Hillz Hillz Hillz...

Hillz, honey...what's goin on?




You may have heard about this famous Tense Clinton Moment that took place at a Congolsese university in Kinshasa yesterday. A question from a male university student at a town hall meeting - (that, it turns out, may have been mistranslated) - was met with some annnnngry words by our Secretary of State.

I'm having a multi-layered response to this. On the one hand (the hand that holds a degree in psychology) I say to myself:

"Hillary," I say, confusing Hillary Clinton with myself, "you are not helping your reputation. This feeds exactly into that caricatured 'feminazi' stereotype your detractors already box you into. The Limbaugh crew is going to be all over it. Plus... you're a diplomat, and I hate to point this out but its kind of your job to keep your cool. You could have explained how you felt about that question in a constructive way here, and still made your point. A teachable moment. Or really, you could have just picked your battles and let it slide. A question about China's pending world domination is nothing to scoff at."

On the other hand (the hand that holds a degree in women's studies) (I tend to keep my degrees in separate hands, lest they quarrel) I say to myself:

"Hillz, I feel you. That was not cool. Even as I TRY to think of a comparable example of what would happen if a man were asked what his wife thought, contextually it's totally different. A man being asked in Africa for his wife's opinion on foreign policy would never even have to consider that his own opinion was being disregarded as unimportant. I see where you're going with this, and I like your huevos."

Is my first hand a tool of the patriarchy? Is my second just winning the battle but losing the war?

Deep thoughts...

Gratuitous carrot cake post!

Ba-BAM!

Just getting warmed up...

In my last post, on November 19th, 2008, I promised I would start posting again soon. Needless to say... I didn't.

My last post before that, September 24th, was pre-election, and I kept up a pretty good stream of posts from March 2008, when the heat was on in the Democratic presidential primary, up through the Fall...

And as I read these posts over, thinking of how I might continue this blog-line without the attendant drama of a historic presidential election to spur me along -- (it's good for your career, says CNN) -- I realize two things:

1. I am somewhat absurdly upset by hypocrisy and lies.
2. I am absolutely farcically upset by hypocrisy and lies when demonstrated by individuals selected for leadership positions.

Actually, three things:
3. When numbers 1. and 2. are true, above, I become inordinately self-righteous. But also fun to read.

Seeing as I live in Washington, DC, where vociferous public self-righteousness has always been the new black, I don't find this unusual.

But it does give me pause to consider that self-righteousness might be what motivates me to type and share my thoughts. I could easily say that my blogging was borne of a powerful desire to expose injustice, but I could also just as easily say: "LISTEN TO MEEEEE, I KNOW THE RIGHT THING ALL THE TIIIIIME." (Just picture that, in a whiny, little-girl voice.... and there you have Anne Coulter. Ba dum - ching.) But... you also have Rachel Maddow. Or Ana Marie Cox. Ana Marie Cox is freaking hilarious.

So what's a girl to do? Blog about injustice (and cupcakes)? In a fun way? Mayhaps...