This is the flag that Francis Scott Key saw flying over Fort McNair during the War of 1812. It inspired him to write "The Star-Spangled Banner" which officially became our National Anthem in 1931 (h/t National Museum of American History).
Sixty years later, Whitney Houston's rendition of the National Anthem inspired the nation.
Seven years ago, I launched my blog. Today, marks a new beginning as I focus on the development of the Cost of Freedom App, a location-based web app that will provide voters with concise information on how to apply for a voter ID.
Marketing guru Seth Goldin recently observed that if you don't adapt to the post-industrial economy, “never mind the race to the top, you'll be racing to the bottom.” Goldin added:
Instead of waiting around for someone to tell you that you matter, take your career into your own hands. In other words, don't wait for someone else to pick you and pick yourself! If you have a book, you don't need a publisher to approve you, you can publish it yourself. It's no longer about waiting for some big corporation to choose you. We've arrived at an age where you choose yourself.
Sadly, today also marks the death of the “Matriarch of the Blues,” Etta James, whose truth-telling helped me get through many nights.
I will miss Ms. Etta's motherly advice. May she, at last, rest in peace.
Please cast your vote and help determine the winner. If you have already voted, please share the link with your friends and ask them to vote for me. The poll closes TODAY at 5 p.m.
Thanks for your support! I also want to thank you letting me be myself (again).
As a founding member of the Election Protection Coalition, I would warn voters to “be careful how they vote” because stuff happens. For this election, you have the right to stuff the ballot box because I’m “built out of stuff like that.”
So please vote for me. And then tell your friends to tell their friends to “do it, do it.”
I did not own a laptop in 2005 so I had to practically beg a staffer to let me use her computer. I'm audacious but I was not going to show up at an invitation-only event without having published a single blog post.
Three laptops and nearly 1,500 posts later, I'm still passionate about blogging.
But passion doesn't pay the bills. And you know “ain't nothing going on but the rent.”
If you value this independent source of news and information and fact-based commentary, show me some love on my anniversary and make a donation.
To paraphrase Gwen Guthrie, a fly girl like me needs an iPad. Thank you for your support!
Yesterday marked the one-year anniversary of the news conference during which President Barack Obama said a Cambridge police officer had “acted stupidly” in arresting his friend, Harvard Prof. Henry Louis Gates Jr.
The President reached Ms. Sherrod by telephone at about 12:35. They spoke for seven minutes.
The President expressed to Ms. Sherrod his regret about the events of the last several days. He emphasized that Secretary Vilsack was sincere in his apology yesterday, and in his work to rid USDA of discrimination.
The President told Ms. Sherrod that this misfortune can present an opportunity for her to continue her hard work on behalf of those in need, and he hopes that she will do so.
An invitation to the White House is not in the offing so I would like to propose a Long Island Iced Tea summit.