In what can only be described as a vile and opportunistic attempt to reinsert herself into the media spotlight, self-promoting feminist Martha Burk stooped to an all-time low last week when, on the steps of New York City Hall, she proclaimed:� "With close to a quarter-million women in the armed services defending the values of the United States, many of them in Iraq, we think it is offensive to them for CBS to showcase a venue that excludes them."� Of course, Burk was referring to the network's exclusive coverage of golf's most prestigious tournament, the Masters, held at the private Augusta National Golf Club.
Burk espoused her abominable comparison just after the media -- some of whom at one time even supported Burk -- announced astonishment with comments she made in another speech to the Empowerment 2003 conference held last month at Joliet Junior College in Chicago, Illinois.� Referring to the lack of female members of Augusta National, Burk commented that� "Saddam Hussein is eligible; Margaret Thatcher is not.� That shows you how absurd this all is."
April Fool's Day apparently came early this year as Burk was joined late last month by cohorts willing to play the fool with her by trying to link the war in Iraq with the Master's dispute.� For instance, Sandra Garrett of the National Council of Jewish Women is quoted as saying: "Is it OK for women to fight for our country on the battlefields of Iraq but not OK for them to tee up on the greens of Augusta National?"
Nevertheless, no matter how many professional feminists come out against Augusta National's constitutional right to freely associate with whomever its members wish, the simple fact is that American soldiers in Iraq -- our men and women in uniform -- both are not and cannot be worried about whether they've got a good tee-time at Augusta, or will have one upon their safe return.
Equally as offensive, Charles Farrell, who directs Jesse Jackson's "Rainbow Sports," is quoted in the Atlanta Journal and Constitution as saying:� "We find it morally offensive at a time when Saddam Hussein is gender-eligible to be a member of Augusta, yet the woman who is an Iraqi POW is not."��
We are disgusted by these calculated attempts to play the war card to advance Ms. Burk's personal agenda and return the media circus back to her one-woman show, replete with inconsistencies.� Can someone please ask Ms. Burk to explain what she meant by her pre-war Chicago Tribune quote that "[w]e can't get bound up in a march about golf if the nation's mood is on war"?
Sliding beyond her linkage to war, Ms. Burk said women in the military support her because (and we are not making this up) her cause is related to the sex scandals at the Air Force Academy.� The Modesto Bee quotes her as saying it's "all a part of a package of devaluing women."
Maybe such astounding comments aid her fundraising, but Ms. Burk would be well reminded of the saying that it is "Better to keep your mouth closed and be thought a fool than to open it and remove all doubt."
Burk now has convinced some members of Congress to jump aboard the enabling media train.� This week, U.S. Representative Carolyn Maloney (D-NY) and 14 House members introduced a non-binding resolution urging members of Congress, the federal judiciary and the executive branch not to belong to a club that discriminates on the basis of sex or race.� Sure, that's a pressing public priority right now.�
In Burkesque fashion of "outing" her opponents, Representative Maloney issued a statement that appears on her website that said "Senator Warner and Senator Nickles apparently think sex discrimination is okay -- they both still belong to Burning Tree -- a club that was willing to forfeit its tax exemption in order to maintain the ability to discriminate against women."� Through his spokeswoman Gayle Osterberg, Senator Nickles countered, "I wonder if [Maloney] was ever a member of the Girl Scouts or the Junior League?"
The judicial branch has also become prey to the antics of Burk and her allies. Last month, the American Civil Liberties Union of Georgia filed a federal lawsuit on behalf of Burk and her supporters against the city of Augusta, hoping to gain permission to protest outside the gates of Augusta National at the tournament next week. �The lawsuit challenges Augusta-Richmond County's public demonstration and protest ordinance as a violation of the First Amendment of the United States Constitution.� At a hearing on Wednesday before District Court Chief Judge Dudley Bowen, Jim Ellison, an attorney for the city of Augusta is reported as saying: "It is the paramount duty of the government to provide for public safety.� These types of ordinances do not restrict free speech rights. They provide for the orderly exercise of those rights."� As of press time, Chief Judge Bowen had not issued a ruling, but if he follows the law he will agree with Ellison.
Apparently anticipating little media presence, Burk did not bother to attend the hearing.�