If you have something to say...
Say it on the Huffington Post
If you have something to say...
Say it on the Huffington Post
Can we lower carbon emissions and also push more and more oil and gas production?
Movements begin in our own homes -- they don't come from the White House. If we want to see real substantive change in our lives and in society, then each and every one of us has to make it happen, period.
For too long, progressives have not taken on the conservative story with our own narrative. We have, with the simple tale told by the president, a very different story, an economy driven by working families and the middle class.
From access to education and jobs to safety, there are a lot of challenges facing an often overlooked generation: America's young people, who are just like me. And sadly, we feel like no one is listening.
International situations deteriorate and become more difficult than if addressed early. Uneducated kids become costly adults. The examples are endless, but nothing stands still, and nothing gets better through neglect.
Let's agree that partisan bickering can be set aside in 2013 in order to address the critical broken rungs on the ladder of opportunity. Both parties agree that change needs to happen; it is time to raise Opportunity Scores in all 50 states as private sector and nonprofit leaders are already doing.
The president recognizes that the power to make change doesn't reside only in Washington; it sits within all of us. We can raise our voices, influence our friends, get our lawmakers' attention, and create our own groundswell.
The words in President Obama's State of the Union speech were often lofty, spinning through the air with the greatest of ease and emitting dog whistles as they flew.
Did you notice the two rabid skunks President Obama unleashed at the State of the Union picnic?
Americans are much more unified in their aspirations and worries than they are about how to address them. An effective political leader must be bilingual -- speaking to the anxieties and desires of both the left and the right.
While President Obama's focus on climate change is a welcome, albeit belated, shift, it remains to be seen whether he will match words with action. More and more environmental organizations and activists are prepared to keep the pressure on to ensure he does.
The Republican Party was done a disservice last night. It was a bashing session of President Obama when it could have been a grand opportunity to show the direction the GOP is moving in.
A few weeks into his second term, the Obama many of us expected in 2009 appears to finally have shown up. An assertive president prepared to get in the faces of his Republican opponents and force them to back down so he can move his agenda.
Last night President Obama set out an agenda that responds to many of the calls made by the movements that have twice made his presidency a reality. Now we must come together to ensure legislators have the courage to answer our call as well.
If Paul and Rubio's speeches are any indication of where the Republican Party is heading, it looks like the 2016 nominating season will be more substantive than 2012.
President Obama has now used his election night victory, Inauguration, and State of the Union address to highlight the injustice of long voting lines and voter suppression in America. The question is now what?
