Amy Siskind received the following email:
My mother’s courage and hard work has always been and continues to be one of the two most inspiring things in my life. I come from a poor, hard working Scots Irish family, poor financially but rich in character and love. My mother was the first person from our family to go to college in 1973. That same year I was conceived out of wedlock. She was only 18. My family had no money and she was face with the challenge of raising a child …

The New Agenda has fired off a letter to James Taranto at the Wall Street Journal about his use of the word “shrill” in reference to Sen. Claire McCaskill.
In the article “Hackers and Hacks” on September 18, Taranto described McCaskill’s “very shrill anti-Palin remarks.”
Sen. McCaskill may be critical of Gov. Palin, but “shrill”? As we noted in our letter:
[T]he word “shrill” has a very negative connotation when used to describe a woman or a woman’s voice. The term has recently been used by the media as …

The Washington Post headline reads: Women’s Group Condemns NOW Endorsement of Obama.
Okay, that’s putting it a bit harshly. We’re not condemning NOW; we’re raising our collective eyebrow in puzzlement. (But other than that, it’s a great piece. Thanks, Garance Franke-Ruta!)
Here’s the full text of our press release:

The New Agenda responds to NOW Endorsement

Sept. 19, 2008 – The New Agenda, a non-partisan women’s advocacy organization, recognizes the decades of worthy work and achievement by the National Organization for Women. But The New Agenda …

Sarah Palin Sexism Watch is the name of a terrific resource we’re adding to our blogroll. The blog author says:
I am a female professional – a working mother – who lives in Wisconsin. I created this blog to monitor, and round up, the sexist treatment given to Republican VP nominee, Sarah Palin. This blog will focus on sexist reactions to the Palin nomination by the media and politicians. Please email me tips at: palinsexismwatch@live.com.
Kudos to her for doing this. Alas, if only the list of entries weren’t already …

For the first time ever, rather than endorse a female candidate on a presidential ticket, NOW has instead endorsed the all-male ticket running against her.
This seems wildly out of line with NOW’s Statement of Purpose: “to take action to bring women into full participation in the mainstream of American society now, exercising all the privileges and responsibilities thereof in truly equal partnership with men.”
A history of NOW’s political endorsements:

1972
NOW endorses Shirley Chisholm, a NOW member, in the democratic primary. Chisholm is the first African American woman to run for President, …

While Senators and Obama and McCain are busy duking it out on the campaign trail, Senator Clinton is busy fighting for the women’s rights.
Here are a few excerpts from a HillGram sent out Tuesday. The New Agenda is excited that one of our platform issues, The Fair Pay Act, is a focus of Senator Clinton.

FIGHTING FOR EQUAL PAY
Hillary is sponsoring two important bills to ensure that women finally get equal pay for their work. The Paycheck Fairness Act will strengthen existing laws and enforcement, while the Lily Ledbetter Fair …

(Cross-posted at Reclusive Leftist.)
Gov. Sarah Palin and daughter Piper at Riverbend Elementary School in Juneau.
Sarah Palin calls herself a “pro-life feminist.” Basically, that’s feminism minus abortion rights.
Obviously that puts her at odds with modern American feminism on a crucial issue. But to hear tell from the many feminist writers now publishing furious editorials, Sarah Palin isn’t just out of step on that one issue. She is, according to them, the antithesis of everything feminism means.
Really?
I thought I’d start a collection of Palin’s own …

(Originally posted at Reclusive Leftist.)
NOTE: The New Agenda is non-partisan and does not endorse any candidate. The following is Violet Socks’s personal opinion.
The treatment of Hillary Clinton this year showed us that sexism is far more acceptable and more endemic than racism in this country. Naysayers liked to claim that the hatred was for Hillary alone, not for all women; but they were wrong.
Just look at Sarah Palin. She’s different from Hillary in almost every respect, yet she’s being assaulted just as Hillary was, only to …

Originally posted at The Lurking Canary.
Today I read that our nasty little homegrown clero-fascists have grabbed mainstream headlines by putting both feet squarely on the new third rail of American politics: racism. See here for an article on some kind of dreadful anti-Obama novelty type item. The article doesn’t link to an image of the product itself, and I’m not providing one, because I don’t intend to promote it through the back door (“you wouldn’t believe this – click here now to see it!”).
But the article itself reminds me of …

The Stiletto offers this photo of an “action figure” of vice presidential candidate AK Gov. Sarah Palin without comment. Another equally offensive version of the doll is also being rushed to market by HeroBuilders.com.