SEXISM ON TV / BACHMANN

SEXISM ON TV. My gratitude to one of my favorite blogs, The Angry Black Woman, for providing the link to a video originally posted by the Women's Media Center. Please take the time to watch -- for those of us who have been members of the second wave of feminism (from the 1960s onward), it comes as no surprise that truly ugly sexism is alive and well. What is disconcerting is that the video shows anchors and commentors from every major news network making derogatory, inflammatory, and demeaning remarks aimed at women in general, and women public figures in particular. It is truly sad to see women as well as men joining in the feeding frenzy, or politely trying to laugh it off. When are we ever going to grow up?

BACHMANN. All of which should not be confused with what follows -- my criticism of a particular politician running for president who happens to be a woman. I fault her not based on gender stereotypes, but rather on her demonstrated ignorance of the issues of the day, and of our own history. Through sheer persistent stupidity, Michele Bachmann (see image below) has proved to be an embarassment to serious women and men alike, seeking political office. During an interview with George Stephanopoulos, Bachman was given every opportunity to clarify her wildly inaccurate statements about slavery and the founding fathers, but merely stonewalled and tried to distract the audience with flowery, irrelevant platitudes in response (a typical Tea Party tactic). Here is a partial list of Bachmann remarks which seem to indicate that she is trying to out-idiot Republican luminaries like Dan Quayle, George W. Bush, or Sarah Palin.

Adding insult to injury (or perhaps adding hypocrisy to vapidity), Bachmann was caught with her and her husband's hands in the Federal till -- it seems that these paragons of cutting entitlement programs like Medicare, and retaining tax benefits for the wealthy, have themselves received unreported payments from Medicare for treatments ordered by her husband's mental health clinic. Emphasis on "unreported". What are they trying to hide?

Further muddying the waters, the clinic in question is self-described as providing "quality Christian counseling in a sensitive, loving environment." Um, whatever happened to the separation of church and state? This is not, unfortunately, unique to the Bachmanns. I contend that all Federal subsidies and tax breaks to religious institutions or operations of any denomination or faith, should cease. The resulting income from the Catholic church alone would greatly improve the Federal deficit. It is a matter of principle, one of those ethical guidelines handed down by .... you guessed it, the nation's founders. If you require documentation, you need look no further than the First Amendment to the Constitution of the United States.