Politics. On Point.

Talks a Bold Talk On Immigration and Education Last week Virginia senator Richard Saslaw received kudos from the Hispanic Leadership Alliance at their annual scholarship banquet where five Latino students were awarded college scholarships by the group started by Fairfax County educators. Saslaw says he has been a strong advocate for immigrants. Virginia senator, Richard Saslaw, accepts the '2011 Leader of the Year' award from the Hispanic Leadership Alliance. Photo/CD Brown. "This nation was raised by immigrants', said Saslaw. "If you take a look at all the technological advances in the last century, a lot of been made by immigrants."  Naming off a few contributors: Jonas Salk, Albert Einstein, Edwin Teller, and the founder of Intel, Saslaw said "the list is endless." However, the immigrants Saslaw was referring to weren't subjected to the interrogation that Latinos and other people of color have experienced in their relentless pur...

On Thursday, June 2, First Lady Michelle Obama and Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack will unveil a new food icon that will serve as a reminder to help consumers make healthier food choices. The 2010 White House Child Obesity Task Force called for simple, actionable advice to equip consumers with information to help them make healthy food choices. As a result, USDA will be introducing the new food icon to replace the MyPyramid image as the government’s primary food group symbol. It will be an easy-to-understand visual cue to help consumers adopt healthy eating habits consistent with the 2010 Dietary Guidelines for Americans. MyPyramid will remain available to interested health professionals and nutrition educators in a special section of the new website. The new food icon will be part of a comprehensive nutrition communication initiative that provides consumers with easy-to-understand recommendations, a new website with expanded information, and other tools and resources. Watc...

President Obama Announces Intent to Nominate John Bryson as U.S. Department of Commerce Secretary  John Bryson.  A/P photo.  Today, President Obama will announce his intent to nominate John Bryson as the Secretary of U.S. Department of Commerce. Mr. Bryson will play a key role as a member of the President’s economic team, bringing decades of knowledge and experience in the public and private sectors, and will provide valuable ideas and initiatives to strengthen America’s competiveness around the world. “I am pleased to nominate John Bryson to be our nation’s Secretary of Commerce, as he understands what it takes for America to succeed in a 21st century global economy,” said President Obama. “John will be an important part of my economic team, working with the business community, fostering growth, and helping open up new markets abroad to promote jobs and opportunities here at home.” The President is confident in Mr. Bryson’s ability to lead the Department and promot...

President Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama appeared at Arlington National Cemetery with military members, Gold Star families, veterans and other Americans who came to honor and remember those who gave the ultimate sacrifice for our country. After presenting a wreath at the Tomb of the Unknowns, the President spoke at the Memorial Day Service, attempting to provide comfort to those families who lost loved ones. "This day is about you, and the fallen heroes that you loved. And it’s a day that has meaning for all Americans, including me. It’s one of my highest honors, it is my most solemn responsibility as President, to serve as Commander-in-Chief of one of the finest fighting forces the world has ever known. And it’s a responsibility that carries a special weight on this day; that carries a special weight each time I meet with our Gold Star families and I see the pride in their eyes, but also the tears of pain that will never fully go away; each time I sit down at my desk and...

There's no stopping our First Lady, Michelle Obama . Wife, mother, attorney, Presidential campaign supporter, friend to world leaders, U.S. military families advocate, education advocate, university and colleges commencement speaker, champion of the Arts, and super hero .  What have we left out? Oh, just this. First Lady Michelle Obama and Institute of Museum and Library Services Director, Susan Hildreth announced the launch of Let’s Move! Museums & Gardens. The national initiative will provide opportunities for millions of museum and garden visitors to learn about healthy food choices and will promote physical activity through interactive exhibits and programs. Mrs. Obama, addressing museum conference attendees in Houston, Texas via video message, said, "Everyday, in museums, public gardens, zoos, and so many other places, you expose our children to new ideas and inspire them to stretch their imaginations. You teach them new skills and new ways of thinking. And y...

President and Mrs. Obama leaving the White House last evening, boarding Marine 1 to Andrews AFB.  Photo/CD Brown. The President and First Lady left the White House last evening on route to their visit to Europe where it is expected the two will make several stops in their travel that includes Ireland (where the President has lineage).  The first event will be a meeting between the President and the First Lady, with President McAleese and her husband.  This meeting will serve as an opportunity to discuss both bilateral issues with President McAleese and also to honor her extraordinary legacy of serving the people of Ireland and advancing peace in Northern Ireland. Then the President will travel to Moneygall, Ireland, which is the town in Ireland from which the President’s ancestors came.  Later, the president will return to Dublin, where he’ll deliver remarks at a public event about the ties between the United States and Ireland. ...

President Obama delivered the commencement speech to students of Booker T. Washington high school. Admitting that he "cries at commencements", the president told the 2011 graduates: "We are here today because every single one of you stood tall and said, “Yes, we can. Yes, we can learn. Yes, we can succeed. You decided you would not be defined by where you come from but by where you want to go, by what you want to achieve, by the dreams you hope to fulfill." Just a couple of years ago, this was a school where only about half the students made it to graduation. For a long time, just a handful headed to college each year. But at Booker T. Washington, you changed all that. The school won the President's Race To The Top Commencement Challenge.  Booker T. Washington High School’s graduation rate went from 55% in 2007 to 81.6% in 2010.  More here .

Full release: "After considerable deliberation and reflection, I have decided not to pursue the office of the Presidency. This decision does not come easily or without regret; especially when my potential candidacy continues to be validated by ranking at the top of the Republican contenders in polls across the country. I maintain the strong conviction that if I were to run, I would be able to win the primary and ultimately, the general election. I have spent the past several months unofficially campaigning and recognize that running for public office cannot be done half heartedly. Ultimately, however, business is my greatest passion and I am not ready to leave the private sector. I want to personally thank the millions of Americans who have joined the various Trump grassroots movements and written me letters and e-mails encouraging me to run. My gratitude for your faith and trust in me could never be expressed properly in words. So, I make you this promise: that I will continu...

Congressman Jim Moran (D-VA), who introduced legislation on Earth Day calling for a national five cent tax on plastic bags, was on hand to support the winners of the Earth Force 2011 Youth Environmental Summit . Congressman Jim Moran (D-VA) poses with H.B. Woodlawn's first place winners of the 2011 Youth Environmental Summit.  Photo/CD Brown. As part of the Environmental Youth Summit activities, 6th and 7th grade students from Kenmore, Woodlawn, Swanson, H.B. Woodson and Francis C. Hammond schools of Arlington and Alexandria, VA were tasked with presenting projects for improving watershed communities. The students submitted essays and projects as part of a student competition titled ‘What Can You Do to Improve Your Watersheds?’ “This is so terribly important”, Moran told us. “Not just for letting us as elected officials know where our focus should be, but this is all about our educating the next generation of leaders on how to protect and preserve our environment fo...

To mark the 50th anniversary of the opening of the White House Situation Room, today the President delivered remarks to the Situation Room staff to thank them for their around-the-clock work to keep the President informed and the country safe. “We could not meet the national security challenges that we face without the capabilities of this room and the people who work here,” the President said. The president called the staffers the “eyes and ears" of the President that provides the latest information and alerts. "It’s the nerve center for the U.S. government, the place where we come together to make policy and respond to crises from wars abroad to floods at home.” The President also presided over a ceremony to name a secure conference room after the father of the Situation Room, President John F. Kennedy. President Obama with advisers in the Situation Room viewing bin Laden capture. In attendance with the president at the ceremony were Caroline Kennedy, John "...

Congratulations are in order for Booker T. Washington High School in Memphis, Tennessee. The school was chosen as the winner of the 2011 Race to the Top High School Commencement Challenge. As such, their school will have honor of having President Barack Obama deliver the commencement address May 16th. Vice President Joseph Biden called Principal Alisha Kiner to tell her the school had won. "What we want to do is catapult our students to a higher plain", said Kiner. "And that takes going to college." Although Booker T. offers AP courses as well as vocational and technical courses for its myriad of different students, one thing that is common, especially among the teaching staff and principle is making sure that the students know that whatever they chose to do, they must "be the best" at it, reminds Kiner. Booker T. Washington High School’s graduation rate went from 55% in 2007 to 81.6% in 2010. “I’m so proud of the schools that participated in...

Today, First Lady Michelle Obama joined the President’s Council on Fitness, Sports & Nutrition (PCFSN) to announce a new fitness industry effort to support our military families, particularly our National Guard and Reserve families, to further the goals of both of the First Lady’s initiatives, Let’s Move! and Joining Forces. Members of the International Health Racquet &Sportsclub Association (IHRSA) offered free memberships to immediate family members (ages 13 and older, where applicable) of deployed reservists and National Guard members. Clubs may also provide additional benefits such as childcare, children’s programming, group classes, discounts for veterans, and discounts for active duty families. Beginning June 1, spouses and teen-age children can find participating clubs in their area online at www.healthclubs.com. The website will also offer a free digital subscription to Get Active! Magazine, a publication dedicated to promoting healthy living through exercise. Th...

Trump, the President, Protesters, and More While the President was making about 2,500 attendees to this year’s White House Correspondents’ Association Dinner laugh while he took pot shots at his nemesis Donald Trump, protesters were on the outside demonstrating their dislike of Trump and his challenge for the president to reveal his birth certificate. Trump with wife Malania.  Photo/CD Brown. Suffice it to say, Trump sitting iron-clad at a table with wife Malania, had egg all over his face the entire evening. Before the dinner began Trump, and others, walked the red carpet where the likes of Gayle King (no, no Oprah), New York City’s Mayor Bloomberg , NBA star Carmelo Anthony , actress Tyne Daley , Morgan Fairchild , Will.I.Am , John Legend , and others were all too happy to engage the group of red carpet photographers. After Trump posed very briefly with his wife, they began leaving the red carpet area, much to the dislike of photographers wanting some form of...

President Obama laid a wreath at the site of Ground Zero, days after the reported death of terrorist head Osama bin Laden. He also spoke with many of the first responders and families of the tragedy. While Obama visits survivors, some weren't even invited to the ceremony, or to the planned visit with the President. Hear one woman's amazing story of survival, and on being left out .

This week's Run Across America showing at the White House with the First Lady wasn't nearly as animated as today's “Let's Move! Flash Workout Event" at Alice Deal Middle School.  The First Lady introduced the revamped version of Beyonce's 'Get Me Bodied' video for the First Lady's Let's Move! initiative. The Alice Deal school offers boys and girls (grades 6-8)  basketball, cross-country/track, and soccer as well as baseball, softball and volleyball. It also offers cheerleading, fencing and rugby. Students take physical education and health for a semester a year. Mrs. Obama can be seen at the school's outdoor facility performing some of the dance moves - even trying her hand at The Dougie . "So this is an exciting day", said the First Lady.  "Over 600 schools all over the country -- and I heard they even did this in Japan -- at this same time are going to be doing what you’re doing, and I wanted to be here and see it.  N...

I thought this quote by Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. was appropriate at this time to remind us that not everyone celebrates the death of another human being, no matter the wrong done. "I mourn the loss of thousands of precious lives, but I will not rejoice in the death of one, not even an enemy. Returning hate for hate multiplies hate, adding deeper darkness to a night already devoid of stars. Darkness cannot drive out darkness: only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate: only love can do that."   - Martin Luther King Jr. ---   A local poet shares her thoughts on the death of Osama bin Laden   Obama said Osama’s Dead. Obama said, “Osama is dead!” 11pm on May 1, 2011, sister sent a text, daddy called my phone, No thought of this news to be told. Early in the am hubby confirmed the slaying Obama said Osama is dead. With no pics and proof to see Many believe it’s a conspiracy. “They showed Sadam, why not Osama?” This question wants answers—did we get ...

If you recall the 1980s Arsenio Hall Show, you're probably familiar with his popular show segment titled, 'Things That Make You Go Hmmm', Arsenio's attempt at bringing to light things in society that just don't seem right, or make any sense. We had that moment during today's White House briefing where further discussion - with different answers - had us all saying Hall's catch phrase.  Add in a 'But, I thought you said yesterday that....', and fill in the blanks. What we were told yesterday from John Brennan , Deputy National Security Advisor for Homeland Security and Counterterrorism, on the capture and killing of one Osama Bin Laden as he spoke during a White House press briefing went something like this:  MR. BRENNAN: Bin Laden died; the two al Qaeda facilitators -- the brothers, who were -- the courier and his brother in the compound; bin Laden’s son Hamza; and the woman, presumed to be his wife, who was shielding bin Laden. Q...

Young people from D.C. schools took part in a community run today as part of the Run Across America fitness program. Today's run was similar to those that have taken place in neighborhoods across the country that started in February, 2011 in California. This program is designed to inspire Americans to get up, get active and get healthy.  On hand were Kelly Ripa (host of Live With Regis and Kelly) and Dean Kamazes (known as the ultra marathon man) to help inspire the kids and families all across America to get up, get active and get healthy, fitting the precepts of the First Lady's Let's Move action plan. Before joining the First Lady on the lawn at the White House, the students participated in an assembly at DC's Thomson Elementary school and ran (with some walking) a mile down 15th street. Among the expressions of "I'm tired", the kids (ranging from eight years old and up) expressed joy in meeting the First Lady.  "I've seen her on TV,...

White House says they're 99.9% sure they have killed Osama bin Laden.  Body buried at sea, per Muslim customs.  National Security Intel suggests bin Laden used wife as human shield as he was being fired upon. No US casualties suspected.