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The study revealed that out of 238 scripted episodes which aired during the research period, 150 episodes (63%) contained sexual content in scenes that were associated with females and 33% of the episodes contained sexual content that rose to the level of sexual exploitation. The likelihood that sexual exploitation would be considered humorous increased to 43% when the sexual exploitation involved underage female characters. more »

Wendy Weiser testifies: Unless Congress acts, future discriminatory voting changes will also move forward without review. In the run-up to the 2012 elections, state legislatures passed scores of new laws that would have made it harder for eligible Americans to vote. While most of the restrictive new voting laws were blocked, mitigated, or repealed before the elections, efforts to cut back on voting access continue. In the most recent legislative session (as of April 29, 2013), 28 restrictive voting bills were introduced in states that were covered wholly or in part by Section 5, and two of those bills already passed. more »

Joan L. Cannon writes: Several hundred pounds of bookshelves that were to be left behind for Habitat, and one for a friend, arrived here where I have no place to put them. Such treasures as all my baking pans, including the ones that fit my toaster oven, are somewhere between here and North Carolina. How could they have lost the smallish box with my (expensive) no-line bifocals I use to watch TV? Ditto the basket of un-ironed tablecloths I left to await pressing after they got here.   more »

My husband and I had already yanked inside-out all the pockets of his clothing. Had already peered under the bed, under the nightstand, under the couch cushions, under the couch. When all of these turned up empty, a dark thought entered my head: Tommy must have left them in the front door and some miscreant absconded with them.  It was like an episode of CSI when the team prepares to search a dumpster for some vital clue. more »