Posts Tagged ‘CrankyPants’
Why Do I Read The News?
This is a serious question. Why do I read the news? It only leads to problems.
I was looking for an image to go with this post. I decided Grumpy Cat could be fun. But that only annoyed me more.
What should I do? Ignore everything? Only read comic books? That’s not the worst idea. It is limiting, though.
I want to tell you what piece of news has me so irritated. It’s not net neutrality. I like net neutrality. The idea that flying a banner with a meme over the corporate headquarters of Comcast is somehow a good use of time and, more importantly, money, that I think is stupid. But whatever.
I am wearing my CrankyPants! And I’m not going to tell you why because, as the kids say, reasons. Mostly it has to do with not wanting to get into certain issues of a personal nature, and/or not wanting to talk about certain issues in a public forum. (Is that vague enough?)
Mostly, grah. Stupid news.
Dads in Spain Want Breast-Feeding Leave
From ParentDish, a story about dads in Spain who want breast-feeding leave.
The Luxembourg high court has ruled that for the first 9 months of a baby’s life, dads can take 30-minute “breastfeeding leaves” during their work day, London’s Daily Telegraph reports.
That’s dumb enough but the reasoning is even more ridiculous.
“It’s not fair to extend breast-feeding benefits only to women,” says the European Union Court of Justice, calling it “unjustified discrimination on grounds of sex, ” the newspaper says.
Are you kidding me? Unfair? Discrimination?
Dads don’t breast-feed!
Am I missing something here? Did I provide milk to my children from my body? Did I huddle in the bathroom with a breast-pump? Did I have to explain to airport security that said breast-pump was not, in fact, a weapon of mass destruction?
This isn’t discrimination. It’s biology.
I think it’s great that women are being allowed to take time off to breast-feed their babies. I’m in favor of breast-feeding, I think it’s healthier for the kid, and so on.
But how can anyone say with a straight face that only offering this benefit to women is “discrimination”?
Discrimination is a woman being paid less for doing the same job as a man.
Apparently this ruling came in response to the existing law, which states that dad’s are allowed to ask for breast-feeding leave only if the mom works full-time. Which is pretty damn progressive, methinks.
And even though they call it “breast-feeding leave”, it is designed to allow the dad to spend time with the child. If that’s the case, why not call it that?
Breast-feeding is something that women choose to do. It’s not easy. It takes time and effort. Men can’t do it any more than we can give birth.
This is yet another case of men trying to get a piece of everything. We run the world, guys. Look around. Things really aren’t so bad for us. Let women have some benefits that we don’t have. It’ll be okay. Really. I promise.
The Milkmen Are Coming: In Spain, Breast-Feeding Leave Not Just for Women [ParentDish]
Full disclosure: Brett Singer writes for ParentDish and other AOL properties.
Breastfeeding: What’s A Dad Supposed to Do? image via Amazon
United Airlines Starts a Fat Tax
Another airline is making plus-size passengers pay extra if they take up more than one seat. Read more »
Now that Cat Stevens is taken care of, let’s get Rachel Ray
Um, really?
And from the comments:
EG said:
It’s raining kids
Hallelujah, it’s raining kids…
Here’s the thing about cultural sensitivity: it’s good to respect other cultures but when it involves bodily harm, it’s OK to ask a few questions. Female circumcision, for example. For me, throwing babies off of a roof seems like a really bad idea. But hey, what do I know?
[source: Strollerderby]
Kid suspended for taking call from soldier Dad during class
The second worst thing about this story is that it makes me agree with Fox News on something.
Dad was in IRAQ. I mean, come on.
Memo to Steve Jobs: Grow up
Apple wants everything with Apples to be, you know, theirs. Next up: a suit against Mott’s.
Let us not forget that Apple has been on the other side of this type of thing with The Beatles.
The Big Apple bites off Apple logo
