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Well, at least a number of women felt the baby was enough. My problem is with the sense of entitlement. Should a present be expected? I say, “hell, no.” A husband is expected to be supportive of his pregnant wife, and help her with things like maybe going out and getting her some favorite foods, or rubbing her back or feet if they hurt, showing up for the birth to lend support, and of course, taking care of the baby afterward. But a husband should not be expected to give some kind of gift to pay his wife off for having their child, something that sounds so utterly unfeminist and dishonest, I don’t even know where to begin.

What a woman is saying when she expects a gift is that sex - and by extension, child-bearing - must be compensated by a man. This exchange boils down to legal prostitution (nothing wrong with prostitution in my book, but call a spade a spade). The problem here lies in the fact that wives who want this type of exchange often think of themselves as above being a prostitute, but indeed, they are not - they are just dishonest prostitutes who are pretending to be something else. And what about the act of paying for children? A diamond in exchange for a child? Isn’t this a little sick? And if this kind of exchange is okay for women, why not for men?

Go take a few minutes to read the article.  What do you folks think?  Do husbands owe their wives “push” presents?

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Cartoon by David Horsey

H/T  An Ol Broad’s Ramblings

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Heavily armed police swooped down on opposition headquarters and independent election observers’ offices on Friday, arresting hundreds and beating and shoving scores of people in the clearest signal to date that the government intends to hold on to power.

Police seized material on vote counting from both offices in raids that came a day after the United States declared opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai had won the presidential elections. Zimbabweans are still awaiting official results. The opposition charges that President Robert Mugabe is using violence and coercion to hold on to power.

The opposition Movement for Democratic Change and the independent Zimbabwe Electoral Support Network both claim Tsvangirai won the vote, based on their own surveys of results posted at ballot stations.

A ZESN board member, who witnessed the raid and spoke on condition of anonymity for fear of arrest, said police ransacked files, looking for documentation on the results.

You can see my previous Zimbabwe posts HERE.

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America is in line at the airport. America has its shoes off, is carrying a rubberized bin, is going through a magnetometer. America is worried there is fungus on the floor after a million stockinged feet have walked on it. But America knows not to ask. America is guilty until proved innocent, and no one wants to draw undue attention. America left its ticket and passport in the jacket in the bin in the X-ray machine, and is admonished. America is embarrassed to have put one one-ounce moisturizer too many in the see-through bag. America is irritated that the TSA agent removed its mascara, opened it, put it to her nose, and smelled it. Why don’t you put it up your nose and see if it explodes? America thinks.

And, as always: Why do we do this when you know I am not a terrorist, and you know I know you know I am not a terrorist? Why this costly and harassing kabuki when we both know the facts, and would agree that all this harassment is the government’s way of showing “fairness,” of showing that it will equally humiliate anyone in order to show its high-mindedness and sense of justice? Our politicians congratulate themselves on this as we stand in line.

It also details a little bit of Barack Obama’s problem as well.

Main thought. Hillary Clinton is not Barack Obama’s problem. America is Mr. Obama’s problem. He has been tagged as a snooty lefty, as the glamorous, ambivalent candidate from Men’s Vogue, the candidate who loves America because of the great progress it has made in terms of racial fairness. Fine, good. But has he ever gotten misty-eyed over . . . the Wright Brothers and what kind of country allowed them to go off on their own and change everything? How about D-Day, or George Washington, or Henry Ford, or the losers and brigands who flocked to Sutter’s Mill, who pushed their way west because there was gold in them thar hills? There’s gold in that history.

John McCain carries it in his bones. Mr. McCain learned it in school, in the Naval Academy, and, literally, at grandpa’s knee. Mrs. Clinton learned at least its importance in her long slog through Arkansas, circa 1977-92.

Mr. Obama? What does he think about all that history? Which is another way of saying: What does he think of America? That’s why people talk about the flag pin absent from the lapel. They wonder if it means something. Not that the presence of the pin proves love of country - any cynic can wear a pin, and many cynics do. But what about Obama and America? Who would have taught him to love it, and what did he learn was loveable, and what does he think about it all?

Take a few minutes and go read the whole piece.

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However, I am thinking about a slight turn with this blog.  I will continue to post about political stories and comment on them, but I would also like to post a slightly more personal, reflective post each day, similar to what Eric does over at Straight White Guy (although it certainly will not be the same as that).  However, it will tie a little more to my personal life, probably.  I hope to begin this ASAP, and see how it goes.  (This will not be a diary of all I do; just slightly reflective posts).

What do you think?  Is this a good direction or no

By the way, if you haven’t read Eric’s stuff, do you self a favor and check it out.  He writes some good stuff.

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Two bills are pending in Congress that would allow tax collectors to target out-of-state Internet and mail-order retailers, and their supporters are optimistic about their political prospects.

“I certainly would love to see a floor vote,” said Neal Osten, federal affairs counsel for the National Conference of State Legislatures (NCSL), a lobby group for state politicians. “We’ve heard encouraging words from the Democratic leadership in the House.”

Meanwhile, pro-tax states are trying their own ways to circumvent a long-standing rule saying a retailer must have physical presence before it can be forced to collect taxes. One effort came from New York state, where legislators recently approved a measure requiring Amazon and other online retailers (that lack a physical presence in the state) to collect sales tax on New Yorkers’ purchases.

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