Obamanomics

Every city, small town, village and hamlet has somewhere you can buy Obama apparrel; from t-shirts to place mats, you can buy it. The market for Obama items is hot because people are buying, everyone wants a piece of history. Never before has their been a rash of people sporting t-shirts and hats with a presidents name and likeness, it's truly a new era.
As an African-American, it has been an overwhelming experience to see the first black president take the oath for the highest office in our nation. This election saw more black participation than any election in history and that is something to be proud of, a historical moment.
Now that Obama has been elected, the real work begins; this is where our support is most important. The conservative republicans would like nothing more than to show President Obama's tenure in office as a failure. They will take ever opportunity to discredit his statements, nullify his proposals and sabotage his efforts to restore balance to the American economy.
As citizens of the United States and supporters of Obama, our fight is just beginning. Wearing a t-shirt or a hat with the name Obama is just not going to cut it folks. This is the time when we have to rally support and help to ensure our president's goals are made a reality. The race is not won with the election, the baton is simply passed; It's get down to business time.
First and foremost, understand our president's goals and ideologies. You can't support something you don't understand.
Second, support starts at home, meaning, elect those city, county, and state officials that support the causes that Obama is leading.We have to continue to be involved in politics on a local level to ensure the president has people in place that support what he is trying to do.
Third, speak up, speak out; write your congressmen and your senators, let your voice be heard on issues that are being voted on. They are your representatives on capital hill and your thoughts and feelings should be made known to them.
I think it's embarrasing to have an Obama sticker on your car, an Obama hat on your head and shirt on your back, but not be able to discuss any of the presidents goals for our country over the next few years.
Consider the items below as a brief introduction to Obamanomics, some tidbits of information to help you understand the president's stance on various issues.

• American Recovery and Reinvestment Plan - this plans covers the following: 1)doubling the production of alternative energy in the next three years. 2)Making the immediate investments necessary to ensure that within five years, all of America’s medical records are computerized. 3) Equipping tens of thousands of schools, community colleges, and public universities with 21st century classrooms, labs, and libraries. The plan will be costly but is meant to jumpstart job creation and long-term growth.
• Civil Rights (including LGBT)- 1)President Obama and Vice President Biden have a plan to work to overturn the Supreme Court's recent ruling that curtails racial minorities' and women's ability to challenge pay discrimination. 2)They are also working to pass the Fair Pay Act, to ensure that women receive equal pay for equal work, and the Employment Non-Discrimination Act, to prohibit discrimination based on sexual orientation or gender identity or expression. 3)President Obama and Vice President Biden will ban racial profiling by federal law enforcement agencies and provide federal incentives to state and local police departments to prohibit the practice. 4)President Obama supports full civil unions that give same-sex couples legal rights and privileges equal to those of married couples. Obama also believes we need to repeal the Defense of Marriage Act and enact legislation that would ensure that the 1,100+ federal legal rights and benefits currently provided on the basis of marital status are extended to same-sex couples in civil unions and other legally-recognized unions. These rights and benefits include the right to assist a loved one in times of emergency, the right to equal health insurance and other employment benefits, and property rights.
• Defense - 1)Obama and Biden support plans to increase the size of the Army by 65,000 soldiers and the Marine Corps by 27,000 Marines. 2)The Obama-Biden Administration will build up the capacity of each non-Pentagon agency to deploy personnel and area experts where they are needed, to help move soldiers, sailors, airmen and Marines out of civilian roles. 3)Obama and Biden will create a national CAC of 25,000 personnel. This corps of civilian volunteers with special skill sets (doctors, lawyers, engineers, city planners, agriculture specialists, police, etc.) would be organized to provide each federal agency with a pool of volunteer experts willing to deploy in times of need at home and abroad. 4)President Obama and Vice President Biden will require the Pentagon and State Department to develop a strategy for determining when contracting makes sense, rather than continually handing off governmental jobs to well-connected companies.
• Disabilities - 1)Obama and Biden will also authorize a comprehensive study of students with disabilities and issues relating to transition to work and higher education. 2) support independent, community-based living for Americans with disabilities by enforcing the Community Choice Act, which would allow Americans with significant disabilities the choice of living in their community rather than having to live in a nursing home or other institution, creating a voluntary, budget-neutral national insurance program to help adults who have or develop functional disabilities to remain independent and in their communities, and streamline the Social Security approval process . 3) President Obama and Vice President Biden support increased funding for autism research, treatment, screenings, public awareness, and support services. There must be research of the treatments for, and the causes of, ASD.
• Education - 1) Obama and Biden will quadruple Early Head Start, increase Head Start funding, and improve quality for both. 2) Obama and Biden will reform NCLB, which starts by funding the law. Obama and Biden believe teachers should not be forced to spend the academic year preparing students to fill in bubbles on standardized tests. They will improve the assessments used to track student progress to measure readiness for college and the workplace and improve student learning in a timely, individualized manner. Obama and Biden will also improve NCLB's accountability system so that we are supporting schools that need improvement, rather than punishing them. 3) Obama and Biden will double funding for the main federal support for afterschool programs, the 21st Century Learning Centers program, to serve one million more children. 4)Obama and Biden will make college affordable for all Americans by creating a new American Opportunity Tax Credit. This universal and fully refundable credit will ensure that the first $4,000 of a college education is completely free for most Americans, and will cover two-thirds the cost of tuition at the average public college or university and make community college tuition completely free for most students. Recipients of the credit will be required to conduct 100 hours of community service.

Please take the time to dig deeper into these topics and get an understanding of the president's goals; ensure that your local elected officials are in line with supporting those goals.

These are only a few of the major things our president has lined up. I will try to continue to blog on this issue, making sure we are aware of the things that need to get done so that we can do our part in helping to make our president's term a successful one.