The W Effect: Sexual Politics in the Bush Years and Beyond

I have never been a Bush fan, but reading this book really convinced me that he must NOT be re-elected. With hard-hitting pieces from famous women writers, activists, and everyday women, it cuts through all of Bush's lies and claims and shows him as the misogynist president that he really is. Of course, like most other Americans, women have bought into his act. But any woman who has paid attention to the horrendous legislation he has passed since becoming President will know better. To all women out there: If you really cherish your rights, freedoms, and independence, pick up this book and learn the truth about GWB. Remember: the rights you have today could vanish tomorrow if he gets another chance.

Laura Flanders again is a voice of reason in these very frightening times. She explains that 'moderate' packaging by his handlers prevents most of the public (who ARE supportive of women's equality) from detecting Bush's unabashed misogyny. A combination of personal ignorance and Texan bravado has merged to formulate a being who cannot and will not think of women as his equals. Long gone are the days when Republican president Gerald R. Ford openly supported women's equality through public policies such as equal pay and the ERA ratification campaign, etc...The only thing diverse about Bush is his appointment of other women to enact the retrograde policies to intentionally undo the last thirty years of progress they themselves have ironically benefited from. Bush's chilling goal is for all of us to end up like his wife Laura, a robo-wife not allowed to have any public oppinions unless her husband thinks they will somehow support his goals. In this same world, our differing ideas (especially about reproductive issues) will be kept under wraps. Some of this basic premise was previously covered in Tanya Melich's 'War Against Women' (1996) which took an insider's look at how/why the late 20th century Republican Party intentionally began attacking women's rights. While she is an outsider who has never voted Republican, Flander's work benefits from the timeliness and 'pop' format unavailable in Melich's public confession. Serious topics (and alarming statistics) are condensed into the 'sound bite' read which our culture obviously thrives on. Buy a copy for yourself, and then purchase copies for all the women in your life who believe there is no important difference between the major political parties during this election season. Failing to take the Bush administration's 'women' record seriously could eventually cost all of us our freedoms.

This is a great book for anyone who needs references on exactly how Bush's policies have hurt people around the world. It's full of articles from a variety of websites, magazines, and other sources, so it gives a full and interesting view of how Bush politices have shaped (and destroyed) many people's lives. I feel like this is an important book right now, one you may want to at least look at regardless of your political affiliation.My only problem with the book was the fact that it's subtitled "Bush's War on Women." From reading it, you get the idea that it might as easily have been called "Bush's War on Women, Men, Children, the Planet, the Constitution, Gays, Lesbians, Common Sense, Jobs, Trees, Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness." Although there is a focus on "women's issues," the book is really about how Bush's policies effect everyone, not just women. So, even if you aren't particularly interested in the plight of the female gender, there will be something in this book that will anger and inspire you.

In his year 2000 campaign, the current president joked that his middle initial stood for "Women," because he intended to work towards providing a better environment for the women he hoped would vote for him. Maybe he has, but other women in the US and elsewhere have seen policies that, even where they were advertised as "women-friendly", have had the actual effect of making this a harsher, meaner world for the feminine population. The W Effect is a collection of over 60 articles from a wide variety of sources, which relate how US initiatives originating from, or supported by, the current White House have damaged women around the world. Some of them tell how hostility towards low-pay workers, gays and lesbians, and the poor have affected women and their young families. Others more directly address policies that particularly affect women, such as women's healthcare.An Afghan woman tells how the US government has snubbed local and ex-patriot Afghan women's organizations, which could cost-effectively rebuild Afghanistan's infrastructure. Instead money has been poured into expensive American security firms. A self-styled Iraqi "computer geek" mourns her computer-related job, destroyed by the war. She used to enjoy equal pay and conditions with male colleagues, but now can't even leave her house without a male guard to protect her and dressed in confining clothing. She expresses her frustration at Americans who expect her to show gratitude for having "liberated" her. What Laura Flanders provides is a good deal of detail for people who are already concerned at the way the nation is increasingly being run by "greedy, frightened, violent bullies." What it won't provide is a balanced, objective report for those who are open-minded, but not yet convinced. That's a pity.