Tennessee Guerilla Women

Hillary in India: Children's Rights (Video)

2009-07-19T21:15:00.002-05:00

Bella Abzug: "Women Will Change the Nature of Power" (Video)

2009-07-19T01:21:00.009-05:00

“It’s not that I believe that women are superior to men, it’s just that we’ve had so little opportunity to be corrupted by power. . I’m one of those who has always believed that women will change the nature of power.” Bella Abzug

I'm with Bella. I see no reason to accept the claim that a critical mass of women in power will lead to the same greed and corruption that male power has unleashed. With male domination rampant, all we really know is that a world ruled by half the species is unfit for children and other gentle souls.

"Women have been trained to speak softly and carry a lipstick. Those days are over." -- Bella Abzug

"They used to give us a day--it was called International Women's Day. In 1975 they gave us a year, the Year of the Woman. Then from 1975 to 1985 they gave us a decade, the Decade of the Woman. I said at the time, who knows, if we behave they may let us into the whole thing. Well, we didn't behave and here we are." -- Bella Abzug

Thanks Woman Voter!

Feminist Politics Gender Bella Abzug Feminist Trailblazer Patriarchy Male Domination News

Not a Wise Latina Woman, Linda Chavez Testifies For the Patriarchy

2009-07-18T01:32:00.001-05:00

Some women were actually opposed to women’s suffrage and Fox News analyst Linda Chavez appears to be one of their descendants. Testifying on behalf of her boyfriend, the Republican Party, Linda Chavez sold out her sister Sonia Sotomayor.

But this is Linda Chavez’s life. In 1986, she tried to ‘out’ Barbara Mikulski as a lesbian. In 2009, the Republican Frat Club Party knew they could reach into their Clarence Thomas bag of tricks and trot out Linda Chavez. The un-sisterly Chavez tried to stop the woman who will be only the 3rd in all of U.S. history to sit with the men on the High(est) Court in the patriarchal land.

Chavez testified: White men Yesterday! White Men Today! White Men Forever!

Linda Chavez, Not a Wise Woman:

“I testify today not as a wise Latina woman . . . Mr. Chairman, do not vote to confirm this nominee. . It is clear from her record that she has drunk deep from the well of identity politics. I know a lot about that well, and I can tell you that it is dark and poisonous. It is, in my view, impossible to be a fair judge and also believe that one's race, ethnicity and sex should determine how someone will rule as a judge.

Despite her assurances to this committee over the last few days that her "wise Latina woman" statement was simply a, quote, "rhetorical flourish fell flat," nothing could be further from the truth.

She opposed the death penalty as racist. She supported race- based government contracting. She made dubious arguments in support of bilingual education and more broadly in trying to equate English language requirements as a form of national origin discrimination. As a judge she dissented from an opinion that the Voting Rights Act does not give prison inmates the right to vote.

I therefore respectfully urge you not to confirm Judge Sotomayor as an associate Justice of the Supreme Court.

Feminist Politics Race, Gender, Class SCOTUS Sotomayor Supreme Court Linda Chavez Patriarchy News

Whip It (Trailer)

2009-07-18T00:48:00.003-05:00

Whip It (Drew Barrymore's directorial debut), is about "the empowering world of female roller derby." Drew Barrymore serves as director, producer and actress. The film stars Juno's Ellen Page, and the mostly female cast includes SNL veteran Kristen Wiig, Juliette Lewis, Marcia Gay Harden, Zoe Bell, Eve, and Alia Shawkat.

Feminist Gender News Women Centric Films Movies

Jimmy Carter Leaves Bigoted Southern Baptists Behind for Women's Equality

2009-07-17T04:47:00.000-05:00

Quote of the Day

Women and girls have been discriminated against for too long in a twisted interpretation of the word of God.

I HAVE been a practising Christian all my life and a deacon and Bible teacher for many years. My faith is a source of strength and comfort to me, as religious beliefs are to hundreds of millions of people around the world. So my decision to sever my ties with the Southern Baptist Convention, after six decades, was painful and difficult. It was, however, an unavoidable decision when the convention's leaders, quoting a few carefully selected Bible verses and claiming that Eve was created second to Adam and was responsible for original sin, ordained that women must be "subservient" to their husbands and prohibited from serving as deacons, pastors or chaplains in the military service.

-- Jimmy Carter,
former President of the United States

'Itty Bitty Titty Committee' (Trailer)

2009-07-17T04:22:00.003-05:00

Feminist Politics Misogyny Gender News Women Centric Films Movies

Sotomayor Watch: White Male Senators Alienate & Offend Hispanics & Women

2009-07-16T08:31:00.006-05:00

Sonia Sontomayor's confirmation hearing continues today and Republican men on the senate judiciary committee have yet more opportunities to alienate and offend Hispanic and women voters across the nation. To date, no one has been a more offensively condescending and sexist bully than Senator Lindsey Graham.

Graham read anonymous criticisms of Sotomayor that were published in the Almanac of the Federal Judiciary, criticisms that have been publicly dismissed as blatantly sexist gripes from men who have problems with women in authority. Yet Graham talked about the criticisms as though they were factual: "She's a terror on the bench," "she abuses lawyers," "she behaves in an out of control manner," and "She's nasty to lawyers."

As Judge Guido Calabresi observed:

“Some lawyers just don’t like to be questioned by a woman.”

The the arrogant fool from South Carolina had the nerve to ask Judge Sotomayor: "Do you think you have a temperament problem?" Imagine the white male Senator asking a male nominee such a question. It would never happen.

"I would hope that a wise Latina woman with the richness of her experiences would more often than not reach a better conclusion than a white male who hasn't lived that life."

-- Sonia Sotomayor

Feminist Politics Race, Gender, Class SCOTUS Sotomayor Supreme Court South Carolina Lindsey Graham News

Hillary Amused by Tina Brown's Gossip Column

2009-07-16T08:05:00.004-05:00

The New York Times reports that anonymous aides say Hillary is "amused" by Tina Brown's ridiculous piece referring to the Secretary of State as Obama's burqa-wearing wife:

She professes to be amused, if baffled, by a recent column on the blog Daily Beast in which Tina Brown wrote, “It’s time for Barack Obama to let Hillary Clinton take off her burqa.”

. . Mrs. Clinton has told colleagues about a recent phone conversation with Henry A. Kissinger, a secretary of state who was not sidelined, in which he told her he could not recall a time when there appeared to be less friction between the State Department and the White House. Mr. Kissinger confirmed the account. .

Though she departs Thursday for India and Thailand, she is in constant pain and faces grueling physical therapy five times a day, according to people close to her.

Feminist Politics Hillary Clinton Gender News Obama

Judge Sotomayor Makes a Fool Out of Sen. Sessions (R-AL) (Video)

2009-07-15T01:31:00.005-05:00

In the interrogation of Judge Sonia Sotomayor, Sen. Sessions and Sen. Graham tied, in my view, for the title of most sanctimonious and paternalistic ass. Judge Sotomayor remained cool while the testy white men attacked and called her temperamental.

The Judge smiled when she calmly revealed Sen. Jefferson Beauregard Sessions (R-AL) for the fool that he certainly is:

Ouch! Sen. Jeff Sessions (R., Ala.), seeking to discredit Judge Sonia Sotomayor’s judicial philosophy, cited her 2001 “wise Latina” speech, and contrasted the view that ethnicity and sex influence judging with that of Judge Miriam Cedarbaum, who “believes that judges must transcend their personal sympathies and prejudices.”

“So I would just say to you, I believe in Judge Cedarbaum’s formulation,” Sessions told Sotomayor.

“My friend Judge Cedarbaum is here,” Sotomayor riposted, to Sessions’ apparent surprise. “We are good friends, and I believe that we both approach judging in the same way, which is looking at the facts of each individual case and applying the law to those facts.”

. . . In 1986, Cedarbaum and Sessions were both nominated to the federal bench by President Ronald Reagan, and were members of the same orientation class for future judges. Their paths then diverged, however. Cedarbaum was confirmed, but Sessions nomination floundered over a controversy surrounding comments he made involving the Ku Klux Klan and the NAACP.

Feminist Politics Race, Gender, Class SCOTUS Sotomayor Supreme Court News

Hillary to Make Major Policy Speech this Week

2009-07-14T09:30:00.000-05:00

Hillary Rodham Clinton is set to make a major speech this week, one that will "articulate her own policy agenda," according to her aides.

Politico's Ben Smith presents the absurd suggestion that one motivation for the speech is the usual ridiculously juvenile gossip by hacks like Tina Brown. Tina Brown is in a league right up there with Chris Matthews and Keith Olbermann.

Brown's most recent gossipy column calls Hillary Rodham Clinton "Obama's other wife" and claims that it is “time for Barack Obama to let Hillary Clinton take off her burqa.” Tina Brown is obviously hoping to get her own tv show on MSNBC or Fox News.

Feminist Politics Gender Hillary Rodham Clinton Tina Brown News Ghetto Journalism

Obama On 'Don't Ask, Don't Tell' (Video)

2009-07-14T09:21:00.004-05:00

CNN's Anderson Cooper asks Obama why he has so far failed to keep his promise to axe DADT. Obama says he is powerless to act. It's up to Congress. Few take this claim as anything other than a cowardly excuse.

Gay Politics Gender DADT LGBT News Anderson Cooper

NAACP Warns Sen. Sessions to Tone Down the Rhetoric (Video)

2009-07-14T08:24:00.000-05:00

The NAACP thinks Senator Sessions should tone down the rhetoric. So does Marie Cocco.

Senator Jefferson Beauregard Sessions III opened the confirmation hearings yesterday with a sulky and rude attack on both Sonia Sotomayor and Ruth Bader Ginsberg. There's a real surprise, the anti gay rights, anti civil rights senator from Alabama also has a problem with women.

Feminist Politics Gender Race SCOTUS Sotomayor Supreme Court News

Sotomayor's Senate Drama Begins Today

2009-07-13T09:50:00.002-05:00

The drama of Judge Sonia Sotomayor's senate confirmation hearings begin this morning. Republicans can't keep her off the Court so they will settle for trying to paint her as a radical woman who hates white men.

Funny that. Sonia Sotomayor will be the first Hispanic and only the 3rd woman ever to sit on the U.S. Supreme Court. The woman will be grilled by the 17 men and 2 women (Democrats) who make up the senate judiciary committee.

And white male Republican Senators argue that she is the bigot!

There's live blogging at The Caucus. (Photo: Mark Wilson/Getty Images)

Feminist Politics Gender SCOTUS Sotomayor Supreme Court News

Eugene Robinson: Sarah Palin Tricks the Menz Into Being Sexist!

2009-07-12T03:30:00.000-05:00

Sarah Palin is so smart that the Evil Witch tricks media pundits and politicos into being elitist sexist jerks. What a woman!

Eugene Robinson:

The thing is, Palin's unsuitability for high public office has been obvious all along. Tina Fey got it right; the rest of us were far too reluctant to state plainly that the emperor, or empress, has no clothes.

There are basically two reasons the political class and the commentariat continue to speak and write about Palin as if she were a substantial figure whose presence on the national stage is anything but a cruel, unfunny joke. The first is fear—not of Palin and her know-nothing legions, but of being painted as elitist and sexist.

From the beginning, Palin has been a master at maneuvering her critics into this trap.

Obviously, Hillary must also be an Evil Witch. The menz have always been helpless before the power of Evil Witches like Hillary and Sarah.

And Eugene Robinson got his Pulitzer Prize exactly how?

Feminist Politics Gender Misogyny Sexist Liberal Doods Sarah Palin News

Hillary Jokes About Her Broken Elbow (Video)

2009-07-12T03:18:00.003-05:00

Looking really good, Hillary Rodham Clinton spoke at a State Department town hall meeting last Friday. The date marked 6 months on the job as Secretary of State.

Hat tip to AnnieNYC who has some nice photos of Hillary.

Feminist Politics Gender Hillary Rodham Clinton State Dept News

The Sexist Media Rage Against Sotomayor (Video)

2009-07-12T01:30:00.003-05:00

A woman, Hispanic at that, is nominated to the Supreme Court and white men proceed to go nuts. In the video clip below, The Women's Media Center and Media Matters present a glimpse of media men raging against the horror of sharing power with women.

Yet it looks mild compared to the misogyny experienced by Hillary Rodham Clinton and Sarah Palin. Perhaps the neanderthals just need more time.

Sonia Sotomayor's confirmation hearings begin tomorrow (Monday, 7/13). Will the sexism proceed to full throttle? Or will race/ethnicity act as a protective shield for Sonia Sotomayor? Other than women, Hispanics are the largest minority group in the nation. And unlike women, racial and ethnic minorities are known to vote as a bloc. Presuming an iota of intelligence, this knowledge should persuade some of the worst sexists to hold their tongues in check.

“Let’s hope that the key conferences aren’t when she’s menstruating or something, or just before she’s going to menstruate. That would really be bad. Lord knows what we would get then." -- G. Gordon Liddy

Send the media a piece of your mind.

“[Being a woman on the Supreme Court is] almost like being back in law school in 1956, when there were 9 of us [women] in a class of over 500, so that meant most sections had just 2 women, and you felt that every eye was on you. Every time you went to answer a question, you were answering for your entire sex. It may not have been true, but certainly you felt that way. You were different and the object of curiosity.” -- Ruth Bader Ginsberg

Feminist Politics Race,Gender Misogyny Sexist Media Sonia Sotomayor SCOTUS News Voting Bloc

Bill Moyers Exposes Health Insurance Industry's Sicko Plot Against Single Payer

2009-07-12T00:27:00.000-05:00

This video clip from the Bill Moyer's show includes a great scene from Michael Moore's Sicko. What a superb film. This would be a good time for it to make a comeback.

Bill Moyers Show Reveals Insurance Lobby's Secret Plan to Attack 'Sicko' and Michael Moore. . Wendell Potter, former Head of Corporate Communications at CIGNA (which provides health insurance to nearly 70 percent of the Fortune 100 companies) admits that, in fact, "Sicko" "hit the nail on the head" and told the real truth about how much better people in other countries have it when it comes to their health care.

Health Care Politics Michael Moore News Universal Health Care Single Payer

Sexism on Daily Kos

2009-07-11T11:43:00.005-05:00

Liberal doods are sexist??

Sexism on Daily Kos: "What the FUCKING HELL do you expect me to tell my 9-year-old daughter when she's 16 and suddenly has body image issues? "Sorry, just ignore them!"? ??? Don't you people have mothers, sisters, daughters, or female friends?"

Feminist Politics Gender Misogyny Sexist Liberal Doods Sarah Palin Ann Coulter News

Erin Brockovich's New Fight: America's Worst Environmental Disaster -Tennessee (Video)

2009-07-11T11:09:00.003-05:00

Tennessee Politics TVA Worst News Environmental Disaster

Kissing at Texas Chico's Tacos Deemed Illegal 'Homosexual Conduct '

2009-07-11T10:12:00.010-05:00

From the bigoted Chico's employees who responded to a simple kiss with taunts of "faggot" to an actual police officer who claimed that "homosexual conduct" is illegal in Texas -- this reads like a script straight out of the scary 1950s:

EL PASO -- Two gay men kissed at a Chico's Tacos restaurant, prompting guards to eject them and a police officer to endorse their ouster. . In all, five men were ordered to leave the restaurant. They say they were forced out by homophobic guards.

"It was a simple kiss on the lips," said Carlos Diaz de Leon, a gay man who was part of the group. . De Leon quoted one of the guards as saying he didn't allow "that faggot stuff" in the restaurant.

De Leon said the officer told the group it was illegal for two men or two women to kiss in public. The five men, he said, were told they could be cited for homosexual conduct -- a law the U.S. Supreme Court ruled unconstitutional in 2003 in Lawrence v. Texas. That same year, the El Paso City Council approved an ordinance banning discrimination based on sexual orientation by businesses open to the public. .

De Leon said he and his friends left the restaurant after an officer threatened to issue a citation for "homosexual conduct."

Contact and/or review Chico's here.
Facing South: Texas cities grapple with anti-gay bias among police
Gay Activists Protest Nixed Gay Kiss

Texas LGBT Politics Gender News Gay Homophobia Discrimination

AIDS Activists Shut Down US Capitol Rotunda Over Obama Reversal on AIDS Policy

2009-07-10T02:00:00.000-05:00

Once again, President Obama has reneged on a campaign promise. The Fierce Advocate was for a repeal of the federal ban on needle exchange before he was against it. John Aravosis reports that Obama has "banned federal funding for needle exchanges in his budget this year."

AIDS activists retaliated by chaining themselves to each other and shouting "clean needles save lives" and effectively shutting down the Capitol Rotunda (see video below). Twenty-six AIDS activists were arrested (11 men and 15 women).

The activists decried the Obama administration’s failure to make good on a range of AIDS campaign promises including his pledge: to lift the federal ban on funding syringe exchange, to fully fund lifesaving global AIDS programs, and to fully fund AIDS housing programs in this year’s budget. The activists demanded Speaker Nancy Pelosi, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid and other Congressional leadership fix President Obama’s flawed budget proposal.

Photo via Joe. My. God.

Obama Promises LGBT Politics Gender News Gay AIDS Needle Exchange

Roland Burris Will Not Run for Senate in 2010, Thank the Goddess

2009-07-10T01:53:00.004-05:00

U.S. Sen. Roland Burris will NOT seek a full term. No one will give him any money. Burris got his senate seat with the aid of his massive ego and the shady former governor Rod Blagojevich.

Roland Burris named all his children after himself and built an actual monument to himself. Other than that, the man appears to have no qualifications for the office of senator.

If Burris were a woman, she would not have been senator for one day. The media would have ripped a Ms. "Tracey Flick" Burris to pieces for the crime of possessing no qualifications other than ambition and ego.

Feminist Politics Gender Misogyny News Roland Burris Sexist Media Chicago

Sarah Palin, The Renegade

2009-07-09T12:49:00.003-05:00

Sarah Palin makes the cover of TIME magazine again and, unlike the other times, this one looks almost positive.

Palin Resignation: A Family Choice?: Thus, it’s important to note that Palin never said she was leaving office to spend more time with her children….But there’s another relevant model as well: lots of women who make a detour aren’t looking to have more time for Gymboree; they’re doing it because they want to start their own business, make their own rules, be their own boss—and this seems more Sarah’s tune.

The Outsider: Where Is Sarah Palin Going Next?: Palin's unconventional step speaks to an ingrained frontier skepticism of authority—even one's own.

Alaska Politics Gender News Sarah Palin Patriarchy

Kucinich Rips Opponent of Canadian Single Payer Health Care (Video)

2009-07-09T03:40:00.004-05:00

Dennis Kucinich takes on the right-wing Manhattan Institute for their incessant preaching about the evils of the Canadian single payer health care system (an op-ed I wrote about single payer). Dr. David Gratzer, Manhattan Institute Senior Fellow was rendered almost speechless.

Health Care Politics News Single Payer Canada

Hillary Swank as Amelia Earhart (Trailer)

2009-07-08T05:33:00.000-05:00

This is almost too good to be true. Hillary Swank -- who stole my heart when she played Alice Paul in Iron Jawed Angels -- is now starring in a movie about Amelia Earhart!

Feminist Politics Gender Films Women's History News Amelia Earhart Movie