President Obama has pledged not to rest until everyone looking for a job finds one. On Monday, he upped the ante on that promise, volunteering to help a woman find work for her unemployed husband. Obama was answering questions from so-called ordinary Americans during an online chat that was broadcast on the Google+ Hangout social media site and YouTube when a woman named Jennifer Weddel, of Texas,… Broadcasting platform : YouTube Source : The Sleuth Discovery Date : 31/01/2012 00:48 Number of articles : 4
‘The rules are setting up minority and young voters to fail,’ University of South Florida NAACP President Vanity Shields tells MTV News. By Gil Kaufman Vanity Shields Photo: MTV News TAMPA, Florida — It’s fitting that 20-year-old University of South Florida junior Vanity Shields, 20, chose to speak to MTV’s Power of 12 in the shadow of her campus’ Martin Luther King Jr. memorial reflecting pond. Nearly 50 years after the Voting Rights Act of 1965 outlawed discriminatory laws that disenfranchised black voters thanks to the tireless work of the civil-rights giant, Shields is preparing for another voting-rights fight in her state. The president of the NAACP chapter on the USF campus and first-time voter is concerned that a new Florida law , ostensibly aimed at cutting down on voter fraud, might leave many young and African-American voters off the rolls this presidential election year . “I personally feel that the rules are setting up minority and young voters to fail,” the health sciences major said of the new law, which carries heavy penalties for third-party organizations trying to register new voters if they fail to comply with the sometimes-byzantine rules. “Now they have 48 hours to fill out this massive amount of paperwork.” A portion of the new law includes restrictions on community-based voter-registration drives that require anyone registering new voters on behalf of organizations such as Rock the Vote or the League of Women Voters to turn all forms in within 48 hours of obtaining a signature or face unspecified civil penalties. Those two groups have been forced to suspend their voter-registration efforts in Florida this year because, according to a press release announcing a lawsuit seeking to block the new provisions, they “include burdensome administrative requirements, unreasonably tight deadlines for submission for completed forms and unnecessarily harsh penalties for even the slightest delay or mistake.” Shields said the USF NAACP chapter has been very active on the issue and planned a general body meeting called “The Colors of Justice” on Monday (January 30) to discuss the new rules and raise awareness about them. There will also be a voter-awareness rally soon, though she said efforts such as the NAACP’s get-out-the-vote “Souls to the Poll” action from years past has been canceled this year because of new restrictions on registering voters on the Sunday before an election. “I am originally from New Jersey, and Hillsboro County in Tampa is a pre-clearance [area]. … What that means is that people who were previously registered are still able to vote, but with this new law, if Hillsboro County were not pre-clearance, I would have to go back to New Jersey to vote,” said Brianna Simms, 20, the second vice president of the USF NAACP chapter. “As a college student, I don’t have the funds or the time to do that, so that would limit my impact on the country in choosing our next president.” Shields said awareness of the voting issue is pretty low at the moment, but she plans to start posting about it on Twitter and Facebook, distribute fliers and ask her fellow students if they know about the changes. “I feel that our demographic is being targeted and that they’re trying to silence us, but we will not be silenced,” she said. “We will speak our minds and keep our right to vote.” MTV is on the scene in Florida! Check back for up-to-the-minute coverage of the primaries and stick with PowerOf12.org throughout the 2012 presidential election season. Related Videos Florida Primary: The Race Is On! Barnstorming The Iowa Caucus With Andrew Jenks
Rep. Allen West (R-Fla.) had a strong message Saturday for President Barack Obama, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi and Democratic National… Broadcasting platform : YouTube Source : The Blaze Discovery Date : 29/01/2012 06:48 Number of articles : 3
Sen. Marco Rubio on Saturday delivered a sharp rebuke of President Barack Obama’s State of the Union address, saying Obama avoided discussing much of his administration’s accomplishments because he’s “made everything worse” during his time in office. “It was an opportunity for the president to talk about his accomplishments… Broadcasting platform : YouTube Source : The Blaze Discovery Date : 28/01/2012 11:00 Number of articles : 2
The first American trailer for the sci-fi thriller Lockout makes eminently clear what the hard-boiled European original elided a bit: This is as close to an Escape From New York remake as any of us are likely to get. Snake Plissken in space! Except now he’s called Snow. And he has two eyes, both belonging to Guy Pearce in full wisecracking action-hero mode. He’s the best! But a loose cannon. And Maggie Grace is the president’s daughter. Held hostage in a prison riot. In a prison orbiting Earth. Before it plunges to Earth. Naturally. Whatever! It looks all right.
Obama’s ‘Let’s Stay Together’ upped Al Green’s sales. By Gil Kaufman Al Green performs at President Obama’s Victory Fund 2012 Concert Photo: WireImage Sure, clean energy, the return of manufacturing, a boost in education spending and saving the domestic car industry are awesome ways to revive the American economy. But another tactic President Obama might consider is more singing. Because a week after the falsetto singer-in-chief unleashed his version of Al Green’s “Let’s Stay Together” at an Apollo Theater fundraiser, sales of the good Rev.’s most iconic hit have taken off. According to Billboard magazine , the viral video of the President singing the first line of the #1 hit from 1972 boosted sales of the song by 490 percent. In fact, the tune had its best week since SoundScan began tracking digital sales in 2003, with 16,000 downloads. The YouTube video of the impromptu recital has been viewed more than 4 million times. It was likely the second surprise this week for Green, who was present at the Apollo event where Obama acknowledged the soul singer’s presence in the room from the stage. “Those guys didn’t think I would do it,” Obama laughed while pointing to his staffers at the side of the stage. “I told you I was going to do it. The Sandman did not come out.” Fans also rushed out this week to snatch up music by Etta James, the soul legend who passed on January 20. According to The Hollywood Reporter , James’ sales were up 378 percent over the past week. One compilation, The Best of Etta James — 20th Century Masters: The Millennium Collection shot up from #162 to #46 on sales of 8,000, giving James her highest chart position ever. For the week ending January 22, James’ overall catalog sold 30,000 copies, a jump of nearly 378 percent over the previous week when her collected album sold just over 6,000. Related Artists Al Green
I’ve already bragged that the Cato Institute is America’s best think tank, highlighting the fact that we took the lead in battling against Obama’s faux stimulus at a time when many were dispirited and reluctant to fight big government. I’m biased, of course, so I’ll understand if you discount what I say. But I hope you’ll Broadcasting platform : YouTube Source : Big Government Discovery Date : 25/01/2012 13:05 Number of articles : 4
“Lemme get out here before I curse this heffa out.” President Barack Obama and Arizona’s Republican Governor Jan Brewer appeared to get into a verbal argument just moments after Air Force One touched down in Phoenix Wednesday afternoon. According to reporters at the scene, Brewer could be seen pointing her finger at the president during their brief exchange, before Obama walked away. Brewer later told reporters the president had been upset about a passage in her recent book in which she described a meeting between the two at the White House. “He was a little disturbed about my book, ‘Scorpions for Breakfast,’” said Brewer, who was there to welcome Obama to Arizona. Asked which passage of the book he had taken issue with, Brewer suggested Obama felt he had not been portrayed cordially in one of the excerpts. “I said I was sorry he felt that way but I didn’t get my sentence finished,” she said. “Anyway, we’re glad he’s here. I’ll regroup.” Daaaaaamn so “Ice Cold” Barry-O just George Jefferson strolled on this broad while she was in mid-sentence?? That’s gaaaaangsta! LOL! Of course, The White House has released a statement with a lil’ spin on it to clean things up a bit… “The governor handed the President a letter and said she was inviting him to meet with her,” it said. “The President said he’d be glad to meet with her again, but did note that after their last meeting, a cordial discussion in the Oval Office, the governor inaccurately described the meeting in her book.” We recommend Riiiiiiight…*side-eye* Source
Chris Cillizza at The Washington Post wrote today that President Obama’s State of the Union had all of the hallmarks of a ” bipartisan, let’s-do-the-right-thing-for-America tone that characterized his 2008 presidential campaign” –albeit with a sharper edge. Long Island Congressman Peter King doesn’t think however that any exhortations from the president are necessary to cure the gridlock–indeed,… Broadcasting platform : YouTube Source : The Politicker Discovery Date : 25/01/2012 21:33 Number of articles : 2
Aside from the optimistic platitudes, soaring rhetoric and feel-good proposals, President Barack Obama’s 2012 State of the Union address was overtly populist and unquestionably combative as he maps a path to a second term in 2013. Obama’s speech included no shortage of appeals to unity, bipartisanship and overriding American purpose, and he articulated plenty of vague, popular-sounding policy goals, similarly to how Bill Clinton kicked off his 1996 campaign. His central message, though, stressed a sharp and basic philosophical contrast with his ideological opponents, clearly forming the centerpiece of his reelection effort. While Obama prevailed in 2008 as a change agent – a more progressive implementer of American ideals than his GOP opponents, certainly, but still a post-partisan uniter – he appears to be taking a dramatically different tack in 2012. Can this new, 2012 version of Obama recapture the same campaign magic, however? Will independent voters return to him over the Republican alternative? With approval ratings in the mid-40s, he’s clearly banking on it, since this seemed in many respects a speech designed to align him with the “99 percent.” You tell us: President Obama in 2012?
