Wednesday, April 25, 2007

AAUW Strikes Again

There was a Reuters story in my local newspaper recently entitled “Pay Gap Between Sexes Proves Persistent”. It was amusing because it was researched by the AAUW, the American Association of University Women. What would you expect them to find? That women had made progress? No, and I seem to recall that the NAACP found that there are not enough Black men in baseball, too (since black Hispanic men were considered Hispanic and not black).

In my experience with several accomplished AAUW women, I have noted one important thing: they were highly political--Liberal Left Wingers, and their local AAUW chapter appeared to be a wing of the Liberal Democrat Party. Liberals love to find victims and they have attempted to portray women as victims in this story.

The implied political moral of this AAUW study is, “Under the present administration, women have suffered. Vote the straight Democrat ticket.” In other words, this carefully constructed study is a political statement.

Having spent a career in various industries including three years on General Electric’s corporate staff, I can say that many companies are dedicated to hiring and promoting women and to making very sure that women get paid just as much as men for the same or similar types of work. There are governmental penalties for doing otherwise, but there are benefits also. Women have proven to be valuable, committed, achieving employees.


There are other studies showing women have made great progress in the past thirty years. I would hope to see an article about one of these by Reuters, but I will not hold my breath.


Thursday, April 12, 2007

Sobering Wisdom about Don Imus

Every once in a while I learn something good about good people. While listening to a talk radio show yesterday, I heard a black woman talk to the host about the ugly thing Don Imus said about most likely fine, achieving young women Imus did not even know. It was demeaning both to the women and their race. Imus was no doubt quoting rappers he had heard many times, but there is no useful purpose in repeating such talk, no matter who says it.

The mother who called, said that Imus' remarks did not affect her one way or the other, except to show that Imus may be an idiot. In other words, Imus’ words reflected on him, not anyone else.

When asked how the woman’s daughter might feel, she said something the wisdom of which struck me like a hammer. She said, and I wrote it down, “Imus does not carry her joy in his mouth.” She said more in a few words than all the “tut-tutters” put together in the days following.

I am sorry that in 2007 people are still saying the things that Imus repeated. But I am glad that it brings out the innate wisdom of people and that they can share it with a large audience.

Don Imus can be fired, but he will only go to another network and re-establish himself. He is that popular. But maybe some people will wake up and decide that derogatory talk diminishes those who say it.

Friday, April 06, 2007

John Hunt Morgan and Two Mothers-in-Law

There is a reason for my absence from this blog. I have been finishing a book. It is about the clandestine affair of the escape of Confederate General John Hunt Morgan from a Yankee prison in 1863, among other things and is called General Morgan’s Legacy.

While I have been writing I have not been keeping up with the news. But when I came up to the surface of current events, I was amazed at the escapade of House Speaker Nancy Pelosi. Her trip to the Middle East seems fraught with concerns for the President and the State Department. And for the future.

Suppose in 2008 Mrs. Clinton wins the election and Mrs. Pelosi is still Speaker of the House. Mrs. Pelosi decides that Mrs. Clinton is not handling foreign affairs to her (Pelosi’s) satisfaction and Mrs. P. decides to talk directly with Middle Easterners about it. Would we soon find that there is room in Washington for only one mother-in-law? I suspect we would.

And there would be a great fall-out that would go far beyond any mere Conservative-Liberal disagreement so far.