Bush and the Women Who Love Him
Alright, one last item before I get down to work for the day. I was reading an article by Molly Ivins last night in the latest Mother Jones, in which she makes a case that W. has been waging a stealth campaign against women during his presidency. (You have to be a subscriber to see the full article.) This includes "disappearing" previously published information:

On the economic front, the case of disappearing information recurs. The Women’s Bureau of the Department of Labor used to post 25 fact sheets on topics including “Women’s Earnings as Percent of Men’s,” “Domestic Violence: A Workplace Issue,” “Women in Management,” “Care Around the Clock: Developing Child Care Resources,” and so on. These have been replaced by peppy new Cosmo-like titles such as “Hot Jobs for the 21st Century” and “20 Leading Occupations for Women.” In a recent report, the National Council for Research on Women further notes that a required study by the Justice Department on discrimination in the insurance industry against domestic violence victims has vanished. A congressionally mandated report on how employers should handle such abused women has also been held up by the Justice Department for more than two years. Without explanation, the Department of Education archived its guidelines on sexual harassment in the schools.

The Bush administration is notorious for secrecy, but this is not some exercise in executive privilege. This information is being disappeared. As was the President’s Interagency Council on Women and the White House Office of Women’s Initiatives and Outreach. No more. The Pentagon attempted to disband its Advisory Committee on Women in the Services. Congresswoman Heather Wilson (R-N.M.), herself a veteran, managed to save it. However, the committee’s work was redirected from issues of employment equity and job access to the effects of deployment on family life.

In April, the National Women’s Law Center released a report called “Slip-Sliding Away,” on the erosion of women’s rights. Among its findings: The Department of Labor—under the steady hand of Elaine Chao—has refused to use tools at its disposal to identify violations of equal pay laws. The Department of Labor has also repealed regulations that allowed paid family leave to be provided through state unemployment compensation funds, proposed new regulations that deprive millions of women of the right to overtime pay, and even provided tips to employers on how to avoid paying overtime when the law still requires it.

Ivins also notes that Laura Bush is used as a beard, a front for her husband's dirty work:

Laura Bush, it seems, is used to cast a softer light on her husband, who then proceeds to reverse whatever she’s just promised. Right before the Bush inauguration, many women were greatly reassured when Laura said of Roe v. Wade on the Today show, “No, I don’t think it should be overturned.” Three days later, her husband reimposed the “global gag rule” on groups abroad that receive U.S. funding for family planning. They may no longer so much as mention abortion, even when it is medically necessary.

In April 2001, Laura, the librarian, kicked off the Campaign for America’s Libraries. A week later, her husband cut funding for the Library Services and Technology Act, the Reading Is Fundamental program, and the National Commission on Libraries and Information Science. Oops.

Laura Bush was most famously used to put a female-friendly face on policy before the war in Afghanistan, when she substituted for her husband in his weekly radio address and spoke eloquently about the Taliban’s oppression of women. Unfortunately, the much-heralded Afghan Women and Children’s Relief Act, signed by Bush, had no dollar figures attached to it, and only a tiny amount of money was ever committed. Meanwhile, Afghan women’s groups consistently report that women are almost as badly off under the renewed rule of the warlords as they were before. At least the Taliban did not commit rape as a matter of policy.

Last night, Laura lovingly introduced her sweet, big-hearted hubby at the convention last night, and Salon had this reaction

We have some questions of our own. Just off the top of our heads: If your husband is such a compassionate conservative, why does he insist on tax cuts for millionaires while racking up deficits for our children? Does it bother you that the tax burden has shifted to the middle class? What is your husband doing about the alarming increase in impoverished and uninsured Americans on his watch? Why did his administration work with business interests to screw American workers out of overtime pay? Will you and your husband ever attend a funeral for a U.S. soldier killed in Iraq -- maybe when the death toll hits 1,000, as it will soon? Why does everyone at your husband's convention keep saying that the terrorists "heard him" when Osama bin Laden is still at large? We could go on, of course.

Laura Bush tried to soften the edges of her husband's harsh presidency tonight. While her charm and persuasion may have worked on some swing voters out there, she's asking America to forget a lot.