Best of the Web Today - February 25, 2005
By JAMES TARANTO
Ice Cream Social Justice
The Larry Summers kerfuffle is having some positive consequences, leading Harvard to take a close look at why women are not advancing in the sciences. "Members of the student group Women in Science at Harvard-Radcliffe (WISHR) held a session to brainstorm ways in which current University policies hinder female students from concentrating in the sciences," reports the Harvard Crimson. They offered ideas for improvement as well:
To help attract female concentrators, students suggested class activities such as an ice cream social for Chemistry 5 students.
Imagine all the trouble Summers would have avoided had he only had the wit to suggest inviting female would-be scientists to ice cream socials! But it's not too late for him to redeem himself by building on this suggestion. We came up with some good ideas, from which we invite Summers to borrow.
For starters, all that ice cream isn't good for a gal's figure, so why not open a Curves franchise on campus? The 8,000-location women-only gym chain is devoted to exploration of the physical sciences; its Web site features the slogan "At Curves, YOU can discover the power to amaze yourself."
How about Tupperware parties? Tupperware's Web site says the company has been "offering the tools of opportunity especially to women" for more than 40 years, so it seems well qualified to help here. Plus, those airtight containers have got to come in handy in the lab.
Summers would also profit from checking out iVillage: The Women's Network, which is chock full of pertinent information on women in math and science. A writer called "Cathryn Michon (Grrl Genius)" advises women to "Give Nerds a Chance":
I have advised my friend and fellow Grrl Genius club member Renata to do what I have done and find herself a "hot nerd." It is my honest feeling that men like my boyfriend William, who are former members of the high school audio-visual club and are obsessed with high technology, are the men who are the best hope for evolution. Plus they make great boyfriends. They are sweet, gentle and fabulous in bed, and they are eternally grateful to be with you--who doesn't want that? . . .
Renata is a successful college math professor who married and divorced a drug-addicted rock drummer and has subsequently moved on to dating alcoholic salsa dance instructors, and worse.
Renata came to me for help, and that is why on a gorgeous Saturday afternoon we are in an electronics store where there is a demonstration of virtual reality technology going on. . . .
"Look," I whisper to Renata, "the thing about nerds is, they can't really talk to you on their own, but if you can just get them talking about some gizmo, well, that primes the pump, so to speak."
You've got to figure the math and science departments of a prestigious school like Harvard are hotbeds of hot nerds, which means those ice cream socials will offer plenty of opportunities for women. Talk about majoring in chemistry!
Steamy Rice
In another chapter in the Annals of Advancement of Women, Washington Post fashion editor Robin Givhan writes admiringly of the outfit Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice wore in Germany Wednesday:
She was wearing a black skirt that hit just above the knee, and it was topped with a black coat that fell to mid-calf. . . .
Rice's coat and boots speak of sex and power--such a volatile combination, and one that in political circles rarely leads to anything but scandal. When looking at the image of Rice in Wiesbaden, the mind searches for ways to put it all into context. It turns to fiction, to caricature. To shadowy daydreams. Dominatrix! It is as though sex and power can only co-exist in a fantasy. When a woman combines them in the real world, stubborn stereotypes have her power devolving into a form that is purely sexual. . . .
Countless essays and books have been written about the erotic nature of high heels. There is no need to reiterate in detail the reasons why so many women swear by uncomfortable three-inch heels and why so many men are happy that they do. Heels change the way a woman walks, forcing her hips to sway. They alter her posture in myriad enticing ways, all of which are politically incorrect to discuss.
But the sexual frisson in Rice's look also comes from the tension of a woman dressed in vaguely masculine attire--that is, the long, military-inspired jacket.
Actually, the band Cake anticipated all this with the 2001 song "Short Skirt/Long Jacket":
I want a girl with a mind like a diamond
I want a girl who knows what's best
I want a girl with shoes that cut
And eyes that burn like cigarettes
I want a girl with the right allocation
Who's fast, and thorough, and sharp as a tack
She's playing with her jewelry, she's putting up her hair
She's touring the facility and picking up slack
I want a girl with a short skirt,
And a loooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooong jacket
Could there be romance in the air? And if so, how long before the secretary of state becomes Mrs. Rice Cake?
But What Did Robin Givhan Think of Them?
"Bush Prods Putin on Democracy b ut Praises Ties"--headline, Reuters, Feb. 24
Behind the 'X'
In yesterday's item on the AARP kerfuffle, we noted that we had been unable to find an explanation for the X'ed out picture of a soldier in USA Next's anti-AARP ad. Well, Maureen Dowd to the rescue (words we never thought we'd write). Dowd's column yesterday pointed to an interview USA Next's Charlie Jarvis gave CNN's Judy Woodruff on Wednesday. Here is Dowd:
The oleaginous Mr. Jarvis explained that the soldier was X-ed out on the ad because AARP does not "take a position on veterans and combat veterans' health and support an expansion of their assets. And we do." That is so lame. Just because AARP doesn't endorse a USA Next plan for veterans' health, that doesn't mean it hates American soldiers.
Dowd is right (more words we never thought we'd write). It's totally lame. Just like when left-wing bloggers say the White House supports USA Next's efforts because it doesn't condemn them.
Several readers wrote to dispute our characterization of the AARP as nonpartisan. To see why we're right, check out this 2003 post and this one, both from blogger Dan McLaughlin, about Democratic and liberal attacks on AARP for endorsing President Bush's prescription-drug boondoggle.
The Rove-Bonds Nexus
Gwen Knapp of the San Francisco Chronicle spots yet another thread in the world-wide web of conspiracy in whose center sits the omnipotent Karl Rove:
I'd also be lying if I didn't say that [Barry] Bonds has started sounding like a Karl Rove client. His talking points had a familiar ring.
Can't find any weapons of mass destruction? Change the subject to democracy in Iraq.
Don't want to answer questions about what you said to the BALCO grand jury? Pretend that it's a pending legal issue, even though you have immunity and the federal prosecutor in the case has already said that all the athletes can repeat their testimony in public.
President Bush, of course, used to be in the baseball business, and in his 2004 State of the Union address he actually mentioned the subject of steroids. We're not sure what Rove is up to here, but we look forward to having it explained by the left-wing blogs.
What the Hagel Is Going On Here?
The Washington Post's Richard Lieby reports that "some airline passengers watching the Oscar-nominated film 'Sideways' on foreign flights are . . . hearing 'Ashcroft' as a substitute for a certain seven-letter epithet commonly used to denote a human orifice.":
The Post's [delightfully named] Monte Reel, based in Buenos Aires, tells us he heard the former attorney general's name substituted at least twice in "Sideways" dialogue when he watched the film earlier this week on an Aerolineas Argentinas flight to Lima, Peru. The movie was shown in English and the dubbing was done "in the actual voices of the actors," Reel reports. Star Thomas Haden Church utters the A-word.
Meanwhile, Variety reports that "Gunner Place," an "Iraq war docu," has been awarded a PG-13 rating from the Motion Picture Association of America, despite "numerous instances of soldiers cursing, including the words '[Frist],' '[Cheney]' and '[Ashcroft].' "
Generalissimo Francisco Franco Is Still Dead
"Hunt for Bin Laden Still On"--headline, FoxNews.com, Feb. 25
Great Moments in Cultural Understanding
From yesterday's corrections column in the New York Times (second item):
The caption on Feb. 14 for a picture by Reuters with the continuation of an article about the Iraqi elections misstated the reason Abdul Aziz al-Hakim, a Shiite cleric, was weeping. He was participating in a mourning ritual as part of Ashura, a holy Shiite festival--not reacting to results showing that his political alliance had won a slim majority of seats. A second caption for a Reuters photo misstated the reason a Shiite was shown flagellating himself in a Baghdad procession. He was taking part in the same mourning ritual, not celebrating the election outcome.
The Times must've assumed that Shiites take politics as seriously as Democrats do.
Great Moments in Socialized Medicine
Eight-year-old Tilly Merrell hadn't had a normal meal since she was an infant, and the San Francisco Chronicle explains why:
British doctors found that the food she swallowed went into her lungs instead of her stomach, causing devastating lung infections. They said she had isolated bulbar palsy, and their solution was to feed her through a stomach tube. Forever.
But having a backpack with a food pump wired to her stomach wasn't much of a life for a girl whose favorite smell is bacon frying--a girl who once broke through a locked kitchen door in an effort to sneak some cheese. So her family got help from their community of Warndon, about 120 miles north of London, raising enough money to take Tilly, now 8, on a 5,000-mile journey they hoped might change her life, a journey to Lucile Salter Packard Children's Hospital at Stanford University.
Doctors there examined her and found out there was nothing wrong with her. Now she's eating normally, and loving it. Oh well, at least British medicine saved her from British food.
Scottsdale Imitates Scott Adams?
Many readers wrote us to note the strange similarity between yesterday's item on the Scottsdale, Ariz., school district--where receptionist Barbara Levine now has the title "director of first impressions"--and a series of Dilbert comic strips from last month--here, here, here and here--about the pointy-headed boss giving the exact same title (plus "pro tem") to his receptionist, Carol, who in the first strip wonders, "Why is my office in the lobby?"
We can't figure out if Dilbert creator Scott Adams was spoofing Scottsdale, if Scottsdale got the idea from Adams, or if the Arizona Republic article on which we based the item was a hoax. We do hope Barbara Levine doesn't look like a 57.
Roe, Roe, Roe Your Boat
From the Stanford Daily:
Looking to the future of reproductive rights, five women spoke at the third annual forum reflecting on the status of choice and women's rights over their bodies.
Keynote speaker Maria Moreno, the field director of Choice U.S.A., discussed her experiences working with youths on issues related to reproductive rights and choice.
The panelists focused on the impact four more years of President George W. Bush will have on these issues.
"If we are a pro-choice majority, why is the threat to reproductive rights greater than ever?" Moreno said.
Uh, maybe because so many prospective pro-choicers have been aborted over the past three decades?
This Ain't Rocket Science
"A toxic component of rocket fuel has been found in breast milk of women in 18 states and store-bought milk from various locations around the country," reports LiveScience.com. "The chemical, perchlorate, can impede adult metabolism and cause retardation in fetuses, among other things."
Just one question: Since when do fetuses drink milk?
Zero-Tolerance Watch
In Lebanon, Ohio, "five Kings High students face charges in juvenile court"--for a food fight, reports Cincinnati's WLWT-TV:
Dozens of kids reportedly threw hot dogs, ice cream and French fries during a recent 60-second incident at the school. The school resource officer described it in his report as a "riot."
Many students and parents think the school resource officer and the county prosecutor went overboard, News 5's Courtis Fuller reported. Even the principal thinks they're going too far.
"I think it's kinda crazy. It's a food fight. Come on," one student told News 5.
"It's ridiculous . . . assault with a hamburger?" said another student.
Still, there are better things to do with cafeteria food.
And You Thought Pro Wrestling Was Fake
"Judges Wrestle With Procreation and Gays"--headline, Associated Press, Feb. 24
That's Gotta Hurt
"Kent Woman Is Held in Fire at Her Home"--headline, Seattle Times, Feb. 24
How Many Divisions Does the Pope Have?
"Archbishop: Anglicans Could Face Division"--headline, Associated Press, Feb. 25
Out on a Limb
" 'I always knew that Hunter was going to die before me,' Anita Thompson, 32, said of her 67-year-old husband."--Rocky Mountain News, Feb. 25
Drudge Work
Voice of America's Web site published a report the other day on the possibility of women getting the right to vote in Saudi Arabia. What caught our eye, though, were the audio links that appeared right above the body of the story:
Drudge report - Download 507K
Listen to Drudge report
Has Matt Drudge gone to work for the government? No, it turns out the report was filed by Michael Drudge. Who knew they'd dredged up another Drudge? |
