Topic: politics

Ala. Rep. Mary Sue McClurkin Says Abortion Removes “The Largest Organ” In A Woman’s Body: A Baby

Ala. Rep. Mary Sue McClurkin Says Abortion Removes "The Largest Organ" In A Woman's Body: A Baby

In elementary school, you probably learned that the skin is the largest organ in the human body. Alabama state Rep. Mary Sue McClurkin would like you to know that’s wrong — at least, if you’re a lady, that is. Stupid patriarchal science classes! How could all those biased biology teachers have failed to tell us ladies that the largest organ in a woman’s body is a baby?????? Squeee! More »

Chris Christie Weight Criticism, Fat Jokes Aren’t A Sign Of Gender Equality In Politics

Chris Christie Weight Criticism, Fat Jokes Aren't A Sign Of Gender Equality In Politics

Earlier this week, Chris Christie went on “The Late Show with David Letterman” and joked about his weight, calling himself “basically the healthiest fat guy you’ve ever seen in your life.” And this morning, he held a news conference in New Jersey to clarify that he takes the issue seriously. Most pundits are translating the public discussion of his health as a sign that he’s gearing up to run for office in 2016, but others are also discussing what it means for the media to scrutinize a man’s appearance in politics; a treat that’s long been reserved for female politicians. More »

Women In Military Are (Finally) Approved For Combat, Too

Women In Military Are (Finally) Approved For Combat, Too

Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta announced today that the Pentagon is lifting the ban on women in combat–finally allowing female soldiers to enter front-line positions, just like men. The number of women who pursue front-line jobs may still remain small, especially by comparison to the number of men. But the option is one that many believe is overdue, and one that will likely be hotly debated as military service group determine how to implement women’s roles in their ranks. More »

GOP Rep. Tom Cotton Thinks Women’s ‘Nature’ Could ‘Impair’ Military Efforts

GOP Rep. Tom Cotton Thinks Women's 'Nature' Could 'Impair' Military Efforts

Women have served in the military for over 4,000 years, all around the world. But GOP Congressman Tom Cotton is concerned that our “nature” could really bring down the infantry. In an interview on Laura Ingraham’s radio show yesterday, he was asked whether he supported allowing women to serve in combat roles in the miliary, and responded with platitudes about women’s physical inferiority More »

Cory Booker Is Eating On A SNAP Budget This Week; Whatever His Motivations, We’re Intrigued

Cory Booker Is Eating On A SNAP Budget This Week; Whatever His Motivations, We're Intrigued

Cory Booker is living on a food budget of just over $4 per day this week–the same budget allotted to participants in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (aka SNAP, often called food stamps) in the State of New Jersey, where he serves as Mayor in Newark. Booker says the point of going on a #SNAPchallenge, as they’re called on Twitter, is to shed light on food policy debates, especially the role of government in ensuring adequate nutrition for all of its citizens. Others say this could just be an early move to ingratiate himself with voters in a plot to run for Governor. And honestly, we don’t particularly care: The results will be interesting, either way. More »

CIA Director David Petraeus Resigns Due To Extramarital Affair; Here’s Why That’s A Good Thing

CIA Director David Petraeus Resigns Due To Extramarital Affair; Here's Why That's A Good Thing

CIA Director David Petraeus resigned today, citing an extramarital affair. His resignation letter explains that “After being married for over 37 years, I showed extremely poor judgment by engaging in an extramarital affair,” and “Such behavior is unacceptable, both as a husband and as the leader of an organization such as ours.” Generally, I tend to bristle at the notion that someone’s marriage or sex life has anything to do with their ability to do their job. But this is one of the rare occasions when I would have to agree. More »

Ladies Night! Election Ushers In Record Number Of Female Senators

Ladies Night! Election Ushers In Record Number Of Female Senators

One of the most exciting parts of seeing the election results pour in last night was how many awesome and inspiring women were elected into Congress — especially when it happened at the expense of GOP misogynists like Rep. Todd Akin. All told, 10 female senators were elected or re-elected into office last night, bringing us to a record high of 19 women Senators in U.S. Congress. New Hampshire also made history by electing the first all-female state delegation. More »

Fox News’ Megyn Kelly Likens Pennsylvania To A Girl Who Lost Weight (But Is Still Unattractive)

Fox News' Megyn Kelly Likens Pennsylvania To A Girl Who Lost Weight (But Is Still Unattractive)

Fox News–who else?–came up with a clever little analogy for talking about which states will decide the 2012 election: Comparing them to girls at a dance, ranked by–what else?–their attractiveness. Anchor Megyn Kelly credited the “guys on set” for the idea, but laid out the tenuous parallels between Ohio and Pennsylvania, both viewed as crucial swing states, for Fox’s Trace Gallagher More »

If This Woman Can Vote While In Labor, You Can Get To The Polls

If This Woman Can Vote While In Labor, You Can Get To The Polls

Chicago’s Galicia Malone stopped at Precinct 88 in Chicago to vote this morning, just like a lot of other citizens…except she was on her way to the hospital to give birth to her first child. And (as if there needs to be an ‘and’) her contractions were just five minutes apart. If she can fill out her ballot while in labor, I think the rest of us can make it to the polls (and deal with the lines). More »

6 Health-Related Issues To Watch This Election Night

6 Health-Related Issues To Watch This Election Night

With all the hoopla surrounding the presidential election this year, it’s easy to forget there are a lot of important state ballot issues that will get decided today, as well. The following health-related state measures could affect residents’ reproductive rights, access to marijuana, right to assisted suicide and awareness of GMOs (as well as influence future policy in other states). More »

Bloomberg Endorses Obama…And Reproductive Rights Are One Of His Major Reasons

Bloomberg Endorses Obama...And Reproductive Rights Are One Of His Major Reasons

Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg endorses Obama in this year’s election, but not with high acclaim. The official announcement–via an editorial on Bloomberg View–surprised everyone, in part because it mostly just lingers on what a disappointment Obama’s been during his first four years in the White House–leaving many confused as to who really has his vote. But among the few things that he says did secure his favor is something we’re happy to hear him mention: Reproductive rights–in particular, a woman’s right to choose. More »

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