“If middle-class women ever thought they’d lose access to legal abortions entirely, the game would be over, and the Fetus People would find themselves swiftly and eternally cast into political purgatory. What was done to Komen was just a preview.” From this blogger’s keyboard and to God’s blogroll.
Is the Tea Party dead? A very good post by a young journalist who, undoubtedly, has a brilliant journalistic future ahead of her. Oh, I love reading blogs by brilliant young people. It gives me so much hope.
A very insightful post on the uses of the words “boyfriend” and “girlfriend.”
I really love it when people rant about how the entire concept of student evaluations of teaching is wrong. It always makes me want to say, “Nyah nyah nyah nyah nyah. You’d change your tune pretty fast if only you were a good teacher who knew how to get the students to love you.” Clarissa’s Rule of Teaching: If most students say you suck, you probably really do. If anything, students are too kind on evaluations.
If we are to be bombarded by inane studies of “working mothers”, where are the equivalent studies of working fathers? Or is a woman who has a career and children some kind of a rare phenomenon akin to a pink elephant? I especially loved the following part of the post: “I imagine child care would be more interesting, and easier, if it were shared among a group of sisters, cousins, mothers, and aunts who lived and worked together.” As you can see, men don’t even make an appearance. All of these women must have come into existence and procreated by osmosis. Bleh, and this is the kind of rubbish that gets published in Inside Higher Ed.
And this is an assignment I would have totally failed if I had a prof silly enough to give it to me. Discuss your most salient identity label? Like I’m supposed to have one? Sheesh.
Shopping in Canada sucks. And don’t we, the Canadians, know it all too well. I love Canada but this blogger is right. When my sister came into an American mall and discovered what a huge selection of very reasonably priced baby clothes there was she started exclaiming, “What?!?” and continued to do so until her voice turned into a croak.
“Lynda Laughlin of the US Census Bureau’s Fertility and Family Statistics Branch is explaining why is it that the Census Bureau assumes mothers to be the “designated parent” in a two-parent household, and why further it considers a father providing childcare while mother is at work/school to be a “child care arrangement” but a mother providing childcare while father is at work/school to be designated parenting.” Yes, mothers are parents and fathers are easy-to-substitute dime-a-dozen care providers. Still wondering why the baby’s father isn’t taking equal care of the baby? Because the government is telling him he is not even a parent, that’s why.
“SB 1467, newly introduced in the Arizona State Senate, would force schools and universities to suspend, fine, and ultimately fire any teacher or professor who “engage[d] in speech or conduct that would violate the standards adopted by the federal communications commission concerning obscenity, indecency and profanity if that speech or conduct were broadcast on television or radio.”” Mind you, not publicspeech or conduct. Any speech or conduct. Got it? So mind your language when you slip in the bathtub because your neighbors might hear and there goes your job. As Angus Johnston points out, “If this law passes, it will be illegal for any “person who provides classroom instruction” in the state of Arizona to have sex. Or pee. Ever.”
“In the new Broadway production of Andrew Lloyd Webber’s musical Evita, Che Guevara will be played by no other than Ricky Martin!!! When I read the news yesterday, I couldn’t stop laughing. An openly gay singer playing the most commercialized Latin American icon of the past 50 years. Ricky Martin playing America’s favorite macho revolutionary.” Spanish prof finds this casting choice fascinating. I find it plain weird. What do you think?
How the field of mathematics in the US was impacted by the collapse of the Soviet Union.
An inventive response to academic rejection.
A stolen Taras Shevchenko statue returned after 10 years. My Ukrainian heart rejoices.
A beautiful post on marriage equality.
Should Plan B pills be available in vending machines?
A beautiful post on the American Constitution versus the Canadian Charter. I want to print out this post, give it to my students and tell them, ‘The young woman who wrote this is a physicists. And you, folks, are in the Humanities. So how come you can’t write nearly as well as she does, eh? Eh?” It makes me very happy to see young people write well.
If you have trouble concentrating on your work, here is a list of great suggestions.
Nominatissima’s response to my beauty products post. This post is a lot better than mine, so I highly recommend.

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