The XX Factor: What women really think.

The Supreme Court Is Afraid of Gossip Girls and Boys

A post from DoubleX intern Jessica Dweck:

In an Onion-esque piece of news this week, the New York Times reported that Justice Anthony Kennedy ordered a student newspaper to “tidy up” its coverage of his recent appearance at a high school assembly. Kennedy, an ardent protector of First Amendment rights—and apparently, irony–allowed the young journalists to attend the event on the condition that his office would pre-approve any articles written about him.

Why would Justice Kennedy do such a thing? Two reasons. First, the Bill of Rights protects speech in part to encourage transparency and create a Millian slurry of ideas in which the creamy globs of truth eventually float to the top. An inaccurate or misleading quotation by reporters with exclusive access to Kennedy's speech would be nearly impossible to correct. Second, and perhaps more fundamentally, the Supreme Court has a deep-seated interest in practicing defensive PR ... (Read the rest of this article in DoubleX.)

Anti-Gay Protesters Target Obama Girls at School

A post from DoubleX writer KJ Dell'Antonia:

I'm sure that President Obama and his wife have done their best to prepare their daughters for the idea that there are crazy people out there whose hatred for their father extends to them (although it's not a job I envy). But it's difficult to prepare for this, posted on the website (a site so offensive that I didn't link to it) of the Westboro "Baptist" Church, which has organized an anti-gay protest outside of Sidwell Friends, the school the Obama girls attend: "Quakers?! Are you frigging kidding me? You pretend to be all non-violent, and you allow the most bloody, deceitful, evil, murderous bastard and his shemale sidekick to place their satanic spawn within your four walls" ... (Read the rest of this article in DoubleX.)

Sotomayor Holds Her Nose