1. New Gingrich has repeatedly referred to President Obama as “The Food Stamp” President while contrasting that with his own aims to become “The Paycheck” President. Ron Paul, in an attempt to beat unruly logic into submission, has tried to convince us that “entitlements” are not “rights.”  In an effort to dispute affirmative action and minority rights he equates such “entitlements” with the “entitlements” that big businesses get from big government, thus causing the word itself to lose any precision it might have had. This of course is in addition to his refusal to clearly address his connection to several blatantly racist comments on publications …Read more »

It’s holiday season.  Often, this time of year, people feel romantic. Consequently, engagements and gifts of jewelry abound. Having many people in my life become engaged and married of late, I’ve been thinking a lot about all the bling that goes along with these endeavors. Specifically, I’ve been thinking about diamonds. Why, you ask? Well, because as I see more and more friends and family become engaged I have been seeing more and more diamonds. To be clear, I have not become pre-occupied with the idea of engagements and rings, but with the desire for diamonds in particular. I’ve been …Read more »

Today is the day that the United Nations Population Fund estimates that the world’s population will reach 7 billion people. So, I’ve been thinking quite a bit about this particular moment in our history. As ever, it’s important to dig just a little below the surface to figure out what’s going on with the media’s coverage of this day. I’ve seen many slide shows in the past few months. I’ve seen many photos of crowded buses and streets in India and China. And photos of what look like very old people. All of these photos are, by turns, mesmerizing and …Read more »

Today is a nationally recognized holiday. It is Columbus Day. In a bizarre twist of potent irony I’m heading to a conference about preventing violence and then down to Occupy Wall Street. I’ll be spending this day steeped in thoughts about violence (systemic and intimate) and then in the act of (re)occupying occupied land.  There is something bitter and something sweet here. I am not taking the day off to honor a “conquistador.” I am taking the day to mark and recognize the legacy of violence that he fomented. America is not a land founded on freedom and exploration – …Read more »

Today is the 10th Anniversary of the September 11th attacks on the US. The media and the blogosphere are abuzz with news and specials, with memory and memorials. I was in college 10 years ago, planning a career in science. My whole life has changed since then. My entire politicization happened in the context of September 11th, and the ensuing wars. As a young South Asian woman, that context was intimately personal. My family, my friends, my politics, and even own skin were points of reckoning in this contextualization. I have so many charged emotions about this day, as a …Read more »

Last night, I watched the VMA’s. They were chock full of typical MTV silliness, Lady Gaga in drag, and shocking announcements via dance numbers. You know, the usual. Mostly, it became clear to me that I am no longer the target demographic for the show. (There were points where I looked at the screen and said, “I can’t read that font! How are we supposed to understand who to text our vote for if we can’t even read the FONT!” Boom. Age, betrayed.) And when Chris Brown came onto the stage to roaring applause and cheers from his peers, it …Read more »

Dominique Strauss-Kahn made some more headlines this week – and so did the woman who has accused him of rape. Much has been said about him and about her already. Reporters have noted his aspirations to become the socialist candidate for the French Presidency and others have reported on the character of the housekeeper at the Sofitel who has accused DSK of assaulting her, which has changed over the course of the investigation. Many have also cast aspersions on the legitimacy of the case against Dominique Strauss-Kahn (DSK). The majority of these aspersions are based on attacking the credibility of …Read more »

You know, this has been said time and time again. But a woman candidate is NOT the same as a feminist candidate. And I know that many of the CFC’s beloved readers are not suffering the delusion that Michelle Bachman and Sarah Palin are feminist advocates. So why am I up in a tizzy about this, today of all days, when there are many pressing matters at hand? Well, it’s because there are many pressing matters at hand. And I don’t want to watch the mainstream media and blogosphere continue to reckon with the feminist bonafides of these decidedly anti-women …Read more »