August 28th

    On August 28, 1963, nearly 47 years ago, Martin Luther King Jr. spoke his famous "I Have a Dream" speech on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial. I analyzed the speech this year in an AP english class and was truly inspired at not only his rhetoric, but at his determination and will to stand for something that a majority of the country didn't agree with. Check the entire speech here. Today, conservative right-wing psycho Glenn Beck decided to host a "Restoring Honor Rally," at the Lincoln Memorial today, August 28, 2010. Guests like Sarah Palin made short speeches, but a majority of the rally was preaching of "Christian values." "It has nothing to do with politics. It has everything to do with God. Everything [with] turning our face back to the values and the principles that made us great.", Glenn Beck. The rally was sponsored by FOX News and consisted of mainly Tea Party members. I guess the purpose was to honor those who died for our country but it seemed more like a right-wing tactic to promote their twisted views. A twitter tweeted it best, "Glenn Beck & Sarah Palin hosting a "restoring honor" rally is like Paris Hilton & Lindsey Lohan hosting a "healthy lifestyles" seminar. Very true.

     Also, Reverend Al Sharpton had a similar march at Washington's Dunbar High School. "Just because you got the spot doesn't mean you're standing up for the dream," he commented, regarding Beck's rally. His march was called "Reclaiming the Dream" and aimed to commemerate King's speech. "They want to disgrace this day and we're not giving them this day. This is our day and we ain't giving it away," Sharpton claimed. Although, Glenn Beck said the date of his rally was purely coincidental. Either way, it is not a 'black day' or a 'white day'! It's our country's day; and a day to celebrate great Americans such as Martin Luther King Jr and Abraham Lincoln. While the rallys, marches, and theatrics are entertaining, they merely break our country apart even further. Let's just focus on moving forward, leaving the two sided political fights behind us like yesterday's paper.
And since this post went over, HAPPY BIRTHDAY MICHAEL JACKSON<3

On Hiatus

Happy Birthday President Obama! Today he turns 49! Also, over the weekend former President Bill Clinton's walked his daughter Chelsea down the aisle to marry the 'love of her life' Marc Mezvinsky.

 

^(due to college apps.) I will be back soon. ^

Hmm..

     I know i'm late on this but rumors are surrounding singer, Wycef Jean, and his possible run for Presidency of his hometown country of Haiti. Jean was born in Haiti and probably the most visible contributor to the Haiti relief fund. He was also a tremendous supporter of his country years before the 2009 earthquake. Jean also established the Yele Haiti Foundation in 2005. He has until August 7th to announce his candidacy! I think he would make a great President if he can truely commit all his time and energy. Although, it is clear that Haiti has remained a high priority throughout his life. Elections are Novemeber 28th. Wishing him the best.      
      Shirley Sherrod, as mentioned in a previous post, still remains a headline topic. Just recently she decided to file suit against conservative blogger Andrew Breitbart. Speaking Thursday at the National Association of Black Journalists convention she exclaimed, "I have not recieved an apology from Breitbart and no longer want one." She also announced that she would be suing him for the video he posted of her on his blog, where he portrayed her as racist towards Whites. Will she win in court? What is the precedent she is basing the suit on? There are countless questions swarming her decision. I personally think she has every right to sue him, and hope she wins. However the biggest question may be whether it was his freedom of speech to post the video in any form, edited or not. He is a "journalist" after all. Her stance is that he published the video with "actual malice" and targeted her specifically; leading to her ultimately being fired from her job. I do not believe her lawsuit is specifically attempting to dismiss the First Amendement, as Breitbart is using to his defense. We'll see what happens within the upcoming weeks.

      (Sorry I haven't posted lately I've been in DC, and no wifi >:[ )

Americans with Disabilities Act

  Today, July 26 2010 marks the 20th anniversary of the Disabilities Act signed by President George H. Bush in 1990. The Act prohibits discrimination based on disability, addresses access to the workplace, and requires instructions to Federal agencies that enforce the law. The Act prohibits any employer from discriminating against qualified individuals with disabilities along with providing equal opportunity in public accomodations and transportation. However, like every piece of legislation, there is an opposition with some critical reviews. Some believe that the ADA does not consider groups of individuals disabled until a case is brought to court, or that big companies still don't comply with federal regulations. Well, I believe the Act has done a lot of good for millions of people. Democratic Sen. Tom Harkin of Iowa saluted the people who helped bring the Americans with Disabilities Act into law, "Twenty years ago, we heard testimony from Americans who had to crawl on their hands and knees to go up a flight of stairs; who couldn't ride on a bus because there wasn't a lift; who couldn't even cross the street in their wheelchairs because there were no curb cuts." Harkin was an original sponsor of the legislation and added, "The ADA has broken down barriers, created opportunities and transformed lives." With regards to employment, Obama explained, "We’re going to boost recruitment, we’re going to boost training, we’re going to boost retention." He went on to say, “We’ll better train hiring managers. Each agency will have a senior official who’s accountable for achieving the goals we’ve set. And I expect regular reports."

Americans with Disabilities Facts:

• According to the 2010 Census Bureau, 54 million Americans have a disability. (1 in 5 people)
• More than three million people, 15 yrs +, use a wheelchair.
• Michigan was among the first states to to have laws protecting disabled people.
• 21% of disabled working-age Americans had a job in the past year, versus 59% for those without disabilities.
• Disabled people does not only apply to the physically impaired, but the deaf, blind, those unable to function independently, the crippled, and those mentally/cognitively impaired.

Although the statistics towards the Act are not always looking upwards, the real impact is that the youth truely embrace the law, and the acceptance of disabled people is far greater than in past decades.

"Equal access. Equal opportunity. The freedom to make our lives what we will. These aren’t principles that belong to any one group or any one political party. They are common principles. They are American principles." -Barack Obama

Shirley Sherrod

     Racism not only remains am ugly stamp stuck on our nation's history but it will continue to be evident despite any or all progress made. My last blog post as well is this one will hopefully illuminate the ignorance and hatred that still lives throughout our society. Shirley Sherrod was an official working with the U.S Department of Agriculture. Sherrod made a speech at an NAACP meeting ( Mar27) and when her words were twisted into a reverse racism claim, she was forced to resign; uncovering the dangers of the media, FOX news, and ignorant bloggers. Her father was killed by a white man when she was a child, and some of the comments in her speech regarded not helping a White farmer as much as she could have; although she was discussing a dilemma faced 24 years ago. Later in the speech she goes on to explain that she eventually did help the White farmer, and came to acknowledge that she wanted to help all people in need, regardless of race. Right wing blogger, Andrew Breitbart released an edited video of her speech, leaving out the whole second half where she explained how she brought the White farmer back on his feet. He then posted this video on his blog describing Sherrod and the Obama Whitehouse as supporting reverse racism and having only the interest of Black America. Before long, the video began to appear on FOX news what seemed to be on repeat.  The release of this video and lack of investigation led to her being fired from the USDA and the NAACP publicly critizing her on behalf of these "racist remarks." But, as usual, the truth emerged and the full length, un-edited version appeared. Within the last couple days, the apologies began flowing in. Tom Vilsac, the Sec. of Agriculture offered her a higher position in the USDA and the NAACP President Banjamin Jealous explains "Having reviewed the full tape, spoken to Ms. Sherrod, and most importantly heard the testimony of the white farmers mentioned in this story, we now believe the organization that edited the documents did so with the intention of deceiving millions of Americans." President Obama goes on to say, “He jumped the gun, partly because we now live in this media culture where something goes up on YouTube or a blog and everybody scrambles,” in response to Sherrod's forced resignation. This entire story goes on to portray the media take-over and lack of investigation in today's politics. I believe the NAACP and the USDA were both entirely wrong in garnishing her reputation for believing a video a RIGHT wing blogger and FOX news put out. This story also goes on to show how conservatives are dying to blame race for everything wrong in America. Although racism will continue to remain evident, it is up to the younger generation to be more tolerant of eachother and embrace diversity as the only source to improving society as we know it.