As I mentioned in my previous post, I’ve been a harsh critic of Obama’s leadership or lack of it since he took office, not because I supported Clinton (which I did but I got over it), but as someone who understands the responsibilities of a chief executive to create meaning, articulate a vision, and put forth an agenda for people to work from. From the time he was elected until now, his vision kept shrinking rather than expanding and his penchant for appeasing even the unappeasable has been nothing short of maddening.

You might think that I – a public historian – would love the opportunities on our public calendar to celebrate historical figures and communities. But truth be told, I’m a bit of a skeptic.

At JWA, we love to see other organizations (and not just women’s organizations) sharing and celebrating the stories of unheralded Jewish women.

Leah Wolff-Pellingra is the winner of our contest to rename the History Makers series with her suggestion, "Women of Valor." As it happens, the series was originally titled Women of Valor when it was first introduced in 1997. JWA changed the name to "History Makers" in an effort to improve transparency and better characterize the women in the series in 2008. Inspired by Leah's suggestion, the Jewish Women’s Archive is returning the series to its roots and restoring the project’s original title.

In response to the police crackdown on Occupy protests across the country, thousands of people assembled with renewed energy at Occupy Wall Street on November 17th, dubbed the Occupy Wall Street Day of Action. While most protesters understand there is a chance they might be arrested, one protester was actively trying to make that happen. Frances Goldin, 87, has been arrested nine times for civil disobedience; her goal is to make it 12.

Today we honor our all the veterans who served their country, past, present, and future.

When I moved to New York City, I was told that there are a set of rules one should follow in order to ride the subway safely.

Earlier this year, JWA's Etta King, Judith Rosenbaum and I produced a video entry for the Jewish Futures Competition responding to the question: "How will Jewish life, living and learning change as we move to a society in which individuals are not only consumers of information and culture, but also producers of their own and others' experiences?"

Tomorrow, Mississippi will vote on Initiative 26 and decide whether to dramatically alter their state constitution with the addition of the words:

The term ‘person’ or ‘persons’ shall include every human being from the moment of fertilization, cloning or the functional equivalent thereof.

This week, New York Magazine’s cover features an oral history of Ms. Magazine, which is celebrating its 40th anniversary.

That's right folks, it's a contest.