Anybody watch President Obama’s speech on education and No Child Left Behind?

In a nutshell, President Obama said that since Congress couldn’t make moves, he had to. The president turned some (but not all) of the power to reform education back to the states by inviting them to create their own accountability and advancement systems.

Ten years ago, a bipartisan rewrite of No Child Left Behind was signed by President George W. Bush. The 2002 law required all schools to administer reading and math standardized tests each year, and to increase the proportion of students passing them until reaching 100 percent in 2014.

I think we can all agree that we need to correct our public educational system but can you honestly say that NCLB was a failure?

I don’t believe that it was! I know some of you are thinking “what you talking about, Willis?”

Bear with me… Our school systems were in need of improvements and our children weren’t reaching their full potential. If you look at the low test scores, high drop out and unemployment rates, most would be in agreement that NCLB failed to improve outcomes for students.

However, I believe that it was never created to improve our school systems and have children reach greatness but instead, it was created to build a pipeline from the schools to the prisons and that is why NCLB is a success. I believe that it was created with malicious intent, ensuring that the neediest students from low-income communities and communities of color are not given a fair, high-quality education.

What if the original intent was to create a pathway from books to (prison) bars leaving NO CHILD LEFT BEHIND?

If you look at our juvenile detention centers and prisons across the country, filled with poor youth from low-income communities of color, I would argue that they have succeeded in leaving No (low-income) Child Left Behind.

Here’s your weekly quick look at few developing stories in the political arena:

• The House of Representatives passed a Republican payroll tax plan on Tuesday that would extend the payroll tax cut and speed the process for government approval of the Keystone XL oil pipeline. The plan now goes to the Senate where it is unlikely to pass, due to strong Democratic opposition. President Obama also said he would veto the bill should it arrive on his desk.  President Obama has said that Congress must not go home for the holidays without extending the payroll tax cut, something that saves a working American an average of $1,000 a year. Yesterday, the White House and Congress were reported to be discussing ways to resolve their differences over the payroll tax cut, which is set to expire at the end of the year. (CNN)

• Initial unemployment claims have fallen to the lowest levels since May 2008. About 366,000 people filed initial jobless claims in the week ending Dec. 10, the Labor Department said on Thursday. It looks like hiring is beginning to pick up a little in this country, however, we have a long way to go. The national unemployment rate is currently at 8.6 percent and about 8.8. million jobs were lost during the financial crisis, only about  a third of those have been added back. (CNN Money)

• Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker is in trouble, Democrats in the state have already collected more than 507,000 signatures to recall Scott Walker. They must have 540,208 valid signatures by January 17th  in order to trigger a recall race. Gov. Walker made national news with his legislation that stripped collective bargaining rights from state workers. In August, Democrats recalled two Republican state senators from office. (Huffington Post)

• Congress has sent a $662 billion defense authorization bill to President Obama’s desk to be signed into law, after the Senate passed the bill Thursday afternoon. The bill had sparked debate over the handling of terrorism suspects. Some believe the bill could allow indefinite detention of  U.S. citizens who are believed to be suspects in terrorism. (Washington Post)

• Finally, after almost nine years, with nearly 100,000 Iraqi civilians dead, 4,500 Americans dead, 32,000 wounded, and more than $800 billion spent, the Pentagon officially declared an end to the war in Iraq with a ceremony held on Thursday in a Baghdad airport by Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta. The ceremony represented the official end of the war, but the military still has two bases in Iraq. Even after the last two bases are closed and the final American combat troops withdraw from Iraq by Dec. 31, a few hundred military personnel and Pentagon civilians will remain in Iraq to help with training and safety with the Iraq army. (NY Times)

Could we see a Barack Obama vs. Herman Cain 2012 presidential election? In 2008, we elected our first African-American president. In 2012. could we have an all African American ballot? According to a new Wall Street Journal poll, Herman Cain, former Godfather’s Pizza CEO, now leads the race for the GOP nomination among likely Republican primary voters. Cain now sits at 27 percent, which is a 22 percent increase from six weeks ago. Mitt Romney is second at 23 percent. So could we really see Cain vs. Obama? I say absolutely no chance, and it has nothing to do with race. It simply has to do with the race itself.

Herman Cain has absolutely no political experience, and I don’t think America is ready to elect someone to be president who has no experience when it comes to holding public office. I also think that this poll is more about how Republicans feel about the current candidates, rather than supporting Herman Cain. Republicans aren’t sold on any of the candidates, including Mitt Romney, who I still think is still the current front-runner. So they are exploring other candidates, which would explain the increase in Cain’s popularity. I think that there is a good chance that a few Republicans may even sit out the election all together in 2012, because they will be unhappy with whoever is the nominee.

While it would be really symbolic to have two black candidates battling it out for the presidency in 2012, it really comes down to the issues and candidate appeal. I do not think that Herman Cain appeals to enough Republicans across the country to win the GOP nomination, let alone the presidency. As far as the issues are concerned, Herman Cain does have a solid business background, but having no political experience and no foreign policy experience will really hurt him. I also think that the more people hear from Cain in the following weeks and learn about him, the excitement and popularity will die down.

Mr. Cain also has a history of saying some controversial comments. In March, he said that the media is scared of a “real black man” running against President Obama. Yesterday, he said that President Obama has “never been a part of the black experience in America.” Mr. Cain also said he wouldn’t  appoint any Muslims to his cabinet and that communities have the right to ban mosques. He later apologized for those comments. Mr. Cain also said that for border security with Mexico he would build a modern Great Wall of China with an electrical fence and a moat with alligators below it.

Herman Cain is just a flavor of the month among Republicans and his popularity will die off. Republicans are searching for a candidate who they can back against President Obama and one that can challenge him nationally. Herman Cain is not that. They are also hoping for a new candidate to come walking through the door, but popular Republicans such as Chris Christie and Sarah Palin have announced that they aren’t running.

So who will it be in 2012? I think it’s pretty clear that in the end, we will see Mitt Romney vs. President Obama. While I think that you should always vote, I think we could could see voters in both parties and independents sit out this election due to their dissatisfaction with the candidates.

The other day, I got to see the president of the United States of America in person. Like, he was actually a ten-minute walk from my house. I must admit, when I first heard the President would be in town, I had illusions of us having an exclusive picture taken together (Go Christina). It is undeniable that Barack Obama is a charismatic man whose intelligence propelled him to America’s Top Spot. However, I find it necessary to always remember that he has a job to do… and his main job (in his mind) from now until November 2012 is probably to get himself re-elected.

The question I pondered, as I heard the crowd roar, was how much will he be working for you if he thinks he does not have to work for your vote?

This has been a concern of mine for some time now. Anytime someone is given an automatic pass on something, they will not be held to any standard. I am not even addressing the job that our president has done or even the man himself. Actually I am addressing us, I am addressing you. In 2008, the election was affected by the intense emotional response to the possible election of our first black president; now that he is almost four years in, I think that that we can approach 2012 as informed voters who focus on the politics – not the politician.

Fortunately, we have a little over a year before we have to elect a new prez., and we can apply our critical thinking skills for this year’s primary. As informed voters, we can intentionally vote for the candidate who will have the best impact on us and not just rely on a candidate’s packaging. As informed voters, we can hold our elected officials accountable for their decisions.  As informed voters, we force those running for office to be informed about us. That is how we shift power.

Tweet @TheLeague99 and let us know what you thought of Obama’s proposal.

For some reason haters love hating on President Barack Obama. I mean, I know nobody is perfect but, dang! Our president has done many amazing things and he rarely gets any credit. So, while the haters “stay on their job,” I figured it’d be nice to give the President some shout-outs as he is celebrating his 50th this week. Happy Birthday, Mr. President, here’s to you!

Shout out to President Obama for:

1. Courting Michelle Robinson and “putting a ring on it” – I love our First Lady!
2. Being an ORGANIZER…Si Se Puede!
3. Speeches on fatherhood and encouraging young black men. The hood heard ya;-)
4. Engaging America’s youth when it felt like all others had “left us behind”
5. My girl – the beautiful, amazing, intelligent and beast-y Sonia Sotomayoooor. Yes, Girls Run The World!
6. Shaking those old school haters off (this the dedication…to Jesse Jackson)
7. Getting out of bed with “swag” and for carrying it to the podium every time you speak. Nice.
8. That “Cash for Clunkers” project…that helped GM and “Mamma Nem”
9. Raising two bright and poised young ladies. Sasha and Malia are little American princesses.
10. Ambitiously fighting for health care reform even when your party was tripping. And, what the heck does “uninsurable” mean anyway? You just gotta sit there and die? Right there with ya, BO…smh@DEMS!
11. Going to Nevada to save Harry Reid’s seat even though he was “Obama Bashing” weeks before
12. The stimulus money you sent to Houston that went to fix Elgin Street– my front tires thank you!
13. That cute little interesting-looking dog. He’s getting so big! Bo is such a cutie.
14. Keeping your cool the time that House Rep. called you a liar, on national TV, during the State of the Union, out loud, in real life. We saw that “I know he didn’t” face…LOL…Great composure!
15. Your love and understanding of the United States Constitution #God Bless AMERICA!!!
16. Being such a good team player when dealing with the Clintons.
17. Assembling  a “dream team” as your Executive Cabinet (swoosh).
18. Fighting for equal pay for women.
19. Removing that “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” nonsense. Note to Congress: Don’t ASK or TELL me – you are spending MY tax dollars talking about protecting such an offensive and discriminatory practice. Smh.
20. Saying “Si Se Puede” so much I though you spoke Spanish…
21. Marrying Michelle. Had to reiterate because, I LOVE MICHELLE OBAMA!!!!
22. Not apologizing for the tough leadership decisions that you have had to make.
23. Eric Holder, the first African American Attorney General. Now about those Voter ID bills…smh.
24. Getting the Nobel Peace Prize (in advance for getting Bin Laden:-).  Your haters were really upset, like you started the war or something…ROTFL
25. AND standing strong and ignoring the crooks in Washington D.C. that try to steal your heart. Shout out to you for showing up to the Oval Office every day with a heart of the biggest lion for us.  That’s “how to love.”
26. Oh yeah, and a special “Shout out to your haters, sorry that they couldn’t phase you.” Happy 50th Mr. President!

This article is the opinion of Christina Sanders and doesn’t represent the League of Young Voters Education Fund.

The 2011 Women’s World Cup Final ended with Japan beating the USA team 2-2 on penalty kicks and broke the world record for tweets per second. This means that it beat the wedding of Prince William and Kate and the death of Osama Bin Laden. The final drew 7,196 tweets per second, while Osama Bin Laden’s death was 5,106 tweets per second. Japan’s victory capped off a storybook ending for the team, who were previously 0-25 against the Americans.

Japan is just four months removed from a devastating tsunami and were not considered real contenders to win this year’s World Cup. In fact, the team couldn’t practice at night due to power outages from the tsunami. They also couldn’t  run any real full drills since the playing fields there were in such bad shape. All they could do was conditioning (jogging and running) and not really practice soccer before the World Cup tournament.

This year’s World Cup captivated the country and an ESPN soccer record of 13.5 million people tuned in to watch the game. It was the sixth most watched soccer telecast ever in the United States; the record is held by the 1999 Women’s World Cup. Celebrities  across the United States like Tom Hanks, LeBron James, Lil Wayne, and President Barack Obama all tweeted about the U.S. Women’s Soccer team and got involved in World Cup fever that swept the country.

So what’s the next big thing for USA soccer? It’s the 2012 summer Olympics in London. However, both the United States’ men and women’s teams still need to qualify for the Olympics. The women’s qualifying will take place between January 19 and 29, 2012 and the men’s will take place sometime in March 2012. In all likelihood, both should qualify and will try again to captivate the country and bring more American interest to the world’s most popular game. Soccer is still seen as a second tier sport here in America, but with all the recent excitement and growth in popularity seen in recent years, maybe it won’t be second tier for much longer.

99problems would like to know, did you get caught up like so many others in the World Cup excitement this year?

He returns for yet another hip hop tribute in a comical way…
“It’s lights out for the hide and seek champion. We found him in a dusty looking mansion.”

Is Donald Trump a real challenge to Barack Obama in the 2012 election? A new CNN opinion poll released Tuesday (CNN Poll) has Trump, the real estate tycoon and reality TV star, in a virtual tie with former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee atop possible Republican nominees in 2012.

Trump has said numerous times that he cannot announce if he is running for president until the current season of NBC’s Celebrity Apprentice is over, or NBC would have to take the show off the air. The question remains if Trump is really serious about running for president or if this is an elaborate publicity stunt. After all, he did consider it in 2000 as a third party candidate.

Trump said in a video interview with the Wall Street Journal Monday that his candidacy looks increasingly likely and that he would “probably” run as an Independent if he doesn’t win the GOP nomination.  Mr. Trump is a self-proclaimed “birther” and has no political experience.

Trump also considers himself to be a passionate philanthropist, however a recent Smoking Gun article reviewed IRS tax returns and has uncovered Donald Trump is the LEAST charitable billionaire.

So if he runs, can the Donald actually relate to the Republicans in the rural South who are not as affluent? These issues, along with some of his other political views, make many political insiders believe Trump may be too much of a fringe candidate to attract independent voters.

Many also wonder if Trump is doing this just for publicity for himself, his brand and his TV show. But publicity stunt or not, his popularity across the board is skyrocketing. His Roast on Comedy Central was the station’s most watched Tuesday primetime shows among total viewers and persons between the ages of 18-49 in the station’s history. The Celebrity Apprentice is also doing well ratings-wise on Sunday nights on NBC, so this increase in popularity combined with the political poll numbers show  that IF Trump decides to run, that he should most definitely be taken seriously as a contender for the 2012 Republican nomination. And hey, after all, Ronald Reagan was once just a celebrity on TV as well.

99 problems wants to know your thought on the Donald’s possible presidential candidacy? Regardless of political affiliation, would you consider voting for him?

Over the last several weeks, I’ve seen a number of articles and Facebook status updates asking why our nation’s youth aren’t in the streets protesting corruption in the same way that our generational counterparts are in Egypt. After all, the dedication that we are seeing broadcast live on the Internet highlights how committed our young African counterparts are to their futures.

But I don’t think it’s healthy to compare our generation’s struggles here in the United States with those in Egypt. While Color Lines highlights how similar the socio-economic realities of young Egyptians are compared to that of young people of color, specifically young blacks, I think we are denying our own movement history if we go too far with the comparison.

More after the jump.

Their political realities, while influenced by American economic and political interests, are defined by a broken, semi-democratic process that has allowed one individual to dominate the political landscape. Ours, despite its flaws and corruption, allowed us to elect Barack Obama. (A point also brought up in the Color Lines article.) The process sucks, people cheat, and sometimes a clique of people may stay in power too long, but our generation has used our voice to make dramatic changes in this country. And not just at the polls. Our accomplishments are not being broadcast on CNN, but word to Mark Zuckerberg, we do get to see them broadcast via Facebook.

While we romanticize the hard work of the freedom fighters of the 50s, 60s and 70s, their ability to drastically alter the political process and expand the electorate continues to have lasting impacts on our own movements. Because of the work of those that came before us, we have been blessed with an ability to shape our futures through an electoral and legislative process. And when the system has refused to take us seriously, many of us have taken to the streets, protesting police brutality, war, environmental injustice and other various inequalities and injustices. We’ve been out in the streets in large numbers, we even rushed to our town squares in the millions to celebrate when Barack Obama was elected.

No doubt, we have a lot of work to do if we are going to see a brighter future. There is no sugarcoating it. The realities of poverty and unemployment are bitter and rarely sweet. Young people of all backgrounds growing up today have no clear path towards social mobility as economic prospects are extremely limited. But we do have a voice and we have been using it. We deserve more credit for how we have transformed our communities and our country. Our dreams for the future are taking hold and our country is changing.

I applaud the passion and completely understand why so many of us are inspired by what’s going on internationally. But for us to embrace reactionary urges, weakens our strength. We are in a time of great political and generational transformation. The future of this country depends on how we respond to our current obstacles. Every generation gets its shot. The movement before us responded to the arrogance of their political leadership by burning their neighborhoods and resorting to violence. Ours doesn’t need to. We are the future majority and we are the most connected generation, ever! Let’s win over the world with our ideas!

Professor West recently showed up at NPR (with his afro) and got a lot a little flustered when talking about Barack Obama. We clipped the interview for you because we know you have ADD!
Cornel West “Fired Up About Barack Obama” by 99problemsdotorg

get the rest here!

If a picture says a thousand words, then a video must say a million. This latest Gulf of Mexico fiasco may spell big problems for President Obama by the end of his first term. When certain media and rightwing pundits first begin criticizing the President and comparing his response to the oil spill in the gulf, with that of President Bush’s to Katrina, I dismissed it as mere politics. However, as the oil spill becomes increasingly more devastating by the day, I am starting to believe that this may very well be Obama’s dark cloud that looms over him, throughout the remainder of his first term in office.

This is a stark presumption, I know, but it’s one that I conceded to only after hearing Purdue Professor Steve Wereley reveal a more damning estimate on the amount of oil that he believes is spewing into the gulf each day. Using a technique called particle image velocimetry, Wereley and other scientific minds have been able to analyze a tape that BP released on Tuesday, and calculated, what they claim is a more precise projection of oil leaked in the gulf per day. Initially, the US Coast Guard had estimated that the compromised rig was leaking up to 5,000 barrels per day, but estimates using the aforementioned practice upped that number to around 70,000 barrels, and that’s modestly speaking. This is a startling realization if it is true, and more than likely it is, being that the scientist say that this technique has a 99% rate of accuracy (when conducted properly).

Obama, oh boy, I foresee many forthcoming problems on your hand. While some may argue that the President has done his best to manage the situation. I respond by saying that sometimes a little more than our best is required. I mean, why in heavens name is the federal government still allowing BP to call the shots, when it comes to this oil spill? It makes no sense. Yes, I agree that this conglomerate should be made to clean up their own mess, but since they’re clearly not capable of doing so in a timely manner, I for one believe that our government should act with all deliberate speed to use whatever resources we can to resolve the problem, and that we should just stick BP with the bill at the end of the day. I’m sure that a company that profited a little more than two and half billion dollars in recent quarters can pick up the tab, and that they can definitely do more than what’s being asked of them to do now.

Check out the disturbing video after the jump!

Source: BP video from May 11 showing oil and gas streaming from the Deepwater Horizon well.

Shouts Out to Gregory Boyce @ www.examiner.com

Timothy McVeigh, Joseph McVey. Sounds the same to me and they even kinda look the same but thats worse than the legal profiling in Arizona. Either way, im officially suspicious when I hear that last name now. Check out below, the story of how this gentlemen, who has a few reasons to be called otherwise before being proven guilty, ended up in the same sentence as President Obama this weekend.

Ashville, North Carolina Police officials are reporting that on Sunday a man armed with a hand gun was arrested in a rent-a-car parking lot at a North Carolina airport as President Obama was boarding Air Force One after speaking at a memorial service for 29 West Virginia coal miners that were recently killed in a mine explosion.

According to reports, Joseph Sean McVey, 23 years old, was arrested and charged with “Being armed in terror of the public”, a misdemeanor. Officials state when McVey was questioned by airport police as to why he was in the parking lot, McVey responded that “he wanted to see the president”.

Police reports indicate that McVey became a focused point of concern to police and Secret Service agents after he got out of his car and started talking on a handheld radio which was attached to a remote earpiece. The officer noticed McVey was wearing a sidearm. The officer and Secret Service agents asked for McVey’s identification, and when they ran his driver’s license number through a computer, it did not come back as valid, according to the summary.

Officials also acknowledge that McVey’s vehicle (Ohio license plates) was equipped with police gear, including a siren and flashing lights, however, he is not currently employed as a police officer nor has he ever been a member of law enforcement.

McVey is being held at the Magistrate’s Office on a secured bond set at $100,000.

Federal agents are questioning the Coshocton, Ohio resident on the nature of his business in Ashville. Over the last week, security in the Ashville area has been heightened as President Obama and his family vacationed in the popular scenic resort town.

Police confirm that McVey was not in the vicinity of the president’s plane when he was arrested. Of great interest to the police is McVey’s handheld scanner and radio which he was using to monitor local police agencies. Additionally, McVey was in possession of formulas for rifle scopes which were found on a note inside of his cup holder.

I’m a community organizer. Last week, I did something I never thought would be possible. I met with the president of the United States in the West Wing of the White House.

President Barack Obama met for 75 minutes with 14 leaders from across the country to discuss immigration reform — and the destruction of some 1,100 immigrant families a day through deportations carried out by his administration.

The meeting was tense, blunt and passionate. And there was a racial irony to our discussion. Our labor, faith and immigrant rights leaders included seven Latinos, three Asians and four whites. We were meeting with our country’s first African-American president, the son of an immigrant father. His senior advisers at the meeting included three African-Americans (one the child of immigrants), a Latina, a Chinese-American woman and a white woman.

There were years of intertwined friendships and relationships at the table, including my own with the president that began when he was a Chicago community organizer in 1986. Yet, despite all of these ties, we were there to tell him about his moral failure on immigration, and his looming political catastrophe.

Read more of this powerful op-ed by Joshua Hoyt, executive director of the Illinois Coalition for Immigrant and Refugee Rights here

Just hopped off a video announcement from Lisa P. Jackson, Administrator for the Environmental Protection Agency and definitely a top pick on the short list of D.C. insiders who are really taking their title/mission to heart.

On what is coincidentally (purely surely) the first day of the international COP15 summit, the EPA announces that their thorough (musta been really thorough) analysis of all the available facts leads to one simple conclusion: greenhouse gases “threaten the public health and welfare of the American people.”

There’s more:

“These long-overdue findings cement 2009’s place in history as the year when the United States Government began addressing the challenge of greenhouse-gas pollution and seizing the opportunity of clean-energy reform,” said EPA Administrator Lisa P. Jackson.

Great talking point from Mrs. Jackson and my instinct thinks she’s legit. When asked on the call about the timing of the EPA’s announcement, when House reps have indicated no movement on environmnetal legislation until early Spring (months from now), Lisa Jackson said the EPA did not want to wait to get the ball rolling and hoped that Congress would “follow the ball.”

Translation: watch out, world. Apparently it’s not a pre-requisite of American political power to actually lose total touch with the land and your people!

Keep it up, Mrs. Jackson.

Mark June 30, 2009 down in your calendars people. It was a landmark day. The day that the Queen of England ordered an official swan census. The day that it was announced that daily sex improved your sperm count. Oh yeah, and it was the day that Wal-Mart announced that it supported employer-mandated health insurance.

Wait, what? Yup, you heard (or rather, read) right. Wal-Mart, the world’s largest retailer, the country’s biggest private employer, and possibly also the most controversial business in America, has announced its support for the overhaul of the health care system. Furthermore, Wal-Mart has announced that it would like this coverage to extend to both full and part time employees, and that policies should be put in place that reduce health care costs.

Reactions to this news have been mixed. Some laud the announcement as a milestone move towards better health care and worker benefits, while others question the motivations behind the decision—seemingly so out of character for a corporation that has been criticized for its’ stance on worker benefits.

Wal-Mart has been condemned in the past for offering just 43% of their employees health insurance. In addition, employees there faced higher costs for health insurance (up to 25% of their total income) and longer wait times to become eligible (only after a year could part-timers apply for insurance) than other workplaces. Nor could spouses of Wal-Mart part-time employees apply for family coverage. And the list just goes on: Wal-Mart invested just a half of a percentage point of their total profits in employee healthcare, Wal-Mart spends as much on health-care as it does on advertising, Wal-Mart pays for just 52% of premium costs while other retailers such as Sears pay 80%.

And while these critics might have some justification—a spokesperson for Wal-Mart let slip that an employer-mandated health insurance policy “would ultimately save companies money,”—it still does not change the fact that the 1.4 million Americans employed by Wal-Mart will be receiving health insurance in the near future.

Let’s hope that other companies follow their example.

After months of waiting on Obama’s campaign promises, the gay community will finally observe a small victory tonight when President Obama announces the implementation of certain benefits for same-sex partners of government employees. But is it really a victory worth celebrating?

While on the campaign trail, Obama made countless speeches promising the gay community that he would extend full health benefits to same-sex couples. Tonight is the first time since his election that he will broach the topic, and health coverage is not on his list. This is huge: it’s an omission which has left many gay rights advocates screaming “WHAT THE %&*#?”

Critics aren’t buying the official excuse that health coverage would require further legislation and red-tape, pointing out that the Obama administration has not begun the necessary bureaucratic process or even indicated that they wanted to do so.

Many are frustrated not only at Obama’s empty promises, but also at his reluctance to address gay issues in the first place. The White House has refused to speak to issues such as the ban on homosexuals in the military or same-sex marriage, a fact which has left many critics questioning the sincerity of tonight’s announcement.

Turns out they may just be on to something. Last week, several gay donations were withdrawn from the Democratic National Committee fundraiser scheduled for next week.

Could Obama’s announcement be just another political strategy; one small step for gay rights, one giant leap for . . . appeasement politics?

Astronauts can see trash in the ocean from space? That’s insane. We have got to get up for our planet, make a stand like this ol’ world deserves. We’re not just gonna talk at you, though; this week we’ll be bringing you info you can use to start tipping the balance from pollution to people power.

This is our world, and we gotta stand up in the greatest tradition of American society; stand up for change when it seems impossible, when all the odds are against us. The world is at stake, and everything that we have is imperiled. There’s never been a more important moment to be on the right side of history!

President Obama is tackling our nation’s economic troubles from the top, but we have to work from the ground up, empowering our communities and shouldering the burden of recovery together.

The Green Jobs movement is founded upon the notion that the health of our nation, the health of our economy, depends upon the health of our planet. Urban revitalization and industrial efficiency go hand in hand. As Taili Thompson says, the Green Jobs movement is a holistic approach that will give back as much as we put into it.