SHE SPEAKS AGAIN - AT 7:54 P.M. ET:  The New York Times has published the reactions of a number of prominent Americans to the moon landing, 40 years ago today.

Ordinarily, these "I was there" statements are pretty routine, sometimes a bit outlandish, rarely that interesting.  But one stood out in the Times review.  Once again we have the privilege of dissecting the pathetic incoherence of Gloria Steinem.  I was in journalism in New York at the time when Steinem was making herself famous.  Even then I thought, along with many others, that, if it hadn't been for her extraordinary good looks, no one would have cared. 

Agree with them or not, some of the feminist writers of that period had something to say.  Betty Friedan was a Marxist, less than honest, and personally obnoxious, but one could debate her serious ideas.  By contrast, Steinem was the consummate self promoter, dashing out one silly line after another, knowing they'd get attention.  ("A woman without a man is like a fish without a bicycle.")  Like too many feminists, she allowed her hard left ideology to control her.  Even after the attacks of 9-11, she could not manage a word of sympathy for her own country.

Her comments about the moon shot reflected her intellectual limitations, which were extreme:

Huge sums being justified by cold war arguments about militarizing space, and there was no way to vote for using that money to solve big problems on Earth.

I don't recall that the moon shot was about militarizing space, and there were certainly ways to vote down the space program...if one actually had the votes.  Like many Marxists, Steinem believes that she represents "the people" and their interests, but that those ignorant masses just don't realize it.  Hence, the votes were never there.

You would think that a prominent "feminist" would understand the medical and scientific benefits of space exploration, and would acknowledge the role of female astronauts.  But that would require the five or ten seconds of thought that are beyond Steinem's range. 

Steinem's anthem was never really, "I am Woman."  It was more like, "There's No Business Like Show Business."

There's a time to get off the stage.  Some people stay years beyond their time.

July 20, 2009