Republican Congresswoman Michele Bachmann of Minnesota now claims she was just kidding when she said Hurricane Irene and the earthquake centered in Virginia last week were a warning from God to politicians. “Of course I was being humorous when I said that,” the comical presidential candidate laughed reassuringly. “I am a person who loves humor. I…
New York Times columnist Nicholas D. Kristof has just listed ten books which are on his summr rereading list because they’re “triumphs of fiction, both fun to read and significant for literary or historical reasons, relating to social justice at a time when inequality in America has soared to historic levels.” Here’s Kristof’s list of…
In a stimulating essay (“The Sex Drive, Idling in Neutral”) in today’s New York Times, Meg Wolitzer says she cannot imagine women like Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor or the former Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice having sex. This led me to thoughts I shouldn’t have had, of other people of either gender whom I…
It boggles my mind how, in recent years at the University of Kansas, so many of the young women in my classes do not want to be identified as feminists. They seem to want all the benefits, and actually take all the benefits for granted, but would rather not be identified with the cause, or…
Students at the University of Kansas frequently tell me that, on first meeting me, they find me intimidating and scary. And so, with Halloween coming up, I guess there is no need for me to look for Sarah Palin, Michael Steele, Michele Bachmann, Joe Lieberman, or Liz and Dick Cheney “two-for-the-price-of-one” face masks. I’ll just…