Making Black History Month a White House Priority

Snow aside, on the evening of February 9, 2010, the President and the First Lady celebrated Black History Month with a musical tribute to one of the Civil Rights' most powerful tools and its lasting legacy...the songs and the music. White House staff must have worked hard on Wednesday evening to dig a path through the white stuff to make it possible for Bob Dylan, Jennifer Hudson, Smokey Robinson, Robert DeNiro, Morgan Freeman, Yolanda Adams, Natalie Cole, the Blind Boys of Alabama, Dr. Bernice Johnson Reagon and more to make it to the White House for "In Performace at the White House: A Celebration of Music from the Civil Rights Movement." If you missed the NPR bit, be sure to watch the footage of this impressive event on PBS starting on Thursday.

Mr. President, Keep up the Good Work

Is it just me or does it seem like the entire country is dissatisfied with President Obama? I must say that even as a constant critic of President Obama and his administration, I am disturbed by the negativity that seems to follow every decision he makes.

In watching the decision to send more troops to Afghanistan, I took a step back and appreciated President Obama's process of deliberation, including his intellectual curiosity that should accompany such a grave decision. Add to this, the agreement of NATO countries to send more troops, and I think we are seeing the dividends of having a president who has invested in (re)building our nation's reputation and relationships.

Of course there is a lot of work to get the country to where we need to be. The economy still needs to be "fixed," healthcare needs to pass, DADT needs to be repealed, and unemployment needs to return to four to five percent. The list can continue. However, I for one would like to credit the president for being on the right track.

It's no easy job but I wish him all the best, for his sake and ours!

Food and the Health Care Debate

Michael Pollan released a well-timed op-ed on NYT this morning to follow on the President's fiery speech last night.

Pollan addresses an essential question that has thus far been ignored by politicians:

What is the food industries role in the health care debate?

As Pollan writes, antiquated farm policy has led to,

The government is putting itself in the uncomfortable position of subsidizing both the costs of treating Type 2 diabetes and the consumption of high-fructose corn syrup.

His final conclusion? Forcing health insurance companies to pay the true cost of chronic disease care may be the impetus for not just for farm policy reform, but for changing the dangerous way that Americans eat.

Don't miss this one.

(Photo copyright: ZeroOne)

Obama Nominates Latina Justice

From today's New York Times feature on Obama Supreme Court nominee, Sonia Sotomayor:

"Judge Sotomayor has said her ethnicity and gender are important factors in serving on the bench, a point that could generate debate. “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,” she said in a 2002 lecture."

It will be interesting to see how the confirmation hearing plays out given her ethnicity, the large Democratic majority and her even judicial temperament. I argue she's a winner (and not only because she shares a name with one of the Regenerates)

His Politics are Global?

One would think that the current economic crisis would put a fine point on the phrase, "all politics is local." However, looking at President Obama's recently released budget, one can argue his politics are global. The budget increases funding for the State Department and other International Programs from $47.2 billion in 2009 to $51.7 billion in 2010 - a slight increase, but an increase no less. While the increases include typical strategic priorities, such as funding for Pakistan, Afghanistan, and anti-terror activities, the president's budget also increases funding for "soft" issues such as global health (HIV, malaria, tuberculosis) and education.

Although I share some of the criticisms made of President Obama's international funding plan by the Center for Global Development, I support his overall vision.

Nonetheless, I wonder if there are folks who believe there is a real choice between helping abroad and helping those at home? Perhaps, some would argue the additional $4.5 billion could be better spent domestically? Or is this is a false choice?


(Picture taken while I was working in Rwanda during the Summer of '07)