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The New Agenda commends Linda Hirshman who continues to be a strong voice for the working women of this country.
President-elect Obama recently upped the number of jobs to be created by his administration from 2.5 million to 3.0 million due to the deepening recession. Problem is, as Linda …

Pat Racimora has a nice article in No Quarter Dec. 22, 2008, about seats in our House of Lords. She cites Charles Krauthammer on the Biden seat in Delaware:
Vice President-elect Biden’s Senate seat will now be filled by Edward Kaufman, a family retainer whom no one ever heard of before yesterday. And no one will hear from after two years, at which time Kaufman will dutifully retire. He understands his responsibility: Keep the Delaware Senate seat warm for two years until Joe’s son returns from Iraq to assume his father’s …

Today CNN reports, “Why some women’s groups are miffed at Obama“:
It might be diverse, but not everyone is happy. Some women’s groups are disappointed. Among Obama’s strongest backers during the election, they now say they don’t have enough seats at the table. . . . “When you are looking at a Cabinet and you have such a small number of women in the room when the big decisions are being made, there need to be a lot more women’s voices in this administration,” said Kim Gandy, president of …

So, Summers isn’t Secretary of the Treasury, but as head of the National Economic Council, he’s the one decoding the economic crisis for Obama. The subtext of the Summers’ apologetics is that he’s essential: It’s a meeting of the minds; Summers is the only one who knows how to explain the economy so that Obama understands.
And Jon Favreau has been cast as your average 27-year-old guy who occasionally gets overwhelmed by all the awesome responsibility on his young shoulders and does immature things, like groping a cardboard cut-out of the …

I happened to walk by a television today and I saw the strangest thing: an all female panel.
Now you might say this – what’s the big deal? Well I’ll tell you what the big deal is. I have been so accustomed to seeing all male panels with the occasional female thrown in for good measure, that it truly caught my eye to FINALLY see a panel filled with accomplished women.
Sure David Gregory was the moderator, but the panel was composed of: Erin Burnett of …

Today one of our members alerted us to the fact that the Boston Globe Magazine is honoring Jon Favreau as a one of six Bostonians of the Year. Sorry, has The Boston Globe been taking a nap for the past month?
The New Agenda also noticed that Favreau was the subject of a glowing article in the Washington Post this past week. It would seem that Mr. Favreau, similar to Larry Summers a few weeks ago, has hired a PR firm to rehabilitate his image.
Thanks to our member “ER” …

The news cycle seems to have slowed as we unwind into the soft-focus of the winter holiday—no big stories this week—no scandals, a few cabinet appointments, nothing monumental.
It seems like a good time to ask: what’s your take on the incoming administration?
List the one thing you most strongly agree with, and the one thing you most strongly object to (and your reasons, if you’re inclined).
The New Agenda is listening.

SantaFeK wonders if New York/Around Town is in a city where nothing happens, and nothing is to be seen, nor any good products to be found, and complete vapidity of reporting.  Otherwise, why would this mag. write an article about a Secretary-of-State nutcracker as a deal?  Since this is a year-old product, what’s in it for Ms. Elizabeth Bougerol, the “author” of this…er..”article,” other than to shill for Overstock?

/ AROUND TOWN

Deal of the Day: Hillary Clinton Nutcracker
Commemorate our departing Senator — and crack your holiday nuts — with this …

The New Agenda is asking Governor Ritter of Colorado to make history by appointing the state’s first woman senator to fill Senator Salazar’s seat.
Yesterday, The Denver Daily News picked up on the story:
The New Agenda, a nonpartisan women’s rights organization, is calling on Ritter to appoint a woman to fill the senate seat. Currently, Colorado has the second highest level of representation of women in the state legislature with 36 percent. Only Vermont ranks higher with 38.3 percent and South Carolina is last with 8.8 percent, according to the Center …

A new kind of fireside chat.
Ophelia is talking grassroots. And not just anyone’s grassroots – The New Agenda’s grassroots efforts.
Ophelia welcomes Cynthia Ruccia and Thia Lawson to be her guests this week on Chewing the Fat with Ophelia. In addition to chewing the fat on the usual subjects, we will also have Cynthia tell us about The New Agenda’s first grassroots meeting in Columbus, OH, and Thia tell us about planning a grassroots meeting in your area.
So grab your cup cup of coffee, tea or wine and tune …