Late night TV host David Letterman "joked" that during their recent trip to New York, Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin's daughter "was knocked up by Alex Rodriguez" during a Yankees baseball game. The next night Letterman said that the hardest part of Palin's trip was "keeping Eliot Spitzer away from her daughter."

At the 2009 National NOW Conference we will be covering a wide range of important issues in our workshops. Full workshop descriptions and titles are now available online.

The first-ever hearing on important work/family legislation, the Healthy Families Act (H.R. 2460), is being held tomorrow, June 11, in the House Workforce Protections Subcommittee. Sponsored by Rep. Rosa DeLauro (D-Conn.), the Healthy Families Act wou…

The loss of Dr. George Tiller on May 31 is compounded today by news that the clinic he ran, Women's Health Care Services, will permanently close. His family's decision not to reopen the clinic after Dr. Tiller's murder is understandable. The fault for the closing of this clinic lies squarely with the anti-abortion movement, bent on denying women their reproductive rights.

The National Organization for Women urges legislators to support the Federal Employees Paid Parental Leave Act, which would guarantee federal workers four weeks of paid parental leave for a new child. Paid parental leave for the 2.7 million workers employed by the federal government will help millions of working families right now, and can be a model for achieving paid parental and family leave for the rest of our nation's workers, setting the standard for upcoming discussions about policies intended to help families balance work and family life.

Check out the 2009 National NOW Conference website for new information concerning our draft agenda, the propose conference rules, and important information about how to plan your trip!

We are angered. We are saddened. And we will not be silenced. We must redouble our efforts to maintain safe and legal access to abortion and birth control. When you sign this pledge, you can choose to send a message to the Department of Justice and the Department of Homeland Security and let them know that the murder and intimidation of abortion providers is domestic terrorism.

NOW President Kim Gandy said, "Women across the country have lost a champion today. The cold-blooded murder of Dr. George Tiller this morning in church is a stark reminder that women's bodies are still a battleground, and health care professionals are on the frontlines."

Speaking about President Obama's nominee for the Supreme Court, Judge Sonia Sotomayor, radio host G. Gordon Liddy had this to say: "Let's hope that the key conferences aren't when she's menstruating or something, or just before she's going to menstruate. That would really be bad. Lord knows what we would get then."

NOW President Kim Gandy writes in her biweekly Below the Belt column: "As young women attempt to navigate the sexual minefield laid out by the patriarchy, they need information that won't steer them wrong. The stakes are high -- unplanned pregnancy, sexually transmitted infections, a life forever altered, a future interrupted. So do they get good information?"

Thousands of you joined NOW in calling on President Obama to weigh heavily the gender imbalance on the court when making his nominee decision. And the president delivered, with an extremely impressive, experienced, highly-respected nominee who is also a Latina. NOW thanks everyone who signed the petition -- your voices do count.

The decision by the California State Supreme Court to uphold Proposition 8 and reinstate discrimination against same-sex couples is a devastating setback on the march to equality. Taking away the right to marry was a huge blow to those who missed the "rainbow window" -- the opportunity to be married after it was made legal in California and before the vote on Proposition 8. NOW activists and leaders across the country organized and joined in demonstrations of protest and solidarity.

In Washington, D.C., Dupont Circle was awash in signs, including lots of Equal Marriage NOW rounds. Local activists, leaders, officers and Action Center staff were there chanting and protesting alongside LGBTQ activists and allies.

Radio host Glenn Beck mockingly explained how he thought President Obama chose Judge Sonia Sotomayor as his nominee for the U.S. Supreme Court: "They're just like: 'Hey, Hispanic chick lady! You're empathetic!' She says 'Yep!' They say: 'You're in.' That's the way it really works. . . . The reason to be pissed off is she's not transgendered and she's not handicapped, she's not blind, she's not in a wheelchair. I don't know if she has any kind of chemical imbalance."

"Today's decision by the California Supreme Court to uphold Prop 8 is a devastating setback, but I believe it will be another galvanizing moment in the struggle for equal marriage," said NOW President Kim Gandy. "We commend the court for allowing to stand the 18,000 same-sex marriages that took place under the court's earlier decision."

"NOW members will be out in force at protests in California and across the country Tuesday and in coming days. And we will continue working to right this wrong," said Gandy.

This morning we will celebrate, and this afternoon NOW will launch our "Confirm Her" campaign to ensure the swift confirmation of the next Supreme Court Justice.

Nominated to serve as the third woman and first Hispanic on the Supreme Court in the history of the United States, Judge Sotomayor will serve the nation with distinction. She brings a lifelong commitment to equality, justice and opportunity, as well as the respect of her peers, unassailable integrity, and a keen intellect informed by experience. President Obama said he wanted a justice with "towering intellect" and a "common touch" and he found both in Judge Sotomayor.

What more do women want? We want a swift confirmation in the U.S. Senate, and Associate Justice Sotomayor to join Ruth Bader Ginsburg on the Court before the Senate's August recess.