Ms. WINTER 2008 ISSUE

TABLE OF CONTENTS
Letters Keeping Score
National	Global
Attack of the Loan Sharks Where’s the Money, Cardinal? Feminism’s Hot Young Magazine Labor Pains Rachel and Goliath New Moon over the Web Short Takes Calendar	From First Citizen to Señora Presidente Prime Time for Tzipi Iron Sisterhood Grassroots Growth Spurt Everywoman Al Jazeera Style Short Takes
FEATURES
Cover Story Are U.S. Policies Killing Women? | MICHELE KORT In a word, yes. And what’s the U.S. president doing about it? Making it worse. Dying in the Backstreets | MARY KATHOMI RIUNGU Too often, Kenyan women victimized by unsafe abortions end up in a last-chance Nairobi hospital—if they’re lucky. Blame U.S. policies, not just local law and culture. Hand in Hand | SUZANNE PETRONI It’s crucial to align the domestic and global family-planning movements. Read an excerpt from these three stories Good Ole Boys | KATHERINE SPILLAR That’s who’s behind Ward Connerly’s “civil rights” initiatives. If they win on state ballots this fall, women lose. Contracting Connerly | MARY MOORE AND JENNIFER HAHN Attacks on affirmative action have had a devastating effect on women and minority contractors—while lining the pockets of the good old boys and their unlikely champion. A Preference for Deception | KIMBERLE CRENSHAW A legal scholar shows how the language of civil rights is stolen by those trying to halt affirmative action. The 2008 Elections: Will Your Vote Count This Time? | JANET JAI Well, at least two feminist secretaries of state are working hard to improve the system. Comic Relief | BAMBI HAGGINS Funny women are finally back on TV and revitalizing the sitcom.
DEPARTMENTS
Money Gender Budgets, Anyone? | MARTHA BURK Bush prioritizes war and the wealthy over women and children. Media Jane Addiction | MELISSA SUE KORT The ever-popular 19th-century novelist was more feminist than you think. Excerpt My Life As a Traitor | ZARAH GHAHRAMANI The chilling true account of one woman’s torture in an Iran prison. DVD Watch Feminist films available for home viewing Backtalk Knockin’ on Congress’ Door | Donna Brazile	Book Reviews Ronnie Steinberg on Naomi Klein’s The Shock Doctrine: The Rise of Disaster Capitalism Hanne Blank on Lisa M. Diamond’s Sexual Fluidity: Understanding Women’s Love and Desire Erin Aubry Kaplan on Werewere Liking’s The Amputated Memory J. Goodrich on Martha McCaughey’s The Caveman Mystique: Pop-Darwinism and the Debates Over Sex, Violence and Science Beverly Guy-Sheftall on Paula J. Giddings’ Ida: A Sword Among Lions Bookmarks Great reads for winter 2008 No Comment