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The inimitable DJ and video blogger Jay Smooth put out a new ill doctrine blog shortly after President Obama made his decision to (publicly) support marriage equality (with his voice) that among other nuggets of wisdom, reminded everyone that it was the activists pushing for this that should get the credit in this moment -- even though it was well overdue. It turns out that having pushed the President to finally change (ahem) may have started a real rhetorical domino effect towards marriage equality -- especially amongst black Americans.
Witness yesterday's also-overdue NAACP endorsement:
The NAACP Constitution affirmatively states our objective to ensure the "political, education, social and economic equality" of all people. Therefore, the NAACP has opposed and will continue to oppose any national, state, local policy or legislative initiative that seeks to codify discrimination or hatred into the law or to remove the Constitutional rights of LGBT citizens. We support marriage equality consistent with equal protection under the law provided under the Fourteenth Amendment of the United States Constitution. Further, we strongly affirm the religious freedoms of all people as protected by the First Amendment.
This comes three years almost to the day after NAACP president Ben Jealous told CNN that the NAACP wouldn't take a national position on marriage equality. The walls are tumbling down on this issue, and Melissa will not only speak to that in her "Footnote" essay today, but she'll welcome back Aisha Moodie-Mills of the Center for American Progress Action Fund. She is also advisor at the LGBT Policy & Racial Justice and director of the FIRE Initiative.
We'll also welcome a panel of young women students, including high-schoolers Emily Carpenter and Leslie Cardona, to talk about ground breaking in the battle for women's rights, and how that has increased the visibility of the feminist movement in what Nation columnist Jessica Valenti is calling the "Year of the (Young) Woman." We'll also welcome women who have been in a literal war, fighting not just enemies on foreign soil, but sexism and violence within their own ranks.
Melissa will have a discussion about the Clarence Aaron clemency case with the ProPublica senior reporter who broke big news on it this week, Dafna Linzer. And last, but certainly not least, Melissa will speak with former New York Knick, Democratic Senator, presidential candidate Bill Bradley about his new book, "We Can All Do Better."
Other guests on our list include:
- Salamishah Tillet, assistant professor of English and Africana Studies at the University of Pennsylvania (and my former classmate there).
- Julie Zeilinger, Barnard College student (and fellow Hawken Hawk). She is the author of "A Little F'd Up: Why Feminism is Not a Dirty Word."
- Kayla Williams, fellow at the Truman National Security Project and author of "Love My Rifle More Than You: Young and Female in the US Army." Williams is an Iraq War veteran.
- Genevieve Chase, founder and executive director of American Women Veterans. Chase is a veteran of Operation Enduring Freedom in Afghanistan, and has received a Purple Heart.
- Glen Johnson, politics editor at Boston.com.
- Kimberly Dozier, AP intelligence and counter-terrorism writer. She was formerly the Baghdad correspondent for CBS News.
- Hank Sheinkopf, who runs his own political consulting firm, and was formerly a member of President Clinton's re-election media team.
As always, folks -- be sure to interact with us during the show here in the comments of this post, on Facebook, and on Twitter, using the hashtag #nerdland. We look forward to having you join us at 10am ET on msnbc!


Hank Sheinkopf just said that "In God We Trust" is on American money because we are a rule-following, religious nation. No. It's because Cold War anti-Communist legislators insisted that it be added all over the place in our country. "Under God" was put into our Pledge of Allegiance during my 1954 summer vacation from elementary school. As a loyal American atheist, I say the pledge but omit the relgion.
Melissa! those young women were excellente!!!! i'm as excited as you are to give them a voice on the 'air'. thank you so much. i just bought a bra, 40 odd years after i took it off. they're still too tight. i still hate them. perhaps today's young women should think a minute about putting their beautiful feet in those high heels. fashion's one thing. but who designed those impediments to your locomotion? or am i just being cranky? go melissa go. great shows. great site.
Concerning the "bra-burning" legend mentioned in today's MHP show: If you'd ever worn one of those 1950s and early '60's era bras, you'd have wanted to burn it. Woven cotton, nylon or silk, no give or stretch straps (there was a reason the women of the '50s and 60s were conical); no spandex or Lycra. They had to be extra-tight to do their jobs...so every woman ended up with compression tracks on the tops of her shoulders.
Trust me, a lot of women would have burned theirs in a second had there been any alternative. Why do you think we all decided to go braless? It wasn't until lingerie makers realized they were losing a lot of money that changes were made.
Lack of women in combat may have more to do with the psychological requirements of a combat arms unit in combat than the physical requirements. When you're primary mission is to move out and kill it is much different mission, environment and mindset than sitting in a vehicle waiting to get blown up. Been there, done both. Read "On Killing" and "On Combat" by Dave Grossman. Would the raw aggression required and necessary of the combat units be tempered by the usually nurturing nature of having females in the unit? I mean it mostly depends on the person, obviously, but you don't want the tip of the spear to be dulled in any way.
CEO's are restricting investment at their own peril:
if they do not hire they won't have a future selling their products to anyone, because no one will be able to afford them either!!!