Pregnant, Wearing Shoes, and In Congress!

Ladies and gentlemen, via a friend of mine in Upstate NY, we have found a winner for the dumbest letter to the editor ever written. And I am pleased to say that it did NOT come from the Tennessean!

Instead, it comes from the Glens Falls Post Star (Glens Falls is near Albany), and it regards their Congresswoman, Kirsten Gillibrand, and her recently announced pregnancy. It's the third letter down:

Editor:

Regarding a story that appeared in

The Post-Star

on Dec. 6: "Rep. Gillibrand announces she is pregnant."

First of all, I must admit that I am a male chauvinist and that there are, thankfully, differences between men and women. There are many occupations suitable for women and their physical attributes. Carrying a weapon while serving in the Armed Forces and firefighting are not suitable lines of work for women to prove that they are physically equal to men. How many male police officers feel comfortable with a 100 pound female backup?

And now, I have to add serving in the U.S. House and Senate as an occupation that may not be suitable for women.

Ms. Gillibrand's current pregnancy makes a strong case for my opinion. Ms. Gillibrand was elected to serve her constituency, and while she is away from her elected office she cannot perform those duties. The taxpayers who were duped into voting for her will have to pay for her medical benefits. Yes, Mr. and Mrs. Taxpayer, Ms. Gillibrand receives excellent health benefits, courtesy of her constituents. We will be without representation in Congress for a time leading up to and following the child's birth. There will be times when she and the new baby will visit doctors. You can add those days to the total that she will not be serving her constituents.

The current base salary (2006) for members of the House and Senate is $165,200 per year. I wonder if Ms. Gillibrand will do the right thing and reimburse the U.S. Treasury in the amount of $452.60, her daily salary, for each day that she is unable to perform her elected duties. For some reason, I doubt it.

RON BLACHUT

Queensbury

I shouldn't even need to do this, but let's break this down point by point:

• Yes, Mr. Blachut, you are a chauvinist. But merely saying that men and women are different does not make you a chauvinist, it's that you're saying that men are superior to women.

• Over 160,500 women have served in Iraq and Afghanistan. Regardless of what the Pentagon says, these women are serving in combat roles. And in addition to worrying about getting hit by a mortar or an IED, female soldiers have to face dangers that male soldiers don't, like, I don't know, getting raped if they go to the latrine after dark. Now, Mr. Chauvinist, go up to one of these women and say to her face that she should have stayed home and baked cookies rather than defending your country while you sat on your ass writing letters to the editor. I dare you.

• Personally, if I were a cop, regardless of my gender, I'd want someone like this backing me up.

• If a fully-grown woman weighs 100 pounds, unless she's shorter than 4'10" or so, odds are she's in the hospital being treated for anorexia.

• Being a U.S. Congressman or Congresswoman is hardly the most physically demanding job there is. You are aware, Mr. Chauvinist, that pregnancies last for approximately 9 months, right? No, probably not, you think women can just pop them out and get right back into the kitchen. Let's do a little math though...she announced her pregnancy in early December. Nine months from then will put us in early August. Mr. Chauvinist, do you know where Congresspeople usually are in August? They may be in several different places, but they're NOT IN FUCKING SESSION! The time she would be having the baby and need to take off would in no way interfere with Congressional votes!
  


• You should also be aware that a bun in the oven would not prohibit her from simply walking from her office to the House floor to vote, nor will it prohibit her staff from dealing with constituents' needs (because Congressional staffers basically get Christmas off, and that's about it). The time you will be "without representation" is far shorter than you think.

• If you think a woman should have to forgo her salary for missing work to have a baby, then there should also be no medical leave. Hope you never get sick, Mr. Chauvinist, because by your logic, your employer should not let you have any time off.

Let's be very clear here. This isn't about thinking a Congresswoman can't fully represent her constituents, nor is it about simple chauvinism. I don't even think misogyny is a strong enough term. This is a sheer hatred for women. This kind of man (if you can call it that) has no problem with pregnant women, as long as they're also barefoot and in the kitchen.

Ginger Rogers could do everything Fred Astaire could do. Only she did it backwards, and in high heels.