anythings.org

According to market researchers at Sony Ericsson, women spend more on electronics every year than they do on shoes. I’m glad some technology companies are finally getting the point that simply making something pink or slapping a flower on something crappy (like a Motorola Razr) does not automatically mean that women will buy it. I care more about the specs on my next laptop than I do about buying a year’s worth of shoes, but I’m a slightly skewed sample.

It is worth noting that they did compare electronics purchases to shoe purchases, which means we still have a long way to go until women can shake the Imelda Marcos stereotype.

Via Switched.

I’m not quite sure how I feel about remaining in the feminist blogosphere. It’s full of catty women picking and choosing what they write about and who they find acceptable to link and associate themselves with based on their ridiculously skewed perception of feminism.

There is no place in the feminist blogosphere for sex positive feminists with a decent brain. You’re either a sex crazed pot-psychology pop culture obsessed Jezebel, or you’re a Jessica Valenti/feministing fangirl who drinks in everything she/they says/say, despite her/their ridiculous lack of perspective, and their penchant fror jacking stories from smaller feminist blogs without credit. My other not-so-mainstream blogs have gone a little by the wayside, but I still read them when, and if, they post.

I’m currently working with a fabulous feminist on her new project creating a more sex positive feminist oriented site. We’re making feminism fun again. Drop me a line if this sounds like your cup of tea, we’re looking for writers and people to bounce ideas off of.

Check out the LA Times article here.

In a 4-3 ruling, the justices rule that state marriage laws are unconstitutional.

SAN FRANCISCO — – The California Supreme Court ruled today that same-sex couples should be permitted to marry, rejecting state marriage laws as discriminatory.

The state high court’s 4-3 ruling was unlikely to end the debate over gay matrimony in California. A group has circulated petitions for a November ballot initiative that would amend the state Constitution to block same-sex marriage, while the Legislature has twice passed bills to authorize gay marriage. Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger vetoed both.

Finally, some decisive action on this!

Here’s a quote from our shitty, shitty Governor, Mr. Schwarzenegger, that makes me feel a little more secure in today’s ruling:

“I respect the Court’s decision and as Governor, I will uphold its ruling. Also, as I have said in the past, I will not support an amendment to the constitution that would overturn this state Supreme Court ruling.”

Courtesy of the Broadsheet, when being interview by a female reporter, Sen. Obama responded to her question by saying, “Hold on, one second, sweetie.”

This isn’t the first time Sen. Obama has made sexist remarks towards or about women that he’s had to go back and apologize for. Better yet, there’s a video clip of the sexist comment.

Sen. Obama, of course, apologized for the comment in order to avoid any additional negative press. He claimed “sweetie” was a term he used out of habit. Sorry, still not buying it.

Hi Peggy. This is Barack Obama. I’m calling to apologize on two fronts. […]

Second apology is for using the word ’sweetie.’ That’s a bad habit of mine. I do it sometimes with all kinds of people. I mean no disrespect and so I am duly chastened on that front.

So, where is the video of Sen. Obama calling a man “sweetie?” Right, that’s what I thought, there isn’t one.

If you’re going to make an endorsement because you’re trying to help a candidate win an election, that’s fine with me. But when you make an endorsement, make it clear why you’re selecting candidate A in favor of candidate B, don’t just simply state that you’re endorsing candidate A.

My favorite part of the endorsement had to be when Nancy Keenan said the following two sentences in the same paragraph:

Further, I believe Sen. Obama is going to be the Democratic nominee.

Sen. Obama will be our next president.

It’s nice to know that you aren’t letting your personal beliefs cloud your judgment and make endorsements on behalf of an entire agency. Why didn’t she just say “I like Obama better than Clinton, ne-ner-ne-ner-neeee-ner!” - because that’s what it sounds like.

This is disgusting and beyond reproach:

A man who admitted giving a woman a fatal dose of “date rape” drug during his alleged drive to have sex with 100 women was sentenced Friday to five years in prison during a hearing that exposed the stark emotions of his victim’s family.

John F. Berger, 38, of St. Louis, was sentenced in the death on April 7, 2002, of Tressa Gross, 26, whom he had met earlier that evening at a club on Washington Avenue. On Nov. 30, he pleaded guilty in a deal that included the five-year sentence.

Prosecutors said they had evidence Berger wanted to have sex with 100 women, was close to his goal and had given similar drugs to other women. Berger wasn’t charged until November 2006.

On Friday, U.S. District Judge Catherine Perry accepted the five-year term, of which he must serve at least four, and added five years of probation with mandatory drug and mental health treatment. She ordered him to pay Sandy Murray, Gross’ mother, the $5,622 cost of her daughter’s funeral. Murray was not in court.

Berger admitted he gave Gross cocaine and the “date rape” drug before having sex with her at a downtown loft, where she lost consciousness. He also said he disposed of the drugs before asking a friend to call an ambulance.

The St. Louis medical examiner determined in July 2002 that Gross died of an overdose of 1.4 butanediol, which converts to Gamma-hydroxybutyric, or GHB, in the body. GHB can cause drowsiness, loss of inhibition, amnesia and — at higher doses — breathing trouble and death.

How is it that a man who admits to raping and letting a woman die only serves 5 years in prison? That’s not right, and it’s definitely not justice for the victim.

The Report IT Campaign is a nationwide state-to-state rally to Report sexual violence and abuse on the same day! It was created to raise awareness on the vast under-reporting of sexual assault including rape, incest, and abuse.

We will all Report IT on the same day - April 29, 2008 hailed Angela Shelton Day. People nationwide will show up at their local county courthouses on April 29th! Together we will break the silence and the cycle! You can fill out the online form anytime on or before April 29th. Thank you! This IS NOT an official police report!

Click here or on the image to visit the official website.

While I’d rather not discuss the whole Elliot Spitzer thing, I found this absolutely hilarious:

Most of the focus was on “Kristen”, the prostitute he met at the Mayflower Hotel in Washington DC and booked for $1,000 an hour. She was described as, “American, petite, very pretty, brunette, 5 feet 5 inches, and 105 pounds”.

My female friends in New York were outraged. “105 pounds? No way.”

This was the biggest grievance. Not that she was a hooker. Or even that she was from New Jersey. The fact that somewhere along the line she had claimed to weigh 105 lbs and now it was being printed as fact. “Come on!” My friend Heather fumed. “No one weighs that unless they’re 12.”

After that, the biggest complaint was the money. $80,000? And he wouldn’t pay the extra $50 for her to travel on the business-class train from NY to DC – she had to go coach.

But also, there was bewilderment. The Governor’s wife, the lovely Silda Wall Spitzer, was standing by her man. She did not look happy. Why was she there?

“If my husband spent that kind of money on 105-lb ho’s” my friend, Laura, said, “I would demand he give me the same amount to spend the following months in the nicest hotel in the Seychelles while he faced the press all by himself.”

I couldn’t figure out which was more disturbing for her – that he spent the money, or that he spent it on someone who weighed 105 lb.

He he hee… hilarious! As someone who is under 5′5″ and thin, I also find it difficult to believe that she was 105 pounds, but really, that wouldn’t have been my complaint either.

[Image via Getty]

Site update: Because I so often find things I want to blog about, but lack the time, I have start bookmarking them on my del.icio.us account for your reading pleasure. They are also viewable here, or by clicking the “Articles of interest” tab above.

Life update: I am very pleased to announce that I have been accepted to graduate school at San Francisco State University! I will be starting my Master’s degree in Women’s Studies this fall. I can’t wait to be back in college again!

Update update: Also, an update on… well… updates: I have been selected to be on a jury for a very long trial. I usually do my updates during my breaks at work, but I obviously can’t do that at the court house. I had jury duty all of last week, and it was incredibly boring. I’ll have updates this week, but things will be slow March 24-28 and April 7-11.

Ridiculous! I am not that shocked that a Catholic school would cancel Dolores Huerta’s speaking engagement, but at the same time, I thought they would have enough intelligence to understand that the talk was about “her founding role in the United Farm Workers and the importance of public service” and not abortion.

Apparently, to the Catholic church, it doesn’t matter what kind of a person you are, or what type of good you have done for humanity: if you’re pro-choice, you’re out.

From the LA Times:

Huerta said that the school’s principal, Sister Eva Lujano, left a voice mail at her Bakersfield office over the weekend, informing her that she had been disinvited. Lujano was out sick Thursday and unavailable for comment, school officials said.

But the editor of California Catholic Daily, a website that published an article about Huerta’s planned appearance, took credit for scrubbing the talk. Editor Bob McPhail said that after the website’s reporter called the school and a diocese superintendent to ask about the talk, Lujano agreed to cancel the planned assembly for sixth-, seventh- and eighth-graders.

“Her appearance would have created the impression that the school was overlooking her prominent role in promoting abortion,” he said.

Huerta, who lives in Bakersfield and runs a foundation there, said she was puzzled by the school’s action. She has been unable to reach Lujano, she said.

“I was not going to talk about reproductive rights at all,” Huerta said. “I think the parents could have asked if their child could be excused.”

Huerta said it was the second time in a month that a talk she had scheduled had been canceled due to protests. Last month, administrators at St. Thomas University in Texas called off an appearance citing her views on abortion.