My most vivid memory of my one trip to the UK, actually there are too many memories to call this the best.  But I remember saying to my wife as we stood in Westminster that I couldn’t believe I was standing next to Elizabeth.  We were surrounded by all those tombs and the only one I truly cared about was the greatest woman to ever rule the world.

With increasing English domination at sea, Elizabeth encouraged voyages of discovery, such as Sir Francis Drake’s circumnavigation of the world and Sir Walter Raleigh’s expeditions to the North American coast.

The long reign of Elizabeth, who became known as the “Virgin Queen” for her reluctance to endanger her authority through marriage, coincided with the flowering of the English Renaissance, associated with such renowned authors as William Shakespeare. By her death in 1603, England had become a major world power in every respect, and Queen Elizabeth I passed into history as one of England’s greatest monarchs.

Let’s applaud the memory of a great woman, perhaps the greatest monarch of modern times.

At Partizane, any story about a great woman is always the top post.

And I loved CJ Cregg, the Press Secretary. Now SHE was someone to whom I could listen about what was going on in the world. Like when she talked about the treatment of women in Saudi Arabia:

So powerful. Wow. Shockingly, this is too true…

Now THAT was some president they had on The West Wing, Jed Bartlett. I would support a president like him in a heartbeat. How different would this past election have been if the women in the race this year where thought of in these terms:

Yep - it would be, “Madame President” if the men in power held women in this kind of esteem. Sadly, they do not, as was made all too painfully clear this year.

So we must fight until we ARE thought of in those terms, until a woman running for the highest office in the land is treated with respect from EVERYONE, not just her supporters. When her accomplishments are held in regard, not belittled and diminished just because she’s a woman. When the arguments against her are based solely on policy differences.

We have a long way to go, as this election year made clear. Goddess knows, it’s revolution time, people. Women deserve nothing less than to be treated as “normal,” as Bud White’s bumper sticker says. To be treated as normal, not just here, but all around the world. Wow, what a concept.

This is an Open Thread. What’s on your minds?

The Geneva Convention, as I understand it, is a contract among signatories that, among other things, obligates them to the humane treatment of prisoners of war, military and civilian. Most importantly, the treatment is a guarantee that these nations do unto us as we do unto them.

Feminists, and so-called feminists, and even those who don’t call themselves feminists but who claim to treat women with respect, need to study this concept of reciprocity.

I’m thinking particularly of the fauxgressives: those from Huff-Chuck, the Daily Voldomort, the more feminist-than-thou feminists, the maenads who in the Bacchic euphoria of their messiah, rip other women into shreds.

ANNOUNCEMENT TO THE SO-CALLED LIBERALS, DEMOCRATS AND PROGRESSIVES: Once you engage in the free-for-all of sexism and misogyny, everyone is fair game, even those hurling venom themselves. Once sexism and misogyny are qualified as weapons, anyone and everyone will use them.

Those self-righteous hypocrites who sit in judgment of Sarah Palin, reveling in their foul-mouthed insults of her intelligence, her family and her politics, etc, will squeal like bullies when someone insults them. Going after Hillary, going after Geraldine Ferraro, going after Harriet Christen, going after any woman who had the courage to speak out in public about Barack Obama’s PROFOUND LACK OF EXPERIENCE; HIS ASSOCIATION WITH RACISTS, WITH TERRORISTS, AND WITH CROOKS; HIS CONSTANT ACCUSATIONS OF RACISM; AND STATING THE OBVIOUS FACT THAT OBAMA GOT WHERE HE IS BY MANIPULATING, LYING, AND RACE BAITING.

So what do the schoolyard bullies do? They name call and insult. But like all bullies, they direct their worst attacks on those with innate characteristics. Just as schoolyard bullies love picking on the little guys with glasses, or the kid with the funny teeth or who’s overweight, these election bullies have gone after women. The fact that they are women is seen as a weakness to exploit.

What is most galling is that the so-called liberals, the ones smoking the Hopium, feel justified in doing it.

Driving a wedge between women of diverse political positions, races, and religions has a long and shameful history. This wedge disappears in the shared female experiences of child birth and nurturing, caring for the sick and aging, rape and domestic abuse, and attending the dying and mourning the dead.

Historically, women and children have been collateral damage during wars. The image above “Widows and Ophans” is by the German Expressionist, Kathe Kollwitz (1867-1945). Kollwitz’s son died in WWI and her grandson in WWII. Her painting below, “The Survivors” was used in a 1922 conference at The Hague.

Women have suffered far too much and for too long while putting the needs of men first. Although male supremacy was the prevailing narrative of this campaign, many women and men are horrified that so-called progressives would subject women — specifically Senator Hillary Clinton and Governor Sarah Palin — to such vile and violent language. Bitch is the “N” word, but the so-called progressives may have awoken a sleeping giant, namely 52% of population. And she’s pissed.

Other excellent No Quarter posts on the sexism in the 2008 campaign:

Palin In The Aftermath by Texas Hill Country

“He had me until he picked the dummy” by NewHampster

Knock It Off Already by Rabble Rouser Reverend Amy

The image above was posted on Post Secret on November 8, 2008. I have no doubt that the dominate narrative of this campaign — the forceful suppression of women — is responsible for the author’s “secret.” In the Obama-realm, feminism isn’t just bad, it’ll ruin your life. One only need to look to Hillary and Sarah Palin as examples.

Dr. Violet Socks writes:

A few days ago I was asking you all to think about why there is still so much deeply-felt resistance to women’s equality. This is the lesson of radical feminism: that the gender revolution requires just that — a revolution.

Why does there need to be a revolution for equality? Because this year misogyny was used a political tool. As many of us witnessed, this election was so poisoned with hate speech against women that it’s not an exaggeration to say that the FBI would have been investigating the perpetrators if it had been against any other oppressed group.

Let’s be clear: Hillary Clinton was the choice of most Democrats this year. The Democratic establishment, consisting of Donna Brazile, Howard Dean, Ted Kennedy, John Kerry, and many others, worked furiously to keep Hillary Clinton from receiving the Democratic nomination. Their left-wing allies and the media worked to sabotage her campaign at every turn.

It’s not entirely clear why there was such intense animous towards Hillary by such a large and diverse group. We do know, however, that the most vile tactics were used to suppress Hillary’s campaign; caucus fraud, race-baiting, and outright misogyny comes to mind. As examples, the Obama campaign initiated a not-so-secret whisper campaign that President Clinton was a racist when Clinton called Obama’s Iraq War position a “fairy tale,” Hillary was accused of waiting for the unthinkable to happen to Obama when she mentioned the length of the 1968 campaign and Bobby Kennedy and, from January on, there was a constant drumbeat that she must leave the race.

Running below the murky currents of this campaign, however, was a sexism so deep and so pervasive that it can be said that sexism defined this campaign. Indeed, I believe the subtext and central narrative of Obama’s campaign was sexism. Because two women were the biggest political threat to his campaign, Obama needed to unleash sexism.

Dr. Socks continues:

Narratives: think about narratives. Anthropologists of gender, like Peggy Reeves Sandy, talk about “scripts”: the stories that a society tells itself to explain the world. How men are. How women are. How they should be.

The Obama campaign, with the help of the media and “progressives” blogs, pushed a narrative against Hillary and later Sarah Palin, that invalidated them as public servants because on their gender. Misogyny, wrapped in the protective shell of race-baiting, was the central narrative of the Obama campaign.

I subscribe to the bumper sticker view that “feminism is the radical notion that women are people.” My wife and I are expecting a girl in January. I want this girl to live the full and free life our son enjoys, without gender being an obstacle in her path. I don’t want my daughter to be called a “bitch,” or for someone to wear a t-shirt calling her a “cunt.” Put in those terms, the Obama movement unleashed something very ugly into the culture. The Obama campaign, in its subterranean narrative, encouraged the hatred of women. It is little wonder then that the author of the Post Secret card blames feminism for her unhappiness; she’s witnessed that women who expect equal treatment will be beat down.

South African singer Miriam Makeba died last night collapsing after performing in Naples. Widely known as “Mama Africa,” she had been a prominent exiled opponent of apartheid since the South African authorities revoked her passport in 1960 and refused to allow her to return after she traveled abroad. She was prevented from attending her mother’s funeral after touring in the United States and would not return to South Africa for over thirty years.

I have had the pleasure of hearing her live on more than one occasion and I mourn her passing.

Her obituary in the New York Times.

From my blog, By The Fault.

Join Dr. Lynette Long for her weekly call-in show, SINS OF OMISSION, where she unapologetically discusses sexism in our society. Dr. Long will use your examples to highlight both Sins of Commission (blatant sexist attacks) and Sins of Omission (the under-representation of women). In her direct no-holds-barred style, Dr. Long will offer listeners strategies to combat sexism in their lives and will solicit the help of the listening audience to eradicate sexism in our society. Get ready to roll up your sleeves and do some heavy lifting — something has got to give.

by Lynette Long

The current cabinet of the United States is attended by the President, fifteen Cabinet Members, and six cabinet level administrative offices that includes the Vice-President and the White House Chief of Staff for a total of 22 members. 

The Bush Cabinet has four women: Condoleezza Rice as Secretary of State, Elaine Chao as Secretary of Labor, Mary Peters as Secretary of Transportation, and Margaret Spellings as Secretary of Education. 

In addition Susan Schwab has Cabinet level rank as United States Trade Secretary.   

Out of the 22 people that attend cabinet meetings, The President, the Vice-President, the Cabinet, and the Cabinet level administrative offices, five are currently women, which is 23%. 

Will President-Elect Obama appoint more women to his cabinet than President Bush?   I am starting a cabinet watch. 

Help me.  I would like to see 50% of the female cabinet women.  I am starting a cabinet watch.  As the cabinet members become appointed I will color the titles blue or pink. 

Please lobby the Obama campaign for more women in the cabinet.  Call his office at 202-224-2854. Thanks. 

·         The President

·         Secretary of State

·         Secretary of the Treasury

·         Secretary of Defense

·         Attorney General

·         Secretary of the Interior

·         Secretary of Agriculture

·         Secretary of Commerce

·         Secretary of Labor

·         Secretary of Health and Human Services

·         Secretary of Housing and Urban Development

·         Secretary of Transportation

·         Secretary of Energy

·         Secretary of Education

·         Secretary of Veterans Affairs

·         Secretary of Homeland Security

Cabinet-level administration offices ·         Vice President of the United States
·         White House Chief of Staff
·        Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency
·         Director of the Office of Management and Budget
·         Director of the National Drug Control Policy
·         United States Trade Representative	·	·

]]> http://www.noquarterusa.net/blog/2008/11/09/parity-in-the-cabinet/feed/ http://www.noquarterusa.net/blog/2008/11/08/nqr-announcement-women-push-for-increased-representation-in-turkey/ http://www.noquarterusa.net/blog/2008/11/08/nqr-announcement-women-push-for-increased-representation-in-turkey/#comments Sun, 09 Nov 2008 00:55:20 +0000 Dr. Lynette Long http://www.noquarterusa.net/blog/2008/11/08/nqr-announcement-women-push-for-increased-representation-in-turkey/ Ed. Note: We are so very, very, very proud to announce that, starting this Monday night at 9:00 p.m. ET, Dr. Lynette Long will be hosting a weekly radio show that takes callers — like you! Dr. Long chose the name, Sins of Omission, and wrote this description of her plans for this NoQuarter Radio show that, as with all of our other radio shows, you can listen to at any time, starting right after the show is over at 10:00 p.m. ET:

Join Dr. Lynette Long for her weekly call-in show, SINS OF OMISSION, where she unapologetically discusses sexism in our society. Dr. Long will use your examples to highlight both Sins of Commission (blatant sexist attacks) and Sins of Omission (the under-representation of women). In her direct no-holds-barred style, Dr. Long will offer listeners strategies to combat sexism in their lives and will solicit the help of the listening audience to eradicate sexism in our society. Get ready to role up your sleeves and do some heavy lifting — something has got to give.

PARITY IN TURKEY

"Engin says the days of women having only five percent of the seats in parliament have to end.

"Once we are going to have more and more women in parliament, I believe the rights of the women have to be much more discussed in the parliament," siad Engin.

Kader, a non-partisan group, wants to put more women in parliament. Nuket Sirman is one of the founders of Kader. She says the members of the organization came up with what they think is a winning slogan to promote their cause.

"We took out mustaches and stuck them on our faces, and the slogan was, is a mustache necessary, in other words do you have to be a man to go into parliament," said Sirman.

Kader took the idea a step further. The group persuaded many of Turkey’s most powerful women, including pop stars and business leaders, to don mustaches, to highlight the male domination of parliament. The media ran with the story. Soon Turks were seeing famous women wearing mustaches on television and in newspapers and magazines. Sirman says the publicity campaign has struck a chord."

They succeeded!!

http://www.esiweb.org/index.php?lang=en&id=245

"With the elections on 22 July in Turkey, the percentage of women in parliament sprung from 4.2 % to 9.1%, from 24 women to 50. Of these 30 are from AKP, 10 from CHP, 2 from MHP and 8 are independents supported by the (pro-Kurdish) Democratic Turkey Party.

Two of these women are now deputy parliamentary speakers: Istanbul Deputy Meral Akşener (MHP) and İzmir deputy Güldal Mumcu (CHP). The only other time a woman served as deputy parliamentary speaker was 38 years ago. Being deputy parliamentary speaker involves chairing the sessions of the General Assembly that the speaker does not attend (and the speaker usually only attends the historically significant sessions) and serving as Acting President of the Republic when both the President of the Republic and the Speaker of Parliament are abroad.

Important new groups like The New Agenda have raised significant concerns about the Obama administration potentially selecting economist Larry Summers, the former president of Harvard as Secretary of Treasury. Summers resigned from Harvard in the wake of a controversy in which he suggested that women received promotion at a lesser rate in the sciences because they were less qualified. Lynette Long has started a cabinet watch to encourage Obama to appoint women to 50 percent of the positions.

Wouldn’t that be a great thing and real change?

All of this is good and necessary work. I am grateful that others are doing it because I am just not there yet. I will get there again I am sure but I am not there now.

After months of working to promote Hillary Clinton and fair and open elections, after months of examining the issues and making a conscientious and principled decision to move over to McCain, after months of traveling the country, I am not there yet.

I am exhausted and it is an exhaustion that goes far beyond the physical. It is an exhaustion that permeates my emotional and psychic core. For me, as well as many others, it is tied to the death of a dream.

The dream that we would have a woman president in my life time.

The dream that Hillary Clinton might break from the party, demand justice and a free election and that she would be heard.

The dream that women would act in their best interests.

The dream that men would support women.

The dream that people become journalists because of an aptitude and desire for investigative reporting and passionate commitment to truth.

The dream that the American people would not be seduced by mass media.

The dream that deep friendships would endure over differences of opinion.

The dream that a concern with sexism would share equal space with a concern with racism.

The dream that people would keep their word and that patriotism and honor would prevail.

The dream that if we just worked hard enough, even if we were outspent seven to one and out staffed by far more than that, we would win because we were right.

My dreams have been shattered.

Perhaps they were naïve. But they were real to me and shared by many, many others. Hopefully, some of those dreams can come true in the future. As we can see, there are people and groups who are already working to realize them and they welcome others to join them in these significant efforts.

But I am not there yet. Because with the loss of my dreams, of our dreams, is a kind of death.

And when death comes, one must mourn.

In the Jewish tradition, when there has been a death of the family, one sits Shiva for seven days. The mirrors are draped in black to avoid consideration of appearances and business is suspended. Neighbors, friends and family stop by with trays of food and to talk about the departed loved one because there is no more important business than acknowledging the death of that person, and what was lost as well as what remains.

And so it is with us. Maybe we won’t drill, baby, drill. But we can cry, baby, cry and acknowledge the gut wrenching pain of what it means to have our dreams shattered. And especially how it feels to not be able to openly, joyfully celebrate this breakthrough historic presidency as well as the much anticipated end of the Bush administration because it was not come by honestly.

Ironically, the same technology that helped drive the election for Obama has also been our friend throughout this election season as we write and become allies through our exchanges with people we may never have met.

I encourage people to reach out, to talk and share their feelings in whatever ways they can. Across the blogs and airwaves. On the phone and in person. I encourage them to not skip past this crucial stage of grieving for the loss of our dreams.

For many of us, it is only through going to the rock bottom of our pain that we can make space to empty out and thus, reenergize for our shared battles to come.

Cry, baby, cry.

I remember a time when, if a woman was brutally raped, the cops would ask her,

“What were you wearing?”.

Those were the days, not so long past, when it was the woman’s fault if her husband kicked the crap out of her. She asked for it. It was also her fault if she got raped because she asked for it.

I thought we had improved since then. But we haven’t. Well, actually we had made progress, but there is a certain man who is now the elected President of the United States, who set back gender relations by a minimum of 50 years. But nobody is blaming him. It can’t possibly be his fault as a maliciously gleeful Enabler. Why blame him when there is a woman or two around to blame? And why not? When men aren’t busy blaming us women, we are busy blaming each other.

This morning I tuned into FOX. It was the first time I had bothered with a news channel since the election. FOX was my only choice, as MSNBC and CNN are forever dead to me. There, I watched the classy Lady Lynn Forester De Rothschild sitting there on a panel designed to discuss What’s Wrong With Sarah.

Yes, “regressive progressive” boys, I know that Lady R is married to a rich man, so that cancels her out in some of your little minds.

The fact that Lady De Rothschild was a successful businesswoman and a millionaire in her own right before she married isn’t really relevant is it? I recall my immigrant grandmother, who had no education to speak of all, telling me that it’s not wise to hang around with a guy who has less than you do.

So Lady R was smart enough to marry somebody who wasn’t going to suck down her assets. Too bad some other women I have known in my life didn’t take that same advice. Sorry Lynn’s good sense disappoints you, regressives fellas.

So there I was, watching Lady R sitting on an “esteemed” FOX panel discussing Sarah Palin and how we can pin John McCain’s loss on her. So, who was on this “panel” with her?: None other than the morally bankrupt Jerry I love prostitutes so that makes me a real politician, but I got caught so now I encourage white trash to throw pies at each other in order to earn a living Springer.

But they weren’t alone. Nope. Nick DePaolo was there offering his ‘wisdom’ as well. Being Italian, I recognize a dago greaseball when I see one. This is why I was not surprised when ole Nick said in his best hairy macho, “Some female in the campaign had a problem with her” to describe why she is enduring smears at the moment.

I thought, Wow! Double-Dipping Woman-Blaming, Nick! Brilliant! You’re experienced at this! Your mother enabled you well! It’s a woman’s fault but we’ve got the wrong woman in our sights! It’s not Sarah at all! It’s some other woman who had a problem with Sarah who started all these rumors!

Yeah, that’s it, It’s a woman’s fault that it’s a woman’s fault. Nicky! Paisano! You didn’t let me down!

I’m not sure, but I think I saw Lady R nearly roll her eyes at that point. But, being a disciplined, well-educated person with a solid three-digit IQ unmatched by the two goons next to her, she was very gracious to these two knuckle dragging beasts she was forced to talk to. I really admired her at that moment. Here she was on a panel with two accurate remnant-samplings of Pithecanthropus Erectus and she didn’t haul off and tell them both just how stupid and useless they both really are. I suspect that Lady R understands the concept that you can’t make a silk purse out of a sow’s ear.

So just to recap. John McCain’s loss was Sarah’s problem. This is an important point to make because, behind the scenes, there are several cowardly unnamed members of McCain’s staff who are trying to save their own incompetent asses in hopes that somebody will hire them again to work on another horribly run campaign.

Flailing, because they all look like idiots for managing a campaign that was suitable for a council candidate in a town of 10,000, they needed someone to blame. Fortunately for them, there was a woman there, else whatEVER would they have done?

So, because several seriously inept and embarrassing staffers in the McCain campaign are wondering whether they will ever work again, it worked for them to just say “It’s Sarah’s fault that we are stupid, inept and really should be working here instead of ever being allowed to run another high-powered campaign”.

And the main stream Unmedia was more than willing to jump on that wagon. After all, they were experienced at trashing a woman, having gotten plenty of practice on Hillary. ironically just as it was a few decades ago when women got raped, they even had the audacity to use “What were you wearing?” on Sarah.

And by the way, exactly where is John McCain during this current Sarah Palin trash session?

::::Crickets::::

Ok, so now we have it analyzed. In true, “Blame the victim not the perpetrator” fashion, we can only conclude that it’s all Sarah’s fault that we are about to install America’s first Marxist-Leninist President.

But wait! No!!!!!

It’s not Sarah’s fault at all!

It’s Hillary’s fault!

As I cruised the former We Love Hillary blogs and websites yesterday, I found myself reading all about how all of this is Hillary’s fault. There, in front of my eyes, respected people, people I truly admire, were blaming Hillary. Hillary didn’t push back. Hillary didn’t abandon the Party, Hillary didn’t expose Barack Obama, Hillary stumped for the candidate. Hillary sent us a message to go back to our abuser. Hillary put up with the sexism. Hillary didn’t spend every dime she had for principle! Hillary didn’t run as an Independent!

Let me ask you something, folks: Can you name me ONE President of the United States who won a race as an Independent? Go ahead, take your time. I’ll wait…..

The fact is, folks, Hillary did EVERYTHING she could, and YES she was a victim of an Enabler, and there wasn’t a single thing she could do about it without winding up NOWHERE! Anybody who imagines it would have been different is a fool and has certainly never run for office at any level.

But apparently, Hillary didn’t get skewered enough for The Cause, so now we all need to join in.

I mean, she wasn’t the victim or anything right!? The hypocritical biggoted DNC shouldn’t bear the brunt of our resentment, right? Barack Obama and his vibrating cell phone shouldn’t bear the brunt of our resentment, right? CNN and MSNBC shouldn’t bear the brunt of our resentment, right?. That would be far too difficult. Let’s make it easy on ourselves and blame her! And let’s get other women to join in! That always works well!

What was she wearing?

.

So Ok, I’ll play along: It’s Hillary’s fault!

But wait! No!!!!

It’s not just Sarah’s fault or Hillary’s fault, it’s the fault of all women !!!!

Yeah that’s it! Why stop with just two of you when we can blame all of you?

Below is a comment I received right here from a guy on this blog::

I am a long-time lurker here, and a first-time poster. My depression over BO’s victory is compounded by the apparent lack of impact from the millions of Clinton supporters who could have/should have been the difference in this election. What happened?

Here is my answer.

We women are pretty much accustomed to being blamed for every goddamned thing that you guys feel like laying on us, but this time I gotta push back.You need to ask the same question of those whiney far right republicans who sulked because some Far right whackjob wasn’t nominated instead of a centrist. I’ll bet more PUMAs voted for McCain than far right, social conservatives. Boy I guess they showed everybody huh?

You need to ask the same question of the evangelicals who, by last count, gave thirty percent of their votes to a communist who belongs to a religion tied to marxism and the middle east. And then ask them what size burka they would like because they are all fools.

You need to ask the same question of Catholics who went for Barack Obama on one issue only: Abortion.

We PUMAs aren’t going to take your own party’s rap. Sorry but no cigar.

This commenter didn’t even realize what he was trying to do. He was blaming The Women en masse for McCain’s horrendous campaign and loss, not because the commenter is malicious, but because he is programmed. So don’t hold it against him. He is programmed and we women helped to program him.

In addition, we women help enable this kind of thought process daily–by trashing each other. In a “man’s world” this is the oldest trick in the world–and probably the single most powerful device known to Man to ensure that women help them to keep other women down. It works well in Corporate America and it works well in politics. I’m here to tell you, I am NOT playing along. And if you, my sisters, had any brains, you wouldn’t play along either. We need to stop allowing other women who are victimized to be blamed by the perpetrators.

Back when Feminism actually meant something other than Roe v. Wade, back when feminists weren’t politically correct and would never have tolerated the abuses of women around the world, knowing that as we speak, a woman is being set aflame in the middle east for “shaming” the family after being raped, back when feminists actually DID circle each others’ wagons, I listened to a speaker whose name I no longer remember. But I remember her message well, if only in paraphrase:

Humans are the only species that has the female actually give birth to her own oppressors. Then the female teaches them the art of oppression.

I admittedly felt the need to join in with the “blame Hillary” movement at one point. It was the quote above that reminded me that this is wrong on so many levels.

I hope I have given at least one of my sisters food for thought today. Lady R clearly understands that when a woman enables her oppressors by joining in on the man’s game of trashing another woman, all women lose. And when one woman loses, the game continues– and one day you will be the victim of the very same game (if you haven’t already!).

We need to stop being so hard on each other, sisters! Lady R understands this!

Did Sarah say some dumb things? Yup. But let me ask you: HOW STUPID WAS JOE BIDEN during this campaign? Do we hear ONE thing about this moron who is a heartbeat away from the Presidency? Of course not! Do you know why? Because men circle each other’s wagons, ladies. And that’s our problem. We haven’t learned to do the same for our sisters. And as long as we continue being used by the Oldest Trick Known, we will always be the victims who are blamed by the perpetrators. It is the single biggest reason why we women, who comprise MORE THAN HALF of the electorate, are sitting in mud at this very moment.

Did Hillary fight like we have never seen another woman fight before? You bet she did! Then why have we forgotten this? What do we remember? We remember that she gave up. Well damn her for giving up in the face of an ENTIRE media assault, an Enabling Lying, Cheating Sexist Pig opponent she couldn’t vet without being called a racist, and an ENTIRE political party working against her! Shame on her for giving up, when she could have instead had the pleasure of losing her job, her life, her career, and the ability to do anything good for humanity in the future.

Oh I just know you would have done it differently, right? Right? Me too! Right!

In closing, I would like to ask all of my sisters out there one question: Do you think these women succeeded by joining in with men and bashing each other in public?

Just as the first Bush won the election with the racism of the Willie Horton ad, Obama’s presidency has been purchased at the expense of women. The elder Bush’s craven victory allowed Bill Clinton to enter the scene with momentum. The flagrant use of sexism and misogyny in Obama’s campaign has marred his victory and you can be certain that there will be consequences.

Dr. Socks asks of women: “Is there any other oppressed group of people on earth who are expected to excuse any and all injuries to themselves as long as someone else benefits?”

The answer, of course, is no. Obama received the benefit of doubt no woman would receive.

Obama enters the national stage as a product without experience and without policy proposals. Can the image live up to the hype? Will the media and Obama’s supporters’ frenzied misogyny be employed as part of the permanent campaign of governing? Did my boss subtly acknowledge the expense of Obama’s victory? As George Herbert Bush “bought” his victory by exploiting Willie Horton, Barack Obama bought his victory with sexism and misogyny.

Heidi Li Feldman asks President-elect Obama:

Having won the Presidency, will you, Senator Obama, prove that you are going to join us in the greatest civil rights battle of our time, the fight for full political and economic recognition of women both in the U.S. and abroad?

It remains to be seen if the country will acknowledge and recoil from the sexism of this election. It’s possible, but unlike racism, I think we’ve seen that sexism and the hatred of women continues to be a strategy, even among those who profess to “progressivism.” We can only hope that there will be a rising tide of dissension against the use of sexism.

It remains to be seen if Obama will reject sexism, a prejudice which was corollary to his victory. The first step is for Obama to acknowledge that he benefitted from it.