News & Commentary

It's Back to School Time for Teachers, Too

Unfortunately, our nation's education system constantly fails teachers. Parents and students would be better much served by an education system that rewards good teaching (through policies such as merit pay), rather than a failing system that demoralizes and frustrates teachers.

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Ha Ha and Other No-nos: What You Will Not See in the Debates

I hope you are glad to see - as I am - that funnyman former Arkansas Governor Mike Huckabee is doing standup comedy. The audience is in for a real treat.

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Female Factor #6: Is Sarah Palin a Feminist?

Yesterday, NOW released a plea for support as they struggle to control what a small minority of women believe feminism is. With working-class women flocking to the Palin camp, it appears they are fighting a battle they have already lost.

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Female Factor #5: Supporting Big Government Isn't Supporting Equal Pay

In an attempt to attract women voters, Senator Barrack Obama has released a campaign advertisement highlighting the so-called "equal pay" issue. In addition to repeating false statistics about differences in women's and men's earnings for the same work, this advertisement wrongly equates supporting legislation to change statutes of limitation for lawsuits with support for the basic concept of equal pay.

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Yesterday's Women for Obama

It’s been a rough couple of months for establishment feminists. Their dreams of seeing Sen. Hillary Clinton become the first female president — or even vice president — were dashed. Committee. But it wasn’t enough.

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Women Key to Rebuilding After Conflict

Halima Karzai reports that women are key to the sustainability of security and the economic, social, and political development of conflict-stricken societies.

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The Q Word from Charlie Gibson to Sarah Palin: Are You Qualified?

There it was. Boom! First question out of the box from Charlie Gibson to Gov. Sarah Palin, using the "Q" word. THE word that every actual or aspiring professional woman constantly asks herself...am I qualified?

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Eliminate This

In this op-ed, Carrie Lukas warns of the dangers of the "Gender Bias Elimination Act," a bill introduced in this Congress and which is sure to come up again, since its implications are bigger than its price tag suggests.

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Liberals brand of militant, man-hating "feminism" is a sham

Liberals have proven what we at the Independent Women's Forum have been saying all along: their brand of militant, man-hating "feminism" is a sham. It's not about promoting women but about promoting liberalism.

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The Female Factor #3: NOW Needs to Move Beyond Stereotyping

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Iranian Justice: The stoning of Soraya M

IWF President and CEO Michelle D. Bernard brings attention to the true- life feature film, "The Stoning of Soraya M.," depicting an Iranian woman stoned to death after being falsely accused of adultery.

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Sarah Palin: An Everywoman Qualified by What She's Done

The 2008 primary was definitely a time of firsts. An African-American squared off against a woman in the race for the Democratic Party nomination, and a little known Republican woman nabs the vice-presidential slot shocking the establishment and energizing the conservative base.

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Time to assess if Pakistan is a friend or foe

Following the resignation of Pakistani President Pervez Musharaf, American officials are increasingly concerned about Pakistan and its Inter-Services Intelligence spy agency's links with militant and terrorist groups, particularly al Qaeda.

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The Shattered Glass Ceiling: Women Voters after Hillary Clinton's Run

The Democratic National Convention is upon us, and much of the press commentary revolves around "her." Hillary Clinton, that is, and whether she and her supporters will unite behind Barack Obama. Both campaigns are now developing strategies to attract the votes of women.

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Keep the Option of Single-Sex Education

As the school year approaches parents have a substantive decision to make involving the educational prospects of their children as they may not be able to enroll their children in single-sex education programs.

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Saving the planet while letting children starve

Today there are millions of children starving and dying of AIDS. Yet some suggest that the greatest moral imperative of our time is attempting to reduce carbon emissions to, theoretically, reduce global temperatures by a fraction of a degree. As IWF president Michelle D. Bernard argued in the following op-ed which appeared Sunday in The Washington Examiner, we need to get our priorities straight and not embrace legislation based on global warming alarmism.

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Feminists Meddle with the Market

The Paycheck Fairness Act, a bill that is the equivalent of throwing sand into the wheels of our economic machine. Underlying the bill are the assumptions that our workplace is systematically hostile to women and that existing laws don't provide enough protection for women.

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Ongoing Slavery in the US?

When most people hear about human trafficking, they picture a victim somewhere in a far-away country. However as Halima Karzai says, "an estimated 15 to 18 thousand victims are trafficked right here, into the United States from other countries." Read more on human trafficking in the US.

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Connecting the Dots on Energy Policy

Most policy debates seem to be a war of competing theories: Will lower tax rates really stimulate greater economic activity? Do generous government welfare programs actually discourage people from seeking employment? Each side marshals data supporting its side and voters have to sort out whose case seems most compelling.

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DC Gun Ban Lift Empowers Women

Citizens in the District of Columbia had plenty of reason to celebrate over July 4th weekend. In addition to our nation’s birthday, countless barbeques, and a fabulous fireworks display, citizens of D.C. could finally enjoy their rights as set forth in the Bill of Rights. All citizens of D.C. should rejoice at their new found freedom. But for women especially, guns are the ultimate equalizer in self-defense.

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Another Glorious Fourth: What Would the Founders Think?

Independence Day is the most significant of our political holidays. Without the 4th, there would be no President's Day or Memorial Day. As we enjoy comfortable lives in the world's dominant power, it is hard to imagine the circumstances facing Americans in 1776. The colonists represented a string of settlements along the Atlantic coast, hemmed in between the ocean and an inhospitable wilderness inhabited by often hostile Indians.

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A Woman's Gratitude When Looking Overseas

As the Fourth of July approaches, one can only hope that women from all ethnic and cultural backgrounds in America also reflect on the many liberties and rights that they ordinarily take for granted. Halima Karzai reflects on the unfortunate circumstances women around the world face.

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Pandering to Women, Barack Obama twists truth on equal pay

Barack Obama sings an old tune as he panders to women voters on the wage gap and equal pay.

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Domestic Disturbance

In an op-ed on National Review, Carrie Lukas says that Obama is an unwelcome throwback for families.

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Fueling a Furor

IWF Visiting Fellow Donna Wiesner in a Washington Times op-ed says, "Congress needs to quit passing the buck and embrace economic reality by crafting actionable public policies to help produce additional domestic energy supplies, both from alternative energy sources and traditional fossil fuels."

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