Just call her Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor....
Sonia Sotomayor was officially sworn in as the nation's first Hispanic and third female Supreme Court Justice Tuesday. In attendance for the swearing in ceremony were President Obama, Vice-President Biden, Attorney General Eric Holder, Sotomayor's mother, Mrs. Celina Sotomayor and her brother Juan Sotomayor. Also in attendance was newly retired Justice David Souter whom she has replaced on the bench as well as members of Congress and other goverment and judicial officials. Justice Sotomayor was administered the oath of office by Chief Justice John Roberts, who replaced late Justice William Rehnquist just a few years ago. Justice Sotomayor received a warm greeting by her new collegues at the conclusion of the ceremony.
Justice Sotomayor's swearing timely, as the court is set to begin hearing cases on the docket starting today.
Wednesday, September 9, 2009
Tuesday, September 8, 2009
President Obama Delivers Back To School Address To Students
Hoping to start students off on the right foot, President Obama delivered a speech aimed towards students returning back to school. Below is the press release of the complete text of President Obama's Back To School address to students, released by the White House:
THE WHITE HOUSE
Office of the Press Secretary
___________________________________________________________________________
For Immediate Release September 8, 2009
REMARKS BY THE PRESIDENT
IN A NATIONAL ADDRESS TO AMERICA'S SCHOOLCHILDREN
Wakefield High School
Arlington, Virginia
THE PRESIDENT: Hello, everybody! Thank you. Thank you. Thank you, everybody. All right, everybody go ahead and have a seat. How is everybody doing today? How about Tim Spicer? I am here with students at Wakefield High School in Arlington, Virginia. And we've got students tuning in from all across America, from kindergarten through 12th grade. And I am just so glad that all could join us today. And I want to thank Wakefield for being such an outstanding host. Give yourselves a big round of applause.
I know that for many of you, today is the first day of school. And for those of you in kindergarten, or starting middle or high school, it's your first day in a new school, so it's understandable if you're a little nervous. I imagine there are some seniors out there who are feeling pretty good right now -- -- with just one more year to go. And no matter what grade you're in, some of you are probably wishing it were still summer and you could've stayed in bed just a little bit longer this morning.
I know that feeling. When I was young, my family lived overseas. I lived in Indonesia for a few years. And my mother, she didn't have the money to send me where all the American kids went to school, but she thought it was important for me to keep up with an American education. So she decided to teach me extra lessons herself, Monday through Friday. But because she had to go to work, the only time she could do it was at 4:30 in the morning.
Now, as you might imagine, I wasn't too happy about getting up that early. And a lot of times, I'd fall asleep right there at the kitchen table. But whenever I'd complain, my mother would just give me one of those looks and she'd say, "This is no picnic for me either, buster."
So I know that some of you are still adjusting to being back at school. But I'm here today because I have something important to discuss with you. I'm here because I want to talk with you about your education and what's expected of all of you in this new school year.
Now, I've given a lot of speeches about education. And I've talked about responsibility a lot.
I've talked about teachers' responsibility for inspiring students and pushing you to learn.
I've talked about your parents' responsibility for making sure you stay on track, and you get your homework done, and don't spend every waking hour in front of the TV or with the Xbox.
I've talked a lot about your government's responsibility for setting high standards, and supporting teachers and principals, and turning around schools that aren't working, where students aren't getting the opportunities that they deserve.
But at the end of the day, we can have the most dedicated teachers, the most supportive parents, the best schools in the world -- and none of it will make a difference, none of it will matter unless all of you fulfill your responsibilities, unless you show up to those schools, unless you pay attention to those teachers, unless you listen to your parents and grandparents and other adults and put in the hard work it takes to succeed. That's what I want to focus on today: the responsibility each of you has for your education.
I want to start with the responsibility you have to yourself. Every single one of you has something that you're good at. Every single one of you has something to offer. And you have a responsibility to yourself to discover what that is. That's the opportunity an education can provide.
Maybe you could be a great writer -- maybe even good enough to write a book or articles in a newspaper -- but you might not know it until you write that English paper -- that English class paper that's assigned to you. Maybe you could be an innovator or an inventor -- maybe even good enough to come up with the next iPhone or the new medicine or vaccine -- but you might not know it until you do your project for your science class. Maybe you could be a mayor or a senator or a Supreme Court justice -- but you might not know that until you join student government or the debate team.
And no matter what you want to do with your life, I guarantee that you'll need an education to do it. You want to be a doctor, or a teacher, or a police officer? You want to be a nurse or an architect, a lawyer or a member of our military? You're going to need a good education for every single one of those careers. You cannot drop out of school and just drop into a good job. You've got to train for it and work for it and learn for it.
And this isn't just important for your own life and your own future. What you make of your education will decide nothing less than the future of this country. The future of America depends on you. What you're learning in school today will determine whether we as a nation can meet our greatest challenges in the future.
You'll need the knowledge and problem-solving skills you learn in science and math to cure diseases like cancer and AIDS, and to develop new energy technologies and protect our environment. You'll need the insights and critical-thinking skills you gain in history and social studies to fight poverty and homelessness, crime and discrimination, and make our nation more fair and more free. You'll need the creativity and ingenuity you develop in all your classes to build new companies that will create new jobs and boost our economy.
We need every single one of you to develop your talents and your skills and your intellect so you can help us old folks solve our most difficult problems. If you don't do that -- if you quit on school -- you're not just quitting on yourself, you're quitting on your country.
Now, I know it's not always easy to do well in school. I know a lot of you have challenges in your lives right now that can make it hard to focus on your schoolwork.
I get it. I know what it's like. My father left my family when I was two years old, and I was raised by a single mom who had to work and who struggled at times to pay the bills and wasn't always able to give us the things that other kids had. There were times when I missed having a father in my life. There were times when I was lonely and I felt like I didn't fit in.
So I wasn't always as focused as I should have been on school, and I did some things I'm not proud of, and I got in more trouble than I should have. And my life could have easily taken a turn for the worse.
But I was -- I was lucky. I got a lot of second chances, and I had the opportunity to go to college and law school and follow my dreams. My wife, our First Lady Michelle Obama, she has a similar story. Neither of her parents had gone to college, and they didn't have a lot of money. But they worked hard, and she worked hard, so that she could go to the best schools in this country.
Some of you might not have those advantages. Maybe you don't have adults in your life who give you the support that you need. Maybe someone in your family has lost their job and there's not enough money to go around. Maybe you live in a neighborhood where you don't feel safe, or have friends who are pressuring you to do things you know aren't right.
But at the end of the day, the circumstances of your life -- what you look like, where you come from, how much money you have, what you've got going on at home -- none of that is an excuse for neglecting your homework or having a bad attitude in school. That's no excuse for talking back to your teacher, or cutting class, or dropping out of school. There is no excuse for not trying.
Where you are right now doesn't have to determine where you'll end up. No one's written your destiny for you, because here in America, you write your own destiny. You make your own future.
That's what young people like you are doing every day, all across America.
Young people like Jazmin Perez, from Roma, Texas. Jazmin didn't speak English when she first started school. Neither of her parents had gone to college. But she worked hard, earned good grades, and got a scholarship to Brown University -- is now in graduate school, studying public health, on her way to becoming Dr. Jazmin Perez.
I'm thinking about Andoni Schultz, from Los Altos, California, who's fought brain cancer since he was three. He's had to endure all sorts of treatments and surgeries, one of which affected his memory, so it took him much longer -- hundreds of extra hours -- to do his schoolwork. But he never fell behind. He's headed to college this fall.
And then there's Shantell Steve, from my hometown of Chicago, Illinois. Even when bouncing from foster home to foster home in the toughest neighborhoods in the city, she managed to get a job at a local health care center, start a program to keep young people out of gangs, and she's on track to graduate high school with honors and go on to college.
And Jazmin, Andoni, and Shantell aren't any different from any of you. They face challenges in their lives just like you do. In some cases they've got it a lot worse off than many of you. But they refused to give up. They chose to take responsibility for their lives, for their education, and set goals for themselves. And I expect all of you to do the same.
That's why today I'm calling on each of you to set your own goals for your education -- and do everything you can to meet them. Your goal can be something as simple as doing all your homework, paying attention in class, or spending some time each day reading a book. Maybe you'll decide to get involved in an extracurricular activity, or volunteer in your community. Maybe you'll decide to stand up for kids who are being teased or bullied because of who they are or how they look, because you believe, like I do, that all young people deserve a safe environment to study and learn. Maybe you'll decide to take better care of yourself so you can be more ready to learn. And along those lines, by the way, I hope all of you are washing your hands a lot, and that you stay home from school when you don't feel well, so we can keep people from getting the flu this fall and winter.
But whatever you resolve to do, I want you to commit to it. I want you to really work at it.
I know that sometimes you get that sense from TV that you can be rich and successful without any hard work -- that your ticket to success is through rapping or basketball or being a reality TV star. Chances are you're not going to be any of those things.
The truth is, being successful is hard. You won't love every subject that you study. You won't click with every teacher that you have. Not every homework assignment will seem completely relevant to your life right at this minute. And you won't necessarily succeed at everything the first time you try.
That's okay. Some of the most successful people in the world are the ones who've had the most failures. J.K. Rowling's -- who wrote Harry Potter -- her first Harry Potter book was rejected 12 times before it was finally published. Michael Jordan was cut from his high school basketball team. He lost hundreds of games and missed thousands of shots during his career. But he once said, "I have failed over and over and over again in my life. And that's why I succeed."
These people succeeded because they understood that you can't let your failures define you -- you have to let your failures teach you. You have to let them show you what to do differently the next time. So if you get into trouble, that doesn't mean you're a troublemaker, it means you need to try harder to act right. If you get a bad grade, that doesn't mean you're stupid, it just means you need to spend more time studying.
No one's born being good at all things. You become good at things through hard work. You're not a varsity athlete the first time you play a new sport. You don't hit every note the first time you sing a song. You've got to practice. The same principle applies to your schoolwork. You might have to do a math problem a few times before you get it right. You might have to read something a few times before you understand it. You definitely have to do a few drafts of a paper before it's good enough to hand in.
Don't be afraid to ask questions. Don't be afraid to ask for help when you need it. I do that every day. Asking for help isn't a sign of weakness, it's a sign of strength because it shows you have the courage to admit when you don't know something, and that then allows you to learn something new. So find an adult that you trust -- a parent, a grandparent or teacher, a coach or a counselor -- and ask them to help you stay on track to meet your goals.
And even when you're struggling, even when you're discouraged, and you feel like other people have given up on you, don't ever give up on yourself, because when you give up on yourself, you give up on your country.
The story of America isn't about people who quit when things got tough. It's about people who kept going, who tried harder, who loved their country too much to do anything less than their best.
It's the story of students who sat where you sit 250 years ago, and went on to wage a revolution and they founded this nation. Young people. Students who sat where you sit 75 years ago who overcame a Depression and won a world war; who fought for civil rights and put a man on the moon. Students who sat where you sit 20 years ago who founded Google and Twitter and Facebook and changed the way we communicate with each other.
So today, I want to ask all of you, what's your contribution going to be? What problems are you going to solve? What discoveries will you make? What will a President who comes here in 20 or 50 or 100 years say about what all of you did for this country?
Now, your families, your teachers, and I are doing everything we can to make sure you have the education you need to answer these questions. I'm working hard to fix up your classrooms and get you the books and the equipment and the computers you need to learn. But you've got to do your part, too. So I expect all of you to get serious this year. I expect you to put your best effort into everything you do. I expect great things from each of you. So don't let us down. Don't let your family down or your country down. Most of all, don't let yourself down. Make us all proud.
Thank you very much, everybody. God bless you. God bless America. Thank you.
THE WHITE HOUSE
Office of the Press Secretary
___________________________________________________________________________
For Immediate Release September 8, 2009
REMARKS BY THE PRESIDENT
IN A NATIONAL ADDRESS TO AMERICA'S SCHOOLCHILDREN
Wakefield High School
Arlington, Virginia
THE PRESIDENT: Hello, everybody! Thank you. Thank you. Thank you, everybody. All right, everybody go ahead and have a seat. How is everybody doing today? How about Tim Spicer? I am here with students at Wakefield High School in Arlington, Virginia. And we've got students tuning in from all across America, from kindergarten through 12th grade. And I am just so glad that all could join us today. And I want to thank Wakefield for being such an outstanding host. Give yourselves a big round of applause.
I know that for many of you, today is the first day of school. And for those of you in kindergarten, or starting middle or high school, it's your first day in a new school, so it's understandable if you're a little nervous. I imagine there are some seniors out there who are feeling pretty good right now -- -- with just one more year to go. And no matter what grade you're in, some of you are probably wishing it were still summer and you could've stayed in bed just a little bit longer this morning.
I know that feeling. When I was young, my family lived overseas. I lived in Indonesia for a few years. And my mother, she didn't have the money to send me where all the American kids went to school, but she thought it was important for me to keep up with an American education. So she decided to teach me extra lessons herself, Monday through Friday. But because she had to go to work, the only time she could do it was at 4:30 in the morning.
Now, as you might imagine, I wasn't too happy about getting up that early. And a lot of times, I'd fall asleep right there at the kitchen table. But whenever I'd complain, my mother would just give me one of those looks and she'd say, "This is no picnic for me either, buster."
So I know that some of you are still adjusting to being back at school. But I'm here today because I have something important to discuss with you. I'm here because I want to talk with you about your education and what's expected of all of you in this new school year.
Now, I've given a lot of speeches about education. And I've talked about responsibility a lot.
I've talked about teachers' responsibility for inspiring students and pushing you to learn.
I've talked about your parents' responsibility for making sure you stay on track, and you get your homework done, and don't spend every waking hour in front of the TV or with the Xbox.
I've talked a lot about your government's responsibility for setting high standards, and supporting teachers and principals, and turning around schools that aren't working, where students aren't getting the opportunities that they deserve.
But at the end of the day, we can have the most dedicated teachers, the most supportive parents, the best schools in the world -- and none of it will make a difference, none of it will matter unless all of you fulfill your responsibilities, unless you show up to those schools, unless you pay attention to those teachers, unless you listen to your parents and grandparents and other adults and put in the hard work it takes to succeed. That's what I want to focus on today: the responsibility each of you has for your education.
I want to start with the responsibility you have to yourself. Every single one of you has something that you're good at. Every single one of you has something to offer. And you have a responsibility to yourself to discover what that is. That's the opportunity an education can provide.
Maybe you could be a great writer -- maybe even good enough to write a book or articles in a newspaper -- but you might not know it until you write that English paper -- that English class paper that's assigned to you. Maybe you could be an innovator or an inventor -- maybe even good enough to come up with the next iPhone or the new medicine or vaccine -- but you might not know it until you do your project for your science class. Maybe you could be a mayor or a senator or a Supreme Court justice -- but you might not know that until you join student government or the debate team.
And no matter what you want to do with your life, I guarantee that you'll need an education to do it. You want to be a doctor, or a teacher, or a police officer? You want to be a nurse or an architect, a lawyer or a member of our military? You're going to need a good education for every single one of those careers. You cannot drop out of school and just drop into a good job. You've got to train for it and work for it and learn for it.
And this isn't just important for your own life and your own future. What you make of your education will decide nothing less than the future of this country. The future of America depends on you. What you're learning in school today will determine whether we as a nation can meet our greatest challenges in the future.
You'll need the knowledge and problem-solving skills you learn in science and math to cure diseases like cancer and AIDS, and to develop new energy technologies and protect our environment. You'll need the insights and critical-thinking skills you gain in history and social studies to fight poverty and homelessness, crime and discrimination, and make our nation more fair and more free. You'll need the creativity and ingenuity you develop in all your classes to build new companies that will create new jobs and boost our economy.
We need every single one of you to develop your talents and your skills and your intellect so you can help us old folks solve our most difficult problems. If you don't do that -- if you quit on school -- you're not just quitting on yourself, you're quitting on your country.
Now, I know it's not always easy to do well in school. I know a lot of you have challenges in your lives right now that can make it hard to focus on your schoolwork.
I get it. I know what it's like. My father left my family when I was two years old, and I was raised by a single mom who had to work and who struggled at times to pay the bills and wasn't always able to give us the things that other kids had. There were times when I missed having a father in my life. There were times when I was lonely and I felt like I didn't fit in.
So I wasn't always as focused as I should have been on school, and I did some things I'm not proud of, and I got in more trouble than I should have. And my life could have easily taken a turn for the worse.
But I was -- I was lucky. I got a lot of second chances, and I had the opportunity to go to college and law school and follow my dreams. My wife, our First Lady Michelle Obama, she has a similar story. Neither of her parents had gone to college, and they didn't have a lot of money. But they worked hard, and she worked hard, so that she could go to the best schools in this country.
Some of you might not have those advantages. Maybe you don't have adults in your life who give you the support that you need. Maybe someone in your family has lost their job and there's not enough money to go around. Maybe you live in a neighborhood where you don't feel safe, or have friends who are pressuring you to do things you know aren't right.
But at the end of the day, the circumstances of your life -- what you look like, where you come from, how much money you have, what you've got going on at home -- none of that is an excuse for neglecting your homework or having a bad attitude in school. That's no excuse for talking back to your teacher, or cutting class, or dropping out of school. There is no excuse for not trying.
Where you are right now doesn't have to determine where you'll end up. No one's written your destiny for you, because here in America, you write your own destiny. You make your own future.
That's what young people like you are doing every day, all across America.
Young people like Jazmin Perez, from Roma, Texas. Jazmin didn't speak English when she first started school. Neither of her parents had gone to college. But she worked hard, earned good grades, and got a scholarship to Brown University -- is now in graduate school, studying public health, on her way to becoming Dr. Jazmin Perez.
I'm thinking about Andoni Schultz, from Los Altos, California, who's fought brain cancer since he was three. He's had to endure all sorts of treatments and surgeries, one of which affected his memory, so it took him much longer -- hundreds of extra hours -- to do his schoolwork. But he never fell behind. He's headed to college this fall.
And then there's Shantell Steve, from my hometown of Chicago, Illinois. Even when bouncing from foster home to foster home in the toughest neighborhoods in the city, she managed to get a job at a local health care center, start a program to keep young people out of gangs, and she's on track to graduate high school with honors and go on to college.
And Jazmin, Andoni, and Shantell aren't any different from any of you. They face challenges in their lives just like you do. In some cases they've got it a lot worse off than many of you. But they refused to give up. They chose to take responsibility for their lives, for their education, and set goals for themselves. And I expect all of you to do the same.
That's why today I'm calling on each of you to set your own goals for your education -- and do everything you can to meet them. Your goal can be something as simple as doing all your homework, paying attention in class, or spending some time each day reading a book. Maybe you'll decide to get involved in an extracurricular activity, or volunteer in your community. Maybe you'll decide to stand up for kids who are being teased or bullied because of who they are or how they look, because you believe, like I do, that all young people deserve a safe environment to study and learn. Maybe you'll decide to take better care of yourself so you can be more ready to learn. And along those lines, by the way, I hope all of you are washing your hands a lot, and that you stay home from school when you don't feel well, so we can keep people from getting the flu this fall and winter.
But whatever you resolve to do, I want you to commit to it. I want you to really work at it.
I know that sometimes you get that sense from TV that you can be rich and successful without any hard work -- that your ticket to success is through rapping or basketball or being a reality TV star. Chances are you're not going to be any of those things.
The truth is, being successful is hard. You won't love every subject that you study. You won't click with every teacher that you have. Not every homework assignment will seem completely relevant to your life right at this minute. And you won't necessarily succeed at everything the first time you try.
That's okay. Some of the most successful people in the world are the ones who've had the most failures. J.K. Rowling's -- who wrote Harry Potter -- her first Harry Potter book was rejected 12 times before it was finally published. Michael Jordan was cut from his high school basketball team. He lost hundreds of games and missed thousands of shots during his career. But he once said, "I have failed over and over and over again in my life. And that's why I succeed."
These people succeeded because they understood that you can't let your failures define you -- you have to let your failures teach you. You have to let them show you what to do differently the next time. So if you get into trouble, that doesn't mean you're a troublemaker, it means you need to try harder to act right. If you get a bad grade, that doesn't mean you're stupid, it just means you need to spend more time studying.
No one's born being good at all things. You become good at things through hard work. You're not a varsity athlete the first time you play a new sport. You don't hit every note the first time you sing a song. You've got to practice. The same principle applies to your schoolwork. You might have to do a math problem a few times before you get it right. You might have to read something a few times before you understand it. You definitely have to do a few drafts of a paper before it's good enough to hand in.
Don't be afraid to ask questions. Don't be afraid to ask for help when you need it. I do that every day. Asking for help isn't a sign of weakness, it's a sign of strength because it shows you have the courage to admit when you don't know something, and that then allows you to learn something new. So find an adult that you trust -- a parent, a grandparent or teacher, a coach or a counselor -- and ask them to help you stay on track to meet your goals.
And even when you're struggling, even when you're discouraged, and you feel like other people have given up on you, don't ever give up on yourself, because when you give up on yourself, you give up on your country.
The story of America isn't about people who quit when things got tough. It's about people who kept going, who tried harder, who loved their country too much to do anything less than their best.
It's the story of students who sat where you sit 250 years ago, and went on to wage a revolution and they founded this nation. Young people. Students who sat where you sit 75 years ago who overcame a Depression and won a world war; who fought for civil rights and put a man on the moon. Students who sat where you sit 20 years ago who founded Google and Twitter and Facebook and changed the way we communicate with each other.
So today, I want to ask all of you, what's your contribution going to be? What problems are you going to solve? What discoveries will you make? What will a President who comes here in 20 or 50 or 100 years say about what all of you did for this country?
Now, your families, your teachers, and I are doing everything we can to make sure you have the education you need to answer these questions. I'm working hard to fix up your classrooms and get you the books and the equipment and the computers you need to learn. But you've got to do your part, too. So I expect all of you to get serious this year. I expect you to put your best effort into everything you do. I expect great things from each of you. So don't let us down. Don't let your family down or your country down. Most of all, don't let yourself down. Make us all proud.
Thank you very much, everybody. God bless you. God bless America. Thank you.
Wednesday, September 2, 2009
Obama Administration To Focus Greater Attention To Civil Rights
President Obama has vowed to enforce Civil Rights laws assuring that civil rights abuses and issues surrounding civil rights violations towards African Americans and other minorities will not be ignored under his administration. Many civil rights advocates have long complained that civil rights abuses and violations towards minorities were ignored by the Bush administration. President Obama through U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder has vowed that the Obama administration will do what is necessary and required to ensure equality of Civil Rights for all Americans and minorities in particular. In an interview with the New York Times, Attorney General Holder stated that the Justice Department's Civil Rights Division is "planning a major revival of high impact civil rights enforcement against policies, in areas, ranging from housing to hiring, where statistics show that minorities fare disproportionately poorly." To ensure a more aggressive enforcement against civil rights abuses and violations, the Obama administration has hired additional civil rights attorneys who will prosecute civil rights cases to the fullest extent of the law. Attorney General Holder further stated that the addition of new civil rights attorneys will help the U.S. Justice Department Civil Rights Division to focus greater attention towards civil rights and revamp the image of the Department stating "This is only a start. The wounds inflicted on this division were deep, and it will take some time for them to fully heal."
President Obama Declares National HBCU Week
President Obama has declared this week (Sept. 1-7) National Historically Black College and University (HBCU) week across the nation. The President praised all college Presidents, students, faculty and staff of all HBCU's for the outstanding work that they do to make sure that African Americans receive and reap the benefits of a higher education. "This week, we celebrate the accomplishments of HBCU's and look to the future with conviction and optimism" the President said. He continued "These institutions will play a key role in reaching our ambitious national education goals, including having the highest proportion of graduates in the world by 2020. As our Nation strives towards this goal, we invite HBCU's to employ new, innovative and ambitious strategies to help this next generation of Americans successfully complete college and prepare themselves for the global economy. During National Historically Black Colleges and Universities Week, we recommit ourselves to never resting until equality is real, opportunity is universal, and all citizens can realize their dreams."
The President noted that late Supreme Court Justice Thurgood Marshall and poet Langston Hughes were graduates of HBCU's before going on to help shape the fabric of the Nation stating, "For generations, education has opened doors to untold opportunities and bright futures...through quality instruction and a personal commitment to hard work, young people in every part of our nation have gone on to achieve success. Established by men and women of great vision, leadership, and clarity of purpose, historically black colleges and universities have provided generations of Americans with opportunity, a solid education and hope." "HBCU's have released the power of knowledge to countless Americans...and offer us a window into our nation's past as well as a path forward."
Historically Black Colleges and Universities were established 140 years ago and are located in 20 states, the District Of Columbia, and the Virgin Islands.
The President noted that late Supreme Court Justice Thurgood Marshall and poet Langston Hughes were graduates of HBCU's before going on to help shape the fabric of the Nation stating, "For generations, education has opened doors to untold opportunities and bright futures...through quality instruction and a personal commitment to hard work, young people in every part of our nation have gone on to achieve success. Established by men and women of great vision, leadership, and clarity of purpose, historically black colleges and universities have provided generations of Americans with opportunity, a solid education and hope." "HBCU's have released the power of knowledge to countless Americans...and offer us a window into our nation's past as well as a path forward."
Historically Black Colleges and Universities were established 140 years ago and are located in 20 states, the District Of Columbia, and the Virgin Islands.
Monday, August 31, 2009
In Memoriam: Adam "DJ AM" Goldstein (1973-2009)
Celebrity DJ Adam Goldstein professionally known as DJ AM died over the weekend of an apparent drug overdose at his New York City apartment at the age of 36. Born and raised in Philadelphia, Goldstein began deejaying at age 20 spinning for such celebrities as Jim Carrey, Jessica Simpson, Jennifer Lopez and Ben Stiller. He has also scratched on albums for Will Smith and Jay-Z. He also was a member of a rock band called Crazy Town who had a hit song called "Butterfly".
In 2008 Goldstein along with rocker Travis Barker of Blink 182 were the lone survivors of a harrowing plane crash in West Columbia, SC after the two performed at a college event. Barker along with Goldstein subsequently filed lawsuits against the charter company of the plane Learjet and Goodyear tires claiming negligence by the pilots and a manufacturing defect by the plane. Goldstein was seeking compensation for pain and suffering, mental anguish, disfigurement and loss of earnings. It is unclear if the litigation was settled prior to Goldstein's untimely death.
Goldstein struggled with drug addiction early on in his career with crack cocaine seeking treatment and was successful in his recovery. He just finished filming for a new MTV reality show called "Gone Too Far" where he and concerned family members of addicts called interventions to confront addicts about their abuses. It is unclear if the show will air given the circumstances surrounding his death.
Adam Goldstein was found by police with drug paraphinalia after a friend of Goldstein became concerned when he did not answer repeated e-mails, tweets and telephone calls. The friend subsequently went to Goldstein's apartment for a well being check. The friend notified the superintendent of the building who was unable to open the door due to the inside latch being locked across the inside door. Police broke down the door and made the discovery.
Goldstein's last public appearance was two weeks ago when he threw out the first pitch at the Mets game at CitiField. The PALMS hotel in Las Vegas dimmed the lights P, L, and S to spell AM in his honor. He performed there on August 21st.
Funeral arrangements are pending. An autopsy has been scheduled to determine the circumstances surrounding Goldstein's death.
In Memoriam: Adam Michael "DJ AM" Goldstein (1973-2009)
In 2008 Goldstein along with rocker Travis Barker of Blink 182 were the lone survivors of a harrowing plane crash in West Columbia, SC after the two performed at a college event. Barker along with Goldstein subsequently filed lawsuits against the charter company of the plane Learjet and Goodyear tires claiming negligence by the pilots and a manufacturing defect by the plane. Goldstein was seeking compensation for pain and suffering, mental anguish, disfigurement and loss of earnings. It is unclear if the litigation was settled prior to Goldstein's untimely death.
Goldstein struggled with drug addiction early on in his career with crack cocaine seeking treatment and was successful in his recovery. He just finished filming for a new MTV reality show called "Gone Too Far" where he and concerned family members of addicts called interventions to confront addicts about their abuses. It is unclear if the show will air given the circumstances surrounding his death.
Adam Goldstein was found by police with drug paraphinalia after a friend of Goldstein became concerned when he did not answer repeated e-mails, tweets and telephone calls. The friend subsequently went to Goldstein's apartment for a well being check. The friend notified the superintendent of the building who was unable to open the door due to the inside latch being locked across the inside door. Police broke down the door and made the discovery.
Goldstein's last public appearance was two weeks ago when he threw out the first pitch at the Mets game at CitiField. The PALMS hotel in Las Vegas dimmed the lights P, L, and S to spell AM in his honor. He performed there on August 21st.
Funeral arrangements are pending. An autopsy has been scheduled to determine the circumstances surrounding Goldstein's death.
In Memoriam: Adam Michael "DJ AM" Goldstein (1973-2009)
Friday, August 28, 2009
In Memoriam: Senator Edward Moore Kennedy (1932-2009)
Senator Edward M. Kennedy "Ted" to family members and constituents alike, passed away late Tuesday night at his home on the Kennedy family compound in Hyannis Port, MA after a struggle with brain cancer. He was 77.
I may not have been around to see the rise of Camelot or be a witness to it's golden years when it's beloved son accended to the White House, or when another son became U.S. Attorney General and I may not have been around to be a witness to their untimely assasinations but I have been around to witness the courage and dignity of Ted Kennedy. Whether through personal, public tragedy or on the behalf of his constituents or the Nation, Ted Kennedy handled everything with courage and dignity. It was with courage and dignity that he lived his life and ultimately, it was with courage and dignity the way he died.
In Memoriam: Senator Edward Moore Kennedy (1932-2009)
I may not have been around to see the rise of Camelot or be a witness to it's golden years when it's beloved son accended to the White House, or when another son became U.S. Attorney General and I may not have been around to be a witness to their untimely assasinations but I have been around to witness the courage and dignity of Ted Kennedy. Whether through personal, public tragedy or on the behalf of his constituents or the Nation, Ted Kennedy handled everything with courage and dignity. It was with courage and dignity that he lived his life and ultimately, it was with courage and dignity the way he died.
In Memoriam: Senator Edward Moore Kennedy (1932-2009)
Michael Jackson News:Death Ruled Homicide; Apollo Honor; Birthday Celebration
Late musical icon Michael Jackson's death has officially been ruled a homicide by the Los Angeles Police Department and it is unclear if his physician, Dr. Conrad Murray will face any charges in connection with the case. Dr. Murray has been regarded as a person of interest when it was revealed that he was Michael Jackson's personal physician. Under questioning by police Dr. Murray admitted that he gave Michael various sedatives and sleep aids including the highly powerful surgical anesthetic Propofol on a regular basis and on the day of Jackson's death to help the musical icon sleep. Dr. Murray also admitted that on the day of Michael's death, to giving him four highly addictive medications Valium, Lorazepam, Midazolam and Propofol intravenously to stop his insomnia but it was ultimately the Propofol the last of the sedatives, that killed him. It is unclear if Dr. Murray will have his licenses in Texas and Nevada (where he has private practice) revoked pending the outcome of this case. Meanwhile Jackson's elder sibling LaToya issued a statement thanking police for their timely response and their ruling in the case.
Meanwhile, The Apollo Theater has announced that it will inducted Michael Jackson into the Legends Hall Of Fame, the theater's highest honor. Jackson will posthumously be inducted next Spring at a benefit gala. Other inductees into the Legends Hall Of Fame include James Brown and Ella Fitzgerald. The historic theater also plans to archive the Tribute Wall-a 100 foot blue plywood wall adjacent to the theater that was erected by fans upon hearing of his death on June 25th.
Acclaimed film director Spike Lee is set to host a 51st Birthday celebration in Michael Jackson's honor to be held at Prospect Park in Brooklyn, NY on Saturday, August 29th, 2009 from 12noon-5pm at the Nethermead Meadow section of the park. The celebration held on Michael's actual birthday, will proceed as planned rain or shine. Jackson's music will be spun by renowned DJ Spinna on the turntables. For more information about the birthday celebration and to get travel directions visit Spike Lee's official website 40 Acres And A Mule Filmworks at www.40acres.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=1465
Be sure to come back to The Society Hill for continuing coverage of Michael Jackson....
Meanwhile, The Apollo Theater has announced that it will inducted Michael Jackson into the Legends Hall Of Fame, the theater's highest honor. Jackson will posthumously be inducted next Spring at a benefit gala. Other inductees into the Legends Hall Of Fame include James Brown and Ella Fitzgerald. The historic theater also plans to archive the Tribute Wall-a 100 foot blue plywood wall adjacent to the theater that was erected by fans upon hearing of his death on June 25th.
Acclaimed film director Spike Lee is set to host a 51st Birthday celebration in Michael Jackson's honor to be held at Prospect Park in Brooklyn, NY on Saturday, August 29th, 2009 from 12noon-5pm at the Nethermead Meadow section of the park. The celebration held on Michael's actual birthday, will proceed as planned rain or shine. Jackson's music will be spun by renowned DJ Spinna on the turntables. For more information about the birthday celebration and to get travel directions visit Spike Lee's official website 40 Acres And A Mule Filmworks at www.40acres.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=1465
Be sure to come back to The Society Hill for continuing coverage of Michael Jackson....
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
