Apt. 11D

16 and Pregnant

The movie, Juno, and Britney's sister have put the issue of teenage pregnancy back on the agenda. The biggest buzz happened over the holiday break. Lucky for me, Caitlin Flanagan brought up it again, so it's nice and hot and topical again. Thanks, Caitlin.

Caitlin explains that Juno is a "fairy tale." Most girls aren't able to effortlessly give up their kids for adoption. She points out how unfair it is that girls assume all the blame and responsibility, while the impregnators remain anonymous and continue with their normal lives.

Flanagan writes,

Biology is destiny, and the brutally unfair outcome that adolescent sexuality can produce will never change. Twenty years ago, I taught high school in a town near New Orleans. There was a girls’ bathroom next to my classroom, which was more convenient for me than the faculty one on the other side of campus. In the last stall, carved deeply into the metal box reserved for used sanitary napkins, was the single word “Please.”

That "biology is destiny" line is driving some people crazy.

I haven't seen Juno, so I don't want to comment on its hidden meanings or subplots. I don't give a crap about hipsters anymore. It's a rental.  However, I have been following the Jamie Lynn Spears story, because I'm a shallow reader of tmz.com.

I have been fairly shocked about the level of condemnation that has been heaped on this girl. Yeah, it's rough to be 16 and pregnant, but the press has put the scarlet A on her forehead. Some want her kicked off Nickelodeon. Parents are worried about what they are going to tell their eight year old daughters, who watch Spears's show.

I'm not sure why Flanagan's editorial is irking people. The world still isn't ready for pregnant teens. Pregnant teens still are seen as little sluts who will contaminate the younger girls. And the guys do get off way too easy. It's only the girls that get the cold shoulder, as well as the annoying messy business of being pregnant for nine months.

I would like to see more social supports for pregnant teenagers. High school maternity leave. Colleges with day cares. The boys need to shoulder more of the burden, though I'm not sure how to operationalize that one. I do like the idea that they should have to wear a t-shirt for nine months that says "I'm too stupid to use birth control."

Weekend Journal

Every time that LSU got a touchdown, Shawn leaned out of her house and blew an air horn. "Take that, Steve, you OSU lover." After the game, she hung an LSU flag outside of her house and tossed a fire cracker or two over her voodoo garden.

Thursday morning, I was trying to force myself to get back to work on old paper, when I heard banging on my back door. It was Bill, another neighbor. The weather was so nice that he decided to use his workers to put in the fence that divides Bill's and Shawn's and our property, rather than next summer as originally planned. The fence style had to be chosen that second. Seven Mexican guys stood behind Bill with shovels and pick axes. When neighbors do work for you, things may happen cheaply, but there is a huge random factor that you just have to deal with.

What Republicans Think of Hillary and Obama

I've got a post on PJM about the women voters and Hillary. PJM has a fairly conservative editorial board, but they have been open minded about linking to and supporting bloggers from across the political spectrum. Their readers, on the other hand, are unwaveringly conservative. The comments on my post range from thoughtful comparisons of Obama and Hillary (with qualifications that they wouldn't vote for either) to completely bonkers. My favorite comment:

Let's face reality here, most women vote based on either looks or how many hand-outs the state will bestow. By their nature they are emotional, nurturing beings, so why would women vote based on the principles of reason when reason is not the big group hug-everyone gets a medal-philosophy most women are attracted to. From what I can tell, the problem started around the 19th amendment.

My Son, The Doctor

I grew up in a very affluent town in New Jersey. My parents moved to a little house on the wrong side of tracks, so we could attend the fancy public school in town. But with their blue collar roots and my dad's professor salary, my parents never really fit in. My mom would come home from PTA meetings with stories about the strutting moms who would brag about their son, the doctor and their daughter, the attorney. The strutters had big plans for their other kids to go to Harvard and choose the doctor/lawyer route also. By eighth grade, most of my classmates had memorized Barron's list of elite schools and had begun SAT test prep classes.

Well, doctors and lawyers are no longer the blue chip professions. It seems that the definition of "prestige" has shifted. "Especially among young people, professional status is now inextricably linked to ideas of flexibility and creativity, concepts alien to seemingly everyone but art students even a generation ago."

The Internet has also helped kill the status of doctors, because they no longer have a monopoly on information. Anyone can log onto WEBMD and come armed to their appointment with print outs of the latest studies and reports.

The article really overstates matters. A good number of my college students are applying to law school next year. You don't hear too many kids saying that they are planning on launching a computer start up after graduation. The path towards being a lawyer or a doctor is more well traveled and less risky.

Still, this small shift is very interesting. I'm amused that the snobby PTA moms in my old town can't brag as loudly as they used to. I love that prestige is now connected with flexible living, rather 80 hours in an office. I love that creativity and entrepreneurship is prestigious.

Question of the Day: What careers would you steer my college students towards?

Spreadin' Love

My brother and SIL have been singing the praises of the Wire. I'm going to get the first season on DVD to watch this weekend. Commentary from an expert on gangs (and University of Chicago alum), Sudhir Venkatesh.

David Brooks is blogging.

Russell Arben Fox writes about why we should care about Huckabee.

Hillary and the Women Voters

The topic du jour is Hillary and the women voters. Here are some of the best (or most commented on) posts on the topic:

Kerry Howley. Cry like a man.

Elizabeth at a Half Changed World. "I do think the campaign has highlighted the degree to which sexism continues to permeate the environment"

Gloria Steinem. "What worries me is that some women, perhaps especially younger ones, hope to deny or escape the sexual caste system"

Jody at Raising WEG. "Mom was thrilled to tell me that my sister has finally -- after almost 17 years of indifferent political abstinence -- registered to vote, solely so that my sister can vote for Hillary. I guess the Senator has done something good, then."

Maureen Dowd. Hillary cries her way into the White House.

Melissa McEvan. Shut up, Maureen.

Megan McArdle. It's not sexist to criticize a female candidate's clothes.

(and me at Pajamas Media.)

UPDATE: finding more...

David Brooks. "Working-class women stuck with Hillary. The secret to her success, and the reason she may win the election in November (if she gets that far) is that less-educated women like her. Better-educated women are ambivalent, but the so-called waitress moms will stick with Hillary through thick and thin."

New Hampshire

McCain's got NH. It's too close to call for the Democrats yet. You can keep hitting refresh on the CNN results.

Pundits are saying that this was the lifesaver that McCain needed to stay in the race, that Republicans always ultimately go with the establishment candidate, that this is a victory for the surge. Thompson and Giuliani appear to be in big trouble. I think that Romney's and Huckabee's loss also says New England isn't ready for a Mormon and Baptist.

Lots of rumors about the Clinton campaign. Are Begala and Carville coming back? Is Bill being too aggressive against Obama?

Looks like Clinton is doing better with women voters in NH than she did in Iowa. Did the tears help her out?

UPDATE: CNN just called it for Hillary.

Great concession speech from Obama. Hillary's okay. She thanks NH for giving her voice back.

Spreadin' Love

PhDs on Food Stamps. (via unfogged).

Why Drezner prefers Obama over Clinton.

Farrell points to an interesting study that finds that Catholics in Iowa did not vote for Huckabee. My Catholic parents said that they don't hate Huckabee, but they are voting for McCain.

Above Steve's office in Times Square, there's a big ad for Oceanic Air with a web address. We checked out the website and found a reference to another website. Warning - geeky time suck.

Spreadin' Love

Test your Norwegian party preference. Apparently, I am a supporter of the Socialist Left party.

How this weird-as-hell primary system works.

Admire the great 365 blogs.

Air travel 101.

New Hampshire Debate

Last night's Democratic debate was a rare treat. The candidates were clearly exhausted. Hillary had on a gallon of undereye concealer, along with a sharp green shirt and a rare girly necklace. The others just looked saggy.

Perhaps because of this exhaustion and the Iowa upset, things got a little nasty last night. Nasty makes for good TV.

Hillary is clearly ticked off about all the good press that Obama is getting. She made little digs about that nice words and pretty sentiment don't mean anything. The media is lapping up Obama's last speech in Iowa like it's cheap beer at a kegger. Hillary is Dean Wormer at this kegger.

Edwards said it's Obama and me against the status-quo. In passive aggressive language, status quo would be Hillary. We should have had subtitltes for this debate for those not versed in passive aggressive language. Edwards reminded everyone that he came in second in Iowa. Hillary stiffened up when Edwards said this. I mean even more than usual.

Change. Change. Change. Change. Hillary - I'm experienced change.

Someone should tell Edwards to say something other than Washington lobbyists are bad. Edwards also said about a hundred times that his parents worked in a mill; I am one of you. When I'm president, everyone will have a 30,000 square foot house in North Carolina.

Obama is goin' for the Camelot thing. He's playing well with young voters. He's charming. Pretty wife. Young kids. He did very well last night. During a commercial break, I switched over to Fox where they were chatting with undecided voters. They were hating Hillary that night. Many of Hillary's old supporters were switching to the Obama camp.

Last night, Hillary said that change never comes from nice words that stir up the public. She said that words are not action. It's comes from experience of dealing with the system. Obama responded,

Look, I think it's easier to be cynical and just say, "You know what, it can't be done because Washington's designed to resist change." But in fact there have been periods of time in our history where a president inspired the American people to do better, and I think we're in one of those moments right now. I think the American people are hungry for something different and can be mobilized around big changes -- not incremental changes, not small changes....

[T]he truth is actually words do inspire. Words do help people get involved. Words do help members of Congress get into power so that they can be part of a coalition to deliver health care reform, to deliver a bold energy policy. Don't discount that power, because when the American people are determined that something is going to happen, then it happens. And if they are disaffected and cynical and fearful and told that it can't be done, then it doesn't. I'm running for president because I want to tell them, yes, we can. And that's why I think they're responding in such large numbers.

Obama just won the election.

UPDATE: James Fallows reacts to the debate, too.

Podhoretz on Giuliani in New Hampshire.

Matt Yglesias gives Edwards higher grades than I did.