She's the ultimate political spouse, the good wife who has stood by her husband's side for decades. While her famous other half -- an international man of mystery -- travels by air and draws a standing-room only crowd at every mall appearance, she stays home, bakes cookies, and serves a mostly ornamental role.

But it wasn't always this way for Mrs. Claus. When she first appeared on the scene in 1889, she was known as "Goody Santa Claus" (goody a shortened version of 'goodwife,' a title once given to married women.) A feisty helpmate, she was depicted by poet Katharine Lee Bates as being disgruntled that Santa got all the glory while she did all the work.

So what did she do to remedy the situation? She set out to prove that a woman could fly around the world, slide down chimneys, and stuff stockings just as well as a man.

I was enchanted when I discovered the largely-unknown poem "Goody Santa Claus on a Sleigh Ride" and found out that Mrs. Claus -- in word and deed -- was essentially a 'women's libber' a full century before that term came into being.

Don't believe me? Take a look at "Was Mrs. Claus an Early Feminist Icon?" for the story of Goody Santa Claus and her creator Katharine Lee Bates, the author of the lyrics to "America the Beautiful."

Even if you don't celebrate Christmas, there's a gift for every woman in the tale of a wife who slyly says to her old-fashioned husband (who begrudgingly lets her ride  in the sleigh but declares she can't stuff a single stocking), "Yes, I know the task takes brain, Dear. I can only hold the reindeer."

Merry Christmas (or Happy Holidays) to all, and to all a good holiday weekend.

Related article: Was Mrs. Claus an Early Feminist Icon?

_{Photo © Alex Wong/Getty Images}

By now you've heard of the Army general in Iraq who has threatened to court martial women who serve under his command and become pregnant during their tour of duty. Both the pregnant female soldiers and the men who impregnated them would face disciplinary action -- even if the couple is married.

What kind of message does this send to women in the military, or women contemplating military service? Is this what we want to promote in the U.S. -- imprisoning women who become pregnant at what the Army determines is an inopportune time?

Four Democratic senators have sent a letter to Maj. Gen. Anthony Cucolo to let him know that his policy is draconian. As ABC News reported earlier today, they insisted that he reconsider his actions:

"We can think of no greater deterrent to women contemplating a military career than the image of a pregnant woman being severely punished simply for conceiving a child," the senators wrote to Cucolo today. "This defies comprehension. As such, we urge you to immediately rescind this policy."

The letter was signed by Sens. Barbara Boxer of California, Barbara Mikulski of Maryland, Jeanne Shaheen of New Hampshire, and Kirsten Gillibrand of New York.

Soldiers who become pregnant are routinely sent back to the U.S. If they wish to terminate the pregnancy, they have limited options thanks to the Hyde Amendment which prohibits abortion coverage for women in the military. A woman who fears court martial may be forced into a decision she might otherwise not make. And finding abortion services overseas compounds an already difficult situation as the ABC story indicates:

John Hutson, a former longtime military judge advocate and currently the president and dean of Franklin Pierce Law School in New Hampshire....worried that Cucolo's policy could cause an increase in abortions overseas. And since military hospitals do not perform such procedures, female officers may find abortions are available not "in the way you want them," Hutson said, forcing women to potentially dangerous providers of such services.

In Puritan New England, Hester Prynne was forced to wear an "A" exposing her as an adulteress in the classic novel The Scarlet Letter. In modern day Oklahoma, women may be forced to answer 37 intrusive questions about themselves -- and see those answers posted on a public website -- if they want to have an abortion.

Crazy? Cruel? A violation of an individual's right to privacy? You're not the only woman to realize this. Two women filed a lawsuit against the Oklahoma law, and last week a judge ruled that a decision on the law (which was to have gone into effect November 1) would be postponed until February 19, 2010. According to one of the plaintiffs, the law is akin to "undressing women in public, exposing their most personal issues on the Internet."

As reported by ABC News, the questions could easily out a woman in her hometown, denying her most basic right to privacy:

Called the Statistical Reporting of Abortions Act, the law requires all doctors to file information on a woman's age, marital status, education level, number of previous pregnancies, cost and type of abortion, as well as the mother's relationship to the father, with the Oklahoma Department of Health.

Though it does not ask for names, the form poses 37 questions detailing a woman's personal situation. Critics say the first eight questions alone could easily lead to the identification of a woman who lives in one of the state's many small communities.

"This law asks for so much information, and they are going to put it on the Internet for public scorn," said Davis. "Women who have abortions are considered murderers by many people, and you are going to put the name of a town of 200 and the fact that the girl is 17 and it's her first pregnancy and she in the 10th grade. People are going to know who it is."

This isn't the only attempt by the state of Oklahoma to interfere with and discourage reproductive choice. According to the Christian Science Monitor:

The Oklahoma courts are also considering a law that would require all women having an abortion to submit to an ultrasound in which the doctor would discuss in detail the development of the fetus. A district court overturned that law, but the state is appealing to the state supreme court.

Many states have passed laws in recent years that seek to make ultrasounds more available to women considering abortions. "Ultrasound laws are part of a larger 'pro-life' movement aimed at requiring more pre-abortion counseling and longer waiting periods designed to convince women not to end their pregnancies," according to an article last year by Stateline.org, the daily online publication of the Pew Center on the States.

Consider it a perfect storm designed to swamp women's health care and overturn reproductive rights. And it's raging right outside our doors.

According to Jane Hamsher, founder of the political website FireDogLake.com, if the Senate version of the health care reform bill passes, it will place "massive restriction on a woman's right to choose, designed to trigger a challenge to Roe v. Wade in the Supreme Court."

That's just one of the Top 10 Reasons to Kill the Senate Health Care Bill, a list she's compiled for today's Huffington Post in consultation with FireDogLake's expert-in-residence Jon Walker, health care reporter Dave Dayen, and analyst Marcy Wheeler among others.

Also at Huffpo -- Michelle Kraus'  musings on how women become political road kill when "Middle Aged White Guys Stuck Together in a Blizzard Get in Mischief."