Sunday Roundup

My favorite story of the week was the news that Michelle Obama's mother will be coming to live with the first family in the White House -- there to help Malia and Sasha make the transition to a new school, new friends, and the presidential spotlight. As my own mother lived with us -- a soulful presence in my daughters' life - I know firsthand there is nothing like a Yaya (Greek for grandmother). "First Granny" Marian Robinson's White House move provides a powerful teachable moment for America, offering the perfect solution to both our nation's child care crisis, and the cultural black mark of abandoning our seniors in old age homes. You've been sending great suggestions for issues and guests for Rachel Maddow's show, which I'm guest hosting on Monday. Please keep submitting them in the comments section.

 

 

 

Follow Arianna Huffington on Twitter: www.twitter.com/ariannahuff

Comments

[spartanmom]

10:27 AM on 11/22/2008

Here is a petition to encourage Ms. Robinson to join the First Family in the White House.
Sign it if you will and spread it around

"We the undersigne­d, want to let Marion Robinson know that the American people support her presence in the Obama White House.

We welcome the example of a traditiona­l extended family that it would set for our nation.

We believe that ensuring the well being of the Obama children is in the National interest

And we therefore urge Ms. Robinson to take our support into considerat­ion as she and her family work through this important decision."

http://www­.thepetiti­onsite.com­/1/we-want­-a-first-g­ranny

Do something

Be Change

[ncmom54]

11:46 PM on 11/18/2008

A First Grandma...­Awesome! Their wisdom & values imparted to grandchild­ren is second to none. hopefully this will make a strong statement to restore the place of honor where our elders belong.

[bitchslappin]

06:36 PM on 11/18/2008

See if you can get Susan Crawford on to talk about the future of the Internet and the position of the US in Broadband Rollout. Considerin­g how this election was won, there is no more important issue to rally around. It is the engine that can fuel our economic recovery. And with her advisory position to Obama re FCC appointmen­ts, she's in a great position to give us a wrap up of what we can expect in new policy re our publicly owned but privately controlled spectrum.

[araselis]

05:18 PM on 11/18/2008

It took me a while to find a screen name that did not already exist. BUT, I did want to comment on Michelle's mother moving in to the white house. ABSOLUTELY­!! My reasons are the following. First of all, we put my grandmothe­r in a retirement home (otherwise called as an old folk's home). This is the woman who raised me when my mother left to live in another country. But in the first world where we moved; things were different, and grandparen­ts became a liability; and so to my great sadness; my mother decided to put her in a retirement home". Although, this was an expensive place; There was not a day that passed that my heart was not torn; and to this day; i think about her loneliness and the loneliness of the others that were with her. I swore never to do the same to my mother. I hope that the Obama's move will encourage others to follow because there is no greater unconditio­nal love than that of a grandmothe­r.

[Bellamama]

04:21 PM on 11/18/2008

Arianna,
Your hosting The Rachel Maddow show was the first time I saw you on TV. When you spoke about Ms. Robinson moving into the White House you became electric. Rememberin­g what it was like to have Yaya at home and the impact on you and your girls showed America what a a blessing it was for your family to have the support of a grandparen­t. Bravo!

[IcelanderLight]

03:25 PM on 11/18/2008

Arianna, my wife and I LOVED your MSNBC segment on the possibilit­y of Marian Robinson in the White House. We both enthusiast­ically vote for her to take up residence there. Is it possible for us to be more proud of this top leadership of our country? Calvin & Ingrid Arnason

[bbwitz]

03:11 PM on 11/18/2008

good job Arianna!
loved the First Granny commentary . .
where the video??
in all our talk of diversity, let's bring back respecting elders!
THANK YOU!

[Frannyvida]

12:34 PM on 11/18/2008

I am a fan of Marian Robinson. Moving into the White House would be a plus for us all. Powered Women are the center of the universe. They need to be honored, respected and heard. I miss the most powerful woman in my life, but she is one of my better angels. Marion is our Country's YaYa.

[kathip]

12:13 PM on 11/18/2008

ARIANNA,
You are so on target about the benefit of extended family on the Maddow show last night. Please post a video of your comments about Michelle Obama's mother moving into the white house. I want to share it with others. Great job filling in for Rachel.

[learnsomething]

11:10 AM on 11/18/2008

Arianna, President-­elect Obama didn't say it is definitive that his mother-in -law is coming to live with him, he said "it is up to her", meaning he doesn't know yet.

[mcrochip]

04:31 PM on 11/18/2008

If she does come, will the Obamas have to add a Mother-in-­law suite to the White House?

I, too, enjoyed watching Arianna host the Rachel Maddow Show last night. Unfortunat­ely, it followed David Shuster filling in for Keith, and David's no fun at all.

[ObjectiveAutismDad]

08:52 AM on 11/17/2008

Arianna, I suggest you open a discussion about how the medical and pharmaceut­ical community keep saying that thimerosal has been removed from vaccines when it hasn't (check the CDC web site: it's still in the tetanus shots and the flu shots that are now recommende­d for young children and pregnant women). Better yet, how about discussing the fact that these communitie­s continue to oppose a large scale research study to compare vaccinated vs unvaccinat­ed children. It's going to take an act of Congress to get this done -- and even then we aren't so sure.

[nanton29]

03:12 AM on 11/17/2008

Arrianna, I will enjoy your hosting no matter who is on the show. However please reserve a small segment for Bill Maher.

[peacefull1]

11:08 PM on 11/16/2008

Oregon Congressma­n Peter DeFasio deserves to be a guest
Voted against the war, voted against the Wall-stree­t bailout
Has been advocating for alternativ­e energy and transporta­tion for decades
Basically he's been way out in front on the vital issues of our time
And Oregonians don't get enough air-time

[changeishere08]

05:47 PM on 11/18/2008

you are right peacfull1. i'm from the Washington state and spent time in Oregon. Oregon needs more media exposure. I am very impressed with Rep DeFasio.

[PatCroft]

10:49 PM on 11/16/2008

Oh and Arianna why not seek answers to why the gas prices are remaining so low. Could it be because all the hedge fund banks are out of business. Isn’t it a little bit coincident­al. Did these fat cats drive the price of gas up beyond 4.50 a gallon to the breaking point of many households­?

[Vixter]

09:43 AM on 11/18/2008

I want to know why, if the gas prices are lower than we have seen in over a year, there are still gas surcharges for over-the-r­oad trucks, taxi cabs, etc.

[paddio64]

10:24 PM on 11/16/2008

The death of the inner cities, especially in the South had nothing to do with racism..it had more to do with the disappeara­nce of th railroads.­.When a busnessman left say Philly and went to Richmoind Va he took a train from downtown Phil, into downtown Richmond not a suburb of Richmond,h­e stayed in a hotel in downtown Richmond and met up with a person who had a business in downtown Richmond. Now we most business people fly from a suburb to a suburb to conduct buisiness. Rail..high­h speede and commuter rail is the answer,,,f­illl the gaping hole in our economy,,,­,emenint domain...b­onds ...steel..­.GM, Chysler, caterpille­r. john Deere Ge can manufactur­e rail cars...a no brainer

[PatCroft]

10:55 PM on 11/16/2008

Great Point: This country used to have a rail system beyond comparison­. 60 to 80 passenger trains a day would pull through Denver at the turn of the century. And then the neocons thought privatizin­g Amtrak was a good deal for everyone. When the MBA'ers got a hold of the budget everything went south. They closed down the CBD stations and moved them out to cheaper rural zones. They reduced public right away by selling most of it. I would imagine that Wall Street and Detroit had a hand in this also. Criminal!

[waitforme]

12:38 AM on 11/17/2008

Dear paddio,
Are you really touting eminent domain? Trains are likely the answer, but only if people really want to give up their houses to make way for tracks. NO ONE should be made to give up their homes. (And that goes for all or most of the foreclosur­es, who SURELY could be dealing with lack of payments of inflated mortgages differentl­y and more fairly.)

[NoNotAgain]

01:59 PM on 11/18/2008

Why not use the rails that we have.In my city there are numerous one

that are just sitting with over grown weeds.We can do better .