Sarah Palin is right. Letterman, ‘man up’ and apologize properly.

Sarah Palin has every right to demand an apology from David Letterman.

His joke was crude and offensive and his apology or lack thereof was insufficient.

I just finished watching Ed Schultz and Danny Deutsch on MSNBC imply that Sarah Palin must be a bad mother because her teenage daughter got pregnant out of wedlock! 

They also implied that Palin is a hypocrite because she’s using or has used her kids to get a political advantage and that she’s irresponsible for ‘parading’ her daughter around in the media and that she should expect attacks like the one Letterman dished out.

WHAT THE HELL!!

Are they serious?

It almost sounded like they were blaming Sarah Palin for Letterman’s tasteless joke!

Now I’m no fan of the Republican party or  Sarah Palin (she has potential but she needs brush up on some critical areas)  but I do know right from wrong and this isn’t a liberal v conservative issue it’s a simple right vs wrong.

Sarah Palin is not the first and she certainly wouldn’t be thelast politician to use their family for political advantage. All politicians have at some point in their political career used their relatives to appear more appealing to women, to men, more normal and ‘just like us’.

What do you think all those photo ops with Obama and his wife, Obama his wife and the kids, Obama, his wife, the kids and the dog are all about?

Hello??

Sarah Palin is not a horrible mother for ’using’ her family to get votes. She’s not a horrible mother for not knowing that her teenage daughter was sexually active either. Sarah Palin is not in the wrong here, at least, not this time. David Letterman is and anyone who suggests that his joke was acceptable because she brought her family into the political limelight is missing the point.

Just call it what it is. An offensive joke about a 14 year old girl who happens to be the daughter of a politician. If the joke was about any other 14yr old girl would we be laughing? No. So why should we laugh if it’s about Sarah Palin’s daughter? We shouldn’t and it’s unacceptable regardless of who the target was.

Unfortunately this type of offensive language and negative media coverage directed towards female politicians  and their families prevent many women from seeking political office (it’s not going to stop me..you betcha..lol) and as a female politician your skin might be as tough as an elephant’s but your family members may not and ultimately many women choose to do what’s in the best interest of their families.

It’s a pity we’re still forced to make that choice family or career because many in the media aren’t big enough to leave our families out of it.

Is Rihanna going to let Chris Brown off the hook?

So Rihanna doesn’t know if she wants to pursue charges against Chris Brown for beating her up and is suffering from depression and conflicting emotions after watching the implosion of his career over the last few days.

Hopefully her wavering demonstrates, for the world to see, how tough it is for a woman in domestic abuse situations. And that we really view those women who do testify against those that have battered them as brave and heroic. Because in most cases they aren’t doing it for themselves  they’re doing it for their families, their sons and daughters. 

I hope the world sees what strength and will it takes for a partner to pursue charges against a ‘loved one’ even if that loved one has physically hurt or brutally assaulted (emotonally, physically and sexually) them for years.

Because if Rihanna a single women with almost everything in the world who has access to all of life’s greatest pleasures and luxuries is having her doubts imagine how difficult it is for women who with less- a lot less to pursue charges or obtain an order of protection?  The Rihanna case also shows why the US’s conviction rates for domestic violence is only 37%!! 

And according to some Caribbean scholars if her battering had happened in the Caribbean (Rihanna is Barbadian) her domestic violence case, if brought to the police would probably, simply disappear!

I don’t know if many consider Rihanna a role model or more importantly if she considers herself to be one but I do hope that if she chooses NOT TO  pursue charges against him other women DO NOT follow her example. 

She may be able to overlook his shortcomings but I doubt the general public will be as forgiving.

Rihanna may have been beaten up before…

According to the Daily News Rihanna may have been abused by Chris Brown in the past.

If this report is indeed true it’s not surprising what it does show and I hope the message comes across loud and clear that women of every social background and every class and even those women who appear to have it all can be victims of domestic abuse.

And the majority of the women who stay in abusive relationships believe and cling to the hope that the relationship will get better but the sad fact is in most cases it never does it almost always gets worse.

But what I find really repulsive is the fact that some are suggesting that Rihanna is to be blamed for this attack. Some have even suggested her candor and nationality (she’s Barbadian)  are to blamed, because you know those West Indian women don’t know when to STFU..that suggestion is appalling!!

But not unexpected. I’ll say it again if you feel really really strongly about all that you’re reading and hearing about this case and the issue of domestic abuse in general don’t sit on your bum get involved, find a domestic abuse prevention organization in your community and volunteer your time now!

Michelle Obama running for office on her own?

After watching her for two years and now watching her embark on her listening tours of the national agencies as first lady I’m wondering does Michelle Obama have her own political aspirations?

She may have disliked politics before but national politics can be a powerful afrodisiac.

Couldn’t you just see her as Senator of Illinois or even President of the United States?  remember that glass ceiling now has 18 million cracks in it and who knows by the time Michelle Obama runs it could be shattered completely.

I’m just saying….

Did you know there’s an Islamic fashion festival?

I found this out in one of my Google adventures. Google adventure-my term for a pointless or random web search that can you lead you anywhere.

Anyway, this four day Islamic Fashion Festival was held in Kuala Lumpur last year. From November 24th-27th 44 designers showcased their designs for muslim women.

I didn’t have a clue that such an event existed. The clothes..umm..er..let’s just say they aren’t my style  but what I found really interesting were the models and the blogs about Islamic fashion.

The runway models were all different heights, sizes and ages. Now, I don’t think we would ever see such variety on a western runway but if you think about it the idea of having women of all diferent sizes modeling clothes is well kinda liberating.

 

Rocking Rachel Maddow..

 

I had never heard of Rachel Maddow until a few months ago but from all that I’ve seen and heard Rachel Maddow rocks..

For all of you who watch MSNBC you know her she’s a regular MSNBC analyst but before that sweet guest spot she had been hosting and continues to host a regular show on Air America Radio.

Anyway, I know I’m kinda biased in my support of her but even if you don’t agree with her opinions you’ve got to give her her props, she’s smart, funny, opinionated and she can hold her own against the conservative and Republican big boys i.e Pat Buchanan and Joe Scarborough.

Now who wouldn’t love a woman like that?