The Leadership Lid

One of the greatest natural resources in America is going underused. And she may be sitting right at the next desk.

By Anna Quindlen | NEWSWEEK

Published Oct 4, 2008

From the magazine issue dated Oct 13, 2008

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Posted By: Jim Johnson @ 10/17/2008 7:28:50 PM

Comment: Obama's view of the future of America - Socialism which is the next step to Communism!! He admitted to Joe the Plumber than he wanted to spread the wealth! He said that he wanted to make everyone equal! Is America ready for Socialism? The Iranian president, Ahmadinejad, said today that he is glad to see the end to capitalism in America!! Are you glad?????
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Under socialism a ruling class of intellectuals, bureaucrats and social planners decide what people want or what is good for society and then use the coercive power of the State to regulate, tax, and redistribute the wealth of those who work for a living. In other words, socialism is a form of legalized theft.

The morality of socialism can be summed-up in two words: envy and self-sacrifice. Envy is the desire to not only possess another's wealth but also the desire to see another's wealth lowered to the level of one's own. Socialism's teaching on self-sacrifice was nicely summarized by two of its greatest defenders, Hermann Goering and Bennito Mussolini. The highest principle of Nazism (National Socialism), said Goering, is: "Common good comes before private good." Fascism, said
Mussolini, is "a life in which the individual, through the sacrifice of his own private interests??realizes that completely spiritual existence in which his value as a man lies."

Socialism is the social system which institutionalizes envy and self-sacrifice: It is the social system which uses compulsion and the organized violence of the State to expropriate wealth from the producer class for its redistribution to the parasitical class.

Despite the intellectuals' psychotic hatred of capitalism, it is the only moral and just social system.

Capitalism is the only moral system because it requires human beings to deal with one another as traders--that is, as free moral agents trading and selling goods and services on the basis of mutual consent.

Capitalism is the only just system because the sole criterion that determines the value of thing exchanged is the free, voluntary, universal judgement of the consumer. Coercion and fraud are anathema to the free-market system.

It is both moral and just because the degree to which man rises or falls in society is determined by the degree to which he uses his mind. Capitalism is the only social system that rewards merit, ability and achievement, regardless of one's birth or station in life.

Yes, there are winners and losers in capitalism. The winners are those who are honest, industrious, thoughtful, prudent, frugal, responsible, disciplined, and efficient. The losers are those who are shiftless, lazy, imprudent, extravagant, negligent, impractical, and inefficient. [What about the role of luckbeing in the right place at the right time or the wrong place at the wrong time? R. R. Pope}
Posted By: ADELFAPINEDA @ 10/17/2008 3:21:58 PM

Comment:
http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?pid=30122043&l=0510b&id=1130236838

EL GRAN OBAMA PRESIDENTE 2008-14 El GOBIERNO DE LA DIPLOMACIA INTERNACIONAL. con (Cuba, Venezuela, Nuevo País patria Libre Independiente, y países del Medio Oriente), serán incluidos en la integración diplomática y respeto como nació. Después del debate, en donde fue definitivo, quedo claro, el perfil, visionario y las características de OBAMA PRESIDENTE 2008-14, que sacara de la crisis económica a los EE.UU y la región. OBAMA PRESIDENTE 2008-14 aplicara políticas de gobierno organizado, los mercados y la competencia, serán métodos que se enmarque en modelos económicos, dirigidos por los economistas (analistas y especialistas), y los métodos administrativos serán de expertos, de manera que el modelo conlleve una forma efectiva de llevar a la región al desarrollo económico, social, y cultural, en donde: prime el respeto y el equilibrio estado-el mercado, Que converja en beneficio de la sociedad y encamine todos los esfuerzos sincronizados de manera que se pueda erradicar la pobreza, erradicar la cultura de violencia, guerra y corrupción, 1ADELFA PINEDA TRANSPARENCIA Y ÉTICA: Por el Desarrollo del País; Dignidad Publica,:. 1
Posted By: OrangeCountyCA @ 10/17/2008 12:50:14 AM

Comment: Lest you labor under the mistaken belief that all black people favor Obama....

http://www.atlah.org/broadcast/ndnr09-03-08.html
Posted By: Jim Johnson @ 10/16/2008 7:57:49 PM

Comment: Obama's view of the future of America - Socialism which is the next step to Communism!!

Under socialism a ruling class of intellectuals, bureaucrats and social planners decide what people want or what is good for society and then use the coercive power of the State to regulate, tax, and redistribute the wealth of those who work for a living. In other words, socialism is a form of legalized theft.

The morality of socialism can be summed-up in two words: envy and self-sacrifice. Envy is the desire to not only possess another's wealth but also the desire to see another's wealth lowered to the level of one's own. Socialism's teaching on self-sacrifice was nicely summarized by two of its greatest defenders, Hermann Goering and Bennito Mussolini. The highest principle of Nazism (National Socialism), said Goering, is: "Common good comes before private good." Fascism, said
Mussolini, is "a life in which the individual, through the sacrifice of his own private interests??realizes that completely spiritual existence in which his value as a man lies."

Socialism is the social system which institutionalizes envy and self-sacrifice: It is the social system which uses compulsion and the organized violence of the State to expropriate wealth from the producer class for its redistribution to the parasitical class.

Despite the intellectuals' psychotic hatred of capitalism, it is the only moral and just social system.

Capitalism is the only moral system because it requires human beings to deal with one another as traders--that is, as free moral agents trading and selling goods and services on the basis of mutual consent.

Capitalism is the only just system because the sole criterion that determines the value of thing exchanged is the free, voluntary, universal judgement of the consumer. Coercion and fraud are anathema to the free-market system.

It is both moral and just because the degree to which man rises or falls in society is determined by the degree to which he uses his mind. Capitalism is the only social system that rewards merit, ability and achievement, regardless of one's birth or station in life.

Yes, there are winners and losers in capitalism. The winners are those who are honest, industrious, thoughtful, prudent, frugal, responsible, disciplined, and efficient. The losers are those who are shiftless, lazy, imprudent, extravagant, negligent, impractical, and inefficient. [What about the role of luckbeing in the right place at the right time or the wrong place at the wrong time? R. R. Pope}

Capitalism is the only social system that rewards virtue and punishes vice. This applies to both the business executive and the carpenter, the lawyer and the factory worker.
Posted By: Nins @ 10/16/2008 4:49:22 PM

Comment: If Joe the Plumber thinks he can't afford to buy the business under Obama's tax plan then he really needs to consult a good accountant. Obama's plan lowers taxes on the first $250,000 Joe makes. On the money over $250,000, Joe would pay 39% under Obama, instead of the 36% he now pays. That's 3% more taxes, not exactly a break-the-bank if you have already made $250,000 at a low rate. Plus, Obama will give him a tax credit for every job he creates, and tax credits for every employee that he provides health insurance for. Under Obama's plan, Joe's business will pay LESS TAX than it does now.

McCain's plan will tax the first $250,000 at a higher rate, then drop the taxes on anything over $250,000 by an unspecified amount. McCain's plan does not give him a tax credit for every job he creates. If he provides health care for his employees he will now have to deduct yet another tax from their paychecks, adding administrative burden to his company. Not to mention that Joe will have to pay this tax himself on his personal income, which amounts to an extra $4,200 a year he pays in taxes (35% of the $12,000 a typical policy costs). And if his company does not provide health care, he and his employees will pay out of pocket for their health care (average cost $12,000 per year), get a $5,000 tax credit under McCain, but be out of pocket at least $7,000 per year for their policy.

My impression is that Joe really should stick to plumbing and leave tax policy to Obama.

Furthermore, Joe the plumber says that Obama has a "very socialist view of taxes" This statement shows America how very uninformed Joe Wurzelbacher is. I would love to hear Joe define socialism and describe the tax policies of a socialist nation. He would start to sound like Sarah Palin on Katie Couric. Nor does he seem to recognize that all democracies socialize certain functions: police, fire fighting, military, roads, public schools, sewers, water. This is for the greater good and we all accept it. It does not make us socialists.

In his book Audacity of Hope, Obama writes at length about the FAILURE of SOCIALISM. He enthusiastically states that American democracy is the greatest political system on earth. Obama is not a socialist, and he does not admire socialism.

Joe the plumber should stick to plumbing and leave public policy decisions to people who actually know what they are talking about.

Oh, and maybe Joe and his boss should get plumbing licenses. Apparently neither of them is licensed, in violation of both state and county laws.
Posted By: Nins @ 10/16/2008 4:49:06 PM

Comment: On October 10, the Alaska Legislative Council found Sarah Palin guilty of abusing power. Immediately Ms. Palin said "if you read the report you'll see that there was nothing unlawful or unethical about replacing a cabinet member." This quote by Palin is only 50% true. The Legislative Council report says it was LEGAL for her to fire Commissioner Monegan, since as Governor she has the right to hire and fire her staff at will. The report also says that her firing of Commissioner Monegan was an UNETHICAL abuse of power.

Palin tells you half of the truth, and lies outright about the other half. You know the old saying: If you tell a lie, make sure it contains some truth so it will be believable.

From the report:

Palin tried to force the Commissioner to prosecute Trooper Wooten (her former brother in law) for illegally shooting a moose. The Commissioner explained to Palin that if they charged Wooten they would also have to bring charges against Palin's sister, who was present on the hunt, had the moose permit and illegally let her husband use it. They would also have to prosecute Palin's father, who cut up the moose and stored it in his freezer, sharing the meat with the Palin family. In other words, the Palins were OK with Wooten illegally shooting the moose when it happened. They participated in the hunt and kept the meat. But a year later when Wooten was divorcing Palin's sister, suddenly the Palins turned him in for illegally killing a moose.

The Palins turned Wooten in to the State Troopers disciplinary commission about a year and a half before she became Governor. The Troopers investigated Wooten, finding that some of Palin's allegations were true and some were false. The Troopers disciplined Wooten with a few days' suspension. When Palin tried to get Monegan (the new Commissioner) to re-open the case once she was Governor, Monegan told her he couldn't do it. All the allegations had already been investigated and Palin had no new evidence. Trooper Wooten belongs to a union, and he can not be fired just because the Governor doesn't like him.

So, the Palins hired a private investigator to trail Wooten, trying to catch him doing something wrong. The investigator took photos of Wooten dropping his kids off at school, using his patrol car. The Palins file a complaint, saying it is illegal for him to ferry his kids in a patrol car. They try and get him fired for this, except it turns out that since Wooten was working a swing shift, his Commander had given him a waiver to bring his kids to school in the car.

Wooten and Palin's sister have been divorced 3 years, yet the Palins continue to persecute Wooten. Palin just can't forgive and get past this family drama.

Read the report yourself (it takes a few seconds to load):

http://msnbcmedia.msn.com/i/msnbc/Components/Interactives/Politics/Election2008/branchflower
_report_to_the_legislative_council.pdf
Posted By: Jim Johnson @ 10/16/2008 12:35:10 PM

Comment: Obama's plan for America - Socialism, the next step to Communism!! Wake up America!!

Under socialism a ruling class of intellectuals, bureaucrats and social planners decide what people want or what is good for society and then use the coercive power of the State to regulate, tax, and redistribute the wealth of those who work for a living. In other words, socialism is a form of legalized theft.

The morality of socialism can be summed-up in two words: envy and self-sacrifice. Envy is the desire to not only possess another's wealth but also the desire to see another's wealth lowered to the level of one's own. Socialism's teaching on self-sacrifice was nicely summarized by two of its greatest defenders, Hermann Goering and Bennito Mussolini. The highest principle of Nazism (National Socialism), said Goering, is: "Common good comes before private good." Fascism, said
Mussolini, is "a life in which the individual, through the sacrifice of his own private interests??realizes that completely spiritual existence in which his value as a man lies."

Socialism is the social system which institutionalizes envy and self-sacrifice: It is the social system which uses compulsion and the organized violence of the State to expropriate wealth from the producer class for its redistribution to the parasitical class.

Despite the intellectuals' psychotic hatred of capitalism, it is the only moral and just social system.

Capitalism is the only moral system because it requires human beings to deal with one another as traders--that is, as free moral agents trading and selling goods and services on the basis of mutual consent.

Capitalism is the only just system because the sole criterion that determines the value of thing exchanged is the free, voluntary, universal judgement of the consumer. Coercion and fraud are anathema to the free-market system.

It is both moral and just because the degree to which man rises or falls in society is determined by the degree to which he uses his mind. Capitalism is the only social system that rewards merit, ability and achievement, regardless of one's birth or station in life.

Yes, there are winners and losers in capitalism. The winners are those who are honest, industrious, thoughtful, prudent, frugal, responsible, disciplined, and efficient. The losers are those who are shiftless, lazy, imprudent, extravagant, negligent, impractical, and inefficient. [What about the role of luckbeing in the right place at the right time or the wrong place at the wrong time? R. R. Pope}

Capitalism is the only social system that rewards virtue and punishes vice. This applies to both the business executive and the carpenter, the lawyer and the factory worker.
Posted By: ADELFAPINEDA @ 10/16/2008 10:38:30 AM

Comment: http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?pid=30122043&l=0510b&id=1130236838
OBAMA PROXIMO PRESIDENTE NORTEAMERICANO. , TRANSFORMACIÓN SOCIAL-CULTURAL. Su gobierno se implementara políticas en los valores: del respeto a la vida, la libertad, la solidaridad, la tolerancia, los derechos humanos. su programa de gobierno EL DESARROLLO, el desarrollo económico, industrial, empresarial- Energético, y el desarrollo aplicado a la reducción de LA POBREZA, Agrario-rural-cultural, entramado de medidas, tecnologías para la sostenibilidad con educación para la sostenibilidad. DESARROLLO CULTURAL, REFORMA IMIGRGATORIA 1ADELFA PINEDA TRANSPARENCIA Y ÉTICA: Por el Desarrollo del País; Dignidad Publica, 1
Posted By: JHenme @ 10/13/2008 10:04:06 PM

Comment: Anna,

You end your article stating: "After all, at the moment it seems they can be hardly be worse." What an awful sentence.

Where is your proofreader? Is she one of those 20 percenters who landed the job but has been assigned little to do--as you characterize Palin should she land the veep job???lacking sufficient experience to spot such a gaffe? Perhaps your proofreader is a man, god forbid, short on intelligence and attention to detail, as most men are according to you.

One thing we know for sure, it wasn???t you. You???ve made it abundantly clear that your superior ability to articulate both intelligently and clearly could never produce such an elementary error. Then again, perhaps a little light has been shed on just why the ratio remains 80/20.
Posted By: excelsior @ 10/13/2008 9:37:40 PM

Comment: asdf
Posted By: Krohn @ 10/12/2008 8:04:35 PM

Comment: OBAMA: THE AFFIRMATIVE ACTIONS CANDIDATE!

NEVER IN THE HISTORY OF THIS COUNTRY HAS A PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE BEEN GIVEN SUCH A FREE PASS BY THE PRESS AND JUST ABOUT EVERYONE ELSE!

I AM WAITING FOR A BLACK PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE TO MAKE IT ON HIS OWN MERIT.

COLIN POWELL COMES TO MIND!
- Posted By: Nins @ 10/12/2008 8:40:56 PM
  
  Comment: Krohn, I guess you don't know that General Colin Powell, a conservative Republican, supports Senator Barack Obama for President.
  
  And me, I'm a middle aged white female Christian Republican business leader in that upper 5% of income who supposedly is so attached to the Bush tax cuts that I would let America eat poison before I would vote for a Democrat. And I am voting for Obama, the first time I haven't voted GOP in 30 years.
  
  Republicans for Obama.
Posted By: Krohn @ 10/12/2008 8:04:12 PM

Comment: OBAMA: THE AFFIRMATIVE ACTIONS CANDIDATE!

NEVER IN THE HISTORY OF THIS COUNTRY HAS A PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE BEEN GIVEN SUCH A FREE PASS BY THE PRESS AND JUST ABOUT EVERYONE ELSE!

I AM WAITING FOR A BLACK PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE TO MAKE IT ON HIS OWN MERIT.

COLIN POWELL COMES TO MIND!
Posted By: jneumerski @ 10/11/2008 12:45:54 PM

Comment: At present time, when pregnant with child, women can choose to tell or not tell the father; abort the child without the father's consent; and certify at birth any man they choose. Once her child is born, a woman can place the child for adoption without notifying the father; enforce child-support guidelines even if the father never knew of his patenity; alienate the child from the father; and prevent the father from participating in the child's life. Is this the leadership that women display? Are Sarah Palin's actions against her sister's ex-husband leadership gone awry or just women's vengeful hatred? When women recognize a child's rights, that will be leadership. When women no longer expect, because of the biological connection to a child, preferential treatment in state courts, that will be leadership. When equality is extended to father in a child's life, that will be leadership. What Quindlen says is sexist blather and as long as women control the lives of children, and use them for their financial benefit they should and will be kept in their present position in industry.
Posted By: jneumerski @ 10/11/2008 12:37:03 PM

Comment: This sexist blather by Quindlen is truly irksome. At the present time, women are blessed, once pregnant, with the choice to abort a child, without asking the father, to certify at birth any male she chooses as father, or to not mention it to the father. Once she has a child, a woman can choose to force a man to pay child support, prevent him from seeing his child or alienate the child from the father. Is this "integrity" of leadership? When will women be willing to demonstrate their leadership by giving children rights? Is Sarah Palin's actions against her sister's ex-husband leadership, or feminine anger gone awry? Woman can surely contribute more to the leadership in this country, but as long as they prevent equality in "reproductive rights" and children's rights, how can they ask for some artifical initiative simply to boost their low credibility?
Posted By: MaryMikePeterson @ 10/10/2008 11:04:12 PM

Comment: Anna Quindlen rocks, I look forward to every column she writes. I'm proud of the number of women in leadership positions in Montana state government. 28% of Governor Brian Schweitzer's cabinet are women leaders, and women leaders compose 63% of the Department of Public Health and Human Services.
Posted By: Krohn @ 10/09/2008 7:52:04 PM

Comment: They harassed her until she registered to vote six times!:
http://www.foxnews.com/video2/video08.html?maven_referralObject=3145562&maven_referralPlaylistId=&sRevUrl=http://www.foxnews.com/politics/
Posted By: RO in Reno @ 10/09/2008 10:25:25 AM

Comment: The real problem in America is we select leaders based on the wrong reasons.
Gender is hardly a good reason to appoint or vote an individual in to a leadership role.
Friona is a perfect example, while some might admire her for getting her 26 million plus bonus on top of an 8 million annual salary.
If you look at what she accomplished she should be living in the streets as a homeless bum as her just reward.
Of course there are more than a few males who should be treated that was as well.
The real problem is the absolute lack of business experience, and a caring about how their business "plan" affects America at large.
Greed is hardly what America really needs in leaders appointed or elected,
Vision and a true sense of Patriotism regardless of gender or ethnicity is what will make the difference.
Posted By: RO in Reno @ 10/09/2008 10:24:46 AM

Comment: The real problem in America is we select leaders based on the wrong reasons.
Gender is hardly a good reason to appoint or vote an individual in to a leadership role.
Friona is a perfect example, while some might admire her for getting her 26 million plus bonus on top of an 8 million annual salary.
If you look at what she accomplished she should be living in the streets as a homeless bum as her just reward.
Of course there are more than a few males who should be treated that was as well.
The real problem is the absolute lack of business experience, and a caring about how their business "plan" affects America at large.
Greed is hardly what America really needs in leaders appointed or elected,
Vision and a true sense of Patriotism regardless of gender or ethnicity is what will make the difference.
Posted By: Aditya Mookerjee @ 10/09/2008 9:13:08 AM

Comment: The way out for gender equality, is not to pay adverse notice to it. There is gender equality, because gentlemen and ladies empathize with each other, more than they do with themselves. I would like to ask, would you consider your spouse your rival? However in competition, men find comfort in the company of men. They are supposed to be in the same boat. Men crib, that they have to consider being harsh to ladies, if they feel so. Why not join the club, not as a gentleman but as a lady? I believe, a lady could be more benignly persuasive to a gentleman, in a situation, then another gentleman would hope to be. This could be used to benefit the general interest.
Posted By: newsweek is garbage @ 10/09/2008 6:15:21 AM

Comment: Larry Sinclair accuses Barack Obama of homosexual acts and drug use in video posted on YouTube

WASHINGTON ??? The electrifying presidential campaign of Barack Obama faces a new challenge ??? a Minnesota man who claims he took cocaine in 1999 with the then-Illinois legislator and participated in homosexual acts with him.

When his story was ignored by the news media, Larry Sinclair made his case last month in a YouTube video, which has now been viewed more than a quarter-million times. And when it was still ignored by the media, Sinclair filed a suit in Minnesota District Court, alleging threats and intimidation by Obama's staff.

Sinclair, who says he is willing to submit to a polygraph test to validate his claims, will now get his chance ??? thanks to a website offering $10,000 for the right to record it and $100,000 to Sinclair if he passes.

"My motivation for making this public is my desire for a presidential candidate to be honest," Sinclair told WND by telephone. "I didn't want the sex thing to come out. But I think it is important for the candidate to be honest about his drug use as late as 1999."

(Story continues below)

Sinclair, who lives in Duluth and describes himself as "gay," claims he "personally engaged in sexual activity and personally used illegal drugs in November 1999" with the man who is now the leading Democratic presidential candidate. He claims the activity took place in the back of Sinclair's limousine and occurred again, later, in his hotel. Sinclair also says he personally no longer uses drugs.

In his lawsuit, filed last week, he charges his civil rights have been violated by Obama and the Democratic Party. Named as defendants in the case are the presidential candidate, David Axelrod of AKP Message and Media in Chicago and the Democratic National Committee.

Sinclair charges Obama smoked crack cocaine in the limo while Sinclair snorted powdered cocaine provided by the legislator. He says the two met in an upscale Chicago lounge before leaving in Sinclair's limousine where the drug use and sex took place for the first time.

Sinclair says he is a registered Democrat but has never voted for any candidate. He is 46 and claims to be physically disabled.

He says he was not physically impaired in 1999 when the alleged incidents with Obama took place.

Calls placed to the Obama campaign were not returned.

See Larry Sinclair's allegations:

Page 1
Posted By: Krohn @ 10/08/2008 11:58:46 PM

Comment: "Not all Democrats agree with Mr. Frank that such policies are off-limits to criticism. Last week Rep. Artur Davis of Alabama said in a statement: 'Like a lot of my Democratic colleagues I was too slow to appreciate the recklessness of Fannie and Freddie. I defended their efforts to encourage affordable homeownership, when in retrospect, I should have heeded the concerns raised by their regulator in 2004. Frankly, I wish my Democratic colleagues would admit when it comes to Fannie and Freddie, we were wrong.'

"Mr. Davis is a member of the Congressional Black Caucus."

'Rank snobbery'

Camille Paglia, who supports Sen. Barack Obama, has nothing but scorn for the way the media has treated Sarah Palin.

"The mountain of rubbish poured out about Palin over the past month would rival Everest. What a disgrace for our jabbering army of liberal journalists and commentators, too many of whom behaved like snippy jackasses," Miss Paglia writes at www.salon.com.

"The bourgeois conventionalism and rank snobbery of these alleged humanitarians stank up the place. As for Palin's brutally edited interviews with Charlie Gibson and that viper, Katie Couric, don't we all know that the best bits ended up on the cutting-room floor? Something has gone seriously wrong with Democratic ideology, which seems to have become a candied set of holier-than-thou bromides attached like tutti-frutti to a quivering green Jell-O mold of adolescent sentimentality."
Posted By: rorydobson @ 10/08/2008 10:07:07 PM

Comment: "What if we had an oil shortage but were using only 20 percent of the oil at our disposal? Wouldn't that seem stupid and shortsighted?"

If women are 50% of the population and women hold 20% of the leadership positions, then we are using 40% of the resource at our disposal. (applying her proportion by numbers argument). Although Ms. Quindlen includes herself among the "20 percenters," it does not appear that her math skills could have helped avert the "great banks and brokerage houses [from] crumbling around the ears of their male executives." What percentage of math teachers are women?
Posted By: openmind4 @ 10/08/2008 2:39:24 PM

Comment: I don't know as many big words as Anna Quindlen but I think my understanding of cause and effect is equal to hers. She actually concludes (yes, that is what you are saying) that things would be better if more women were in leadership positions. What she does not say is that only if good women were in those positions, same as if good men were in those positions or good men and women if you insist. Is there a difference between men and women? You bet there is, and we better get used to judging each of them in a different way.
Posted By: jrsampul @ 10/08/2008 11:30:53 AM

Comment: I agree with lament7's comments - your article makes no valid argument for the 20% lid. Provide some real numbers to back it up.

Also, as you quote Marie Wilson: "Focusing on bringing women into leadership..." who is she suggesting do the bringing? Are you saying that men are holding women back? Is it a conspiracy? As I say to my 5year old girl, stop whining and say what you have to say.
Posted By: DJWood148 @ 10/07/2008 7:55:46 PM

Comment: The past 3 "The Last Word" articles have resonated loud and clear with me. I love that you have put into words what was in my head, heart and experience but somehow could not be articulated. It gives me hope that very, very soon a woman who is deserving because of her hard work, intellect and contributions will be find herself in the president or vice president's seat. "Certain women being moved too far, too fast, to fill a vacuum for the convenience of men" is a hard blow to women who are not convenient but deserving and capable to in any role no matter what side of the aisle they reside. The GOP nomination for VP is a betrayal, make no mistake about it.
Posted By: aq666 @ 10/07/2008 2:34:20 PM

Comment: When are you going to make up your mind. Women are or are not capable. Yes there are still shortcomings in recognition but strides have been made by many great women. Palin is just politics. Hillary didn't make it now Palin has and that is your real beef. I am a staunch conservative but read some of your print. I am glad you get to stay in your cozy little magazine environment as you would be muzzled in public. All the politicians should be voted out as they are as ineffective as you at making change for the better. I love all the crap your so called good democrats put in the bailout bill as well as the republicans. That money could be better spent by the states or the incividuals who paid it in. I hope Barak gets elected and he raises taxes causing lots of job loss to those who need it most and maybe then you will understand that it is the wealthy who give them their job.
Posted By: lament7 @ 10/07/2008 11:42:14 AM

Comment: An example of gross misuse of statistics.
20% of women in leadership is NOT an indicator of anything, especially when correlated with 50% of humanity.
The first biological fact is that only women bear children; men do not. That has three consequences:
(a) women are the overwhelming leaders in family production (of course, perpetuation of society is not of concern to Quindlen and so does not count as leadership).
(b) So, as soon as 50% of all aspects of monetized, "professional" workforce, including "leadership", is women, that society will begin to disappear for lack of new generations.
(c) bearing children puts women at an inherent disadvantage for leadership because it mean less time in job trajectories that produce to leadership. But that disadvantage is necessary for its mirror advantage -- continuation of humanity.
The second fact is that percentage of representation in population is NOT the appropriate comparative base. The two relevant factors are (a) percentage in the particular labor market, e.g., managers, and (b) experience, i.e., time in job path (where men have longer experience on average because they cannot take time out to bear children.
Let us praise women for bearing and rearing children, and their overwhelming predominance in that leadership position, so essential for survival of the species and society. Let us grant that as much status as serving as some corporate CEO.
Posted By: Bunny212 @ 10/07/2008 10:25:58 AM

Comment: Women will continue to take a back seat to men in every aspect of American life until American women understand that the only way to adjust the power balance is to start voting as a block. This means that the issues are less important than gender. Issues can become important once the choice is between two women but until then women will be marginalized.
Posted By: Bunny212 @ 10/07/2008 10:24:22 AM

Comment: Women will continue to take a back seat to men in every aspect of American life until American women understand that the only way to adjust the power balance is to start voting as a block. This means that the issues are less important than gender. Issues can become important once the choice is between two women but until then women will be marginalized. This means voting for any woman who is running for officePalin despite her deficits.
Posted By: solmanone @ 10/07/2008 2:04:42 AM

Comment: Hillary was a shoe in for president, if she had appolagized for her war vote and not ran her campaign into the ground financilly. The US is ready for a woman to lead, unfortunately there were no women in the election ready to lead.
Posted By: jtwardmo @ 10/07/2008 2:02:23 AM

Comment: The article by Anna Quindlen is one example of how the media and the liberal Democrats tend to be sexist, racist, whatever-ist. So what if Barack Obama is black? So what if Sarah Palin is female? So what is John McCain and Joseph Biden are senior citizens? So what?

As an Independent, I have voted for a third nominee when it has appeared that the election would not be close in the state in which I was living and when the third nominee appeared best. In elections where I voted for a Democrat or Republican, I have voted for the person who gives more evidence that he or she can handle the job better than the other and spends less time saying unrealistic words that attract voters..

That is why I will be voting for John McCain and Sarah Palin..
Posted By: Krohn @ 10/06/2008 6:14:06 PM

Comment: The Antichrist!:
When George Soros failed to obtain the election of his candidate, John Kerry, in 2004, he brooded for a while, even said he might get out of politics altogether, but he just couldn???t stop himself. He has stated publicly that he wishes to burst the ???bubble of American supremacy,??? because he says our preeminence in the world is a detriment to global ???equilibrium.??? So far, he has failed, but he keeps on trying.

And Mr. Soros has made no secret either of the fact that he sees the shortest way to effect political shake-ups, what he terms ???regime changes,??? is through very difficult economic conditions.

America has not yet felt the full force of Soros style economic shock treatment. But others have.

Soros made his first billion in 1992 by shorting the British pound with leveraged billions in financial bets, and became known as the man who broke the Bank of England. He broke it on the backs of hard-working British citizens who immediately saw their homes severely devalued and their life savings cut drastically in comparative worth almost overnight.

When the Asian Financial Crisis of 1997 threatened to spread globally, George Soros was right in the thick of it. Soros was accused by the Malaysian Prime Minister of causing the collapse with his monetary machinations, and he was branded in Thailand as an ???economic war criminal??? who ???sucks the blood from the people.??? Right in the middle of this crisis, Soros dashed off his book, The Crisis of Global Capitalism, which demanded a ???third way??? toward economic stability.

Wake up, America, before it is too late!!!!
Posted By: good conscience @ 10/06/2008 5:14:30 PM

Comment: Anna, I agree with your assessment of how underused the talents and services of women are concerned. I date back to the 60s when the Women's Lib movement germinated. Or at least began getting some national press. Since I've been watching/listening now for several decades, there are times when I feel disappointed and discouraged. Will we ever be able to change to a truly equal society? How many more generations is it going to take? Thank you for an engaging article.
Posted By: Dylan Rossi @ 10/06/2008 9:34:36 AM

Comment: Women? What about minorities. The next time you see a minority on one of the political talk shows when the topic isn't about OJ or some "minority" oriented issue, stand up a take notice. It's so rare, you're likely to see something that's on the extinction list before you see a minority on a panel of "experts."
Posted By: psychnurse @ 10/06/2008 7:48:14 AM

Comment: This is one of your most insightful columns. I believe women would be of much greater service to our nation than many of the men who lead us today. Unfortunately, I do not believe Sarah Palin is one of those women. Her "folksiness" seems as false as Bush's Texas accent. And, like Bush, there's not much else there. We face the risk of replacing the "good ole boy from Texas" with the the "folksy Joe Six-Pack" from Alaska. Status quo.
Posted By: lordmi @ 10/06/2008 6:33:20 AM

Comment: Great.
BUT , let's talk about Leadership skill, but not "honor of barking".OK?
Posted By: Krohn @ 10/05/2008 8:36:10 PM

Comment: he ACORN does not fall from the tree:
http://justsaynodeal.com/acorn.html
Posted By: Krohn @ 10/05/2008 1:10:58 AM

Comment: This is one of the few Democrats that I am proud of!:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZR5ekEuGyvk
Posted By: Krohn @ 10/05/2008 1:10:45 AM

Comment: This is one of the few Democrats that I am proud of!:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZR5ekEuGyvk

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