The Smurfette Principle (End of Year Re-Run)

Since the ratio is getting a bit better next Congress, and since this post deals with core YBGP issues, I wanted to revisit Mandi's exploration of the Smurfette Principle (from June 17th).  Is it getting better?  When will there be even a Smurfette level of women presidents? 

So, apropos of nothing in particular, I was thinking about the three women we have on the Supreme Court now (Kagan, Sotomayor, and Ginsburg), and how we are slowly moving away from the “Smurfette Syndrome” in politics. 

Friday Follies: Hey Girl, Politics Are Dreamy 2

I'm feeling nostalgic.  So today's Follies revisit the Ryan Gosling Memes of August, but with new meme finds.  PS If you want to see what Gosling himself thinks about the meme craziness, go here...


1. heypoliscigirl.tumblr.com (Poli-Sci) - 

Team USA: It Takes a Village (End of Year Re-Run)

So while we're talking about large government cuts versus raising taxes, I wanted to re-run a piece I did (on July 31st) about why Democrats love the government, and some of the awesome things our government does and has done over the years...

I am sick of Democrats being defensive about our love for American government.  We have the best government ever, and we have used it to do some truly amazing, wonderful things.  And what's more, the people who "hate the government" are usually overlooking the many, many things the government does for them - and does very well.

Take this dude (not the President, the business owner), for example:



He's forgetting that he accepted over a million dollars in aid from both state and federal governments to help his company start and grow.  Money that had nothing to do with his success?  I doubt it.

Every time some self-involved, entitled person...

America: A Meritocracy? (End of Year Re-Run)

Since we are spending a lot of time arguing about whether and how the "rich" should be taxed, and whether people who aren't born rich are takers, I thought it time to revisit Mandi's piece from September 25th, about whether we are a Meritocracy...


The New York Times recently asked, "Should people who have had no financial help from their families get more credit for their accomplishments than people who did?"

Xmas Follies

I had to...

George HW Bush: Underrated? (End of Year Re-Run)

In the wake of this:

I thought the first post I'd like to re-run in our 2-week break is this one (from May 24th), asking the question...

Friday Follies: Mayan Apocalypse Edition

So apparently it's the End of the World As We Know It...

...But in the meantime, it's taken us too long to figure out the winner of the election contest.  That's because it took a long time for the final popular counts to get in, but also because we ran into an unforeseen (because we're new at this contest thing) circumstance: people who got close on electoral count did not get close on popular, and vice versa.  

So, after a discussion, we decided that the winner - Sara S. - would be determined based on who got closest on the electoral (since, in the end, that's what counts here).  And Sara did get impressively close.  

Our two second place winners were Sea Bass and Sherene, who came the closest on the popular vote.  

Great job, guys :-)  

Next contest to follow in the new year.  And now, onto the Follies...

Linkage Is Good For You: Sayonara Edition

Well, this is my last post until after the new year.  It has been fun these last few months writing at Your Big Girl Pants.  I look forward to seeing what the new year brings.  Now on to linkage:

The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly

Best.  Negotiation.  Ever.

It's one of those nights when I want to share a few stories with you...

Suffer The Little Children

Because guns don't kill people.  Lack of access to mental health services don't kill people.  America's fascination and worship of violence doesn't kill people.  No, it is the lack of school-sponsored prayer that kills people.

The response to the Newtown shooting, in which 26 people were killed on school property, 20 of them children, was as predictable as it was infuriating:

You know the question’s gonna come up, where was God?” he said. “I thought God cared about the little children, God protected the little children. Where was God when all this went down? And here’s the bottom line: God is not gonna go where he’s not wanted.

Now we have spent, since 1962, this, we’re 50 years into this now, we have spent 50 years telling God to get lost. Telling God, we do not want you in our schools, we don’t want to pray to you in our schools, we don’t want to pray to you before football games, we don’t want to pray to you at graduation, we don’t want anyone talking about you in a graduation speech.

We’ve kicked God out of our public school system. And I think God would say to us, "Hey I’ll be glad to protect your children, but you’ve gotta invite me back into your world first. I’m not gonna go where I’m not wanted. I am a gentleman."

And then, Mike Huckabee weighs in:

How Do We Stop It From Happening Again?

I'm thankfully at the end of a peaceful, children-filled weekend.  We shielded our young kids (and ourselves, frankly) from the news, and focused on other things.  And that's probably the right parenting move.


But I've been surreptitiously gathering news and trying to sift through the onslaught of information to distill the important things I'd like to talk about today, after Sandy Hook Elementary's tragedy.



Here's what I've got, so far:

Friday Follies: 5 Most Embarrassing Presidential Moments

George HW Bush throws up on Japanese Prime Minister:

In January 1992, while at a formal dinner in Japan, then president George Bush became ill, vomiting on the Prime Minister of Japan, Kiichi Miyazawa, then fainting. Earlier in the evening, Bush had told his physician he was feeling unwell. This all happened at a presidential news conference and dinner in Tokyo. It was later famously parodied by Dana Carvey on Saturday Night Live.

Party Foul: Top 5 Ways Rs Cheat When They Don't Win

Foul on the Play.  Take a seat.

So it's possible that I'm really, really angry about the way Michigan's government has been behaving itself.  And by "possible," I mean "a virtual certainty."



But I will try my best to stay rational and not rant.  Here's my take on how Republicans deal with  the situation when they lose in our democracy: "how can we undermine democracy so that we win?"




It's not, as saner members of the party might suggest, about "how do we reach out to voters?  How do we make our policy arguments in a better, more convincing way?"  No, no.  It's "how do we change the rules so that we can win."  And let me be clear: by "change the rules" I mean "subvert democracy."

Of Homosexuality and Murder

Is being a homosexual the equivalent of being a murderer? Supreme Court Justice Scalia draws some parallels:

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.