Opinions Archives - Page 4 of 4 - Cockle Legal Briefs

3 Dec, 2010

The Global Gender Gap (#3 of 3)–Political Empowerment and Institutional Sexism

Pamela Joy2019-03-18T18:48:11-05:00December 3rd, 2010|Tags: elected women, gender inequality, global gender gap, institutional sexicm|

In a previous post on the annual Global Gender Gap Report issued by the World Economic Forum, I reported that this year for the first time the U.S. placed in the top 20 gender-equal countries (#19 of 134 nations) and that we are doing well in terms of Economic Participation and Opportunity (U.S. at #6) and Educational Attainment (tied for #1 with 21 other countries). In a subsequent post, I noted that part of what was holding us back was inequality in Health and Survival (U.S. at #38) - which results from U.S. women’s relative lack of access to health care, an issue that 2010’s Affordable Care Act is poised to address beginning in 2014. Today I turn to the final subindex, the heaviest weight in our saddlebags: With a ranking of #40, Political Empowerment is our worst showing.

5 Nov, 2010

The Global Gender Gap (#2 of 3)–From Horse Race to Health Care

Pamela Joy2019-03-18T18:48:11-05:00November 5th, 2010|Tags: Affordable Care Act, global gender gap, Health care, Sherlock Holmes|

In my last post, I highlighted the “horse race” aspect of the World Economic Forum’s 2010 Global Gender Gap Report, which shows the Nordic countries ahead of the curve in gender equality and the United States placing in the top 20 (#19) for the first time. The ratings are based on each [...]

31 Oct, 2010

Halloween and Racial Sensitivity

Richard D. Friedman2019-03-18T18:48:12-05:00October 31st, 2010|

My son Danny will turn 13 this Wednesday – he had his Bar Mitzvah yesterday, in fact – and last week I took him shopping to try tor figure out a Halloween costume. When I spotted a dreadlock wig, I hit instantly on an idea that I was surprised hadn’t occurred to us earlier: Danny, an avid Michigan football fan, could be Denard Robinson, the quarterback who has had some electrifying experiences this season. I showed the dreaddies to Danny, without explanation, and had the same immediate thought., Even better from my perspective, he had already wheedled a No. 16 Michigan jersey from me just a week or so before, so we already had the otehr key component of the costume. He could also borrow a pair of maize-colored football pants, we had socks that at least faintly resembled Michigan socks, and of course he knew to leave his shoelaces untied; Denard Robinson, sometimes called Shoelace (now also the name of our new kitten) is well known not to tie his laces. So we were all set – except for one thing.

31 Oct, 2010

Very Disappointing: The Obama Administration and the Establishment Clause

Erwin Chemerinsky2019-03-18T18:48:12-05:00October 31st, 2010|Tags: 09-857, 09-991, Arizona Christian School Tuition Organization v. Winn, Establishment Clause, Obama administration|

The Obama administration’s brief supporting an Arizona law which creates a tax credit system which substantially benefits religious schools is inexplicable and deeply disappointing. Arizona Christian School Tuition Organization v. Winn (Nos. 09-857 and 09-991), to be argued on Wednesday, November 3, does not involve a federal law and did not require any participation by the Obama administration. Yet, the Solicitor General’s office filed a brief for the United States which argues that taxpayers lack standing to challenge a state tax program which subsidizes religious schools and that this does not violate the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment. It is exactly the brief that would have been expected from the Bush administration, but disturbing to have come from the Obama Justice Department.

21 Oct, 2010

The Global Gender Gap (#1 of 3)—The Horse Race

Pamela Joy2010-10-21T23:34:49-05:00October 21st, 2010|Tags: global gender gap, pay equity, women's literacy and education|

Earlier this month, the World Economic Forum published its 2010 Global Gender Gap Report, which compares 134 countries based on 5 years’ worth of data. The overall purpose of the report is to emphasize the positive relationship between economic success and gender equity. “Women and girls,” says Klaus Schwab, Founder and Executive Chairman of the Forum, “must be treated equally if a country is to grow and prosper.”

7 Oct, 2010

Musings on Mario Vargas Llosa

Pamela Joy2019-03-18T18:48:12-05:00October 7th, 2010|Tags: law as story, Mario Vargas Llosa|

Here in the Heartland, I awakened this morning to the news on KIOS-FM, Omaha’s NPR station. The headline: Peruvian novelist Mario Vargas Llosa has won the 2010 Nobel Prize for Literature. In the words of the Swedish Academy (an institution that does not shy away from sending a political message), Vargas Llosa [...]