Obama's Disability Liaison: Meet Claudia Gordon

Last week, Claudia Gordon began her new role in the White House Office of Public Engagement as the Public Engagement Advisor to the Disability Community.  Her title is Associate Director. Gordon will be a liaison between the disability community and the Obama Administration, a role which was previously filled by Kareem Dale.

Previously, Gordon worked at the U.S. Department of Labor where she focused on improving employment opportunities for individuals with disabilities. She has held leadership positions at the National Council for Disability, American Association of People with Disabilities, and the National Association of the Deaf Law and Advocacy Center. She also worked for the U. S. Dept. of Homeland Security.

 

Gordon, who suddenly lost her hearing at age eight, hails from Jamaica and came to the United States when she was eleven.  She graduated from American University Washington College of Law in 2000, the first deaf student to accomplish that feat.

Congratulations to Claudia Gordon on her new position and we look forward to seeing her make a difference on issues impacting children and youth with disabilities and the professionals who work on their behalf.

Astronaut Neil Armstrong: Rest In Peace

US astronaut Neil Armstrong, the first man on the Moon, has died at the age of 82. Armstrong was commander of the Apollo 11 space flight and on July 20, 1969, he made "one giant leap for mankind". That “one small step” on the moon immortalized him in the annals of space exploration. An estimated 600 million TV viewers watched the event.

Armstrong had undergone heart surgery Aug. 8, three days after his 82nd birthday. In their announcement, his family said that he had died from post-surgery complications.

Happy Birthday First Daughter Malia Obama



Tom Cruise may be remembered for his Viet Nam era movie Born on the Fourth of July, but as the nation celebrates Independence Day, the Obama are celebrating Malia's fourteenth birthday. Yes, there's a teenager in the White House and while the President deals with critical international and domestic issues, he and First Lady Michele are raising their two daughters in the fish bowl at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue in Washington, D. C. Happy Birthday Malia!

President Obama on Rush Limbaugh's Apology

Here's the full text of President Obama's answer to a question by USA TODAY's Aamer Madhani about Rush Limbaugh's apology for calling a law student "a slut," the talk show host's subsequent loss of sponsors, and the nature of political discourse.

"You know, I'm not going to comment on what sponsors decide to do. I'm not going to comment on either the economics or the politics of it. I don't know what's in Rush Limbaugh's heart, so I'm not going to comment on the sincerity of his apology.
"What I can comment on is the fact that all decent folks can agree that the remarks that were made don't have any place in the public discourse.

Medal of Honor Marine Has Beer with President Obama

President Obama awarded Marine Corporal Dakota Meyer, 23, the Medal of Honor on Thursday, the highest award given to members of the armed services. He’s just the third living veteran to receive the award for service in Afghanistan or Iraq and the first living Marine to be honored since 1973.

When White House staff contacted him to arrange the ceremony, Meyer asked if he could have a beer with Obama, and the president invited him to the White House on Wednesday, Press Secretary Jay Carney said. After Carney tweeted a photo of Meyer and the President having a beer on the patio outside the Oval Office, some naysayers did not approve, calling the meeting a "photo-op". I say "so what".  The Marine asked and the Presient obliged.  End of that story!

The real story, the bravery of Corp. Meyer, should not be forgotten. Meyer saved the lives of three dozen U.S. and Afghan comrades during an hours-long battle with the Taliban in 2009. Meyer personally killed at least eight insurgents despite taking shrapnel to his arm.

Read more: http://www.time.com/time/nation/article/0,8599,2093409,00.html#ixzz1Y8UECVUF

Ruby Bridge's Walk-50th Anniversary

President Barack Obama last week made a request to the Normal Rockwell Museum to hang the iconic painter’s art work inside the White House to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the Ruby Bridge’s walk to integrate the William Frantz Public School in New Orleans on Nov. 14, 1960.

The painting portrays the little girl being ushered to school by deputy U.S. Marshals.

Rockwell's "The Problem We All Live With," will hang outside the Oval Office. Rockwell's painting was made for the cover of the January 14, 1964, issue of Look magazine. It's one of his most powerful, courageous, and ardent pictures.

The painting will be on display at the White House until October 31st.

Related articles

• Civil Rights-era Rockwell painting borrowed by Obama (thegrio.com)
• What do people remember about ruby bridges (wiki.answers.com)
• Ruby Bridges at Mount Vernon Hotel Museum (togetherbooktalk.wordpress.com)

McCain, King Resolution to Pardon Jack Johnson

Sen. John McCain and Rep. Peter King again are pushing a congressional resolution urging a presidential pardon for Jack Johnson, who became the world's first black heavyweight champion a century ago.

"A full pardon would not only shed light on the achievements of an athlete who was forced into the shadows of bigotry and prejudice, but also allow future generations to grasp fully what Jack Johnson accomplished against great odds." The original resolution overwhelmingly passed Congress in 2009. McCain and King have introduced virtually the same resolution in Congress to pardon Johnson since 2004.

President Barack Obama refused to act on the call for a pardon in the last congressional session, even after the resolution passed both houses of Congress. The Justice Department told the lawmakers that such requests are best used for the living.

Related articles

• McCain, King again seek pardon for former heavyweight champ Jack Johnson (thehill.com)
• McCain, King Resolution Calls for Pardoning Boxer (nytimes.com)
• McCain, King resolution calls for pardoning boxer (sfgate.com)

WH Poetry Night Draws Right Wing Criticism

President Barack Obama spoke about the importance of poetry and the arts at an event hosted by the President's Committee on the Arts and Humanities. The whole event — part of Michelle Obama’s White House Music Series — was a PG-rated PSA for poetry and arts education, but the media conjured a controversy before it even happened.

The Washington Post Lifestyle reports this week, Common was deemed a “vile,” “cop killer rapper” in headlines on Fox Nation, a Web site run by Fox News. Criticism sprang from other conservative fountainheads, including former Alaska governor Sarah Palin (who tweeted her disapproval), the Daily Caller (which excerpted lyrics through which Common bemoaned police conduct and President George W. Bush’s initiation of the war in Iraq) and Fox News anchor Sean Hannity (who Tuesday devoted 10 minutes of his show to what the network branded “The Invitation”).

The media tug of war ensued despite Common’s reputation as a morally engaged lyricist who condemns violence and has written children’s books and started a foundation to promote leadership among urban youths.

As the president put it during his opening remarks: “A great poem is one that resonates with us, that challenges us, and that teaches us something about ourselves and the world that we live in.”

Related articles

• White House Defends Invite to Rapper Common (abcnews.go.com)
• Rapper at White House Poetry Night Draws GOP Ire - ABC News (news.google.com)
• Sarah Palin & Fox News Criticize Michelle Obama for Inviting Common to White House (binsidetv.net)

Obama Not Muslim: The Roots of Americans’ Baseless Beliefs - The Daily Beast

Tunku Varadarajan wrote an interesting article for The Daily Beast on the baseless beliefs of some Americans that President Obama is Muslim. There's a hint on the contentin the title of the article.."America the Ignorant".  I thought it was worth sharing and worth the time to read.

Tunku Varadarajan is a national affairs correspondent and writer at large for The Daily Beast. He is also the Virginia Hobbs Carpenter Fellow in Journalism at Stanford's Hoover Institution and a professor at NYU's Stern Business School. He is a former assistant managing editor at The Wall Street Journal.

Click the link below to access the article:

Obama Not Muslim: The Roots of Americans’ Baseless Beliefs - The Daily Beast

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