A filly walks into a bar...

...and the bartender says "Why the long face?"

Some good news to start the week:

Four women won seats in the Kuwaiti Parliament after the country's elections Saturday. Kuwait has never had female MPs. We hope they will have a productive time there, and will bring a much-needed voice to the government.

Congrats to Rachel Alexandra, who ran from the front wire-to-wire Saturday to win the Preakness Stakes. Feministing's assessment of the media coverage around the race was right on.

Last Friday, I saw the Examiner's above-the-fold headline of "You Go, Girl!" This was certainly out of character, so when I looked below the fold, of course Rachel Alexandra was the cover horse. It's safe to say the Examiner wouldn't give a woman similar encouragement, so that's as feministy as the Examiner gets. Good start.

Slate launched Double X, a site for women's commentary on news, politics, art, and science. A lot of the posts grapple with the (ir)relevance of feminism, which I find troubling. But some of the contributors do write thoughtful pieces from a feminist perspective. Judge for yourself and let us know what you think.

And the bad news:

The U.S. Supreme Court today ruled women who took maternity leave before the Pregnancy Discrimination Act can't sue for bigger pensions. Justice Souter wrote the majority opinion, while Justices Ginsburg and Breyer dissented. Yet another reason it's imperative President Obama replace Justice Souter with a progressive and feminist jurist.

Additionally, the Burmese junta is trying democratic opposition leader Daw Aung San Suu Kyi for violating the terms of her 6-year house arrest. To me, this raises one of the key questions of American foreign policy:

Should our democracy be the shining city on the hill, in which we lead solely by example? Or do we embrace the Truman doctrine, in which the US actively "support[s] free peoples who are resisting attempted subjugation by armed minorities or by outside pressures?"

President Obama has his hands full as he negotiates the extent of U.S. involvement of foreign affairs. Best of luck to him.

Questions? Comments? You know where to find us: campusteam@feminist.org.