BlogHer - politics - Comments

Sad

Kim Pearson — Thu, 02 Jul 2009 15:40:31 -0500

This whole episode seems like something made up by Stephen Colbert.

By the way, Weymouth issued a statement this afternoon saying that she had not seen the flyer and would not have approved it. But her explanation is a bit odd:

"We are always looking for new revenue streams," she said, "but we will pursue only avenues that uphold our high standards of journalism. We were planning to do a series of dinners and had requested newsroom participation but with parameters such that we did not in any way compromise our integrity. Sponsorship of events, like advertising in the newspaper, must be at arm's length and cannot imply control over the content or access to our journalists."

So it sounds as if they were planning to have the soirees and charge for them, but now they just won't involve reporters and editors?

Somewhere, Katherine Graham is screaming right now.

KimBlogHer Contributing Editor|Professor Kim|

Clever

Nordette — Thu, 02 Jul 2009 14:51:23 -0500

That made me chuckle, but also kind of sad. :-)

If we want to keep up with the swift pace of news today, we'd better take more vitamins. LOL.

Nordette Adams is a BlogHer CE & you can find her other stuff through Her 411.

Either spelling

Maria Niles — Thu, 02 Jul 2009 14:10:23 -0500

Technically either spelling is correct, Nordette though some guidelines suggest flier for handouts and flyer for Radio Flyer wagons.

Also, amazingly, there is already a parody video up on YouTube.

BlogHer Contributing Editor
PopConsumer
Beyond Help

Yeah, a Post-mortem on this

Nordette — Thu, 02 Jul 2009 13:50:09 -0500

Yeah, a Post-mortem on this one would be good and so apropos for bones, dinosaurs trying to figure out what the hell happend to us, and bone-headed ideas. :-) I smell desperation in the air. And this is the paper of Woodward & Bernstein. It's supposed to break political corruption scandals not pimp power.

Nordette Adams is a BlogHer CE & you can find her other stuff through Her 411.

Maybe old-school hard print

Nordette — Thu, 02 Jul 2009 13:38:02 -0500

Maybe old-school hard print is a the new way today to hide your strange doings. :-)

Some of the jokes on Twitter about this are amusing.

I usually go with "flyer" for circulars but I keep seeing "flier," and so I've figured this is another word morph in our society.

Nordette Adams is a BlogHer CE & you can find her other stuff through Her 411.

Talk About Bone Headed

Megan Smith — Thu, 02 Jul 2009 13:32:31 -0500

What a bone headed idea. I mean I know the news business, especially the print business is suffering, but come on...does credibility mean nothing anymore?

Maybe what WaPo should be doing is setting up some salons to figure out why this dumb idea got as far as it did.

Megan
BlogHer Contributing Editor, TV/Online Video

Megan's Minute

I love that they used a flyer to advertise the program

Morra Aarons Mele — Thu, 02 Jul 2009 13:18:18 -0500

What's more old fashioned than a flyer?

Morra Aarons-Mele
www.womenandwork.org

I know what you mean

Jill Miller Zimon — Wed, 24 Jun 2009 20:08:40 -0500

I've often thought that the perfection/do it all-all at once construct was something devised by men who just wanted to be sure that women would become such obsessed mothers that they'd never even think about competing with the men for any role outside the home at all. And, I'll confess, I had/have those thoughts when I literally careening around trying to meet so many people's needs, my own included. So I do have to ask, what am I contributing to that sense? Am I really that pliable that I'll do whatever is expected of me?

I think there are real societal expectations and, frankly, some from religion as well, that combine to make us feel pressure or combine and pressure us to feel that we must be these perfect performers in our roles, AND want more.

I cope with it mostly by ascribing to the "it doesn't have to be an A+ all the time" philosophy. So every meal, every outing, every birthday party, every column I write - I want them all to meet expectations - mine and others. But sometimes, it's going to be the B+ version, maybe even the B. And sometimes, that's going to have to be okay. I do rely on my relationships too - although I don't always ask for help or let people help me enough, when they offer. I think that's an area a lot of us could do better with, and maybe because we don't always do well in that area, we get these spins about women not supporting women enough. Definitely an area to think about/work on for me, I know.

Thanks for reading and commenting.

Jill Writes Like She Talks

Thanks, Maria

Jill Miller Zimon — Wed, 24 Jun 2009 20:00:58 -0500

Of course it still isn't easy. :) The expectations of someone in an elected position definitely don't always align with the realities that elected people are still people - who stab their cheeks with mascara wands.

But I think these fears about being perfect are even more intense for women and yet of COURSE we are qualified and capable, AND human. And that is okay. If men aren't scared off, we shouldn't be either.

Even if I must say, it's scary. :)

Jill Writes Like She Talks

I'm starting to wonder if

thebloggingmum — Wed, 24 Jun 2009 13:25:46 -0500

I'm starting to wonder if we're all trying to do too much at once. I wonder what kind of legacy we're leaving behind us? Does it matter anymore, or have we all become completely disposable and forgettable?

Keirkegaard said, "purity of heart is to will one thing". I'm beginning to think of it in a similar fashion- but a little differently. "Sanity of mind is to will one thing." Mothers have put so much pressure on ourselves and each other to be this new breed of superwoman- but what if it's all a facade, put out there by women who have nothing better to do than make other women feel bad about themselves, as though their efforts are not enough?

Kudos to you for making it all work. I just sometimes think that we forget that we don't have to do all that, to still have a meaningful life.

Great insight, Jill

Maria Niles — Wed, 24 Jun 2009 12:37:07 -0500

And when I start to think about the lifestyle of the elected and busy in this way, thanks to the exposés, what I come to realize is that working in an elected position is just like any other job, role or position that any of us take on in life: the more we realize that working as an elected lawmaker can be integrated into our lives just like any other job, role or position, the less we will treat it as this, "Oh, but I can't do that!" on a pedestal aspiration.

I love this, Jill. The more we can tear down the perceived barriers to running and serving the more we can increase the range of people who fill our elected offices.

BlogHer Contributing Editor
PopConsumer
Beyond Help

When when when!? ;)

Jill Miller Zimon — Thu, 11 Jun 2009 07:32:39 -0500

Are you running and where? Evil grin!

I'm really good at giving unsolicited advice but lucky for you and others, there's a TON of good info on the Internet and more and more entities that are helping women - all along the ideological spectrum - run.

Good luck! And thanks.

Jill Writes Like She Talks

Good for you!

fittothefinish — Thu, 11 Jun 2009 05:57:22 -0500

Women are underrepresented in all levels of government offices. Whether conservative or liberal, women should be encouraged by your decision to run for a seat on your city council. I know I am.

Diane

lost 150 pounds and talks about it at:

www.fittothefinish.com/blog

Why 100 days ?

melaniej99 — Thu, 30 Apr 2009 02:47:39 -0500

Btw, why 100 days ? why don't 30 days ? or 200 days may be ? :)

http://ohiowriters.net Learning

http://urbantoolamerica.com Business

Nice work. I would add to

Norma156 — Wed, 29 Apr 2009 09:02:48 -0500

Nice work. I would add to his list of achievements the flipflop on prosecuting Bush-era lawyers. He styles himself as a latter day Lincoln, but I didn't notice Honest Abe hanging Jeff Davis or Robert E. Lee, surely worse "crimes" than drafting legal opinions.