POLITICS BUZZ – Obama dodges an important question at an auto plant and calls Peggy Agar, a reporter, “sweetie.”But she did get a personal apology from him via voicemail. Swoon! I would never erase my inbox again.

Watch the Video »

The Best Links:

1. The Apology, Transcribed
2. Peggy Agar Should Have Gotten a Valid Response from Obama
3. This won’t help Obama with the Ladies
4. Obama Should Not Call Women “Sweetie”
5. Peggy Agar Talks About Obama Apology
6. Was “Sweetie” Sexist?
7. Watch the Obama Appearance (Different Video)

CULTURE BUZZ – These kits help women collect evidence anonymously after a rape, but were always prohibitively expensive. Starting in 2009, all states will be required to pay for anonymous rape kits, even if the woman isn’t planning on pressing charges.Well, there’s not much good news to give rape victims, but at least now, prosecuting rape cases will get a lot easier starting in 2009. It’s nice to see our country progressing in some form.

The Best Links:

1. Easier Access to Rape Kits in 2009
2. Rape Exam Now Available without Having to Go to the Cops
3. ‘Jane Doe’ Rape Kits Allow Evidence To Be Collected Anonymously
4. Good News for Rape Victims!
5. Rape kit on Wikipedia
6. This will obviously help women, but what about the men??
7. Jane Doe Kits Go National…Finally!
8. How Rape Kits in NYC Work - Sometimes Your Insurance Covers It
9. Missouri “Out Of Money” For Rape Kits

POLITICS BUZZ – Bloggers are urging women to send their resumes to Senator McCain in response to his comment that women need more “education and training” if they want equal pay.After Senate Republicans blocked the Ledbetter Fair Pay Act last Wednesday, McCain (who failed to even show up for the vote) blames the wage gap on lack of education. Since 58% of college graduates are women, maybe McCain needs more education on the issue?

The Best Links:

1. McCain Says Women Need More “Education and Training”
2. Send McCain Your Resume!
3. Mccain May Have Called His Wife a “Cunt” and a “Trollop”
4. Sign the Petition!
5. Women Make 77 Cents for Each Dollar Men Make
6. This is Why It’s Important to Vote for a Democrat.
7. Overview of the Issue from The New York Times
8. “We need a little activism, right this very minute”
9. “I wonder what Cindy McCain thinks about the fact that her husband doesn’t want to guarantee fair pay for their daughters”

CULTURE BUZZ – Although many would hope this term connoted hot girl-on-girl action, it’s something much simpler: adoration by women for women.Audrey Hepburn, Chelsea Clinton, and Gwyneth Paltrow score points with gals for the ease with which they exude class and intelligence. Keep your fingers crossed - if Britney can manage to stay sane and keep her ironic tee shirts free of Spaghetti-O stains, she’ll be right up there beside her pseudo-British sisters soon enough.

The Best Links:

1. “Girl Crush” According To …You
2. The Pink Rhombus of The Girl Crush, Explained
3. When The New York Times Coined The Girl Crush
4. Beware: The Girl Crush Can Lead To The Girl Breakup
5. My First Girl Crush: Shirley Manson
6. Gabrielle Union: Girl Crushin’ On Eva Mendes
7. Girl Crush: Katherine Heigl
8. Girl Crush: French And Saunders (of “Absolutely Fabulous”)
9. Girl Crush: Gweneth Paltrow, “The Embodiment of Style and Class”
10. Girl Crush: Robyn
11. Girl Crush: Chelsea Clinton
12. Kim Kardashian: Girl Crushin’ On J. Lo [Insert Butt Joke Here]
13. Girl Crush: Audrey Hepburn, “The Prime Example of Class and Elegance in a Lady”
14. Girl Crush: Helen Mirren (“There’s Something About the Dame That Really Spreads the Clotted Cream On My Scone.”)
15. Girl Crushes: Ellen Degeneres, Kate Moennig (“Does That Make Me Gay?”)
16. Girl Crush: Caroline Herrera (“Could She BE Any More Magnificent???”)
17. Girl Crush: Charlotte Gainsbourg
18. Girl Crush: Natalie Portman
19. Girl Crushes: Cat Deeley, Katee Sackhoff, Connie Britton
20. Girl Crush: Tina Fey
21. Girl Crush: Mildly Weird-Looking Style Icons

CULTURE BUZZ – Yale art student Aliza Shvarts’ senior art project documents a nine-month process during which she artificially inseminates herself while inducing miscarriages over and over. Her exhibition will feature video recordings of these forced miscarriages as well as preserved collections of the blood from the process.Finally, something that pro-lifers AND pro-choicers can agree on! Now both sides of the controversial debate can concur that gratuitous abortion art is pretty despicable.

The Best Links:

1. Yale Threatens to Ban Shvarts’ Art Project from Show
2. Aliza Shvarts Inspired Jewelry (!!!)
3. Aliza Shvarts’ Uterine Lining Inspires Jewelry Maker
4. Further developments reveal the “art project” is a hoax.
5. University calls art project a fiction; Shvarts ‘08 disputes Yale’s claim
6. Yale Daily News - For senior, abortion a medium for art, political discourse
7. Controversy Over Abortion Art
8. That Abortion Art Project, in the Artist’s Own Words
9. Bleeding for Her Art
10. Most people find this gross.
11. Did she punk us?
12. Check Out a 2004 Photo of Shvarts
13. Liberal Ivy League Art Project Not Appreciated by All
14. Here Is Some of My Abortion Art…It’s Pretty Gross
15. Poor Aliza’s Cry for Attention
16. I Don’t Get It, But At Least It’ll Get People Talking
17. Artist Or Violator of Ethics?
18. How Did She Get the Donors?
19. Yale Student Lowers Historical Definition of Art to New Lows
20. Can’t Start Conversation about Abortion; Too Busy Puking
21. She Claims It Wasn’t For Shock Value