"I long to hear that you have declared an Independency - and by the way in the new Code of Laws which I suppose it will be necessary for you to make I desire you would Remember the ladies, and be more generous and favourable to them than your ancestors...If particular care and attention is not paid to the ladies, we are determined to foment a rebellion, and will not hold ourselves bound by any laws in which we have no voice or representation." ---Abigail Adams

Almost everything I know about the status of women in Iran I learned from one of four sources: 1) my friend's friend Roxanna, who was born in Iran and went back every summer to visit her family; 2) "Reading Lolita in Tehran" by Azar Nafisi; 3) the "Persepolis" graphic novels by Marjane Satrapi; and 4) articles in mainstream American newspapers.

Once again, I've stupidly been living my life by various feminist principles that are sure to leave me without a husband or boyfriend, unloved, unsexed, and dead in a bathtub with my face eaten off my my 98 pet rabbits* (I'm allergic to cats) before anyone even notices that I am missing. Fortunately, the ad world is here to help me out!

So, a few weeks ago, conservative talking heads launched a series of really angry attacks on liberals and feminists because we paid more attention to the assassination of Dr. Tiller on May 31 than the murder of Pvt. William Andrew Long outside a recruiting office in Arkansas on June 1. (Another soldier was wounded in the attack on the recruiting office.) I see that there are some similarities in the two cases (both killers believe that their murderous impulses are justifiable because they were saving other lives by killing), but I don't get why feminists are bad people for being "more" distraught over Dr. Tiller's death.

Sometimes, I'm amazed at my capacity to still be shocked by the things I see. For instance, while seeking mindless entertainment on TV late one night, I settled on Paris Hilton's BFF. In this "reality" show, young women and one guy compete to become Paris's new best friend. (Because of course the best way to find a loyal friend is to pit women against each other, but whatever.) Mindless entertainment I sought, evil women bashing I got.