The right to make a different choice

Regarding Senator McCain's choice of Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin as his running mate:

• My nonagenarian aunt asked what I thought of "The Eskimo Governor". (Which answers the question of whether she's still mentally sharp.)
  
• It's a personal decision for a woman, when prenatal screening reveals a serious health issue like Downs Syndrome, whether to abort. While I would have made a different choice, I strongly support the right of women to make their own reproductive choices.
  
• What's scary is that Ms. Palin believes women should NOT have those choices.
• The NYT is reporting that McCain hoped to nominate Joe Lieberman instead, or maybe Tom Ridge. Because both men support reproductive rights, religious conservatives apparently threatened a floor flight if either was nominated.
  
• Worth reading: this BBC article, which explains the story of Palin's pregnant daughter in the context of the US's sky-high teen pregnancy rate (compared to the developed world), and does its best to explain "abstinence-only" indoctrination to a European audience.
• I can't help thinking back to age 17 -- my own immaturity, that of my classmates, and how terribly equipped any of us were for parenthood at that age. My classmates who gave birth in high school -- hmm, their kids are in high school now. Wow.
  

Troll-spotting

A Field Guide, to Trolls on the Internet: part 1, and part 2. Handy! And useful outside the interwebs, too. You may meet a few in person, from time to time.

Feminism 101

Check out the new blog Feminism 101. When someone attempts to derail your discussion with basic basic I-don't-get-it questions, you can kindly refer them to Feminism 101.

From the FAQ: "Educating you on the basics would derail the discussion about the actual topic the feminists are interested in, just for you. That’s an awful lot to ask of people who don’t even know you, isn’t it?"

Cinderella

Having returned from the Cinderella bridal shop, I now suspect that straight-girl feminism, while well-intentioned, may be doomed.