Emergency contraception over the counter

While South Dakota restricts all abortions, Colorado and New York are moving to make EC available over the counter. A committee in the Colorado House has voted in favor of a bill giving pharmacists the authority to dispense emergency contraception, and New York Attorney General and gubernatorial candidate Eliot Spitzer (D) announced his support for pharmacy access in New York. We live in such a confused country.

Republicans: Unfit to adopt

If some Ohio senators have their way, Republicans could be barred from adopting. In an email sent to colleagues, State Senator Robert Hagan (D) announced his intentions to, "introduce legislation in the near future that would ban households with one or more Republican voters from adopting children or acting as foster parents." Hagan made the announcement as a challenge to a recently introduced bill that restricted gay and lesbian couples from adopting. To further lampoon [the anti-gay adoption] bill, Hagan wrote in his mock proposal that "credible research" shows that adopted children raised in Republican households are more at risk for developing "emotional problems, social stigmas, inflated egos, and alarming lack of tolerance for others they deem different than themselves and an air of overconfidence to mask their insecurities." What a creative response to an otherwise dire situation! I mean, really, if we're hell bent on stripping away reproductive and adoptive rights, we might as well eradicate the potential for future Republicans and ridiculous legislation. Thanks Sarah!

Brooklyn celebrates women

"When Women Pursue Justice" (2005) Pardon me for being a little late with this one, but given the atrocious news of the day, I figured we needed a little pick us up. On the corner of Greene and Norstrand in Bedford-Stuyvesant, Brooklyn, a colorful, large mural titled "When Women Pursue Justice" pays tribute to women and women's history. The mural was produced and painted by an all-female team of artists and features Shirley Chisholm, Angela Davis, Dolores Huerta, and Dorothy Day among others. Art is so cool. Females artists are so cool. My hood is so cool!

South Dakota lawmakers make abortion a felony

South Dakota has become the first state (and surely not the last) to ban almost every type of abortion procedure available to women. The law makes abortion a felony with no exceptions for rape, incest or health of the mother. Let the bloodshed begin . . . .

Commission on the Status of Women

The 50th session of the CSW is the culprit behind what will surely be some sporadic posting. My paying gig requires my services (how annoying) and for the next two and a half weeks, my life will be taken over by UN meetings, NGO meetings, and things called linkage caucuses. It might get dirty and that's all you need to know. Rest assured I'll fill you in on all three tittilating details of the two-week long session and will resume a more normal schedule once they commence. In the meantime, if you're interested in learning more (intellectual curiousity is often rewarded kindly), check out the following: Commission on the Status of Women

Because intuition is not enough: DontDateHimGirl.com

Remember that time you started dating that dude only to find out he was married? Or what about that other guy that ended up having a fetish list longer than your Powells wishlist? Of course, nothing tops the dude who served time in a French prison. . . . Wouldn't it have been nice to have a dating research tool that trumped Google? Well, imagine no more, because the dating dieties have created DontDateHimGirl.com! Uh, huh. We've really sunk to new lows if we're willing to forego our ability to read people for a website that catalogues bad dates.

More women nominating means more women win

Wow! Here's some shocking logic from a recent study on women in business: The key to getting more women on corporate boards is getting more women on board-nominating committees, according to a study released Thursday on diversity in corporate governance. You know, I give them a hard time, but I wouldn't doubt that this seemingly obvious information isn't that clear to a lot of folks. So, kudos to the executives, at least they're trying.

UN to US: Shut down Guantanamo

Check out the UN report that debuted today which called for the closure of the U.S. Guantanamo torture camp. Written by five human rights experts and based on interviews with Guantanamo detainees, the UN report clearly outlines the grim, frightening, and illegal nature of the U.S. prison. The report ultimately recommends the swift and complete closure of the prison, which currently holds approximately 490 detainees. OF COURSE, the U.S. claims that the report is riddled with errors and has steadfastly rejected the recommendation to close the prison. In one sweepingly ignorant rebuttal, Kevin Moley, U.S. Ambassador to the UN Geneva offices, claimed the report was, "largely without merit and not based clearly on facts." Right, I guess he hasn't read the testimonies or seen the newest round of photos.

RU486 ban lifted in Australia

Members of Australian Parliament have effectively removed the ban on RU486, ensuring the first possibility of country-wide access to the pill that puts reproductive control back in the hands of women. As always, women in parliament were critical to this political and personal victory: The bill was sponsored by a cross-party group of female senators made up of Australian Democrats leader Lyn Allison, Liberal Judith Troeth, National Fiona Nash and Labor's Clare Moore. Senator Allison, who admitted she had an abortion, said women now had more options when it came to the difficult decision of termination. While the bill doesn't mean that RU486 will be available immediately, it opens up the possibility for a woman to obtain the drug from her doctor--something Australian women were previously unable to do--until wider access occurs. A doctor or pharmaceutical company will have to apply to the TGA for permission to use the drug. Senator Allison was confident Australian women would be able to access RU486 in less than a year.

My mother makes me crazy!

Great interview with socio-linguist and fellow feminist, Deborah Tannen, on her new book, You're Wearing That? Understanding Mothers and Daughters in Conversation. Tannen, a fairly famous linguist whose research focuses on the importance of understanding language in everyday conversation, has done groundbreaking work on gender relations and language and is now adding the mother-daughter convo conundrum to her repertoire. The biggest complaint I hear from daughters is: "My mother's always criticizing me." And the mother counters, "I can't open my mouth; my daughter takes everything as criticism." While my mother may claim that our problem is quite the opposite, I think this definitely applies: It's what one mother I interviewed said: "My conversations with my daughter are the best and the worst." God bless the mothers. Especially mine.

Need a raise? Nip and tuck.

There's a frightening article in the NYTimes business section that makes the argument that plastic surgery can help your career. "You get something done, you get the promotion." This may sound crazy, but it's backed by scientific and labor-market research. A paper published last year by researchers from Harvard and from Wesleyan University in Middletown, Conn., concluded that there was a "sizable beauty premium" in the labor market. A 1994 study by the University of Texas and Michigan State University found that men and women "with above-average looks receive a pay premium," while "workers with below-average looks receive a pay penalty." So because ugly don't get you anywhere, I guess the only logical thing to do is get plastic surgery to make more money, to pay for your plastic surgery to make more money, to get more sur. . . yeah, that clearly makes sense. Thanks Amber.

Fire the man, NOW!

White House Knew of Levee's Failure on Night of Storm Could we just impeach the motherfucker right now?! This has gotten seriously dangerous and the rampant, seething, and blind power that guides every action of the Bush administration needs to be undermined and overturned. The NYTimes has a really great document timeline of the Katrina knowledge and complete inaction of goverment officials and Bush, et. al.

When in doubt, talk about terrorists

Who does he think he's kidding?!? I mean, seriously, who came up with this magical PR stunt? The media relations expert, weary since 2004, began to lose creative control. In a fit of exasperation, he sarcastically pitches an idea to President Bush. "I've got it! Since you're totally hated all over the world and that animosity is now spreading within your own country, we'll make up some insidious story about how we thwarted those evil terrorists from terrorizing the great American people. We could even give you a superhero name and get a costume made for you." To his dismay, the President's face lights up, "Holy crap, dude, that sounds AWESOME! Can I get a cape?!?"

Women sue Wal-Mart

Three Massachusetts women who are slightly-pissed about Walmart's failure to stock emergency contraception in its pharmacies have sued the corporate behemoth. Their claim is legally valid as Walmart's refusal to stock the pill is in direct violation of state regulation. The lawsuit, filed in state court, seeks to force the company to carry the morning-after pill in its 44 Wal-Marts and four Sam Club stores in Massachusetts. The plaintiffs argued that state policy requires pharmacies to provide all "commonly prescribed medicines." Did you know that Walmart ranks second behind the U.S. government as the most sued organization in the world? Just FYI.

Pregnant girls back in school

In case you've been concerned about the gender situation in Zanzibar, I'm here to assuage your fears. Thanks to the sustained efforts of women's groups, girls who become pregnant will no longer be forced out of school. The three-decade old law prohibited pregnant women under the age of 18 to attend school. This is one of a number of gender sensitive decisions Zanzibar has made in recent months, our correspondent says. Following elections last October, 30% of MPs are now women - the quota set by regional bodies - and there are four female ministers in Zanzibar's cabinet. This is just one of the many examples that clearly shows the necessity of equal representation in governing bodies.

Women in politics

While we wait with anticipation for the elections of 2008 (Hillary, anyone?), perhaps we should take a cue from recently-elected Chilean President, Michelle Bachelet, who has fulfilled her promise to appoint women to half of her presidential cabinet posts.