Island Issues

Women Marchers Outraged But Not Sure Why

I’ve read and heard a number of news reports about the women’s marches conducted in various communities including Fernandina Beach last Saturday but still have no idea what the gals’ overall objective was. And I’m not sure they do either.

Signs carried by many of those marching encouraged onlookers to: “Respect my rights”, “Stay outraged” and proclaimed “I will not go quietly back to the 1950s” making it appear that the marchers weren’t sure what their common cause was, except to make it clear that baking cookies, dusting the furniture and ironing were not priorities on their “to do” lists.

Many news reports said that the women were protesting President Donald Trump, who in the latest postelection survey I saw, received more white female votes (53%) than his opponent Hillary Clinton, a statistic that didn’t sit well with some of the national march organizers who, according to THE WEEK Magazine, told white women to “check their privilege” so women of color and lesbians could lead the protest. Being white is “not OK right now,” an organizer said. So much for unity.

Their anti-Trump flame is sparked mostly by funding from the very rich and very nasty George Soros and fanned by the President’s frustrated and flustered mainstream media nemesis. In D.C. two of America’s most brilliant political scientists added their commentary with Madonna saying she’d like to blow up the White House and Ashley Judd comparing Trump to Hitler. Their language (“I am woman hear me swear!”) and the language of some other “lady” speakers made the vulgar 2005 Donald Trump-Billy Bush recording pale in comparison and had the scatological rapper crowd slack jawed with admiration.

The group’s global coordinator Breanne Butler said “This isn’t a march on Trump….but a march on Washington including Congress, the Supreme Court and any other representatives…..hear our voices.”

Wait a minute, wasn’t that the same message the Trump election campaign used?

Photo courtesy Mary MaGuire, NCFL Independent

Locally the police estimated that some 700-800 Amelia Island ladies (the organizers said it was twice as many), a sprinkling of guys, and lots of kids and dogs participated in unison with their D.C. counterparts holding their Saturday rally in Fernandina Beach’s Central Park after marching through town. They were respectfully peaceful and orderly and gave the appearance of a group of gals joining together for the sole purpose of being outraged, but not exactly sure what it was they were supposed to be outraged about. Maybe it’s difficult to express proper outrage when its sunny and a balmy 80 degrees on January 21. “Hey, look over there, is that the Farmer’s Market? Are those people playing petanque? Did anybody bring beer?”

One young gal the online Fernandina Observer described as “scantily-clad” used her bare chest to scrawl a wordy message on, punctuated only by two small pasties while her hirsute marching companion looked as though she had my long-haired pal Pajamadave Voorhees in a headlock.

Other locals carried signs that covered a gamut of outrage, ranging from environmental and LGBT issues to anti-Trump sentiments and women’s rights. There were also some puzzling signs that resembled byzantine charts and lengthy excerpts from authors that appeared as though they were visual aids snatched from a college sociology lecture hall.

One of the guys in the group covered all the bases by carrying one saying “I’m with her.” A woman clutched another asking folks to “Include the Excluded” without being specific, apparently offering observers an opportunity to choose from their own list of outcasts…lepers, Luddites, Lilliputians, whatever. Another guy toted a placard that nobody could argue with that proclaimed “Love your Mother.” More about moms later.

Speaker Anna Occhuizzo, urged attendees to volunteer and join groups that have missions to protect water, air and land, a plea that probably wasn’t intended to send them scurrying to the nearest Navy, Air Force or Army recruiting offices, but who knows, since all the messages were vague and disjointed, again leaving me confused as to what this feminine Hokey Pokey was all about.

You know those times when a song just starts racing through your mind and won’t stop? Well, that just now happened to me as the Kinky Freidman tune, “Get your biscuits in the oven and your buns in the bed” kicked in.

You uppity women I don’t understand

Why you gotta go and try to act like a man,

But before you make your weekly visit to the shrink

You’d better occupy the kitchen, liberate the sink.

Darn, I’m sorry. Don’t you hate it when that happens?

Anyway, back to our outraged ladies where another local organizer, Sheila Cocchi, told the online newspaper The Independent that she was proud of the turnout, adding: “It’s probably one of the most important things that I’ve done in my life,” a statement that suggests she may want to seriously reevaluate her long term personal and professional goals.

It seems to me that while these gals represent a potentially powerful force to be reckoned with, they lack a shared purpose, particularly one that doesn’t involve a dust mop, a stove or an iron. They’ve made it clear they don’t want to spend much time in the kitchen “rattling those pots and pans” but other than hating President Trump they appear to be protesting aimlessly and need direction for their communal outrage.

I’m here to help. I have a just and feminine cause for Ms. Cocchi and her ladies-up-in-arms that’ll make her even prouder and bring her group together under a common banner with outrage for all — single motherhood and helping prevent it.

I don’t mean mothers raising children on their own because of circumstances beyond their control such as well-justified divorces (abuse, abandonment, infidelity, addiction) being widowed, having a spouse incarcerated, etc. I was raised by a widowed mother from the age of five and have first-hand knowledge of the difficulties these women face.

I mean women who are being praised and celebrated because they are willingly and purposely bearing illegitimate children and being encouraged to do so. In the meantime the nuclear family is vilified, while the tax payers are forcibly enlisted to feed, house and cloth the single mothers and their kids. Even single mothers who are impregnated through artificial insemination are celebrated as success stories with many claiming that the child is more important than the father. Really? Tell that to the kid.

Single motherhood is epidemic and those that encourage, promote and glamorize it are crazy wrong.

Hollywood and the media rave on about the merits of being a single mother and celebrate unwed mothers such as Halle Berry, Nicole Richie, Jessica Alba, Susan Sarandon and many more. An American Idol winner’s album featured a song called “Baby Mama” celebrating teenage single motherhood. Movies and television shows glorifying single moms are too numerous to list.

While liberal government policies pay single women to have children out of wedlock (“Hear us roar! What’s holding up my government check?”) pop culture cheerleaders glamorize these unwed mothers and society suffers, but none as much as the children of these unmarried women.

For example a single women in her early twenties featured in the Jacksonville-based Florida Times-Union during its annual Christmas fund raiser series last month, explained that she was in need of financial help because she has four children. It was also revealed in that story that each child had a different last name and there was no husband in the house. Earlier this month the paper ran a front page story about a baby that was kidnapped from a 16-year-old single mother 18 years ago at a Jacksonville hospital. The young woman was recently found living in North Carolina with the kidnapper. From what I’ve read she was lucky she didn’t have to go home from the hospital with her biological parent, who was awarded $1.6 million dollars in a lawsuit against that hospital, lost her house and today is flat broke. At the time of the child’s birth the father was in jail and the mother now has a couple of other kids and no husband, no job and no prospects.

Being born to a single mother is like winning a prison lottery.

The strongest predictor of whether a person will end up in prison is that he or she was raised by a single mother. Some 70 percent of inmates in state juvenile detention centers serving long-term sentences were raised by single mothers; 72 percent of juvenile murders and 60 percent of rapists come from single-mother homes. Some 70 percent of teen births, dropouts, runaways, juvenile delinquents, and child murders involve children raised by single mothers. And 80 percent of ALL prison inmates come from single-parent homes.

Single motherhood may be the single most important and unreported social problem in America, eclipsing crime, drugs, poverty, education, homelessness and welfare because it drives all of those ills. And it’s going to get worse. According to the U.S. Census Bureau by 2005 — just 12 years ago — more than one-third of all babies born in the U.S were illegitimate. Single mothers account for 85 percent of homeless families and 90 percent of all welfare recipients are single mothers.

So, ladies here’s something that you can justifiably be outraged about. Talk to your sisters and do society and yourselves a favor and direct your outrage at helping prevent single motherhood…it’s bad for the mother, children and society. And I’ll be outraged right alongside you.

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Speaking Of Protestors: Anti-Trump inauguration day protestors smashed windows of a Starbucks and a Bank of America, spray-painted anarchist graffiti on a variety of surfaces in downtown D.C. and destroyed cars among other damaging acts to accomplish what? How do their actions accomplish their goals? And what are their goals? As far as I can tell all they achieve is to drive moderate Americans further and further away from the Democratic party, the organization most folks rightly associate with these loons.

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“Plus ça change, plus c’est la même chose” Department: In her Thamm-O-Gramm and Fernandina Beach Observer column earlier this week keen local political analyst and commentator Suanne Thamm revealed a number of issues the city grappled with some 45 years ago that are still on the current agenda. In doing so she recalled how in the 1970s former City Commissioner Ron “Get off my lawn you little bastards” Sapp suggested a voter referendum that would have limited the population of Fernandina Beach to 12,000. And if he had been successful way back then I’m sure he would have proposed an ordinance that would have prevented any of them from driving past his house on Alachua St.

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Bar Room Betting Material: How can Donald Trump be the 45th President since there have only been 44 people ever elected President? When the 22nd President Grover Cleveland (1885-1889) ran for a second term he was defeated by Benjamin Harrison (1889-1893), who became the 23rd person to hold the office. When Harrison ran for reelection Cleveland ran again and defeated him to become the 24th President (1893-1897) and the only President to serve two nonconsecutive terms, so he’s counted twice.

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Things I Don’t Get Department: Why are Democrats so incensed over the Russian hacking of Democratic Party political emails and so delighted that former president Obama pardoned Bradley (aka Chelsea) Manning, who gave away U.S. military secrets to our country’s enemies?

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Department Of Silly Broadcasting: During an inauguration day morning NPR broadcast session (Jacksonville WJCT, 89.9FM) Friday, January 20, NPR’s Mara Liaison haughtily gloated that she was looking forward to counting the number of times President Trump said “I” during his inaugural speech, implying that the new president was an egotistical bore. Where was this woman the past eight years when the personal pronoun “I” was the linchpin around which President Obama’s speeches rotated? Good grief, the sooner President Trump pulls the government’s financial plug on this claptrap the better. By the way, “I” was mentioned just three times in President Trump’s speech and in the following phrases: “I will fight or you…. I will never let you down” and “The oath of office I take today is an oath of allegiance to all Americans.” The new President used “you” and “your” 16 times and “we” 45 times. Ms. Liaison I suggest that YOU update YOUR resume as YOUR tax payer funded pay days are numbered.

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Cajun muffuletta with meat olives and cheese

Drinking, Dining & Dancing: Friends Cal Atwood, Joe Murphy and I enjoyed our monthly lunch this past Wednesday at The Surf and I can honestly report that we all left totally satisfied with the food, ambiance and service. Joe had one of the newly created $9.95 Monday-Friday specials selecting fish and chips, with a huge piece of cod and a cup of chicken noodle soup, that he proclaimed “very good.” Cal and I split one half of Manager Joey Ledet’s now legendary muffuletta and a side of fries. The muffuletta, which is not on the menu, is back to its reasonable $11 for a half and $19 for a whole one. If you’re lucky you’ll get Michelle or Jessie as a server, either one is a delight, attentive and both very easy on the eyes. By the way, a whole muffuletta weighs in at just over two pounds. Find a better and tastier sandwich anywhere! Oh, the $9.95 special also offers a choice of a meatball sandwich, Philly cheese steak, club hoagie, shrimp poboy, oyster poboy, southern fried fish sandwich or a grilled Ahi tuna sandwich, all with either soup of the day or a salad. If you’re there Tuesday, Wednesday or Thursday you might want to sit in the Artie Steinig “Breakfast Club” tiki bar section where Artie holds court and offers a special happy hour 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. and features a not-on-the-menu special of two hotdogs with fries, chili, onions, jalapenos and cheese for just five bucks. When Artie arrives to unlock the place at 9 a.m. there’s already a line of folks waiting to get in and I understand why. I enjoyed breakfast at the 1120 South 14th Street Doo Wop Diner Thursday morning with another breakfast club group consisting of local musician Dan Voll, Pajamadave Voorhees, Carol “Mom” Voorhees, and the spunky and very pretty Zan Maddox, about as interesting group to ever congregate at one table and engage in conversation that made no sense whatsoever, thus providing a terrific kerfuffle-free environment. You can’t beat the Doo Wop’s breakfast specials with nothing I could see costing more than nine bucks and the two eggs, ham, toast, grits and coffee I ordered going for just seven dollars. They only serve breakfast and lunch opening at 7 a.m. and closing at 3 p.m.

34 Comments

Sandra Pineault - 03. Feb, 2017 -

Wow—amazing. A microcosm in a blog response. It shows me, once again, how virulent and vitriolic the left, apparently especially its women, goes when only dialogue is necessary. These types of responses, particularly when paired with violence that often accompanies it as well as disparagement, serve no purpose except to lower the bar in every way. They surely never studied civics in high school nor the Constitution where FREEDOM OF SPEECH is the right of everyone in this country. I am more saddened that angry with all this…for what suffers the most is the truth and the compassion America was once known for. I pray for my wonderful country in which I grew up and where I never feared to speak up…me, a woman. God bless America and God bless Donald Trump. I just read this sentence by someone whose name I forget.. “three things that cannot long be hidden, the sun, the moon and the truth.”

Russell - 02. Feb, 2017 -

to help you understand why..a post from my daughter’s best friend:f you seek to understand, you just might find that you do.
Why I March
About 10 days ago I attempted to make it to DC to march for women. Due to an impressive turnout, I could not even get into Baltimore’s train station to make it. Instead, I stood and chatted with DC-bound people at the station and then went home and marched in my dreams. (I worked the night before. And yes, I literally dreamed of being at the march, engaging in meaningful conversation about why I marched. I feel like I participated even though I was not physically present. Some people seem to be mixed up about why people marched. I read the mission and vision statements for the march repeatedly and decided that even though I am pro-baby, and pro-lifers weren’t invited, I could still align myself with the cause. Here is why.
Why I march
Today I march for my friend whose customer slides money across the counter because he’d rather not touch a black woman’s hand during money exchange.
I march for my sister who is cheated on because she won’t put out.
I march for the woman who wasn’t hired because she was getting married and of childbearing age.
I march for the woman who won’t wear her engagement ring to the job interview because it might affect whether or not she gets hired.
I march because I was fired for standing up to a male supervisor, the only, “alpha” male in the department for no good reason at all.
I march against the man who stopped by without prior notice, entered my messy apartment, commented on how messy it was and excused his own household messiness because he’s a man and I am a woman and am supposed to be neat and tidy and good at cleaning and he is out working all day long.
I march for the woman who stays late at the office after work because the hours she stepped away to pump breastmilk were “off the clock” I see you. You’re nourishing the people of the future, future bigots and sexists, and you should not be punished for that.
I march for the woman who can’t get alimony and spousal support because even though she sacrificed her own dreams and decided to be a stay-at-home mom for familial and financial reasons, she wasn’t married long enough in the eyes of the law to deserve financial support from her spouse.
I march for all you single mamas, hoping for child support from the dead beat dads. I march for your stress and strength and courage. I march for your wasted time and lost wages when you go to family court and he doesn’t show…again.
I march for the woman who goes back to work at six weeks postpartum because otherwise she might lose her job, oh and baby’s sperm donor left when he found out she was pregnant, so she’s on her own now, fumbling to provide for a new baby.
I march for all of us modern women in this uncharted, historic territory, trying to find balance among the unreasonable expectations society has of us.
I march for the postpartum woman who falls into deep depression and is called a bad mom, but really she just lacks social, medical and political support.
I march for every woman making 76 cents and less for her male counterpart’s $1.
I march for the women who are told they are too skinny, too fat, too tall, too short, too pretty, too ugly.
I march for the woman whose family tells her she’d be pretty if she wore makeup.
I march for the overweight woman jogging through town, on a mission to get fit, enduring countless degrading comments about her size.
I march for the LGBTQ community suffering from dark depressions that often go unnoticed. I march for your right to healthcare and marriage in the eyes of the State.
I march for the woman whose husband abandons her and blocks access to her home and belongings and leaves her with no rights to her home because her name is not on the deed/title.
I march for the women who work full time and go home to the “second shift” while their husbands sit and watch TV.
I march for the women and girls who are victims of sexual harassment, abuse, assault and rape.
I march for the women who stay in abusive relationships because if they leave, their children have no food or shelter.
I march for the women who are finding their voices after many years of silence.
I march for all those women who are killed by men.
I march for black, brown, yellow, red women who continue to face an uphill battle that I as a white woman can’t even understand.
I march for the woman who took a man’s name and can’t seem to get rid of it even after he got rid of her.
I march for my mother who received a letter from a fellow churchgoer because her bra strap was showing in church.
I march for the women who look over their shoulder constantly when a group of men walks behind them or cross the street to proactively protect themselves.
For every woman who’s been interrupted by a man in a work meeting and listened to simply because he’s louder, I march for you.
I march for the girls in school who receive less attention and instruction because the boys are louder and more demanding.
I march for every woman who has been and is being manipulated by a man.
I march for religious women who still lack leadership representation within their religious institutions despite women being both more religious and more faithful.
I march for the women who were imprisoned and risked their lives 100 years ago fighting for my right to vote today.
I march for women who are written off as bitchy simply because they are assertive and opinionated.
I march for every woman who has told a man to stop touching her or pressuring her. And for every woman who has always had to be the boundary-setter in relationships.
I march for every girl who is told she runs like a girl, throws like a girl or fights like a girl, implying that it is a bad thing.
I march for my mother who has faced adversity and disrespect in her male-dominated career.
I march for women who set aside their careers to raise their children and are now struggling to reenter the workforce.
I march for my sister who was suspended from school when she hit a boy after he touched her without consent. I’m still proud of you for that.
I march for every woman and girl who has been asked if she’s on her period because she is acting emotional, angry and opinionated.
I march for the Refugee and Immigrant women who appear timid and afraid, but are really among the most courageous around.
I march for women paying the “mommy tax.” Your sacrifice does not go un-noticed and you should not be penalized for investing in the next generation.
I march for black women who continue to rise above despite the oppression and stereotypes and racism that they face.
I march for the women who are afraid to make eye contact or smile at a man on the sidewalk because he will likely misinterpret it as sexual invitation.
I march for easy access to birth control because birth control is life control for women.
I march for my sisters who have woken up to men drunk touching them inappropriately.
I march for the woman who delivered her baby last night without the support of her sperm donor because he’s too weak and scared and told her to get an abortion or he’d leave her.
Women, you are beautiful. You are the thread of society. You hold it all together.
I march for my daughters. My grandmothers. My mothers. My sisters.
Now you know1

Gerry Clare - 01. Feb, 2017 -

Dave’s disparaging rantings are just as disrespectful of women’s rights to march as some of Trump’s. Amazing.

Steve Sieger - 31. Jan, 2017 -

Women Women Women ! Take a deep breath and relax. Even though I know form 67 yrs experience that is an impossibility for most women!
As one gentleman said, Dave hit the nail on the head about your goofy misguided deranged march! You accomplished nothing except to endorsed the view most real MEN have of your antics! Very unstable at any speed!
You ranting left wing liberals do not think or behave objectively. You seem to be incapable of any form of rational thought process or you would be able to understand how Dave’s perceptions and facts are spot on!
Liberal women to day blather on the way Warren Harding was described many years ago, with “an army of pompous phrases moving over the landscape in search of an idea.” Your march demonstrated that to the tee!

The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results.
These women need to look at how every state and major city in this country that has been under liberal political politicians has and or is in the process of going down the proverbial tubes! To be fair ladies, if your radical liberal policies worked I would say keep up the good work! But the reality is they do not and have not and will not work! But your delusional radical liberal minds just cannot realize that fact!
Time to pull up your BIG girl depends ladies! You have some serious psychological flaws that need tending to! But like the old saying goes “a person convinced against their will is of the same opinion still”
Earth to the Fernandina women marchers, come in marchers!

J. Effingham Bellweather - 31. Jan, 2017 -

This opinion by Lloyd Marcus really got my attention: “Girls Scouts Under Fire for Marching in Trump’s Inaugural Parade”
Folks, this is the kind of deplorable, arrogant bullying from the Left that we have passively tolerated for far too long. C’mon, beating up on the Girl Scouts? The Left pulls this crap because they can. My political activism began around 2008. Since then, all I have heard from experts on our side is do not push back too hard, lest we make Leftists angry and we get negative press. News flash: fake news demonizes us even when we do nothing.
Now, about that demeaning anti-Trump women thing in DC. Fake news claimed half a million women showed up. It was awful, folks, triple X rated. Leftist media celebrated and normalized profanity, deviance, and vulgarity. With kids in the audience, Madonna repeatedly dropped F bombs and told president Trump to “suck a d***.” Ashley Judd ranted about bloody sheets and tampons. Thousands of women wore hats they described as “p**** hats” at the rally. Unbelievably, Trump’s life was boldly threatened from the podium. One protest sign read, “Black Trans Queer Lives Matter.” I thought, how many of them are there in the world? Ten?
Call me crazy, but what are these women so upset about?
For crying out loud, Leftists have branded maleness a mental illness. Fathers are disrespected and portrayed as idiots in sitcoms and movies. Women dominate college campuses because guys refuse to stomach being told what jerks they are in forced feminist “re-education” courses. Though fake news ignores it, there is an aggressive feminist War on Masculinity. Women have confided in me their discomfort watching football with the players running around wearing pink.
Leftist media glorified a lesbian couple for trying to feminize “queer” their 17-month-old baby boy, forcing him to wear tutus. The parents admitted, “he hates it.” The couple says they are frustrated by their son’s male tendencies.
I ask again, what on earth was that mob of crazies in DC so angry about? Women hold 60% of personal wealth, 51% of stocks in the U.S, and live longer. And, they own most of the shoes.
I cannot imagine waking up, looking at myself in the bathroom mirror and saying, “Hey big guy, America is really screwing you. Spend three grand traveling to DC to protest.”
Folks, the insane out-of-control anti-Trump protesters are a minority. Trump’s landslide electoral victory proves that. Still, we can no longer allow breaking the law and bullying people with impunity.

J. Effingham Bellweather - 30. Jan, 2017 -

Two weekends ago at the “Women’s March,” hundreds of thousands of women demonstrated in Washington, D.C. and cities across the county. What they were protesting was a little hard to discern – Donald Trump’s nascent presidency; the right to abortion; or, judging by the number of women donning costumes of female genitalia, the right to be vulgar and offensive.
Whatever it was, it had little in common with a march that took place last weekend, when hundreds of thousands of women joined as many men to march in D.C. and across the country.

The women who marched at the annual March for Life were there to demonstrate against Roe v. Wade, the 1973 case in which seven men on the Supreme Court decided that regulations on most abortions are unconstitutional.
They were also there because they object to and are appalled by the notion that the intentional killing of their children is somehow pro-woman or an exercise of love. They marched as a witness to the idea that motherhood is the ultimate expression of true femininity.
Some pro-life women showed an interest in joining the Women’s March but were ultimately told they were not welcome. Somehow, the notion that to be a woman is to support abortion rights has taken hold.

As President Trump’s adviser Kellyanne Conway told the crowd at the March for Life, “science and medicine have joined religion and morality in causing many Americans to rethink just how fragile and how triumphant human life truly is.”
And that, ultimately, was what the March for Life is about. Attendees don’t march against something as much as they march as an affirmation and celebration of the basic truth that a child’s birth is always a triumph.

Mary - 30. Jan, 2017 -

Hi Dave,
The U.S. Census Bureau does not use the word illegitimate to describe anyone. Thanks.
Mary

Steven Crounse - 29. Jan, 2017 -

For”Clueless In Fernandina Beach” Anne Taylor Nailed it, Much more eloquent than I could. Dave, these Woman and lots of Men Marched because we are all concerned about Civil Liberties of all our Citizens, which are being eroded away. These Woman are Concerned for the Quality of life for their Parents, The Education, and Enviornment for their Children, The civil right of all our people. Woman and Men should be able to choose their own Lifestyles , Woman have the right to Choose what decisions they make with their own Bodies. Government, Churches, and especially you and I should have no say in that decision. As far as Soros or anybodies Monies involved, I have no clue. What I do know is that it ways a Grassroots protest started by a few Woman, who did not know each other until they United to build the March. It was organized by Four Woman. Carmen Perez. Tamica Mallory, Bob Bland and Linda Sarsour. 371 affiliate marches through out the United States and 600 plus or minus through the World. In the United States there was an estimated 4,6000,000 Participants. In Fernandina the official figure is set at 1,400 Personally I think there was More. Dave, demeaning commentary does not help this Community one bit, But I guess that really does not concern you. It never has.

Peg Dickinson - 29. Jan, 2017 -

I’m sorry you feel the way you do, Dave, about “gals” willing to show they are unhappy about the way our government is progressing. I read 73% of Nassau Co voted for Trump. With so many walking in the March there must have been one or two Trump supporters who were unhappy with a couple of his mandates. I have to tell you, I hate housework, but I make some delicious cookies, I also support women’s rights, and I’m old enough to remember how women had to fight to get them. Women are no longer chattel and we expect respect for what we want to do with our lives whether it be staying home raising kids and baking cookies or working outside the home and expecting our mate to pick up his share of the household chores. For that I supported the March. You are very critical of single mothers, does that mean you support Pro-Choice? For that I supported the March. How many females did you see in Trump’s meeting with top CEO’s? How many did he nominate for his cabinet? For that I supported the March. If nothing else the March made people like you talk about the March and for that women will continue to try to make you think, maybe someday you will understand the frustration. Doubtful, but maybe…..

Vince - 28. Jan, 2017 -

You are a brave man Dave taking this on. Boiled down, it is one item: entitlements with perhaps a sub issue of abortion which some see as an entitlement. Under no circumstance would the march have been in support of their being independent and self sustaining.

You do well pointing to one of our major social ills, the decrease in two parent households. Yeah some of the crackpots say that went out with Leave it To Beaver on TV but my observations over 70 years has shown a marked increase in juvenile problems over that time which I attribute to the break up of two parent families. The myopic notion that one parent households work as well or better than the traditional family unit defies the statistical data. What the data show is if you want to live in poverty, leave school, have children before marriage, and never learn a trade or skill. Of course, you can mitigate it a bit if you can convince enough politicians you need to be financially underwritten for your folly.

Obvious to me, many of the marchers are fearful of having Trump take away benefits. I recall he promised to provide more assistance to the inner cities, to rebuild our infrastructure, to increase our military readiness, and to increase our security. He does not sound to me like a president who is detrimental to our citizens’ needs. Protesters should give him some time to weight how he functions as President. After all, he will be there for four years, at least.

Dawn Tiura - 28. Jan, 2017 -

Wow. I almost can not believe I am reading this. How you can be so self righteous and demeaning to the march is unbelieveable. I march because I have the right to march. I march because the White House website took down the climate change actions, protections for LGBT rights, the comment section (don’t you dare post a comment that isn’t Pro Donald), and they took down the Spanish language section. You are clearly an ass and not in touch with the real world. You have no right to refer to me as “gal”, I am a woman, a business owner, an employer and a taxpayer. I am a citizen of the USA and I have every right in the world to protest against the ignorance of those supporting Trump. Factories coming back? Really? Why yes they will and they won’t create jobs for anything except for robots. Start a trade war with Mexico and plunge them into a recession? You don’t think this will cause even more illegal immigration and strengthen the drug cartels? Get you head out of your ass and study the real situation. We owe it to the disenfranchised to get them educated. Their daddy’s way of supporting the family is now gone-and for good. The future is here and you are not going to turn the clocks back.

Christine Corso - 28. Jan, 2017 -

Thank you for your witty assessment of the march concluding with a specific issue rampant in our society clearly discussed and identified. Women having illegitimate children with multiple partners is, as you pointed out, one of the most critical issues facing our society and one that might be considered as a possible priority for the societal concern demonstrated by those involved in the march. (interestingly, this suggestion was overlooked by the disgruntled within their comments).
Word to the wise from someone who makes her living from facilitating corporate strategic plans: Define your purpose in writing. With so many issues highlighted during the march, I am like many, confused about what is the “shared purpose”. Pick your poison. Identify goals and then prioritize. Laundry lists are just “lists”. Eliminate the “tit-for-tat” relativism that for too long has been used to justify motives and political positions. Be respectful to those who disagree with you. Self-righteous is not a defense, not is it an indication of moral superiority. Calling a man an asshole does not a feminist make.
Many of the issues articulated in the march have been around for decades. The election of Donald Trump is not going to take us back to the stone age. And P.S., before you get your panties in a wad, during 1972, during the time the Supreme Court was considering Roe v Wade, I was collecting signatures on petitions in support of legalized abortion in this country. Many of you reading this post weren’t born yet, but many of you were. My question is what were you doing with your societal concern and feminism then?

Tania (Scott) Bourdon - 28. Jan, 2017 -

Wow. A stuffy, old, self-righteous white man questioning the intentions of America’s women. I suppose we should have consulted with you and your “research” before planning a peaceful march meant to express our concerns and our voices under this new administration. My daughters, my female friends, and I are proud of our strengths and will continue to stand up for the rights of all women. Fortunately, my husband and son are open minded and respect women. They understand the hypocrisy of judging without having walked a mile in the same shoes. How sad that you do not.

Vicki trower - 27. Jan, 2017 -

I always like your post in the newspaper but reading the latest you are just an asshole.

Sean Hollis - 27. Jan, 2017 -

Enjoyed the article Dave.
If your opinions don’t upset Society’s precious snowflakes, then you might need to rethink your opinions.

Madeline Richard - 27. Jan, 2017 -

Don’t have time to read the entire article right now, but I agree with your confusion. My first and last questions were “What is their goal?” I think they are just angry that Trump one. I disagree with some of the stupid things Trump has said, but I support him in turning around this country’s economy and security. I’m pleased so far!

Cleary Tanner - 27. Jan, 2017 -

I read Anne Taylor’s comments verbatim on another site. I’m not accusing; perhaps she also commented somewhere else on the vast internet.

Christine Harmon - 27. Jan, 2017 -

You wanted my thoughts, here goes.

Dave, you honestly “still have no idea what the ‘gals’ overall objective was”? And, you are “not sure” the participants” do either”?

Response: Marchers were advocating for equality and respect for all people regardless of gender, sexual orientation, ethnicity, and/or religion. They were marching to support environmental protections, including regulations insuring clean air and water for future generations. Need a more detailed list? Google it. No in-depth research and technology skills are required.

As for the use of “gals” could you try not to be so condescending? “Women” will do just fine.

You “don’t think they knew” what they were supporting?
Did you ask them? Upon what statistics do you base this assumption? Please provide specifics supporting your “sweeping generalization”. In English 101, I learned I needed to do justify my conclusions – or risk a failing grade on my composition.

To you, “it appears that the marchers weren’t sure what their common cause was, except to make it clear that baking cookies, dusting the furniture and ironing were not priorities on their “to do” lists.”

The people I marched with did not once mention their opposition to “backing cookies, dusting and ironing.” Nice attempt at a joke, Dave – but we are facing serious issues here.

As for “white women” being told to “check their privilege” so women of color and lesbians could lead the protest. Being white is “not OK right now,” an organizer said. So much for unity.”

I saw unity – globally. Do you really believe, the march drew so many white women because they were told, “Being white is not OK right now”? Didn’t you see the white women interviewed on national TV – and by “The News Leader”? I think your statement falls into the category: “alt-facts”. I can tell you I was never told to “check my privilege”.

“Their anti-Trump flame is sparked mostly by funding from the very rich and very nasty George Soros and fanned by the President’s frustrated and flustered mainstream media nemesis.”

Response: I’ll see you your George Soros, and raise you the Koch brothers. Debating which politician has the most financial contributors – and which financiers are the nastiest- is not only counter productive to solving the problems that face us – and a wast of time – it only serves to support the argument that we need to curb the influence of money in our politics – or admit we have become an oligarchy.

You made one significant observation, “It seems to me that while these gals represent a potentially powerful force to be reckoned with, they lack a shared purpose.”

Response: We have a shared purpose. What we lack is a shared strategy. We are working on that. Whether we will be a force to be reckoned with, I can only hope so.

Sarcasm can be funny – but using it to belittle and denigrate does nothing to educate and enlighten. Go high, not low.

Chrissy - 27. Jan, 2017 -

My first time for reading from your column..I enjoyed it!!

Mary Ann Howat - 27. Jan, 2017 -

The usual Dave column. Always making fun of someone or something.

Don Howard - 27. Jan, 2017 -

Agree, your best column ever! I burst with laughter nearly every paragraph (or sentence). I don’t think the marchers will ever get it for we have raised a couple of generations now who feel it IS government responsibility to throw money at their problems. Sadly most of their problems stem from lack of personal responsibility. My Mom got no Uncle Sam help to raise me, her bastard child, but she did work long and hard during the big war and after to provide and I was blessed to be raised in a larger family unit. So I was lucky to be in that small minority that missed crime and incarceration, but I would still like to know my Dad and wonder what difference he might have made in my life. Thanks for raising my awareness of this epidemic problem. Let’s march for family values that support a healthy society and culture versus liberal government intervention to grow inclusion for crime and decadence masquerading as social enlightenment. Remember what happened to the Romans. Or could we just program the robots to restore family values?

Chris Hadden - 27. Jan, 2017 -

Dave, your overthinking this woman’s march. I do not believe it is that complicated. These women are pissed off that we ended up with a president that clearly has spouted some very misogynistic things. I believe my wife’s reaction on hearing the Donald talk about what he could just grab was…that man is a pig. So, there you go strike one. Next you get this same guy making fun of handicapped people, deriding people due to race, throw in some climate denying, building walls and just a whole bunch of really stupid stuff while all the time acting like a complete narcissistic demagogue and you are going to get a lot of pissed of woman. I don’t believe they are marching for just woman’s right issues, they have a whole bunch of things they are upset to see going on. These women just don’t like any of it and I can’t say I blame them.

Patrick J. Keogh - 27. Jan, 2017 -

Your important messages were beautifully written. Not many places you see “scatological” and I can’t remember a more appropriate use. The fatherless children trend is very much a serious and growing national problem. As you point out, many bad things like crime and drug and alcohol abuse directly correlate to the absence of a father in the home.

Coleman LANGSHAW - 27. Jan, 2017 -

Dave, Dave Dave….you and your right wing lemmings don’t really care what the march was about.

And for most of the 1950’s revivalists who wring their hands at the terrible way America has changed in recognizing and supporting women, people of color, people of their own sexual preference, people who prefer clean air and water…there is no sense trying to educate them about what the march was about. There are simply too many issues at stake. But I have to hand it to Ms. Taylor for trying to articulate it for those who don’t take the time to do their homework (and yup, I used one of those atrocious feminist terms “Ms.”, which drives the blonde hair, blue eyed, white Anglo Saxon protestants neo cons bezerk).

You knew I couldn’t give you a hall pass for that column piece…it was just too juicy to resist!

On a more important note, I have a really good thing to disagree about…GO PATS!!! Being a Deadskins fan, I know you gotta be pulling for the NFC and the Falcons!

See you soon…maybe next Wednesday?

Micah Ward - 27. Jan, 2017 -

Great article Dave! As a retired police officer and husband of a retired social worker, I’ve seen up close the results of teen age unwed mothers in the criminal justice system. You hit the nail on the head.

Darlene Smith - 27. Jan, 2017 -

Thank you Anne Taylor. Well said.

Marla McDaniel - 27. Jan, 2017 -

Agree, yes – your best ever!

Judy Bock - 27. Jan, 2017 -

If you don’t know why march, you must be a white male over age 50. no hope for you

Anne Taylor - 27. Jan, 2017 -

This is why millions of people showed up to protest on 1/21. . .
Women are marching because our children deserve a secretary of education that cares about education.
Women are marching because our family and friends deserve healthcare. Did you know that before the ACA, newborns in the NICU would hit their lifetime caps on health insurance coverage. That’s right, Babies who had never felt the sun on their skin could no longer get health insurance.
Women are marching because domestic violence crisis centers and after school programs deserve funding.
Women are marching because we deserve clean air, clean water, and national parks.
Women are marching because we believe the children protected by the DREAM act deserve to be here and they deserve to live with their parents, not in orphanages and foster homes.
And most of all, women are marching because we have the right to. The right to protest and speak out against our government is the first amendment. That’s right, #1! It is one of our most fundamental American rights.
Saying that we’re whining, throwing temper tantrums, or that we’re immature, or that we need to get over it will not stop us. It will not stop us from fighting for you. And we are fighting for you because you deserve these rights too.
We’re not marching because Trump won.
We’re marching because he wants to take all of the things that we hold dear away. All of the things that we’ve been fighting for for generations.
And we’re not giving up easily.
Anyone who thinks we’re marching because we lost just simply isn’t listening. We’re fighting because we refuse to lose more.

Rich McCullen - 27. Jan, 2017 -

Wow, Dave! That was a jaw-dropping commentary on the march. The only thing I think you forgot was to share your thoughts on what percentage of the “gals” you found to be “easy on your eyes”. Oh, and you forgot to include an address for your readers who share your concern about the critical lack of support right now for family planning services. Tax deductible contributions can be sent to Planned Parenthood, PO Box 97166, Washington, DC 20090-7166.

John Moore - 27. Jan, 2017 -

You speak my mind so well. I’m so sick of the left wing agenda major news media that I “vote with my feet” and seldom/never turn them on. It is difficult to obtain “true news” that trys to honestly report two sides of an issue.
So, when do you plan a “Mens March for Our Rights”? We must be deprived of some of our liberties. We must be abused by someone.

Carol Ann ateood - 27. Jan, 2017 -

Right on, as usual Dave,
Carol Ann

Sandra Pineault - 27. Jan, 2017 -

Masterful, Dave, and very brave.

Lori Flemming - 27. Jan, 2017 -

Your best column ever Dave! Keep up the great work!