Saturday: The “smartest men” in DC vs. First Ladies
Posted: April 16, 2011 Filed under: morning reads 31 Comments
U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton, right, is greeted by a South Korean government official Ahn Young-jip upon her arrival at Seoul military airport in Seongnam, South Korea, Saturday, April 16, 2011. (Photo: AP)
Morning, news junkies. As you probably know, the April 15th tax deadline is pushed back to April 18th this year because of Emancipation Day. My roundups are usually jampacked with headlines–it’s out of control, I know–but since it’s tax season and nobody needs any more homework, I’m going to cover a few headlines and then switch to some lighter stuff.
Newsy Reads
So I guess you’ve heard about the “Huntsman love letters“ that were leaked to the Daily Caller by now. Full text of Huntsman’s letters to Obama and Bill Clinton here. I haven’t checked out all the heads exploding on rightwinger blogs, and judging from the headlines piling up on memeorandum alone, I have no interest in doing so. As usual, the right wants to marginalize the one GOPer who I would consider voting for in 2012, which figures. What’s struck me more than anything else about these not-shocking-at-all letters is that Huntsman’s praise of Obama is exceedingly generic while his praise of Bill and Hillary Clinton is full of specifics and gives a sense of how completely engaged they both are in public service.
In other not-surprising news, Obama was caught on a mic at a fundraiser taking jabs at Paul Ryan and the GOP and now poor witto Republicans are complaining that their fee-fees have been hurt. Hard to feel sorry for them when they’re always so quick to criticize everyone else in the world for playing the victim. Anyhow, I caught a few seconds of Rove commenting on the Obama fundraiser comments as I was flipping through channels on Friday night–after he got done with his obligatory hagiography of Paul Ryan, Rove said Obama is probably just jealous of the attention Paul Ryan is getting. I had to laugh at that part.
What I want to know is after the Bittergate and Naftagate episodes from 2008, why is anyone surprised by anything Obama says to different audiences anyway? He’s a Nowhere Man trying to raise money from Democratic donors while chasing after right-leaning Independent voters. So publicly Obama hailed Ryan’s proposal as a serious one, and privately he told his donors that Ryan’s proposal is “not on the level.” All of it is just words to Obama.
In the midst of this, almost as if on cue, David Brooks bumbles away saying that “Obama and Ryan are the smartest, most admirable and most genial men in Washington” and laments over what a pity it is that Obama won’t ask Ryan over for lunch.
If Obama and Ryan are the best DC has to offer (I don’t think they are, but if they are…), then perhaps the great American experiment is already over.
On that note, I’m going to switch over to the fun stuff.
First Lady Reads
Lately I’ve been coming across items about “first ladies,” various and sundry. I’ve rounded them up to share with you. I hope you enjoy.
The (first) First Lady of Flight: Harriet Quimby… On this day in history (April 16) in 1912, America’s first licensed woman pilot, Harriet Quimby, became the first woman to fly across the English Channel. Click here to read the NYT article that ran on Quimby on April 17, 1912. To quote Ed. Y. Hall, aviation historian: “Harriet Quimby was flying 25 years before Amelia Earhart. She carried airmail as early as 1912.” Quimby’s achievement went largely unrecognized, but she continued to break ground in the few months she lived after, until July 1, 1912, when she became the first American woman to die in a plane crash in the US. (Julia Clark died two weeks earlier in a US crash, but she wasn’t American.) For more information, check out this fantastic post about Quimby: Pioneering Aviatrix Harriet Quimby flies into history from Michigan. There’s a nice youtube and neat pictures of Arcadia, Michigan, Quimby’s hometown.
First Lady of the World meets the First Lady of Television… See here. Eleanor and Lucy. My two favorites together. To quote from Carl Anthony’s post:
Within a decade of this meeting, both women would be accused of being Communists, the former for her social activism, the latter for once registering with the party to please her old grandpappy who did belong. In truth, neither of them was Red. Not one hair.
First Lady of the United States meets First Lady of American Cinema… Part 1 and Part 2. There are three pictures of Jackie O and Liz meeting (the only known photos), as well as a wonderful essay by Carl Anthony which reads like the True Hollywood Story of First Ladies, only better. Here’s an excerpt from Part 2:
The death of Onassis on March 15, 1975 and the divorce from Burton in June 26, 1974 (although Liz gave it a second try from October 10, 1975 to July and separated on February 23, 1976, finally divorcing five months later) began a process that helped the real Jackie and Liz to begin defining their lives on their own terms, regardless of the public narrative defined by what the former once called “the little cartoon that runs beneath one’s real life.” Treating them as proprietary commodities, the tabloids felt free to print the most outrageous claims to make their Liz-Jackie storylines sell, but strangely refrained from treading into sensitive areas of the real women’s lives which they themselves had used to craft the public images they wished to convey – and didn’t want contradicted.
First Lady Betty Ford turned 93 this month… One more link to Carl Anthony because he wrote a refreshing “Beyond Rehab” retrospective on Betty Ford’s legacy. Teaser:
The imagination correctly conjures 1974 with maternal pleasantness and welcoming comfort, tied up in a daisy yellow ribbon of straight talk as “The Year of Bettys.”
On February 18, 1974, spiffy Betty Furness began looking out for housewives as not just theToday Show’s consumer advocate but for NBC’s evening news as well, her smoky voice ratting out manufacturers of household goods for high costs and poor quality. On September 14, 1974, after five guest appearances a year before, veteran actress Betty White joined the television sitcom cast of The Mary Tyler Moore Show, appearing as the character Sue Ann Nivens, who hosted a show called “The Happy Homemaker,” dishing out frank-and-beans-on-a-budget as easily as sex advice.
And on August 9, 1974 Betty Ford became a White House wife, at ease before the press whether dispensing chicken hash recipes as evidence of her inflation-fighting meals, making the case for women’s reproductive rights, or pondering whether her kids might have tried pot or how they’d handle pre-marital sex like the nation’s Den Mother chatting over a backyard fence. On the face of it, she was traditional, her Episcopal faith a rock in times of difficulty, her love of husband unabashed and demonstrated in public. The first sign this was a First Lady like no other has been attributed to a reporter asking the startling question of how often she slept with the President and Mrs. Ford shrugging, “As often as possible.”
First Ladies of Rhythm and Jazz Appreciation Month (April)… The Smithsonian has an excellent theme for Jazz appreciation month this year– Women & Jazz: Transforming a Nation. Excerpt from the Smithsonian website:
Jazz Appreciation Month 2011 – the 10th Anniversary – examines the legacies of jazz women, and their advocates, who helped transform race, gender and social relations in the U.S. in the quest to build a more just and equitable nation. The International Sweethearts of Rhythm, founded in 1937 at the Piney Woods School in Mississippi, will be the focus of the JAM Launch, a museum display and special online and public programming offered by the National Museum of American History to highlight the unique legacy of the school that music built and their dynamic, women’s jazz band.
The International Sweethearts of Rhythm gained global recognition as the nation’s first, integrated, female big band. Founded in 1937 at the Piney Woods School, band members were students, 14-years old and older, who paid for their education by performing as a jazz band to help promote and sustain the financially struggling school. Traveling nationwide in a customized, tour bus named Big Bertha, the Sweethearts performed at churches, state fairs, dance and civic halls and later entertainment venues such as the Howard Theater and the Apollo, setting box office records.
The Sweethearts confronted dual biases of gender and race and excelled during a period in history when many Southern blacks lived in slavery without chains and women were second class citizens. The band performed in Battle of the Band competitions against bands led by Fletcher Henderson and Earl Fatha Hines, played the Jim Crow South with white band members who disguised themselves as minorities, and toured overseas for the USO during World War II, when integrated performances were taboo. Original band members had come from a school with a legacy of excellence and overcoming difficulties.
And, of course who can forget the First Lady of Song herself. Some fun Ella quotes from the end of this blog tribute:
“It isn’t where you came from, its where you’re going that counts.”- Ella Fitzgerald
“Ella’s amazing! My daughter says that every time she makes a mistake, it becomes a hit record.”
– Lucille Ball“The best way to start any musical evening is with this girl. It don’t get better than this.”
– Frank Sinatra
That’s it for me. What’s on your blogging list this Saturday?
[originally posted at Let Them Listen; crossposted at Taylor Marsh and Liberal Rapture]
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I haven’t read the post yet, but I just have to say–what a fabulous photo of Hillary! She looks so glamourous in that black suit with her head thrown back.
She looks more and more radiant with each day. I’m sure she is physically exhausted, but her spirit seems to thrive on the work she’s doing.
no golfing for her 😆
No golfing, just “beaches and speeches” (Hillary’s plans for 2016). 🙂
Child abuse by TSA gropers.
Ugh. How can our country credibly lecture other countries about human rights abuses when we can’t even recognize them in our own?
Some of the headlines reacting to Huntsman’s letters aren’t showing up on the memeorandum shortlink, so here are all the relevant ones they have listed:
The actual letters are pretty short and anticlimactic compared to the hype from these headlines.
I’m glad you enjoyed my article about Harriet Quimby. I barely knew more than her name when I stumbled across her hometown, but once I started researching my story, I had a difficult time keeping it to any sort of reasonable length. Harriet had quite the fascinating life, even as she had such a short life (as so many pioneering pilots did).
If you’re interested in other pioneering female fliers, check out Bessie Coleman (the first African American woman to earn a pilot’s license who met with a similarly tragic end).
Will definitely look up more about Bessie Coleman–the name sounds familiar! Thanks for the pointer and for stopping by. You did a great job on Harriet Quimby. Usually when I come across an unsung heroine like Quimby, I have to dig around for information, but you had it all in one place. I was excited when I stumbled upon it looking for a picture to link to.
I never heard of either of these women before. So fascinating, thank you!
Yes, I agree with BB, Thanks for the Colman info… that is so very interesting Dominique. My little girl can fly an ultralight (she was 10 years old when my father taught here.) She is fascinated with women pilots, so I am sure she will find your links very cool.
Excellent list!
Another flying first lady: Beryl Markham, who was the first person to fly across the Atlantic, East to West. (That’s harder than West to East, like Lindberg did.) Recommended book: West with the Night.
djmm
Adding West with the Night to my reading list. Thanks djmm.
I left Brooks a David, you ignorant slut message in the commment section.
The country was founded on the principles of mercantilism. There wasn’t even anything called capitalism back in the 1760s. If he wasn’t so stupid, he’d know that. It wasn’t named or described until the 1830’s -1840s once the industrial revolution started.
David Brooks is such a putz. The only reason I can think he is still on the NYT editorial page (well, other than the more bread and circuses the merrier for the oligarchy) is because Brooks’ presence there is the only way it makes Maureen Dowd look like the NYT’s Pulitzer prize winning columnist by comparison.
I read a biography of Earhart in high school and discovered how unsung Quimby was as a result. She really was the pioneer of women pilots. Thanks for such an inspiring link!
I’m facing a dilemma: having been a full blown supporter of Hillary Clinton in 2008 and applauding the likes of Elizabeth Warren, Carolyn McCarthy, Jackie Spiers and Kristen Gillibrand, I have been again labeled a “misogynist” for an essay I wrote last week about SP.
Okay, guys which is it? I’m beginning to feel like a “Janus” these days for expressing my dislike for women who refuse to support women by their actions and statements.
Apparently a woman is only allowed to criticize men who believe in sacrificing the rights of women but am labeled for expressing the same regrets for women we should be thankful to the patriarchy for looking out for our needs.
I’ve dropped people and organizations that are supposedly pro-women and support the P Woman. I support feminists only and I’m not going to be bullyied into any other position. Women have been co-opted by misogynists to put out the anti-reproductive rights stand and stands against Parental leave. They sell out for all kinds of things. Every since PhyllHiss Schitfly came out from under her rock, they’re has been a concerted effort by the right to co-opt any attempt to give women adult status. These women are either stupid or evil and I’m not going to let other women try to turn them into anything other than tools of the patriarchy. It’s like trotting out ‘happy slaves’ during the civil war. It’s still friggin slavery. Doesn’t matter who argues against it. No self respecting Gay activist is going to support some guy who says he thinks he was saved from being gay by some wacko religionist. No self respecting black person will support a black person that wants to reinstate slavery. Why do some women feel they need to support women tools? I have no idea but I won’t do it.
I wouldn’t call you a misogynist, but I had the same WTF? reaction as gxm17 to your assertions that SP was the first to illustrate that one need not possess the intellectual curiosity or basic fundamental underpinnings in order to succeed or that the stage wasn’t ready for two dimwits of the same sex to vie for a position.
It’s not misogynist to criticize women for selling out their sisters. It’s intellectually honest and necessary. Infantalizing faux pioneer women and mama grizzlies just because they’re not men is really destructive and just keeps more women locked in the system where it appears advantageous to operate within parameters defined by men.
At the same time, for me personally, it’s also crucial to remember that the women who are selling out their sisters, no matter how infuriating, are still at most a distraction at this point–and will remain such until women have representation and power in government that is proportionate to their numbers in the populace. It’s Obama and Ryan whose personae are being championed as running the budget debate. Not Bachmann and Pelosi. Both the Bachmanns and Pelosis have sold us out–so they’re not the solution. But, they’re not THE problem either.
The problem is that women with good ideas and backbones–Liz Warren, Hillary Clinton, Brooksley Born–are shunned and kept out of debates where their voices could have made the difference. We have to invest more of our energy building something–an infrastructure for women who sound the alarm to be heard. Instead of wasting time tearing down the Bachmanns and Palins, who frankly do a fantastic job on their own tearing themselves down and destroying their credibility.
Great reads Wonk. My computer bit the dust yesterday, and we are having intermittent power outages…the wind makes the trees rub on the power lines. Nothing like what they had in AL MS…
My Way News – Death toll from severe storms rises to 17
I found this in my reader:
Suburban Guerrilla » Blog Archive » ‘Insurance’ is a word that can be loosely defined
As someone who got a new version of the insurance denied letter, the one where they say, “Oh, you are expected to have over the amount of care dollars for this policy, we can not cover you…” This story rings familiar.
[quote]A Senate investigation released Friday found a pattern of inappropriate denials for tests like the one Fields’ doctors say he should have received from the start.[/quote]
A Senate investigation released Friday found a pattern of inappropriate denials for tests like the one Fields’ doctors say he should have received from the start
BY LAW if you are denied coverage, every cent you paid in premiums should be returned to you with that letter …other wise it’s fraud…but listen to me , am I crazy? Of course it’s fraud…that’s the point. You know in the movie “Goodfellas” where instead of paying off his co conspirators, Robert De Niro just knocks them off? Same here…why pay off claims when you can wipe your hands for the price of a letter ? It’s not like anyone will make them pay
Ah, Goodfellas, my favorite movie…”You think I’m funny?” No, this is not a joke. The health care bill and all that crap about pre-existing conditions is b.s.
U.S. and Allies Seek Possible Refuge for Qaddafi – NYTimes.com
‘”Need further proof that the White House fears Jon Huntsman,” the source said. “I think not.”‘
Correct. Obviously the letters were photocopied and provided to Republican rag.
Seems like a sleazy thing to do. But then, we’re talking Obama. Hillary, and Bill, would understand.
Maybe Huntsman can run against Obama as a Democrat. That would really be funny.
Lol
On further thought, I now agree with the thinking that the Huntsman people could have leaked the letters, on the principle that best to get something potentially damaging out early on. That would be shrewd thinking.
It did occur to me that the letter to Bill Clinton could scarcely have been in possession of Obama people who in any case would find it hard to deal with such praisefor him.
The news that women are actively refusing to be left out of the political changes in the Middle East is great news. I think Hillary Clinton must be pleased.
NYT:Women Irate at Remarks by President of Yemen
Go Yemeni women! Reminds me of this girl…
She’s a leader.