelman • 14 years ago

Citizens Divided: Why the Latest Verdict on Campaign Finance is Bad for Women

Campaign finance reform is famously one of the most convoluted and complicated issues in politics. But there’s nothing ambiguous about the most recent development in the long saga of regulating campaign contributions: the Citizens United decision. It’s bad for progressives, and bad for women.

Last week’s ruling reverses previous limitations on corporate spending, and allows corporations to spend unlimited amounts of money on political campaigns based on the legally shaky premise that corporations’ “speech” should be protected by the First amendment.

But, as David Kairys points out on Slate in one of the most persuasive arguments against the ruling I’ve read so far, money isn’t speech and corporations aren’t people. He sums up the consequences of the Court’s latest ...

Campaign finance reform is famously one of the most convoluted and complicated issues in politics. But there’s nothing ambiguous about the most recent development in the long saga of regulating campaign contributions: the Citizens United ...
By Ann • 14 years ago

The iPad: Where are the women on Apple’s branding team?

The internets are aflutter with the announcement of Apple’s new tablet, which is apparently called the iPad. I just have to call out what a lot of you are probably thinking, too: Are there NO women on Apple’s branding team? Not a single person who might have said, “Hey, this sounds like a menstrual product, not a revolutionary piece of technology?”


Or, for nighttime protection, iPad with wings. No word yet on whether they’re developing a version with a moisture-lock liner.

Nothing against ladies who prefer to use pads (I mean, the i’Pon is an equally awful name…). But wow. Can we get some investigative reporters to figure out whether there were any women involved in this decision?

On ...

The internets are aflutter with the announcement of Apple’s new tablet, which is apparently called the iPad. I just have to call out what a lot of you are probably thinking, too: Are there NO women on ...
By Vanessa • 14 years ago

Cringe-Inducing Toy of the Day


That’s right, games for contacting the dead can be pinkified too!
Check out the description for Hasbro’s Ouija board for girls sold at your local Toys “R” Us. The tagline for the product is, “Ask the Questions Girls Want to Know.” The description:

It has always been mysterious. It has always been mystifying. And now the OUIJA Board is just for you, girl. With 72 fun questions included, you’ll never run out of things to ask. Who will call/text me next? Will I be a famous actor someday? Who wishes they could trade places with me?

Because that’s what our adolescent girls should be striving for, after all. And your friendly girly ghost has the answers! (Huh?)
Via.


That’s right, games for contacting the dead can be pinkified too!
Check out the description for Hasbro’s Ouija board for girls sold at your local Toys “R” Us. The tagline for the product is, “Ask ...
By Vanessa • 14 years ago

An Overlooked Form of Abuse: Reproductive Coercion

A groundbreaking study has been released on a form of abuse that’s largely left by the way side, though prevalent among intimate partner violence cases — reproductive coercion. From the Family Violence Prevention Fund’s (FVPF) release:

[Y]oung women and teenage girls often face efforts by male partners to sabotage their birth control or coerce or pressure them to become pregnant — including by damaging condoms and destroying contraceptives. These behaviors, defined as “reproductive coercion,” are often associated with physical or sexual violence. Conducted by researchers at the University of California Davis School of Medicine and the Harvard School of Pubic Health, the study also finds that among women who experienced both reproductive coercion and partner violence, the risk ...

A groundbreaking study has been released on a form of abuse that’s largely left by the way side, though prevalent among intimate partner violence cases — reproductive coercion. From the Family Violence Prevention Fund’s (FVPF) release:

[Y]oung ...
By Vanessa • 14 years ago

Colbert takes on the hypocrisy of Harold Ford Jr.

As a New Yorker, I have to give kudos to Stephen Colbert for calling Harold Ford Jr. out on his faux pro-choice and pro-gay marriage bullshit.

The Colbert Report Mon – Thurs 11:30pm / 10:30c Alpha Dog of the Week – Harold Ford Jr. www.colbertnation.com Colbert Report Full Episodes Political Humor Economy

It sure as hell is better reporting than the Daily News’ apparent critical coverage of Kirsten Gillibrand’s weight loss. Really, Daily News? Really?

Approximate transcript after the jump.

As a New Yorker, I have to give kudos to Stephen Colbert for calling Harold Ford Jr. out on his faux pro-choice and pro-gay marriage bullshit.

The Colbert Report Mon – Thurs 11:30pm / 10:30c Alpha ...
By Vanessa • 14 years ago

Some wisdom on health care reform and abortion rights.

Michelle Goldberg hit the nail on the head with this piece at the American Prospect. She talks about the clusterfuck that the health care bill has left us, and how the pro-choice movement needs to hold some accountability for what happened:

We’ve reached a point where health-care reform hinges on abortion, but the pro-choice movement loses either way. It can’t rally behind the existing legislation. At the same time, because the future of abortion rights in America is deeply entwined with the future of the Democratic Party, the failure of health-care reform, and the consequent weakening of the Democrats, would ultimately be disastrous for choice. It’s a total mess. But was it inevitable?

It’s always easy to criticize tough ...

Michelle Goldberg hit the nail on the head with this piece at the American Prospect. She talks about the clusterfuck that the health care bill has left us, and how the pro-choice movement needs to ...

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