An EPIC Night for Women’s Leadership

On Monday night, The White House Project hosted their annual EPIC Awards ceremony at U.N. Headquarters in New York City. The EPIC Awards celebrates the voice and vision of innovators whose lives have shown other women what is possible—as well as those who use media and culture to help women see on-screen what they can’t see very often in the world: women leading at every level.

CNN anchor and Special Correspondent Soledad O’Brien hosted the night’s festivities. She remarked at the start of the night, “In my work as an anchor and correspondent at CNN, I have witnessed the powerful impact that images—on screen and in real life—can have on the ambitions and aspirations of our young people.” Award presenters included Pay Equity Pioneer Lilly Ledbetter; New York Senator Kirsten Gillibrand; and Academy-Award winning actress and White House Project Board Member Geena Davis, all committed to the work of The White House Project to advance women’s leadership.

Awardees included:

--Chief Judge Judith S. Kaye (Ret.), the first woman to serve on New York State’s highest court, accepted the Lifetime Achievement Award for her visionary commitment to the courts and the people of New York State.

--Lifetime Network’s Every Woman Counts Campaign, received an EPIC Award for their pioneering public service campaign dedicated to encouraging women to speak out on the issues they care about most, vote and run for office.

--Voto Latino received an EPIC Award for the outstanding impact they have had in the last four years on the next generation of Latinas. Actress Rosario Dawson, Co-Founder and María Teresa Petersen, Executive Director accepted the award.

At the close of the evening, Atlanta City Council President and White House Project Board Member Lisa Borders said, "We know that times are tough. But we also know that tough times often offer the best opportunities to invest wisely - and investing in the future of women is among the soundest investments you can make.”

Rant of the Week: Teleprompter Tales

Media commentators and bloggers have been making much ado about nothing lately concerning President Barack Obama’s teleprompter usage. Rush Limbaugh recently remarked, “off prompter, Obama can’t speak.”

A Facebook group called Barack Obama’s Teleprompter has emerged and now has over 1,500 members. The group blurb states, “I have a full-time job in telling President Barack Obama what do say. Since he can't do without me wherever he goes, I work often! However, I still manage to find a little time to get on Facebook."

Hm, I’m not sure if these folks remember the little thing called the presidential debates, in which Barack Obama presented his vision for America sans teleprompter (and won all three rounds, mind you). Is it such a bad thing for a President to appear prepared and polished in his speeches? Or should we simply expect a certain amount of bushisms a la Dubya’s “off-the-cuff” style? Obama spent nearly two years on the campaign trail giving speeches largely without a teleprompter, not to mention his Harvard law education and background as a constitution professor. Do we really have to question whether he can speak without some sort of technological aid? As our nation's top representative, it is imperative that the President be cautious and careful about the words that come out of his mouth.

This latest right-wing criticism screams of desperation. Surely, there are ideological disagreements that Republicans can articulate based on real policy concerns and the actual substance of his speeches. This cheap attack just makes them look like small-minded sore losers.

And the Winner Is...

Desiree Rogers, White House Social Secretary and long-time friend of the Obamas, has been named Washington's Best-Dressed Woman by the fashion powers that be.

In a Huffington Post poll, the fashionista came in first place with 27.28% of the vote, with VP wife Jill Biden following close behind with 25.55% of the vote. Known for her classicially chic style (fitted black suits, wedged heels, and sheek hairdo), Rogers proves that brains and beauty can go hand-in-hand.













Check out more of Desiree's chic style here.

Good Enough for VP, But Not for 2012?

Mmkay. In an interview with NBC on Sunday, Senator John McCain gave a classic political response when asked whether he would support a Sarah Palin run for La Presidente.

Palin’s 2012 goal has recently been plagued by a communication failure between her gubernatorial staff and DC-based staff and her refusal to accept much-needed mulah for her state provided by the federal stimulus.

Asked on Meet the Press - “Would you like to see Sarah Palin become President?” - McCain responded with:

I can't say something like that. We've got some great other young governors. I think you're going to see the governors assume a greater leadership role in our Republican Party.

Hmm. And continuing with:

Have no doubt of my admiration and respect for her and my view of her viability, but at this stage, again ... my corpse is still warm, you know?

Translation: I’m hoping someone with an ounce of a brain will enter the race so I'm not obligated to put my support behind that hot tranny mess.

Check out the video below:

Visit msnbc.com for Breaking News, World News, and News about the Economy

Life Happens

Sound the trumpet please. Cue the band. I am back, my friends. I know many of you thought I fell into a blogging black hole. But sometimes: life happens. In a nutshell: school, work, more school, church, more school, wedding planning, more school – you get where I’m going with this I’m sure. (You know something’s off when you’ve found yourself wearing jumpsuits for the past three weeks and persisting on a diet of hotpockets and oreo cookies).

But (deep breath) I am striving to find balance in my life (can I get an Amen sistas?) and embrace the things that bring me joy (i.e. blogging, yoga, good amigas) and throw out the things that hold me back from being a content, hopeful, jubilant woman, regardless of what life throws at me.

I know that it sounds very Oprah new-age I-Am-Womanism, but we’ve all gotten caught in the hustle and bustle of life and wake up one day realizing we’ve lost ourselves. We have completely lost track of our mission, our purpose, the life that God crafted for us. So I am reclaiming it starting today. And I may not be able to blog everyday but at least my spirit will be a little bit happier, a little bit more at peace and my life will feel a little bit more in orbit.

So much has changed since my last entry… and yet so much has stayed the same. Barack Obama is still President (phew!) but the economy is still taking a nosedive (and has gotten worse). Things that have changed… Guantanomore, congress’ bye-bye to bonus tax, Fox News' resurgence, this, Cramer v. Stewart, Octomom baby mama drama, gladiator heels are even stranger, celebrity domestic abuse and then makeup and then marriage (?).

Here are a few pictures of what I’ve been up to over the last few months. Over and out…




















January 20, 2009, Inauguration Day: I was "fortunate" enough to be one of the purple ticket holders who waited in line for four hours on the freezing cold day. Le sigh. But totally worth it.


















February 27, 2009, School of Public Affairs 5th Annual City Hall Day at Los Angeles City Hall hosted by Councilmember Wendy Greuel.

























March 26, 2009, Nordstroms' Opening at Cherry Hill Mall, NJ: I went with my mom and her besties to a very hollywood event at.... Cherry Hill Mall. Who knew?! Complete with cocktails, delish aps, shoe shopping, and fashion shows. My type of affair. I know... not very recession-friendly but a girl can dream, can't she?

Out to Lunch (uh...for four months...)

Hello politicas & friends,

Yes indeed, yours truly has been a busy bee and I've had to sadly take off my blogging hat for a few months. But, I'm happy to report, I intend to be fully running again starting early April so stay tuned for polifabulousness in the weeks ahead!

Besos,

Lindsay

A World AIDS Day Message

Hello amigos/ amigas,

Today is just not another day that your rent is due. I am writing to raise awareness for the 3.3 million people living with HIV worldwide on behalf of the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office of HIV/AIDS Policy’s AIDS.gov. Members of the BlogCatalog network are sending messages through the blogosphere for Bloggers Unite For World AIDS Day.

Even if just 10 percent of the members get involved, we can reach an estimated 4 million blog readers. And if half of our members participate, we can reach 20 million. And if all bloggers participate, we can reach the entire world.

Nearly half of all AIDS cases in the U.S. involve people 13 to 24 years of age. More than 250,000 are estimated to be HIV positive and not know it. And more than 1 million are estimated to have AIDS. It affects every country, city, and town in the world. And, the most frightening thing about it is that is going largely unchecked. In fact, that is one of the reasons that worldaidscampaign.org is continuing its "leadership" theme, which it developed after learning that many leaders who promised to support AIDS were not keeping their promises.

So, get tested, do your homework and contribute to the cause to prevent AIDS. And by doing that, you might not only save someone, but save someone close to you.

Check out a video from the 2008 International AIDS Conference in Mexico City where people from around the world made their pledges to stop AIDS. More videos here.

Was Clinton Really Offered the Sec of State Gig?

So, rumors are flying about that President-elect Barack Obama’s Secretary of State offer to Senator Hillary Clinton may be as real as Spencer and Heidi Montag’s wedding stunt (sorry, my first and last The Hills reference). According to “two senior Democratic officials,” Obama “offered” Senator Hillary Clinton the position of Secretary of State during their meeting on Thursday in Chi-town.

The Huffington Post reported that:

Mrs. Clinton's and her closest advisers' turning a suggestion by the President-elect that she might, among other things, head the State Department into an "offer" and reports that she was agonizing over whether to accept it, did not please officials in Chicago, some of whom hoped that issues over disclosure of Bill Clinton's post-presidential record might block the appointment. But the former president's camp blocked that by promising to cooperate with requests for information and to accept limits on his activities, including clearance of speaking engagements abroad.

Statements by the Hilary camp on November 21 saying that "she's ready" for the position but then backtracking, saying that some matters were "under discussion," typified the whole mess, the only snag thus far in an otherwise unusually smooth transition involving impressive choices--an object lesson to Obama (which he had reason to know already) that getting involved with the Clintons is rarely uncomplicated.

Don’t get me wrong, I have no doubt that Senator Hillary Clinton would be a smart, tough and capable department head - but given her disagreements with Obama on foreign policy - I'm iffy on whether this is the best position for her. We'll know for sure after the T-giving holiday!

Obama Announces the E-Team

Howdy Politicas y politicos! The last few weeks have been pretty insane for yours truly and yet life continues onward and the economy continues downward. Much chatter has been going on about Obama’s economic team picks so let’s review:

Today, our Presidente-Electo announced the key members of his economic team tasked with creating jobs, stabilizing the economy, and getting our country back on track.

Timothy F. Geithner, president and CEO of the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, will serve as Secretary of the Treasury.

Lawrence H. Summers, former Secretary of the Treasury under President Clinton, will serve as Director of the National Economic Council.

Christina D. Romer will serve as Director of the Council of Economic Advisers, Melody C. Barnes will serve as Director of the Domestic Policy Council, and Heather A. Higginbottom (woot!) will serve as Deputy Director of the Domestic Policy Council.

And what did our dear friend Joe Lieberman have to say about his team picks:

“Everything that President-elect Obama has done since election night has been just about perfect, both in terms of a tone and also in terms of the strength of the names that have either been announced or are being discussed to fill his administration.”

Hmmm...how quickly his tone changed.

Check out Barack Obama's live press conference explaining his economic plan. Um yea, George Bush who?

What the 2008 Electoral Map Would Look Like if the Election Were Decided By...

WOMEN

THOSE EARNING LESS THAN $50,000 A YEAR

SELF-DESCRIBED MODERATES

Check out other maps here.