Offensive diamond ads

Seen on a billboard on I-80: “Buy a diamond. That’ll shut her up.”

It’s hard to express how much this grates on me. It wasn’t for a company that I had heard of, but it makes me not want to buy a diamond—ever. The idea that a woman needs to be “shut up” and that a diamond is just the thing to do it is incredibly sexist. Apparently there are similar ads for diamond jewelers that say “Maker her speechless. For a change.” Again it relies on a tired stereotype of women as motormouths who don’t know when to be quiet.

Jewelers just aren’t very creative when it comes to making up new ads. I saw this on a billboard a week after I saw the first one: “She’s lying. She does want a bigger diamond.” Not only is this offensive to women, implying they don’t know their own minds, like the other ad, it also puts men in the position of being the purchasers. As if women don’t buy diamonds? I bought a substanial amount of jewelry for Christmas presents this season. But the jewelers who advertise in such a sexist way can rest assured I won’t be giving them business anytime soon.

I found the website for the jeweler who thinks women lie about wanting a bigger diamond, and I e-mailed them about how offensive I find it. I’ll let you know if I get a response.

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When will there be no more tears?

A terrible, terrible tragedy in New Orleans as eight homeless youth in their teens and twenties pass away in a fire. The country should be ashamed – this is NOT how a first world nation cares for its most vulnerable.

eight-homeless-youth-die_b_802109.html

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Defense spending and economic growth

As Census data have shown over four decades, the South and West regions have had the most population growth in the United States. There are many reasons for this on- going trend, including but not limited to the influx of retirees, immigration, taxes, climate, and general economic conditions. Could one possible additional reason for this trend be due to the amount of military spending that is taking place in the South and West?

Discounting the District of Columbia, Virginia, and Maryland due to their proximities to the Pentagon, below is a list of the top 12 states for defense spending per capita in the nation based on 2006 data. All but three of those listed are located in the South or West regions.

Alaska $3,100

New Mexico $3,038

Mississippi $2,380

Connecticut $2,346

Louisiana $2,168

Missouri $1,833

Alabama $1,765

Arizona $1,687

Massachusetts $1,678

Hawaii $1,642

Colorado $1,511

Texas $1,500

Considering the rapid increase in defense spending over the past decade, which was noted in Molly’s excellent post on the Military-Industrial Complex, published on December 18th, those states that are most successful in securing defense dollars are also going to secure accompanying jobs and growth.

It is also worth noting that two-thirds of the states listed are generally considered “Red States” with more conservative political leanings. So, while conservatives in Congress may preach about reducing the size of government (usually through cutting social programs) out of one side of their mouth, they are vigorously increasing the Defense Department’s role and economic impact on their home states at the same time, out of the other side of their mouth.

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