Essential Estrogen

Eva Cassidy, live at Blues Alley, singing "Somewhere Over the Rainbow" --

Eva Cassidy had an amazing voice -- and cancer took her way too soon.

M.R. Field has an excellent wrap up on housing in Iowa at the Around Des Moines blog.

Don at Cyclone Conservatives attended the Story County Republican Convention, while John Deeth attended the Johnson County Republican Convention.

Claire at Demo Memo echoed the thoughts of Vanessa at Feministing while discussing sexist anti-Hillary Clinton groups on Facebook. On the other hand, I rather wish such sexism was limited to idiots on Facebook.

Just for fun, here's a list from Mnmom at Happy to be from Iowa:

Favorite childhood swimsuit?

Purple with bright green stripes and orange circles. It was probably the ugliest swimsuit ever, but I really liked it.

Favorite summer thing to do in Elementary school?

We lived down the road from a creek and my brothers and I loved to bait string with bits of bacon and fish for crawdads.

Favorite summer thing to do in high school?

Definitely hang out at the lake. Our town was pretty much an island, so there was always a private area to be found for sunbathing, swimming or more naughty pursuits.

What smell really takes you back to summers gone by?

Sun tan oil, freshly cut grass, crepe myrtles.

What's the first thing you'll grill when it warms up?

I will not be grilling. My husband is a wee bit overprotective of that domain. But I imagine we'll be grilling just about everything -- definitely rib eyes, burgers, brats and dogs. We love to cook on the grill during the warmer months.

What is your level of gardening and what will be first in the ground this spring?

My level? Uhmmm... hobbyist who knows enough to be dangerous? I've put in lots of plants that can mostly care for themselves -- my favorites being bleeding hearts and sage. For the past two years I've been on a gerbera daisy kick, and I'm pretty sure I'll be planting several of those again this year. Thus far, I've been unsuccessful at getting a plant to last through the winter. If I'm anything, however, it is a glutton for punishment. Next to roses, I think these daisies are some of the most picky plants out there.

Charlotte Eby at Iowa Insider is reporting that Iowa Sen. David Hartsuch of Bettendorf is circulating a petition in preparation for a Congressional run against Rep. Bruce Braley. Hartsuch, who admits to the petition, says he has not yet made up his mind if he will run.

Iowa Voters has some good news for those in favor of paper ballots.

No doubt nearly everyone in the free world has heard the news of Iowa's own Steve King opening his mouth and allowing this to spew out in relation to a successful Barack Obama presidential campaign: "The radical Islamists, the al-Qaida ... would be dancing in the streets in greater numbers than they did on Sept. 11 because they would declare victory in this war on terror."

Chris at Red Hog Diary takes the opposite view (and tosses a few choice words of his own), while Ted at The Real Sporer says he agrees with King. And people say we don't have diversity in Iowa. HA!

Finally, if you've been reading here, then you already know my thoughts on the shenanigans in Des Moines during funnel week. But, just to back up my point, here's at least one right-leaning blog, Iowa Conservative, saying Rants is no longer effective.

If you are looking for something to read this Sunday -- and I know that the folks stuck in Iowa don't have much desire to go outside today -- read The Sisterhood Split by Jessica Valenti (Feministing).

I've been letting a similar piece run into and out of my mind since last fall. The bottom line is that I didn't have the guts to put pen to paper. Still, I'm glad someone did. There are issues in the feminist community that simply must be addressed if we are going to move forward.