Obama: One Year On

It was one year ago today the world watched Barack Obama make history by becoming America's first black president and a commander-in-chief who would save the world from the disasters the previous administrations created.

I came upon a article today about a website that is keeping an eye on Obama's greatest hits and misses in the last 12 months.

From Boston Metro:

Two New Yorkers who volunteered for Barack Obama’s 2008 presidential campaign wanted to make sure he kept his election promises. So, they created a Web site encouraging people to rate Obama on everything from his Cabinet members to weekly radio addresses.

“We’re trying to make it as easy as Netflix,” said Chirag Patel, 34, co-founder of the TabsonObama.org. “We hope it promotes transparency, accountability and civic engagement.” He also wants to provide “deeper insights than standard Gallup polls.”

Developed by a bunch of like-minded, tech-head liberals in Patel’s Brooklyn, N.Y., loft, the site shows low favorability for the president. In fact, ex-Bush appointee, Defense Secretary Robert Gates, is the most popular...

...How does Patel rate Obama, on a scale of one to five? He’s disappointed in the lack of a public option in health care reform, campaign finance reform and troop withdrawal from Iraq. “I might give him a three … or maybe a two and a half.”

Between the ongoing health reform debacle, Martha Coakley's Senate defeat, the escalation in Iraq, the Nobel Peace Prize and Chicago Olympics fails, I would give him a 3.

How do you rate President Obama so far?

Drama in Haiti: Reporters or Heroes?

Since the earthquake in Haiti last week, there has been an outpouring of good will coming out of everyone. However, a couple of journalists have stepped over to the other side of the camera in recent days and became part of the news.

Friday night, CNN's Sanjay Gupta, who has always claimed to be a doctor first and reporter second, got into a bit of an ethical bind with some media analysts when he began treating patients after all the sanctioned United Nations medical personnel left a hospital for the night.

Today I saw the footage above, showing Anderson Cooper saving an injured Haitian boy from harm.



I say good on both Gupta and Cooper, but especially for Gupta because I would be saddened if he didn't do anything to help that baby. It is never unethical to save a life.

Wyclef Jean's side of the story

Wyclef's personal statement on the accusations against his foundation Yele Haiti.

Resolve to Eat Healthy in 2010

Food justice activist and journalist Michael Pollan was on the Daily Show last night, keeping it real about the war on Big Food. By the way, Jon Stewart on "Terror 2.0" and religious advice for Tiger Woods is funny and on point.

Human Rights Day? I think not...

So, apparently today was International Human Rights Day, but nothing about today seemed to celebrate that feeling. President Obama was in Oslo, Norway today to receive his "much-deserved" Nobel Peace Prize. I'm so glad I am not the only person that sees the absurdity in Obama's award.

From Marc Lamont Hill:

...How can a president who is not only managing but escalating unnecessary wars receive an award as an agent of peace? Even more absurd is the reaction from the Left, which has failed to call Obama on the carpet for the very policies and practices for which we lambasted President Bush.

Like George W. Bush, Barack Obama’s Afghanistan policy is rooted in a belief that military escalation and indefinite occupation are the keys to global security and the expansion of democracy. Like Bush, Obama has refused to substantively invest in Afghani jobs, housing, and education, all of which are traditional keys to an effective counter-insurgency strategy. Like Bush, Obama has dipped into the reservoir of fear, scaring Americans into thinking that military aggression, even the pre-emptive sort, is the only thing that will keep Americans safe. Yet somehow, despite these and other eerie similarities to President Bush, the anti-war Left has sat on its hands while President Obama operates.

Even more disturbing than Obama’s warmongering is the blatant calculation behind it. Unlike Bush, whose wrongheadedness was at least borne out of a coherent (though perverted) set of principles, Obama appears willing to act out of pure political expediency. After getting public pressure from his generals and bloodthirsty Republicans for his “dithering” (a Bushian term used to mock the President’s audacious use of facts, evidence, and wise council) Obama finally caved to his rivals and sent troops. Then, in order to satisfy the anxious anti-war left, Obama promises a withdrawal date. Sound good? Sure, except for one catch: He never promised a completion of the withdrawal, which hinges upon the ability of a severely compromised Karzai government and woefully underprepared Afghani troops to take over the military reigns. In short, Obama, like Bush, has American troops and innocent Afghani citizens in harms way without a clear or reasonable exit strategy...

All I have to say about this is that if the Dalai Lama doesn't think you are deserving the prize, you know you got issues.

Phil Wilson on black homophobia, HIV/AIDS

Black AIDS Institute CEO Phil Wilson recently attended the annual convention for the National Newspaper Publishers Association (NNPA), the largest organization for black newspapers in the United States. For many years, there has been a reluctance to discuss HIV/AIDS, homosexuality and homophobia in the black community. Wilson, who is openly gay and HIV positive, tells it like it is.

From Seattle Medium:

“We started in a bad place,” Wilson said in an interview before addressing the annual convention of the National Newspapers Publishers Association (NNPA). “We started with the conventional wisdom that AIDS was about White gay men. So we got a free get out of jail card – it was about White people. If I am honest, I was included in that group.

“Secondly, it was about gay people and for most African-Americans, that means that it was not about us. Thirdly, we already had a full plate. AIDS really hit in 1980 to 1982 and we were dealing with unemployment, we were dealing with poverty, we were about to deal with welfare reform. There were all these issues that we were busy with. So this was an issue that we didn’t want to be a part of and we could make the excuse that all these other issues were more important.”

In the early 1980s, there were no Hollywood celebrities adopting HIV/AIDS as their pet project. For Blacks, confronting the issue of HIV/AIDS, there were also other considerations.

“There is an increased reluctance to take on any other possibility to be further stigmatized,” Wilson explained. “So, ‘I’m not willing to take on the banner of homosexuality and I’m not willing to take on the banner of drug use and I’m not willing to take on the banner of having a deadly disease.’”

Wilson began taking up those banners when he helped organize a candlelight vigil for AIDS victims in Los Angeles during the early stages of the epidemic. The issue became personal when Wilson, who is openly gay, learned in 1980 that he was HIV positive. His partner died of AIDS nine years later.

Unlike many Blacks, Wilson does not believe that homophia is any worse among African-Americans than Whites. However, he says, the rejection is much more painful.

“For Black and gay lesbians, we need our community to protect us against the bias of racism. Where do I go when I am called a nigger? I go to our church. I go to my mama and pappa – that’s where I go.

“But when I’m called a faggot, I don’t got anywhere else to go,” Wilson said, intentionally selecting his words for impact. “And particularly if the people who are calling me a faggot are my mommy, my daddy and my church.”

Wilson said White gay men have a different reality.

“When you are a White gay man, you’re still a White man and all of the privileges that go with being a White man are delivered to you,” he explained. “When I am a Black gay man, at the end of the day, I still have to be a Black man in America.”

As you all know, I have worked in the black press for a while now, and I have written articles here and there about these issues. Much of this discussion of battling stigma needs to be taking place in the black media, and I hope Wilson's attendence at the convention is a step forward.

Michael Pollan on the swine flu

“Don’t Buy Any Food You’ve Ever Seen Advertised”
- Foodie Michael Pollan dropping knowledge

Van Jones on eco-elitism and roof gardens

Van Jones, President Obama's green man and author of the best-selling book, The Green Collar Economy: How One Solution Can Fix Our Two Biggest Problems, is the hot man of the moment.

Not only is he leading the way for the "Green New Deal," through his work with Green for All, he has also inspired his boss to grow food on top of the White House - literally.

From Obama Foodorama:

The White House is undergoing green renovations right now, and Ob Fo hears that in the future, there'll be a greenroof food garden, as the White House explores new ways of highlighting environmental stewardship, alternative agriculture solutions, and job creation. A "greenroof" is a roof made with vegetative cover, with growing media and plants taking the place of roof tiles, shingles, or gravel. In urban areas, a greenroof improves air quality, helps lower over-all air temperatures, and can prevent toxic rainwater runoff from getting into local watersheds. They're also an excellent form of insulation.

I'm just lovin' that a brotha is doing all this! Best of luck to him!

Somalia, beyond pirates

Speaking of Somalia...

Dan Eldonwas a Reuters photographer who was killed in Mogadishu in 1993 by rebel forces in Somalia. He is one of the reasons I became a journalist. He used his photos and art for social change, and for this, I honor him.

No brownie points for Barney Frank

It's about time someone took on these politicians. Barney Frank would have been better served if he didn't come off so defensive.

Barbara Lee speaks about her new book

I was in New York a couple of weeks ago and California Rep. Barbara Lee was at Hue-Man Bookstore to promote her book, Renegade for Peace and Justice. In the above clip I recorded, where she is joined by New York Rep. Charlie Rangel, Lee speaks about how veteran White House correpondent Helen Thomas inspired her to write the book, and why she spoke out about her traumatic experience with domestic violence.

As you may recall, Barbara Lee was the only member of Congress to vote against the Bush administration getting a blank check to run the so-called war on terror. In hindsight, isn't Lee the smartest chick in the game?!

No love for Gordon Brown

Meanwhile, President Obama isn't the only head of state getting slammed over the economy.



Whether or not you agree with this dude, you have to give him credit for calling out the PM. Could you even imagine anyone at Capital Hill doing this to Obama?

World Water Day 2009

Check out this great video from charity water's latest promo video which features the well-drilling work they funded in the Central African Republic. Directed by Simon Willows, "Time Bomb" track donated by Beck.

More than one billion people on the planet don't have access to clean drinking water. For $20 a person, non-profit charity: water funds clean water solutions like shallow wells, deep wells, rainwater harvesting systems, and spring protections to provide people in need with clean and safe drinking water.

The New American Apartheid

Yesterday the U.S. Senate passed the reauthorization of the State Children's Health Insurance Program (SCHIP), which will provide four million children with health insurance. It is estimated that 47 million Americans don't have health insurance; nine million of which are children.

From Washington Post:

...Lawmakers voted 66 to 32, largely along party lines, to renew the joint state-federal program and spend an additional $32.8 billion to expand coverage to 4 million more children. The expansion would be paid for by raising the cigarette tax from 39 cents a pack to $1.

The House approved similar legislation on Jan. 14, and President Obama is expected to sign a final version as early as next week...

But according to Marian Wright-Edelman, this is not enough, and more needs to be done for all of America's children.

During a speaking engagment on health disparities this morning at Morehouse College School of Medicine, the founder and president of the Children's Defense Fund said that another five million children will still not receive health coverage.

“We want every child, regardless of where they live, to be guaranteed health care, and [sic] CHIP doesn’t do that," she said.

Wright-Edelman proposed three steps to creating comprehensive health coverage for all children.

1. Coverage Must Be Affordable

2. Benefits Must Be Comprehensive

3. The System Must Be Simple and Seamless

She also said that while many believe the Obama administration has brought in a new era in U.S. race relations, Wright-Edelman isn't convinced that America is a "post-racial" society and that "disparities begins before birth."

According to the Children's Defense Fund, "relative to white children, Latino children are 28 percent less likely, and black children are 20 percent less likely, to be in excellent health. In total, fewer than half of all black and Latino children today are in excellent health."

Wright-Edelman said that the growing racial and economic disparities go beyond health care; disparities also have an effect on education, home life and the justice system, which she calls the "New American Apartheid."

Simply quoting German philosopher Dietrich Bonhoeffer:

"The test of morality in a society is based on how they treat their children," she said.

A New Day in America

"This is the meaning of our liberty and our creed -- why men and women and children of every race and every faith can join in celebration across this magnificent Mall, and why a man whose father less than 60 years ago might not have been served at a local restaurant can now stand before you to take a most sacred oath."
- From President Barack Obama's inaugural speech

Today I am filled with the joy and excitement of my ancestors who bear witness to this day in American history.

Global Wire Hearts Wyclef Jean Part II

If you needed yet another reason to like Wyclef Jean the humanitaran, check out a piece on him from last night's 60 Minutes.


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Can we talk about poverty now?

Class - the third rail of American politics - is rearing its ugly head more often these days as the economic downturn cripples the wallets of average Americans. But don't expect your elected officials to do anything in support of their constituents anytime soon.

From Boston Globe:

UNEMPLOYMENT is at its highest level in 15 years. Housing prices won't stop falling. The stock market has suffered its most punishing collapse since 1931, and shareholders have lost $7 trillion in wealth. Millions of workers have lost their jobs; millions more are worried about losing theirs. IRAs and 401k accounts have been decimated, and companies are halting their contributions to retirement plans. Retail sales are dragging, the credit markets have seized up, and worse is expected in 2009. The government has gone to unprecedented lengths to improve the economy, yet the economy keeps getting worse. The federal budget deficit is headed for a trillion dollars, and the national debt is well over $10 trillion and climbing. The number of Americans saying the country is on the wrong track is at or near its all-time high; consumer confidence is at its all-time low.

So what do you do now?

Well, if you're a member of Congress, you give yourself a raise.

Beginning this week, US representatives and senators will be paid $174,000 a year. That represents an increase of $4,700 and the 10th time since 1998 that congressional pay has been given a boost....

..."Finding anyone brave enough to defend the pay hike in Washington these days is like looking for the proverbial needle in a haystack," writes McClatchey's Rob Hotakainen. "When asked to comment, normally accessible members quickly go missing, are on vacation, are extremely busy with family members, or can't be reached on their cellphones because they're in remote locations."...

...Hard as it may be to believe, there was a time when members of Congress didn't make it an annual priority to pad their pay envelopes. In 1932, during the Great Depression, the House and Senate even cut their pay by 10 percent, then cut it by another 5.5 percent in 1933. Today's lawmakers, save for a handful of honorable exceptions, are about as likely to follow that precedent as they are to sprinkle anthrax on their Cheerios...

Between Detroit's Big Three, Bernard Madoff and Congress, it's time for Americans to rise to the occasion and take back this country from the mad men. Who is with me?

Standing Up By Sitting Down

From Counter Punch:

...The combination of economic pain and rising awareness of corporate culpability has created a tremendous opportunity for workplace and community organizers interested in transformational change. This is our time: time to step up the intensity of our outreach and organizing around demands which challenge the dominance of the corporations in our lives.

The incredible power of the multi-national corporations is the fundamental driver of misery in our world today from rampant poverty and environmental degradation to mass incarceration and war. Real change, that is change which necessarily involves a direct conflict with corporate power, has not and will not come from politicians, “socially responsible” corporations, or trade union bureaucrats. Authentic change has come and will continue to come from the rank and file, the grassroots...

While President-elect Barack Obama says he supports the workers for standing up against corporate corruption, when does he stand up against political corruption in his home state?

Black Athletes and Social Activism

Football legend Jim Brown is real deep.

From Los Angeles Times:

The way Brown sees it, many of today’s athletes are simply in it for the money and celebrity, refusing to accept responsibility for having a huge impact on the culture around them. And he’s not afraid of naming names. “Athletes need to represent more than that just getting a big contract and lots of endorsements,” he says. “Take Michael Jordan. To me, he’s full of bull. He’s hiding his true self. All he cares about is getting ahead, being popular and enjoying the wealth of this country. Same with Kobe Bryant. For them, it’s all about making money and doing all the commercials.” Brown expects more from today’s athletes. After all, he walked the walk. When Muhammad Ali was stripped of his heavyweight title and threatened with jail time for refusing to register for the draft during the Vietnam War, it was Brown and Boston Celtics star Bill Russell who led a contingent of black athletes who offered Ali their support. “Sports is detrimental to the development of culture if all you’re willing to do is enjoy the fruits of this country,” he says. “You’ve got to reinvest in the culture, not just exploit it. Today people just want non-combative heroes, who smile and say all the right things. That’s fine, but that doesn’t mean you have to play the fool and shake your butt just because you caught a pass for a touchdown.”

Of course, I have been saying this for a while, but hearing it from a sports giant and activist really sets the tone.

Are you smarter than Sarah Palin?

Hey, since its the day before a long weekend, I thought I would lighten up for a minute.

Hmmm. If someone made a board game based on Sarah Palin's intelligence, or lack thereof, I think most of us would win everytime.

From: The Truth Burns Weblog:

Sarah Palin’s overnight emergence (literally) on the national scene has taught us all some valuable lessons in political maneuvering. A “game-changer” will hold the entire base in awe, but for only about a week – unless he/she can say something intelligent at that point. Also, a fresh-faced political outsider can shout out anything to a crowd of like-minded people and they will rave like mad dogs, even calling for blood (again, literally). However, Palin has affected us all in ways we may not have realized. She has made us all more intelligent.

Palin has blundered her way through some painful presentations that have made audiences cringe. Some of the most noticeable gaffes have been when she proudly said that she could see Russia from Alaska or when she couldn’t recall a single Supreme Court decision besides Roe v. Wade. She also couldn’t name a single printed news source. Then she frantically admitted to reading them all. She didn’t know the Bush Doctrine. She named the wrong U.S. military commander in Afghanistan. She certainly said some things that made all of us irritated that she’s honestly within a very-probable stroke away from the presidency. However it also filled us each with a quiet sense of pride. As we loudly screamed, “I can’t believe she is that stupid!” We quietly considered, “I’m not that stupid. Am I?” Then we secretly reassured ourselves, “No, I am definitely smarter than her.” Then we all covertly sought to ensure that we were indeed smarter than Sarah Palin.