Equal Time With Martha Burk

June 24th marks the  anniversary of the infamous Dobbs  Supreme Court decision, trashing women’s right to abortion guaranteed since Roe v. Wade in 1973. Let's inventory  the  damage to women’s rights, emboldening states to jump on the anti-woman, anti-abortion, anti-choice bandwagon.

The New York Times Kid Section recently showcased the candidates' answers to kid friendly questions. Listen to their direct quotes and pick your leader for the next four years.

Back in the day Mom stayed home with kids, housework, and runny noses. Dad went to work, plopped down in the evening with the newspaper or TV and did little else. No more -- it's a new world out there for fathers.

June 6 marks the anniversary of D-Day, the day in 1944 when Allied forces in World War II invaded France from offshore. It was the largest seaborne invasion in history. Thousands never made it out of the water, making the landing on Normandy one of the deadliest days of the war. In an all-out push, 150,000 sailors – and one stowaway  -- hit the beaches.

Official history says the first Memorial Day celebration was held in Arlington National Cemetery on May 30, 1868, where Union and Confederate soldiers from the Civil war are buried.  Nope. The earliest ceremony was years earlier, and the participants not the people you learned about in school.  

May is Asian American, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander Month,  was designated in 1992 by President George H. W. Bush to pay tribute to immigrants who enriched America's progress -- but only after a century of persecution.

We all have to buy groceries, household goods, and a fair amount of fast food. But are we getting what we pay for, or a hidden swindle?

Most people think Mother's Day is just a day for mom to get gifts and thanks. But it has a far more serious and important origin and history.

If you were born before 1968, it was legal and normal to deny folks housing based on skin color or heritage.  Enter two guys – one white, one black – who changed all that. 

College is now ridiculously expensive and students are in hock up to their eyebrows. President Biden wants to help -- but the Supremes have stopped him once. Rerun or success? 

Taxes are necessary for a civilized society, and most ordinary people pay their fair share.  But there's one group that pays nothing at all, while rewarding their benefactors handsomely. 

Wake up and view the solar eclipse, last one 'til 2044. If you think really has no significance except crazy superstition, think again. Ancient voices from the past tell us it was a battle of the sexes.

Okaay,  April Fools Day is upon us, so let's have a little fun and nominate some of your national leaders for the biggest fool prize, and of course pick a winner.  And the nominees are . . .

The old saying "necessity is the mother of invention" may be true, but it leaves out an important component -- the real "mothers" and "aunts" and "sisters" and even "wives" of invention.

It’s Women’s History month, and the feds are  banning government agencies from using salary history to set the pay of new hires. We need it for the private sector too.

Trump was President from 2016 To 2020, but he’s never won an election. He lost the nationwide popular vote in 2016, but still made it to the White House, due to a ridiculous voting system that ought to be abolished – the electoral college.

Females are without question the stars of Hollywood costume design, raking in Oscars in numbers that far outstrip the men. They get lots of well deserved recognition for what they do.  Except in one very important category . . .

It started with one thin dime, and a bus ride in Montgomery, Alabama in 1955. City busses were segregated back then – whites in the front, Blacks in the back. On that fateful day, an African American woman named Rosa Parks paid her 10c fare, and took a seat in the Black section. 

In 1971, Congress created President's Day, to fall yearly between the birthdays of Washington and Lincoln on the 3rd Monday in February. Many have aspired to the office, but a significant group has never made it. 

I thought it would be simple. Just google Valentine’s Day and learn all about it – when and where it started and modern ways it’s celebrated around the world. Well, it worked – sort of. Seems there’s disagreement, disinformation, fantasy and frolic when it comes to researching the day of sweethearts.