source: yahoo news

WASHINGTON – “At Last” may have been just what President Barack Obama and his wife Michelle were thinking Tuesday night as they glided through their first inaugural dance to the Etta James classic.

The Obamas were the star attraction at the Neighborhood Ball, the first of 10 inaugural celebrations they planned to attend, going into the early hours of Wednesday. The celebrations marked the end of a long day of formal inaugural events and the two-year campaign that put them in the White House.

The president pulled his wife close and they danced a slow, dignified two-step while, offstage, Beyonce sang. The president spun first lady Michelle Obama once in a half-turn.

Obama cut loose in a faster groove a few minutes later, as Shakira, Mary J. Blige, Faith Hill and Mariah Carey sang along with Stevie Wonder to his “Sign, Sealed, Delivered.” The song was played at nearly all of Obama’s rallies throughout the campaign.

“You could tell that’s a black president from the way he was moving,” comedian Jamie Foxx joked following the dance.

The president wore white tie, while Michelle shimmered in a white, one-shouldered, floor-length gown. It was embellished from top to bottom with white floral details and made by 26-year-old New York designer Jason Wu.

“First of all, how good looking is my wife?” Obama asked the crowd of celebrities and supporters.

At the Obama Home States ball, the president pulled the first lady much closer than he did on their first dance. At one point, he wrapped both arms around her waist and locked his fingers together at the small of her back.

“Hello, everybody. Aloha. What’s going on?” Obama said in the dialects of the Hawaii and Illinois contingents, saying they reflected his roots. “So many of you got involved not just in our campaign but in our lives.”

At the Commander in Chief Ball, Obama and Vice President Joe Biden each saluted the nation’s military men and women via satellite. Biden said he wasn’t looking forward to his moment in the spotlight — the dancing, that is.

“The thing that frightens me the most (is) I’m going to have to stand in that circle and dance in a minute.” At that, he laughed and did a quick sign of the cross.

The Obamas were more enthusiastic, splitting up to dance with Marine Sgt. Elidio Guillen of Madera, Calif. — who was shorter than dance partner Michelle — and Army Sgt. Margaret H. Herrera, who cried in the president’s arms.

Despite the formal attire and celebrity entertainment, balls aren’t overly fancy affairs. Lines often are long to get in, go to the bathroom or check your coat, and the food is heavy on vegetables with dip and cheese cubes.

In a sign, perhaps, of the tough economic times, guests who already paid anywhere from $75 for a ticket to thousands more for a package deal had to buy their own drinks served in small plastic cups. Beer went for $6, cocktails for $9 and champagne for $12.

People were standing in line outside Union Station to get into the Eastern States Ball an hour and a half after it started. Because of very limited seating at the Western ball, a number of attendees in long gowns and fancy dress plopped cross-legged on the floor.

“This is what happens in a down economy. No chairs, no highboys — it’s the floor and plastic cups,” commented ballgoer Brig Lawson, 38, of Las Vegas.

Director Ron Howard said he sympathized with the long day Obama was having.

“I feel bad for him,” Howard said in an interview with The Associated Press at the Western Ball. “He’s had a long day and now he has to do seven dances. This has got to be the grueling part for the first family.”

At the Obama Home States ball, the dance floor was dominated by two little girls who skipped and twirled in matching red dresses while the grown-ups stood still, crowded around the stage waiting for Obama to appear.

Singer Sheryl Crow, doing a sound check for a performance later at the Midwestern Ball, said she was homesick.

“I have not seen my child in four days. I’m miserable,” she told her band between songs.

But she was greeted by a cheering crowd later for her appropriate hit, “A Change Would Do You Good.” When hip-hop star Wyclef Jean asked the men at the Mid-Atlantic Ball to pull off their tuxedo jackets and swing them in the air to show their support for Barack Obama, thousands did.

Jean played a raucous 30-minute set for the 7,000 guests, starting with an ad-lib ode to Obama: “With a father from Africa, with the spirit of America, we voted for him. Obama’s the president.”

At the Youth Ball, Kid Rock belted out songs as well-dresed 20-somethings mingled about. One of them walked up to a bartender, gave him a high five and said, “Barack Obama is president!”

Though the mood was celebratory, the reality that the country remains at war hung over the festivities at the Commander in Chief ball and a separate Heroes Red White & Blue Ball.

“Please know that you are in our thoughts and prayers today, every day, forever,” Obama told troops at the Commander in Chief ball. “Tonight, we celebrate. Tomorrow, the work begins. … Together, I am confident we will write the next great chapter in America’s story.”

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Associated Press writers Nedra Pickler, Erica Werner, Suzanne Gamboa, Laurie Kellman, Kimberly Hefling, Sam Hananel, Samantha Critchell, Ben Feller, Philip Elliott and Ann Sanner contributed to this report.

Which Of Michelle Obama’s Looks Do You Like Best?

Lately I can’t get that silly little YouTube ditty “I got a crush on Obama” out of my head–although I’m picturing the object of my style affection, Mrs. O, instead of her (admittedly adorable) husband. While we wait (for what seems like forever!) to see what she’ll be wearing come inauguration day, let’s take a look back at some of her most memorable looks from the campaign trail…

MARIA PINTO

MARIA PINTO: At the Democratic National Convention in August, Mrs. O wowed in a dress by one of her favorite hometown fashion gurus, Maria Pinto. The First-Lady-to-be built enough buzz for the Chicago-based designer that after 17 years in the fashion business, she was finally able to open her own boutique.

J.CREW

J. CREW: If you ever doubted she was a woman of the people, you can look to Michelle’s appearance on The Tonight Show for reassurance. She wore a J. Crew cardigan and skirt in a bold sunshine hue and told TV host Jay Leno, “You can get a lot of great stuff online!”

NARCISO RODRIGUEZ

NARCISO RODRIGUEZ: Her husband may be the one who made history that night, but Mrs. O was the one who made all of the style headlines! One thing you can say for sure about this red and black number: Everyone had an opinion about it.

THAKOON

THAKOON: Another night at the DNC, another smart style choice. This Thakoon dress (accessorized with brooches from Erickson Beamon) helped cement her status as a fashion-savvy lady who loves young American design talent.

WHITE HOUSE BLACK MARKET

WHITE HOUSE BLACK MARKET: Again, looking great doesn’t always have to be about big bucks. After Michelle wore this $148 dress on The View in June, the store couldn’t keep it in stock.

It’s been a long and fashionable road to the White House, hasn’t it? I can’t wait to bring you guys the style scoop straight from D.C. next week, but in the meantime, take a minute to weigh in on your favorite of Michelle’s campaign trail looks!

source: by Tracey Lomrantz glamour.com

Pay Equity the Intent of Lilly Ledbetter and Paycheck Fairness Acts

As the 111th Congress convened in January 2009, Democratic majorities in both the House and the Senate moved forward with legislation aimed at women in the workplace.

On January 9, the US House of Representatives voted to approve two bills that provide support for women fighting for pay equity, the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act and the Paycheck Fairness Act.

Named after a Goodyear employee who discovered near the end of her career that she’d been the victim of gender-based pay discrimination, the Lilly Ledbetter Act arose from the ashes of a Supreme Court ruling that essentially stripped the plaintiff of her right to pursue compensation under the Equal Pay Act of 1963. The Court determined that Lilly Ledbetter was not eligible for back pay because she had not filed a complaint within 180 days of receiving her first paycheck.

As reported by Dow Jones, the Lilly Ledbetter Act:

…would put in place a six-month statute of limitations for women to sue their employer over pay discrimination. The six months would expire from the time the employees received their last pay check.It would overturn…a Supreme Court ruling in 2007 [Ledbetter v. Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co.] that stated the six-month period dated from when the employer first decided to pay the female employee less than her male counterparts….

Like the Lilly Ledbetter Act, the Paycheck Fairness Act was drafted to support already existing legislation that employers have been dodging for years. First envisioned by Rep. Rosa DeLauro (D-CT) nearly a decade ago, the bill has steadily gained support over the years.

According to the Hartford Courant:

DeLauro’s bill is designed to close loopholes and bolster provisions of the decades-old Equal Pay Act. It makes it easier for workers to sue employers for discrimination and allows workers, for the first time, to collect limitless punitive and compensatory damages….[It] also opens up without reprisal, and it provides salary-negotiation training courses for girls and women.

The Courant reported that in arguing for both the Ledbetter Act and her own Paycheck Fairness Act, Delauro stated

:

With our economy in crisis, so many women are on the edge, financially. We know that it does not have to be this way. We have a chance to finally provide equal pay for equal work and make opportunity real for millions of American women.

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi also gave her support to the two bills in a speech from the floor of the House on January 9, 2000:

…I really speak from the heart on this…because if women are not paid fairly in the course of their work years, it has an impact on their retirement as well….[T]his has an impact on our entire economy….And as Speaker of the House, I am pleased that in the first week of the new Congress this is the primary legislation they’re putting forward.Pay equity, fairness to women in the workplace, the Lilly Ledbetter Act, these are our priorities….[T]his Congress has heard the message of change in the election… this Congress knows the needs of America’s women…this Congress is prepared to act relevant to the concerns of America’s working families.

The warm reception the two bills received in the 111th Congress is yet another indication of the change in attitude toward working women’s concerns. Although both the Ledbetter and Paycheck Fairness Acts passed the House during last year’s Congress, all further action stopped there. As a January 10, 2009 editorial in the Los Angeles Times notes:

Democrats largely supported it. But Republicans overwhelmingly opposed the measure as anti-business. President Bush, calling the bill a job killer, threatened to veto it, and…the Senate, unable to amass enough votes to hold off a filibuster, did not vote….[T]oday…we do know what’s in store for Ledbetter and other workers, male and female, who are paid less because of gender: access to justice. The act, which President-elect Obama is eager to sign, states the obvious: that a violation occurs with every paycheck that continues a discriminatory practice….The Senate is scheduled to take up both bills in days to come.These measures deserve swift passage and presidential approval. Prudent employers will take stock of Washington’s changed politics and use this moment to set right their training, hiring, promotion and pay practices.

The two bills were the second and third pieces of legislation voted on by the House in 2009.

By Linda Lowen, About.com

January is National Stalking Awareness Month, and this year marks the fifth anniversary of its observance. So why haven’t you heard about it?

Probably because “there is still a widespread lack of information on the crime of stalking. A good number of people still think it is a ‘celebrity issue,’” says one CEO of a national victim’s advocacy group.

According to the Centers for Disease Control, stalking is a very real threat to many normal ‘average’ women:

Data from a 2005 CDC study indicated that approximately 7 million women and 2 million men in the United States had been stalked at some time during their lifetime….often, the stalker is a spouse or partner, ex-spouse, acquaintance, or family member….Stalking…can lead to violence. In an estimated 25%–35% of cases, stalkers commit violence against the persons they are stalking….A 10-city, nationally representative study of female homicide victims conducted in 1999 indicated that 76% of female victims of intimate partner homicides were stalked by their partners before they were killed.

Stalking…can lead to violence. In an estimated 25%–35% of cases, stalkers commit violence against the persons they are stalking….A 10-city, nationally representative study of female homicide victims conducted in 1999 indicated that 76% of female victims of intimate partner homicides were stalked by their partners before they were killed.

A relatively recent development is cyberstalking — a crime so new that few laws are on the books to deal with the destructive activity of its perpetrators.

I thought cyberstalking was restricted to online behavior such as the threatening comments one sees in chat rooms and forums. But cyberstalking expert (and former victim) Alexis A. Moore set the record straight, and explained how any woman can be the target of a cyberstalker and not even own a computer.

To help educate us all about cyberstalking during Stalking Awareness Month, she’s written a series of nine articles that every woman should read. Don’t just skip over this and say, “It could never happen to me.” Moore once thought the same thing, and she had to learn the hard way how very wrong she was.

By Linda Lowen, About.com Guide to Women’s Issues

These were some of our favorites: