The Ladies
Welcome to The Ladies for November 1, 2020! The Ladies is a women’s blog and lifestyle brand bringing curated articles on timely topics relevant to women and girls around the world — sprinkled with tidbits on things to do/see/read/buy. Subscribe to the newsletter here and post your comments below! In this post I cover Kamala Harris’s unique point of view as a potential VP, some tidbits on her family, the Netflix film Rebecca, kids immune systems and Covid, air travel and coronavirus.
POLITICS & WOMEN
The election is just a few days away. We could be 72 hours away from our country’s first female Vice President. It’s hard to know which way the election will go. I am a moderate – down the middle, I’m socially liberal and fiscally conservative. This election has been a tough choice for many – pay higher taxes but support social causes that matter, or keep taxes down and deal with a leader who is less than ideal. One of my best friends sent me this article from Monica Heese over at the Washington Post this morning and I wanted to pass it on to you all – and I hope you will pass it on to your female friends: Kamala Harris Knows Things No Vice President Has Ever Known. I think every female, regardless of her political party, can relate to many points in the article. It’s a quick read and I recommend it.
Until I read this article about Kamala Harris’ family, I didn’t know how accomplished they were. She comes from a family of lawyers and Stanford graduates. Her mother, Gopalan Harris was educated at McGill University and the University of Illinois and spent her career as a breast cancer researcher. Her father, Donald Harris, was a professor of economics at Stanford University for over two decades. Kamala’s younger sister Maya is a lawyer. She attended the University of California-Berkeley and graduated from Stanford Law School. Maya’s husband, Tony West, is a former Associate Attorney General of the U. S. Senate and is currently the Chief Legal Officer of Uber. Maya’s daughter, Meena, attended Stanford and Harvard Law. A pretty well educated family!
If you are wondering how many countries currently have or have had female leaders, you can check out the List of Elected and Appointed Female Heads of State & Government here. It details the 29 countries that currently have women serving as heads of state or government and the 75 countries that previously had women as head of state or government since 1950.
WATCH
I watched the new film, Rebecca, last night on Netflix. It was perfect for Halloween weekend and the perfect combination of suspense and spookiness! It’s based on a 1938 novel by Daphne du Maurier and was previously adapted by Alfred Hitchcock in 1940, earning him an Oscar. The cast includes Lily James, Armie Hammer, Keeley Hawes, Kristin Scott Thomas and others. It’s a period drama with gorgeous sets and cinematography that will leave you with a bad case of wunderlust (especially as we are all feeling the weight of covid restrictions!) This film is just what the doctor ordered for this particular weekend. If you watch the film and want to check out the film locations (as I did) you can read this – Nine Beautiful Film Locations from Netflix’s Rebecca.
FAMILY HEALTH
This is a great article that I wanted to pass along – it’s by Melinda Wenner Moyer for the NY Times. I’ve met Melinda before, she is the sister of a friend, and she’s a talented science and health writer. She writes about the effect of the covid lockdowns and kids immune systems – Is Staying Home Harming Your Child’s Immune System? I’ve been wondering the same thing – on the one hand, my kids are in school full time wearing masks all day and socially distanced as much as possible while there. However, we have noticed that my kids have had what seems to be a higher than normal incidence of colds and stomach bugs over the past weeks (we keep wondering where they are picking up the germs). (Melinda’s kids haven’t had a cold since March, she is lucky!) On the other hand, perhaps the masks are keeping out other more serious germs – let’s see how many kids get the flu this year. Parents of young babies and toddlers who haven’t yet experienced many germs might be wondering how all of this is going to effect them and Melinda presents some pretty compelling support for the benefits of exchanging germs with our friends, family and overall community. Another quick and informative read that I recommend!
FAMILY TRAVEL
Should we fly over the upcoming holidays? This article answers that question. How Dangerous is Flying in the Pandemic? A New Harvard Report Investigates. Check out the article, but the bottom line is that researchers at Harvard’s T.H. Chan School of Public Health and the Kennedy School of Government say the risk of contracting Covid-19 while flying is low.
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