• Clay Shirky, Author
• Jeff Jarvis, Author
• Craig Newmark, Craigslist
• Randy Zuckerberg, Facebook
• Nate Silver, 538.com
• Vivek Kundra, White House CIO
• Joe Rospars, New Media Director of the Obama campaign
• Michael Wesch, “The Machine is Us/ing Us”
• Mark Pesce, Futurist
• Jack Dorsey, Co-Founder, Twitter

We know it’s short notice, since the conference is a week away, but if you’re in New York and can spare a day or two, it promises to be an exciting event. And if you’re reading this post right now you can get a $100 discount on your registration by using the coupon code CitizenJane at registration. Registration is located at http://bit.ly/Pdf2009CJ.

Hope to see you there!

As you’ve certainly noticed, the ladies at CJP have been a little tied up lately. Both Patricia and Nisha have gone and gotten j-o-b-s, just a little sumpin’ sumpin’ to pay the bills.

We’ll check in and post as often as possible, but if you’re ever looking for us, you can find Patricia every day writing a column called “The Capitolist” at Politics Daily, and we’ll let you know how to find Nisha as soon as the news is ready to hatch.

Back soon, ladies…

• The talk of the week: On Wednesday, President Obama nominated federal Judge Sonia Sotomayor to be the ninth justice on the Supreme Court, pending confirmation from the Senate. Sotomayor grew up in the Bronx, went to Princeton, graduated from Yale Law School, and currently serves as a federal judge for the US Court of Appeals in the Second Circuit. [NYT]
• In California, the state Supreme Court ruled that Proposition 8, the controversial initiative that would ban gay marriage, would still stand. However, any same-sex couples married before Prop 8 had originally taken effect, would still have their marriages honored. [Silicon Valley Mercury]
• In international news, North Korea launched a test missile, prompting a flurry of international reaction. US officials say there is a possibility North Korea may launch more missiles. [AP]

• In Washington, President Obama has been working on some ambitious goals for healthcare reform. Just this morning, several healthcare providers joined the President in promising to work to reduce healthcare costs. [NYT]
• After weeks of international protests, Iranian-American journalist Roxana Saberi was finally released from an Iranian prison this morning. [BBC]
• In what could be a big shift for US policy in Afghanistan, the Pentagon announced this morning that they will be replacing the US’s top commander in Afghanistan. [UPI]
• And gas prices are on the rise again as summer approaches, but analysts are saying: don’t worry, it won’t reach $4 a gallon. Our wallets sure hope you’re right! [CNN]

And this past weekend, journalists, politicos, and celebrities all converged at the annual White House Correspondents’ Association Dinner, where both President Obama and comedian Wanda Sykes delivered some hilarious speeches. Video of highlights below — we promise, you don’t want to miss this one. It’s going to be water-cooler talk all week long. Enjoy!

First Place:

Chris Matthews Show

Maybe we should call Chris Mathews Old Faithful? Chris came through again this week with two of his four guests being women. He was joined by the Washington Post’s Bob Woodward, Time’s Richard Stengel, BBC’s Katty Kay and NBC’s Andrea Mitchell. Two Janes and a first place finish for CMS!

Second Place:

Fox News Sunday

Fox News Sunday hosted six guests this week with two of them being women. NPR and Fox News’ Mara Liasson and the Wall Street Journal’s Kimberley Strassel joined NPR and Fox News’ Juan Williams, Weekly Standard and Fox News’ Bill Kristol, Former Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich and Commander of the United States Central Command General David Petraeus on the panel. Way to go FNS! You knew we would be checking in on you, didn’t you? One Jane for you!

Tied for Last Place:

This Week

George Stephanopoulos hosted two guests on This Week. He was joined by National Security Advisor General James Jones and Sen. John McCain for the mornings discussion. What happened, George? Did you think we weren’t watching? No Janes for This Week.

Meet the Press

Meet the Press let us down this week. MTP hosted two international guests this week, President Hamid Karzai of Afghanistan and President Asif Ali Zardari of Pakistan. Sorry, MTP, you know the rules. No ladies means no Janes.

Face the Nation

We thought we could count on you, Bob! Our Sunday boyfriend, Bob Scheiffer let us down this week, too. Face the Nation hosted former Vice President Dick Cheney on Sunday morning for a discussion on the on going investigation of interrogation tactics during the Bush administration. No Janes for you, Bob.

Here’s what’s happening in Washington, on CJP, and around the world.  Come back to  CJP this week for updates to the ”White House Watch” section, an important message from Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz, and anything else you need for your friends to say as you leave the table, “Why aren’t we that smart?” 

Top Domestic Story:  Sooooweeeeee!  The Swine Flu, the nasty virus with a scary name, has infected 20 people in America and more than 1600 in Mexico, Spain, New Zealand and elsewhere.  The U.S. government declared a “public health emergency,” but added that there’s no absolutely, positively reason to panic.  [USA Today]

Top International Story:  Ostensibly to avoid a pandemic, a European Union official has issued a warning to avoid all non-urgent travel to areas hit by the Swine Flu…..including the U.S.!  A CJP note to Europeans:  Come on over, we feel fine.  [BBC]

Sen. Dianne Feinstien, the top Dem on the Intelligence Committee, has called for a full Congressional investigation into the treatment of detainees at American prisons, but wants people to take the rhetoric down a notch.  “We need to find these things out and we need to do it in a way that’s calm and deliberative and professional.”  [CNN]

“The New York Times” has a massive piece on Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner, including links to his daily schedule, with the implication that Geithner was too close to the club when it came to regulating Wall Street.  If we have an hour to read the whole thing, we’ll tell you how it is, but in the meantime, read it for yourselves HERE.

The Salt Police have arrived in New York, where Mayor Michael Bloomberg and his health department are meeting with foodmakers and restaurant owners to reduce the amount of salt in foods like soup, bread and pasta.   As long as this doesn’t affect chocolate-covered pretzels, we’re fine with it.  [AP via Washington Times]

As reporters of all stripes evaluate President Obama’s first 100 days, CJP’s Patricia Murphy has done the same for NBC’s Chuck Todd over at Politics Daily.  His obsessed fans, the “Chuckolytes,” give him high marks, and might even give us the creeps if they weren’t all so friendly and otherwise normal.

This feels like rewarding bad behavior, but we pass it along because we’re apparently not immune to sinister media plots.  [US Magazine]

• The CIA released classified memos from the Bush administration discussing tactics used on detainees. The White House has granted them immunity, saying they were just following Justice Department orders. [Wall Street Journal]
• Tax Day came and went, but not uneventfully. We were content to just finally get rid of our tax returns, but plenty of Janes participated in tea party protests around the country. [CNN]
• President Obama reached out to Cuba to try and re-establish a relationship. [NYT]
• A former top McCain strategist came out in favor of supporting gay rights and civil unions, and urged the Republican Party to start doing so as well to avoid becoming the “religious party” [FOX News]
• We found out that, yes, pirates really DO still exist. And they captured a US captain…who was safely released later and returned home on Friday. [ABC]
• Remember how we elected all our new Senators last November? Well, somewhere in Minnesota, the two Senatorial candidates have been duking it out since November while the rest of the nation had long since forgotten. This week, a court pronounced Democrat Al Franken the winner, although there is speculation that his opponent Norm Coleman may challenge the ruling. [USA Today]
• In other news, Oprah Winfrey got lessons on how to Twitter from Ashton Kutcher this week. Follow here HERE and while you’re at it, don’t forget to follow CJP here and here.

That’s it for now, Janes! Enjoy your weekend, and meet us back here Monday for a preview of the week to come and the Sunday Show scorecard.

First Place:

Chris Matthews Show

In first place this is week is Chris Matthews with his usual two guests out of four being ladies. Chris spent the morning with New York Magazine’s John Heileman, HDNet’s Dan Rather and Janes Gloria Borger of CNN and Katty Kay of BBC. Two Janes for CMS!

Second Place:

Fox News Sunday

You read that right, Janes! Fox News Sunday is moving up the scorecard! FNS comes in second place this week with two of the five guests being Janes. Chris Wallace hosted Fox Business Network’s Liz Claman and Jenna Lee along with Sen. Evan Bayh, Sen. Tom Coburn and Archbishop of Washington Donald Wuerl. Way to go FNS! One and half Janes for you!

Third Palce:

Face the Nation

Our Sunday boyfriend comes in third place this week with one Jane on his four guest panel. Bob Scheiffer hosted syndicated columnist Kathleen Parker, the New York Times’ David Sanger, the Washington Post’s Rajiv Chandrasekaran and Mexico’s Ambassador to the U.S. Arturo Sarukhan. One in four gets FTN one Jane. Oh, and Bob? We have a special chocolate bunny with your name on it!

Tied for Last Place:

Meet the Press

Meet the Press had two guests on the show this week and sadly neither were women. MTP had NPR’s “Planet Money” staffers Alex Blumberg and Adam Davidson to discuss the economic situation. No Janes gets MTP a tie for last place this week.

This Week

George Stephanopoulos let us down this week as well. He planned to host only one guest, Pastor Rick Warren, on Sunday, however Warren canceled his appearance shortly before the show. Since George didn’t plan to have any Janes on we’re still giving him no Janes on this week’s scorecard. Sorry, George, better luck next time! 

A note about this week’s last place:

Both of the shows in last place this week hosted Janes on their roundtables. We don’t usually count guests on the panel as that would make our column much longer but we did want to give some credit to these shows for their effort.

CJP would sign up for recess if it didn’t look so much like work.  Check out Sen. Chuck Grassley’s and Sen. Claire McKaskill’s recess Twitter feeds HERE and HERE to see what we mean.   A sample from Grassley:  “80 people at Allison town meeting. On to Grundy center for town meet. Did weekly farm Radio tele news conf fr Allison site.”  And Claire McK:  “We have finished 8 open forums in two days all over the state. 4 more tomorrow. Great, sometimes amazing crowds. Good ?s and some anger.”  Ewe.

We’ll stick to our day jobs, and you stick to being the smartest women you know at work or play.  Here’s your look at what’s ahead this week in politics, business and, lord willing, breaking news on Candy Spelling’s media blitz for her new book, “Stories from Candyland.”  It’s your Weekly Jane…

Monday: Easter Egg Roll on the White House Lawn (the pic above is from last year’s Roll.)  Watch Fergie singing the national anthem, Michelle Obama reading stories and the Easter Bunny shaking his money maker via live streaming video HERE.  Check in throughout the day as kids roll 13,000 hard-boiled eggs around with spoons.  This tradition puzzles CJP, but we pass it along for your enjoyment.

Tuesday:  First-quarter earnings reports from American companies due.  Will it be six more months of recession or an early recovery?   We’ll find out if the economy sees its shadow today.

Wednesday, Aptil 15th:  Tax Day, File-for-an-Extension Day, and D-Day for more than 500 Don’t-Tax-Me-themed tea parties across the country.  If you’re ready to take up loose-leaf Earl Grey to send a message to your government, click HERE for all the tea that’s fit to sip, HERE for Colonial costumes including fifes and bugles, and HERE for info about where to sign-up, because “revolution is brewing.”  Get it?

Thursday: First-quarter fund raising reports from political candidates become public this week.  The money numbers will tell us who’s in trouble, who’s for real, and who’s going to need a rich uncle to ride to the rescue.  We’ll also find out how much HRC still owes for her run for president.  It was a cool $6 million at last count.

Friday:  Stay tuned….

That’s it for now, Janes.  Come back to CJP this week for poilitcal items that come across our radars, updates on the back-end content, and anything else that catches our eyes.  In the meantime, have a great week!

As our loyal readers have noticed, CJP has been a bit dormant recently.  We write today to tell you where we’ve been and to tell you about some changes coming to CJP.

First, we apologize for taking off without telling you we’d be away.  Even Serena texted her mom when she went to Spain with Poppy.  We could tell you that we were stranded on a deserted island off the coast of Puerto Rico (see pic at left), which is true, but we would be lying if we said we didn’t have Internet access- can you believe we actually got a signal there?

But all that’s in the past Janes.  Let’s talk about the future.

On April 27th, our founder and editor, Patricia Murphy, will begin writing a daily column called “The Capitolist” (get it?) for a new web site called “Politics Daily.”  HERE’s a little write-up about “Politics Daily” for now, but we’ll tell you more about it as it gets closer to launching.   A scant few weeks later, Nisha Chittal, our associate editor and the Dakota Fanning of CJP (meaning the future mogul among us) will graduate from college and head to Asia for the summer.  Kate Haigh, the captain of CJP’s comma police and a writer for the site, has already graduated from college, so she’s going to keep on keepin’ on…..and so is CJP, with all of us involved in one way or another.

Beginning Monday, we’ll transition into Between-Elections Mode, still making the Janes the smartest women in every yoga class, carpool pick-up line, and boardroom in America, but just doing it with a little less frequency (meaning not quite four times a day.)

Every Monday, you’ll get the CJP look ahead at the week in politics.  Every Friday, we’ll tell you what happened while you were starting your businesses, raising your kids, applying to grad school and generally living your lives.  In between, we’ll be posting items we think the Janes will enjoy, updating the political calendar and White House Watch section regularly (and finally!) so that you can keep our new president accountable, changing the registration dates to get you ready for the 2009 elections (yes there are some), and generally keep the CJP house in order.

As for the Janes, we hope you’ll keep reading CJP, commenting on what you see, and caring about the country we know you love, whether you’re left, right or center.   Also, if you ever want to write a guest column, tell us so at jane@citizenjanepolitics.com.

In the meantime gals, as we feel sure Lauren Conrad will tell us soon, this is not the end of our time together, it’s just a new phase.

With all our our politically correct affection and thanks for reading CJP and being our Janes,

Patricia, Nisha and Kate