The Essence of Politics

Thursday, May 21, 2009

Obama Budget Choices Scrutinized-- By Alyson Klein


Programs’ Funding Is Debated in Light of Stimulus Package

Following an unprecedented increase for education aid in the federal economic-stimulus package, President Barack Obama’s fiscal 2010 budget request for the U.S. Department of Education is being met with a tepid response from some school advocates.

While few complained outright about the overall funding level, some educators are opposed to specific programmatic choices reflected in the spending plan, such as a proposed $1 billion shift in funding within Title I, the flagship federal K-12 program.

Department officials say that some choices in the budget plan must be viewed in the context of up to $100 billion for education programs in the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, which the president signed into law in February.

President Obama is also seeking room to fund his priorities—including performance pay, turnarounds of low-performing schools, and extra resources for high schools—while holding down spending, administration officials say.

Still, advocates contend education programs were underfunded during the eight years of the Bush administration, and they are looking for substantial help for their favored programs from President Obama, who campaigned on pledges of increasing federal education spending.

Some analysts say the nation won’t get a clear picture of Mr. Obama’s spending plans until his fiscal 2011 budget proposal is released next year.

“They are already making some difficult decisions, but the next budget will be more significant,” Jack Jennings, the president of the Center on Education Policy, a Washington-based research and advocacy group, said of administration officials. Next year’s proposal “will signal whether the stimulus package was a fluke,” he said, particularly in terms of its historic increases to states for special education and in Title I grants to school districts.

Meanwhile, Mr. Obama’s fiscal 2010 budget proposal, released May 7, would provide $46.7 billion for the Education Department, an increase of $1.3 billion, or 2.8 percent, over fiscal 2009. ("Budget Would Boost Incentive Pay, Turnaround Aid," May 13, 2009.)

The figure does not include the stimulus spending or a proposed change in the Pell Grant program for college students that would shift it from discretionary to mandatory.

Title I Shift
One of the most controversial proposals in the 2010 spending plan would move at least $1 billion from Title I grants to districts to Title I school improvement grants, which help finance interventions for schools struggling to meet the goals of the 7-year-old No Child Left Behind Act.

Title I grants to districts, which help pay for educating disadvantaged students, received $10 billion over two years under the stimulus package, and $14.5 billion in fiscal 2009. The program is slated for $13 billion under the Obama budget­—a 10.4 percent cut, without factoring in the stimulus increase.

Title I school improvement grants, which help finance interventions for low-performing schools, also got a windfall of $3 billion in the stimulus package. The program received $545.6 million in fiscal 2009, and Mr. Obama has suggested tripling that amount to $1.54 billion in fiscal 2010, which begins Oct. 1.

But Edward R. Kealy, the executive director of the Committee for Education Funding, a Washington lobbying coalition, said the decision puts districts in a tight spot when it comes to planning.

“I hate to complain about having money showered down us, but it creates a tremendous distortion in school budgets and programming to have to spend that [stimulus] money very quickly and see it disappear in the following years,” Mr. Kealy said.

But other advocates said they thought the administration was targeting the funds where they would be most needed.

James Kohlmoos, the president of the Knowledge Alliance, a Washington organization that promotes research in education, said that the federal government needs to invest in struggling schools: “To me, that’s key, that’s where the attention should be.”

Comprehensive Package?
Mr. Kohlmoos said the approach complements other proposals in the president’s budget, including a plan to boost funding for the Institute of Education Sciences to $689 million in fiscal 2010, an 11.7 percent hike. Much of that increase would be directed to research, development, and dissemination of promising practices.

If you look at all those things as a package, it really is a comprehensive approach to try to move the ball forward on research-based innovation that has a specific goal in mind of school improvement,” Mr. Kohlmoos said.

But Mr. Jennings, who served as an aide to Democrats on the House Education and Labor Committee for nearly three decades, said he was surprised by the choice to shift Title I dollars to school improvement and doesn’t “think it’s the wisest policy.”

The school improvement program, which was authorized under the No Child Left Behind Act but did not receive any funding until fiscal 2007, is still relatively new, he said. States are still building the capacity needed to help transform the most troubled schools.

“It’s not going to be like turning on a switch, where they can suddenly produce 100 turnaround specialists in Michigan,” he said.

Sandra Abrevaya, a spokeswoman for the Education Department, said that states “have a lot more money than they’ve had before to get this right. This investment in the school improvement program is the best chance of having an impact where it’s needed the most.”

Paying for Performance
One of the big winners under Mr. Obama’s proposal would be the 3-year-old Teacher Incentive Fund, which helps districts finance pay-for-performance programs.

The request of $487 million for TIF is more than four times what the program received during the previous appropriations cycle.

On top of the $200 million appropriated through the stimulus package, such an increase would likely seed dozens of new grants. Although TIF has received continuation funding, it has not expanded beyond its initial 34 sites.

The budget request indicates, however, that the administration plans to tweak some elements of TIF. The administration aims to expand the program, the proposal indicates, to permit noninstructional personnel, such as counselors, custodians, and food-service workers, as well as teachers and principals, to take part in TIF-funded pay systems.

The national teachers’ unions reacted to the budget with some wariness. Randi Weingarten, the president of the 1.4 million-member American Federation of Teachers, said the Education Department’s application criteria should require districts to develop the pay plans through the collective bargaining process—or, in nonbargaining states, to require a majority of teachers to approve them.

“I think if they want it to work, that is an essential ingredient,” Ms. Weingarten said.

The president’s 2010 budget also seeks to invest in reading, after Congress scrapped the $393 million Reading First program.

The program, which was created as part of the NCLB law and was originally funded at nearly $1 billion a year, came under fire after a series of reports by the Education Department’s inspector general suggested that conflicts of interest had occurred among officials and contractors who helped implement the program in its early years.

But even critics of the program’s implementation were loath to see the loss of federal dollars for reading programs. They urged the Obama administration to come up with an alternative.

In response, the administration is seeking to double funding for the Striving Readers program. The increase includes $300 million for Early Literacy Grants, a new demonstration program that would allow districts to test strategies to improve students’ reading comprehension.

“Comprehension” is one of the key words in that program description, said Susan B. Neuman, who served as the Education Department’s assistant secretary for elementary and secondary education during President George W. Bush’s first term.

Ms. Neuman, who helped establish the original Reading First program, pointed to a federal study that showed the program didn’t have sufficient impact on students’ understanding of a text.

But she was less enthusiastic about another of Mr. Obama’s reading proposals, which would seek to nearly double funding for adolescent-literacy programs, from $35.4 million to $70.4 million.

It would be better to see the money invested in research, said Ms. Neuman, now a professor at the University of Michigan. “People are clueless about what to do about high school and reading,” she said.

Cuts or Level Funding
But the budget proposes flat funding­—or cuts—for other programs. State grants for special education, for instance, would receive $11.5 billion, the same level as in fiscal 2009. That figure does not include the $11.3 billion over two years that the program received under the stimulus package.

And the budget proposes $1.16 billion for grants to states for career and technical education, about the same as in the current fiscal year.

Other programs that saw steep hikes in the stimulus package were reduced. One example is the Education Technology State Grants, which help districts integrate technology in the classroom.

Twelve programs in the Education Department are being targeted for elimination in the Obama plan.

Among them are the $66 million Even Start family-literacy program and the $295 million Safe and Drug Free Schools and Communities State Grants.


WINNERS
--Teacher Incentive Fund: Grants to school districts to create pay-for-performance programs. Program received $97 million in fiscal 2009, slated for $517 million in fiscal 2010, on top of $200 million in the stimulus.

--School Improvement Fund: Funding for schools struggling to meet the goals of the No Child Left Behind Act. Funding would nearly triple to $1.5 billion in fiscal 2010, on top of $3 billion in the stimulus.

--Reading: Boosting appropriations for the Striving Readers program to $370.4 million, including $300 million for new Early Literacy Grants and a doubling of funds for the Adolescent Literacy program to $70.4 million.

--High School Initiative: A new, $50 million competitive-grant program for high schools and their feeder middle schools to help curb the dropout rate.

LOSERS
To Be Eliminated:
•-- Safe and Drug-Free Schools State Grants, $294.8 million

•-- Even Start family-literacy program, $66.5 million

•-- College Access Challenge Grants, $66 million

•-- Mentoring program, $48.5 million

•-- Civic education program, $33.5 million

•-- Character education program, $11.9 million

•-- Ready to Teach program, $10.7 million

•-- Javits gifted and talented program, $7.5 million

•-- National Institute for Literacy, $6.5 million

•-- Academies for American History and Civics, $1.9 million

•-- Close Up Fellowship, $1.9 million

•-- Foundations for Learning, $1 million

--Education Technology State Grants: Program that helps districts integrate technology into classrooms would be slashed to $100 million in fiscal 2010, from $269.9 million this year. (Note: Program received $650 million under the stimulus package.)

--Abstinence Education: The Community-Based Abstinence Education and Title V Abstinence Education programs—which together got $133 million in fiscal 2009—would be eliminated. Their replacement: $110 million in grants to teenage- pregnancy-prevention programs.


Sources: U.S. Departments of Education and of Health and Human Services

Staff Writers Christina A. Samuels and Stephen Sawchuk contributed to this story.

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Jay-Z - History



(Jay-Z - History)Jay-Z - History with Lyrics

LYRICS : [Chorus: Cee-lo]
Now that all the smoke is gone
(Lighter)
And the battle's finally won
(Gimme a lighter)
Victory (Lighters up) is finally ours
(Lighters up)
History, so long, so long
So long, so long

[Verse 1: Jay-Z]
In search of victory, she keeps eluding me
If only we could be together momentarily
We can make love and make history
Why won't you visit me? until she visit me
I'll be stuck with her sister, her name is defeat
She gives me agony, so much agony
She brings me so much pain, so much misery
Like missing your last shot and falling to your knees
As the crowd screams for the other team
I practice so hard for this moment, victory don't leave
I know what this means, I'm stuck in this routine
Whole new different day, same old thing
All I got is dreams, nobody else can see
Nobody else believes, nobody else but me
Where are you victory? I need you desperately
Not just for the moment, to make history

[Chorus: Cee-lo]
Now that all the smoke is gone
(Lighters)
And the battle's finally won
(Lighters)
Victory is finally ours
(Yeah)
History (yeah), so long, so long
So long, so long

[Verse 2: Jay-Z]
So now I'm flirting with death, hustling like a G
While victory wasn't watching took chances repeatedly
As a teenage boy before acne, before I got proactiv I couldn't face she
I just threw on my hoodie and headed to the street
That's where I met success, we'd live together shortly
Now success is like lust, she's good to the touch
She's good for the moment but she's never enough
Everybody's had her, she's nothing like V
But success is all I got unfortunately
But I'm burning down the block hoppin' in and out of V
But something tells me that there's much more to see
Before I get killed because I can't get robbed
So before me success and death ménage
I gotta get lost, I gotta find V
We gotta be together to make history

[Chorus: Cee-lo]
Now that all the smoke is gone
(Lighters. Up.)
And the battle's finally won
(Lighter. Up.)
Victory is finally ours
(Lighters. Up.)
History, so long, so long
So long, so long

[Verse 3: Jay-Z]
Now victory is mine, it tastes so sweet
She's my trophy wife, you're coming with me
We'll have a baby who stutters repeatedly
We'll name him history, he'll repeat after me
He's my legacy, son of my hard work
Future of my past, he'll explain who I be
Rank me amongst the greats, either 1, 2, or 3
If I ain't number one then I failed you victory
Ain't in it for the fame that dies within weeks
Ain't in it for the money, can't take it when you leave
I wanna be remembered long after you grieve
Long after I'm gone, long after I breathe
I leave all I am in the hands of history
That's my last will and testimony
This is much more than a song, it's a baby shower
I've been waiting for this hour, history you ours


[Chorus: Cee-lo (2x)]
Now that all the smoke is gone
And the battle's finally won
Victory is finally ours
History, so long, so long
So long, so long



Man in the Mirror--By Michael Jackson

Michael Jackson - Man in the mirror

I'm gonna make a change,
for once im my life
It's gonna feel real good,
gonna make a diference
Gonna make it right...

As I, turn up the collar on
my favorite winter coat
This wind is blowing my mind
I see the kids in the streets,
with not enought to eat
Who am I to be blind?
Pretending not to see their needs

A summer disregard,a broken bottle top
And a one man soul
They follow each other on the wind ya' know
'Cause they got nowhere to go
That's why I want you to know

I'm starting with the man in the mirror
I'm asking him to change his ways
And no message could have been any clearer
If you wanna make the world a better place
(If you wanna make the world a better place)
Take a look at yourself, and then make a change
(Take a look at yourself, and then make a change)
(Na na na, na na na, na na, na nah)

I've been a victim of a selfish kind of love
It's time that I realize
That there are some with no home, not a nickel to loan
Could it be really me, pretending that they're not alone?

A willow deeply scarred, somebody's broken heart
And a washed-out dream
(Washed-out dream)
They follow the pattern of the wind ya' see
'Cause they got no place to be
That's why I'm starting with me
(Starting with me!)

I'm starting with the man in the mirror
(Ooh!)
I'm asking him to change his ways
(Ooh!)
And no message could have been any clearer
If you wanna make the world a better place
(If you wanna make the world a better place)
Take a look at yourself, and then make a change
(Take a look at yourself, and then make a change)

I'm starting with the man in the mirror
(Ooh!)
I'm asking him to change his ways
(Change his ways - ooh!)
And no message could have been any clearer
If you wanna make the world a better place
Take a look at yourself and then make that..
(Take a look at yourself and then make that..)
CHANGE!

I'm starting with the man in the mirror
(Man in the mirror - Oh yeah!)
I'm asking him to change his ways
(Better change!)
No message could have been any clearer
(If you wanna make the world a better place)


Michael Jackson - Man in the mirror

A Change is Gonna Come by Sam Cook






It's been a long time coming but a change is surely going to come in America and the World! I am the Future of America and the World and that is the message that each of us must carry with us each and every day that we wake up on Earth! I am the Future! You are the Future! We are the Future of America and the World! That is way every election is important--primaries, special elections and general! So vote every year and hold our politicians accountable. Hold our political officials accountable by writing them, calling them and making sure they attend meetings that we the people have. "The Time for Change is not Now but Right Now!"

"EmPOWERment By Any Means Necessary" should be our anthem and should be our creed as we make the positive differences in America and the world that so many people beg for and hungry for year after year! A Change is Gonna Come, A Change is Gonna Come, that's what we must say as we say "God grants us the serenity to accept the things we cannot change, Courge to change the things we can, and the wisdom to know the difference" each morning before we go about the task of making a positive change in America and the world a reality.



Born In The U.S.A. - Bruce Springsteen


“When will people realize that we are Americans first and foremost, not Democrats or Liberals, not Republicans or Conservatives, not Independents or moderates. We are Americans. Stop putting a political party above America and stop putting any politican above America. America succeeds because of us the people holding our government responsible no matter the political party because the main two political parties are to blame for the condition America is in."—Hodari P.T. Brown

America with its flaws and all is a country I am proud to have been born in. America is not perfect but my love for it is perfect. That’s why all Americans must realize that we are all Americans. In fact we are Americans first and foremost. We are not Democrats or Republicans. We are Americans.

We are not Muslims, Christians or Jews. We are Americans. Too many times we recognize our differences with others rather than appreciating our similarities which are, we are Americans. We are Americans first and foremost, no matter if we were born here or moved here legally. We are all Americans, here in this country to make not only our lives better but the lives of other Americans better so future Americans can enjoy the rights and freedoms that make us all Americans.

We are all Americans. We are one party united under God. We are Americans and this is the only political party that matters. We are Americans and this is our country so let’s make sure that we make America better than how we found it so future Americans can live prosperous and joyous lives. We are Americans and must not ever forget that.

America will prosper as long we make sure we are doing our part to make it prosper and that means we can’t put any political party or politician above America. Long live America forever and long live America’s service to the world. Together, America and the world will prosper for future generations to enjoy America and the world we live in.


Lift Every Voice and Sing


This video of the ' Negro National Anthem' was originally screened at the historic African-American Church Inaugural Ball in Washington, DC on January 18th, 2009. Many of the esteemed individuals featured in this video in attendance and we presented with the ' Keepers of the Flame' award for the monumental contributions to social justice.

This version of the song was performed by the Grace Baptist Church Cathedral Choir, conducted by Derrick James. The video was produced and donated by Ascender Communications, LLC (www.ascender-c.com) at the request of The Balm In Gilead, Inc.

If I Was President--Wyclef Jean




If I was President that is the people's anthem. We all have ideas of what we can do as President and through this website, we will fulfill our deam as a people!

Somethings Gotta Give--Big Boi ft Mary J Blige



Somethings Gotta Give people and it begins today for all us to make sure that something is us. We the people are sick and tired of suffering. Where is our piece of the Dream that so many people dead for so that we all could see today. This is our time people to change America and the world so that the Next Generation has a better future than the past we inherited.

This is our call to service. This isn't about one political candidate or one political figure. This is about us as people coming together to finally leave up to our potential and achieving the great feats that those before us have achieved. This is our moment to lead our nation and our world to greater heights.

Somethings gotta give people and it starts with us the people making it happen. We have to improve our education system in America. We have to rid the world of the HIV/AIDS epidemic. We have to go to the streets and lift a hand to another in order to decrease poverty in this world. We have to take a stand today and make sure that the future of America and the world is brighter than it has ever been.

Somethings Gotta Give and that is why we must "Remember Each One, Reach One and Teach One so America's future and the World's future continues to prosper."

John Legend - "If You're Out There"


If you're out there than you need to get started in helping to change America and the world. The world and America won't change until you get involved in making the changes you want to see in this world. If you're out there, than you must know that tomorrow started now and today started yesterday so you are behind in helping to the change. If you are tired of hatred, racism, poverty, war, and violence than the time to change it is now. If you want universal health care, world peace, democracy for every nation, equal rights, and happiness for all than you must get involved now to help the save world.

You must believe in the change that you want to see and you must act on making that change a reality. If you're out there than say it aloud and show the rest of America and the world that you're out here to make a real positive change in the communities we stay in. If you're out there than get involved now. I'm calling every women and men to join me as we take back our country right here, right now. If you're out there than the future started yersterday and we are already late so we have lots of work to do but I know we can do it together as one.

YES WE CAN



Yes We Can accomplish anything that we set out to do! We don't need charismatic or inspirational leaders to believe in ourselves and to take responsiblity for our own faith, we just need each other. Yes We Can build a new America and a new world if each of us would take action now to make the changes that we want to see in the world. Yes We Can control government by holding our political officials accountable for their actions by calling them out when they don't pass legislation that supports the common good of all man and by voting in every election to ensure that we have people representing the people locally, state wide, nationally and in the world.

Yes We Can be great! Yes We Can be what we want to be! Yes We Can be glorious in not only America but the world! Yes We can put action behind our worlds and change the world starting right here, right now! Yes We Can as Republicans, Democrats and Independents become one as we freely think about our fellow men and women and make decisions that will be in the best interest of all people and not one single group.

Yes We Can be the change that we want to see in the world! Yes We Can show the world that the youth are ready to lead! Yes We Can put our egos, our social economic statuses, our religions, our educational statuses and our skin color to the side for the better good of the world! Yes We Can be Greater than we have ever been and help others be Greater than they have ever be!

YES WE CAN and YES WE WILL BE VICTORIOUS IN ALL THAT WE DO! YES WE CAN, no matter what others may say, we will be glorious! YES WE WILL and YES WE CAN! YES WE CAN!

YES WE CAN! YES WE CAN! YES WE CAN is what will be sung from every mountaintop, every riverbank, every household, every school yard, every factory, every sporting event, every college campus and even every place you can imagine in the world is where YES WE CAN, will be said and heard!

YES WE CAN!

Keep On Pushing - Curtis Mayfield & the Impressions


Wake Up People! No matter who is elected to any public office, we have to “Keep On Pushing” as a people to make sure they don’t leave us in a worst state than what they inherited. We as a people have to “Keep On Pushing” to make a difference in the lives of others. We have to have an “EmPOWERment By Any Means Necessary” attitude as we continue to push our agenda that we the people deserve and want better. We have to “Keep On Pushing” to bring about change in a positive way that will benefit all Americans no matter their age, their religion or skin color. We have to “Keep On Pushing” to bring about change that will improve our education system, improve our military, improve our national security, improve our healthcare system and improve our economy. We have to “Keep On Pushing” to bring about change that will leave America’s future in a better than how we found it and that will leave the world’s future in a better state than we imagined we could live it. We have to “Keep On Pushing” to make life better for our neighborhoods, our families and even our quote on quote enemies. We have to “Keep On Pushing” to inspire, to uplift and to guide those who need help spiritually, physically and mentally. We have to “Keep On Pushing ” so that our lives, our future generation’s lives and the lives of those who came before us does not die in vein.

“Keep on Pushing”

A War For Your Soul

A War For Your Soul-regular version from Erisai Films on Vimeo.


The moment has come for us as a nation of people to finally wake up and realize that our destiny and fate in society has rests on our shoulders. We cannot allow the forces of evil and darkness to drain us out. We have to continue to overcome all odds in order to make the future of our nation better and the future of future generations of Americans better. We have to continue to pray to our Lord and we have to continue to uplift each other in prayer as well as take action against those things that are trying to destroy us. We have to stand up once and for all and be the future that we want to be. Now is our time and we shall do together by any means necessary.

This video was created to inspire young African-Americans not to fall prey to some of the problems they face in society. The use of the voice "Master of Darkness" represents evil, which is where the blame of all problems should be placed, and not on any one group of people. This video should not to be used to divide people (Black & White), there are images of heroes that are white in this video, and there are images of Black & White coming together with the words of Dr. King in the background. Some of the images from the past can be unsettling, but they are used to show all Americans how far we have come, and how far we still have to go. This film is being strategically placed in school systems, churches and youth orgs around the country, in hope of helping a lost generation of kids that we as Americans have forgotten. As fellow Americans we must continue to love each other, and take that love and spread it to the rest of the world. **THIS VIDEO IS NOT FOR SALE & I AM NOT ACCEPTING DONATIONS FOR THE FILM, I ONLY WANT THE MESSAGE TO REACH AS MANY PEOPLE AS POSSIBLE WITHOUT ANY HIDDEN POLITICAL OR FINANCIAL AGENDA.

Sitting On the Dock of the Bay by Otis Redding



"The time for sitting is over! The time for action is now! The time for hope without action is hopeless! The time for change without a positive attitude is a change that we can't believe in! We need change that is positive of helping all people! Our time for action is now, our time for hope is now, our time for change is now and our time to believe that we can do whatever we set our minds to is not now but right now!"

STAR SPANGLED BANNER


The Star-Spangled Banner by Francis Scott Key

O say, can you see, by the dawn's early light,
What so proudly we hailed at the twilight's last gleaming?
Whose broad stripes and bright stars through the perilous fight,
O'er the ramparts we watched were so gallantly streaming;
And the rocket's red glare, the bombs bursting in air,
Gave proof through the night that our flag was still there;
O say, does that star-spangled banner yet wave
O'er the land of the free, and the home of the brave?


On the shore dimly seen through the mists of the deep,
Where the foe's haughty host in dread silence reposes,
What is that which the breeze, o'er the towering steep,
As it fitfully blows, now conceals, now discloses?
Now it catches the gleam of the morning's first beam,
In full glory reflected now shines on the stream;
'Tis the star-spangled banner; O long may it wave
O'er the land of the free, and the home of the brave!

And where is that band who so vauntingly swore
That the havoc of war and the battle's confusion
A home and a country should leave us no more?
Their blood has washed out their foul footsteps' pollution.
No refuge could save the hireling and slave,
From the terror of flight and the gloom of the grave;
And the star-spangled banner in triumph doth wave
O'er the land of the free, and the home of the brave!


O! thus be it ever, when freemen shall stand
Between their loved homes and the war's desolation!
Blest with victory and peace, may the heav'n-rescued land,
Praise the power that hath made and preserved us a nation.
Then conquer we must, for our cause it is just.
And this be our motto— "In God is our trust; "
And the star-spangled banner in triumph shall wave
O'er the land of the free, and the home of the brave.

Black President



Our Time is not now but Right Now! Our Time has finally come to change the world not now but Right Now! If you don't believe that we can change the world than watch as we do it by changing your mind into believing in us and what we can do! This is OUR TIME RIGHT HERE, RIGHT NOW!

FIGHT THE POWER



We got to FIGHT THE POWER! We can no longer sit on the sidelines and watch injustices take place. We can no longer sit by and allow our right to vote to become unexercised. We must FIGHT THE POWER for our past, present and future! We can no longer allow our rights to be oppressed and our voice to become drained by the powers at be. We must FIGHT THE POWER and show that we have a lot to say that needs to be heard by the mainstream media. We must FIGHT THE POWER and live up to our potential as dynamic, unbelievable and phenomenal people.


We must not believe the hype but we must become the hype. We are not Harriett Tubman, Marcus Garvey, MLK, Malcolm X, Booker T. Washington, Carter G. Woodson, W.E.B. DuBois, the Black Panther Party, SNCC, or any other activists but we are the fathers, mothers, sons, daughters, uncles, aunties, and relatives of those who came before us to pave the way for us to FIGHT THE POWER! We are not next Generation of leaders who will not be honored and praised until they die but that’s the fight we accept. We are not fighting the power for glory or fame but we are fighting the power for just causes that most men and women will not understand until years or decades later.


We are fighting for our sisters and brothers in Darfur, Georgia, Iraq, Iran, China and Mexico. We are speaking for those who are poor and have no food or water. We are fighting for those who are sick and dying. We are fighting for universal healthcare across the world and human rights for all people. We are fighting for rich and poor! We must FIGHT THE POWER no matter how hard and tough the road may be. We must FIGHT THE POWER for a better today and an even greater tomorrow!


FIGHT THE POWER!

PEOPLE GET READY


“People Get Ready” our time is coming! We have come too far to turn back now. Our train is coming and it is coming in waves. “People Get Ready”, we don’t need a ticket but we need faith and the Lord will help guide us as we take back America and the world. “People Get Ready” our moment is now and we are ready to see the change we want in America and the world. All we got to do is have faith, hope and prosperity. “People Get Ready” to face your fears. “People Get Ready” to face your demons and the challenges of yesterday because today and tomorrow we will conquer & be victorious. “People Get Ready” a change is coming and our actions will make sure that change is a real positive change that lasts forever.


“People Get Ready” because we have had enough of just talking but now is our time to show action. “People Get Ready” to take back America and the world. “People Get Ready” to take back our communities and to make our streets safer and schools better. “People Get Ready” to make all our dreams come true. “People Get Ready” to see a better present for everyone and a better future for future generations. “People Get Ready” to live up to your potential and to help others live up to their own potential. “People Get Ready” to move past hatred, bigotry, racism and sexism. “People Get Ready” to fulfill the dreams of those who came before us and those who will come after us.


“People Get Ready” as we make our actions speak louder than our words. “People Get Ready” to make words mean something again as we put action to back up our rhetoric. “People Get Ready” as we embark on a new journey that will re-write America’s history as well as the world’s history. “People Get Ready” as we make the lives of others better and the lives of future generations better. “People Get Ready” because all we need is faith, hope and action to make this world a better place. “People Get Ready” to make a difference. “People Get Ready” to fulfill the American dream. “People Get Ready" to live out the American Dream as our founding fathers wanted us to live it. “People Get Ready” because our time is now, our moment is now and our moment in time to change America & the world is not now but right now. “People Get Ready” because a change is coming!


Alicia]
(Let me tell you now)
People get ready, there's a train comin'
You don't need no baggage, you just get on board
All you need is faith to hear the diesels hummin'
You don't need no ticket, you just thank the lord

[Lyfe]
People get ready, for a train to Jordan
Picking up passengers coast to coast
Faith is the key, open the doors and board them
There's hope for all among those loved the most

[Alicia]
There ain't no room for the hopeless sinner
Who would hurt all man kind just to save his own (believe me now)
Have pity on those whose chances grow thinner
For there's no hiding place against the kingdoms throne

[Alicia & Lyfe]
So people get ready there's a train coming
You don't need no baggage, you just get on board
All you need is faith to hear the diesels humming,
You don't need no ticket, you just thank the lord


“PEOPLE GET READY!”

God Bless the U.S.A. by Lee Greenwood


Lee Greenwood-god bless the U.S.A