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And now Everyone can Finally Shut up About Augusta National not Admitting Women

In a victory for rights of at least at the top .01% of female American businesswomen, Augusta National will admit two female members: former Secretary of State Condoleeza Rice and Darla Moore, who the New York Daily News called, “a trailblazing banker with GOP ties. In the 1980s she was a turnaround artist with Chemical Bank and became the highest paid woman in banking – and the first female on the cover of Fortune.”

What does this really do for women’s rights? Absolutely nothing.The people who gained anything in this are 1) the two new members and 2) the members of Augusta National who won’t have to incessantly have Masters week ruined by ideologues thinking they are changing the world by affecting the rules of a golf club.

“This wasn’t about women’s rights…this was about busting up an old boys club,” said activist Sarah Warner. “It’s a big cup of eff you to male chauvinist pig golfers. Ha ha, we won…again,” she trumpeted brazenly. One wonders what she would think about the Ladies Country Club of Toronto, which is also famously single sex.

“Every day was ladies day at Augusta National,” said the wife of one former member, now deceased. “They treated us with kindness and respect. We never felt excluded or discriminated against in any way. Anyone who claimed otherwise obviously had never been inside to see for themselves.”

“The women that got picked weren’t in golf,” said golf activist Billy B. from California. “It should have been Annika Sorenstam or Nancy Lopez. Why give a membership to people who can’t even hit the greens? They should have picked female professional players. They also should let women play in the tournament too.”

Well I guess Bill Gates has someone to play with now…

Meanwhile media members everywhere are squealing like pre-teens over a new Dave Matthews CD. Golf does look good today, but this does absolutely nothing to make the world a better place for women worldwide.. When you see women in Arabic nations getting stoned for not being virgins, or beaten for standing up to their husbands (who are allowed by some interpretation of Islamic law to beat them) the right of rich, privileged Amsrican women to join a famous club pales in significance.

The best that can be said is that it gives women hope and inspiration…but this does nothing for women whose lives have neither due to their financial or social situation. There are far more important priorities in sports – cleaning up steroids and catching cheats for example. It’s great for golf and a few golfers, but when you look at the global perspective, the battles for women’s rights have much more pressing fronts that need immediate attention.

P.S. Comedian Ray Ratto gets the award for best zinger – “Re Augusta admitting women: Funny the way one woman who knows people who can order an air strike gets right in.”