Jun 25, 2019 | Bad Behavior, Politics, Republicans, Something. To. Say., Women |
Good Riddance to Sarah Huckabee Sanders
Hello Everybody.
I have something to say about Sarah Huckabee Sanders. Sarah, Sarah, Sarah. Yes, go home to Arkansas because all you did was make the job of White House PressSecretary a mockery. Only three women have held that vaunted position, but you took it and destroyed it.
Oh, I know her beloved President Trump, was behind it because he hates the press. But she marched in lockstep with him. And who suffered the most? The American people she swore to serve.
She was supposed to give on a daily basis, pertinent and truthful information to the White House press corps so they could in turn, report the news to the public. But she just stopped talking to the press in any formal way and left that to the President. She used the White House driveway to dribble out a few answers to waiting reporters. And the worst? She lied.
Trump thinks she should run for governor of Arkansas. It is one of the poorest, hungriest and least educated states in the country. Sarah—got any good ideas on improving Arkansas? I didn’t think so. So long Sarah, Huckabee Sanders, and thanks for nothing.
Jun 11, 2019 | Reproductive Rights, Something. To. Say., Women |
Abortion Rights Under Virulent Attack
I have something to say about the attacks on abortion.
In 1973, we women thought the question of abortion was all settled. The Supreme Court decided in the Roe v. Wade case that abortion was a matter of privacy and medicine, not politics and religion.
But this year at least nine states have–in quick succession–passed laws severely restricting the rights of women to get an abortion. Other states are trying to do the same.
Why now? Because Donald Trump appointed two conservative justices to the Supreme Court who are likely to be on the side of striking down Roe. The worst thing about the current fight is that men are behind it. They have no idea what a pregnant woman goes through. All of those state laws were proposed by white men. That’s because they have the power. What do you think would happen if men got pregnant and didn’t want to have a baby? You can believe they would make sure it was as easy as pie for men to get abortions.
Ladies and concerned men, you’re going to have to fight the power.
See you next time.
Oct 19, 2012 | Journalism, Politics, Sexism, Women |
Should there be any doubt now that women can handle presidential debates, as well as men? That they can conduct a live television event that lasts for 90 minutes before an audience of 60 million viewers? That they can be smart, bold and professional in dealing with the men who would be president and vice president of this great nation?
No. There should be no doubt at all. CNN’s Candy Crowley and ABC’s Martha Raddatz have finally banished that old false notion that “men are better” to the R-I-P grave it deserves.
Of course, after former PBS anchor Jim Lehrer lost control of the first presidential debate in Denver, Raddatz and Crowleywere masterful in comparison. Lehrer, the journalist who was moderating his 12th presidential debate, at times threw up his hands in exasperation as President Obama–but mostly Governor Mitt Romney–ignored the guidelines on time limits for statements and rebuttals. The testy rivals literally wrested the debate away from Lehrer and he was pretty much reduced to the role of a potted plant.
Raddatz then moderated the vice presidential debate where she had been forewarned that Vice President Joe Biden might engage in some “funny stuff.” Biden found Paul Ryan funny and he found himself funny, but under the firm hand of Raddatz, both men did as they were directed. The vice presidential debate was not only enlightening but also enjoyable.
Poor Candy Crowley. She had to moderate the second debate in the town hall format, which became the most contentious presidential matchup in recent memory. There she was with a nervous audience of 80 undecided voters and two men who can’t stand each other. Obama and Romney could not be more different: in family history, socioeconomic upbringing, political ideology, social status, and of course, color. The only thing they have in common is Harvard Law School and nice families.
Obama blew the first debate by appearing disengaged and bored with the whole process. Romney, with an energetic and aggressive style won the debate “by a mile.”
The President was determined to change the public’s perception of him by changing his style, his answers, and his enthusiasm for the second debate. Romney was ready for the Obama makeover. Candy Crowley was ready for both of them.
I wouldn’t have traded places with her for anything. The candidates entered the arena; yes that’s what the debate floor became. The two men were already seething despite the plastered smiles and phony handshake.
This was supposed to be a debate dominated by questions from the undecided voters, but it quickly deteriorated into something that looked like a cockfight.
Throughout the debate Candy was juggling so many balls in the air: listening to the producer in her ear; calling on audience members; watching the time; asking follow up questions; paying attention to the candidates’ answers; deciding who had the next question or rebuttal.
She was doing all this with an up-close and too personal display of male bravado. I was waiting for one of the candidates to beat his chest or jump on the other’s back. It was that nasty.
Candy, with the utmost politeness, struggled to remain in control despite being insulted by Governor Romney. Did she retreat like a shy violet or burst into tears? Not her. She prevailed.
Candy raised two sons. I have to believe that she harkened back to those days when her boys misbehaved and she had to discipline them. Now before her eyes were the President of theUnited Statesand the former Governor of Massachusetts circling each other defiantly like naughty boys. She finally said, with all the power she could muster in her voice, “Mr. Romney, sit down.” And he did.
In 2016, the Commission on Presidential Debates should not hesitate to seek out women to be moderators. Candy Crowley and Martha Raddatz have proved that the best women can stand on equal footing with the best men. Thank you, ladies.
Jan 28, 2012 | Ageism, Women |
Who would have thought 14 million viewers would tune in to NBC’s broadcast of the Betty White Special celebrating her 90th birthday. The endearing “Golden Girl” was feted by some of the most popular stars of the day, as well as the President of the United States.
It was suggested to me that older women perhaps are finally coming into their own. Actress Cloris Leachman was 82 when she danced the light fantastic on “Dancing With the Stars.” Barbara Walters continues to land the big interviews for her TV specials, still appears daily on “The View” while also hosting a satellite radio talk show. She’s in her 80’s and had open-heart surgery not long ago. Diane Sawyer, who anchors ABC’s “World News Tonight,” is nearing 70. Lesley Stahl, long time co-host of “60 Minutes,” is already 70. This all sounds pretty good considering the fact women in television were warned in the 1970’s, by men of course, that their careers would be over after they turned 40.
Betty White can attract an audience because people love her. She’s warm and funny and a little raunchy. The other women I mentioned are exceptional at their jobs. Does that mean elderly females are gaining acceptance in our society? Absolutely not. They are the least of us as a people.
Older women in America say they feel invisible. Ordinary people don’t respect them; men don’t seek their company, no body cares about their opinions. Their children are grown and gone. They are often widowed or divorced and living alone on meager incomes. In fact, they are among the poorest in the population. They suffer with the ailments of old age. They are fearful of being attacked. They slowly and quietly await death. There is nothing else to look forward to.
Old ladies long for the days gone by when men turned their heads to steal a glance at them. Then, their bodies were firm and curvaceous; their hair thick and lustrous; their faces smooth and free from imperfections.
How do I know, you ask? Because I am a septuagenarian. But like many of us at this age I am an exception, too. I have a full-time job. I teach college journalism. One of the courses I am now teaching is reporting on diverse and minority groups. Among those, is the aged. I told my senior and graduate students I was going to write a piece for CNN about older women. I went to the whiteboard with a marker and wrote down their answers to my question: “When you think of old women, what comes to mind?”
The answers from the twenty-something’s were what I expected. Here are just a few: “Wrinkles, whiskers on their face, too much makeup, smelly, tacky clothes, ugly shoes, walkers, lonely, repeat themselves, lots of cats, hot flashes, shrinking bodies, go to the bathroom all the time, knick knacks, don’t have sex, always complaining.”
If that’s what young people think of older women, is there any wonder they don’t want to spend time with them or respect them?
I have international students from India, China and Nigeria, who said that in their countries, young people had to bow and even kiss the feet of their elderly relatives. The women, they said, are always consulted for advice because they are viewed as wise in the ways of the world. People listen to what they have to say.
My sister passed away last summer at age 78. She lived in California so I didn’t see her often. She was Exhibit A, I’m sorry to say, of the plight of older women. She was a widow and never got over the death of her husband. She became clinically depressed. She lived alone with her four cats and lamented that her children and grandchildren, who lived nearby, didn’t call or visit. She “let herself go” and often needed money. I remember her telling me how rude people were to her and how a teenage girl pushed her out of the way and snarled, “Move it, grandma. You’re in the way.” My sister was so unhappy death was probably a blessing.
Our outlooks on age were vastly different. While she succumbed to it I have been fighting it all my life. As a broadcast journalist I had to work hard, sound good, and look good. I watched my weight and struggled to manage stress. I even had plastic surgery when the chin and eyes began to sag on camera.
Now that I am teaching, I am trying to change young people’s perception of what it is to be an older woman. I don’t leave the house without being dressed appropriately and made up with hair groomed. I laugh heartily at my students’ jokes and the YouTube videos they want me to see. I seek out fun and look for all the little joys in life like popcorn and Junior Mints at the movies. I try not to complain about every ache and pain that strikes. I mentor my students and now they seek me out for advice on matters professional and private.
I think there are growing numbers of older women of my generation who are turning outward instead of inward and showing society that we have value, wisdom, and a love of life. Maybe we will make the difference and achieve what has eluded elderly females for way too long: R-E-S-P-E-C-T.
Dec 30, 2011 | Being Black |
Add mine to the plethora of Top Ten lists that inundate us at every year’s end. Mine is different. It looks at men and women of African-descent, who unwittingly gave the image of black people a boost or a bust.
Topping my winners and losers is the inimitable, would-be President of the United States HERMAN CAIN. I knew he wasn’t about anything for my people because he was running as a Tea Party Republican. My God. The sex allegations, his annoying “9-9-9” mantra, his international insult to the nation he called, “Uz-beki-beki-stan-stan,” his song of praise to pizza, his brain freeze on Libya, and ending his farewell to the campaign with a quote from the “Pokémon” movie. All of these gaffes had me laughing in stitches until I realized that what America was seeing was a black buffoon. Thank you, Mr. Cain for nothing and I hope Gloria “whupped yo’ ass.”
Leave it to women to give us pride. The Nobel Peace Prize was conferred on two Liberians: ELLEN JOHNSON SIRLEAF, the first woman elected head of state of any country on the African continent; and LEYMAH GBOWEE, a peace activist credited with helping to end the civil war in Liberia and for promoting women’s rights. After spending a good deal of time in Africa, I always felt the women in African countries would be their salvation.
Still on a good note, what about J.R. MARTINEZ winning ABC’s popular “Dancing With the Stars?” I was so proud that the Iraqi war veteran beat out all the contestants, despite having suffered burns over 40 percent of his body, including his badly scarred face, which some could find disturbing. What Martinez had going for him were dancing ability, a warm personality and a desire to win, no matter what. An exploding IED didn’t stop him nor could Ricki Lake.
Far be it from me to deny a black man a show on a cable news channel but the REV. AL SHARPTON? He has been hosting his “POLITICSNATION” on MSNBC for several months, but face it: if he were a white man, a white woman, a black woman or some other black man, he would be fired. Television host he is not. The Rev. Al struggles with the teleprompter, stumbles on his words and he doesn’t talk to the audience but barks at it like an agitated beagle. One night Sharpton showed some documents with black marker covering up large portions of the text. He said the papers had been “didacted,” not redacted. Again and again he used variations of “didaction.” Sorry to say, he’s an embarrassment. Surely, there’s someone else.
One of them could have been RUSS MITCHELL or T.J. HOLMES. CBS lost the multi-talented Mitchell, who for years anchored the “Early Show” news, the Weekend editions of that show and the Evening News. He apparently didn’t figure into plans for revamped CBS news programming, so he left to become anchor of a local station in Cleveland. T.J. left CNN certainly disgusted by his twin woes…being stuck on weekends and the never-ending wait to be given a promotion by CNN. Now he is off to BET where he is slated to play a major role in bringing serious news to the Black Entertainment network. Here’s wishing them both success. I expect they will continue to bring distinction to the television news industry.
The much-ballyhooed OPRAH WINFREY Network (OWN) seems to be headed for a bust. The Queen of Daytime TV, who was just about Queen of America, started her network a year ago, this coming January 1st. It was a tough year. Everything Oprah touches does not turn to gold. Her loyal fans did not tune in. Ratings were so low that Discovery Communications invested a quarter of a billion dollars into the fledgling network. Winfrey acknowledged that, “mistakes were made.” She’s optimistic about 2012 when she plans to produce and broadcast programs, which take her “on the road.” But OWN left a chink in Oprah’s formidable armor.
Emerson College in Boston, where I teach journalism, made history by naming its first black president, DR. LEE PELTON. The Board of Trustees appointed the Harvard-educated former president of Portland, Oregon’s Willamette University, to perhaps settle some scores. Before he arrived there had been two years of campus turmoil over the paucity of faculty members of color and the threat of lawsuits by two black professors who were denied tenure. Pelton started the job last July and is beginning to win over those who had doubts about the scholarship of black faculty and students.
Last, but not least, PRESIDENT OBAMA. It’s been a year of pounding from the right, recalcitrance by the Republican-dominated House, grindingly slow economic recovery, and prospects of a tough re-election campaign. But he has managed to keep a “cool hand.” He killed Osama bin Laden and several other Al Qaeda leaders. He brought our troops home from Iraq. The Republicans blinked and passed his bill continuing middle class tax breaks and extended unemployment benefits. So, he didn’t accomplish all he promised but admit it: he’s done a helluva lot under the circumstances. Thank you, Mr. President for giving not just black Americans, but all Americans a much-needed boost.
Have a healthy and Happy New Year.
Jun 22, 2011 | Politics, Republicans, Women |
So, we have two women in the Republican Party who have designs on the highest office in the land. I must admit I favored Hillary Clinton in the last presidential election. I have been waiting for the day a woman would become President of the United States. But could I vote for a Michelle Bachmann or a Sarah Palin? Duh. No.
Are these the most qualified women the Republicans can put forward? I don’t think even the Party believes that. There are some women and then there are some other women. Where are the other women? You know, the smart ones?
Bachmann and Palin seem to have good credentials when you read their bios. Both held elective office. They broke barriers for women. They are wives and mothers. They had careers before entering politics.
And for those that care, they are physically attractive and telegenic, so important in today’s TV-dominated political campaigns.
But then Michelle and Sarah speak. Out of the mouths of these “babes” come some of the most uninformed statements and backward political policy positions you hear from the radical right wing.
They are “card-carrying” members of the Tea Party Movement. Tea Partiers were protesting on the Capitol steps and spat on Missouri Rep. Emanuel Cleaver and shouted “nigger” again and again at civil rights icon, Georgia Rep. John Lewis. I did not hear Bachmann or Palin denounce the vile behavior.
I am really talking about their comments that are just laughable. Could Michelle Bachmann be this dumb?
Bachmann: “The Founding Fathers worked tirelessly until slavery was no more.” She is wrong and nearly 150 years off for when slavery really ended in the U.S.
Bachmann: Speaking in New Hampshire, the first primary state. “You’re the state where the shot was heard around the world in Lexington and Concord.” No, Michelle, that would be Massachusetts.
Bachmann: Told Minnesotans she wanted them “armed and dangerous” to fight an energy tax, which would reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
She doesn’t know U.S. history and doesn’t believe scientific evidence and she thinks she can be President?
Sarah Palin has so many crazy quotations it was difficult to pick a few.
Palin: Talking about Paul Revere after taking a tour of his home. “He, who, warned, uh, the British that they weren’t gonna be takin’ away our arms, uh, by ringing those bells and making sure as he’s riding his horse through town to send those warning shots and bells…” Blah, blah. What is going on in her head? (I won’t answer that.)
Palin: At a motorcyle rally in Washington, DC, while riding a Harley. “I love the smell of emissions.”
Palin: About NATO bombing in Libya. “Do we use war? Do we use squirmish? What is it?” That statement should make many people squirm.
While both Representative Bachmann and former Governor Palin are wildly popular with some Americans, I don’t get it. They are embarrassing to the nation and especially to women.
I wish they’d quietly leave the political stage before doing damage to women who are really qualified to be President of the United States.
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