From MSNBC.com: Women firefighters direct a hose on Pearl Harbor after the attacks. What I love most about this photo? The diversity of women fighting back. Amazing. Proud.

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After 70 years in our hearts, minds and textbooks, we celebrate another anniversary of the Pearl Harbor attacks on our country. Dec. 7, 1941 was a day that would live in “infamy,” Pres. Franklin D. Roosevelt said. And it was true.

I remember as a young girl – about 3rd grade – our teacher asked us to talk to our grandparents about World War II and where they were when Pearl Harbor happened. I asked my grandma.

My grandparents were never “hip.” No Nintendo games for me on Christmas morning — usually just Mickey Mouse pajamas. But my God, they have an impressive history and my grandmother is one amazing lady.

My grandfather, Kenneth, was a pilot – a mailman, actually. My grandmother heard the news on the radio, was scared to death for the men who were on base, and wondered if her husband was OK. He was – he wrote her after he touched down in Japan by plane. He later sent gifts to her – Japanese money, a Japanese kimono, and other Japanese trinkets. I remember she showed me these things when she told me this story.

She remembers Franklin’s voice – she remembers the way it sounded. She remembered feeling strong and confident in how the U.S. was going to handle it – but she still wondered if her husband would make it back OK.

When she tells me stories about other war wives, she usually pauses.”I never knew what happened with her. I liked her a lot. She had a good laugh,” she’ll say. Or, “Her husband died not long after that – I think she got a job at a department store and remarried.”

Despite how different their lives were after the war was over, the war wives my grandmother met were her friends and they had that big, international event that tied them together.

I wrote my paper for class and turned it in. At 10 years old, I didn’t think much about it, but now I’m so glad our teacher asked us to talk to our grandparents. I’m sure our own children and grandchildren will ask us one day where we were when 9/11 happened. Hopefully that’s the only tragedy we encounter from here on out.

The picture above reminds me of my grandma. Even though she wasn’t there and didn’t direct a hose, in the years that followed, she played housekeeper and worked in an artillery factory while grandpa was away at the war. My own Rosie the Riveter in my bloodline — and whose blood I share. After the flood of 1965 in Clinton, she scrubbed out my mother’s childhood home so they could move back in. She worked 2 jobs to support the family. She’s 86 now and she’s still a kick-ass broad. When she fell last summer and broke her leg, she managed to use her good leg to hook the phone cord to call 911. Even in pain, she’s still tough.

For more information about the 70th anniversary of Pearl Harbor and to see photos from that day, visit the MSNBC article.

Of three candidates, Washburn-Livingston was chosen as the most experienced. She is a 29-year veteran firefighter. Davenport City Administrator, Craig Malin, said her gender is “inconsequential” to her hiring process, according to the story by the Quad-City Times.

“I am going to go in with the assumption that it isn’t a problem,” she said. “There may be some challenges, but it depends on how you handle the challenges whether they become problems.

She added that she’s been “working to become a chief,” and that it was “her goal.”

Also according to the Quad-City Times, she holds a bachelor’s degree in music education and an associate degree in fire science and serves as an adjunct instructor in fire science at Rock Valley College in Rockford.

Naturally, people are weary of the new selection. Some were concerned about hiring someone from outside of Davenport (she is reportedly the first person Davenport has ever hired for fire chief who wasn’t from the Quad-Cities). And of course, some people are making lousy comments.

A Quadsville member on the Quad-City Times website commented, “I mean no disrespect but she’s certainly not a girly girl. At least she won’t be late cause she’s fooling with her hair or makeup!!”

This, of course, was absolutely disrespectful. Whenever anyone prefaces a comment with “I mean no disrespect,” or “I don’t want to sound racist…” you can usually count on the comment being totally racist or disrespectful. Such is the case.

The Quad-City Times has since removed the user’s comment, although another user pointed out, “Why do we have to mention that she’s a woman?” Good point. Why are we pointing out her gender? It hasn’t held her back thus far, why should we mention it now?

She joins many female firefighters who are outnumbered by men, but also who get just as much respect in the firehouse as the others (for the most part). Check out my interview and profile of two female firefighters in Iowa City - one who has experienced a great deal of discrimination during her early years in the late 70s and 1980s.

Regardless, best of luck to her and all her endeavors. She clearly deserves the promotion and has worked hard to get here. Way to go, Lynn!

In an article by Rebecca Dube, nearly 90% of moms judge other moms, for everything from breast feeding habits to how they deal with their kids. One mom said motherhood is “a competition nobody meant to enter.”

What? Why?

Seems pretty ridiculous, but we are human after all. 1 in 5 moms will judge someone for choosing not to breast feed, while 43% of moms think breast feeding after the child is 3 years old is “too long.”

Bratty kids (wow, that’s a lot of moms being judged!), overweight children, or a child who watches too much TV also have mommies who aren’t just so liked.

The affects of mom judging can lead to anti-social behavior, says one mom in Canada who doesn’t pal around with other moms because of feeling “inferior.”

Really?

I guess I understand it, especially as a woman. We judge each other all the time. If a girl is pretty, we just assume she’s dumb. If she’s unattractive, we just assume she must be really smart or a loser. If someone’s skinny, they don’t eat enough and if they’re fat, they eat too much. It’s pretty effed up, if you think about it.

But in a crashing economy, violence, the world seeming upside down most days, maybe it’s an escape?

That’s what parenting expert Wendy Mogel thinks. Controlling your choices as a parent is much easier to think about rather than worrying about what’s going on that can’t be controlled.

I’ve gotta admit though, just be the parent you think is best: and do the best you can. Do I have any room to talk about this? Hell no. I’m not a mom yet. But I can tell you that judging each other isn’t going to make our children’s lives any easier. If we’re expecting them to have this beautiful world of caring-and-sharing, how can we pass that on if we’re giving every other mom the stink eye?

Check out what comedian Louis CK has to say about raising his two girls – who, by the way – he devotes 115% of his attention to when he has them in his split custody arrangement. No phone calls, no agents, no acts, no TV shows. And he is not apologetic for any of that.

Better yet? The headline doesn’t even mention her being a woman (at least in the one I found)! It just says, “Newark Police Chief Promises Community Engagement.” Mayor Cory Booker called her a “trailblazer”, as not only the first female police chief, but the first African-American  female in the department.

That is a long time coming.
http://www.myfoxny.com/video/videoplayer.swf?dppversion=11266

Newark Police Chief Promises Community Engagement: MyFoxNY.com

She has been with the Newark Police Force since 1989, working as a patrol officer, narcotics detective and then captain in 2004. She's certainly paid her dues.

Police Director Samuel DeMaio and Coley will be working side-by-side. Booker said he is hopeful to see a decrease in crime now that both are in established positions. Crime in Newark increased 14% this year, he said.

Congratulations to Sheilah and her new promotion!

Well, she doesn’t exactly give you that equation. But she does say the following:

I think America is going through a liberal movement, and the older, more traditional marriage values are becoming something of the past. Jim and I are one couple who still favor a more traditional marriage rather than a liberal marriage, and because we do, it makes my marriage an interesting conversation topic. However just because we have a more traditional marriage does not mean I do not make my own decisions. As you can see just in this one episode, I chose to wear the dress I wanted, not the dress that was Jim’s first choice.

Yep, that’s right. She got to pick her own dress — so obviously she is a woman of her own word! She also said, according to Morrissey, “Everybody thinks [my husband] bosses me around. And it’s OK because he is the man.”

Yep. So glad you're such a great role model for our girls. What's the discussion tonight, ladies? Politics? World culture? Oh, wait, catty gossip! DO SHARE!

I’m not saying men should be de-balled because for the last BILLION centuries they’ve been the decision-makers. If she wants to live in her little fantasy world of “reality,” she can do that, by all means. But how on earth can we continue to put these people on a pedestal, give them fame and fortune, while the crumble the moral fabric of women’s rights? I never watched this show to begin with, and you better believe I’m never watching it now.

And I didn’t hit the tip of the ice berg. In the video from the link above, she actually uses the Christian excuse of “coming from a man’s rib” as the reason that she takes his orders.

Which brings me to the best bumper sticker I’ve ever seen. “I like your Christ, I do not like your Christians. Your Christians are so unlike your Christ.” – Ghandi.

So go ahead and give yourself a pat on the back, Alexis, for being ever-so-Christian with your beliefs in the household. Oh, and put your boobs away and stop acting catty like a 14-year-old. I don’t think Jesus digs that.

In another article, a woman whose name I’ve ignored because I don’t want to give her the pleasure of being tweeted, talked about, or, in my case, blogged about, claims that “slutwalks” are the future of feminism. Wanna see this business? Click here and watch the discussion on MSNBC’s Morning Joe.

I get what she’s TRYING to do, albeit sadly trying to do. She is trying to say that women should be able to wear what they want without being an object. I totally get that. But why does feminism have to be based on what we wear or how we look? Isn’t that totally steering the wrong direction of feminism? What happened to the freedom of character, the freedom of morals and beliefs?

Now the gist behind SlutWalks is a little more than just being slutty. According to Huffington Post, which wrote an article about this back in April, it started in Toronto after a police officer told a group of students that rapes and sexual attacks can be prevented if women “stop dressing like sluts.”

Am I offended? You bet. It doesn’t matter if you’re wearing sweatpants and a hockey jersey, if someone wants to rape you, they’ll find a way. Claiming that the  police officer was “victim blaming,” a core group of women formed SlutWalks, which has taken Canada and the United States by storm with thousands protesting and joining the movement.

While I agree that the police officer should’ve phrased his words differently, or better yet, just focused the avoidance of rape as 1.) Don’t go out alone 2.) Carry protective gear such as pepper spray, etc…the women in SlutWalks claim that dressing sexy is an expression of their sexual emotions. Really? That’s the best you can do? What happened to stressing self defense classes, or safety in numbers? Rape, burglary, physical assault — all of these things can be covered with those two examples in particular. Dressing slutty isn’t teaching anyone ANY lessons, and it’s only sending the wrong message to younger generations.  You’re not going to have any serial rapists sit back and say, “Wow, you go girls. I’m going to leave you alone now.”

Education is key, and it always has been. As is communication, which continues to be a binding force for women’s liberation and any successful progress. Want to help women protect themselves from being victims of rape and assault? Encourage self defense classes and safety. Provide education on how to handle such a situation. Provide free pepper spray to every woman in the country. Do something, but don’t encourage wearing next to nothing to encourage expression. It just doesn’t work that way.

In the United States, women are actually outrunning men in terms of successful careers, yet still falling behind in the pay structure. Some careers, such as politics and medicine, continue to be overrun with men, putting the woman’s voice at an extreme disadvantage.

The Huffington Post did a great job shining the light on Int’l Woman’s Day, bringing mention to the lack of family planning options for over 200 million women around the globe. Women’s health took a drastic knock earlier last month, as Planned Parenthood’s federal funding was drastically cut. Women have spilled across the Internet, including Facebook, standing with Planned Parenthood to continue funding the rights of female health care such as annual examinations, breast cancer screening, family planning and sexual health education.

Despite the hardships we face, however, we manage to overcome many obstacles. First Lady Michelle Obama said today, “We as a nation benefit from their intelligence, from their hard work, from their creativity and their leadership,” adding that “we’ve come a long way.”

We have. We only got the right to vote some 90+ years ago. We still trail behind men in various fields of work, not to mention our equal pay. Yet we’ve managed to obtain high political positions, hugely important seats in local and community government, CEOs, presidents of major universities and much, much more. While women still make up the majority of nurses, secretaries and teachers, they still manage to balance work, family and their other home responsibilities with little complaint.

So to the women of the world – Happy Int’l Women’s Day. Even if we haven’t reached the sky yet, we’ve at least reached the atmosphere.

Each wrestler weighs 112 lbs, but Northrup, a home-schooled student from a religious background, defaulted as he didn’t approve of wrestling a female. Not having anything to do with “being beat by a girl,” as many critics are saying, Northrup simply said it wasn’t appropriate for him to treat a girl in the manner that wrestling requires – pins, take downs, etc.

Herkelman’s father, Bill Herkelman, said he “respected” Joel’s decision to default. “It’s nice to get the first win and have her be on the way to the medal round,” he wrote. “I sincerely respect the decision of the Northrup family especially since it was made on the biggest stage in wrestling. I have heard nothing but good things about the Northrup family and hope Joel does very well the remainder of the tourney.”

Joel’s father, Jamie Northrup, is a minister from Marion and said women shouldn’t be handled, “in a familiar way,” referring to the full-contact sport that continues to be a popular athletic event in the state.

This little gal is one tough cookie. Her dad roudly gave her a back massage and her coach gave her a pep talk before she entered the ring. She did an excellent job, and I watched her win at least 1 match. Amazing. And there were girls even YOUNGER than her running around in singlets. I was really impressed -- go, girls!

I thought this was a fascinating story. I’m sure Joel will face a lot of critics out there but hey – he did what he had to do. Bottom line? I think it’s awesome that two young women broke the gender barrier in state wrestling in Iowa. My nephew, Aiden, just turned 7 and has been wrestling for a few months now. He really enjoys it and on Sunday, he got his first pin and took 3rd place. You wouldn’t believe the amount of little girls I saw running around that gym in Evansville, Wis. Ponytails flying, argyle socks and tough faces. One gal even took out a few boys.

This discussion isn’t about “anything you can do, I can do better,” (quoting “Annie Get Your Gun”) but rather about the varying opinions of women in a male-dominated activity / job / etc. Northrup made his decision based on a religious belief and I completely respect that – but Cassy and Megan’s tribulations are surely just beginning as they continue to face this kind of comparison and debate in their wrestling careers. But a pat on the shoulder to all involved – it was handled in a very respectable manner and I wish all the wrestlers the best.

Read the full story on MNSBC for more information.

The man who conducted the study, Anthony Lo Sasso, said the only reason he can find for the widening gap is gender bias, but added that it’s possible some women in the study were taking less salary for other compensatory benefits, such as family benefits or more solid, regular work schedules.

Despite more women choosing primary care fields, the amount of women choosing higher-paying medical specialties is on the rise, even if their pay is not. As mentioned in a previous post, the medical field continues to be one area where women struggle behind men, despite the overwhelming amount of women in the field.

Read the U.S. News & World Reports story about this topic.

Rep. Gabrielle "Gabby" Giffords and husband, Mark Kelly.

It’s no longer news that the Tuscon, Ariz. on January 8 has left 6 dead and 14 wounded, but it is news that the most critically wounded, Rep. Gabrielle Giffords (D-Arizona) opened her eyes yesterday after surviving a gunshot wound to the head.

According to President Barack Obama, Giffords husband, Mark Kelly, held her hand and asked her to open her eyes, and she did. Friends in the room asked her to give a “thumbs up” if she could understand and hear them, and she did that too, even raising her arm.

Giffords, 40, is believed to have been the victim of an alleged assisination attempt by Tuscon resident and disturbed young man, Jared Lee Loughner, 22. Loughner, as news reports have leaked, has had more than a few years with troubled behavior both in high school and community college. There has not been any comment from Loughner regarding his motive, but his parents have publically provided an apology and regret for their son’s violent behavior and actions.

Giffords has been a staunch opponent of several conservative movements, including the 2008 Economic Stimulus Package from George W. Bush and the No Child Left Behind plan. She is currently serving her third term in office.

Fortunately the bullet that entered Giffords’ head did not pass over both hemispheres of the brain, which can cause irreversable brain damage. Though doctors estimate she won’t be fully recovered for several months or over a year, they don’t believe she will have any long-term negative consequences from the shooting.

An intern with Giffords, Daniel Hernandez, 20, is credited with saving the representative’s life after rushing to her side and placing his hand over the would to stop the bleeding. According to news reports, he “teared up” when President Obama introduced him and honored him at the recent memorial service.

Of the six fatalities, one was a 9-year-old girl and another was a U.S. District judge. Of the 14 injuries, only 3 are listed in serious condition and Giffords in critical. Doctors said she has been improving daily, however, and she’s now communicating with friends and family.

Note: I wrote this blog in honor of Rep. Giffords, a woman in a male-dominated career (politics) and a brave soul combatting what could have been a fatal injury. May Loughner get the penalty he deserves for his heinous crime.

"Rosie the Riveter," as she became known, was a Westinghouse Company anti-strike ad that was inspired by real-life industrial worker, Geraldine Huff Doyle, who died Sunday at age 86.

Goodbye, sweet Rosie. Geraldine Hoff Doyle, 86, died Sunday, Dec. 26 at her home in Michigan. Ms. Doyle was the inspiration for the iconic “Rosie the Riveter” symbol made famous during World War II when women worked in industrial factories while men were away in the war.

According to the New York Times obituary for Ms. Doyle, she was unaware of her influence in pop culture and advertising until 1982. She had been photographed in 1942 at age 17 working in a factory. A United Press photographer took her photo that inspired the art. Conveniently she was also wearing a blue jumpsuit and a polka-dotted kerchief in her hair.

Despite the generations of feminists that the image inspired, Doyle quit the job after two weeks, hearing about a coworker who damaged her hands on the job. As a cellist, she dare not ruin the lifeforce behind her music. She met her husband, Leo, shortly after. They were married for 66 years until his passing earlier this year.

“Rosie” is survived by 6 children, 18 grandchildren and 25 great-grandchildren. Her legacy continues to live on.

Another "Rosie the Riveter," this time by Americana artist, Norman Rockwell. Rosie's foot is appropriately propped on a Hitler book (as a sign of disrespect) while she eats her lunch with a welding tool.

Her daughter, Stephanie Gregg, told the Times that her mother “didn’t have big, muscular arms,” like in the advertisement made by Westinghouse Company. Instead, she was 5’10″ and slender. Still beautiful though, just like the poster.

May we salute Geraldine and all the women who went to work for our country during World War II! I’m proud to say that after a long conversation with my grandmother a few weeks ago, I found out that she, too, sweated and worked in a factory while my grandfather was training in Arizona. She made some great friends there of some other spitfire women — and to this day wonders what happened to them and how their lives turned out.

A real "Rosie" applies rivets to a vehicle or aircraft in a factory during WWII.

My best friend, Kelli, bought me the “We Can Do It!” poster in a tin form for a Christmas gift. It’s hanging in my apartment proudly. I still love that poster — advertisement or not. It speaks to all generations to come.