India's Awakening - 60 Years On

Today is the 60 year anniversary of The Republic of India's independence from Great Britain. First, congratulations are in order. So raise a Kingfisher Beer or a Mango Lassi and toast: To India. Though the transition involved partition, the process has led to India's current status as a major regional player, world power, and IT powerhouse. It is suitable that this auspicious event is occuring during the tenure of the country's first female president, Pratibha Patil, who stressed inclusiveness and diversity in her formal address to mark the occasion. It is also notable that the Prime Minister, Dr. Manmohan Singh, is a member of a religious minority on the sub-continent - giving credence to India's rising tide of tolerance and diversity.

4th Annual Blogosphere Day

Celebrate the 4th Annual Blogosphere Day with ActBlue. Today, we celebrate the bottom-up, netroots revolution that heralds the end of politics as usual and the dawn of the new age of net-driven progressive activism. And just see what we've done in four years. Just changed the face of activism, altered the political landscape, and forever changed the way that campaigns communicate and are financed. So reach around and pat yourself on the back, because you're part of the process. A sea change. And around the Blogosphere, the focus is on ActBlue - who got the proverbial ball rolling in the most unorthodox manner. The rest, as they say, is history. So have a glass of wine and toast the great folks at ActBlue as you celebrate our 4th anniversary. -- Yo-Duh

Title Nine Celebrates 35th Anniversary

Title Nine is 35 years old today, and the world of youth sports in the U.S. will never be the same - thankfully. My eldest daughter, the serious jock in the house as I've noted in previous posts, reminded me of the milestone this morning. And of what still needs to be done to fully implement the spirit of the groundbreaking law.

To review, Title Nine prohibits federally-funded education programs and activities from discriminating on the basis of sex. Sounds simple, but of course it's not. Sports and a bunch of other programs in public education have always been unfairly focused on males. I can only think that this anachronism is a result of the puritanical fundamentalist view that only males matter and females are, after all, just chattel. It is important to remember that females now represent a majority of the U.S. population, are often wage earners, combat veterans and, well, you know the story. There's just no reason at all for any remnants of the exclusive, male-only fraternity to be holding on to any part of the old model. So happy anniversary Title Nine. Hoo-ya, have another micro-brew.