At least that’s what Slate magazine’s XX Factor column says about our critique of the Ms. Magazine Superbama cover.  To that, I’ll just post this  video by singer-songwriter Nellie McKay (whom I saw as part of Aimee Mann’s wildly entertaining 3rd annual Christmas show last month):

Like many areas of the country, the Nutmeg state has a huge budget deficit and must make drastic cuts.  According to the Hartford Courant, one of the items on the governor’s “hit list” is the state’s Permanent Commission on the Status of Women.   This agency, and other  state commissions around the country, were modeled after President Kennedy’s Commission on the Status of Women, founded in 1961 to address the enormous gender inequality in the United States at this time  (remember, this was the Mad Men era, when women were supposed to be either in the kitchen or the secretarial pool, not the board room).  Although the President’s Commission disbanded in 1963 after issuing a report on the problems facing American women, many states created Permanent Commissions to continue the important work started under Kennedy.  Various letters and  editorials in the Courant have made strong arguments in favor of keeping this agency alive.  I just want to remind our dunder-head of a Governor what the word “permanent” means.  According to the OED:

a. Continuing or designed to continue or last indefinitely without change; abiding, enduring, lasting; persistent. Opposed to temporary.

Any questions?

Feminist Law Professors has posted a link to a CNN story regarding criticsm of the Ms. Magazine cover depicting President-elect Obama as feminist superhero.  In addition to missing the point of the protests, Naomi Wolff seems to be implying that critics are fronts for right wing organizations.  Guess there’s no room in Ms. Wolff’s tent for legitimate critique and debate. . .

Courtesy of Shakesville.

I think a little of both, given the latest picks for cabinet posts and chair of DNC.  Even less changey than I thought last summer. . .

Those who follow my Facebook feed know that I’m relieved the election is over.  I haven’t blogged anything because I’ve been too busy reading the other blogs I subscribe to [see the blogroll for just a few].

Today’s lecture on campus by Green VP candidate, Rosa Clemente, gave me some additional food for thought as we await inauguration day.  Clemente was a campus activist during the 1990s and was highly critical of the Clinton administration’s policies on welfare reform and juvenile justice, not to mention bombings of Bosnia and Iraq.  She described the ways in which the Patriot Act has shut down social movements and real political dissent in the United States, and how the Democratic party is not really a progressive party (no surprise there).  She also described the way she and Mckinney were marginalized in this most racist/sexist election — none of the major media outlets covered the Green party candidates [except this one] nor were they allowed to debate the major party candidates.  Like other women in history, they were told “wait your turn.” She said the benefits of the Obama victory is that it gives the possibility of opening up dialogue with the rest of the world.  But she also warned that we need to call Obama on his promise for change, reiterating the message in Bruce Dixon’s article, “Cashing the Obama Check: Will it Come Back Marked ‘Insufficient Funds’?” — in other words, will there be real change, or more of the same?

I do find myself becoming uneasy as I hear about the various possibilities for cabinet posts and such — e.g. do we really need someone as Treasure secretary who said that it’s okay to export our toxic waste the developing world because people there “don’t live long enough to get cancer”? Who helped craft the deregulated system that has led to our current economic mess? Oh yeah, and let’s not forget about that remark he made about women and science while President of Harvard.  My colleague, who voted enthuastically for the Green party candidates said on the way to Clemente’s lecture today, “I told you so.”