AddieStan

Felled by the flu, your blogstress found herself unable to subject herself -- in person, at least -- to the hatefest that was the Conservative Political Action Conference, which took place this weekend in Our Nation's Capital. C-SPAN, however, denied her the pleasure of a blissful recovery, as she could not responsibly look away as more than 8,000 people assembled to declare their hatred of the new president. And so she found herself tweeting the closing speech by none other than the sociopathic Rush Limbaugh who, one must marvel, has convinced a certain segment of the regular white guy cohort that the cause of all his ills are liberals decrying the granting of millions in TARP money to the inheritors of Merrill Lynch, whose then-executive, John Thain , spent $1.2 million for the renovation his office (including a $1,400 wastebasket). While CPAC usually features elements of a freak show of hostile wing-nuttery (remember Ann Coulter calling John Edwards a "faggot"?), t...

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The most astonishing thing about last night's Academy Awards was not the public cry for equal rights for queer folk -- though that was certainly welcome, and a breakthrough of major proportions. No, the most stunning thing to happen at the Oscars was the appearance of the very God to Whom your blogstress prays: the God that accepts her with all her blogstress ways, the God who made her has she is and likes her that way. The moment came in the elegant acceptance remarks of Dustin Lance Black, who won Best Original Screenplay for his script for the movie, "Milk," based on the life of the assassinated gay rights activist, Harvey Milk. I've got a preachy little post up on Religion Dispatches, complete with video of Black's acceptance speech. CLICK HERE TO READ "GOD DOES LOVE YOU"

However unfortunate it is for President Obama to be caught flatfooted by the sudden withdrawal of Commerce secretary nominee Judd Gregg , it is a boon to women. As stated here previously, Gregg has an anti-woman, anti-civil rights record , and had no business leading an agency ostensibly dedicated to fairness in commerce. Further, Gregg's withdrawal relieves Obama of any need he felt before to sacrifice our priorities in the name bi-partisanship, as Gregg has claimed ideological differences -- including over the stimulus package -- as his reason for pulling out. And best, it opens the position to be filled by a woman. I nominate Laura Tyson , a trade whiz who chaired President Clinton's Council of Economic Advisers. So far, Obama's Commerce secretary nominees are like the drummer in Spinal Tap -- they just explode. Maybe the nomination of a woman -- one far more qualified for the post than either of the president's two male nominees -- will alter that dynamic.

CROSS-POSTED FROM THE HUFFINGTON POST "THIS IS WHAT A FEMINIST LOOKS LIKE," shouts the tee shirt worn by an illustrated Barack Obama on the cover of the current issue of Ms . magazine. Gosh, I sure hope so. But signals from the White House are coming a bit mixed in these first two weeks of the Obama presidency, and I find myself looking for reassurance. Naming Rosa DeLauro to the cabinet, as the Secretary of Health and Human Services, would provide just the reassurance that I, and other of my sisters, are looking for. Two days before the inauguration, I found myself seated at a table of feminist superstars at the Women's Ball sponsored by the National Council of Women's Organizations . Eleanor Smeal , president of the Feminist Majority Foundation ; Katherine Spillar , executive editor of Ms. magazine (which is published by Feminist Majority); Vicki Saporta , president of the National Abortion Federation and Martha Burk , director of NCWO's Corporate Acco...

It was bad enough that President Barack Obama failed to use the opportunity of Bill Richardson's exit from the nominee stage to appoint a woman to his woefully gender-unbalanced cabinet, but then he appointed a guy who appears to have utter disregard for the financial well-being of women: Judd Gregg. Gregg has a 20% approval rating from the ACLU, making him an anti-civil rights candidate. And he has consistently voted against making affirmative action measures apply to the federal government in contracting, including his vote "to disallow any funds in the [1995]Legislative Appropriations bill from being used to award, require, or encourage any Federal contract, if the contract is being awarded on the basis of the race, color, national origin, or gender of the contractor," according to On the Issues . Reference: Bill HR 1854 ; vote number 1995-317 on Jul 20, 1995 All right, Mr. President. No more Ms. Nice Guy here.