Dianne Feinstein

Just read a great article in today's New York Times about Judge Sonia Sotomayor's Supreme Court confirmation hearings. Comparing last week's events with the 1991 hearings of Justice Clarence Thomas, the article has an interesting take on women and the judicial process.

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Our Candidates

Earlier this week, our four West Coast senators did what they do best -- stand up for their home states. This powerful foursome consists of Senators Barbara Boxer (CA), and Patty Murray (WA), who both recently won re-election with the help of EMILY's List members as well as Maria Cantwell (WA), and Dianne Feinstein (CA), who are both up for re-election this cycle. Banded together with the two Democratic senators from Oregon, they're fighting offshore drilling on the Pacific Coast.

When searching for reasons and inspiration for ways to serve, there’s no better place to look than some of EMILY’s List’s women politicians. Here’s some excellent food for thought about service from our constellation of stars.

Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand: “I was never afraid of politics. I was never afraid of the roughness of it. I was never afraid of using it as a vehicle for social change or for making a difference. If you leave all the decision-making to others, you might not like what they do, and you will have no one but yourself to blame.”

Today, Senators Barbara Boxer (CA), Kirsten Gillibrand (NY), and Amy Klobuchar (MN) offered their support for Supreme Court nominee Sonia Sotomayor, highlighting the importance of having another woman's voice on the highest court in the land.

At the Athena Film Festival at Barnard College last week, I was thrilled to watch the compelling new documentary called "Miss Representation," which addresses the many problems of our media's portrayals of women, including women in leadership. I had the chance to speak with Jennifer Siebel Newsom, who wrote and directed the film. The trailer below will give you a taste of the powerful message of "Miss Representation."

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If you didn’t notice from the pink uniform accents on display during the NFL football games a few weeks back - October is National Breast Cancer Awareness Month. Breast cancer is the second most diagnosed cancer among women after skin cancer, and kills more women each year than any other cancer except lung cancer. All cancer types combined are responsible for almost a quarter of deaths among women, eclipsed only by heart disease. It’s a pretty big deal, and we would all be well served to know what puts us at risk and what we can do about it.