Earlier this month, I reported on Hiram Monserrate’s being sworn in to NY State Senate despite a felony assault charge for cutting his girlfriend’s face with broken glass. We have received notice of NOW’s plans to hold a press conference to address this grave matter. We encourage any TNA members who are in the area to attend the press conference on Saturday on behalf of The New Agenda. If you are able to do that, please advise us.

Dear Supporter of Women’s Rights:
On Saturday, January 31 at 1:00 PM, the National …

I don’t usually talk about this, but when I was fifteen years old I read a book called The Social Animal by Elliot Aaronson, which explained how to manipulate and control people. You can get people to do things they might not otherwise do, without them knowing you’re doing it? Amazing! So I did what any curious teenager might: I tried experimenting on my friends.
The results were disturbing. Pretty soon, my friends were doing what I wanted, when I wanted. I wasn’t prepared for this. I hadn’t really considered that …

This:
Carly Fiorina and Cokie Roberts try to talk about sexism on This Week with George Stephanopoulos (click to view the clip)
reminds me of this:

(hat tip to NMK)

The numbers below reflect the percentage of Arab Americans, Latinos, African Americans, Asian Americans and women within the U.S. population, followed by the percentage of each group in Obama’s cabinet, based on 21 seats.
The last number is the difference in those percentages, shown as either a gain or a loss for equal representation in cabinet for that group.
Because no one has yet been appointed to take Bill Richardson’s place as Secretary of Commerce, the numbers are calculated for 2 and 3 individuals in the Latino group.
Arab Americans in U.S. population: …

We know we’re girls and therefore genetically bad at math, but we’ve been keeping a pretty close eye on this, and can’t imagine how we missed it. According to our Cabinent Watch page, Obama has only appointed women to 5 out of 21 seats, but CNN says it’s 6 women. We feel a little silly asking, but if there’s a sixth woman out there that we don’t know about, will someone slip us a note under the table? We’d hate to look like we can’t get our facts straight.
Here’s the …

Editor’s note: Beginning this month, The New Agenda Blog will be featuring regular columns from a diverse group of terrific contributors. Sheryl Robinson is a writer and feminist activist. She is a co-founder of The New Agenda and manager of this blog.
On December 19th, 2008, Karla Giraldo told an Emergency room doctor that Hiram Monserrate attacked her, deliberately stabbing her in the face with broken glass, leaving deep gashes around her eye that required 25 stitches to close.
Investigators say Monserrate attacked Giraldo in a jealous rage, believing a business …

Dawn Johnsen
Dawn Johnsen, Obama’s pick to head the Office of Legal Counsel, has been critical of Bush administration torture memos. The Chicago Tribune reports:
Johnsen, currently a law professor at the Indiana University School of Law in Bloomington, was very critical of legal opinions on interrogation issued during the Bush administration by the small office of legal scholars that she will now head if confirmed
Elena Kagan
Elena Kagan, nominated by Obama to be solicitor general, will be the first woman to hold that post. Kagan was also the first female dean at …

Women’s unemployment is rising as fast as men’s. The most recent version of Obama’s economic stimulus package, revealed Saturday, is expected to cost taxpayers $775 billion and create or preserve 3 million jobs, but it does nothing to allay concerns that women will not receive a fair share of job creation dollars.
Women typically suffer greater hardship than men in times of economic downturn. More women in government means more support for issues that affect women, according to the UNIFEM report released this Fall. For this reason, Obama should appoint a …

Elizabeth Wurtzel writes on The Daily Beast about the difference between criticisms of Sarah Palin and Caroline Kennedy. According to Wurtzel, the objections to Palin were sort of sexist; the objections to Kennedy are not.
I dunno—I read the following comment about Caroline Kennedy on a feminist blog recently:
I think her new interest in elective office is because she will soon be an empty-nester.
Why couldn’t she just become a real estate agent like so many women of privilege of a certain age who find themselves in need of a hobby or …

I got leopard-print sheets for Christmas. And a leopard-print robe.
At this rate of conversion and based on the number of leopard-print items I already possess, I estimate that by 2015 everything I own will have a leopard-print pattern on it. Scary. I may already be in the realm of overkill on the leopard print front. I should consider moving on to something new. Tiger? Zebra, maybe?
I do love me some leopard-print shoes, though. I have four pairs, and I’d be reluctant to part with any of them, but if I …