The Fusion of Empathy, Experience & Princeton in the Mindsets of Sonia Sotomayor, Michelle Obama & Women Like Me

Sonia Sotomayor '76 stands next to the tigers outside Nassau Hall after winning the Pyne Prize, the highest general distinction conferred on an undergraduate. via Daily PrincetonI'm intrigued with the fact that Princeton, an Ivy League university called "infamous for being racially the most conservative of the Ivy League universities" by Michelle Obama, is again making headline news.

Nominated Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor takes the world stage, following Michelle Obama, in going under the investigative microscope, where every word and action from a young life are fodder for the digital universe.

Michelle Obama and Sonia Sotomayor never crossed paths at Princeton. Yet, their words resonate together.

Click to read more ...

Valerie Jarrett and Desirée Rogers Say: "Laissez les bon temps rouler"

JUST IN: Smart Sensuality woman Desirée Rogers is wearing Oscar de Renta, in this must-read Capitol File photo shoot. She is such a diplomat. Note also that the "price on request" Oscar ensemble is available at Ikram. OK, so Team Ikram is not so close-minded on their critics.

I tracked down this fab Capitol File interview Rules of Engagement with Presidential senior adviser Valerie Jarrett and White House social secretary Desiree Rogers, after reading that Qatar Airways sponsored the post-party bash after last weekend's White House Correspondents dinner.

The Capitol File Rules of Engagement is a vividly-written story about the two long-time friends, who are also good friends of the Obamas.

The photo shoot was a celebratory hour of two longtime friends engaging in a rare slow moment during a very serious time for our country. Rogers teased Jarrett about being taller than her when Jarrett posed on the steps above her on the staircase. "Don't get used to this, chickie," Rogers joked. But what's at the core of their relationship is trust in each other, in the Obamas, and in the country. You get the sense they wake up every day and say, "Bring it on America, we can take it."

Click to read more ...

Michelle's Smart Sensuality Arms Increasingly Viewed as Far More than a Fashion Statement

I'm thrilled to read Sally Quinn's Mother's Day piece on Michelle's arms in The Washington Post.

Many of us got beyond Michelle's arms as a fashion statement long ago and see them in all their transformational meaning, as a statement about the power and love of this Smart Sensuality woman.

Click to read more ...

Marian Robinson, First Grandmother, Adopts Washington as Home

The NYT reports that Marian Robinson, appearing here with her daughter Michelle Obama, and her granddaughters Sasha and Malia, moved into the White House "kicking and screaming," according to Michelle's brother Craig.

The rest is history.

Marian Robinson has a vibrant new life in Washington, D.C., one that extends far beyond her First Grandma duties of shuttling the girls back and forth to school most days, accompanying them on play dates, attending class presentations and helping with homework.

If Michelle Obama's plain-spoken, matter-of-fact manners grounds POTUS, Mrs. Robinson plays the same role with Sasha and Malia. No word on whether Marian walks Bo.  Read entire article.

Quickie Gumbo: Lights Out? Sam Kass Gets an Official Title; Arms That Are Pillars of Strength

Lights Out?

It's a busy writing Sunday morning for me. No official word on whether the White House lights actually dimmed last night. If the Empire State Building in NYC dimmed, I can only assume that the White House toned down the floodlights. 

Who knows, though, if there are security issues involved with lights in D.C. 

In the ongoing display of Wall Street's failure to "get it" (and I support the need for a strong Wall Street), the lights in the World Financial Center (not appropriately names these days) burned brightly all night long, as they always do. 

Click to read more ...

A Bona Fide 'Life Moment' for Michelle Obama, American Women and Sisterhood Around the World

If First Lady Michelle Obama didn't have a lump in her throat yesterday, participating in two events honoring International Women's Day, she's . . . well, she's not Michelle Obama.

There are moments in life when each of us acknowledges what our life has been about . . .or not; if we have achieved our goals . . . or not; if we have 'stayed the course' in our lives . . . or not.

Continue reading after the jump.

Anne of Carversville Insider

July 8, 2009

Compass Records and Alison Brown introduce us to the Sisterhood of Bluegrass in Smart Sensuality Women's News

Even though our public appearances are carefully orchestrated, we know in our hearts that we are 'fully present' in the moment, that the words we speak are genuinely ours and not only the product of a press office.

Yesterday, the 'sisterhood' ruled for real.

After a five-second hug of Senator Hillary Clinton, who Michelle acknowledged as the woman "running this department," and also "a committed person, friend, and supporter," the First Lady joined Secretary Clinton in presenting the State Department's Award for International Women of Courage to seven women activists, from Afghanistan, Guatemala, Iraq, Malaysia, Niger, Russia and Uzbekistan. The award was created three years ago by then-Secretary Condoleezza Rice.

Click to read more ...