"I assume you are talking about Mary Matalin and James Carville" um no actually I wasn't.

Though it is an interesting example. But to imagine that feminism necessarily aligns with other progressive movements is deeply off. For example, the first female British Prime Minister (and only one, that would be Thatcher) could hardly be described as any kind of lefty.

The whole point of feminism to my mind, is that women have an equal right to be assholes, and yes, incompetent, as incompetent as the current dolt in the White House. I'm an odd sort of feminist I suppose, I regard equal opportunity for failure and being catastrophically wrong as really being more important to be be right. I do not imagine that a female president or CEO will automatically through their absence of a Y chromosome to be blessed with magical foresight and being on the side of the angels.

When a woman has the nepotistic opportunity and greased power skids to be as totally illegitimate and fucked up as the current president, we will finally know that equality has arrived. I for one look forward to the day that a female president is impeached for corruption and high crimes and misdemeanors and so on, and nobody ever once comments on her style sense or sexual proclivities. That would be victory, really.

Sometimes the lowest common denominator can tell you a very great deal.

I kinda wish Hillary could reach that depth, but I rather doubt it. Too bad.

Me, I'm rooting for the Obama the black candidate to win and screw up horribly and establish themselves as Just Like Everyone Else, over the female one, but then I always was an optimist.

My own mother had the mother in law from hell problem (much as I loved my grandmother, she was sneaky, malicious, gossipy, and quite vicious when the mood took her), so she has always treated my wife with extreme delicacy. The odd thing has been that my wife gets along better with my mom than I do, and I get along better with her mom than she does. Go figure.

Aw, ain't that sweet?

Actually, Salon Editors, could there be a way to communicate privately with other posters? An anonymous email hookup of some kind. We are dealing with some fairly heavy & bloody meat here once in a while, and there are a couple of people I'd like to talk to about this and that, out of the public glare.

This was a pretty standard feature of 90s bulletin boards.

I travel around a bit, and I've noticed that security tends to be tighter and more officious the smaller & sleepier the airport.

What gets me the most though, isn't the stupid security theatre, as much as the smirking pompous rent-a-cops empowered to screw you over. As in this case: they could have suggested her car to her, or given her directions to the nearby restaurant, or offered her a jacket or something.

I've often wondered what would happen if they offered optional secuity-lite flights, ie operated at pre 9/11 levels, or even no security at all: I bet they would sell out in a second.

You know, I read this, and I thought to myself, "It's gonna be pretty hard for the 'enthusiastic' posters to tie one woman preventably dieing a minute, to men's rights and bad feminists and the rottenness of BroadSheet and all the rest of the crap." Gosh was I wrong. It was a matter of minutes.

OK, BS65, Agent Anonymouse(TM), M3, Linney U., gagaga, etc, lay it on us. Tell us how this proves women are privileged, please do.

Chris, you are sounding less and less lefty all the time.

As for security, I have traveled a good deal, including in the Middle East at the peak of the hijacking craze, and been under very very tight security. Which was a good deal more pleasant that what we are subjected to now. And indeed, almost certainly more effective. I don't think El Al, the gold standard in security if there ever was one, ever fussed much about liquids or underwire bras before DHS made them do it. They are more into things like talking to you politely, and doing some checking.

Me, I don't want to suck it up when abused by the authorities, especially in petty and humiliating ways. I think I have more worth and dignity than that. I think everyone does. And I worry about where it leads. It reminds me of traveling in the Eastern Bloc back in the 70s & 80s.

And it is simply ridiculous to upbraid women for not being comfortable with male medical personnel in intimate situations. Though I do admit, I for one wonder if orientation might be more to the point: how would KitchenGirl feel about a stone dyke vs a totally swish queen (unlikely in an OB/GYN I know) digging around in her yaya?