Don't be alarmed by the title. I'm a feminist and a liberal. But I'm no legal scholar. So here's my question: why do we need an equal rights amendment? Aren't we protected from discrimination on the basis of sex by the equal protection clause of the 14th Amendment? Briefly, it reads, "no state shall... deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws." And aren't we further protected by the Civil Rights Act of 1964 which, among other things, prohibits discrimination on the basis of sex? So why do I need a constitutional amendment proving that I'm equal in the eyes of the law to a man? This is not a rhetorical question, I'm actually asking.

When I was younger, before I had a car, I would look at messy cars with utter disdain for their owners. I was determined that when I got a car, it would always be clean. Heh. So now I have a car. It's the same one I've had since 2000, and I adore it. But since then, Luke has come into our lives. And at 100 pounds, he needs a place where he can run. Fortunately for us, we have a dog park a few miles from our house. Unfortunately for my car, it has turned into the LukeMobile. He takes up the entire back seat. He brings sand, leaves, and dog smells into my car. And, though we are a two-vehicle household, Luke doesn't fit into John's truck. So the upshot is that I don't have a clean car, but I do have a big, friendly dog.