White House Council for Women and girls leads to the most random post.

In March, President Obama launched the White House Council on Women and Girls.  

The council is a part of a renewed initiative "to ensure that American women and girls are treated fairly in all matters of public policy," said President Obama." 

The press release included a list of the inaugural members of the council (I've added their names. It makes me feel close to them).  Do you think this is enough people?

The Cabinet
The Secretary of State - Hillary Clinton
The Secretary of the Treasury - Timothy Geithner
The Secretary of Defense - Robert Gates
The Attorney General - Eric Holder
The Secretary of Interior - Ken Salazar 
The Secretary of Agriculture - Tom Vilsack
The Secretary of Commerce - Gary Locke
The Secretary of Labor - Hilda Solis
The Secretary of Health and Human Services - Kathleen Sebelius
The Secretary of Housing and Urban Development - Shaun Donovan
The Secretary of Transportation - Ray LaHood
The Secretary of Energy - Steven Chu
The Secretary of Education - Arne Duncan 
The Secretary of Veterans Affairs - Eric Shinseki
The Secretary of Homeland Security - Janet Napolitano

So that was just the Cabinet.  The council also includes independent agencies:

The United States Ambassador to the United Nations - Susan Rice
The United States Trade Representative - Ron Kirk
The Director of the Office of Management and Budget - Peter Orszag 
The Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency - Lisa P. Jackson
The Administrator of the Small Business Administration - Karen Mills
The Director of the Office of Personnel Management - John Berry

And finally it includes these departments I've never heard of:
The Chair of the Council of Economic Advisors - Christina Romer
The Director of the National Economic Council - *Lawrence Summers* (Remember this for later!)

The Director of the Domestic Policy Council - Melody Barnes

Reaction of women:

NOW loved it.

Jezebel talked about criticism, specifically that of the "Clintonistas."

Feminist Majority approved.

Lisa Belkin of NYT was cautious, but positive.

Basically, everyone loved it, except people who are bitter about something that is over and done with.  I have no idea if it's actually done anything since inception.

I also think that the representation of women on a council for women (Do you think you'd see that during Dubya?), and many racial and ethnic minorities, is great.

Okay, so most of these Cabinet members and advisor people having been flying under the mainstream's radar (not you, P.Fal).  But while Lawrence Summers is now disliked for accepting perks from Citigroup pre-bailout, he used to be hated for something completely different.  You see, Summers is a former president of Hah-vaahd College, a little school out in Cambridge, Mass.

So back in 2005, Summers was a speaker at the National Bureau of Economic Research Conference on Diversifying the Science & Engineering Workforce.  He was speaking about the pronounced dearth of women represented in academia, specifically the sciences.  He had three hypotheses, but the one that stirred the most crap up was the one that basically said women are innately inferior to men in some fields, in this instance, intelligence. 

While he was told by the conference he was supposed to be inciteful, the problem was he was presented information like it was his personal opinion, rather than academic-based theory.  He later clarified that (not apologized).  His remarks inspired a conference member to pack up and leave.  (She was a Hah-vaahd grad.)

Now, Larry, as someone who, as the boss, was a minority in most places he worked (He was the first Jewish president of Hah-vaahd), don't you think you should be a little more supportive of all minorities, including women, in academia?  He said that it was inexcusable that only 4 women were offered tenure at the institution, out of 32 offers in school year 2003-4, but wasn't supremely committed to fixing that, according to faculty.  So does he really need to be on a council that, based on past statements, he doesn't hold in the highest esteem>  

Oh, yeah, he also has a thing for Cornel West.

Oh, and Obama just made a little dig at Larry in his speech at the White House Correspondents' Dinner on Saturday:

We've also begun to change the culture in Washington. We've even made the White House a place where people can learn and can grow. Just recently, Larry Summers asked if he could chair the White House Council on Women and Girls.

You'll never escape it, Lar.

Good Lord.  This was like four posts in one.  What say you?