per Mr. Shining Star:

"How many husbands can say he makes twice what she does, but they keep separate finances. What's hers is hers and what's his is hers too is the usual case."

I make a little less than double what my husband makes, and we pool our resources. Our house was my house before we got married. I have friends that keep separate finances and how does make double what she makes, but she owns her own business.

My parents have combined finances my father probably earns four times what my mother makes as a school nurse. She also spent 20 years raising children and keeping a house FOR NO PAY. My father got clean clothes, three meals a day, weekly house cleaning service, and laundry FOR FREE. So does that make my mom a wallet chasing whore? I guess that does sound a lot sexier than housewife!

I don't know a single person in a relationship where one partner sits around all day at home eating bonbons, watching soaps and spending their spouse's hard earned cash at the mall. Maybe this happened years ago, maybe those people live in rarified circles that I don't travel. Or maybe it's an outdate stereotype that no longer exists???

And yes, I shave daily. I find it relaxing.

Mr. Franklin, you missed the last paragraph:

"will argue that the proposal need not be discriminatory, since caring responsibilities are increasingly shared by men and women. He will argue: "In fact, as modern lives become increasingly more diverse - and men and women alike spend time bringing up children and caring for family and friends - this could be a win for men as well."

The proposed change in the program is not limited to just women. And this feminist has no problem with people staying home to care for their family members. The problem comes when the carer loses their financial independence and security because they we taking care of others for no pay.

BlackPaw, obviously you feel strongly about the incarceration of men and the effect on their children, so why don't you contact your local Girl Scouts or Boy Scouts troop and start a program like the one in the article? Find a local film maker and get a PBS grant and make your own film.

I highly recommend reading the Rachel Sklar article and then use the online form below to email your indigation directly to Senator Napoli.

http://legis.state.sd.us/email/index.aspx?FuseAction=MemberID&MemberID=128

My answer wasn't meant to be cute, it was whole heartedly serious. If you feel strongly about something, how can you instigate change unless you take action? Sure you can bitch all you want about it, but it won't change the status quo. Also it doesn't take a lot of money to get involved with the Girls or Boy scouts, Big sister/big brother programs or your local YMCA/YWCA and help make a difference.

On another note you seem to paint the article with an anti-male brush that isn't there. In the interview the filmmaker says nothing disparging about the girls' fathers and points out that mothers in the film were not all saints. She specifically states that the program was NOT a panacea and that there was a lot more that could be done to help the girls and their families. Nothing in there about how mothers are better than fathers or that mothers are perfect. You are putting your biases in there where they don't belong.

I'm not sure how that works especially since their children are adopted.

see the reader's responses on jpost.com

Wow, Margaret Atwood is a fortune teller. So who in Ohio do I send my copy of The Handmaid's Tale to?

re male pregnancy

"this research has ALREADY been outlawed in the USA by a congress pushed into it by fearful women."

--brightstar

Citations please??? Congressional record? Cause I'm not buying it. As a woman and feminist (and someone hoping to have kids with her husband, but totally terrified of the birthing process) I'm totally for male pregnancy. And better male oriented birth control. We've suffered through the pill, the patch, and condoms. And when I mean "we" on that suffering part, I mean mostly me. Sure condoms don't feel great, but other than the potential of a latex allergy, there's no comparison to the side effects of female based birth control. Not a single woman I've ever spoken to has been against the idea of male pregnancy or better male birth control methods. Maybe some hardcore traditionalist types would be, because it goes against god's will type thing?

In the full article it states:

"The women made what they characterize as a "substantial" donation of seed money for the Afghan programs from the financial support they received after the attacks - money from strangers, their husbands' companies and from insurance." The rest of their donations are from fundraisers that they have held. It doesn't sound like the donations came from the payout fund, nor does the article mention it.

My husband is a huge fan, if you read televisionwithoutpity you'll find the show has a lot of male fans. As far as the soapiness, you'll also see that a lot of watchers didn't like the marathon 3 hour finale. Lots of references to shark jumping. I wouldn't say the show is about women, the male characters on the show are just as messed up, funny, ambitious and smart as the female characters. The strongest and funniest woman on the show is Dr. Bailey (Chandra Wilson)...can ABC give me an entire Bailey show? Please?