Editor’s Note: The following comments have been edited for length

Comment to A Friend Stopped By on April 22

Teresa Proctor - 4/22/2008 12:17 PM

Just imagine how this type of cooperation would work throughout the world. Imagine Women across the world supporting each other to be the best they can be. Imagine Women in the North America, South America, Europe, Australia, Asia and Africa etc. speaking for those who are not able to
be heard because they do not feel safe and secure to do so. Imagine women connecting and speaking for those who can not, what changes could our powerful voices impact, What would this world look like, would hungrier still exist, would brutally of women still be allowed, would disease still run
ramped when we have the knowledge and the means to prevent or even eradicate it, and what message would this send our children? How would they feel about their Mothers and themselves, not only our daughters but our sons too? Just imagine a world where there was a balance, equal sharing, a state of cooperation, what would the world feel like, look like, sound like, taste like, Be like! A World where everyone was valued, respected and truly honored! Just like in the kitchen! Wow, that is my Wildest Dream

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Comment to the Question of the Day on April 21

Maurine H - 4/21/2008 2:07 AM

I have to disagree that China is the “same ole country” as it was 19 years ago. Once China got on board the hi-tech train, began buying property and corporations in the U.S., owning our debt, it started moving at warp speed. A friend of mine moved to Taiwan 15 years ago to open an ad agency. His success there prompted him to open a branch office in Mainland China. He can’t keep up with the demand, has a big staff, says that as the economy grows, the intense excitement in the air is palpable. All of the problems…pollution, overpopulation, lack of job skills and poverty, a rotten record on human rights are obviously not at the top of the Chinese government’s priority list since people are expendable and workers are easily replaced. What I noticed a few years ago was the significant increase of Chinese students coming to the university for MBAs, computer engineering and other related degrees. We tried offering intensive courses in Mandarin during the summer, and guess what? No takers! American students didn’t see the correlation between learning the language and interacting with Chinese business people/economists in the work environment. (Same story for Arabic, by the way)

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Comment to the Question of the Day on April 24

Princess Grace Of Cyberspace - 4/24/2008 3:09 AM

I had a high-profile, high-paying, long-term contract position in a typically male field and had just received a 25%+ performance raise. My client group were all males recruited from all over the US and well-known in their profession. I worked very hard and the consensus was that I was an ace.

3 PM of the day before the start of Christmas break I was leaving for the airport. My boss asked me to stop by. He couldn’t look me in the eye as he said the funding for my position was cut and that Jan 6th would be my last day. I was a single mother, and shell-shocked. I could barely speak, wished him a good holiday and left.

I’ve always worked on contract and am a big believer: Always get it in writing and over perform on your end. I’ve seen this happen to women professionals I know; surgeons, academics, attorneys. Women are often hired on major projects with some federal funding that requires a diverse project team, and once the project is under way and the funding secured, the old boys network kicks in.

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Comment to wOw’s Views on the News on April 25

The cherokee rose - 4/25/2008 8:02 AM
I cannot believe that people do not realize how much power they have as a collective group…i have always wondered if, indeed, just stopping using gas, oil, plastics, etc..would indeed drop oil cartels to their knees…

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Comment to It Happened Last Night on April 21

Maggi D - 4/23/2008 3:24 AM
I don’t smoke pot but back in the late eighties I had an opportunity to have to buy a baggie full. My sister was diagnosed with terminal cancer and the wonderful doctors told us that THC would lessen the horror that she was going through while taking chemo. They weren’t sure how long she would last and the only way that we could get THC legally was to petition the government. This would take approximately six weeks. My other sister and I had to do something to help so we started bar hopping and whispering in people’s ears “Do you know where we could get some pot?” I should tell you that in those days we both looked like school teachers so you can imagine the response we got. Finally after about the fifth bar and tenth drink we walked into a biker bar and they sat us down and educated us. After a long lecture on how we should not be bar hopping by ourselves - and looking for drugs on top of that. When we told them our reason they gave us a baggie of pot, (the sister with cancer never smoked and couldn’t inhale) and told us how to make tea with the stuff. They even went so far as to give us a little silver tea strainer. They gave us all this for free! Then they told us to get our asses home.

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Comment to Judith Martin’s post on April 23

Iris Odonata - 4/23/2008 10:15 AM
I imagine the biographies of my fellow travelers. I see, smell, hear, taste and feel my story in theirs. I do this, as at any moment, they may be who saves my life.

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Comment to Joan Ganz Cooney’s post on April 23

My Alias - 4/23/2008 3:18 PM
The Republicans already had all that Jeremiah Wright business in their kitty ready to unleash if Obama got the nom. Hillary didn’t do that to him. Obama chose to have Wright as his spiritual advisor on his campaign. Should she have ignored this? Should any of us have ignored this? Obama would’ve been wise to let Hillary have her moment as he got his ducks in a row, got his chops in the Senate, created a record worthy of leadership and distanced himself from the incendiary Wright. It was Obama’s folly to jump the gun instead of waiting eight short years to become the leader of a super power. Hillary would’ve handed him the Presidency on a silver platter after she fixed the economy during her two terms. But ego and ambition and poor advice led him into the political fray before he was ready. Personally I think Hillary should’ve gone negative much earlier. Obama would’ve been out of the race before Edwards, if Hillary’s misguided campaign team had not tried to take the high road for so long.