Even with those and other critiques, blocking her confirmation will be a long shot.
Anyway, we found this biographical sketch of Judge Sotomayor produced by the Law School Admission Council. Check it out.
Showing posts with label Barack Obama. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Barack Obama. Show all posts
Thursday, May 28, 2009
Long shot to block Sotomayor
Critics have raised questions about President Obama’s Supreme Court nominee Sonia Sotomayor stemming from her (unscripted yet videotaped) statement that “Court of Appeals is where policy is made” and a 2001 speech in which she stated “I would hope that a wise Latina woman with the richness of her experiences would more often than not reach a better conclusion than a white male who hasn't lived that life.”
Even with those and other critiques, blocking her confirmation will be a long shot.
Anyway, we found this biographical sketch of Judge Sotomayor produced by the Law School Admission Council. Check it out.
Even with those and other critiques, blocking her confirmation will be a long shot.
Anyway, we found this biographical sketch of Judge Sotomayor produced by the Law School Admission Council. Check it out.
Tuesday, May 19, 2009
CBC members are (for the most part) fasting for Darfur
Members of the Congressional Black Caucus say they want President Obama to make the crisis in Darfur a top priority, and to show that they mean business they are fasting for the cause.
Well, the fast will be limited. On a rotating basis, that is. Actually, each person will fast for up to a few days at a time. And just through Congress’ adjournment in August.
Way to be tough. Yep. That should do it.
If you want to fast for Darfur, and for longer than a few days, go to Darfur Fast For Life.
Well, the fast will be limited. On a rotating basis, that is. Actually, each person will fast for up to a few days at a time. And just through Congress’ adjournment in August.
Way to be tough. Yep. That should do it.
If you want to fast for Darfur, and for longer than a few days, go to Darfur Fast For Life.
Tuesday, May 12, 2009
The White House's First Poetry Jam
(AP Photo/Gerald Herbert)
Tonight, the Obamas hosted a poetry jam at the White House. It was a small event, but carries a lot of weight considering the unprecedentedly diverse group of artists and performers. The event included Hawaiian, Puerto Rican, Jewish and African American writers.
“We’re here to celebrate the power of words and music to help us appreciate beauty and also to understand pain,’’ the president told the crowd.
Mayda del Valle, a 30-year-old poet from Chicago who performed, told the New York Times:
“To be able to go in the White House and to represent my grandmother and my ancestors, it really means a lot. It’s a generation of women that don’t often get heard, you know, these old Puerto Rican women that no one ever really thinks about. To be able to use my voice to represent them on this kind of platform is really powerful.”
Another favorite quote from the article: Desiree Rogers, the White House social secretary (and fellow Wellesley alum, I might ad):
“Our goal really is to bring the house alive,’’ said Rogers. “We’re all American, but all of us come from different backgrounds. We want to expose Americans to other Americans that are doing brilliant work.’’
So simple, but so refreshing.
Wednesday, April 29, 2009
Thursday, April 23, 2009
Don't call me sweetie
Okay, when I hear someone call me this word...I cringe...but I am unsure of the roots of this uneasy feeling. Perhaps, the moment began when my Southern grandmother addressed my other grandmother in such a gooey manner. "Honey. Please be careful when you grab the groceries." I was around eight years old, and I reprimanded her for using a pet name to address a woman her age. "Her name is Nellie," I said. My grandmother glared at me. Was she trying to be nice?
Even as a silly kid something bugged me about the saccharin sweet dismissive: HONEY. Did I sense condescension? Was it belittling? I didn't know the word, but I certainly reacted in kind to the gesture. Some feeling made me want to sink down in that hot car seat, to blush or to come out swinging. Sound familiar?
So, let's go down the list: "Honey", "Sweetie", "Dear", "Dearie", "Dearest, "Hon", "Sweetie Pie", "Darlin". Any of these names may irk me, depending on the source. From the waitress at the coffee shop, to a college friend I haven't heard from in ages, to a supervisor at work, there is something about someone (man or woman) addressing me by anything other than MY NAME - specifically, any of the terms listed above.
But are the sweetie-calling people of the world misunderstood? Perhaps, this isn't a desire to condescend but a way to show affection? A way to reach out? Is it cultural? A way to endear? One may recall President Obama telling a female reporter during a press conference last year, "Hold on a second, sweetie." (The seemingly nice gesture didn't go over well and some screamed sexism. He later apologized to the reporter on voicemail excusing himself for the "bad habit.")
According to one online commentator, "What a silly issue. People who can take time in their life to get angry and think about something like being called sweetie needs to find something positive to do. "
But experts say this way of communicating is just plain harmful. In a study recently published in the American Journal of Alzheimers's Disease and other Dementias, such language is also known as "elderspeak" or infantilizing communication. In short, caregivers in nursing homes often use the names "dear" and "sweetie" when addressing aging patients. The result: higher rates of depression, decreased self-esteem and withdrawal among the elderly. Why? Because, no matter what the intentions may be, using the words can cause feelings of inadequacy and helplessness.
Dr. Becca Levy, professor of psychology at Yale, told the New York Times, elderspeak even poses problems in the professional world. According to Dr. Levy, "Words like 'dear' have a life of their own. It’s harder to change because people spend so much of their lives observing it without having a stake in it, not realizing it’s belittling to call someone that.”
Ultimately, ask yourself, should an adult address another adult like a two-year old who can't pick out a popsicle flavor? No. So, I suggest...think of your audience, your intention...who you are addressing.
For me, the supposedly kind gesture often makes me squirm. So stop. Please. And next time I won't ask sweetly...not even in a sweetly belittling kind of way. Perhaps, I am touchy. But I am certainly not alone. Try Googling the subject. And, if you don't want to come out and say, "Stop calling me sweetie" - Order the t-shirt.
Even as a silly kid something bugged me about the saccharin sweet dismissive: HONEY. Did I sense condescension? Was it belittling? I didn't know the word, but I certainly reacted in kind to the gesture. Some feeling made me want to sink down in that hot car seat, to blush or to come out swinging. Sound familiar?
So, let's go down the list: "Honey", "Sweetie", "Dear", "Dearie", "Dearest, "Hon", "Sweetie Pie", "Darlin". Any of these names may irk me, depending on the source. From the waitress at the coffee shop, to a college friend I haven't heard from in ages, to a supervisor at work, there is something about someone (man or woman) addressing me by anything other than MY NAME - specifically, any of the terms listed above.
But are the sweetie-calling people of the world misunderstood? Perhaps, this isn't a desire to condescend but a way to show affection? A way to reach out? Is it cultural? A way to endear? One may recall President Obama telling a female reporter during a press conference last year, "Hold on a second, sweetie." (The seemingly nice gesture didn't go over well and some screamed sexism. He later apologized to the reporter on voicemail excusing himself for the "bad habit.")
According to one online commentator, "What a silly issue. People who can take time in their life to get angry and think about something like being called sweetie needs to find something positive to do. "
But experts say this way of communicating is just plain harmful. In a study recently published in the American Journal of Alzheimers's Disease and other Dementias, such language is also known as "elderspeak" or infantilizing communication. In short, caregivers in nursing homes often use the names "dear" and "sweetie" when addressing aging patients. The result: higher rates of depression, decreased self-esteem and withdrawal among the elderly. Why? Because, no matter what the intentions may be, using the words can cause feelings of inadequacy and helplessness.
Dr. Becca Levy, professor of psychology at Yale, told the New York Times, elderspeak even poses problems in the professional world. According to Dr. Levy, "Words like 'dear' have a life of their own. It’s harder to change because people spend so much of their lives observing it without having a stake in it, not realizing it’s belittling to call someone that.”
Ultimately, ask yourself, should an adult address another adult like a two-year old who can't pick out a popsicle flavor? No. So, I suggest...think of your audience, your intention...who you are addressing.
For me, the supposedly kind gesture often makes me squirm. So stop. Please. And next time I won't ask sweetly...not even in a sweetly belittling kind of way. Perhaps, I am touchy. But I am certainly not alone. Try Googling the subject. And, if you don't want to come out and say, "Stop calling me sweetie" - Order the t-shirt.
Saturday, April 18, 2009
Iran convicts American journalist of espionage
This is a sad day for Roxana Saberi and her family. Iran convicted the American reporter of spying on Iran for the United States and sentenced her to eight years. As one online reporter aptly stated, "Where is the outrage? Why aren’t Americans calling for immediate action by the Obama administration to free American journalist Roxana Saberi?"
And...I also ask...where is the outrage? But, then I think, will "outrage" help or hurt her? Will angry Americans only deepen Iran's resolve to imprison Roxana Saberi? Yet how can we remain silent, as one of our own journalists is wrongly convicted during a secret trial in Tehran?
This marks the first time Iran has found an American journalist guilty of spying.
Saberi's father told NPR that Iranian officials duped his daughter into making incriminating statements by promising to set her free.
President Obama is "deeply disappointed" by the news, according to a White House official. For the past 30 years, diplomatic relations between Iran and the United States have remained at a standstill (if not volatile). Most likely, the verdict will dampen the Obama Administration's efforts to open up communication with Iran and to improve relations.
But hope remains. Roxana's attorney plans to appeal. And Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said she will continue to monitor the situation closely and hopes to get Roxana home soon.
"Posturing," my Iranian friend tells me. He believes the Iranian government is trying to make a point to the international community. All the talk, all the press, all the efforts to free Roxana have backfired and only fueled the Iranian government to convict her. In the meantime, some Iranians may want to sabotage efforts to heal relations with the United States. Is Roxana a pawn...leverage in negotiations with the U.S. government?
Please light a candle or say a prayer for Roxana Saberi tonight. And visit the website: FREE ROXANA!
There must be a way to bring her home peacefully.
And...I also ask...where is the outrage? But, then I think, will "outrage" help or hurt her? Will angry Americans only deepen Iran's resolve to imprison Roxana Saberi? Yet how can we remain silent, as one of our own journalists is wrongly convicted during a secret trial in Tehran?
This marks the first time Iran has found an American journalist guilty of spying.
Saberi's father told NPR that Iranian officials duped his daughter into making incriminating statements by promising to set her free.
President Obama is "deeply disappointed" by the news, according to a White House official. For the past 30 years, diplomatic relations between Iran and the United States have remained at a standstill (if not volatile). Most likely, the verdict will dampen the Obama Administration's efforts to open up communication with Iran and to improve relations.
But hope remains. Roxana's attorney plans to appeal. And Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said she will continue to monitor the situation closely and hopes to get Roxana home soon.
"Posturing," my Iranian friend tells me. He believes the Iranian government is trying to make a point to the international community. All the talk, all the press, all the efforts to free Roxana have backfired and only fueled the Iranian government to convict her. In the meantime, some Iranians may want to sabotage efforts to heal relations with the United States. Is Roxana a pawn...leverage in negotiations with the U.S. government?
Please light a candle or say a prayer for Roxana Saberi tonight. And visit the website: FREE ROXANA!
There must be a way to bring her home peacefully.
Sunday, January 25, 2009
A Voice for the Voiceless
There is one thing all leaders have in common. They’ve all stood in a room and were mocked for what they believed in. More importantly, they left that room and continued to believe.
In October, I attended a CNN roundtable discussion on the 2008 election. Naturally, the conversation led to the economy and its downturn. Toward the end, I mustered up the nerve to ask the respected panel full of news executives and respected journalists a question about over-reporting. My question, perhaps poorly phrased, was how to keep the audience interested in a story that was so over-reported. How do you get people to care?
And the laughter came. “I think people do care, you may be the only who doesn’t.”
“You can’t force someone to care, you can only tell them the story,” said the president of a popular political blog.
I wanted to scream at him, but the mic had already been passed back to the host. The panel full of privileged individuals from generations of wealthy families all agreed that you can’t force the audience to care about issues. I wanted to tell them that they were wrong. I wanted to lecture them on the responsibility of journalists to draw the viewers in and make them care. But I knew they would think I was naïve and perhaps blinded by foolish optimism.
After that morning, I believed that true change started with anger. I was so angry at myself, at that room, at that CNN president. I was angry at the ignorance and the audacity to just brush away my ideas as if they meant nothing. But only a few weeks later when I saw Barack Obama win the presidency, the anger faded and hope was reborn.
In my work as a journalist, I’ve met people who have tuned out politics and journalism completely. The two fields are remarkably similar in how they treat the average individual. In the words of Edward R. Murrow, "The American public is more reasonable, restrained and more mature than most of our industry's program planners believe." If you treat the audience as if they have a valuable opinion, they will express it. Some may go overboard, but others will most likely appreciate being treated as thinking individuals. President-elect Obama certainly appealed to the average person. New voters turned up at the polls in record numbers. Citizens who couldn’t care less about politics were all of a sudden joined together in believing they could unite and change the norms that have been accepted for centuries.
I pray each day that the same thing will happen in journalism. Today, when we turn on the news, you don't see diversity. The reporters may be diverse, but the stories are not. As an Asian woman, I really can’t see this country with an Asian president. I can’t even see an Asian senator. Asians are the fastest growing minority next to Hispanics. Many go to college and make great lives for themselves. But many live in poverty. With lack of money comes lack of opportunity. That is why I chose to be a journalist. Giving a voice to the voiceless is how change comes about. I’ve done stories on Hispanic families whose lives are in such despair that they can never imagine what it’s like to own a home much less lose one in a bad economy. I met a black mother who lost her son in a gang-related drive-by shooting. When I pitched that story to a news station, they brushed it off as old news not worth reporting.
When everyone around you is telling you to give up, you hear a voice that faintly tells you to go on. There has to be a constant push to force the voice inside you to grow louder. The time has come for change in Washington. I believe the time has come for change in news.
In October, I attended a CNN roundtable discussion on the 2008 election. Naturally, the conversation led to the economy and its downturn. Toward the end, I mustered up the nerve to ask the respected panel full of news executives and respected journalists a question about over-reporting. My question, perhaps poorly phrased, was how to keep the audience interested in a story that was so over-reported. How do you get people to care?
And the laughter came. “I think people do care, you may be the only who doesn’t.”
“You can’t force someone to care, you can only tell them the story,” said the president of a popular political blog.
I wanted to scream at him, but the mic had already been passed back to the host. The panel full of privileged individuals from generations of wealthy families all agreed that you can’t force the audience to care about issues. I wanted to tell them that they were wrong. I wanted to lecture them on the responsibility of journalists to draw the viewers in and make them care. But I knew they would think I was naïve and perhaps blinded by foolish optimism.
After that morning, I believed that true change started with anger. I was so angry at myself, at that room, at that CNN president. I was angry at the ignorance and the audacity to just brush away my ideas as if they meant nothing. But only a few weeks later when I saw Barack Obama win the presidency, the anger faded and hope was reborn.
In my work as a journalist, I’ve met people who have tuned out politics and journalism completely. The two fields are remarkably similar in how they treat the average individual. In the words of Edward R. Murrow, "The American public is more reasonable, restrained and more mature than most of our industry's program planners believe." If you treat the audience as if they have a valuable opinion, they will express it. Some may go overboard, but others will most likely appreciate being treated as thinking individuals. President-elect Obama certainly appealed to the average person. New voters turned up at the polls in record numbers. Citizens who couldn’t care less about politics were all of a sudden joined together in believing they could unite and change the norms that have been accepted for centuries.
I pray each day that the same thing will happen in journalism. Today, when we turn on the news, you don't see diversity. The reporters may be diverse, but the stories are not. As an Asian woman, I really can’t see this country with an Asian president. I can’t even see an Asian senator. Asians are the fastest growing minority next to Hispanics. Many go to college and make great lives for themselves. But many live in poverty. With lack of money comes lack of opportunity. That is why I chose to be a journalist. Giving a voice to the voiceless is how change comes about. I’ve done stories on Hispanic families whose lives are in such despair that they can never imagine what it’s like to own a home much less lose one in a bad economy. I met a black mother who lost her son in a gang-related drive-by shooting. When I pitched that story to a news station, they brushed it off as old news not worth reporting.
When everyone around you is telling you to give up, you hear a voice that faintly tells you to go on. There has to be a constant push to force the voice inside you to grow louder. The time has come for change in Washington. I believe the time has come for change in news.
Wednesday, January 21, 2009
Well, that's just silly
Was it really necessary for President Obama to take the oath of office again?
As I mentioned yesterday, Chief Justice John Roberts flubbed the whole swearing-in thing. It made everyone uncomfortable. But we got the point.
And, according to the U.S. Constitution, Obama became President at Noon yesterday, regardless. So, was the re- swearing-in really necessary?
Well, if you want to be picky, the Constitution also states:
Like I said ... silly.
As I mentioned yesterday, Chief Justice John Roberts flubbed the whole swearing-in thing. It made everyone uncomfortable. But we got the point.
And, according to the U.S. Constitution, Obama became President at Noon yesterday, regardless. So, was the re- swearing-in really necessary?
Well, if you want to be picky, the Constitution also states:
Before he enter on the Execution of his Office, he shall take the following Oath or Affirmation:--"I do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will faithfully execute the Office of President of the United States, and will to the best of my Ability, preserve, protect and defend the Constitution of the United States."So since Roberts took Obama down some winding road around the "faithfully execute" part, rearranged some words and replaced one preposition with another preposition of his own choosing, the Obama Administration felt it was necessary to bring the two men together to do the whole thing again.
Like I said ... silly.
Tuesday, January 20, 2009
Renewal and Reconciliation
President Barack Obama's first official act:
NATIONAL DAY OF RENEWAL AND RECONCILIATION, 2009
- - - - - - -
BY THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
A PROCLAMATION
As I take the sacred oath of the highest office in the land, I am humbled by the responsibility placed upon my shoulders, renewed by the courage and decency of the American people, and fortified by my faith in an awesome God.
We are in the midst of a season of trial. Our Nation is being tested, and our people know great uncertainty. Yet the story of America is one of renewal in the face of adversity, reconciliation in a time of discord, and we know that there is a purpose for everything under heaven.
On this Inauguration Day, we are reminded that we are heirs to over two centuries of American democracy, and that this legacy is not simply a birthright -- it is a glorious burden. Now it falls to us to come together as a people to carry it forward once more.
So in the words of President Abraham Lincoln, let us remember that: "The mystic chords of memory, stretching from every battlefield and patriot grave to every living heart and hearthstone all over this broad land, will yet swell the chorus of the Union, when again touched, as surely they will be, by the better angels of our nature."
NOW, THEREFORE, I, BARACK OBAMA, President of the United States of America, by the authority vested in me by the Constitution and laws of the United States, do hereby proclaim January 20, 2009, a National Day of Renewal and Reconciliation, and call upon all of our citizens to serve one another and the common purpose of remaking this Nation for our new century.
IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand this twentieth day of January, in the year of our Lord two thousand nine, and of the Independence of the United States of America the two hundred and thirty-third.
NATIONAL DAY OF RENEWAL AND RECONCILIATION, 2009
- - - - - - -
BY THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
A PROCLAMATION
As I take the sacred oath of the highest office in the land, I am humbled by the responsibility placed upon my shoulders, renewed by the courage and decency of the American people, and fortified by my faith in an awesome God.
We are in the midst of a season of trial. Our Nation is being tested, and our people know great uncertainty. Yet the story of America is one of renewal in the face of adversity, reconciliation in a time of discord, and we know that there is a purpose for everything under heaven.
On this Inauguration Day, we are reminded that we are heirs to over two centuries of American democracy, and that this legacy is not simply a birthright -- it is a glorious burden. Now it falls to us to come together as a people to carry it forward once more.
So in the words of President Abraham Lincoln, let us remember that: "The mystic chords of memory, stretching from every battlefield and patriot grave to every living heart and hearthstone all over this broad land, will yet swell the chorus of the Union, when again touched, as surely they will be, by the better angels of our nature."
NOW, THEREFORE, I, BARACK OBAMA, President of the United States of America, by the authority vested in me by the Constitution and laws of the United States, do hereby proclaim January 20, 2009, a National Day of Renewal and Reconciliation, and call upon all of our citizens to serve one another and the common purpose of remaking this Nation for our new century.
IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand this twentieth day of January, in the year of our Lord two thousand nine, and of the Independence of the United States of America the two hundred and thirty-third.
Apparently, the oath of office is on CP time
It's Noon Eastern, Obama is President, but he hasn't taken the oath of office yet. I'll just leave it at that.
Monday, January 19, 2009
King: "it's nonviolence or nonexistence"
On this holiday honoring Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., over and over we will see his famous "I Have a Dream" speech.
While I do love that speech, I have always had a closer connection to his "I've Been to the Mountaintop" speech that he delivered to striking sanitation workers in Memphis, Tennessee, the night before he was killed.
I understand why the excerpt at the end of the "Mountaintop" speech is played over and over again - it can make the hair stand up on the back of a person's neck with its intensity and foreboding.
But my favorite part of that speech is closer to the beginning when King discusses why he is happy to live during such troubling times.
“ … I know, somehow, that only when it is dark enough can you see the stars. And I see God working in this period of the twentieth century in a way that men in some strange way are responding. Something is happening in our world. The masses of people are rising up. And wherever they are assembled today, whether they are in Johannesburg, South Africa; Nairobi, Kenya; Accra, Ghana; New York City; Atlanta, Georgia; Jackson, Mississippi; or Memphis, Tennessee, the cry is always the same: 'We want to be free.'
And another reason that I’m happy to live in this period is that we have been forced to a point where we are going to have to grapple with the problems that men have been trying to grapple with through history, but the demands didn’t force them to do it. Survival demands that we grapple with them. Men for years now have been talking about war and peace. But now no longer can they just talk about it. It is no longer a choice between violence and nonviolence in this world; it’s nonviolence or nonexistence.
And also, in the human rights revolution, if something isn’t done and done in a hurry to bring the colored peoples of the world out of their long years of poverty, their long years of hurt and neglect, the whole world is doomed. Now I’m just happy that God has allowed me to live in this period, to see what is unfolding. And I’m happy that he’s allowed me to be in Memphis.”
And with the swearing-in of the nation's first African-American president tomorrow, I'm sure King would have been happy to live in this period too. Ever mindful of the fact that the struggle continues - for human rights, civil rights, peaceful co-existence, existence.
While I do love that speech, I have always had a closer connection to his "I've Been to the Mountaintop" speech that he delivered to striking sanitation workers in Memphis, Tennessee, the night before he was killed.
I understand why the excerpt at the end of the "Mountaintop" speech is played over and over again - it can make the hair stand up on the back of a person's neck with its intensity and foreboding.
But my favorite part of that speech is closer to the beginning when King discusses why he is happy to live during such troubling times.
“ … I know, somehow, that only when it is dark enough can you see the stars. And I see God working in this period of the twentieth century in a way that men in some strange way are responding. Something is happening in our world. The masses of people are rising up. And wherever they are assembled today, whether they are in Johannesburg, South Africa; Nairobi, Kenya; Accra, Ghana; New York City; Atlanta, Georgia; Jackson, Mississippi; or Memphis, Tennessee, the cry is always the same: 'We want to be free.'
And another reason that I’m happy to live in this period is that we have been forced to a point where we are going to have to grapple with the problems that men have been trying to grapple with through history, but the demands didn’t force them to do it. Survival demands that we grapple with them. Men for years now have been talking about war and peace. But now no longer can they just talk about it. It is no longer a choice between violence and nonviolence in this world; it’s nonviolence or nonexistence.
And also, in the human rights revolution, if something isn’t done and done in a hurry to bring the colored peoples of the world out of their long years of poverty, their long years of hurt and neglect, the whole world is doomed. Now I’m just happy that God has allowed me to live in this period, to see what is unfolding. And I’m happy that he’s allowed me to be in Memphis.”
And with the swearing-in of the nation's first African-American president tomorrow, I'm sure King would have been happy to live in this period too. Ever mindful of the fact that the struggle continues - for human rights, civil rights, peaceful co-existence, existence.
Wednesday, December 24, 2008
Happy holidays from the President, uh, -elect
Since none of you really care what your actual President (what's his name? Oh, right. Bush!) is up to this Christmas Eve at Camp David, here's the holiday message from your Hawaii Five-O President-elect Obama.
By the way, Happy Winter Solstice, Happy Hannukah, Merry Christmas, Happy Kwanzaa, Happy New Year and Merry whatever else I forgot.
By the way, Happy Winter Solstice, Happy Hannukah, Merry Christmas, Happy Kwanzaa, Happy New Year and Merry whatever else I forgot.
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