Time to Retire with Dignity

Joe Biden is a frail old man who means well but is in need of help doing his job and communicating to the public.

This report from the New York Post enforces my opinion.

President Biden was handed a private note during a recent call with Democratic House lawmakers telling him to “stay positive” – and he read it out loud.

A staffer gave the 81-year-old president a note card with tips as he attempted to persuade members of the Congressional Progressive Caucus on Saturday that he was fit to serve and able to defeat former President Donald Trump on Election Day, the New York Times reported.

“Stay positive, you are sounding defensive,” Biden said on the call, seemingly reading directly from his staffer’s short missive.

One lawmaker told the New York Times that the moment represented how “stage-managed” calls between the president and lawmakers concerned about his re-election chances have seemed.

Biden has long been known to rely on note cards for press conferences, summits and private fundraisers, instructing him where to sit, what to do and who people are.

Still, the lawmaker also interpreted the moment as the president “poking fun at his aides” rather than accidentally reading the private memo.

The president has a history of blurting out instructions meant for his eyes only, including when he read “pause” off a teleprompter during a campaign speech in April.

Rep. Pramila Jayapal (D-Wash.), the chair of the CPC, said the call with Biden was “productive and engaging.”

“We spoke frankly to the President about our concerns and asked tough questions about the path forward. We appreciate his willingness to thoughtfully answer and address our Members,” she wrote on X.

Biden’s call with the CPC came on the same day he reportedly held a “tense” Zoom call with moderate Democrats that was “even worse than the debate,” losing credibility with those on the video chat, according to people in the meeting.

“He was rambling; he’d start an answer then lose his train of thought, then would just say ‘whatever.’ He really couldn’t complete an answer. I lost a ton of respect for him,” one person on the call told Puck.

“The president was rambling, dismissive of concerns, unable or unprepared to present a campaign strategy,” added a second person, who is a member of Congress.

Biden has faced mounting calls from Democrats imploring him to end his re-election campaign in the aftermath of his disastrous June 27 debate against Donald Trump, with several polls showing the incumbent trailing the 78-year-old former president.

She didn’t look ‘pretty enough.’

Even in the year 2024 the author of this article says it all. Appearance makes all the difference for women of every age. Even plain doesn’t work! Beauty contests will never end. A little plastic surgery for women can make all the difference.

I’d never heard of the term #prettyprivilege until this week – apparently the hashtag has over 250 million views on Tik Tok, and it’s a phrase coined by the internet to describe the benefits of being the kind of ‘pretty’ that conforms to society’s so-called beauty ideals.

I first came across it after reading comments about a viral Tik Tok loaded by 30 year old New Yorker, Melissa Weaver. Melissa had gone for an interview for the job of her dreams. One that she knew she was qualified for, and one that she was told by the recruiter, fitted her skillset perfectly.

However, Melissa was rejected for the vice presidency role because she didn’t look ‘pretty enough.’

In the video, Melissa explains that after thinking that the interview was a huge success, she was told that she didn’t get the job because she hadn’t put enough effort into her appearance.

“I did a blowout for my hair. I had on a nice top, a blazer and some earrings, but I only had on Chapstick,” Melissa explains in the video. “I didn’t have any makeup on because I don’t really wear a lot of makeup – not to be quirky, I just don’t”.

Which begs the question as she asked her followers, does not wearing makeup really make it seem like women aren’t putting as much effort or care into their job?

I was astonished that as a society we are still conditioned to believe that we have to conform to a set of out of date beauty ideals that require us to look a certain way in a job interview. Yes, as a matter of respect – to ourselves as well as our colleagues – we should look presentable and of course be clean. But is a lack of lipstick really reason enough not to hire someone? Is corporate America still that behind?

This appearance-fixed society, makes me, yes even me, the de facto Beauty Editor, take a deep breath of dismay. And now add the barrage of overly perfect filters on Tik Tok and Instagram, I fear that the pressures of looking a certain way will just get worse.

In this so-called age of inclusivity and diversity, we should be putting those archaic societal beauty standards to bed. Do men get turned down for a job if they don’t use concealer to cover up their dark circles? Pah! Of course not!

Yes, wearing lipstick can make a lot of us feel better. Makeup often gives us a coat of armour. A spring in our step. An extra jolt of confidence. And of course, for that reason, wear it! But it should be about choice.

You might say that this opinion is a bit rich coming from a Beauty Editor, working in an industry that relies on lipstick sales. However, during my career, I have always worked hard to encourage women to celebrate what makes them unique and if that’s going makeup free, then so be it.

Lipstick or no lipstick, we should be looking at the traits that make us clever, caring, honest, brave…Not whether we look like a sexy, polished and glossy character from Suits.

It’s up to society to challenge these internalised biases. We must all be on a level playing field. Whatever we look like.

Pretty privilege? It’s time we made it stop!

Story by Donna Francis