esterday, the House Armed Services Committee voted, 31 to 21, to require a 120-day notice period, during which Congress is in session, before women can be assigned to submarines. Rep. Roscoe Bartlett (R-Md.) offered the amendment after the Defense Advisory Committee on Women in the Services (DACOWITS) recommended that subs be integrated. Navy policy currently prohibits the assignment of women to subs, but the prohibition can be lifted with a 30-day notice, with no provision for congressional consideration.

The amendment requiring a lengthier notice period was prompted by the fear that on his way out the door, President Clinton would send dames undersea to appease the Pentagon's feminist lobby. The civilian women serving on DACOWITS have only confronted submarines in Blimpie's, but the committee has also recommended that the Navy redesign its new Virginia-class subs to accommodate women. According to the Navy, such a redesign would eliminate operational equipment and reduce war-fighting effectiveness.

Conservatives should hope that President George W. Bush would recognize that taxpayers shouldn't be funding a feminist lobby that relentlessly advocates for sex integration at the expense of combat readiness and disband DACOWITS. Unfortunately, the Governor's own feminist sensibilities were on display at the Kentucky Derby last weekend. He explained that had he placed a bet it would have been on the horse attempting to become the first Derby winner trained by a woman. It seems the patriarchy rears its ugly head even at the track.