First Lady Michelle Obama told employees at the Department of Education to “roll up [their] sleeves” and get ready for “hard work” as the administration works to expand education funding. She also noted that this would be the first in a series of appearances with employees throughout the government.
“Barack and I want to say thank you for what you’ve done. You have to build a team from the bottom up,” the First Lady said. She also added she “wouldn’t be here if it weren’t for the public schools who nurtured me and pushed me along”.
HOLDER CONFIRMED
On Monday, the Senate confirmed Eric H. Holder Jr. as the nation’s first black attorney general by a vote of 75 to 21.
Holder, 58, will be sworn in today at the Justice Department headquarters in Washington.
“The need for new leadership at the Department of Justice is as critical today as it’s ever been. This confirmation is going to do a great deal to restore the morale and the purpose throughout the department,” said Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Patrick J. Leahy.
CLINTON SWORN IN…AGAIN
U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton is sworn in for a second time as her husband former President Bill Clinton and daughter Chelsea look on during a ceremonial swearing-in at the State Department on Monday.
Vice President Joe Biden administered the oath to Clinton in a ceremonial star-studded gathering at the State Department. The official swearing-in took place January 21 in her former Senate office. The low-key event was attended only by her husband and Senate staff.
Barack is doing the dang thing !ST
just great!!!
Congratulations to Holder!!! Plus he has my first name so he must be cool.
Chris Rock said something a while back about a situation like this. It does seem like Michelle caught the “WE” the president mentality. But, who knows, maybe she is just more interesting than other first ladies.
Exactly what we need! Better & equal education opportunities for our kids… lets get it..
I wonder what the work dynamic between Hilary and Barack will be like. She looks happy in her new role.
The Michelle Obama video is not working !
My Dear Soror Michelle Obama,
You represent well. Fix the system. I am a product too. I became successful from public schools. Yes she is a Phenomenal Women of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority Incorporated! Just like Marvin Gaye song she is saving the children… “Save the Children…. Save the babies…”
J. Dakar: Thank you for all the inventive political post that you contributed…. I said it before… “Remain steadfast…you will be the next Carl Rowan but instead of radio, your venue will be the internet…”
Michelle tell them to back up off me with them damn student loan payments.
@Tara: That was cute. Those school loans have been just a thorn in my side for years now….
No wonder Michelle hated Hillary.
She’s trying to mimic HRC’s role during Bill’s administration…sigh..tsk tsk..
Is our first lady trying to build a repertoire for a future presidency?
Only time will tell..
I thought her first year would be spent helping the girls adjust?
I love Michelle and support her in all of her efforts b ut she is walking a very tight rope. Education is a popular issue for First Ladies, it’s like literacy and hunger – no real controversy. But with the poor state of most public schools (especially in black areas) the system is now very POLITICAL. No one at the higher levels cares about anything but grievances and handouts. I hope she steers clear of those types in the education arena.
@sigh: For sure…I hope so!!!!
@ 9 & 10 I hear you loud and clear I need a stimulus plan for my student loan. Barak can you stimulate that, I mean come on it is hard paying all that money back. I need a bail out !!!!
I love the fact that Eric Holder is the first African oops I mean Carribean American to be the Attorney General. Go Barbados his parent are from Barbados. Obama is doing big things. I am so excited to be alive during such great moments in history.
Michelle I hear you and stand by you our younger generation need a good education.
I’M SOOO SORRY….I KNOW THAT MICHELLE OBAMA IS INTELLIGENT..BUT SHE IS A BIT HARD ON THE EYES..LOL! BARACK SHOULD HAVE COME DOWN TO LOUISIANA AND SCOOPED UP A PRETTY RED BONE SUCH AS MYSELF TO REPRESENT HIM CORRECTLY! HIS DAUGHTERS ARE CURE CARAMEL GIRLS THOU!
Oh dear, BAJAN’s in the house…LOVE IT!!
Just because you’re red bone doesn’t mean you’re CUTE!!! Light is not always right.
I swear our first lady Michelle Obama is awesome. She says what needs to be said right now. All of her words are simple and to the point. WE need to STOP focusing on ourselves soo much and focus on OUR FUTURE. It is up to us to make sure the future is better. I am a 25 year old woman and sometimes I feel like the generation before us failed us….too focused on living the American dream we forget where we came from. So consumed in the material that we become immaterial.
She is the type of woman I want my future kids to look up too!
THE FRIST LADY HAVE HER SHAPE BACK SHE DID GAIN WHIGHT YOU CAN TELL WHEN SHE WAS WERRING HER CREAM DRESS AT THE INAUGATION PARTY AND CHURCH NIOW SHE BACK TO BUSNESS SHE ALWAYS CORNSED ABOUT THE CHILDRED AND HERS TO AND SHE WILL DO HER BEST DO MAKE THINGS RIGHTS SHE ALSO WILL KEEP HER HUSBAND ON TRACK TO. SHE DRESS VERY WILL THE PASSSHE DIDNT DRESS RIGHT BUT SHE IS LEARNNING. SHE NEED A BLACK DESIGNER TO DRESS HER. NOT A CUBIN YOUNG MEN HE DID OK BUT HE COLD DO BETTER.
I MET COULD DO BETTER LOL
Thank you to our First Lady for not sitting around doing nothing. She can take care of her kids and still work in issues that she feels strongly about. Education needs to be revamped and I think she is a great person to work beside her husband to get it done.
Congrats Mr. Holder….
Chelsea looks really happy for her mom. That’s nice.
I never understand what these First Ladys mean when they run around talking about “educational reform”. What does that mean? The American educational system is fundamentally flawed. Americans believe that everything can be solved with money and that is not the case. The educational system, in regards to the black community, is an issue that to be solved will have nothing to do with money. It’s like taking paper notes and flushing it down the toilet in front of a camera. It’s a publicity stunt just to be seen and recognized for something. This nonsense goes back to Eleanor Roosevelt and from her up to now, none of these women have had the actual know-how, nor the intent of backing up their words.
Oh snap, hell froze over!!! Change just might come to America! Let us pray!!!
like someone stated before, i thought michelle obama said her role was to take care of the kids and make sure they adjust to the new environment..lol but i wasnt buyuing it..michelle didnt like hillary because she will never be hillary..point blank
no disrespect but sista girl aint easy on the eyes…i mean damn! also whats up with those belts on the tummy all the time…? lmao
@ #15,
Please go kill yourself.
they education dept. needs to work on teen pregnancies, give out more financial aid ,
and prepare these students for job interviews, cause where i work we hire teens from time to time, and they come in with baggy clothes, and have their resume all crumble up to hand in,
I, too am a product of the public school system and it saddens me to see so many ppl near and far, who’ve received their education from the public school system give up on public education all together. The public school system is in such turmoil because we, as a whole (with the exception of a few) have completely wiped our hands…but im more than grateful to see that First Lady and President Obama has taken a keen interest in rebuilding the public school infrastructure from the inside out. Education is key and it’s the beginning foundation for unlimited possibilities. I applaud their efforts.
@ 26
I agree that something does need to be done about our school system, however, with the current state of economy, the primary focus needs to be on creating jobs and providing more low/middle income families with financial relief. I really don’t think that any concentrations should be put on any of the “teen pregnancy prevention”, “after school prgms”, etc., until we jumpstart the economy. Its all about the priorities.
@ Pete
You are fun-ny!
seems to me the ball is in the republicans court and they know it. primp’n up to the mic at news conferences.. insisting on tax cuts, and exposing the democrats stimulus pkg. its weaknesses calling it out. giving it a label of a wasteful spending pkg. ain’t it funny how the grand ol party have called a hispanic senator; martinez from that SWING state in fla. claiming that it is he that has come up w/ the republican alternative answer to the democrats debacle . watch out 2012 and them senate races.like the ol folks used to say ‘something in the wash ain’t clean’. cause i ain’t never met a republican that meant me any good. i guess i’ll have to google to find out who in the he…ck crafted that democratic stimulus pkg which the republicans are gleefully having a field day with. and all they can talk about is tax breaks and tax cuts. and follow the republicans [swengali ] rush limbraughs marching orders. cause to the real good ol boys mr. steele is a non-issue just another minority they can trot out. you think my cauasian bro’s of the ol good flag wavers of the stars and bars are happy? david duke sure ain’t. and how did the grand ol party turn a profit when everything is falling apart? and keep insisting on tax cuts and breaks.oh i keep forgetting it was republicans that has rerouted a trillion dollars and redistrubuted amongst them selves, which no one cares to account for. and no one is questioning. OH OK if i was prez i scale back the tv face time and pow-bow my team for the ruff ride. see everything has got to correct itself now after yrs of greed, gluttony and theivery. so these banks that keep insulting the american people, pretending to need a bailout should be allowed to fail . these car companies that are closing all these dealerships giving them money now would be like throwing water on a drowning man. but to all you folks that can say iam doing alright . just keep liv’n. oh one more………… how bout JACKIE [ "THATS----YOU" ] REID. when she was talk’n to that sexual healing dr. i said oh SNAP now thats a good girl gone bad. i’d wonder if she going to be at that UNCLE LUKE SET on the cruise. i got to singing————— hold up wait a minute…………… last time i saw ms. reid was in jena la. while walking up the road she passed me riding a bike . she glanced at me, then went by me like i was a dead hog on the hwy. she was long gone before i realize it was her . and now its there go that good girl thats now gone bad. jokes just jokes.
She’s right about the board having hard work. I honestly feel like the whole public school system needs a reform. I only say public because I can’t really speak on private schooling so I won’t. I really hope they get it right this time and PLEASE learn from the mistakes of the past because the school nowadays are getting RIDICULOUS!
the republicans have pulled a slick one. that has got the democrats w/ that stimulus pkg they presented. looking like the keystone cops. what in the heck were they thinking? now the republicans are calling for a payroll tax cut for the working folks. hell who’s working?
I appreciate the fact that our president is reaching across party lines and trying to get everyone involved in this recovery.
I think the important thing to look at is how the stimulus package works, over time. Not if the republicans or right winged dems are saying that it will fail.
We voted for this man….
Now have some faith in his plan.
Michelle is okay….but she’s no Hillary Clinton! Hillary was more than just a mere first lady from the jump, her plans were already in progress from Day 1!
I applaud Obama in his plan on the educational front! Michelle is doing a beautiful job, and I believe that she has the capacity to be a better first lady then Hilliary if we give her the time and effort! I am a college student, and future educator and can’t wait to see these plans come into fruition.
~God bless the pres. Obama!
Click on the (WAKE UP!) Please, its for your own GOOD, Thank You
Go Michelle!
@35
Good video but Alex Jones is a Jesuit and part of the so-called conspiracy. The elite bankroll certain people to both expose the elite themselves and therefore to funnel a certain type of people into a certain way to rebel.
Sigh you can’t be serious!? Michelle has been working with the DOE for years! Why can’t people just give props when props are due? And it’s not like Hillary was the first Presidential wife/activist. People tend to forget how big of an impact Eleanor Roosevelt for African American civil and equal rights, when even her own husband was too cowardly to do anything about it, or even speak of blacks being discriminated in America.
“I really don’t think that any concentrations should be put on any of the “teen pregnancy prevention”, “after school prgms”, etc., until we jumpstart the economy. Its all about the priorities.”
That makes absolutely no sense! How can we not focus on Teen Pregnancy when so many teens drop out of school because of being pregnant? And another reason teens drop out of school is because of lack of supplies and programs that would interest them. The No Child Left Behind act doesn’t work for the most part because students aren’t being teach properly and fail consistenly without gettin enough individual time from their teachers. Therefore, students fail, feel adequate with low self esteem and decide school wasn’t meant for them and drop out. We as the adults really need to pay close attention to this because many schools in the US are failing, especially the schools in the poorest of locations. Every child should feel like they can do great things with their lives and for their communities, and they can if we the parents and adults put in the effort into making sure they get the proper education!
Quote: FCB24
“I swear our first lady Michelle Obama is awesome. She says what needs to be said right now. All of her words are simple and to the point. WE need to STOP focusing on ourselves soo much and focus on OUR FUTURE.”
My point exactly!
@ SimpyLovely
I am not trying to diminish any of Michelle’s accomplishments or accolades, I was merely mentioning how obvious it has become (to me) why she hate(d) Hillary so much. As much as I dig HRC, I know that she’s not the first wife to become actively involved with educational programs etc., but Hillary made her mark during the Clinton Adminstration! Everybody was like “Bill who?” LMAO! HRC damned near ran this country in the 90′s.
During Obama’s campaign, I knew right away that Michelle wore the pants in that relationship! Talkin bout she gonna stay home w/ her daughters, GTFOH!
@ 39
I say, we worry about the teen pregnancy and the high drop out rate once we jumpstart the economy. I’d rather the millions of dollars that would go towards teen prevention programs, go to low and middle income families that are struggling to maintain a roof over their head.
In the current state of economy, we should not be wasting what little funds we have, implanting programs that bring few results.
You have to look at the bigger picture, and prioritize what needs to be done now, verses what can wait. Ya dig?
@Sigh
Sis, that was the point of Michelle Obama talkin’ about “education reform”. To cause a smokescreen to be cast over a problem that they know damn well that they cannot solve, which is the so-called economy. Honestly speaking, teenagers have been getting pregnant from the beginning of time. If they were really concerned about preventing teen pregnancy, that would tie in to true economic reform anyway, which would entail implementing a currency of worth that would reduce the need for both parents to work. That would leave an actual parent at home to raise the child as opposed to the child being raised by television and the radio. That will not happen because the family unit is diametrically opposed to the feminist and h*mosexual movements, so this is why none of these problems can or will be solved.
Quote: Sigh
“I am not trying to diminish any of Michelle’s accomplishments or accolades, I was merely mentioning how obvious it has become (to me) why she hate(d) Hillary so much.”
Firstly there is no proof that Michelle hates Hillary, or anyone for that matter. Secondly how is the concern for today’s youth a bad thing? And thirdly why are you talking about Michelle as if she weren’t highly involved with the DOE, community organizing, volunteering ect. already? The list goes on. You pretend she hasn’t already accomplised a great deal in her life already and is just mimicking Hillary! Her trackrecord is longer then her Husband’s for goodness sakes! Maybe you just need to read her bio.
“I say, we worry about the teen pregnancy and the high drop out rate once we jumpstart the economy. I’d rather the millions of dollars that would go towards teen prevention programs, go to low and middle income families that are struggling to maintain a roof over their head.
In the current state of economy, we should not be wasting what little funds we have, implanting programs that bring few results.
You have to look at the bigger picture, and prioritize what needs to be done now, verses what can wait. Ya dig?”
I’m sorry but I do not. There is no bigger picture if you don’t involve the youth. I can guarantee that money wouldn’t be wasted on them if spent wisely. That is what our current president intends to do, unlike the previous president before him. Teachers work too and without them your child or children (if you have any) will be lost in the world. There is enough crime and teen pregnacies in the world already for us to just throw up are hands and think the problem is going to disapear. People are so easy to think about “How is this going to benefit me” but when it involves their children’s education they think how is that going to put food on the table. The thing is in the long run it will. I’m not saying that money shouldn’t go to building roads and cheapening the prices of food, gas, rent ect. That is what the stimulous is for. I’m just saying we have to think about our future and ~most importantly~ our children’s future. The reason so many teens have Aids,STDs,Pregnant,Murderers,Drug Dealers, In Jail ect. is because we’re not spending enough time trying to educate them in order to prevent them from doing those things and how to smart by choosing the right path in life. Any parent can tell their child not to do something, but when you explain to them why this something is wrong and what can happen if they do it that something then that child’s chances of doing that wrong are very slim. Also the reason programs are made is to keep kids and student construtive, focused & determined to be someboy while still building confidence and character.
Well, I wish they would do something about education in my neck of the woods. We had a brand new school built for the community, African American Academy. This school host children from pre-school – 8th grade. They are kicking out the kids that attend the school now, to place a school made mostly of asians and whites. Its not a color thing. Its just that this is the only school that teaches our children about black history throughout the year. (And yes, children of color should get the teachings at home.)
@ 43
There will be no future to look forward to if our economy doesn’t improve soon. If you can’t look beyond “teen pregnancies” etc., then I feel sorry for you.
@ judah
I agree.
@44
I don’t understand what you’re saying sis. They had an “African American Academy” that taught “black history” but now they’re displacing the students to fill the school with whites and Asians but it is NOT a “color thing”? Well what is it then?
Lafeyette, why the stupidity? this is an important issue and all that you can concentration is what barack see’s in michelle.Smart cookie .smh
LOL, I love Michelle, but she sure does say UM and UGH A LOT!!!
Hello All, Michelle is so so amazing. I was able to be present as she spoke, here at the Department of Education. She spoke in high regards to Arne Duncan, who is now the US Secretary of the Department of Education, a close family friend of the Obama who also hails from Chicago. She was amazing, very regal, so so down to earth and confident. It was an amazing experience just to be in the same room as her.