I've been getting some nasty responses to my suggestion that we follow the examples of the Afghans by amending the Constitution to reserve 25% of the seats in Congress for women. A couple of points:

First, Afghanistan, a nation hardly known for its commitment to gender equality, still sees fit to think that 25% is the minimum level of adequate representation for women. But in the US, women only make up 14% of Congress. Shouldn't we strive to do at least as well as the Afghans?

Second, merely living in Wyoming, Alaska, North Dakota, or several other states guarantees representation in Congress. Why should we have quotas for arbitrary entities like states, but not for legitimate and recognized groups of citizens?

Third, if gender quotas are such an affront to American values, what about the gender quota at the Republican National Committee? They currently have a national committeeman and a national committeewoman from each state. That's a 50% quota. I'm only asking for half that. Hey, if it's good enough for the RNC, why isn't it good enough for America?