Political Profile of President Barack Obama

Political Profile of President Barack Obama On November 4, 2008, 47-year-old Barack Obama was elected to be the 44th President of the United States, after a hard-fought two-year presidential campaign. He was sworn in as president on January 20, 2009. Fast Facts: Barack Obama Full Name: Barack Hussein Obama, IIKnown For: 44th President of the United States, in office January 20, 2009- January 20, 2017Born: August 4, 1961 in Honolulu, HawaiiParents: Barack Obama Sr. and Ann DunhamSpouse: Married on October 18, 1992 to Michelle Robinson, an attorney and Chicago nativeChildren: Malia and SashaEducation: B.A. in international relations, 1983, Columbia University. J.D. from Harvard Law School, where he was the first black Editor of the Harvard Law ReviewMajor Accomplishments: First African American president, Nobel Peace Price (2009), Profile in Courage Award (2017), best-selling authorFun Fact: Obama is a Chicago White Sox and Chicago Bears fan, and an avid basketball player Early Life Born Barack Hussein Obama, Jr, his father was a Kenya-born Harvard-educated economist and his mother was Ann Dunham, a caucasian anthropologist. He was 2 years old when his father left the family. His father (deceased in 1982) returned to Kenya, and only saw his son once more. His mother remarried, and moved Barack to Indonesia. He returned to Hawaii at age 10 to live with his maternal grandparents. He graduated from the respected Punahou School with honors. As a teenager, he scooped ice cream at Baskin-Robbins, and has admitted to dabbling in marijuana and cocaine. His mother died of cancer in 1995. Political Timeline Before entering politics, Obama worked as a community organizer and a civil rights attorney. In addition, Obama was a Senior Lecturer in Constitutional Law at University of Chicago Law School. In the early 90s, he aggressively organized one of the largest voter registration drives in Chicago history to help Bill Clintons 1992 election. Obama (D-IL) was elected to the U.S. Senate on November 2, 2004, after serving 7 years as an Illinois state senator. In 2004, Sen. Obama also signed a $1.9 million deal to author 3 books. The first, The Audacity of Hope, discusses his political convictions. His 1995 autobiography was a bestseller. Barack Obamas voting record and stances as US Senator and Illinois State Senator reflect a practical, common sense progressive thinker who emphasizes increased support for teachers, college affordability, and restoration of meaningful federal support of veterans. As a Senator, Obamas areas of special legislative interest were in support for working families, public education, health care, economic growth and jobs creation, and ending the Iraq War. As an Illinois state senator, he worked passionately for ethics reforms and criminal justice reform. Obama first rose to national prominence when he delivered an inspiring keynote speech at the 2004 Democratic National Convention. On February 10, 2007, Barack Obama declared his candidacy for the 2008 Democratic nomination for the presidency. On June 3, 2008, Obama accumulated enough Democratic convention delegates votes to become the presumptive party nominee for the presidential race. On October 9, 2009, the Nobel Committee announced that President Barack Obama had been awarded the 2009 Nobel Peace Prize. The Obama Persona Barack Obama is a independent-minded leader with an even-keel temperament, charismatic speaking skills and a knack for consensus-building. Hes also a talented, introspective writer. His values are strongly shaped by his expertise as a Constitutional law professor and civil rights attorney, and by Christianity. While private by nature, Obama mingles easily with others, but is most comfortable addressing large crowds. He is known for being unafraid to speak and hear hard truths when necessary. Obama was named by Time magazine in 2005, 2007 and 2008 as one of the 100 most influential people in the world. Memorable Quotes You cant have No Child Left Behind if you leave the money behind. I do agree that the Democrats have been intellectually lazy in failing to take the core ideals of the Democratic Party and adapting them to circumstances.... Its not just a matter of sticking in a quote from the Bible into a stock speech. There has yet to be a serious conversation about health care on the floor of the United States Senate. ...as parents, we need to find the time and the energy to step in and find ways to help our kids love reading. We can read to them, talk to them about what theyre reading and make time for this by turning off the TV ourselves. Libraries can help parents with this. Knowing the constraints we face from busy schedules and a TV culture, we need to think outside the box here - to dream big like we always have in America. Right now, children come home from their first doctors appointment with an extra bottle of formula. But imagine if they came home with their first library card or their first copy of Goodnight Moon? What if it was as easy to get a book as it is to rent a DVD or pick up McDonalds? What if instead of a toy in every Happy Meal, there was a book? What if there were portable libraries that rolled through parks and playgrounds like ice cream trucks? Or kiosks in stores where you could borrow books? What if during the summer, when kids often lose much of the reading progress theyve made during the year, every child had a list of books they had to read and talk about and an invitation to a summer reading club at the local library? Libraries have a special role to play in our knowledge economy. - June 27, 2005 Speech to the American Library Association

Early America Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Early America - Essay Example This story belongs to the oldest Seneca oral traditions. However, the author is Jeremiah Curtin, a white who got an opportunity to live among the people and interacted with them. The story appeared in the people’s local language but became available in English through the efforts of Hewitt. The story brings out the fact that human beings originally lived in better conditions that in the world as early Americans knew it. The people had a notion of heaven where they thought man originated (Johnson, 2012). In addition, they believed that sea creatures existed as well. The fate of the girl who fell from the sky ends up on earth, a dry land created as an island using soil from deep sea. This part of the story implies the curiosity of early Americans to understand how the separation of the seas and dry land occurred. The narrative then highlights how this woman became the ancestor of people on earth through the daughter she bore. However, the story does not explain how the conception of the daughter occurred. Regarding the daughter, the strength of the wind comes out as the source of conception. The story does not elaborate how this mystery occurred. The story highlights the origin of races because it refers to the offspring of the daughter as two sons having different complexions. According to the Seneca people, that was the origin of racial indifferences. The two sons then bring out the dominion of man over other animals. The story accords man immense power. He had the power to create and alter the creations. In addition, he was in a position to exercise dominion over the creation. From the story, the reader learns the origin of human disagreement from the comparison of work of the two brothers (Johnson, 2012). The story offers a reader some information about the beliefs of the earliest American people. However, it has its shortcomings. It does not explain majority of the

Estimating Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Estimating - Essay Example The accuracy of this method is approximated to be +2.5 or -2.5meters. Another method that can potentially be used is by comparing the picture of the Shrine with an object (in the same picture) whose height is known. For example, we can calculate the number of repeated times through which the Shrines doors can be arranged to reach the bell tower and then multiply our results by the average height of Shrine’s door. An average of 11 doors can fit into the Bells height and each door is approximated to be 3m tall. This means that the approximate height of the Shrines bell= 11 x3=33 meters above the ground. Lastly the height of the Bell can also be estimated using simple Trigonometry. Using a position with a known distance from the Shrine building, the height of the location of the Shrines tower can be calculated as Height=Tan (Angle) x the known distance. The accuracy of this method is often =0.5 or -0.5. In my opinion, trigonometry method is better than the other methods since it has minimal error. The total load exerted by the bell tower can be estimated using the formula Total load= load per floor x the number of stories. Since the bell tower is entirely constructed using concrete, the weight of the walls and floors can be estimated as W= area of floors and walls x average weight per squire meters. The average weight of concrete per cubic meters=2400kg. Each story can be approximated to be 3 x 3 x10= 90m3. there are 8 floors each 3 x 3=72m3. =(90 x6)m3 +

Management of Technology Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 5000 words

Management of Technology - Essay Example Retail industry, because of its optimum development has been incorporating technologies in various facets of its functioning. One of the key technologies that is being sizably used is Radio Frequency Identification (RFID for short), which tracks and locates products through organisation’s supply chain using some hardware. Organisations are ‘structures’ with number of individuals doing their allocated work to accomplish set goals. Thus, the implementation of RFID in an organisation will mostly not be an individual’s decision and inputs, instead various parts of the organisation has to work in cohesion, with organisations and its management taking decisions to make the RFID function effectively. On these lines, many retail companies are implementing RFID in their operations. So, this paper will first focus on Rogers’ and other experts’ perspectives or ideas of technology diffusion. Then will discuss the origins and functioning of the RFID Techno logy and how diffusion process is applicable to this technology. Finally, the paper focusing on the retail sector and retail companies will critically evaluate RFID’s diffusion process using the literature review, and concluding with recommendations for further improvement to the literature and the development of future technologies. The technological and the innovation perspectives of diffusion got established in 1960’s, in the aftermath of Everett Rogers’ book, Diffusion of Innovations. Rogers focused on how innovation or technology got diffused or infiltrated into the society through various channels. Rogers defined diffusion as â€Å"the process in which an innovation is communicated thorough certain channels over time among the members of a social system† (Rogers 1983, p.5). It was Everett Rogers and its diffusion model which was widely accepted in various fields. The process of

The Picture of Dorian Gray Essay Example for Free

The Picture of Dorian Gray Essay 1.The Picture of Dorian Gray is the story of a young and beautiful man named Dorian Gray who is frightened by the fact that he will eventually lose his good looks and youth as he ages. Dorian Gray is the subject of a painting by an artist, Basil Hallward. Basil introduces Dorian Gray to Lord Henry Wotton, who slowly begins to gain greater influence on Dorian Gray. Lord Henry believes the only things worth pursuing in life are beauty and fulfillment of the senses. Once Dorian realizes that his good looks and youth will eventually fade away he decides to pledge his soul to his painting to ensure that the portrait will age and bear the burden of his infamy instead of himself. Shortly after doing so Dorian meets an actress named Sibyl Vane. He falls in love with her and they become engaged. But Sibyl decides to quit acting; because of she believes she cannot pretend to love acting when she loves Dorian so much more. Once Dorian finds that Sibyl has quit acting he breaks the engagement and that night Sibyl hangs herself. After Sibyl’s death, Dorian begins a life of debauchery. Once rumors begin to spread of his infamous acts Basil comes to Dorian to confront him about the rumors. Out of rage Dorian kills Basil and needs help disposing the body. After the murder Dorian is full of guilt and instead of repenting his sins he takes the knife he used to stab Basil and stabs his picture instead. Dorian’s servants find Dorian’s portrait a beautiful picture of a young man and their master’s body lying on the floor. Dorian’s body is an old disfigured man with a knife in his heart. 2.The main characters in this story are Dorian Gray, Basil Hallward, and Lord Henry Wotton. Dorian Gray is an incredibly handsome and wealthy young gentleman whom Basil Hallward paints a picture of. Once Dorian meets Lord Henry he finds that his beauty will eventually fade and pledges his soul to the painting Basil made. He soon begins a life of corruption. Basil Hallward is a painter who is infatuated with Dorian’s extreme beauty. He is the painter that creates Dorian’s painting that ages as Dorian doesn’t. Basil is also a friend to Lord Henry Wotton. Lord Henry Wotton is a noble witty friend of Basil and later becomes a friend to Dorian as well. He eventually has a huge influence on Dorian and first puts Dorian in the mindset that beauty doesn’t last forever. 3.There are multiples themes in The Picture of Dorian Gray but the most central theme would be physical beauty and narcissism, and how they lead to self destruction. There are numerous situations of Dorian Gray hinting at narcissism. In the second chapter Dorian murmurs â€Å"How sad it is! I shall grow old, and horrible, and dreadful. But this picture will remain always young. It will never be older than this particular day of June.If it were only the other way! If it were I who was to be always young, and the picture that was to grow old! For that for that I would give everything! Yes, there is nothing in the whole world I would not give! I would give my soul for that!† (pg28) This is when Dorian realized that his youth, his dazzling beauty, will not last forever. Dorian now realizes that he should treasure his youth more than ever. He also realizes would give up everything to save his youthful beauty, even his soul. However, everything has a price to pay. Another example of Dorian’s narcissism in the book is on page 95 where Dorian blames Sibyl for the reason he ended their engagement. â€Å"It was the girl’s fault, not his he had thought her great. Then she had disappointed him. She had been shallow and unworthy.† (pg95) Dorian’s attitude towards the ending of his relationship with Sibyl shows how overconfident he is in his beauty and because of this overconfidence he loses the woman he loves. The final example of how narcissistic attitude leads to destruction is the ending of the story. In the end of the story Dorian ends up killing himself because of all the horrible things he had done in his life. He stabs himself with the knife he used to kill Basil and once he kills himself he turns old and his picture becomes young again. 4. Oscar Wilde’s writing style in The Picture of Dorian Gray uses a great deal of detail and an abundance of witty dialogue. Wilde uses Lord Henry to provoke humor with his theories on how life should be lived with only pleasure. More often though Wilde uses description to create the mood, tone, and setting of the story. Wilde describes each setting in the story with great detail making clear what he wants the picture of the setting to look like in one’s head. On page 4 Wilde wrote â€Å"As the painter looked at the gracious and comely form he had so skillfully mirrored in his art, a smile of pleasure passed across his face, and seemed about to linger there.† In this description Wilde sets the mood, tone, and setting. He also describes each character with great detail. â€Å"Lord Henry stroked his pointed brown beard, and tapped the toe of his patent-leather boot with a tasseled ebony cane.† (pg11) Wilde’s description’s of Lord Henry helps the reader create a better idea of what the characters are like and what they look like. Wilde omniscient point of view on the story gives insight to each of the character thoughts and reasoning behind their actions. With this point of view the reader can understand Dorian’s motives behind pledging his soul, breaking his relationship with Sibyl, and ending his life. 5.The Picture of Dorian Gray is one of the most intriguing and unique books I have ever read. The storyline of the story is unique itself because I don’t believe I’ve ever read a book about a man pledging his soul to a painting to preserve his youth. Dorian Gray’s character is invigorating. His selfishness made me want to both strangle him and continue reading throughout the entire story. Lord Henry’s wit was striking and offensive but also thought provoking. The slight homosexuality between Basil and Dorian was humorous. Not only was the book full of interesting viewpoints on life and rude behavior it was also enlightening. Although Dorian was selfish and wrong for pledging his soul so that he could stay young his thoughts are understandable. The notion that getting older isn’t as pleasurable as it may seem to others is an idea that I can relate with but I would never sell my soul for it. This book was well worth the read even though the beginning seemed kind of dry to me.

Environmental Ethics Essay -- shallow ecological thinking, deep ecolog

"If we each take responsibility in shifting our own behavior, we can trigger the type of change that is necessary to achieve sustainability for our race or this planet. We change our planet, our environment, our humanity every day, every year, every decade, and every millennia." -- Yehuda Berg The state of our environment has been deteriorating for centuries. Every part of the planet has been negatively impacted by man. Environmental degradation was greatly accelerated by the industrial revolution that took place in the 19th century. The industrial revolution mechanized the production of goods and introduced the use of machinery and other heavy equipment which were fueled by dirty sources of energy. At first, wood and coal powered the engines of industry, later they were replaced by natural gas and petroleum(Alters 51-63). At this point, it simply is not enough to just "do no harm" to the environment. We must immediately begin to act on behalf of the environment, instead of just not against it. My ethics concerning the environment have always run along the lines of "shallow ecological thinking,(Naess)" as Arne Naess called it. I choose to avoid pollution and to reduce, reuse, and recycle because these actions seem beneficial to humans in one way or another. This reasoning is shared by many people in regards to the environment and animal rights considering anything as a means to human ends, rather than as ends in themselves. Even the above passage from the Bible seems to allocate all the goods of the earth to humans and puts all the natural resources under their direct supervision. I understand the above passage to mean that man is obliged to look after the environment and to protect it, much like a mother looks after her chi... ...ered by a world of people. We need to keep in mind, however, that ethics do not develop spontaneously, so we must allow a bit of leeway, some room to move, grow, and evolve. With this mindset, the environmental damage can first be slowed, then stopped, and eventually reversed and mended. It may seem drastic, but this plan of action may be more necessary than the people of our needy planet realize. Works Cited Alters, Sandra, ed., â€Å"Coal.† Energy: Supplies, Sustainability and Costs. Detroit: Thomson Gale, 2007. 51-63. EBC. OhioLINK Scholarly and Reference E-Books. Web. 17 Apr. 2015 Naess, Arne. "THE SHALLOW AND THE DEEP, LONG RANGE ECOLOGY MOVEMENTS" Inquiry (Oslo), 16 (1973). Web. 5 May 2015 http://www.alamut.com/subj/ideologies/pessimism/Naess_deepEcology.html Singer, Peter. Practical Ethics. Second ed. New York: Cambridge University Press, 1998.

Lord Liverpool’s Government Essay

Liverpool faced many economic and financial problems, as well as some political problems. Some of these problems included national debt, unemployment, wars with France and America and popular protest groups. Each of these factors also contributed to the popular unrest which occurred during this period. Liverpool was highly effective in defeating Napoleon and also in dealing with protest groups. Additionally he was also successful in bringing about some economic prosperity as well as reducing the deficit. However he was least effective in gaining the support of Prince Regent. Liverpool was most successful in winning the war with Napoleon in 1815. Liverpool had been the only person which had been able to defeat Napoleon to date which consequently made him seem unbeatable. During the war Napoleon implemented an ‘economic blockade’. In response the British tried to stop America from trading with certain countries, this hardened American opinion of the British and they now wa nted independence. This eventually led to another war, however this was resolved in a few years. Liverpool’s military success led to him gaining much support and therefore strengthening his position. Liverpool was also successful – to an extent – in restoring economic prosperity. The war had disrupted British trade and economy and it had also encouraged British economy to over specialise in war industries which resulted in inflation and rising prices. The Corn Laws which were implemented in 1815 caused bread prices to rise rapidly in the poor harvest of 1816; this angered many working class people and caused a lot of popular unrest, it also made Liverpool very unpopular, the corn laws benefited the upper classes. Additionally by 1815 Britain had and  £861 million national debt and the deficit had reached  £13 million. The income tax which had been imposed in 1799 and brought in  £15 million was defeated by 37 votes and abolished in March 1816. This meant that the government lost a substantial amount of revenue therefore worsening the economic state of the country. Further the end of the Napoleonic war in 1815 caused depression as the economy shifted from a war economy to a peacetime one. Liverpool’s government thought lower tariffs on imported goods would mean lower prices for costumers and therefore increasing demand and stimulating trade which would mean economic prosperity. Liverpool’s main source of revenue was the indirect tax. During this time the government was also under increasing pressure gain the support of the people as in the election of 1818 they had lost seats. The government was severely embarrassed over its handling of Peterloo, the spy system and the Queen Caroline Affair. Matters were only made worse by Castlereagh’s weak defence of the government position in each of the matters. The government was in deep embarrassment and on the verge of losing support from voters. As a response Liverpool shuffled the cabinet in 1822. Canning was appointed as foreign secretary. This was highly controversial and further cabinet changes took places. This was an attempt to make the restore the people’s faith in the government and Liverpool hoped to regain some credibility. This reshuffle provided the impression of change, however this was not really the case therefore it wasn’t particularly effective in solving any problems. There was also much radical threat in Britain at the time. During this time Liverpool did several things to try and suppress radical action: introduced the six acts, suspended the Habeas Corpus and the Seditions meeting act. Also people were transported and some were executed due to Luddite protests. These acts allowed the magistrates to take action necessary in order to prevent any action which seemed revolutionary. This made the government seems repressive and reactionary. This was also the first time any government had to deal with mass protest and therefore it could be said that perhaps for the experience they had, the government dealt with matters fairly effectively. Although there are perhaps better ways in which it could have been handled the government was somewhat effective in oppressing revolutionary protest. Liverpool was clearly most effective are regards military action – winning the war with Napoleon and also restoring the peace with America. As regards to the economic and financial problems Liverpool was somewhat successful in reducing the problem rather than getting rid of it.