Girls

A few brief recent observations about girls and how we raise them...

10 Things That 90 Percent of Americans Agree On

Color me angry.  The Senate is about to fail to pass even the compromise version of legislation to improve background checks for gun purchases.

Sen. Joe Manchin tells me "we will not get the votes today" expanded background checks to fail in Senate. Try again he says.
— Kelly O'Donnell (@KellyO) April 17, 2013

                                                         

So as a sort of follow-up to my "10 Things That Are More Regulated Than Guns" post, I decided - on this day of the Senate vote on a compromise, bi-partisan, non-universal background check bill - to take a look at some things that are as popular with Americans as universal background checks for gun purchases...

Arithmetic: A Memo to CPAC

So we've heard from conservatives now.  And as much fun as that was, I feel like it's important to underline something.

The Demanders: Another Way to Look at Job-Creation

I hate the term "Job Creators."

I mostly hate it because it's palpably falsely applied.  It smacks of the same kind of Madison-Avenue Political Speech in which Frank Luntz specializes (e.g. the Estate Tax as "the Death Tax").  What Republicans tend to mean by "Job Creator" is "rich person."  And mostly, when Rs call rich people that, they are saying that we should give rich people tax breaks because then they will take pity on the rest of us and create more jobs.

Pretty In Pink-Sex Segregation and Toys

This review is from: BIC Cristal For Her Ball Pen, 1.0mm, Black, 16ct (MSLP16-Blk) (Office Product)

First of all I'm a male. I picked a pink one up by mistake to write a quick note... Next thing I know I'm sitting down to take a pee. Be careful.



You see, when I as a woman hold a 'legitimate' pen (read, one made for him,) my body has a way of shutting that whole thing down. That's what my Congressman told me, anyway. But when I hold the delicate barrel, pleasing colors and small size of the BIC Cristal For Her Ball Pen, 1.0mm, Black, 16ct, everything works as God intended. BIC, you have answered my prayers, as well as all of the men in my life who know me better than I know myself. Thank you!



Someone has answered my gentle prayers and FINALLY designed a pen that I can use all month long! I use it when I'm swimming, riding a horse, walking on the beach and doing yoga. It's comfortable, leak-proof, non-slip and it makes me feel so feminine and pretty! Since I've begun using these pens, men have found me more attractive and approchable. It has given me soft skin and manageable hair and it has really given me the self-esteem I needed to start a book club and flirt with the bag-boy at my local market. My drawings of kittens and ponies have improved, and now that I'm writing my last name hyphenated with the Robert Pattinson's last name, I really believe he may some day marry me! I'm positively giddy. Those smart men in marketing have come up with a pen that my lady parts can really identify with.

Where has this pen been all my life???

Friday Follies-Presidents and Personality

As we bring this 2012 election season to a close, people have discussed the personality of the two men running for President extensively. One of the measures used to discuss personality is the Myers-Briggs test. A quick explanation of the Myers-Briggs personality test, courtesy Wikipedia:

The Amazing Race (-Baiting)

"I think the way liberals have treated blacks like children and many of their policies have been harmful to blacks, at least they got the beneficiary group right," Coulter said. "There is the legacy of slavery and Jim Crow laws. We don't owe the homeless. We don't owe feminists. We don't owe women who are desirous of having abortions or gays who want to get married to one another. That's what civil rights has become for much of the left."

"Immigrant rights are not civil rights?" Stephanopoulos asked.

"No," Coulter responded, "No. I think civil rights are for blacks. What have we done to the immigrants? We owe black people something. We have a legacy of slavery. Immigrants haven't even been in this country."

Arithmetic and Reagan vs. Clinton

Bill Clinton gave an amazing speech tonight.  He killed it.  He slaughtered it.  He had many of us ready to charge up San Juan Hill.

Mitt Went to Tampa and All I Got Was this Stupid Empty Chair

What did we learn last week?

Yes, Paul Ryan got up there and just, well, lied/fibbed/bamboozled/what-have-you.  And it seems like some of the press realized that, which is refreshing.  Even Fox joined in.  But Ryan is not the point.  Then Clint Eastwood yelled at a chair.  Which was seriously uncomfortable to watch, because he seemed a bit out of it at times.  But Eastwood is not the point.  The point is larger, and potentially more disturbing.

Convention Speeches: 9 Good, 1 Bad, and 1 Ugly

 

There is an art to a good convention speech.  The best of them live for years after the convention, cemented in the political memory as an encapsulation of a moment in time.  They create catchphrases that become the rallying cry or the main narrative line for the fall campaigns that follow.  And even when the campaign fails, a good convention speech lives on.  So here I give you 9 good convention speeches, and a couple of very bad ones.

The War on Women, A Primer: Part One

Cops in riot gear prepare to meet anti-forced-ultrasound protestors in Virginia.

There has been a back and forth all campaign season about whether there is a War on Women.  Now setting aside the fact that the "War on" title is egregiously overused and somewhat inflammatory, the talk comes from somewhere.  There is a pretty well-acknowledged and consistent gender gap between our two parties.  Men lean right, women lean left.  But on top of that, are there reasons why, this year in particular, we hear about a War on Women?  Has something changed materially about the way Republicans are conducting themselves, or is it just a continuation of conservatives tending to favor policies that favor men over women?

Are You a Segregationist?

Do we self-segregate in America?

In our modern America, laden with choose-your-own options for: news, entertainment, neighborhoods, and even states that lean one way or another - do we now choose to create our own echo chambers and surround ourselves with people with whom we agree on most things in life?

A Protestant, A Mormon and Two Catholics Walk into an Election...

One of the most interesting things about this presidential campaign is how little we've heard - thus far - about the candidates' religion.

Dog Whistle: Anglo-Saxon Edition

New Romney Campaign Meme: My ancestors could beat up your ancestors.

On Muppets and Chaos

Humans really, really like to categorize things.  This fact explains science and philosophy.  It explains astrology and Myers-Briggs.  It explains nationalism, sports, and racism.  And it explains Muppet Chaos Theory, as explained by the excellent Dahlia Lithwick in Slate last week.

A Short History of Political Ads

A (hopefully) fun little history of political ads for your Friday.


The Scary:  The most famous of these is the 1964 LBJ Ad titled "Daisy" that ran one time.  It was basically a bald statement that electing Goldwater would lead to nuclear war.  But scary ads have proliferated, largely because they seem to be a very effective way of getting people to think about opponents.

1964: LBJ "Daisy" Ad (anti-Goldwater):