August 2009
11 posts
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Grading President Obama and My Farewell
I have been a contributor to this blog for the past 3 months and most of it has been spent abroad in Dublin, Ireland. Witnessing the past three months of the Obama Administration has still reaffirmed my confidence that those working around the President and the President himself have a head on their shoulders and have a clear vision for the country in various issues ranging from the economy to...
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Not Quite Dean's List Material, But Still a Great...
Last night, I was on the phone with a friend discussing the evening I saw Barack Obama speak on my college campus. This was almost two years ago, in September 2007 when our current president was barely registering as a blip on my radar. Then, more of my support for presidential candidacy was thrown behind our now Secretary of State, Hillary Clinton. I recall thinking back then that Barack Obama...
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Grading Obama
So here we are, not yet half way through Obama’s first year of his (first) four year term. We’re closing in on the end of his first semester. It looks a lot like my first semester in college- moving into a new place, making new friends, drinking beer, narrowly averting the destruction of the free world… Ok, maybe it’s a little different. One thing’s the same for sure though- it’s report...
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The Best is Yet to Come
Gen O as a generational marker has barely begun, and yet Newsweek’s Gen O project is drawing to a close. While we’ve lived and breathed Gen O for six months now, we will have no way of knowing what it truly means for years yet. A general buzz of change still sizzles in the air, but how is President Obama doing? Is change really occurring? You must admit he took office with quite a mess on his...
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See You When I See You
Over the course of this summer, my interpretation of what it means to be a part of Generation O has evolved. At first, it just referred to the young(ish) generation that is living through the many “firsts” of President Obama’s administration. Now, it has come to encompass the great diversity in how we feel, how our nation is changing, and pretty much anything else that falls into...
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Pencils down! Papers in!
Time for my personal review of the year to date performances on hand…these are on the issues that affect me the most, and that I try to watch and monitor the most frequently.
1: International relations. Why its important? After getting married, I now have family overseas. When I want to visit them, or when they want to visit us, I would like the paperwork and the hoops needing jumped...
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Farewell is Only the Beginning
I understand why some of Obama’s supports feel frustrated with the current state of the union. After eight years of bad policy and wondering if the pain would ever end, the 2008 election created renewed hope for good progressive change. But President Obama walked into the biggest economic storm in decades, and too many of the issues that deserve the President’s attention (and probably...
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Report Card: Obama, President Barack H.
1) Economy - The economy has certainly rebounded, and even though we have a long way to go before it is back 100%, even Newsweek announced that the recession was over. I know it wasn’t easy dealing with the AIG fallout, and even dealing with something as mindless as the First Lady wearing $500 sneakers in the time of the recession (and at a food bank no less) couldn’t have been fun...
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Obama's Report Card (and Ours)
It’s hard to believe it’s been three months already. When we launched Generation O back in May, President Obama had just completed his first 100 days in office, and we were excited to see what he would do next. So how has he measured up? In our final posts on Gen O (look for them throughout the day), we’ll be grading Obama’s performance on the issues that matter most to us....
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July 2009
45 posts
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In Fear of Runny Noses
Up until recently, I didn’t really give healthcare much of a thought. I took for granted that healthcare in this country was a privilege. But this past November, when my mother lost her job and consequently medical coverage for our family, it weighed heavily on my mind. A runny nose or cough caused great worry for me. I did not want to incur unnecessary costs for doctors visits or...
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Caring about the health of others...
Back in May, I attended a rally here in Seattle that was for health care reform.
It was estimated that at least 3,000 people showed up to march on a hot day for a few miles.
Since then health care has constantly been in the news, with even President Obama’s former doctor weighing in.
As someone who has great health care through a job that I adore, I’ve always said that my interest...
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Universal Healthcare IS Popular… Sort Of
For all of the clamor around the issue of universal healthcare, it’s easy to forget that we already have universal coverage in this country… sort of. Every American over the age of 65 is eligible for health coverage via the federal government’s single payer system. Medicare is hugely popular amongst its constituents and the system benefits from a powerful lobbying force (the AARP). It has friends...
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I remember when we made the decision to quit our...
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Other ideas?
[Note to readers: the remarks made here are not in reaction to the proposed bill(s), but to commentary I hear from others around me.]
Health care is easy to consider a right because it is essential to maintaining life, which is one of our most basic and easily understood rights. However, this does not make it one. Health care is a combination of simple commodities (the drugs, treatments, and...
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Skip Gates & Perspectives From Different Sides
The controversy surrounding Harvard Professor Henry Louis Gates, Jr. is interesting, especially when I take into consideration what various friends have said about it. To see different reactions to the same situation isn’t something already happening in general no matter the subject-but still thinking about their responses has taught me a lot about my friends. I had African American friends...
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Art in the White House
It’s hard to imagine a more hopeful time than when you were a kid; especially the age at which you started to develop some talents, a personality, and a sense that all was possible. When I was young I wanted to be lots of things. I wanted to be a lawyer, a singer, a teacher, and maybe a doctor, although I wasn’t a big fan of cuts and scrapes.
This week 16 young music students from...
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Covering the President
As President Obama held his news conference on Wednesday night regarding the status of health care reform, all the major networks covered the hour-long event except for one: Fox. Now, some are outraged, but I understand why a network would make this decision. Fox has a popular show, So You Think You Can Dance, that Americans want to watch; and as long as all the other networks are giving airtime...
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It's Easy Being Green
Yesterday, I was running late for work (not unusual) and decided to cruise through a Burger King drive-thru for my morning coffee fix (highly unusual). After the requisite order confusion, the employee handed my coffee through the window in a paper bag. I paused, unable to imagine any scenario that would require my coffee cup to be placed into a bag. So, I asked. She shrugged and replied that...
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Health Care: A Right or a Privilege?
The ongoing debate on health care in America has really shed light on the true nature of American rugged individualism, hard work, and personal freedom post-World War II. Basically, you are on your own buddy. Where is the spirit of community and collective action for the betterment of the nation and the individual to the likes of the FDR or JFK periods in American history?
Today we witness the...
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Summertime Blues
I’m gonna raise a fuss, I’m gonna raise a holler About a workin’ all summer just to try to earn a dollar Sometimes I wonder what I’m a gonna do But there ain’t no cure for the summertime blues
-“Summertime Blues”, Eddie Cochran
“Mike, just half ass the mopping. We’re ready to leave.” I looked up to see one of my co-workers gawking at...
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A Light Rail Named Progress
I did something that I have never done before this past Saturday. Myself-and more than 51,000 riders-officially welcomed the new Light Rail train here in Seattle, Washington. By the time the weekend ended more than 92,000 had gotten a present day glimpse of the future, and of what progress looks like. It certainly had been a long time coming. I went to college in Chicago where the popular L train...
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A Guest's View on Sotomayor
The following post was written by a close friend of mine who has, in the past, invited me to guest-post on her blog. Her name and other personal details need to remain unknown for this website, but her personal experiences lately have resonated more with me as purely “Generation O” than any of my own. Enjoy:
My most vivid memory from the morning that President Obama announced Judge...
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Obama’s Commitment to Community Colleges
Christopher Beam has a nice article about President Obama’s devotion to community colleges across the country. If he gets what he wants, America’s community college system will be a few billion bucks better off. It’s a noble endeavor, and alone it isn’t enough. As Beam notes, community colleges face a serious lack of respect. At the private high school that I attended, the local community college...
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“Life experiences have to influence you. We’re not robots who listen to evidence...”
– JUDGE SONIA SOTOMAYOR at her Supreme Court confirmation hearing.
Although multiple readings reveals how contradictory this statement actually is (we are affected by our experiences, supposed to have feelings, and then put them aside?), it does what it was meant to do. It has reassured much of the...
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The Land of Opportunity
Economists still can’t agree. Is the recession waxing or waning or easing just enough for us all to get our hopes up, only to have the rug pulled out from under us? Stocks are rising, all the leading indexes show improvement, but everyday we hear news of company closings, jobs lost, and increasing unemployment numbers. We’ve been warned that employment levels will probably rebound last, so...
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WatchA little while back, we had a chance to meet Beth and Adam from the Putnam County Democrats in Tennessee. They saw us play at Hippie Jacks music festival, and a friend introduced us to them after the show. They were really excited about Obama’s win in the fall election, but what was even more interesting to me was that they were so excited and motivated about other things as well. This...
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Contention in the Courtroom: The (Not So) New...
Sonia Sotomayor, a judge from the Second Circuit Court of Appeals, has been tapped by the Obama Administration to replace retiring Justice Souter on the Supreme Court. Of course, you would have to have been living under a rock for the past few weeks not to know that. Her nomination is historical in that she will be the first Latina to serve on the Court, and undoubtedly Justice Ginsberg is pleased...
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WatchTelisha and I were in Pensacola, FL, a few days ago for a show. At the end of the night we had a few minutes to talk to our friend Enid Sisskin about her thoughts on the health care debate. It was pretty loud after the show, and unfortunatly a lot of clanging and banging from tearing down the stage comes through in the interview. I hate that, but I still think it’s worth checking out. ...
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Three The Obama Way
In honor of his most recent overseas trip, I did some research and came across a few pictures of how artists from the countries of Russia and Italy and the continent of Africa use local art customs to honor Obama (the African cloth was created in Tanzania, while it was Ghana that Obama visited). Russia
Tanzania
The phrase “Upendo na Amani Tujalia Mungu” translates into “God...
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Earlier today, a meeting between two highly influential heads of state shared a 25 minute meeting. After making his debut in the G8 summit, President Barack Obama met for the first time with Pope Benedict XVI. After speaking and being loudly booed at Notre Dame’s commencement last May, many perceived Obama’s relationship with Catholicism as one tarnished by his pro-choice stance and his efforts to...
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Earlier today, a meeting between two highly influential heads of state shared a 25 minute meeting. After making his debut in the G8 summit, President Barack Obama met for the first time with Pope Benedict XVI. After speaking and being loudly booed at Notre Dame’s commencement last May, many perceived Obama’s relationship with Catholicism as one tarnished by his pro-choice stance and his efforts to...
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An Epic Gathering of Generation O
Last week I took the opportunity to travel to Washington DC and join hundreds of fellow members of Generation O at the annual Campus Progress National Conference. Since this was my first year attending, I wasn’t entirely sure what to expect. The lineup of speakers and guests looked phenomenal, so I knew the event had promise. Ultimately, Campus Progress exceeded nearly every expectation I had for...
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A Mother's Letter about Her Gay Son's Rights...
Dear Mr Ahern,
My name is Helen Doody, you have already received and failed to reply to a letter that my own son Declan sent to you a week or so ago. So like any good and decent parent I am now trying to get you to listen to and protect my child – it is the very least that any mother would do for her own children.
I read Declan’s email and everything he said to you in the e-mail was true. He had...
Is Putin put-out?
Having a Russian wife, I know that I would catch some wrath if I don’t address Obama’s recent visit to Russia. Many things were addressed while he was there, and I think a good amount of progress could be made between one of the biggest and most powerful nations east of the Atlantic. Generally speaking (and I say generally because there are always exceptions…), Russians are huge...
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Obama-era dancing (Salsa in Delhi!?) and now
*Anish Popli, founder of Choreotheque dance institute in Delhi, India, talks about why sharing through dance is an important agenda for our new global economy. ***
Art activists led by Quincy Jones are lobbying to get an arts department under Obama’s administration.
I hope dance gains a whole White House floor — to promote formal and informal dance spaces, companies, dance movies, and...
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Contention in the Courtroom: The (Not So) New...
Sonia Sotomayor, a judge from the Second Circuit Court of Appeals, has been tapped by the Obama Administration to replace retiring Justice Souter on the Supreme Court. Of course, you would have to have been living under a rock for the past few weeks not to know that. Her nomination is historical in that she will be the first Latina to serve on the Court, and undoubtedly Justice Ginsberg is pleased...
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She's About To Get Mavericky With It.
Alaskan Gov. Sarah Palin has resigned more than a year before her first term ends. Aside from disappointing all of those that voted for her (it’s not as if she left early to serve a wider range of people, like Obama did), the abrupt nature of it all and lack of clear explanation is puzzling. As such, since she did such a great job turning her press conference into one gigantic cliffhanger...
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Delhi gays gain right to kiss; America should be...
Thursday, gays and lesbians in India won the battle over a persisting British Raj penal code which banned consensual sex between homosexuals, when the Delhi High Court ruled to de-criminalize the colonial law.
While cheering among blaring pop songs and inside news stations covering the landmark decision— I met with India’s conservative right, bemoaning the shift toward...
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The Infancy of Democracy
So I went over to a friend’s house the other evening for a “Movie Night,” and the movie that he had picked to watch was Evita. I had never taken the time to sit down and watch the film in its entirety, and I’m glad that I finally did. While the musical quality isn’t excellent, there are some good numbers, and more importantly it tells a great story, one that, as the Fourth of July approaches, I...
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Mom, Soccer, and Apple Pie
July 4th, 2006, was my first Independence Day not spent in the United States. Three years ago I was studying abroad in Tanzania. During that same time, the 2006 World Cup was going on. I was more concerned with missing the World Cup then celebrating July 4th. While in Tanzania, I expected to be cut off from television and the Internet. I packed a small radio in my luggage so I could tune into...
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