David Letterman - Not Pretty!

Disclaimer: I am no fan of Sarah Palin

There, I said it.

And...
I believe her reaction to David Letterman just gave her another platform.

BUT...
She is right this time. ;-(

David Letterman's "joke" was right up there with some rap music lyrics and, in fact, was degrading to women.

I am open to being pursuaded otherwise. Help me to understand...

Book Review: Three Cups of Tea

In the extraordinary true story, Three Cups of Tea, one man builds bridges to remote villages as well as between cultures and religions. Through his enthralling and remarkable story, Greg Mortenson has shown us that one person can change everything.

Three Cups of Tea is perhaps the best story you will ever read about a journey, tenacity and how nation-building begins between citizens of different cultures. The story takes place in far-distant lands that have become part of daily conversation in America: Afghanistan and Pakistan. Greg Mortenson shows everyone that eliminating terrorism begins by eradicating poverty.

The book includes a call to action. And, as part of that call to action, I have written this review. I am also planning to attempt to get this book on the mandatory reading list for my school district. Every person, but especially our teenagers, needs to read this book. It is available in a young adult version as well.

To order to the book and donate to the Central Asia Institute to continue the work of building schools in the most impoverished places in the world, please click here or follow the link posted in the links section of this blog. Or, donate directly to the Central Asia Institute. The site has information about how to conduct a fundraiser for the cause as well.

In terms of establishing a rating system for book reviews that are in keeping with the theme of this blog, I would rate Three Cups of Tea as exceptionally gorgeous - beyond pretty.

Becoming a Model Without Selling Your Body and Soul

The question still remains for me: is it possible for a woman to become a successful model without posing nude?

With this blog entry, I am inviting women to provide input via comments about how a young woman can become a successful model without selling her body and soul to do it. I will also do more research to try to bring more information to the blog on this subject.

You may ask why is this bothering me so much.

I am not a prude. Far from it, in fact. But I am extremely concerned that it seems to be the norm now for a young woman interested in modeling to be expected to contribute to the porn industry in order to succeed.

Yes, I realize some women have no problem with this. I can almost predict the arguments "for." What I don't know is if it is really possible for a young woman to make it without that.

I watched a season of the reality show Mama's Boy. I started thinking about this subject as I watched that show and realized how very many of the women on the show had a "past" they needed to hide from the mothers of the bachelors on the show.

So you tell me...

FOXNews.com - Former Miss Norway Disses Beauty Pageants, Drinks Guys Under Tables - Celebrity Gossip | Entertainment News | Arts And Entertainment

Former Miss Norway - Pretty with Brains:
FOXNews.com - Former Miss Norway Disses Beauty Pageants, Drinks Guys Under Tables - Celebrity Gossip Entertainment News Arts And Entertainment

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Rabbi Denise Eger: Standing Up to Miss California

A Very Pretty Rabbi speaks out:
Rabbi Denise Eger: Standing Up to Miss California

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High School Cheerleadiing Coach Fired for Racey Photos

A high school cheerleading coach was recently fired after it was discovered that she had posed for Playboy. While some parents defended her, others did not.

A strong argument could be made for either side of the issue of whether or not the coach should have been fired. Instead, I would like to focus on the underlying question: why are so many women contributing their images to an industry that degrades women?

It continues to amaze me that so many young women are getting into this field of work. Obviously, the money must be good. But why don't the young women understand that many other women suffer because of their contribution to this industry? Why do we continue to agree that men need to have their magazines? Don't women understand those photos will haunt them forever, and cause men to treat them differently?

A case in point: if you watch the T.V. show Celebrity Apprentice, you know that Donald Trump often makes comments to the women on his show which, in the workplace, would be considered harrassment. This season, there is a former "bunny" on his show which he has blantantly flirted with, in front of his daughter Ivanka. That's just not pretty! Watching the face of the woman on the show, you can see how uncomfortable she is when this happens. She has been forced to give up an important part of herself to have the fame of being a "bunny." Is it worth it?

At minimum, the cheerleading coach probably should have thought about being a role-model to cheerleaders who could later be facing a decision about whether or not to pose for similar photos without realizing the consequences to themselves and other women.

Miss California on Gay Marriage: Just not that pretty?

After coming in second in the Miss USA pageant, supposedly for expressing her opinion on gay marriage, Miss California is now on a mission to "protect traditional marriage."


The subject of beauty pageants and their role in propagating a certain image of women is another topic for this blog at another time.


Miss California expressed an opinion and has the right to do so under the first amendment. This country was founded partly on freedom of religion. But was Miss California's opinion an expression of hate toward gay and lesbian people wrapped in pretty words?


In America, religion plays a significant role in the meaning of marriage to some couples. When couples want to marry in their church, under the rules of a particular faith, they have the right to do that. Many faiths have specific rules about what is required of couples who marry. For example, in the Catholic church, a couple must agree to raise their children as Catholics in order to receive the full endorsement of the church. If the couple divorces, they must also receive an annulment from the church if they wish to remarry in the Catholic church. Each religion and their followers have the right to make those rules - for themselves.


What they don't have the right to do is to create laws that apply to all people in America. And that is where the subject of marriage has gone awry. In fact, if all of the religions represented in this country had to agree on which dogma people had to follow in order to marry - they could never agree.


Marriage by law is a completely different subject. It is a legally binding contract between two individuals designed to outline the requirements of the couple when it comes to sharing property, and dividing that property if they split up. The contract can only be broken through a court proceeding. Any spiritual or other meaning of marriage between people is between those two people. Therefore, it does not matter if those two people are of the same sex or not.

Furthermore, there are no laws that dictate who can marry and who cannot, and the American people don't get to vote on couples "up for marraige." Something tells me there would be a lot less marriages if this was the case.


Miss USA is supposed to represent America without hate words. By defending "traditional marriage," Miss California is propegating hate against gay and lesbian people. That is not an opinion, and that is just not that pretty.

Perez Hilton also contributed words that were not pretty when he called Miss California the B word. If we are ever going to get past this "debate," it has to be done intelligently. He should have presented a better argument.


It is important for young women to realize from this event that ugly words coming out of a pretty face are still ugly words.