TresSugar

Oh Snap! Obama Is a Celebrity in China

TresSugar — Mon, 16 Nov 2009 06:00:37 -0800

A stone carving of President Obama is on sale in Shanghai, China, along with carvings of celebrities like Will Smith, Tom Cruise, and Katie Holmes. Obama will be meeting with both ordinary citizens and Chinese leaders in Shanghai and Beijing starting today. As you can tell from these photos, creative vendors in China are ready to capitalize on Obama's visit. You just got to love ~~capitalism~~ communism!

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Women Worry That Obama Is Throwing Them Under the Bus

TresSugar — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 14:42:32 -0800

Back in January, feminist magazine Ms. hailed Barack Obama as a super feminist. But the president's recent tepid response to protecting abortion rights might mean that the love affair with Obama is about to end for many women. Over at the Daily Beast, women's rights activist Amy Siskind argues that the Stupak amendment, which treats women's rights as a political bargaining chip that can be traded for healthcare reform, is just one more example of how Obama couldn't care less about women . . . except when he's trying to win their votes of course. She writes:

He appointed fewer women into his cabinet than President Bill Clinton. He surrounded himself with czars, more than 90 percent of whom are male. He appointed Larry Summers, of "girls are inferior in math and science" fame, to a key economic post. He played basketball, golfed and fished with men and men only. He had beers with Skip Gates, but ignored it when Rihanna was almost strangled to death. And so on.

Of course it's not all bad. Ms. released a report chronicling the giant strides Obama made for women during his first 100 days in office. These actions included: signing the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act, instituting a new ambassador-at-large for global women's issues, establishing the White House Council on Women and Girls, and overturning the "global gag rule" in order to re-fund global family planning organizations.

Has the Obama administration let you down when it comes to women's rights?

Front Page: Obama Wants Healthcare Bill, Not Abortion Bill

TresSugar — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 08:00:11 -0800

President Obama is asking Congress to drop the clause in the House healthcare bill that puts new restrictions on abortion coverage. - ABC News
Virginia will execute John Allen Muhammad (aka "The DC Sniper") today. - CNN
RNC leader Michael Steele says some white Republicans are scared of him. - Politico
Fans apparently walked out of Tracy Morgan's Carnegie Hall performance last night because it was too raunchy. - New York Daily News
Former Miss California Carrie Prejean says she has been "Palinized." - MSNBC

What Change Would You Still Like to See in the US?

TresSugar — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 12:00:00 -0800

Whether you make it to the polls or not, today is election day and marks one year since Americans elected Barack Obama as president. If you're curious how Obama managed to win, you can watch the documentary By the People: The Election of Barack Obama airing tonight on HBO. The film includes behind-the-scenes campaign footage and interviews with staff, volunteers, supporters, and opponents.

During the campaign, we heard a lot from Obama about "change." Among his accomplishments so far? There's the Matthew Shepard Hate Crimes Prevention Act, the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act, the protection of wilderness through setting aside federal land, legislation that allows the federal government to regulate tobacco, and a new defense bill that cuts pricey weapons programs. Still, supporters are waiting for some big-ticket change items, like the closing of Guantanamo, the repeal of Don't Ask, Don't Tell, the end of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, and real healthcare reform.

What change would you like to see?

US Lifts HIV/AIDS Travel Ban

TresSugar — Sun, 01 Nov 2009 01:00:00 -0700

For the last 22 years, foreign citizens living with HIV or AIDS have been forbidden to legally enter the US. As of Monday, that ban will be a thing of the past. On Friday, President Obama announced the decision to overturn the policy he called "rooted in fear rather than fact." He said:

"We talk about reducing the stigma of this disease - yet we've treated a visitor living with it as a threat. We lead the world when it comes to helping stem the AIDS pandemic - yet we are one of only a dozen countries that still bar people from HIV from entering our own country. If we want to be the global leader in combating HIV/AIDS, we need to act like it."

Before this decision, the US joined a less-than-impressive list of countries that banned HIV-positive outsiders. The list still includes: Armenia, Colombia, Iraq, Oman, Qatar, Russia, Saudi Arabia, Solomon Islands, South Korea, Sudan, and Yemen. Considering there are already Americans living with HIV/AIDS, it served little purpose to "quarantine" the country. I'm happy to see that our HIV/AIDS prevention strategies will no longer include an ineffective and discriminatory ban.

Obama's Foursome Finally Includes a Woman

TresSugar — Mon, 26 Oct 2009 10:10:00 -0700

The 44th president has played 24 rounds of golf (who's counting?) since he came to office. How many women have been invited along with the golfer in chief? One. This weekend, President Obama's chief domestic policy adviser Melody Barnes became the first woman to play golf with the president.

Last week, Obama sounded pretty enlightened about modern gender roles. He said that after he had kids, he realized that Michelle should not be solely responsible for running the house just because she's a woman. But it seems that Obama has been having a hard time translating these enlightened ideas to sports, as he typically plays basketball and golf with men only.

Hanging out socially with the boss is always good for career advancement, and it's a bit disappointing that the president was perpetuating the idea that these traditionally all-male activities are still for for members of the "boys club." Hopefully any of the sporty women on staff will now feel welcome to play in these very visible games.

Have you ever felt excluded from activities (social or work-related) because you're a woman?

First Couple Had to Negotiate Their Roles in Marriage

TresSugar — Thu, 22 Oct 2009 13:00:00 -0700

Last night, President Obama spoke to NBC about how he and Michelle had a discussion about gender roles and marriage once they had kids. He explained:

"Michelle was trying to figure out, OK, if the kids get sick why is it that she's the one who has to take time off of her job to go pick them up from school, as opposed to me? What I tried to do was to learn to be thoughtful enough and introspective enough that I wasn't always having to be told that things were unfair."

Based on the Obamas's visibly happy marriage, and the new study that suggests splitting housework leads to a better sex life, it seems that sharing responsibilities for the family and house can only be a win-win for spouses. Still, the president admits that because she's a woman, Michelle still had to make sacrifices he didn't have to. Have you ever spoken to your partner about expectations based on gender roles?

To see video of the president talking about his relationship with Michelle, read more.

Friday Feel Good: Epic Political Sing-Along

TresSugar — Fri, 16 Oct 2009 10:00:00 -0700

No matter where you fall on healthcare reform, or Obama, or the UN, this musical combines presidents and prime ministers singing in perfect harmony, thanks to Auto-Tune. It's like church revival hour, but on Friday. Happy Friday!

Front Page: Thousands of Troops Quietly Sent to Afghanistan

TresSugar — Tue, 13 Oct 2009 08:00:25 -0700

Peace activists are not happy to know that President Obama has quietly sent 34,000 additional troops to Afghanistan. That's 13,000 more than he said would go in March. - Washington Post
Governor Schwarzenegger has signed tough antipaparazzi legislation into law in California. - AP
Bernie Madoff got in a prison brawl with another senior-citizen inmate. They were fighting about the stock market. - New York Post
The Senate Finance Committee is set to vote on a crucial healthcare reform bill today. - AP
Joe Lieberman might help the White House repeal Don't Ask, Don't Tell with bipartisan support. Lieberman has opposed the policy since it was introduced in 1993. - The Advocate

Oh Snap! Marching For Love

TresSugar — Mon, 12 Oct 2009 06:00:00 -0700

Gay rights activists carried a rainbow flag at the US Capitol Building during yesterday's National Equality March. Thousands gathered in Washington DC to push the Obama administration and congress to live up to their promises to advance civil rights for gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender Americans. The demonstrators called for marriage equality and the end to Don't Ask, Don't Tell. On Saturday, President Obama spoke to the nation's largest gay rights organization, renewing his promise to allow gay Americans to openly serve in the military. We'll have to wait and see if the demonstrations urge leaders to fulfill these promises any time soon.

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