Articles To Tide You Over

"Palin opposes gun control, you know, because the government doesn't have the right to tell us what to do with our gun... but she supports the government's control over women's bodies. Because though we are smart and freethinking enough to shoot guns (and possibly do damage to other people's bodies), we certainly are not smart and freethinking enough to control our own bodies."

That's from FeministGal, and it in is an awesome article everyone should read.

As is Habladora's post about whether or not being a woman means one is pro-women, and highlights why Sarah Palin is not, in point of fact, pro-women and pro-women's rights.

Emily also highlights the issue of the cost of rape kits in Alaska, something I touched on a couple of days ago.

And Rebecca Traister has an incredible critique of the recent phenomenon of what she calls "zombie feminism":

"Hillary Clinton's 18 million cracks have weakened not only the White House's glass ceiling, but the wall protecting Roe v. Wade; the potential first female vice president in America's 200-year history describes her early career as "your average hockey mom" who "never really set out to be involved in public affairs"; and teen pregnancy is no longer an illustrative example for sex educators and contraception distributors but for those who seek to eliminate sex education and contraception.

In this strange new pro-woman tableau, feminism -- a word that is being used all over the country with regard to Palin's potential power -- means voting for someone who would limit reproductive control, access to healthcare and funding for places like Covenant House Alaska, an organization that helps unwed teen mothers. It means cheering someone who allowed women to be charged for their rape kits while she was mayor of Wasilla, who supports the teaching of creationism alongside evolution, who has inquired locally about the possibility of using her position to ban children's books from the public library, who does not support the teaching of sex education."

I'll be discussing that one later this weekend in a more in-depth fashion, but right now I have to drive an hour and a half to call people who yell at me all day. See you on the other side of Friday!

Oh, and here's a little Sarah Haskins for you: