Senator Edward "Ted" Kennedy is dead

Statement from Marc H. Morial,
President and CEO, National Urban League
on the Death of Senator Edward Kennedy

Sen. Edward Kennedy - A True Civil Rights Champion"

The National Urban League joins the nation in mourning the loss of Senator Edward Kennedy.Sen. Kennedy leaves a legacy that will live on for many years to come. He was a true champion and one of the most important advocates of civil rights.As one of the last U.S. Senators who fought for the Civil Rights Act of 1964, Sen. Kennedy stood for many of the same rights that we fight for daily - equality, education, employment, and healthcare.Our thoughts and prayers go out to the entire Kennedy family."



below story by CNN

Massachusetts Sen. Edward Kennedy, the patriarch of the first family of Democratic politics, died late Tuesday at his home in Hyannis Port, Massachusetts, after a lengthy battle with brain cancer. He was 77.

"We've lost the irreplaceable center of our family and joyous light in our lives, but the inspiration of his faith, optimism and perseverance will live on in our hearts forever," a family statement said. "We thank everyone who gave him care and support over this last year, and everyone who stood with him for so many years in his tireless march for progress toward justice."

President Obama learned about Kennedy's death at 2 a.m. Wednesday, according to a senior administration official. Obama later called Kennedy's widow to offer condolences.

In a statement, Obama says: "An important chapter in our history has come to an end. Our country has lost a great leader, who picked up the torch of his fallen brothers and became the greatest United States Senator of our time."

Kennedy, nicknamed "Ted," was the younger brother of slain President John F. Kennedy and New York Sen. Robert Kennedy, who was gunned down while seeking the White House in 1968.

However, his own presidential aspirations were hobbled by the controversy around a 1969 auto accident that left a young woman dead, and a 1980 primary challenge to then-President Jimmy Carter that ended in defeat.

But while the White House eluded his grasp, the longtime Massachusetts senator was considered one of the most effective legislators of the past few decades. Kennedy, who became known as the "Lion of the Senate," played major roles in passage of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, the Voting Rights Act of 1965, the 1990 Americans with Disabilities Act and the 1993 Family and Medical Leave Act, and was an outspoken liberal standard-bearer during a conservative-dominated era from the 1980s to the early 2000s. Watch retrospective on Kennedy's storied career »

"He was probably best known for the ability to work with Republicans," said Adam Clymer, Kennedy's biographer. "The Republican Party raised hundreds of millions of dollars with direct appeal to protect the country from Ted Kennedy, but there was never a piece of legislation that he ever got passed without a major Republican ally."

Kennedy recently urged Massachusetts officials to change a law to allow for an immediate temporary replacement should a vacancy occur for one of his state's two Senate seats. Watch why Kennedy sought change in state law »

Under a 2004 Massachusetts law, a special election must be held 145 to 160 days after a Senate seat becomes vacant. The winner of the election would serve the remainder of a senator's unexpired term.

Kennedy asked Gov. Deval Patrick and state leaders to "amend the law through the normal legislative process to provide for a temporary gubernatorial appointment until the special election occurs," according to the letter, dated July 2. Read Kennedy's letter

Kennedy suffered a seizure in May 2008 at his home on Cape Cod. Shortly after, doctors diagnosed a brain tumor -- a malignant glioma in his left parietal lobe.

Surgeons at Duke University Medical Center in Durham, North Carolina, removed as much of the tumor as possible the following month. Doctors considered the procedure a success, and Kennedy underwent follow-up radiation treatments and chemotherapy.

A few weeks later, he participated in a key vote in the Senate. He also insisted on making a brief but dramatic appearance at the 2008 Democratic convention, a poignant moment that brought the crowd to its feet and tears to many eyes. Kennedy died one year to the day after that appearance.

"I have come here tonight to stand with you to change America, to restore its future, to rise to our best ideals and to elect Barack Obama president of the United States," Kennedy told fellow Democrats in a strong voice.

Kennedy's early support for Obama was considered a boon for the candidate, then a first-term senator from Illinois locked in a tough primary battle against former first lady Hillary Clinton. Kennedy predicted Obama's victory and pledged to be in Washington in January when Obama assumed office -- and he was, though he was hospitalized briefly after suffering a seizure during a post-inaugural luncheon.

Kennedy was one of only six senators in U.S. history to serve more than 40 years. He was elected to eight full terms to become the second most-senior senator after West Virginia Democrat Robert Byrd.

He launched his political career in 1962, when he was elected to finish the unexpired Senate term of his brother, who became president in 1960. He won his first full term in 1964.
He seemed to have a bright political future, and many Democratic eyes turned to him after the killings of his brothers. But a July 18, 1969, car wreck on Chappaquiddick Island virtually ended his ambitions.

After a party for women who had worked on his brother Robert's presidential campaign, Kennedy drove his car off a bridge on Chappaquiddick, off Cape Cod and across a narrow channel from Martha's Vineyard. While Kennedy managed to escape, his passenger, Mary Jo Kopechne, drowned.

In a coroner's inquest, he denied having been drunk, and said he made "seven or eight" attempts to save Kopechne before exhaustion forced him to shore. Although he sought help from friends at the party, Kennedy did not report the accident to police until the following morning.

Kennedy eventually pleaded guilty to leaving the scene of an accident. In a televised address to residents of his home state, Kennedy called his conduct in the hours following the accident "inexplicable" and called his failure to report the wreck immediately "indefensible."

Despite the dent in his reputation and career, Kennedy remained in American politics and went on to win seven more terms in the Senate. Kennedy championed social causes and was the author of "In Critical Condition: The Crisis in America's Health Care." He served as chairman of the Judiciary and Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions committees and was the ranking Democrat on the Judiciary and Armed Services committees during periods when Republicans controlled the chamber.

Obama named Kennedy as one of 16 recipients of the 2009 Presidential Medal of Freedom, America's highest civilian honor. A White House statement explained that the 2009 honorees "were chosen for their work as agents of change."

"Senator Kennedy has dedicated his career to fighting for equal opportunity, fairness and justice for all Americans. He has worked tirelessly to ensure that every American has access to quality and affordable health care, and has succeeded in doing so for countless children, seniors, and Americans with disabilities. He has called health care reform the "cause of his life."

Born in Boston on February 22, 1932, Edward Moore Kennedy was the last of nine children of Joseph P. Kennedy, a prominent businessman and Democrat, and Rose Fitzgerald Kennedy. Joseph Kennedy served as ambassador to Britain before World War II and pushed his sons to strive for the presidency, a burden "Teddy" bore for much of his life as the only surviving Kennedy son.

His oldest brother, Joe Jr., died in a plane crash during World War II when Kennedy was 12. John was assassinated in Dallas, Texas, in 1963, and Robert was killed the night of the California primary in 1968.

Ted Kennedy delivered Robert's eulogy, urging mourners to remember him as "a good and decent man who saw wrong and tried to right it; who saw suffering and tried to heal it; who saw war and tried to stop it."

The family was plagued with other tragedies as well. One sister, Kathleen, was killed in a plane crash in 1948. Another sister, Rosemary, was born mildly retarded, but was institutionalized after a botched lobotomy in 1941. She died in 2005 after more than 60 years in mental hospitals.
Joseph Kennedy was incapacitated by a stroke in 1961 and died in November 1969, leaving the youngest son as head of the family. He was 37.

"I can't let go," Kennedy once told an aide. "If I let go, Ethel (Robert's widow) will let go, and my mother will let go, and all my sisters."

His sister Eunice Kennedy Shriver, founder of the Special Olympics, died August 11. The ailing senator was unable to attend her funeral. His mother, Rose Kennedy, died in Hyannis Port at age 104 in 1995.

Kennedy himself survived a 1964 plane crash that killed an aide, suffering a broken back in the accident. But he recovered to lead the seemingly ill-starred clan through a series of other tragedies: Robert Kennedy's son David died of a drug overdose in a Florida hotel in 1984; another of Robert's sons, Michael, was killed in a skiing accident in Colorado in 1997; and John's son John Jr., his wife Carolyn and sister-in-law Lauren Bessette died in a 1999 plane crash off Martha's Vineyard.

In addition, his son Edward Jr. lost a leg to cancer in the 1970s, and daughter Kara survived a bout with the disease in the early 2000s.

Kennedy was forced to testify about a bar-hopping weekend that led to sexual battery charges against his nephew, William Kennedy Smith. Smith was acquitted in 1991 of charges that he raped a woman he met while at a Florida nightclub with the senator and his son Patrick, now a Rhode Island congressman.

Like brothers John and Robert, Edward Kennedy attended Harvard. He studied in the Netherlands before earning a law degree from the University of Virginia Law School, and worked in the district attorney's office in Boston before entering politics.

Kennedy is survived by his second wife, Victoria Ann Reggie Kennedy, whom he married in 1992; his first wife, Joan Bennett; and five children -- Patrick, Kara and Edward Jr. from his first marriage, and Curran and Caroline Raclin from his second.

The Iranian Divide

Press Release Contact: Prof. Raymond Tanter
For Immediate Release 202-320-8434
21 August 2009 rtanter@iranpolicy.org


Tehran Orders Baghdad to Attack Iranian Dissidents: Washington Ponders


Washington, DC—The United States Government is considering options regarding the main Iranian opposition group based in Iraq, in light of its members’ status as “protected persons” under the Fourth Geneva Convention and in the wake of ongoing attacks on the group by Iraqi Security Forces that killed 11 and wounded hundreds more. The raid on the Iranian dissidents has already generated criticism of the U.S. Government for its conduct in light of the attack. Various players are proposing different options. Some, including Tehran, propose dispersal of the Iranian dissidents within Iraq or their repatriation to Iran, while others suggest a temporary resumption of U.S. military protection for them.

Meanwhile, intelligence reports from the Iranian opposition indicate that because of the very weak response of the United States regarding the 28 and 29 July attacks by Iraq Security Forces against Camp Ashraf, both Baghdad and Tehran may conclude that they have a free hand to act against the Iranian dissidents. Reports indicate that the number of Iraqi Forces and their equipment have not decreased both inside and outside of Ashraf since the 28 July attack, as more equipment is being added. Some estimates of Iraqi Security Forces present at Camp Ashraf range from 1,500 to 2,000. Absent guidance to intervene from Washington, U.S. commanders based at Forward Operating Base (FOB) Grizzly at Ashraf may again stand idle if Iraqi Security Forces make another deadly attack against the unarmed women and men residing at Camp Ashraf.

According to IPC President and former member of the National Security Council Staff at the White House, Professor Raymond Tanter, “The United States, as an Occupying Power, was responsible for the security of ‘protected persons’ in Iraq, including the Iranian dissidents at Camp Ashraf. The United States can only transfer responsibility for such protection to another state party to the Geneva Convention that guarantees their ‘protected persons’ status. Although Iraq gave the United States such assurances, Baghdad obviously has no intention of abiding by its promises. According to Article 45 of the Fourth Geneva Convention, if the state that assumes authority does not honor its obligations, the transferring Power—in this case the United States—is obliged to ‘take effective measures to correct the situation, or shall request the return of the protected persons…Such request must be complied with.’”

General Thomas McInerney (Lt Gen, US Air Force Ret, chair of the IPC Advisory Council), stated that “It would be outrageous for the U.S. military to shirk its responsibilities under the Fourth Geneva Convention by allowing the Iranian dissidents at Camp Ashraf to be dispersed throughout Iraq or repatriated to Iran. Adherence to international law by American forces is essential to ensuring that our own troops are treated consistently with their international legal rights. Dispersal would leave Iranian dissidents vulnerable to attacks by the Qods Force of the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps, which has operatives in Iraq ready to kidnap Iranian dissidents and bring them to Iran for torture and execution. Repatriation would be a ‘legal’ way to accomplish the same objective of Tehran—eliminating the main Iranian opposition.”

Regarding the Iraqi Security Forces attack on Camp Ashraf, MG Paul Vallely (US Army Ret, IPC Advisory Council) said, “Bringing the United States in line with its international legal obligations requires ensuring that Iranian dissidents, who have ‘protected persons’ status, are not attacked again. Repatriation, dispersal, and continued attacks can only be avoided if the United States temporarily resumes its protective role at Camp Ashraf until there is a negotiated solution acceptable to the major players. If Washington continues to ponder while Tehran-inspired assaults against Ashraf continue, there will be a humanitarian disaster for which the U.S. Government may be held responsible.”

R. Bruce McColm, President of the Institute for Democratic Strategies, IPC Board of Directors said, “The events following Iran’s June 2009 Presidential election make clear that forcible elimination of political opponents takes priority over human rights reputation. If that were not enough, the violent attack by Iraqi Security Forces on the Mujahedeen-e Khalq (MEK) at Camp Ashraf, at the behest of Tehran, should dispel any expectation of humane treatment of repatriated MEK members. At the very least, it should make clear that MEK members have a legitimate fear of persecution if sent to Iran.”

According to Professor Raymond Tanter, “During October 2008, an Iran Policy Committee delegation traveled to Iraq to conduct research, which I authored in a book, President Obama and Iraq, 2009. This field research provided interview evidence that confirmed inferences made on the basis of primary source documents, reported in an earlier IPC book I coauthored with IPC colleagues, Baghdad Ablaze. Virtually every Iraqi interviewed by the IPC pointed to the same antidote to Iranian regime infiltration of Iraq: Iranian dissident members of the Mujahedeen-e Khalq (MEK) based at Camp Ashraf, Iraq.”

Prof. Tanter stated, “Iraqis and U.S. military personnel also credited the MEK with a key role in helping the formation of Sunni Awakening Councils. The MEK worked to reconcile Sunnis with U.S. forces and convinced many Sunnis to participate in Iraq’s political process. The political impact of the Mujahedeen-e Khalq in Iraq extended beyond relations between Sunnis and the U.S. military to reconciliation among Kurds, Sunni Arabs, and Shiite Arabs. Without such MEK intervention, there is likely to be not only an explosion of Sunni assaults against U.S. Forces but also Shiite attacks against our forces using Iranian weapons, as is taking place in southern Iraq by Shiites.”

Department of Justice officially announce Special Task Force on Interrogations

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Monday, August 24, 2009

AG(202) 514-2007TDD (202) 514-1888

Special Task Force on Interrogations and Transfer Policies Issues Its Recommendations to the President

Attorney General Eric Holder today announced that the Special Task Force on Interrogations and Transfer Policies, which was created pursuant to Executive Order 13491 on Jan. 22, 2009, has proposed that the Obama Administration establish a specialized interrogation group to bring together officials from law enforcement, the U.S. Intelligence Community and the Department of Defense to conduct interrogations in a manner that will strengthen national security consistent with the rule of law.

The Task Force also made policy recommendations with respect to scenarios in which the United States moves or facilitates the movement of a person from one country to another or from U.S. custody to the custody of another country to ensure that U.S. practices in such transfers comply with U.S. law, policy and international obligations and do not result in the transfer of individuals to face torture.

"The new policies proposed by the Task Force will allow us to draw the best personnel from across the government to conduct interrogations that will yield valuable intelligence and strengthen our national security," said Attorney General Holder. "There is no tension between strengthening our national security and meeting our commitment to the rule of law, and these new policies will accomplish both."

Interrogations

After extensively consulting with representatives of the Armed Forces, the relevant agencies in the Intelligence Community, and some of the nation’s most experienced and skilled interrogators, the Task Force concluded that the Army Field Manual provides appropriate guidance on interrogation for military interrogators and that no additional or different guidance was necessary for other agencies. These conclusions rested on the Task Force’s unanimous assessment, including that of the Intelligence Community, that the practices and techniques identified by the Army Field Manual or currently used by law enforcement provide adequate and effective means of conducting interrogations.

The Task Force concluded, however, that the United States could improve its ability to interrogate the most dangerous terrorists by forming a specialized interrogation group, or High-Value Detainee Interrogation Group (HIG), that would bring together the most effective and experienced interrogators and support personnel from across the Intelligence Community, the Department of Defense and law enforcement. The creation of the HIG would build upon a proposal developed by the Intelligence Science Board.

To accomplish that goal, the Task Force recommended that the HIG should coordinate the deployment of mobile teams of experienced interrogators, analysts, subject matter experts and linguists to conduct interrogations of high-value terrorists if the United States obtains the ability to interrogate them. The primary goal of this elite interrogation group would be gathering intelligence to prevent terrorist attacks and otherwise to protect national security. Advance planning and interagency coordination prior to interrogations would also allow the United States, where appropriate, to preserve the option of gathering information to be used in potential criminal investigations and prosecutions.

The Task Force recommended that the specialized interrogation group be administratively housed within the Federal Bureau of Investigation, with its principal function being intelligence gathering, rather than law enforcement. Moreover, the Task Force recommended that the group be subject to policy guidance and oversight coordinated by the National Security Council.

The Task Force also recommended that this specialized interrogation group develop a set of best practices and disseminate these for training purposes among agencies that conduct interrogations. In addition, the Task Force recommended that a scientific research program for interrogation be established to study the comparative effectiveness of interrogation approaches and techniques, with the goal of identifying the existing techniques that are most effective and developing new lawful techniques to improve intelligence interrogations.

Transfers

The Task Force also made policy recommendations with respect to scenarios in which the United States moves or facilitates the movement of a person from one country to another or from U.S. custody to the custody of another country to ensure that U.S. practices in such transfers comply with U.S. law, policy and international obligations and do not result in the transfer of individuals to face torture. In keeping with the broad language of the Executive Order, the Task Force considered seven types of transfers conducted by the U.S. government: extradition, transfers pursuant to immigration proceedings, transfers pursuant to the Geneva Conventions, transfers from Guantanamo Bay, military transfers within or from Afghanistan, military transfers within or from Iraq, and transfers pursuant to intelligence authorities.

When the United States transfers individuals to other countries, it may rely on assurances from the receiving country. The Task Force made several recommendations aimed at clarifying and strengthening U.S. procedures for obtaining and evaluating those assurances. These included a recommendation that the State Department be involved in evaluating assurances in all cases and a recommendation that the Inspector Generals of the Departments of State, Defense and Homeland Security prepare annually a coordinated report on transfers conducted by each of their agencies in reliance on assurances.

The Task Force also made several recommendations aimed at improving the United States’ ability to monitor the treatment of individuals transferred to other countries. These include a recommendation that agencies obtaining assurances from foreign countries insist on a monitoring mechanism, or otherwise establish a monitoring mechanism, to ensure consistent, private access to the individual who has been transferred, with minimal advance notice to the detaining government.

The Task Force also made a series of recommendations that are specific to immigration proceedings and military transfer scenarios. In addition, the Task Force made classified recommendations that are designed to ensure that, should the Intelligence Community participate in or otherwise support a transfer, any affected individuals are subjected to proper treatment.

Background Information

The Task Force on Interrogations and Transfer Policies is chaired by the Attorney General, with the Director of National Intelligence and the Secretary of Defense serving as Co-Vice-Chairs. Other members of the Task Force are the Secretaries of State and Homeland Security, the Director of the Central Intelligence Agency, the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. Each of these officials appointed senior-level representatives to serve on a working-level task force to complete the work of the Executive Order.

The Executive Order directed the Task Force to study and evaluate "whether the interrogation practices and techniques in Army Field Manual 2-22.3, when employed by departments and agencies outside the military, provide an appropriate means of acquiring the intelligence necessary to protect the Nation, and, if warranted, to recommend any additional or different guidance for other departments or agencies."

The Task Force was also directed to study and evaluate "the practices of transferring individuals to other nations in order to ensure that such practices comply with the domestic laws, international obligations, and policies of the United States and do not result in the transfer of individuals to other nations to face torture or otherwise for the purpose, or with the effect, of undermining or circumventing the commitments or obligations of the United States to ensure the humane treatment of individuals in its custody and control."

The President promised to save the Greenville, Mississippi "Brown Sewage Water Problem"...but has not

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/08/23/AR2009082302548.html?sub=AR
The President directly told 33-year old mayor Heather McTeer Hudson he would do something about the dirty water coming out of Greenville, Mississippi water system, but has yet to do so.

story by the Washington Post - today's front page
written by Michael Leahy


GREENVILLE, Miss. -- In the blur of his campaign, it was just another overnight stop: a Holiday Inn Express in Greenville, dead in the heart of this forsaken land called the Delta. In the lobby, atop the front desk, a card in a plastic frame greeted guests. It served as an alert, a quaint warning of sorts: "You may be wondering why our water is brown -- it's the cypress tree roots, in the springs underground. Y'all can drink our water and bathe without fear. For no one lives longer than the folks around here."

Barack Obama passed the card on the way to his room. There, the bathroom sink and shower offered exactly what the card predicted: a stream of yellowish-brown water, to be found in every room. It came from a Greenville city well, which pumped the same alarming-looking water into all the homes and businesses in the area. City leaders and hotel employees emphasized that although it looked bad, the brown water met all federal and state safety standards, and that residents commonly drank it and bathed in it.

The next morning, Obama walked past the warning card again, on his way out of the hotel and into an SUV that would ferry him to a restaurant for a breakfast speech. He found himself sitting in the vehicle with Greenville's mayor, 33-year-old Heather McTeer Hudson, who had come to believe that the brown water was seriously harming her city's image, impeding its efforts to lure new businesses. She hoped to get rid of the color with a filtration system that several American and foreign cities had used to take care of their own brown-water problems. But struggling Greenville had no money to pay for such a system, another complication in an array of infrastructure quandaries for which Hudson was hoping to obtain federal assistance. As their 10-minute ride began, Obama said to the mayor, as she recalls, "Tell me about Greenville's needs, the Delta's needs."

She mentioned what she regarded as the key to her agenda -- the link between improving Greenville's old water, sewer and road systems and luring new employers to the hurting city, which had witnessed a decline of about 10 percent of its population in recent years, dipping below 40,000.

At a street corner, staring out a window at some boarded-up buildings, Obama asked her how many jobs had been lost in Greenville.

In the past 10 years, 8,000 people have lost their jobs, she answered.

The restaurant was nearly in sight. Hudson raised the point more important to her than any other: Obama should not forget her city. "I hope you come back to the Delta and Greenville after you are elected," she said.

They soon arrived at the restaurant, another establishment that served brown water to anybody who asked for a glass. Obama's visit constituted an expression of thanks: Greenville and the rest of the Mississippi Delta, upward of 65 percent African American, would be providing him with vital support that day in his statewide primary-election victory over Hillary Rodham Clinton. He spoke to an overflow crowd, recounting the discussion he'd had just minutes earlier in the SUV. "The mayor, as we were driving over here, was telling me a little bit about some of the challenges of the Delta generally. . . .," he said. "One of the challenges, I think for the next president, is making sure that we're serving all the communities, and not just some communities."

He promised the audience the same thing he had assured Hudson: He would not forget them, and he would be back.

In recent weeks, as even staunch supporters of the Obama administration's $787 billion two-year stimulus package have questioned the program's lagging pace of job creation, a small but increasingly restive group of African American municipal officials in Southern states have complained that not enough money is reaching communities like those found in the chronically impoverished Delta. Their ranks include Hudson, who frequently encounters constituents steadfastly loyal to Obama but nonetheless asking when help from his administration is coming.

Hudson's life has changed significantly since the president's election. The White House Office of Intergovernmental Affairs has made her a regular participant in conference calls with other mayors and leading county officials. But with her new access to the powerful in Washington have also come reminders of the expectations that follow any charismatic figure entrusted with the presidency. "I know things have been a little slow for some people," she says. "People see me in our Wal-Mart here and ask, 'We have a new president: When is it all going to get started? When are there going to be jobs?' . . . People here were anticipating that there was going to be a big package of jobs and money with a wrapped bow signed 'Obama' at the bottom."

In other parts of the rural South, local government representatives have also given voice to the mounting frustrations of their communities. The objections are wide-ranging -- everything from stories of confounding red tape in the stimulus program's application process to a general lament that federal officials have sometimes overlooked small communities devoid of the kinds of staffing, computer resources or technical expertise needed for preparing sophisticated grant proposals.

In some cases, communities have felt outright ignored. In Alabama, Shelia Smoot, a Jefferson County commissioner, says that although her county has been relatively fortunate in obtaining federal funding over the years, many small towns and cities outside her jurisdiction have given up for the moment on applying for stimulus money, foiled by deadlines they couldn't meet and requirements and forms they didn't fully understand.

"You're talking about some of the poorest places in all the country where [local officials] don't have computers or sufficient broadband," Smoot says. "You're talking about places with few [city staff] people. . . . They call me with questions: 'Where do they go? What do they fill out?' We need more federal people on the ground from Washington holding their hands, and we don't have anybody from Washington down here. . . . I don't call that stimulus; I call that same thing, different day."

Recently, in a private conference call with White House officials, leaders of the National Conference of Black Mayors, of which Hudson is the president, vented the same frustrations as Smoot's -- particularly about the absence of a reliable guide for communities desperate to access federal aid. "We've heard that concern expressed, and it's not limited to the rural South," says David Agnew, an official with the White House Office of Intergovernmental Affairs, who, in talking about economic stimulus questions with mayors nationwide, has had regular discussions with Hudson about Greenville's aims and where the city might be able to apply for funding for specific programs. "We've worked closely with organizations representing cities and towns to get the word out and also worked directly with hundreds of cities and towns to help them access Recovery Act funds. So the information is out there -- and we will continue to push it aggressively."

Within a couple of weeks of Obama's election, buoyed by her new hope and expectations, Hudson had completed her city's wish list for stimulus funding. It contained proposals for 17 shovel-ready projects to improve roads, bridges, sewers and -- for $12 million -- the brown water.

By then, Hudson had become convinced that the water problem was reinforcing negative stereotypes about the quality of life in the Delta, scaring off prospective investors and businesses. "A lot of out-of-state people we want to see come here and bring their businesses here see our water and they say, 'That's just Mississippi -- what do you expect?' " she says.

"They think if we can't get the brown out of our water, we can't be trusted to do other things. . . . I get questions from businesspeople and their spouses a lot: 'What's wrong with your water?'

They wonder whether they can give their children baths in it. . . . They wonder if they can get their clothes clean. . . . Brown means dirty to them. Basically, brown water is often the difference between somebody moving to your community or not."

Until a few years ago, city officials had resigned themselves to the brown water, and, before Hudson took office, Greenville voters had rejected a proposal for the city to fund the project on its own. "Most of them don't mind the water," the mayor says. It has always been a part of Greenville, pumped from 12 city wells out of the area's Cockfield aquifer, a subterranean water bed that includes layers of prehistoric plant material through which the water must pass to get to the surface. The plant material continually releases dissolved solids that bind to the water molecules, making the elimination of the brownness a formidable challenge.

The water receives a standard chlorine treatment that, in ridding bacteria and the threat of potential viruses, also removes some of its color, though not nearly enough to substantially alter its brownness. Three years ago, convinced that her city needed a novel approach to the problem, Hudson commissioned a pilot treatment of the water. A corporation specializing in water projects proposed a solution for Greenville that it had employed in several other small American cities.

Known as ion exchange, the technique sends a city's raw water through a special resin that removes the organic materials responsible for creating the color.

The tests produced exactly what Hudson hoped for: bottles of perfectly clear Greenville water that served as proof that the brownness in her city's supply could be eradicated.

But funding such a project always has been a challenge for Greenville and other Mississippi communities. According to Keith Allen, director of the Bureau of Public Water Supply for the Mississippi State Department of Health, about 150 water systems in the state face the same problem, and about 50 percent have water even darker than Greenville's. As Greenville and the rest of Mississippi waited to hear in January and February about stimulus requests made to the new administration, Allen knew that Mississippi already had $56 million worth of shovel-ready municipal water projects lined up before Hudson's request.

By then, the mayor understood that, for her program to be realized, the administration would need for starters to allocate sufficient stimulus money to cover those proposed projects ahead of hers. Given the magnitude of the change sweeping the country, she was hopeful. "I wouldn't say I thought it was a likelihood or certainty, but I talked to people about what we had in mind with it and I was excited," she says. "And a lot of my excitement came from what was coming from President Obama. Everything he said on that day he was here in the Delta and during the campaign created so much excitement and optimism. It made me believe anything was possible."

She waited for a letter from federal or state authorities that might contain good news.

Even amid her frustrations about the bureaucratic struggles experienced by other rural Southern communities, Hudson appreciates the lavish attention the Obama team has shown her.

"I went from nothing with that last administration to more access than I could dream of with this one," she says, her profile having risen in Mississippi to the point where local newspapers speculate that she may be a candidate in 2011 for statewide office. Her regular conference calls have been only a part of her White House contacts. Even before Obama took office, she participated in Washington meetings that included soon-to-be White House chief economic adviser Lawrence H. Summers and Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel. A month after the inauguration, she was part of a White House gathering of mayors, where Obama greeted her.

"He smiled at me and said, 'Oh, this is my young Mississippi mayor,' " Hudson recalls. "I was --" and she stops herself in mid-sentence, throwing up her hands, the portrait of a devoted admirer momentarily dazzled.

Still, she is anything but a seduced newbie, which is why she wasn't surprised by the mixed response to her wish list. During the spring and summer, she received letters indicating that four projects had been approved, including two road programs that will bring Greenville about $1.4 million in stimulus funding. But one of the ways Washington says no is to say nothing at all.

Having heard nothing favorable for months from federal or state officials about one of her pet projects, she has come to see the reality: There will be no money for the brown-water project.

"Not this year," Hudson says.

Several other Mississippi cities hoping to receive water funding also have been bypassed for now, as the state's water challenges simply dwarf the stimulus package's offerings. The recovery act allocated $19.5 million to Mississippi for all of its municipalities' drinking-water projects, a small fraction of the amount needed to fund even the state projects ahead of Greenville's application.

In the wake of the disappointment, Hudson said she saw only one answer to her city's financing quandary: "Mississippi needs to be getting more money for these things. There needs to be more attention paid in general by the federal government to the needs of small rural communities."

But aware that the administration had spent only about $100 billion of the stimulus funding at that point, she held out hope that next year would bring better news.

That same summer week, she and other municipal officials participated in another conference call with the White House. Two aides from the Office of Intergovernmental Affairs told the group that, as part of his effort to reach out, Obama soon would hold a town hall meeting in Virginia on health-care reform. Hudson swiftly responded, as she and two other participants in the call recount. "I'm glad for Virginia," she told the group. "But I would like the president to come here to Mississippi, too. I know this is not a political stronghold for him, but if you're talking about health care, there are more health-care disparities here than anywhere else. . . . The Delta is ground zero for all these problems you've been talking about. . . . Come to a rural area and see what we face."

"Mayor Hudson was on fire," remembers Alabama's Smoot, who also took part in the call. "I felt like she was a kindred spirit."
Hudson had not finished. "The president will always be welcome here," she said, adding: "The president should come down here and see things."
"Amen," Smoot exclaimed to the others. "Alabama says amen to that twice."

A few hours after the White House call ended, Hudson was still thinking about the conversation, allowing that she had tried her best to sound firm but gracious. As the sun slowly fell on Greenville, she drove around her city. She pointed at empty lots that she wants included in the area's renaissance, a transformation that will be realized, she believes, if and when the staples of American commerce, such as major chain restaurants, set up shop. But that will happen, she says, only after Greenville has bolstered its infrastructure, including dealing with the brown water. She gestured at a barren gash in the landscape and smiled.

"This is where my Red Lobster and Olive Garden need to be," she said. "But you know that big places like that won't be coming here if it's brown water they're getting. . . . I'd tell that to the president, too."

If Obama returns, he will see the same brown water pouring out of the bathroom tap at the Holiday Inn Express, should he choose to brush his teeth there. He'll find the same framed card sitting on the front desk, with its same down-home assurances about the peculiar-looking water colored by the prehistoric plant life.

It is that very sense of permanence, of futility, that the Delta must always fight, Hudson regularly tells her out-of-town guests. She drove past the Holiday Inn Express and said: "We want the president back here so he can get a sense of all of the Delta's possibilities. He would be the most important of all the guests -- the one who could lead the change. We don't think that's too much. He said he would come."

Fugitive Ryan Jenkins is dead

story by AP

VANCOUVER, British Columbia - Canadian police say fugitive murder suspect Ryan Jenkins has been found dead of an apparent suicide in a motel in British Columbia.

Sgt. Duncan Pound of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police border integrity unit says police responded to a call about a dead person in Hope, east of Vancouver, and then called investigators who were part of the massive manhunt for Jenkins.

The real estate developer and reality show contestant was wanted in California on first-degree murder charges after the mutilated body of his ex-wife was found near Los Angeles.

President Obama vacations at critical time for health reform

story by The Hill
written by J. Taylor Rushing

photo of the Obamas arriving at Marthas Vineyard by Jason Reed of Reuters

President Barack Obama’s week-long vacation in Massachusetts just may be the right prescription to put his health reform efforts back on track.

Obama left Sunday for a week at Martha’s Vineyard, with no scheduled public events before he returns on Aug. 30. Only family and friends will be joining the president, with much of the White House staff already on vacation.

The president’s break comes after he spent the first weeks of this month’s congressional recess holding repeated town hall forums that were notably calmer than congressional forums — but not necessarily more successful. A Washington Post-ABC News poll published Friday put Obama’s approval rating at 57 percent, down 12 points from April, with much of the damage attributed to public uncertainty over healthcare.

Given that the president’s push hasn’t significantly shifted public sentiment, Jennifer Duffy, a senior editor at The Cook Political Report, said the time off could actually help by lowering the decibel level of the debate.“The question of momentum is a complicated one since momentum here is clearly in the eyes of the beholder,” Duffy said. “But, a less toxic environment could make it easier for the White House and the Democratic leadership in Congress to get some work done on the issue.”

Likewise, Larry Sabato, director of the Center for Politics at the University of Virginia and author of a book on Obama, said the vacation could help. He said President Ronald Reagan — a former actor — was so in tune with his public image that he seldom allowed himself to be seen during his vacations.

“Sometimes presidents push too hard, too much of the time, and it's a good thing for them to step off the stage,” Sabato said. “I still remember the long-view lenses that TV cameras had to use to get the haziest, shimmering videos of Reagan riding a horse on vacation. Only the most unreasonable people don't see the need for a president to take some down time — if you get any real down time as POTUS. It's possible that people will take a look at a happy Obama, surrounded by family, and feel more positive about him.”

Yet Obama’s break comes at a critical time for the healthcare push, with Republicans maintaining united opposition and Democratic leaders considering revising their strategy when Congress reconvenes in September. Another two weeks of town halls that have so far involved heated debate, with no public pushback from Obama, could further public disapproval.

White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs reminded reporters on Friday, however, that progress continues to be made on the legislation beyond public view. A group of six bipartisan senators on the Finance Committee held a 90-minute conference call on Thursday night, he noted, and Obama was told the group is “making progress.”

Gibbs also said polls have shown public support for healthcare changes, and he rapped the media for considering August a “make-it-or-break-it month.”

“I don't know which cable network will make September an even more important month than August, and then if this thing gets to October I can only imagine that that will soon be a more important month,” Gibbs said.

“Much is always made of where things are at a certain point in the process. The president's viewpoint is not to worry too much about the 24-hour news cycle and focus more on the overall process and the overall policy. So I don't know that I would read a tremendous amount into any specific time period like August.”

Republicans have been making hay of Obama's plummeting polls and impending vacation. For example, House Republicans on Friday sent out the following message:

"As the President starts packing for the Vineyard, we have to wonder whether given a do-over, he might have taken the vacation two weeks earlier... What will that mean for the overall state of play? With poll numbers plummeting (especially among independents), continued Democrat-on-Democrat infighting, and election forecasters sounding the alarm bells for the majority party, this is certainly not the summer that the White House and leading Democrats had hoped for."

Obama’s week-long withdrawal from Washington pales in comparison with a five-week break that his predecessor, President George W. Bush, took in mid-2006 — the longest presidential break in 36 years.

By the spring of 2008, Bush had spent nearly 900 days on vacation at his Texas ranch — breaking the previous record, set by Reagan, of spending the most vacation time away from the White House.

Jamaican Sprinter Usain Bolt: I want to be a legend says gold hero

story by CNN
photo by Getty Images


Berlin World Track and Field Championships of 2009
After bagging three gold medals and setting two world records at the Berlin world championships, Jamaican sprinter Usain Bolt told CNN he didn't expect to be so successful.

"I didn't see this coming," Bolt told CNN's Frederik Pleitgen. "I guess it's competition. I keep telling people competition is good for the sport. I had to be at my best, and I was at my best."

During the championships, Bolt smashed his own 100 meter world record with a time of 9.58 seconds. In the 200 meters, Bolt took gold in a phenomenal 19.19 seconds, shaving just a tenth of a second off the mark he set in winning the competition at the 2008 Summer Olympic Games in Beijing.

He also nabbed a third gold in the 4 x 100 meter relay on the penultimate day of the championships on Saturday, running the third leg for Jamaica.

"My secret's just hard work and dedication," Bolt told CNN. "I'm really dedicated to being a champion. I want to be a legend, so I have to work really hard."

Bolt told a cheering crowd at a news conference in the German capital, "I will never forget being here."

He told CNN he has been training for this ever since 2007, when he suffered defeat at the Osaka world championships.

He and his coach analyzed that performance, and he went back and worked on some aspects of his sprinting, he told CNN.

How much faster can he go? "I don't know," Bolt, who celebrated his 23rd birthday on Friday, told CNN.

"I have no clue. Right now, I'm just happy I got the gold medals." He said he is grateful for remaining injury-free, as well.

Among the honors Bolt received was a large piece of the Berlin Wall.

He told reporters he was honored, but wasn't sure how he was going to transport it home to Jamaica.

Asked whether he expected such success, Bolt told CNN, "I was hoping. I was definitely hoping, but I wasn't sure what was going to happen here."

Joined at a news conference organized by the Jamaica Tourist Board along with other athletes and Jamaican officials, Bolt invited the crowd to come to Jamaica.

He said he plans to return to the island and explore it during his down time. "Come and see the places which I'm going to see ... it's a beautiful country," he said.

Bolt told reporters his coach won't let him get complacent. "I know what it takes to stay on top, and that's the aim. I told you guys, I want to be a legend, and I can't be complacent if I want to be a legend."

He said he definitely plans to return for the 2011 global championships in Daegu, South Korea and gave a strong hint he intends to seriously tackle the longer 400m race to add to his triumphs over 100 and 200m.

"I think I'll be ready for the 400, definitely," he said.

Bolt said he is "just happy that I got the championship. The world record comes and goes, but for me it's all about (the) championship."

Lets Get it Done! The Health Care Reform benefits your bottom line

Kirk --

On Thursday, an astounding 280,000 Organizing for America supporters gathered online to huddle with the President at our National Health Care Forum. With Congress about to return to Washington to make historic decisions on health insurance reform, the President chose this critical moment to speak directly to the OFA community. He reminded us of how far we've come and what we can accomplish together:

Remember one thing: Nothing is more powerful than millions of voices calling for change. That's how we won this election. You know this, and that's why since OFA launched its health reform campaign in June you've hosted 11,000 events in more than 2,500 towns in every single state and every single congressional district...I am absolutely confident that we can get this done, but I want everybody to remember, this has never been easy....We are not going to give up now. We are going to get this done.

Now it's up to us to take the next step. This week, we need to make sure every member of Congress heads back to Washington hearing overwhelming support for change. Lies and fear must not have the last word about the health reform America so desperately needs. So here's what you can do: Find and attend a "Let's Get It Done: Health Insurance Reform Now" event near you.

There are thousands of events, in every part of the country. In some places, we're rallying near local congressional offices to deliver signatures of support from voters. In others we're meeting in high-traffic areas to offer passers-by an easy way to get the facts and call Congress, thanking those fighting for reform and urging others to stand with their constituents. Wherever you live, you can find a powerful way to show Congress, the media, and our neighbors that the American people have one clear message about health reform: Let's get it done.

Thursday, the President made the stakes of reform crystal clear. He talked about how, with health care costs rising three times faster than wages, the cost of inaction is simply too high.

He explained how reform will guarantee competition and choice. He described the Insurance Guarantees that will protect every American from discrimination against pre-existing conditions, exorbitant charges, and arbitrary denials or reductions in coverage just when we need it most.

And he made plain his stance on the public option: "So let me just be clear: I continue to support a public option, I think it is important, and I think it will help drive down costs and give consumers choices."

But even the best plan only matters if it passes, and that's where we all have a critical role to play. As the President said:
And that's why what all of you do is so important, because people trust you -- your neighbors, your friends, fellow community members -- they trust you. They know you. And if you are presenting the facts clearly and fairly, I'm absolutely confident that we're going to win this debate. But we're going to have a lot of work to do and I'm grateful that you're willing to do it. Let's go get 'em.

Answer the President's call -- find and attend an event near you:

http://my.barackobama.com/GetItDone

Let's get it done,

Jeremy

Jeremy Bird
Deputy Director
Organizing for America

P.S. -- Couldn't join us on Thursday? You can still see the President's message to you. Click here to see highlights of the President's remarks or the full video of the National Health Care Forum.

To Donate, click link below:
https://donate.barackobama.com/page/contribute/dnc08HealthCare?source=20090822_jb_invites

President Obama with Michele (in shorts) and kids

For some unknown reason, the "mainstream media" took issue to Michele Obama dressed in shorts in over 100 degrees of heat in Arizona. Ridiculous is a word that describes this fiasco. And as you can see, the shorts were respectable length -- unlike Brittany Spears who does the top ten skit on David Letterman's show in a bikini showing how much weight she has gained since Spears' teenage years.

Crowd for in California at Yellowstone National Park
The Obama watch the Geyser at Yellowstone Park.

The Obamas view from up high the Grand Canyon in Arizona

The Obamas casually overlooked the Grand Canyon

Dressed in summer shorts Michele Obama and daughter Malia exit Air Force One onto Arizona

Sasha and Michele Obama step off of Air Force One onto the Grand Canyon Airport

Stone Soul Picnic 2009 in Washington DC

Hot day for the 60-thousand people in Washington DC for the 2009 Stone Soul Picnic. The unbrellas are for the beaming Sun and blocking the well-known Washington DC humidity.
My son with the 'Velvet Teddy Bear' singer Reuben Studdart













WMMJ Afternoon Drive time host Alvin John Waples bringing on Stone Soul Picnics "HOT" acts











Reuben Studdart crooning at the 2009 Stone Soul Picnic in Washington DC on August 15th














Gospel Great Mary Mary singing loud and clear at the 2009 Stone Soul Picnic



The fan, not enough to cool down the Washington DC humid heat at the 2009 Stone Soul Picnic










Harpist Jeff Majors takes time to take a photo with my now collegiate son at the Stone Soul Picnic.









Member of Mary Mary, a fan, and the American Idol famed winner Reuben Studdar















Broadcast legendary and WMMJ Washington DC morning man Tom Joyner along with Singer Reuben Studdart













A rare moment when two giant Broadcast Syndication legends get together -- Tom Joyner and Russ Parr. Tom is on locally at WMMJ in DC and Russell at WKYS in DC.

Mainstream Militia Fuels Michael Vick Hate

by Sports Talk Show Host/Play-by-Play Sportscaster Mark Gray

Sports have a way of teaching us lessons that you can’t learn in a classroom or a boardroom. But in a country that prides itself on giving individuals a second chance after paying for mistakes we have learned a valuable lesson from the saga of Michael Vick.

The mainstream militia will not give a second chance to an athlete – especially an African American or minority high profile athlete - to rehabilitate himself after a heinous mistake. This Beck, Dobbs, O’Reilly, Cowherd mindset of fear mongering hate - which has promoted violence and division during the health care debate - is now influencing sports coverage as well. A certain four letter sports network and ignorant talk show hosts around the country are now pushing an agenda that will do more to endanger the cause of animal rights than anything Vick plead guilty to.

What Vick did was brutal, dishonest, and despicable but he did pay the ultimate price. He lost 23 months of freedom and $135 million in salary and endorsements. The time lost in NFL playing years was astronomical and his reputation has been tainted forever. However, the reaction to his return has been even worse.

Last weekend, while surfing the radio dial, the refrain was the same unless the talk show host was a Philly-bred Eagle fan on local and national programs. Vick doesn’t deserve a second chance because dog fighting is the gateway crime. Let the masse of uniformed prognosticators tell it, sense Vick masterminded a K-9 killing enterprise he is on a fast track to becoming Charles Manson. From that bully pulpit came the same kind of nonsense that has led to swastikas being sprayed on Congressman David Scott’s office in Georgia or defacing Ben Cardin’s in Maryland.

A teacher, one who is charged with molding young minds, used the comparison that if she was convicted of a DUI that she could never teach again and that Vick’s crime warrants him not getting a chance to play in the NFL again. That kind of logic explains the problems with the education system in America – this educator got left behind.

A felonious caller, who admitted that he was peddling drugs while working in the medical industry, lamented that he could no longer vote or work in that field after his conviction so why give Vick another chance. But who is a greater risk to society, the relapse of a dog fighter or someone who looks at a medicine cabinet as a candy store?

This kind of belligerence is fueled by uniformed, inexperienced, fraternity guys and girls who live behind picket fences with swings on their porches and get a platform to incite hate over the airwaves. Vick’s saga should be a teaching moment where society comes to grip with an element of dysfunction that continues in rural parts of the country crossing color lines. Instead it has become an extension of the divide between people in America where constructive debate is offset by extremist hate.

Why can’t we all get along…this is why!!


Mark Gray is a talk show host at WOL radio station in Washington DC and a play-by-play sportscaster for Black College Football

MMTC's David Honig's "Non Urban Dictate" letter to the FCC re: Mini-Cooper

August 12, 2009

Hon. Julius Genachowski Chairman Federal Communications Commission
445 12th Street, S.W.Washington, DC 20554

Dear Chairman Genachowski:

RE: Nondiscrimination in Advertising Sales Contracts, MB Docket No. 07-294

MMTC respectfully renews its July 15, 2008 request that the Commission promptly designate a senior Compliance Officer to enforce the Broadcast Advertising Non-Discrimination Rule adopted in the Broadcast Diversity R&O and Third Further NPRM, 23 FCC Rcd 5922, 5941-42 ¶¶49-50 (2008).

The rule seeks to eliminate “no urban/no Spanish dictates” (NUDs and NSDs), which “are intended to minimize the proportion of African American or Hispanic customers patronizing an advertiser’s venue – or that presume that African-Americans or Hispanics cannot be persuaded to buy an advertiser’s product or service.” Id. MMTC has calculated that minority broadcasters lose at least $200 million a year to NUDs and NSDs, compounding the financial difficulties these broadcasters face in the current economic climate. Minority broadcasters earned these revenues but they never collect them.

This travesty has gone on for decades. It took 24 years for the Commission to adopt this rule even though it was unopposed. No wonder some advertisers think they can discriminate and get away with it. Although the practice mostly occurs under the cover of whispered oral instructions, last week Mini Cooper’s agency issued a four-market written NUD.

The rule requires broadcasters renewing their licenses to certify on Form 303-S that their advertising contracts do not discriminate on the basis of race or gender and that they contain nondiscrimination clauses. Id. Therefore, to remain in compliance with the rule, every radio station in the Boston, Houston, Baltimore and Washington markets should decline to broadcast Mini Cooper spots.

If the Broadcast Non-discrimination Rule remains unenforced, NUDs and NSDs will continue to compromise minority broadcasters’ ability to serve their communities. Designating a Compliance Officer will advance your administration’s efforts to protect and empower all Americans.

Sincerely,

David Honig
David Honig is President and Executive Director

Woodstock August 15-18 1969 -- 40th Aniversary weekend

by woodstockstory.com

http://www.woodstockstory.com/woodstock1969.html
http://www.woodstockstory.com/jimihendrix.html
http://www.woodstockstory.com/janisjoplin.html
http://www.woodstockstory.com/joecocker.html


Day 1: Friday, August 15 1969

Richie Havens > Playlist
Sweetwater > Set List
Bert Sommer > Playlist
Tim Hardin > Set List
Ravi shankar > Playlist
Melanie > Set List
Arlo Guthrie > Playlist
Joan Baez > Set List









Day 2: Saturday, August 16 1969

Quill > Playlist
Country Joe McDonald > Set List
John B. Sebastian > Playlist
Keef Hartley Band > Set List
Santana > Playlist
Incredible String Band > Set List
Canned Heat > Set Playlist
Grateful Dead > Playlist
Leslie West & Mountain > Playlist
Creedence Clearwater Revival > Set List
Janis Joplin > Playlist
Sly & The Family Stone > Set List
The Who > Playlist
Jefferson Airplane > Set List


Day 3: Sunday, August 17 1969

Joe Cocker > Playlist
Country Joe & The Fish > Set List
Ten Years After > Set List
Johnny Winter > Playlist
Blood Sweat And Tears > Set List
Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young > Playlist






Day 4: Monday, August 18 1969

Paul Butterfield Blues Band > Set List
Sha Na Na > Playlist
Jimi Hendrix > Set List

The events that led up to the legendary Woodstock 1969 festival were destined to happen. The organization overcame many barriers and many fateful occurrences lined up its fruition. Here is a brief overview of the legendary Woodstock 1969 festival and the impact it had on music, American culture, and the world.

Woodstock was the pop culture music event of the decade and arguably to this day the single most profound event in the history of music. Acts from all around the world met at Max Yasgur's Farm in Bethel, NY on August 15-18, 1969 for a celebration of peace and music. What began as a paid event drew so many viewers from across the world that the fences were torn down and it became a free concert open to the public. 500,000 youthful individuals gathered peacefully at Woodstock 1969 creating the largest gathering of human beings in one place in history.

Woodstock 1969 defined an entire generation and its effects on music and American culture can still be felt today.

Woodstock '69 featured one of the most prolific musical lineups in history including such icons as Jimi Hendirx, Janis Joplin, Joe Cocker, Santana, and the Who. Fans got a taste of a variety of music styles which came together in perfect harmony. The crowd at Woodstock in 1969, which reached near a half a million people sent a message to the world that individuals could come together peacefully to celebrate peace and music.

Such an extravagant event warranted the production of an academy award winning documentary of the Woodstock 1969 festival and a number of popular Woodstock film and album releases.
The Woodstock 1969 poster has come to be one of the most famous images in American culture as well as a symbol of peace. Hollywood movies are still being made to celebrate the event such as Taking Woodstock, the story of Elliot Tiber.

The music at Woodstock in 1969 embodied extraordinary popular acts from all over the world. Legendary performances by such music icons as Jimi Hendrix, Joan Baez, Joe Cocker,Santana, the Grateful Dead and Janis Joplin are still considered landmarks in music history. Woodstock in 1969 was also among the last performances of Jimi Hendrix and Janis Joplin who are seen as some of the best in their respective fields. The entire psychedelic music vein became popularized at Woodstock 69 and still influences bands of all ages to this day.

Hippie is a term that has not diminished in popularity or as a subculture to this day. The youth of the 1960's all came together with similar ideals and became the most popular counterculture archetype. The hippie culture shook the foundation of conformity to its core, reports of attempts to disperse the half a million individuals have been surfacing ever since the event. Individuals able to organize in that magnitude for a common interest was something that those in power were absolutely terrified of and had every right to be. Had Woodstock 1969's focus turned from music to revolution, the world would be an entirely different place today.

After Woodstock 1969, the name "Woodstock" became a very profitable brand name. The concert was initially designed as a money making endeavor. Woodstock Ventures ended up going far into the basement monetarily after the concert, but eventually recovered and became the corporate enterprise that it is known as today.(photo right: "Lady sit yo ass down") The recent installments have been seen as corporatized disasters; however, the impact of the initial event is still so profound to this day that anything with the Woodstock brand tacked onto it draws a large amount of attention.

Woodstock 1969 has since been a household name and integrated into mainstream American living.

The President's Chief Adviser David Alexrod gives clarity to the Health Care Reform

Dear Friend,

This is probably one of the longest emails I’ve ever sent, but it could be the most important.

Across the country we are seeing vigorous debate about health insurance reform. Unfortunately, some of the old tactics we know so well are back — even the viral emails that fly unchecked and under the radar, spreading all sorts of lies and distortions.

As President Obama said at the town hall in New Hampshire, “where we do disagree, let's disagree over things that are real, not these wild misrepresentations that bear no resemblance to anything that's actually been proposed.”

So let’s start a chain email of our own. At the end of my email, you’ll find a lot of information about health insurance reform, distilled into 8 ways reform provides security and stability to those with or without coverage, 8 common myths about reform and 8 reasons we need health insurance reform now.

Right now, someone you know probably has a question about reform that could be answered by what’s below. So what are you waiting for? Forward this email.

Thanks, David David Axelrod Senior Adviser to the President P.S. We launched http://www.whitehouse.gov/realitycheck/?e=11&ref=text0 this week to knock down the rumors and lies that are floating around the internet. You can find the information below, and much more, there. For example, we've just added a video of Nancy-Ann DeParle from our Health Reform Office tackling a viral email head on. Check it out:

8 ways reform provides security and stability to those with or without coverage

1. Ends Discrimination for Pre-Existing Conditions: Insurance companies will be prohibited from refusing you coverage because of your medical history.
2. Ends Exorbitant Out-of-Pocket Expenses, Deductibles or Co-Pays: Insurance companies will have to abide by yearly caps on how much they can charge for out-of-pocket expenses.
3. Ends Cost-Sharing for Preventive Care: Insurance companies must fully cover, without charge, regular checkups and tests that help you prevent illness, such as mammograms or eye and foot exams for diabetics.
4. Ends Dropping of Coverage for Seriously Ill: Insurance companies will be prohibited from dropping or watering down insurance coverage for those who become seriously ill.
5. Ends Gender Discrimination: Insurance companies will be prohibited from charging you more because of your gender.
6. Ends Annual or Lifetime Caps on Coverage: Insurance companies will be prevented from placing annual or lifetime caps on the coverage you receive.
7. Extends Coverage for Young Adults: Children would continue to be eligible for family coverage through the age of 26.
8. Guarantees Insurance Renewal: Insurance companies will be required to renew any policy as long as the policyholder pays their premium in full. Insurance companies won't be allowed to refuse renewal because someone became sick.

Learn more and get details: http://www.WhiteHouse.gov/health-insurance-consumer-protections/

8 common myths about health insurance reform

1. Reform will stop "rationing" - not increase it: It’s a myth that reform will mean a "government takeover" of health care or lead to "rationing." To the contrary, reform will forbid many forms of rationing that are currently being used by insurance companies.
2. We can’t afford reform: It's the status quo we can't afford. It’s a myth that reform will bust the budget. To the contrary, the President has identified ways to pay for the vast majority of the up-front costs by cutting waste, fraud, and abuse within existing government health programs; ending big subsidies to insurance companies; and increasing efficiency with such steps as coordinating care and streamlining paperwork. In the long term, reform can help bring down costs that will otherwise lead to a fiscal crisis.
3. Reform would encourage "euthanasia": It does not. It’s a malicious myth that reform would encourage or even require euthanasia for seniors. For seniors who want to consult with their family and physicians about end-of life decisions, reform will help to cover these voluntary, private consultations for those who want help with these personal and difficult family decisions.
4. Vets' health care is safe and sound: It’s a myth that health insurance reform will affect veterans' access to the care they get now. To the contrary, the President's budget significantly expands coverage under the VA, extending care to 500,000 more veterans who were previously excluded. The VA Healthcare system will continue to be available for all eligible veterans.
5. Reform will benefit small business - not burden it: It’s a myth that health insurance reform will hurt small businesses. To the contrary, reform will ease the burdens on small businesses, provide tax credits to help them pay for employee coverage and help level the playing field with big firms who pay much less to cover their employees on average.
6. Your Medicare is safe, and stronger with reform: It’s myth that Health Insurance Reform would be financed by cutting Medicare benefits. To the contrary, reform will improve the long-term financial health of Medicare, ensure better coordination, eliminate waste and unnecessary subsidies to insurance companies, and help to close the Medicare "doughnut" hole to make prescription drugs more affordable for seniors.
7. You can keep your own insurance: It’s myth that reform will force you out of your current insurance plan or force you to change doctors. To the contrary, reform will expand your choices, not eliminate them.
8. No, government will not do anything with your bank account: It is an absurd myth that government will be in charge of your bank accounts. Health insurance reform will simplify administration, making it easier and more convenient for you to pay bills in a method that you choose. Just like paying a phone bill or a utility bill, you can pay by traditional check, or by a direct electronic payment. And forms will be standardized so they will be easier to understand. The choice is up to you – and the same rules of privacy will apply as they do for all other electronic payments that people make.

Learn more and get details: http://www.whitehouse.gov/realitycheck/?e=11&ref=myth1 http://www.WhiteHouse.gov/realitycheck/faq

8 Reasons We Need Health Insurance Reform Now

1. Coverage Denied to Millions: A recent national survey estimated that 12.6 million non-elderly adults – 36 percent of those who tried to purchase health insurance directly from an insurance company in the individual insurance market – were in fact discriminated against because of a pre-existing condition in the previous three years or dropped from coverage when they became seriously ill. Learn more: http://www.healthreform.gov/reports/denied_coverage/index.html
2. Less Care for More Costs: With each passing year, Americans are paying more for health care coverage. Employer-sponsored health insurance premiums have nearly doubled since 2000, a rate three times faster than wages. In 2008, the average premium for a family plan purchased through an employer was $12,680, nearly the annual earnings of a full-time minimum wage job. Americans pay more than ever for health insurance, but get less coverage. Learn more: http://www.healthreform.gov/reports/hiddencosts/index.html
3. Roadblocks to Care for Women: Women’s reproductive health requires more regular contact with health care providers, including yearly pap smears, mammograms, and obstetric care. Women are also more likely to report fair or poor health than men (9.5% versus 9.0%). While rates of chronic conditions such as diabetes and high blood pressure are similar to men, women are twice as likely to suffer from headaches and are more likely to experience joint, back or neck pain. These chronic conditions often require regular and frequent treatment and follow-up care. Learn more: http://www.healthreform.gov/reports/women/index.html
4. Hard Times in the Heartland: Throughout rural America, there are nearly 50 million people who face challenges in accessing health care. The past several decades have consistently shown higher rates of poverty, mortality, uninsurance, and limited access to a primary health care provider in rural areas. With the recent economic downturn, there is potential for an increase in many of the health disparities and access concerns that are already elevated in rural communities. Learn more: http://www.healthreform.gov/reports/hardtimes/
5. Small Businesses Struggle to Provide Health Coverage: Nearly one-third of the uninsured – 13 million people – are employees of firms with less than 100 workers. From 2000 to 2007, the proportion of non-elderly Americans covered by employer-based health insurance fell from 66% to 61%. Much of this decline stems from small business. The percentage of small businesses offering coverage dropped from 68% to 59%, while large firms held stable at 99%. About a third of such workers in firms with fewer than 50 employees obtain insurance through a spouse. Learn more: http://www.healthreform.gov/reports/helpbottomline/
6. The Tragedies are Personal: Half of all personal bankruptcies are at least partly the result of medical expenses. The typical elderly couple may have to save nearly $300,000 to pay for health costs not covered by Medicare alone. Learn more: http://www.healthreform.gov/reports/inaction/
7. Diminishing Access to Care: From 2000 to 2007, the proportion of non-elderly Americans covered by employer-based health insurance fell from 66% to 61%. An estimated 87 million people - one in every three Americans under the age of 65 - were uninsured at some point in 2007 and 2008. More than 80% of the uninsured are in working families. Learn more: http://www.healthreform.gov/reports/inaction/diminishing/index.html
8. The Trends are Troubling: Without reform, health care costs will continue to skyrocket unabated, putting unbearable strain on families, businesses, and state and federal government budgets. Perhaps the most visible sign of the need for health care reform is the 46 million Americans currently without health insurance - projections suggest that this number will rise to about 72 million in 2040 in the absence of reform. Learn more: http://www.whitehouse.gov/assets/documents/CEA_Health_Care_Report.pdf?e=11&ref=report