Martha Burk
Blog Post List
August 24, 2013
August 26th marks the 93rd anniversary of suffrage, and we’ve indeed come a long way. When the suffragists finally got the 19th Amendment passed in 1920, it was after two generations of women had worked for 72 years to get it done. Movement leader Carrie Chapman Catt told just how hard it was: [Getting the vote] cost the women of the country fifty-two years of pauseless campaign . . . they were forced to conduct fifty-six campaigns of referenda to male voters; 480 campaigns to get Legislatures to submit suffrage amendments to voters; 47 campaigns to get State constitutional conventions to...
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August 1, 2013
Mc Donalds really stepped in it recently when they published a budget for their employees to help them make ends meet on the low wages they make flipping burgers. The McBudget suggested workers get a second job, did not include any money for food or gasoline, and allocated only $20 a month for health insurance. The company deservedly came under fire and ridicule. This kind of stupid action feeds the notion that mega corporations like Mickey D and Walmart are responsible for the majority of low-wage jobs in the U.S. and around the world. And they are, if you only count jobs where the company...
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June 14, 2013
The annual June Father's day shopping binge is at its zenith. Stores are touting the latest gizmos and geegaws, and everybody loves Dad. All except corporate America, that is. Just count the number of companies giving paid leave to men with newborns. While some employers offer time off with pay to new moms (and most don't), not many give dads the same benefit. When they do, it's almost always less time. Only 12 companies on Working Mother magazine's 100 Best list give equal time to dads and moms alike, and for five of those it's a stingy one week. Some of the big tech companies seem to be...
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May 8, 2013
With the next election 18 months away, senators who bucked 90 percent of the public on the recent vote to expand background checks for gun buyers probably think time will fade the memory for voters. But if anything, it's energized the overwhelming majority that favors more controls. The vote is coming back to bite a number of senators (Republican Kelly Ayotte of New Hampshire is just one example) who defied the national polls to lick the jackboots of the National Rifle Association. Ayotte's numbers have dropped like a barrel of bricks. But never mind -- the gun lobby takes care of its own. A...
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April 5, 2013
Despite the fact that Social Security isn’t contributing a penny to the federal budget deficit, fiscal hawks have convinced President Barack Obama that we must slash its benefits to save the country. He’s joined the sky-is-falling crew in a crazed search for targeted cuts that will shrink Social Security outlays. One idea he’s now putting on the table is a magic trick known as “chained CPI.” Most people don’t understand the economic-speak well enough to grasp what this sleight of hand would do to Social Security. Here’s how it works: Social Security benefits are periodically raised as...
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February 13, 2013
It’s Black History Month, and when it comes to that history in cartoons, the news hasn’t always been good. For decades cartoons, mostly by the Disney corporation, featured lots of white characters and lots of black stereotypes. But as the song says, the times they are a-changin’. In recent years Disney has worked overtime to leave the past behind. One way has been the creation of Doc McStuffins , the African-American title character of a TV cartoon aimed at preschoolers. Doc McStuffins is not only African-American, she’s a girl. And she’s become a symbol of pride and hope for Black women in...
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December 21, 2012
Been out shopping in the past couple of weeks? If the answer is yes, you know consumers are mobbing stores to snap up mountains of plastic soon-to-be-junk from toy stores and big boxes. Do kids really need more stuff? And what's the message we're sending? Like it or not, toys and make-believe do send messages, and they're not all good. While boys and girls are equally subjected to gender apartheid when it comes to toys, the girls may be getting the short end of the stick. No -- make that the short end of the magic wand. Our daughters are awash in princesses and pink. Is this pinkification and...
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December 10, 2012
Congress is likely to remain in session until Christmas Eve -- wrangling over the looming sequester and expiration of the Bush tax cuts. The country doesn't have enough money, or doesn't spend it right, or the rich have too much of it, or the middle class doesn't have enough, or the poor get too much in the way of handouts. If lawmakers don't do something quick, on January 1st we're all going to turn into Thelma and Louise and go over a cliff. But this time it won't be the Grand Canyon. It's something called the fiscal cliff. Who's right? Who's wrong? And most of all, who gets pushed over...
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October 22, 2012
Last week was “women’s week” in the presidential debate, and the candidates fought over the girls in their stump speeches at every stop afterwards. Monday's face-off moves on to foreign policy; the women in the binders and the equal pay issue will likely be left in the paper shredder along with last week’s talking points. Foreign policy is “men’s territory,” so the talk will turn to terrorists, who-knew-what-when, and the ever-popular nukes ‘n sabres. But should it? Women ought to be front and center in any foreign policy debate. The plight of women in Afghanistan was one of the main...
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October 12, 2012
Q uick – what come to mind when you hear “mom” and “blogger” in the same sentence? If you thought “potty training, pre-school and playgrounds,” you’re probably in the majority. But you’re also wrong. In her marvelous book Mothers of Intention , Joanne Bamberger – aka PunditMom – shows us just how wrong. A must-read before the election, this compendium of blogs shows us the breadth and influence of moms who blog, and how they’re changing the way people think about motherhood and political issues. The book contains insightful introductions to each section from Bamberger, along the full spectrum...
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July 17, 2012
While members of Congress waste time naming post offices and devising ways to get seniors to pay for billionaire's tax breaks through cuts in Medicare and Social Security, other important business is slipping through the cracks. Specifically, if the Violence Against Women Act - signed by President Clinton in 1994 after a four year battle -- is not reauthorized by the end of the year, millions of women and kids who are victims will be left in limbo. It is a fact that women are the most frequent victims of domestic violence, rape, and murder by spouses. But despite it's name, VAWA has never...
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May 11, 2012
As with every Mother's Day, millions of moms will get flowers and candy this Sunday, along with sticky pancakes or burnt toast lovingly prepared by husbands and kids turned cooks-for-a-day. As individuals, we're pretty fond of our mothers. But as a nation we don't value motherhood all that much. We lag far behind Europe in granting leave for the birth or adoption of a child, for example. Our system of unpaid leave applies only to those who work for the largest corporations, and most new mothers (or fathers) can't afford to take it anyway. Child care is another area where we're neanderthal...
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