So far, Governor David Paterson of New York is winning major points. First, he required New York to recognize marriages from other states, meaning same-sex couples can get married in another state and then live in New York, all while they are still legally recognized as married. Now, he rejected a state commission's list of recommended candidates for chief judge of the state Court of Appeals because the list did not include a single woman.

"To circumscribe, limit the governor to only men, and for the commission to say, 'We searched the state, we couldn't find a single, solitary qualified woman to serve on the bench' — something is wrong," he said.

An enormous thank you goes to Governor Paterson for having the guts to stand up to patriarchy. If you're a New Yorker, or even if you're not, send him a thank you note.