Article here. Excerpt:

'Elementary and middle school teachers give higher grades to girls than boys — but that may be more about differences in behavior than differences in what they know, according to new research by University of Georgia economists.

“It appears that teachers see girls’ performance more favorably than boys’ performance,” said Christopher Cornwell, head of the UGA economics department and the study’s lead author.
...
“You would think there would be a close alignment between teachers’ assessment of performance and test scores, but they’re not as closely aligned as you’d think,” Cornwell said.

And that misalignment favors girls, he said.

“It’s not just that they’re not aligned. Boys are less favorably rendered than the girls,” he said.'

Article here. Excerpt:

'Feminism is partly to blame for the breakdown of the family, one of Labour’s most senior female politicians has said.

Diane Abbott, the party’s public health spokesman, said that major issues facing society ‘stem from family breakdown’.
...
Perhaps most surprising, however, is her argument that Left-wingers and feminists should make family breakdown a key battleground rather than leave the issue to Conservatives.

In an interview with The Guardian, she said: ‘Those of us who came of age at the height of feminism had very mixed views about the family, since it seemed to be defined as a heterosexual thing with a certificate, children and mum at home.’

But she said the Left had to recognise that ‘some of the biggest public health issues stem from family breakdown’, explaining: ‘Doctors say to me that so many of the drug and alcohol problems they see stem from family difficulties.’

Video here. I watched this video and despite being no fan of Biden, I don't think a man ought to be accused of inappropriate/lewd conduct for engaging in what has historically been referred to as "friendly affectionate contact". I am pretty sure the new senator's wife was known to Biden and nothing about her body language conveys discomfort, at least not that I could see. Biden didn't do anything wrong here except of course be male. If the sexes were reversed, does anyone think this site would have trumpeted this rather innocuous event? Caption reads:

'Vice President Joe Biden got a little frisky with the wife of Senator Angus King at today's ceremonial swearing-in at the Capitol ...

Biden's hand remains on King's wife, Mary Herman, for at least 20 seconds, moving down her back and to the side of her chest.

The vice president has been in the Capitol today welcoming in the new Congress.'

The 112th Congress has adjourned without reauthorizing the Violence Against Women Act (VAWA).

SAVE has consistently advocated for improvements to VAWA. We have worked hard to educate legislators. Among other things, we held several lobbying events throughout the year. We even wrote our own language, the Partner Violence Reduction Act (PVRA) to show that we can serve all victims of domestic violence while reducing waste, fraud and false allegations.

We are happy to report that some of SAVE's key reforms were included in HR 4970, the House version of VAWA. Rest assured, our efforts to achieve VAWA reform will continue in the next session of Congress.

Please call House Leader Eric Cantor today, and thank him for his principled and courageous support of VAWA reform. Call: (202) 225-2815

Looking forward to 2013,

Teri Stoddard, Program Director
Stop Abusive and Violent Environments
www.saveservices.org

Link here. Excerpt:

'"It is very disturbing that men's starting salaries have increased over the past year but those of women have not, especially given that women make up the majority of university graduates," the research executive manager at the Workplace Gender Equality Agency, Carla Harris, said.

"The lesson here is that the gender pay gap continues to have a very real impact on the bank balance of young women starting their careers."

The pay gap was most pronounced for those working in architecture and building, dentistry, optometry and law.

However, female computer scientists, earth scientists, pharmacists and engineers were amongst those women who earned slightly more than men.

Only education, humanities and medicine had no gender pay gap in starting salaries.'

Article here. Excerpt:

'A man who responded to an online ad for sperm and now faces thousands of dollars in child support is living proof of the dangers of donating outside of a sperm bank.

"The biggest piece of advice is just to not do it," said Ashley Nicole Reeve, a Texas-based attorney practicing in family law and reproductive technology law. "I don't know that there is any sure way legally to protect yourself."

With reproductive technology advancing more quickly than the law that governs it, donors who go through less-than-official channels can find themselves in a gray area when it comes to child support.

"The medical technology really has gone further than what the law has protected at this point. People are using sperm donors and egg donors and surrogates more and more, and the law really hasn't caught up just yet," she said.'

Story here. Yes, indeed. All the same issues that male pols deal with such as electoral pressure, special-interest meddling, internal personality conflicts and interest-clashes, will somehow be mitigated, just because the players are female. Tell me, anyone ever watch a women's soccer or basketball game? Did you walk away thinking women were any less competitive than men? Didn't think so. Thought experiment: The Congress (both houses) are 90+% female and we have a female president, too. Now what has really changed? The deficit is gone? Voters will stop threatening to toss them out if they raise taxes too much or reduce Social Security? Our various Middle East problems will all be solved? Social problems of all kinds will be solved or disappear? What do you think? Excerpt:

'But the women also admit that they believe having more women in the room would help in fierce negotiations, compromise, and legislating on Capitol Hill, traits they say do not come as naturally to their male colleagues in the Senate. That sentiment enjoys bipartisan support among the women of the Senate.

Story here. Excerpt:

'A Maryland family is fighting the one day school suspension of a 6-year-old boy who made a gun gesture with his thumb and forefinger while in class.

The boy was suspended after pointing the finger gun at a classmate and saying “pow,” WTOP reported. The incident came a week after a gunman stormed Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Conn., killing 26 people, including 20 children.

The boy’s family said they got a letter from Roscoe Nix Elementary School in Silver Spring, Md. saying the child was being suspended over the gun gesture and had also been spoken to about a "similar incident,” the Washington Examiner reported.

The family also obtained a lawyer.'

Article here. Excerpt:

'In his book “Man Down: Proof Beyond a Reasonable Doubt That Women Are Better Cops, Drivers, Gamblers, Spies, World Leaders, Beer Tasters, Hedge Fund Managers, and Just About Everything Else”, Dan Abrams slammed men with some outlandish research to make the case for the fairer sex. He stated that “statistics and studies show women are better collaborators, and are more cautious and more adept at navigating treacherous terrain.” He also said that women were better at facing tough conditions, hard economic times, bad situations and some other boring stuff.

I'm sure Abrams book is adored by women worldwide, and is considered a divine revelation by Oprah, but I think the author has it all wrong. Men are better than women at all sorts of really cool jobs and skills. For example, Abrams failed to mention that men still excel at:'

Story here. Excerpt:

The vogue for women-only venues is gathering pace as a restaurant bar prepares to open in Soho.

The independently-owned bar and restaurant in Frith Street, Sofakingcool, is to become “women-only” themed from February 1 and renamed KC’z Bar.

It follows a spate of others which aim to connect women with women — most recently private members’ club Grace Belgravia, which opened in November. It only admits men for dinner on Thursdays and has an annual fee of £5,500.'

Article here. Excerpt:

'Former Newsweek editor Evan Thomas made a bizarre statement on PBS's Inside Washington Friday.

"Unexplored story of the year: white men dropping out - dropping out of the workforce, dropping out of elections, just plain dropping out, getting social security, not doing anything, going hunting, fishing, just not in the game"
...
As such, the biggest decline in this statistic has come from black men not white men who continue to by far represent the largest chunk of the labor force with a participation rate of 73.2 percent.

With this in mind, Thomas might want to rethink his bizarre conclusion.'

Article here. Excerpt:

'Like every mom, Jessica — who requested her last name not be used for this story — had important things to consider during her first pregnancy, including whether or not to have her newborn son circumcised.

A recent policy statement from the American Academy of Pediatrics updated the organization’s 1999 policy on circumcision, the surgical removal of some or all of the foreskin from the penis. The AAP states that the decision should be left to the parents, weighing medical information along with their own religious, ethical and cultural beliefs and practices.
...
Jessica watched a video of a circumcision during a childbirth preparation class. At the time, she and her husband lived in the Northeast.

“That sealed the deal,” she said. “If it’s not necessary, why do it?”'

Article here. Excerpt:

'Last month*, Germany’s official Pediatric Association, the Berufsverband der Kinder- und Jugendärtze (BVKJ), joined the Dutch Medical Association and spoken out against infant circumcision. Below is a transcript of the statement; you can read the original in German here.
...
Initially, it should be observed that there is no reason from a medical point of view to remove an intact foreskin from underage boys or boys unable to give consent. Additionally, in pre-school age, there is only very rarely a real medical indication for removing the foreskin (circumcision). At this age the foreskin (praeputium) is physiologically to a greater or lesser extent, strongly fixed to the glans of the penis. Infections and painful tears often occur due improper attempts to pull back the fixed and still immature foreskin.'

---
* Nov., 2012

Story here. So where's the wailing cries of sexism and demand for apologies? Excerpt:

'No matter what vulgar things Kathy Griffin does on CNN's live New Year's Eve broadcasts, the folks at the supposedly most trusted name in news continue to invite her back.

On Monday night's program, after first telling co-host Anderson Cooper "I'm going to tickle your sack," she shortly after midnight actually kissed his crotch (video follows with transcribed highlights and commentary):

Roughly eleven minutes into the program which began at 10 PM, Cooper commented about how on Twitter folks were suggesting that there should be a game that whenever he giggles nervously during the show, contestants have to take a drink.

Then, completely out of the blue, Griffin said, “I'm going to tickle your sack. You can say sack. That's not bad.”

An obviously nervous Cooper responded, “I don't know what you're talking about. I have no sack of gifts here.”

Link here. Excerpt:

'A US woman charged with child neglect has agreed to not have any more children as a condition of her probation and house arrest.

In October 2011, Kimberly Lightsey, 30, was arrested after she allegedly left her four young children - one of whom has epilepsy, cerebral palsy and brain damage - alone at a trashed hotel room while she went partying.

A guest called police after finding one of the Florida woman's children, who were aged from one to 11, strapped into an overturned stroller in a hallway at the hotel.

At the time, Lightsey was already serving four years of probation after not contesting a charge of hitting her six-year-old son in the face with a belt two years earlier.'