If you surfed here looking for bikini-clad beauties, move along.  As a counter-point to such reviews, I offer my nominations for interesting Girls of Summer:
Cody Unser photographed by Karen Kuehn
Starting in the traditional summer sphere of water sports, how can one not be inspired by the story of Cody Unser, who learned to scuba dive after being paralyzed from the chest down (by transverse myelitis) at the age of 12.   July’s issue of Readers’ Digest explains, “something clicked as she felt her body become weightless in the water.”  Now, at …

In celebration of The New Agenda’s one-year anniversary, I’ve been reflecting on the moments that have been most meaningful to me.  One that stands out happened in the hotel ladies’ room just before our forum on Violence Against Women. 
I had finished and was on my way out, when at the last minute I lifted one foot to pull up my knee-high hose.  Just then, the door swung open and another woman tried to enter.  Since I was standing on one foot, I couldn’t gracefully step aside.  So to break the awkwardness, I …

Following Secretary Clinton’s assertion on Meet the Press that “there is a woman” out there who will one day become president, Chris Cillizza of the Washington Post column “The Fix” has been speculating on who that woman might be. He says that
No politician got more recommendations on The Fix than the Minnesota Senator [Amy Klobuchar]. Klobuchar is young enough — 49 — and ambitious enough to make a bid [in 2016].
Sen Klobuchar, a member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, recently called out sexism against Judge Sotomayor.  According to the Minnesota Independent:
Klobuchar …

Hat tip to Mark
Photo by Rebecca Drobis
TLC network has launched its second season of Toddlers & Tiaras, a show that follows little girls as they don spray tans, hair pieces and false eyelashes in their parents’ quests to win beauty pageants.  The tots also learn to strut, and according to the promo video  on the TLC site, shake their booties.  I found particularly heartbreaking the video of two-year-old Roni, who’s mother taught her to crook her finger and say:
Hey judges, come here, baby.
In their coverage of the new season, ABC …

Bianca Wisniewski. Photo by Siegel
Last week, construction supervisor Bianca Wisniewski filed a $20M sexual harassment lawsuit against JP Morgan and others.  As the NY Daily News reported:
Wisniewski “is a rare exception who broke through the concrete and steel,” lawyer Steve Wittels wrote in court papers.  “But the male-centric brotherood struck back at Ms. Wisniewski and quickly sealed the breach.”  Wisniewski says elevator operator Steve Greco groped and propositioned her while her bosses brushed off her claims…  “Everybody kisses engineer Steve,” the suit quotes Greco as boasting.  “This is a …

Hat Tip to Conservatives4Palin for the video.
While Mike Huckabee was sitting in for O’Reilly on FOX this week, Democratic Strategist Matthew Littman said:
I think Sarah Palin would be great on the Real Housewives of Wasilla…  She comes across really as quite a character, but not a figure that should be taken seriously on the national stage…
Washington Times reporter Amanda Carpenter countered:
To compare her to some tawdry character on a trashy TV show is insulting to someone who is the first woman vice presidential candidate within the Republican Party and a governor …

Gerrie Cobb, Astronette
Since the death of Walter Cronkite and the 40th anniversary of the moon landing have prompted Americans to reminisce about NASA, let’s include in our thoughts some of the women who have taken steps toward gender equality in space.
Record-setting commercial pilot Geraldyn “Gerrie” Cobb was the first of the “astronette” corps, a group of thirteen women who in 1959 passed the physical testing required of male astronauts.  Author Stephanie Nolan says:

Pilot Major Jennifer L. Grieves of Glendale, AZ (left); with copilot Maj. Jennifer. L Marino of Palisade, CO; and crew chief Sgt. Rachael A. Sherman of Traverse City, MI.
The ABC Headline reads:
President Obama’s Historic First Female Helicopter Pilot
Huh?  Jennifer Grieves became the first female pilot of Marine One (the helicopter that transports the president) in May of 2008, initially serving President Bush.  Since Grieves’ shattering of what ABC called the “glass rotors” pre-dates President Obama’s election, and since as far as I can tell Obama had nothing to do with her accomplishment, why does …

In questioning Supreme Court nominee Sonia Sotomayor, Sen. Lindsay Graham dredged up the already debunked meme that she’s a angry bully, using this choice line:
You stand out like a sore thumb in terms of your temperament.
We’ve said several times on this blog that it’s sexist to characterize women as  temperamental bullies just because they are tough.  But in case you’ve had any doubt about Graham’s tendency toward gender-biased imagery, he took the rhetoric to a whole new level:
It’s hard enough being a lawyer, having your client being there to begin with without the judge …

Child rearing and family care are the responsibility of the womenfolk. That seems to be the assumption underlying former General Electric CEO Jack Welch’s comments to journalist Claire Shipman at the recent Society for Human Resource Management conference. According to Cari Tuna and Joann Lublin of WSJ.com here’s what Welsh had to say:
“There’s no such thing as work-life balance… There are work-life choices, and you make them, and they have consequences.” Mr. Welch said those who take time off for family could be passed …