Equal Time With Martha Burk

Thanksgiving is here, and once again food banks will be helping the poor with the meagerist of meals. Some of our tax money also helps out with  food stamps. But there's a surprise hidden in the rules.

November has been the month for politics in the US since 1845, when Congress passed a federal law designating the first Tuesday following the first Monday in November as Election Day. But maybe there’s something mystic (or sinister) about the politics of November, judging from notable political events going WAY before 1845.  

The Civil War was hard fought on both sides. But some of the combatants were special -- in a way you wouldn't guess.

We've been inundated with words, words, and more words for months from Trump and Harris. Whose the most convincing? You decide -- your future depends on it.

It’s almost Halloween, when the creepy crawlers come out, along with ghosts, goblins, candy, tricks and treats.  Did it really start as a pagan ritual?  Yes and No.

Unless you live in a cave or under a rock, you’ve no doubt heard of Project 2025, a conservative manifesto from the Heritage Foundation outlining an ambitious agenda for a second Trump administration.  Trump claims he never heard of it, even though many of its authors came straight out of his administration when he was Prez. It’s got something for everyone. 

The U.S. has been celebrating Columbus Day since 1792, after the explorer who sailed from Spain in 1492 and supposedly "discovered America." But he never actually touched land in what is now the United States, landing in Cuba and Hispaniola, mistaking them for China and Japan.

Hispanics are being demonized and terrorized by grandstanding candidates looking to stir up trouble. But their contribution to U.S. history is robust .  (And by the way, we stole Texas from Mexico).

Women no longer have to worry about reproductive freedom -- or anything else. The problems have been solved and females are now protected.

It’s September, and school’s in in most of the U.S. Readin’, writin’ and ‘rithmetic as usual, but in some places a new topic will be added to the curriculum: the Bible, with all its gore and mayhem. Parents -- even some Christian ones -- are pushing back.

Abortion access has always been viewed as a woman’s problem. Men rarely talked about it, and it didn’t seem high on their political priorities. Not any more – since Trump proudly took credit for overturning Roe v. Wade with his anti-woman, anti-choice Supreme Court picks, men are paying attention – particularly in red states with the most restrictive abortion policies.  

The first (and probably only) Prez candidate debate is this week. Will both parties go by the rules? More importantly, will we learn anything we don't already know?

Labor Day became a national holiday in 1894, when President Grover Cleveland signed a law making the first Monday in September a day off for workers. Labor unions had campaigned for years to gain recognition of both the contributions and the mistreatment of workers. History is littered dirty tricks to keep unions out with bullets and billy clubs. Now it’s more genteel, but some so called "good guy companies" are still quietly (and illegally) union busting. 

Women have made steady gains in many areas since they got the right to vote in August of 1920, but there is still work to do. When elected officials refuse to back pro-woman policies, today's females should borrow a page from the suffragists and use their votes to hold them accountable.

We all know about taxes – income taxes, property taxes, sales taxes, use taxes, entertainment taxes – it seems like the list is endless. But there’s one tax that’s a new one on me, even though I’ve been paying it for most of my life.  If you’re a female, chances are you’ve been paying it too.

School varies by state and even towns and districts. Some kids get what they need, others get less or nothing -- what gives?

Most people think Vice Presidents don't matter -- just window dressing for low level events. But history shows they could become number one at any minute: Let's look at the best & the worst.

Sports on TV has long been guy heavy. But a new kind of sports bra for both genders may just be the uplift the fans need.

Presidential history was made when President Biden gracefully ended his candidacy for a second term.  He put country over self and very possibly saved our democracy. The crowds are loving his prosecutor replacement. His convicted felon opponent is less than thrilled.

Besides record heat and fireworks on the 4th, July is known for something else: Black Women’s Equal Pay Day. The day in 2024 when Black women’s wages caught up to what white men made by the end 2023: one hundred and ninety one extra days work, to be exact.