Hamburgers and Equal Pay

There are few things Madeleine enjoys more than a hamburger, which consistently ranks in the top-three with pizza and ... pizza. The kids on fall break and begin football camp this morning. I drop them off at the park where they spend >three hours practising their skills and playing matches. Eitan, not surprisingly, up at the dawn dressed and ready to go. (Unfortunately) we have all morning which, for them, drags on and on and on.

For posterity, here is Sarah Palin's explanation re her and John McCain's opposition to the recent Ledbetter Fair Pay Act, which sought to counteract a Supreme Court decision limiting how long workers can wait before suing for pay discrimination.

Palin: I'm absolutely for equal pay for equal work. The Ledbetter pay act - it was gonna turn into a boon for trial lawyers who, I believe, could have taken advantage of women who were many, many years ago who would allege some kind of discrimination. Thankfully, there are laws on the books, there have been since 1963, that no woman could be discriminated against in the workplace in terms of anything, but especially in terms of pay. So thankfully we have the laws on the books and they better be enforced.

Couric: The Ledbetter act sort of lengthens the time a woman can sue her company if she's not getting equal pay for equal work. Why should a fear of lawsuits trump a woman's ability to do something about the fact that women make 77 cents for every dollar a man makes. And that's today.

Palin: There should be no fear of a lawsuit prohibiting a woman from making sure that the laws that are on the books today are enforced. I know in a McCain-Palin administration we will not stand for any measure that would result in a woman being paid less than a man for equal work.

Couric: Why shouldn't the Ledbetter act be in place? You think it would result in lawsuits brought by women years and years ago. Is that your main problem with it?

Palin: It would have turned into a boon for trial lawyers. Again, thankfully with the existing laws we have on the books, they better be enforced. Se we won't stand for anything but that. We won't stand for any discrimination in the workplace - that there isn't any discrimination in America.

Madeleine, age 6, can do better than this. An interesting bench-mark: would I trust a 6 year old to stand in for Governor Palin? That would be a tough one, you betcha.