The Equal Rights Amendment has been re-Introduced in Congress. Rock on. Here’s hoping that (1) it actually gets through this time, (2) it doesn’t paralyze NOW into a one-issue group for the next several years, and (3) Phyllis Schlafly stays in her cave for the duration. The ACLU‘s heavy-handed self-congratulations patting itself on the back over its feminist record is rather hypocritical, but that is another post entirely….

The ACLU has published a press release which endorses John Conyer’s introduction of legislation to ensure that the widespread problems with our voting system that were highlighted in last year’s election, are resolved. The press release also criticizes President Bush and the Republican Congress, who have not lifted a finger to do anything about the bill or the problem as a whole. The House has not scheduled any hearings on election irregularities and has no timetable for addressing it. ACLU representative Christopher Anders testified to the Democratic Caucus of the House:

Although the 2002 and 2004 elections may seem distant, Anders added, we are already very late if we want to get the reforms in place to achieve equality in the polling place.

Gee, the problems of the electoral system disproportionately disenfranchise poor and minority voters. If it weren’t for the problems that this bill aims to fix, George W. Bush would not have been elected President. And now the Republican Congress and Republican President are not willing to take concerted action to ensure fairness in voting. What a surprise!

While trying to find a webbed version of FAIR‘s excellent expose of the Boston Globe’s hypocrisy on the David Horowitz saga (they blasted student editors for censoring Horowitz–a feat that is, in fact, impossible, as I have remarked before … and then they themselves refused an ad from an environmental group which criticized Staples), I accidentally stumbled across a great essay of FAIR‘s Women’s Desk back from 1993, Erasing Rape: Media Hype an Attack on Sexual-Assault Research. It’s a skillful refutation of Katie Roiphe’s hatchet job on Mary Koss’s research on acquaintence rape… nothing much new for those of us who have kept track of the research on sexual violence for a while, but definitely a good summary of the criticisms Roiphe (and nearly everyone else who objects to the Koss research) uses, and the reasons why these criticisms are full of it.

Two brothers in Middleburg, PA will face trial for attempted murder in yet another savage anti-gay beating [Advocate.com]. The victim has been left permanently comatose. If you live in Alabama, please call or write your state Representative in support of HB 423, which has just been sent to the House floor for consideration. The bill will add sexual orientation to the provisions of Alabama’s hate crimes bill, and was introduced in response to the similarly brutal 1999 beating death of Billy Jack Gaither.

To find your state representative by your ZIP code, go to http://www.legislature.state.al.us/misc/zipsearch.html and enter your ZIP code. Once you have your Representative’s name, you can contact her/his office by telephone at (334) 242-7600 and asking for her/his telephone extension. You can also contact her/him by snail mail at:

Member’s Name<br/> House of Representatives<br/> 11 South Union Street<br/> Montgomery, AL 36130

Anne Serene’s Trans Reference Site has an amazing wealth of information about transgender / transsexual / intersex etc. issues. It’ll help you out more in understanding transgender experience than an episode of Jerry Springer, anyway.