Women's Equality

RantWoman is unsure why she is fixated on the idea that July 26 is the anniversary of the 1848 Seneca Falls declaration which at least according to its authors was one of the first documents demanding that women in the US be granted the right to vote. Wikipedia is unhelpful in clarifying though the entry about the Seneca_Falls_Convention clearly sets the occasion July 1848.

Google confirms RantWoman's alternate suspicion that the date of Women's Rights Day is actually AUGUST 26, 1920, the date the 19th amendment granting women the right to vote was ratified. In any case RantWoman wants to move on to incisive commentary rather than do more RESEARCH.

RantWoman notes the ironic juxtaposition of her urge to celebrate women's struggle for equality with now-former Alaska governor Sarah Palin's departure from office. Say whatever else you (and most assuredly RantWoman) will about Sarah Palin, RantWoman does not know of a single male politician in the history of elected officialdom to so altruistically offer to shield the taxpayers from the costs of all those pesky ethics investigations. Most male politicians would just tough it out and deny and deny and deny and continue dealing with problems during their work hours when they are getting paid to do the state's business and only leave office regretfully when the piles of manure outside their office doors reach at least chest level. Only the pure ethical light of the female gender sees some kind of problem with this. Either that or Mrs. Palin has ethics problems undreamed of by other politicians! Can anyone think of ethically-challenged male politicians you might wish would follow her example?

RantWoman is certain this is not the last we will be hearing of or from Sarah Palin. RantWoman hopes that Tina Fey will be ever at the ready in case the public needs more insight into Mrs. Palin's antics.

In the spirit of women's equality, RantWoman is going to digress about one incident much of the world probably hopes already to have forgotten, David Letterman's famous comments about a Palin daughter and a famous baseball player. RantWoman heard an NPR interview she cannot at the moment find by current Tonight Show host Conan O'Brien's sidekick Andy Richter about this very topic. Richter goes on about how Letterman's original crack about the baseball player having his way with a Palin daughter was a little over the top but, well, it was funny and all in good fun and no harm meant, this despite the fact that an awful lot of women of many political persuasions would just cringe about the comment.

RantWoman wonders whether Richter would just say to his own daughter "well, men are slime and it's funny when we admit it." On the other hand RantWoman knows quite a few representatives of her own gender who excel at psychodrama and weird dating decisions. RantWoman is going to tread gingerly here but she thinks the whole bit would actually have been funnier if Letterman had said something about Bristol shopping for a new boyfriend now that Levi dumped her or the younger daughter shopping for a boyfriend so she can keep up with her big sister. Okay, ouch, but at least there is female agency involved here.

Speaking of female agency, RantWoman's body is certainly back in WA but apparently her mind has not quite returned from MT or at least from enjoyment of a few signs she saw on the campus of the University of MT.

RantWoman first misread the sign for Rankin Hall as Franklin Hall. RantWoman figured this must be some railroad magnate or mining industry eminence. Upon rereading though RantWoman realized that the building was named after Jeannette Rankin, the first woman ever elected to the US House of Representatives--and this before women in every state had the right to vote--and the only member of Congress to vote against US entry into both World Wars. Rankin, by the way, was a Republican!

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jeannette_Rankin

http://womenshistory.about.com/od/congress/a/jeanette_rankin.htm

http://bioguide.congress.gov/scripts/biodisplay.pl?index=r000055

So take that every time Mrs. Palin chirps about wars!

RantWoman next noted the sign for the Mike and Maureen Mansfield library. Senator Mike Mansfield, D, MT had a long and distinguished career in the Senate. After leaving that office he was appointed US ambassador to Japan.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mike_Mansfield

http://bioguide.congress.gov/scripts/biodisplay.pl?index=M000113

http://www.arlingtoncemetery.net/mhmansfield.htm

RantWoman notes that not every building named after a politician also mentions his / her spouse!

Finally, given RantWoman's weekly check-ins about matters pandemic, The sign at the memorial stand of 36 ponderosa pines dedicated to men and woman lost during World War I and the flu pandemic of 1919. RantWoman has decided that being on vacation means further pandemic news will have to wait a week.