Tag Archive for "Analysis"

Posts Tagged Analysis

Are gender-reveal parties necessarily retrograde?

So, people are talking about gender reveal parties.

Have you heard of these? They are almost exactly what they sound like: parties where the sex — not gender, despite the name — of a forthcoming baby is revealed, often to the expecting mother or couple at the same time it is made known to guests. This can be orchestrated in a number of sneaky and elaborate ways: by party planners armed with creative themes and inventive decor, by doctors and lab technicians complicit enough to seal ultrasound results, and by discrete bakers who whip up dual performance pastries whose gender-neutral shells mask tell-all interiors in shades of pink or blue.

TIME thinks they’re the “hottest new thing”, natch, ...

So, people are talking about gender reveal parties.

Have you heard of these? They are almost exactly what they sound like: parties where the sex — not gender, despite the name — of a forthcoming ...

By Eesha Pandit • 12 years ago

Lizzie Procter lives! Young women and hysteria

Generally, I’m not in the business of debunking inane articles by folks who seemingly keep their notoriety alive by pissing off feminists. It’s a rather tedious and thankless job, especially given that there are more important and interesting feminist issues to tackle. But somehow I feel compelled to suspend my usual position on inanity to take up Caitlin Flanagan’s recent op-ed in the New York Times.

Flanagan addresses the phenomenon of mass hysteria amongst teenage girls, and deduces from it that adolescence is a difficult time for young women. Groundbreaking stuff, indeed. Alas, there’s more. She determines through an astute research regimen of googling and pondering followed more pondering and googling that what hysterical young women really need is protection from ...

By zerlina • 12 years ago

President Obama officially starts campaigning with the State of the Union

There was a moment during last night’s State of the Union address where I thought of the Jay Z line, “I guess I got my swagger back! Truth.”

With last night’s State of the Union, President Obama showed that he does indeed have his campaign swagger back. The president has had to sit through EIGHTEEN (!) Republican presidential debates where the GOP contenders lied and called him names like the “food stamp president” and last night was his first chance to really rebut directly and forcefully.

President Obama spoke with a level confidence and command I haven’t seen in a long while. It seems that this speech marks the official start to his 2012 re-election campaign. ...

There was a moment during last night’s State of the Union address where I thought of the Jay Z line, “I guess I got my swagger back! Truth.”

With last night’s State of ...

By zerlina • 12 years ago

Mitt Romney attack movie is devastating

Newt Gingrich’s SuperPAC “Winning Our Future” has put up a 30 minute long attack movie which focuses on Mitt Romney’s record as CEO of Bain Capital. The movie titled, “When Mitt Romney Came To Town” is a slickly produced film which reminds me of the now infamous swift boat ad from 2004 which severely crippled John Kerry’s campaign. But it is important to note that this ad is not “swift boating.”

As The Nation’s Ari Berman correctly points out, any attacks on Mitt Romney’s record at Bain are fair game.

Will the film tell the full story about Bain Capital? Doubtful. There’s more gray than black and white to most stories. Bain is a very good at ...

By Jos Truitt • 12 years ago

Why the hell did Obama push for indefinite detention of US citizens?

Zerlina’s read of why President Obama signed the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) with the indefinite detention provision included is an accurate take on how the bill works and how it moved through government. But with all due respect I think she missed the administration’s doublespeak when it comes to intent. The signing statement is designed to distance Obama as candidate for re-election from the action he and the Congress actually took – making it possible to detain US citizens without due process. Actions matter way more than words in politics, because they actually, you know, do something in people’s lives.

In fact, the Obama administration is responsible for the bill allowing for the detention of US citizens. Take a ...

By zerlina • 12 years ago

Why the hell did Obama sign the indefinite detention bill?

Okay so I know we are all pissed. I’m even pissed and I normally give President Obama a huge benefit of the doubt.

President Obama signing the National Defense Authorization Agreement, or the NDAA, including provisions which do not prohibit the indefinite detention of American citizen “terror” suspects is wholly unacceptable.

But….

Before we all become Ron Paul supporters over this it’s important to consider a few points about what the NDAA is and why the provisions about detention were included as policy riders (essentially as a poison pill) tacked on to the thousand page bill.

The NDAA is a must pass bill. It is the bill which literally funds the military. That includes paychecks for our military veterans. ...

Okay so I know we are all pissed. I’m even pissed and I normally give President Obama a huge benefit of the doubt.

President Obama signing the National Defense Authorization Agreement, or the NDAA, including provisions which ...

By zerlina • 12 years ago

Is Herman Cain a serious contender?

GOP presidential hopeful Herman Cain is having the best week ever. Last week he won the over hyped Florida straw poll with 37.5% of the vote, nearly doubling the percentage of votes won by the second place candidate Governor Rick Perry. So it sounds like Herman is kicking ass and taking names right?

What if I told you the Florida straw poll consists of 2,657 people? Still think Cain is kicking ass?

While it’s true that Mr. Cain is even leading some polls in the crowded and volatile GOP primary field, it’s possible that by next week he could implode like Michelle Bachmann did after winning the Iowa straw poll. Even Donald Trump had a couple ...

GOP presidential hopeful Herman Cain is having the best week ever. Last week he won the over hyped Florida straw poll with 37.5% of the vote, nearly doubling the percentage of votes won by the ...

By zerlina • 12 years ago

Media Fail: Obama’s speech to Congressional Black Caucus wasn’t a lecture

If all you saw in the mainstream media about President Obama’s speech to the Congressional Black Caucus Annual Legislative Conference Saturday night was the AP story, then you are woefully misinformed as to what the President actually said.

As soon as the AP story, “Obama Tells Blacks to ‘Stop Complainin’ and Fight” hit the wire, the narrative that the president “lectured” or “talked down to” black people emerged. In reality, the President delivered a fiery campaign style speech with the purpose of igniting his base of supporters who have been frustrated with the high levels of unemployment and overall dismal pace of economic growth. The first half of the speech addressed what the administration has ...