Dr. Suja Lowenthal was elected to represent the Second District in a special election held on June 6, 2006.  She ran unopposed and was re-elected to a four-year term in June 2008 and was elected Vice Mayor by her Council colleagues in 2010.

She holds a Bachelor's degree in Economics from UCLA, a Master's in Business Administration from California State University, Los Angeles and a Doctorate in Policy, Planning and Development from USC.

Brene Brown is a research professor at the University of Houston Graduate College of Social Work.

Brown studies human connection -- our ability to empathize, belong, love. She has spent the past ten years studying vulnerability, courage, authenticity, and shame.

She is also the author of The Gifts of Imperfection: Let Go of Who You Think You're Supposed to Be and Embrace Who You Are.

Leymah Roberta Gbowee is the executive director of the Women Peace and Security Network Africa, based in Accra, Ghana.

She is a founding member and former coordinator of the Women in Peacebuilding Program/West African Network for Peacebuilding (WIPNET/WANEP).

Gbowee is one of a trio of women to have jointly been awarded the 2011 Nobel Peace Prize.

My 56th birthday will be/is/was Saturday January 28th, and I'm a classic Aquarian through and through.

As with most astrological signs, there's both good and "not so good" in that :P

Here is, in part, what it means:

To me the image of the Tianamen Square 'Tank Man' epitomizes the David and Goliath struggle of the weak and vulnerable against the strong and powerful.

Today, thousands of sites including Wikipedia, went black in protest of anti-free speech legislation in the United States.