In 1973, Carolyn King was a 12 year old tomboy growing up in Toledo, Ohio.  She was a terrific young athlete who played every sport there was with the boys in her working class neighborhood.   When her brother and friends started trying out for Little League baseball, Carolyn wanted to play, too.   She made the team and sparked a national controversey over girls being discriminated against by the national Little League organization. 

Today, nearly 350,000 American girls play Little League softbal -- in addition to the girls playing Little League baseball with the boys.   Now, a documentary, "The Girl in Centerfield,"  has been made about how a 12-year-old girl -- who "just wanted to play baseball" -- was the central figure in a critical fight for girls right to play sports.  

The Detroit Free Press did a front page article on Carolyn King and how her courage and tenacity helped change American culture.  Share this story with a adolescent or 20-something girl you know.  The road has been so smooth for them so far, they haven't learned how to fight.  But there's plenty of rough water ahead.  They need to jump in and keep pushing the edges for women, just as Carolyn King did over 30 years ago.

Here's the link to a great story:  http://www.freep.com/article/20100725/NEWS05/7250456/1318/37-years-later-a-girls-quest-to-play-Little-League-ball-is-relived-on-film

Mel Gibson's stunningly obscene, racist, sexist and terrifying telephone rants to his girlfriend were hard to listen to.  I started boycotting Gibson's movies over 8 years ago because of his theme of excessive violence -- purely for entertainment.   I'm not the least bit surprised at the dark side he's finally revealed to the world.

It's our reaction to his words and actions -- including physical abuse of threats of violence against his girlfriend -- that I'm wondering about.  Huffington Post blogger Keli Goff raises some excellent questions in her commentary.  Click here to read "What Gibson, Brown and Polanski Teach Us."

This week's Newsweek magazine headline proclaims:  Women Will Rule the World.   The article is a powerful follow-up to the recent Atlantic magazine article, The End of Men.  Both articles are packed with compelling evidence about the economic and social momentum women are building throughout the world.  We are on the verge of very big changes.   

Click here to read the Newsweek article, Women Will Rule the World.  

   Marie Wilson, founder and president of The White House Project, was quick to rebut the recent Atlantic magazine article, The End of Men, that predicted a coming sea change in gender dynamics.  The writer makes the case that women's progress is accelerating while increasing numbers of men are ill-prepared for the new economy.  

    It hasn't had quite the impact of the Rolling Stone article, The Runaway General, which led to the recent firing of Afghnistan General McCrystal.  However, it is creating quite a stir.  A friend told me that she read the article on an airplane last week with the magazine cover folded over so that the men sitting next to her couldn't see the insulting headline.   As a woman, news of our progress accelerating is always welcome.  But, as the mother of a college-age son, I'm concerned.  

In case you missed it, here's the article from the July/Aug issue of the Atlantic:  The End of Men. 

And here's Wilson's counterpoint, which was published on The Huffington Post.