Friday, June 29, 2007

THE STEALTH WAR AGAINST WOMEN - PART 1

GenderGappers 2007 – 027


This week cable and network news was immersed in a terrible tragedy – a woman and her soon to be born child went missing. Many people turned out to hunt for her in vain. She had been murdered and buried by her significant other – the father of her one born and one unborn children.

Most media reported the gruesome details ad nauseum. We heard only one commentator, Keith Olbermann, who actually took the trouble to research and tie in this murder with others where a woman and child in utero were killed by the father. Most reporters just kept the lid tightly on the burgeoning global war against women – continuing the stealth.

The recent Ohio murderer was not a criminal – he was a policeman, in a profession where violence is rampant. Law enforcement is a very similar occupation to the military in organization and male hierocracy.

In nearly every locality the rise of violence against women has occurred, been reported and dealt with by the authorities. The males committing the violence have various occupations, standards of living and cultures. The violence may be mental and physical cruelty, rape as well as physical restraints and murder.

What they all share is the certainty that society supports the premise that men are allowed to control women using whatever means they have to. Many times religious teachings that males are given this role by God form the basis for their actions.

So one might not be surprised to learn that rape and/or forced sexual contact is rampant in the military, from its schools to the battlefield and that the women they rape are their comrades in arms.

There is agreement that the greatest reason for this uncontrolled travesty is the indoctrination given recruits which can be summed up as obeying orders from superiors without question. Then the force of the pack chimes in with “keep your mouth shut or something worse will happen to you.”

If deemed necessary, a raped woman is told that if she complains it reflects on the U. S. military that she has sworn not to dishonor. Further coercion is waiting in the form of a dishonorable discharge for lying.

So the rapes continue in academies, in training and in battle. Stealthy as the torture at Abu Ghraib and Gitmo while our valiant media mavens track every burp, fart and breath of Paris Hilton.
- Military rape - The ugly secret in the American armed forces by Gregory Flannery
“Women in the U.S. armed services are increasingly at danger -- not from foreign terrorists, but from men in the U.S. armed services.
The deaths of four Army wives in six weeks this summer at Fort Bragg, N.C., allegedly at the hands of their soldier husbands, might be an aberration. But the number of rapes, sexual assaults and sexual harassment against women soldiers in the military has reached the level of an epidemic, according to Terri Spahr Nelson of Oxford, Ohio.” http://citybeat.com/2002-08-22/news2.shtml

– For Love of Country: Confronting Rape and Sexual Harassment in the U.S. Military by Terri Spahr Nelson.
"It is estimated that two-thirds of female service members experience unwanted, uninvited sexual behavior in the military" As in the society at large, Nelson finds social and institutional hurdles that prevent many cases of rape and sexual victimization from ever being reported. Many suffer in silent shame. But even worse, when women report attacks by fellow soldiers, the official response by military authorities is often less than supportive. When prosecution does result, almost all the accused perpetrators walk away free. A study by the Office of the Undersecretary of Defense measured conviction rates for rapes reported to military criminal investigation offices in 1994-96. "Another startling fact is that over 95 percent of the accused rapists in the Navy and Marines in 1992 were found not guilty of the alleged rapes and not convicted of the crimes," Nelson writes.
End of Part 1 – The Stealth War Against Women
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Friday, June 22, 2007

"WISDOM BORN OF PAIN"

GenderGappers 2007 – 026

“WISDOM BORN OF PAIN”

We continue to be disappointed in the offerings of Air America Radio – there are so few Liberal outlets that many of us depend on it, perhaps too much. Tune your radio dial to AM or FM and you’ll find plenty of Conservative Talk but now in many areas one can only get AAR by paying extra for XM or on line.

Since its inception, we have come to expect a certain quality of Liberal Talk on AAR and instead find someone like Lionel who if he doesn’t throw you off by his topics and self love, his whiney voice will surely cause you to wonder why you even listen to him. Thankfully there is still Laura Flanders, Thom Hartman and Rachel Maddow left of the formerly excellent team!

But our biggest disappointment is the way Randi Rhodes, who has risen to stardom with a large following, deprecates her own gender. Her talent is undeniable but over and over again she criticizes someone in the media for something and then does the same thing herself.

She claims she is not taking sides in the primary yet never wastes an opportunity to show that she is not only anti-female but decidedly anti-Clinton. Commenting on what most others have reported to be stellar debate performances by Senator Clinton, Randy agrees and apropos of nothing tells us what kind of undergarment Clinton wears.

She never hides her lust for Senator Obama and lately she has transferred some of it to Al Gore as she touts a Gore/Obama ticket which she salivates over and avows is “hot, hot, hot!”. And in the next breath she is castigating Chris Matthews for asking his panel if Fred Thompson is sexy enough to attract women.

Avidly against discrimination for race, sexual preference or religion, she none the less never notices the discrimination against women, even contributing to it herself. She is steeped and erudite in political history but has never lived or sensed women’s struggles for equality and seemingly has no idea how her comments reflect on other women.

In a recent Doonsbury cartoon a young girl asks her mother, “Were you ever a feminazi?” It eloquently points up the fact that the past and more recent women’s history demands further action from all of us. We must accept and support fully qualified women who dare to further expand the horizons of our daughters. No Liberal woman should be lending her widespread, vocal support to the vicious "anyone but Hillary" campaign.

We would never tell Randi who to vote for but she is a woman of considerable influence over a large audience and should not be hurting other women with her sexist agenda. We do ask that while she is chastising FOX for not being fair and balanced, she apply the same standards to herself. And, when she has a minute or two, to read some biogs of women whose sacrifice and bravery contributed to the position she now holds in broadcasting.

I Am Woman-Words and Music by Helen Reddy and Ray Burton

I am woman, hear me roarIn numbers too big to ignore
And I know too much to go back an' pretend'c
ause I've heard it all before
And I've been down there on the floor
No one's ever gonna keep me down again
CHORUS
Oh yes I am wiseBut it's wisdom born of pain
Yes, I've paid the price
But look how much I gained
If I have to, I can do anything
I am strong (strong)
I am invincible (invincible)
I am woman

You can bend but never break me'
cause it only serves to make me
More determined to achieve my final goal
And I come back even stronger
Not a novice any longer
'cause you've deepened the conviction in my soul
CHORUS
I am woman watch me grow
See me standing toe to toe
As I spread my lovin' arms across the land
But I'm still an embryo
With a long long way to go
Until I make my brother understand
Oh yes I am wiseBut it's wisdom born of pain
Yes, I've paid the priceBut look how much I gained
If I have to I can face anything
I am strong (strong)
I am invincible (invincible)
I am woman
Oh, I am womanI am invincibleI am strong
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Friday, June 15, 2007

SPITBALL COMEDY

GenderGappers 2007 – 025

SPITBALL COMEDY

A small miracle happened this week that should contain a lesson for any of us willing to learn from it. Fans of “Jericho” were reported to have “slammed CBS with protests over its cancellation” and won the battle. The network announced that Jericho would return next season.

In a letter to fans, CBS Entertainment President Nina Tassler wrote, “Wow! Over the past few weeks you have put forth an impressive and probably unprecedented display of passion in support of a prime time television series. You got our attention; your emails and collective voice have been heard.”

What if those of us who are continually discouraged by the so-called news/opinion programs slammed the networks in like manner? The excuse given by the network is always the same – you, the public, demand it.

Just for a start, why not demand that MSNBC label “Hard Ball” as a comedy show and Chris Matthews as the Joker? Also, it should be more aptly named “Spitball” according to those who have had the misfortune to sit across from legendary spitter Chris. Face masks and towels are de rigor.

Just last week the Joker devoted nearly his whole hour of the Spit parade to Paris Hilton on one day and to Ben Afflick on another day.

Of course Hilton has nothing whatever to do with politics but she does portray neurotic and female in an impressive package. It was obviously a subliminal play in Chris’s fervent campaign of programming the electorate to prevent a woman from becoming president.

Afflick was there raving about Barac Obama. Ben provided eye candy for susceptible women who need to have someone tell them who to vote for. Chris spent quite a bit of time credentialing Ben as an astute commentator of the political scene. Reasoning? He’s an actor; Reagan was an actor – don’t need a laugh track for that one.

Both days Hillary Clinton was bashed as usual. Chris as always took his cue from the Republican/Faux play book, insisting that she was polarizing, unpopular and would lose the election for the Democrats with his guests agreeing agreeably.

How funny that was. Remember how John Kerry was touted as the one candidate who could win, first by Faux News then parroted by the rest of the media sheep to Democrats?

The comedy continued on still another day as the finale of “The Sopranos” was dissected by Chris and his sycophants. Belly laughs all around.

Chris was nearly reduced to tears as he sobbed about how he loved the way “the wife” stood by Tony in spite of everything – family staying together was so important. How droll that he fails to recall how he castigated Hillary Clinton for doing the same thing only a few years ago.
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Friday, June 08, 2007

POWER UP!

GenderGappers 2007 – 024

POWER UP!

Have you ever wondered why things are not improving even though it seems everyone is aware that there are problems? Why does the killing in Iraq continue to continue? Why does the military allow their own soldiers to be repeatedly raped in their academies, on bases and in war zones?

Why are women’s and minorities’ hard won rights falling victim to a merciless Supreme Court? Is it OK with you that the Democrats in Congress are trashed by all the media - even Air America and other Liberal broadcasts? Certainly they should know better how the system works. Majorities do not mean mandates.

This terrible stuff has been going on for some time now seemingly without anyone caring very much. It appears that all our people want is free prescription drugs, free beer, 24/7 sports and many juicy scandals involving scantily draped women.

Don’t speak up, don’t agitate for a free media and above all, don’t think about it. Bush might let you get blown up by el Qaeda or send you for a tropical vacation in Gitmo instead of protecting you.

It is so true that there is much to fear and it is difficult to understand why our leaders allow the menace of the Bushies to continue unabated. It is difficult because the power to do anything does not come from the Congress or the Senate.

The power is us - we the people and we the people are mostly sitting on our asses, complaining bitterly about gas prices and worrying about who will win the latest fake star contest.

The thing is that the Rychus ones keep throwing it in our faces and we are so used to it that we think it’s OK and normal. We are brainwashed to blame everyone but ourselves.

That is somewhat understandable since our education system tends to turn out carbon copies and individual thought is frowned upon. Still we find it difficult to understand why more do not see the danger in the Republican debates.

10 white males who believe they deserve to be president by virtue of their color, religion and gender, openly appeal to the masses conditioned to what a president should look like.

Why do so many of us fail to see the huge sign floating above them reading: “THE WHITE, CHRISTIAN, MALE POWER STRUCTURE MUST BE PROTECTED from Obomanation, and from a white, spiritual, female who would change the whole fabric of this country.”
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Friday, June 01, 2007

AS THE TWIG IS BENT

GenderGappers 2007 - -23

AS THE TWIG IS BENT

TV movies around Memorial Day featured war. We watched “PT 109” again, a story of the bravery of a rich man’s son in the time of war. It was about his dedication to his men and his willingness to serve his country.

Contrast this with another rich man’s son who donned the accoutrements of battle dress and played with airplanes between bouts of self aggrandizement and physical gratification. He used his daddy’s influence to avoid being sent to any battle zone by joining the National Guard, where he distinguished himself by going AWOL, abusing drugs and alcohol.

What a difference between young Kennedy and Bush, but the seeds of their character as young men foretold what kind of a man and president each would become. This was also true also of a poor woman’s son whose hero was President Kennedy.

This young man devoted his life to learning. He wanted to make a difference in the world; bring people together and remove the causes of hatred and war.

He neither joined nor served in the military. He was a Rhodes Scholar with a penchant for understanding the world and was gifted with the silver tongue of an orator. At no time was the world so positively impressed with the United States than during his presidency.

He left office with a booming economy and a huge surplus in the treasury. He came very near to establishing peace between Israel and Palestine. He worked to keep and add to the benefits for the poor and disadvantaged; he strived to reduce and eliminate discrimination in race, gender and sexual orientation. He supported a woman’s right to choose.

He did all this while under attack by Republicans who harassed and impeded him, his administration and his family. The shear viciousness of their attack would have destroyed a lesser man, but Clinton not only withstood it, he proved them and their hatchet man, Ken Star, wrong.

The American people gave him high ratings even after he was impeached. After he finished his two terms in office, he traveled the world – all this time his great talents went mostly unused as Bush’s ego could not stand to put him in any position to help this country. What a tragic waste.

Hopefully this will be changed in the future when he can serve an administration dedicated to bringing America back into the world of responsibility and caring. Always, he has been an unofficial Ambassador-at-Large, now there is a good chance the title will become official.

As the twig is bent the tree inclines. - Virgil

'Tis education forms the common mind; just as the twig is bent the tree's inclined. Alexander Pope

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