When Times Are Scary, Let's Retreat Into Old Songs That Make Us Happy

The great Ronettes in the big-haired 1960s

I went on a 1960s female singer binge listen yesterday.

The news is scary for everyone, and it's always comforting to go back to nostalgia land and dredge up the music you heard when you were a kid, before you were aware of how awful the world can be.

Anybody can do this, and it's therapeutic. Try it.   

It doesn't matter which era of music you had when you were five or 10 years old. Could be 1950s rock and roll, 1990s grunge, 1940s Big Band, 1970s disco or pop hits of the 2000s.

I retreated down memory lane with nice, strong female singers in the 1960s.

You really should check out the several videos below, because I think anybody of any age would like this music. And it's fun checking out the, uh, intersting big hair styles, and the kitschy productions and sketches in the videos.

First, let's go "Downtown" wth Petula Clark: 




Here's the VERY great Dusty Springfield. Hard to choose which song of hers is best, but this tie I went with "I Only Wanna Be With You"



Next, let's bring in the Ronettes in these conservative looking business dresses, but oh! that teased hair! It's just perfect. How'd you like to carry that weight on your shoulders.

Still, "Be My Baby" is a wonderful classic:


This next one might be my favorite of the bunch. This is early feminism, it's Lesley Gore asserting herself, being her own person. This song was a total breakthrough. They're still using the song
in car ads today, of all things. But I still adore the son.  Here is "You Don't Own Me."



We can't ignore country music, either, no siree! And there's a lot of great feminism here, too.

This next one is classic, and that intentional tackiness of the video, and the intentional tackiness of the small mindedness of some of small town America circa the late 60s is just perfect.

Here's Jeannie C. Riley with "Harper Valley PTA"



Then we have our cry in your beer country song from the great Tammy Wynette:



Finally, Lynn Anderson never promised us a rose garden, but she did give us some great songs like this one:

Starting A Fad? Girl Dresses Up As Superhero Notorious RGB

This young girl went to school on Superhero
Day dressed as the Notorious RBG, also known
as Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg. 

There's lots of superheroes out there. Superman. Wonderwoman. Batman. The Green Hornet. Notorious RBG.

What? Notorioius RBG?  

Notorious RBG is also known as U.S. Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, but it seems she's known more and more as Notorious RBG, especially since there's a popular Twitter account and book that calls her that. 

In Michele Threefoot's opinion, the Notorious RBG is also a superhero, a position I can't argue with.

So, when it came time to dress up for Superhero day at school, Michele, 8, dressed up as the Notorious RBG.

"She and her sister aren't really into Marvel superheroes, so I was just going to put them in Supergirl capes and masks. But while our family was talking about it she told me she wanted to be Ruth Bader Ginsburg. So we went with it," Michele' mother, Krista Threefoot told the Huffington Post. 

Michele had quickly become a fan of the Notorious RBG after reading a book called "I Dissent: Ruth Bader Ginsburg Makes Her Mark," which discussed how the Justice has worked for decades fighting inequality in the United States.

Especially now, in the age of Trump, the so-called alt.right, and a resurgence in racism, bigotry and misogyny, Michele is right about people like the Notorious RBG being superheroes.

The logic behind dressing as the Notorious RBG is sound, too. As Krista Threefoot wrote on her Facebook page: "Girls who read really are dangerous...to unfairness and outmoded inequalities."

I like to think that although people seem to want to believe fake news and the latest rumor on Twitter, we still need and want facts and logic and sound arguments to win the day.

Young women like Michele, in particular,  seem to be stepping up to the plate, despite the instincts of some of the guys who are now the Powers That Be to slap down these "uppity women."

One of the best analysis late last year of Trump and the dangers his administration pose came from the magazine Teen Vogue of all places, which tells us a lot about the (I hope!) growing power of intelligent young women.

You can tell that these young women are hitting a nerve. After the Teen Vogue article called "Donald Trump is Gaslighting America," the journalist who wrote the op-ed, Lauren Duca, got a lot of harassment from male Trump fans who can NOT believe a woman would write such a piece, given their supposed frilly little brains.

I guess young women aren't supposed to read and be informed. They're just supposed to choose which makeup to buy, Cover Girl or Maybelline.

Yeah, right.

When Duca dared to go on Fox News, where Tucker Carlson instructed her to "stick to the thigh-high boots, you're better at that."

As if to prove Duca and Notorious RBG's points about some guys just being way to weird about inequality, the so-called "Pharma Douche" Martin Shkreli, a Trump kinda guy, got suspended from Twitter for trolling and harassing Duca.

Shkreli isn't exactly on the moral high ground to begin with. He made himself famous last year for exponentially raising the price of a life saving medication his company made, mostly because he could and wanted to make more money and who cares if people die because of it.

Plus, he faces trial for fraud because of his pharmaceutical company shenanigans.

So yeah, young women who are fans of the Notorious RBG are going to get a lot of pushback in the age of Trump. But I like to think superheroes always win in the end, so these superheroes will win, too.

I was glad to see that Notorious RBG sent Michele Threefoot a note, congratulating her on dressing up as the Justice on Superhero day at school.

In the note, Notorious RBG told Michele: "Reading is the key that opens doors to many good things in life. Reading shaped my dreams and more reading helped me make my dreams come true."

Yep. We all have our marching orders from Notorious RBG: It seems almost too simple, but it's also profound: Stay informed, and fight for what you believe in.

A Letter To My Young Nieces In The Era Of Trump

My nieces Sydney and Alex are "nasty women"
in the best possible and young women like them
will get us through the Trump years, just you wait. 

This open letter is to my nieces Sydney and Alex, who are super sharp college age young women. This letter, from an old white man in Vermont who is thinking about Donald Trump, is also to all young women and girls.  

Dear Sydney and Alex: 

With the election of Donald Trump, you might not feel like this is a great time for a woman to rev up her young adult life.

Once again, old white men decided that a woman's place is not in the House, Senate or White House, but someplace subservient. Which of course is wrong, wrong, wrong.

Oh sure, there were many reasons Hillary Clinton was not elected president, but her being a woman was one of them, as we all surely know.

This time, the old, white men who had such an influence on selecting a president brought us one that really doesn't appreciate women, to say the least. The misogyny during the campaign was breathtaking.

Women are right to worry about what a Trump presidency will bring. Women are right to worry about the future. After all, the Powers That Be seem to want to go back to the days when women were truly considered second class citizens.

But you'd be wrong to give up in despair.

This is a setback, definitely.  But remember, Syd and Alex, you are "nasty women." You know what I mean. During one of the debates Trump snarled that Hillary Clinton is a "nasty woman." Women embraced that moniker as a badge of power, strength, purpose and morality. All of which made me cheer joyfully.

The nation remains full of young, nasty women, like you, and your numbers are growing.  This old white guy knows that what the nation needs more than anything is legions of nasty women.  The more the better.

Here's the dirty little secret: Old white men who voted for Trump are VERY afraid of nasty women.

Because women, particularly the "nasty"ones, are what will get us through this situation. Your uncle Jeff and I are a gay couple, part of one of the groups targeted as not worthy by some of the Trumpeters. Jeff and I and other LGBTQ people aren't necessarily the principal targets here, at least compared to Latinos, Muslims and African Americans, but we've nonetheless been put on notice.

Nasty women like you also know that love Trumps hate. Alex, I'm particularly happy you posted the following on Facebook:

"To Donald Trump, Mike Pence and their supporters.
I am a woman and I love you.
I support black lives matter and I love you.
I am a feminist and I love you
I am Christian and I love you."

What this tells me is all the nasty women like you, Alex and Syd, will be the ones that lead us out of the darkness in a purposeful, peaceful way.  I wish old white guys like Jeff and I would finally realize that it's always women who make things work when things go to hell.

You know, Rosie the Riveter in World War II. The labor organizer Mother Jones. The simple, honest grace and intelligence of Anne Frank and young Nobel prize winner Malala Yousafzai. The "when they go low, we go high" moral clarity of Michelle Obama. And so, so many others.

You will surely get down and depressed at times during the Trump era, but let me explain something else:

I don't normally lecture young women this way, but really, listen to your mother. She's a strong, assertive, smart woman who's trained you well to take on the world. She's a really nasty woman. Thank God.  And you're lucky to have a father who insists on letting you be you.

Everyone should be so lucky.

In her gracious concession speech, Clinton spoke to you, and girls much younger than you:

"Now, I know we have still not shattered that highest and hardest glass ceiling but someday, someone will - and hopefully sooner than we might think right now.

And to all the little girls who are watching this, never doubt that you are valuable and powerful and deserving of every chance and opportunity in the world to pursue and achieve your own dreams."

Hillary Clinton was wrong about some things, but she was so very spot on here. Clinton, like me and your Uncle Jeff, understand the world needs you and all the other nasty girls and women more than ever.

Pop star Katy Perry, a strong woman in her own right who backed Hillary Clinton, is correct when she tweeted after the election. "The revolution is coming," and "Rise up."

I can feel that revolution approaching in a thunderous roar from millions of wonderful, nasty women.

It's up to you, Syd and Alex, to be part of this coming revolution of young women who will finally change the world for the better. I know it will happen.

Your Uncle Jeff and I can't wait to see what you do.

Love, Uncle Matt.

Scary Thing Is, Donald Trump Will Probably Get Even Lower Than This

Yes, Donald Trump could probably sink even lower.
He probably will.

The news is dominated today by that old clip of Donald Trump being a scary, creepy, ultra vulgar predator against women.

Plus, there's Trump's "apology" video that makes other videos of hostages being forced to say things look like the height of sincerity.

He would have done better just quoting the lyrics to that old Radiohead song "Creep":

"I'm a creep.
I'm a weirdo
What the hell am I doing here?
I don't belong here."

You sure don't, Donald!

I think some of the best Twitter reactions to Trump's awfulness have come from Huffington Post reporter Ariel Edwards-Levy, who echoed Trump's famous Muslim ban quote by tweeting, "I'm calling for a total and complete shutdown of Donald Trump interacting with women until we can figure out what's going on."

Edwards-Levy also reminisced about the olden days of last week when Trump's biggest problem was his taxes. And she rightly complained sarcastically that her childhood dream of being a reporter included being online at 1:07 a.m. on a Saturday writing about Donald Trump saying "pussy."

I'm sure Trump's core supporters will stick by him, no matter what. He can do no wrong, in their eyes.

Hillary Clinton probably didn't go far enough when she said some of Trump's supporters were part of a "basket of deplorables."

Not all Trump supporters are as deplorable as Trump himself. Most aren't, in fact. But a few have been learning well from Trump on how to be despicable.

An example: There's a Newsweek reporter who has been aggressively covering Trump. This reporter happens to have epilepsy. So Trump supporters have been sending the reporter videos that are designed to cause epileptic seizures.

Lovely.

I normally don't compare people to Nazis but these wacko supporters are as really as bad as Nazi brown shirts.

Trump will trundle on, having promised to bring up Bill Clinton's sexual escapades during the debate scheduled for tomorrow night. That ought to be a show.

I'm sure Hillary will just fall apart when Trump brings that up. At least Trump believes that, if nobody else.

I can't wait to hear what Hillary has to say during the debate about Trump's "fondness" for women.

Again, that ought to be a show.

By the way, Trump would note that his remarks about women that triggered this latest firestorm were made more than 10 years ago.

But Trump, commenting on sex-scandal prone Anthony Weiner said this three years ago: "Weiner is a sick puppy who will never change - 100% of perverts to back to their ways. Sadly, there is no cure."

This morning, the Donald tweeted, "Certainly has been an interesting 24 hours!"

I don't think interesting is quite the word for it.

Turkish Women Are Laughing Uproariously At Politician Who Said Women Shouldn't Laugh

Why are these Turkish women laughing? Ask
the boneheaded Turkish politician who inspired the chuckles. 

Bulent Arinc, a Turkish Deputy Prime Minister, thinks he knows how women should behave.

Women should be chaste, Arinc said in a recent speech, according to The Guardian.

In part, he said. "She should know the difference between public and private. She should not laugh in public."

I'm not sure how not laughing in public makes a woman chaste, but thankfully, Turkish women are having none of it.

In a move that is cheering an otherwise grim world, thousands of Turkish women took to social media posting selfies of their own laughter.  It's a rebuke to Arinc's weird ideas about a woman's place.

All those selfies pretty much put our Turkish Deputy Prime Minister in his place, huh?

In another positive development, many men in Turkey went on line to express their solidarity with all those chuckling women. "The men of a country in which women are not allowed to laugh are cowards," said one Tweet from a man, according to The Guardian.

Yes, that's stating the obvious, but sometimes you have to.  

More welcomed laughter among Turkish women.  

A main opposition presidential candidate also disagreed with Arinc, saying: "More than anything else, our country needs women to smile and to hear everybody's laughter."

As for Arinc and his reaction to all these publicly guffawing women, he resorted to the old "My speech was taken out of context" defense.

He said his speech lasted an hour and a half (YAWN!!!) and everybody's focusing on that one reference to women laughing, he whined.

Arinc said he understands banning women from laughing in public is idiotic, and he's not pushing for that. He said he's opposed to "fake laughter," whatever that is.

I hope the women of Turkey keep laughing. A lot. And I hope the men continue to join in the fun.

Group Innovatively Uses Mockups of Famous Magazines To Highlight Abused, Exploited Girls

One of the fake magazine covers from Catapult.  

Imagine if Good Housekeeping magazine suddenly became "Good Slavekeeping," with cover teasers like "35 Days to Train the Perfect Slave - How to Whip Her Into Shape, Fast!"

Or what if Seventeen magazine became "Thirteen" a magazine for young girls forced into prostitution, with headlines like "Hide those Bruises With 35 Easy Makeup Tricks"

How about, instead of Bride magazine, we get "Child Bride" for children forced into marriage against their will. "Dazzling Bridal Gowns! Now For Ages 7-12`!"

The above examples are beyond sickening, but that's the point. As part of an International Womens Day effort to expose, fight and stop exploitation and abuse of young girls all over the globe.

Catapult, a crowdfunding group advocating for equal and human rights for girls and women worldwide, has put out the provocative magazine covers.

According to Mashable, Maz Kessler, Catapult's founder and creative director say she was glad people and marking International Womens Day by highlighting inspiring women and important causes, but she wanted to get people fired up to improve the situation for the world's women.

Another Cataputl fake (thankfully!)
magazine cover  

"Thankfully these are fake magazines. Unfortunately, these are real problems," Kessler told Mashable.

She said 14 million girls, some as young as eight years old, will be married against their will in 2014. About 1.2 million children, most of them girls, will be trafficked into slavery. And in New York, girls as young as 13 are exploited for sexual exploitation, according to Catapult.

So yes, the fake magazine covers hit new lows in tastelessness and shock value. But sometimes it's worth it, if it inspires somebody, anybody to make the world a better place for exploited and abused girls and women.

Because strong women make a strong world. Which is what we really need right now.

Three Guys Deported From Saudi Arabia Because They Are Too Handsome

Here's a problem three guys encountered that happens to me all the time never.

The trio, visiting Saudi Arabia from the United Arab Emirate for a cultural event were deported from Saudi Arab because they were deemed too handsome.

This man was reportedly kicked out of
Saudi Arabia for being too good looking.  

According to Arabbusiness.com: 

"According to Arabic language Elaph newspaper, the UAE nationals were taking part in a heritage event in the capital Riyadh on Sunday when they were thrown out by Saudi's religious police.

Saudi Arabia, a strictly conservative Sunni Muslim society, prohibits women from interacting with unrelated males."

Apparently, the authorities in Saudi Arabia thought that women, upon seeing the handsome men, would uncontrollably throw themselves at the guys, and do all kinds of unseemly things.

According to many media sources, one of the guys thrown out of Saudi Arabia for being a hunk is Omar Al Gala, a photographer, actor and poet from Dubai.

Judging from photos of the guy, our buddy Omar is indeed quite handsome. I could see why women would be attracted to him, but if Saudi women are like most women everywhere, some might try to get a date with the guy, but I doubt any would do anything like strip off their clothes and demand Omar have their way with her in the middle of the street.

I obviously don't now Omar Al Gala, but given that he seems pretty successful and all, so he's probably level headed enough and wouldn't do anything too untoward.

I have to feel sorry for the women of Saudi Arabia for a variety of reasons. The country isn't exactly a center for womens' rights and freedom. Hell, women aren't even allowed to drive a car.

And now we learn women can't even fix their gaze on a handsome man. Only physically ugly men are allowed in Saudi Arabia? Shouldn't women have the right to check out the goods on a good looking hunk?

I guess the unfortunate women of Saudi Arabia aren't going to have access to any Chippendales dancers anytime soon.

You're Beautiful. Just Ask Anybody Other Than Yourself

Dove, the skin care products company, has released a great video that offers the best perspective I've seen in a long time about perceptions of beauty.

According to Mashable, woman were asked to describe their facial features to a former police sketch artist. 

The women were positioned behind a screen so the artist couldn't see them. He had to rely on how the women described themselves to make his sketches.

Two sketches of the same woman, one as described
by the woman, one by an acquaintance. Watch
video to see which one is more accurate. 

The women who had their sketches done were then told to get to know one other participant in the event.   

Those other people were then brought into the room with the sketch artist, again behind the curtain. The friends had to describe the woman they had met and explain that other woman's features to the sketch artist. 

The result of the sketches were striking. The drawings of the women  that were based on how women described themselves were not nearly as attractive, and much less accurate than the sketches that were drawn based on the descriptions other people gave. 

The really rather moving video is below and I think a lot of women ought to watch it. It's very enlightening.  Many people are their own worst critics, it seems.