Living in the Heartland

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• She’s a SUPER Heavyweight
  Back in February 2010, I posted a story about a young woman who stood 5-foot-8 and weighed 350 pounds. She’d played on the offensive line of her high school’s football team before going off to college. The reason I featured Holley Mangold was because of a video I’d seen of her. What caught my eye […]
• She’s a Saint, Really!
  Kateri Tekakwitha has been inspiring and healing others for almost 400 years. Soon this Native American woman will be officially recognized as a saint. Pope Benedict XVI announced in February that he will canonize Tekakwitha on October 21, 2012. Kateri Tekakwitha was born in the year 1656 in an area that is now identified as […]
• Note to Government: Hands Off Women’s Bodies
  Sandra Fluke, a third-year student at Georgetown Law School, has been in the headlines recently, less for what she had to say, and more about what a conservative radio show commenter said about her.  The tumult began when Rush Limbaugh called Fluke a prostitute and a slut. Why? Because Fluke testified to congressional Democrats in […]
• Women Taking Lots of Hits: A Select Group Are Fighting Back
  On February 12, 2012 Republican presidential candidate Rick Santorium said on CNN that he had concerns about women in front-line combat roles. He said “I think that could be a very compromising situation.” Four days later NASCAR driver Danica Patrick asked the media why they can’t find a nonsexual way to refer to her. ” […]
• Pussy Riot: Russian Women Make a Political Statement
  These women are making a name for themselves. Pussy Riot is one of the latest symbols of young Russian discontent. “Revolt in Russia – the charisma of protest Revolt in Russia, Putin’s got scared!” The all-female punk band formed as a way to creatively protest among other things Vladimir Putin’s intention to replace Dmitry Medvedev […]
• Divide and Conquer: A Strategy to Undermine Women’s Health?
  Divide and conquer. It’s an old phrase; some say dating back more than 2000 years. Who is responsible for the phrase is unimportant, the meaning, however, IS. Divide and conquer refers to a strategy for gaining or maintaining power. One way to divide and conquer is to undermine a powerful alliance, break it into smaller […]
• Woman Conquers Antarctica on Her Own
  It’s one thing to accept total responsibility for yourself, but there’s far more self-reliance and strength of character involved when you’ve undertaken an adventure nearly two months long, alone, and trekking nearly blind in the vast, cold region of Antarctica. In January Felicity Aston became the first woman to ski across the southernmost continent. Even [ […]
• Homeless and Still a Winner – A Teenager’s Story
  17-year-old Samantha Garvey is in the running for a national prestigious science award. 300 teenagers across the country have been named this year as semifinalists in the Intel science competition; so Samantha is, indeed, a member of a select group. But I wonder how many of these intelligent, dedicated, and creative kids also have been […]
• Too Thin or Too Fat? What’s Your Measurement of Beauty?
  PLUS Model Magazine, according to an article by Tamara Abraham for the United Kingdom-based online blog Daily Mail, has sparked controversy. See if you can guess what the controversy is from the accompanying photograph. This photograph is meant to illustrate the magazine’s claim that most runway models meet the criteria for anorexia based on their […]
• Passion and Purpose can Transform a Woman: Lateefah Simon’s Story
  As a young teenager Lateefah Simon seemed to be going nowhere. She dropped out of school and worked full-time at a Taco Bell. She was on probation for shoplifting. Then someone offered her a different path. She changed directions and has ever since been paying off her indebtedness for this opportunity with hugh INTEREST. Lateefah’s […]