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It was a night to remember. Imagine going to the White House for a holiday party. Yes, the White House….a place I have seen in photos since I was a small child. It was last night, December 2 and the first of many such parties the White House is having this

“After years of darkness, we’ve seen flickers of progress,” said President Barack Obama of Burma, officially known as Myanmar. The government has been under sanction by the U.S., but last week Secretary of State Hillary Clinton visited the pariah state in an attempt to spur the reform process.
Burma long has been one of the most tragic of nations. The military first took control in 1962. Since then the regime has brutally suppressed all opposition, including the democracy movement led by Nobel laureate Aung San Suu

Every year in the United States, the Friday after Thanksgiving becomes a madhouse. It is known as Black Friday — the day when people shiver outside stores everywhere to save a couple bucks.
Every year we see videos of people injured due to Black Friday. This year, for example, a woman pepper sprayed a crowd of 20 people just to get her hands on an Xbox 360. Every year people are getting injured and in some cases losing their lives just for some price

Source:Associated Press
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EUGENE, Ore. — LaMichael James ran for 219 yards and three touchdowns and Oregon (No. 9 BCS, No. 8 AP) beat UCLA 49-31 in the inaugural Pac-12 championship game Friday night for the Ducks’ third straight conference title and a berth in the Rose Bowl Game presented by Vizio.Rick Neuheisel tipped his hat to the UCLA fans in his last game as coach. The former Bruins quarterback was fired this week after four seasons with his alma mater.While the Bruins (6-7) played with passion for their outgoing coach and kept it closer than many thought they would, it was not enough to overcome the Ducks (11-2), who head to a BCS bowl for the third straight season.Darron Thomas threw for 219 yards and three touchdowns, becoming Oregon’s career leader with 63 TD passes.James became the first rusher in Pac-12 history with three straight 1,500-yard seasons. He moved into a tie with USC’s LenDale White (2003-05) for second on the league’s career rushing TD list with 52.Neuheisel, fired following last weekend’s 50-0 loss to Southern California (No. 9 AP), hugged quarterback Kevin Prince as time ran out.His dismissal was part of a wave of coaching moves in the conference. Around the time Neuheisel’s dismissal was announced, Arizona State let go of Dennis Erickson. Washington State parted ways with Paul Wulff, then quickly hired former Texas Tech coach Mike Leach a day later.Oregon will play the winner of the first Big 10 championship game Saturday between Michigan State (No. 13 BCS, No. 11 AP) and No. 15 Wisconsin in the Rose Bowl on Jan. 2.The heavily favored Ducks scored on their first series when James ran 30 yards for a touchdown. James went into the game as the nation’s top running back with an average of 142.7 yards per game.UCLA tied it when linebacker Patrick Larimore intercepted Thomas and ran 35 yards for a touchdown. Neuheisel pumped his first in celebration.Thomas scored on a 10-yard keeper and then found true freshman tight end Colt Lyerla alone in the end zone with a 7-yard scoring pass to make it 21-7.UCLA narrowed it with Prince’s flea-flicker to Nelson Rosario for a 37-yard touchdown.Oregon was stung early in the game when dynamic true freshman De’Anthony Thomas fumbled after a hit by Tevin McDonald. Shaken up on the play, the versatile running back who earlier this week was named the Pac-12′s co-freshman of the year on offense did not return.James added a 3-yard touchdown run to make it 28-14 before Darron Thomas connected with Daryle Hawkins for a 25-yard TD reception.UCLA’s Tyler Gonzalez kicked a 44-yard field goal to make it 37-17 at halftime.Prince scored on a 1-yard run early in the third quarter to pull UCLA closer to the Ducks, but James answered with a 5-yard TD dash to make it 42-24.A Heisman Trophy finalist last season as a sophomore, James fell out of the running for the most part this season because he missed two games with a dislocated right elbow.David Paulson caught a 22-yard touchdown pass midway through the third, which put Darron Thomas in front of Danny O’Neil (1991-94) for most passing TDs at Oregon.Rosario pulled down a one-handed, 19-yard touchdown pass from Prince with less than two minutes to play. Prince completed 13 of 26 passes for 164 yards and two touchdowns.The addition of Colorado and Utah to the Pac-12 paved the way for a league championship game this season. In previous years, the team with the best conference record claimed the title.While USC (10-2, 7-2) finished atop the Pac-12 South, the Trojans are ineligible to play in the postseason because of NCAA sanctions, which put UCLA in the title game.This week, the NCAA ruled that the Bruins could accept a bowl invitation even if they lost Friday. Because of Neuheisel’s dismissal, offensive coordinator Mike Johnson will take over if UCLA is selected.The Bruins have reached just one bowl game in the past three seasons. Athletic director Dan Guerrero said he wants to reward the Bruins’ 18 seniors by going to a bowl even while the program is in upheaval.Oregon went to the 2010 Rose Bowl in its first season under coach Chip Kelly, losing to Ohio State. Last season the Ducks went to the BCS championship, where they fell to Auburn.Oregon had appeared to be in the running for another shot at the national championship game before losing 38-35 to USC at Autzen Stadium on Nov. 19.
Links:Full news story
Source:espn.go.com

In 1936 Vermont was one of only two states not to give its electoral votes to Franklin Roosevelt. Despite the Depression, a majority of Vermonters refused to give up a culture of individualism, self-reliance and small government; the majority remained very hostile to the New Deal even as it helped to bring many people out of poverty and desperation and to give them renewed dignity and opportunity. From the Civil War until well beyond FDR, no Democratic presidential candidate carried the state of Vermont.
Many things changed in Vermont in the 1960s, some of them in permanent and very substantial ways. I was born in Burlington, the state’s largest city, and I grew up there: I saw first-hand how Vermont was going through a kind of conversion

The sign reads: Alternative media and social networks. New scenarios of political communication in the digital environment.
Architecture that was once daring, a carefully tended lawn and well-guarded doors to ward off the curious. The Palace of Conventions has been the site of so very many events organized by the government that it is difficult to separate its name from the word “official.” It has also served as the parliamentary hall for a National Assembly that doesn’t have its own space and refuses to use the gorgeous chamber of Havana’s Capitol. This, in the inner sanctum of the state and government, has been the site of this week’s Forum on Alternative Media and Social Networks, called by the Ministry of Foreign

I’m a sucker for a good travelogue. Don Quixote and Sancho Panza, Obi-Wan and Luke Skywalker and gang, the Bundren Family in As I Lay Dying, the brake-less family in a Volkswagon bus in Little Miss Sunshine and the New Testament. I’m sure you have your favorites, too; stories that remind us that in the end the journey is far more important than the destination and that there are important lessons we learn about family, friendship and our ultimate purpose in life that can only be learned on the road.
Our family soaked in the joy of the new Muppets movie last weekend. Harkening back to the original Muppet Movie, the whole gang is on the road to put on a

No time to page through thousands of eBay listings? Then just sneak a peek at my weekly eBay roundup of top vintage clothing finds.
This eclectic mix of designer and non-designer vintage clothing and accessories caught my discerning eye because of its uniqueness, contemporary feel and highly collectible nature.
As always, buyer beware! Be sure to read the listings closely and contact the sellers with any questions.
This week’s selections include pieces by Pierre Cardin, Chanel, Christian Dior, Missoni and Geoffrey Beene. Be sure to check out the highly collectible pieces including a Nixon Paper Campaign Dress, a 1969 Royal London Lunch Pail Handbag and a rare 1920s Whiting & Davis Mesh Handbag once owned by Mr. Whiting’s second wife.
Which item is your favorite? Leave me a comment below to let me know and please take a minute to rate your favorite slides.
WANT MORE eBAY PICKS?: See my Going, Going, GONE blog post every Tuesday or my eBay Roundup of Vintage Home Finds every weekend on

Governments — state and federal — have three big ways of raising money. The first, of course, is taxes, which are endlessly fought over and usually get most of politicians’ attention. The second is fees — on a state level, registering a car or getting a driver’s license; on a federal level getting a passport or becoming naturalized, for instance. But the third one hasn’t gotten a whole lot of attention at the federal level: fines.
Because the states are strapped for cash, they’ve taken several measures to increase

An actress who had her own very public struggle with anorexia almost 20 years ago is teaming up with a television network with a mostly female audience to do a reality show about eating disorders. Via Facebook and a casting company, the show reaches out to women declared untreatable, and offers them professional help in exchange for letting producers film their struggle with the disease.
The show is called “Starving Secrets,” and one of the executive producers, Ted Haimes, said he decided to do the series because he thought “It would be fascinating to get an inside view of this … It was their dirty little secret.”
The series, hosted by former child actress Tracey Gold and premiering Friday night on Lifetime, sounds like a spectacularly bad idea.
“We do not support putting people who are ill on television,” Lynn S. Grefe, CEO of the National Eating Disorder Association (NEDA), who had not seen any episodes of the show or a trailer, told The Huffington Post earlier this

As Rick Perry stumbles towards the New Hampshire primaries, the national media continues to engage in one of its favorite pastimes — ridiculing the Lone Star State and its conservative extremes. (See “Perry Gains Endorsement from an Arizona Sheriff Tough on Immigration,” New York Times, Nov. 29, 2011.) Reporters loved Rick Perry’s plan to do away with federal agencies, whichever they were, and oozed outrage over the faded N-word painted on a rock at his childhood hunting camp. The laser beam on conservatism in Texas has also pinpointed the de-funding of Planned Parenthood, counted death row executions, and blasted political

The Trem, is a small section in the crescent city of New Orleans. It is an easy, block and half away from the famous French Quarter. The Trem is primarily an African American neighborhood, rich in culture, architecture, food, language, and most importantly, music.
HBO created a compelling dramatic series honoring this diverse and rich cultural gem of African-American culture and American history. The Trem, is the birthplace of jazz and it sits within an earshot of the epicenter of the cultural tsunami known as the Congo Square; where enslaved Africans, freed Haitians, Indian traders, and French colonists, unknowingly consummated a relationship that gave birth to “Jazz” — a cultural

“If it’s so safe, why does it need loopholes?” asked Barbara Lee Jackson, referring to the infamous Halliburton Loophole in the 2005 Energy Bill, which exempted the practice of hydraulic fracking from most environmental standards.
She was one of over a hundred members of the public, who waited on a line for a ticket to speak at a public hearing, held a few blocks away from Occupy Wall Street. Nearly two thousand attended the meeting, which was hosted by the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) to permit public spoken comment on the 15,000 page SGEIS guidelines it had produced at Governor Cuomo’s request to fast-track fracking in New York State.
Cuomo had promised that his decision on fracking would be based on “facts and science,” but many speakers expressed disappointment with omissions in the state’s document.
Dominating the stage at both day and evening sessions was a giant timer under which sat a trio of DEC

While it might seem encouraging for education and civil rights leaders to assert that poverty isn’t an obstacle to higher student achievement, the evidence does not support such claims. Over 50 years, numerous studies have documented how poverty and related social conditions — such as lack of access to health care, early childhood education and stable housing — affect child development and student achievement.
The research never suggests that poor children are incapable of learning or that poverty itself should be regarded as a learning disability. Rather, research suggests that poor children encounter obstacles that often adversely affect their development and learning outcomes.
To ignore this reality and make bold assertions that all children can achieve while doing nothing to address the outside-of-school challenges they face is neither fair nor a sound basis for developing public policy, as I wrote in a recent issue of the Phi Delta Kappan Magazine.
Despite compelling evidence that education policy must at least mitigate the harmful effects of poverty on student achievement and child development, most state and federal policies have failed to do

PUMA Creative recently named The End of The Line as winner of the inaugural PUMA Creative Impact Award, prize that honours the documentary film that has made the most significant positive impact on society. Rupert Murray’s film tells the grim story of the catastrophic decline of global fish stock due to mass overfishing of our oceans and seas over the last 50 years. Crane.tv travelled to Littlehampton, UK to meet with the filmmaker at his mother’s sustainable fish restaurant.
Filmed across the globe over two years, The End of the Line is the world’s first major feature documentary about devastating damages caused so far by mass

President Obama is today announcing nearly $4 billion of investments in combined federal and private sector energy upgrades to buildings over the next 2 years. Today’s commitments, announced along with representatives from more than 60 organizations, are part of the administration’s Better Buildings Initiative, launched in February 2011 by President Obama.
The Better Building Initiative is designed to support job creation by catalyzing private sector investment in commercial and industrial building energy upgrades to make America’s buildings 20 percent more efficient over the next decade. The goal is to reduce energy costs for American businesses by nearly $40 billion.
Joining President Obama today at the White House will be Martin Tull, Executive Director of the Green Sports Alliance. The Green Sports Alliance is a coalition founded in 2010 by the Natural Resources Defense Council, the Bonneville Environmental Foundation, and six professional sports teams based in the Pacific Northwest representing six different professional sports Leagues, including the Seattle Mariners (MLB), the Seattle Seahawks (NFL), The Seattle Sounders (MLS), the Portland Trail Blazers (NBA), the Seattle Storm (WNBA), and the Vancouver Canucks (NHL).
The mission of the Green Sports Alliance is to support professional sports teams and leagues by advancing and coordinating their work toward improved environmental stewardship.
Since its founding in 2010, the Green Sports Alliance has grown into a national organization that now includes the support of eight North American professional sports leagues and more than 35 professional sports teams.
The stadiums and arenas used by Green Sports Alliance member teams currently represent over 20 million square feet of facilities in 17 North American

Recently we had the privilege of recognizing 10 community organizers at the White House as “Champions of Change.” Each of these Champions represent innovative organizations and programs working across America to reform the way we approach our nation’s drug problem. Among this group of educators, physicians, social workers and people in recovery from substance use disorders, was a 25-year veteran of the Providence, R.I. police department.
As we sat in the Roosevelt Room just steps from the Oval Office, Lt. Daniel Gannon told us something many Americans might not expect from a law enforcement

As all of America watched quarterback Tim Tebow win his 4th game of the season, social networks were flooded with commentary about how Tebow was able to pull off a come back win against the Jets.
One person Tweeted:
“I have to get on #TeamJesus, Tebow wins again.”
Another person said:
“All Tim Tebow has to do is start telling teams it’s no defense against prayer and he will have opponents shook.”
“God really listens to Tim Tebow’s prayers.”
Tim Tebow knew something in his spirit before the rest of the world did: God can do anything. The last tweet Tebow sent before tonight’s game was Colossians 3:15 which reads:
And let the peace that comes from Christ rule in your hearts. For as members of one body you are called to live in peace. And always be

The glitterati’s gladiatorial combat for Oscar has officially commenced: the Gotham Independent Awards, the New York Film Critics Circle and the National Board of Review all handed out their end-of-year kudos this week and the Indie Spirit Awards announced their nominations. The crystal balls of Oscarologists everywhere have been sorely in need of a spit-shine because, unlike last year, it’s a murky, wide-open battlefield with few frontrunners dominating. And where there’s an awards opening, there is Harvey Weinstein. Apparently in search of a new challenge after he felled zeitgeist movie of the year The Social Network with Colin Firth’s stiff upper lip in The King’s Speech, Weinstein has set himself a near impossible feat: win an Oscar for a silent

This is really hard for me to write. Not because there is nothing to say, or because it is difficult to encapsulate the brilliance and expansiveness that is Take Care in a few paragraphs, but because this newest Drake record is so personal.
Personal because it is the kind of album that people will connect with for a plethora of reasons — the stark lyrics, the nods to current and past great artists (Gil-Scott Heron, UGK, Steve Wonder…,), the use of up-and-comer compatriots The Weeknd and Kendrick Lamar, and the glory of turning a once hopeful passion into a now flourishing music career.
In a year that was filled with heartfelt successes from the likes of Adele, Fleet Foxes, Bon Iver, and even local hero Ty Segall, October’s own Aubrey “Drake” Graham created a record that flipped not only rap music, but the art of record making on its head. All the things that make Drake Drake are still there (the confessionals, the weed and white wine, the Young Money shout outs, the club bangers and the crooner slow jams), but to categorize this album as solely an R & B or hip-hop record would be

Thanks for the many terrific comments on my recent posts. Keep them coming! I read them all.
A few weeks ago, one of you quoted Satchel Paige: “How old would you be if you didn’t know how old you are?” Thought-provoking, right? Let me share with you how my husband forever changed my answer to that question.
Jim was dying, and we both knew it. While I poured all my energy into his cancer care, he worried about the difficult journey that lay ahead for me. One day, he took my hand and led me to the three-way mirror in our bathroom.

Denial is a powerful and frightening thing.
What else could convince otherwise good people to believe that what think they see in front of them — no matter how horrendous — isn’t really happening? Or that the person they consider such a “nice guy” could really be capable of doing something heinous? Or that someone else is “handling the situation,” so you don’t have to do anything?
Nowhere is the power of denial more evident than in the sex abuse scandals coming out of Penn State and Syracuse University. Two likeable, respected assistant coaches at powerful collegiate athletic programs have been accused of molesting boys for years. Powerful people knew. Many

WASHINGTON — Watching the Republican primary race is a lot like being at a carnival. There’s the roller coaster of polling numbers, the kind that has Herman Cain surging to the top one week, then collapsing as Newt Gingrich rises. Then there’s the candidates themselves, who sometimes seem more like sideshow acts — each trying to top the next with a more outrageous statement — than actual contenders to be the next president of the United States.
I’m not sure which statement stands out the most — Michele Bachmann’s assertion that the American Civil Liberties Union runs the Central Intelligence Agency; Cain trying to name the president of “Ubeki-beki-beki-beki-stan-stan”; Gingrich claiming that a luxury cruise around the Aegean gave him experience to deal with Greece’s foreign debt crisis; Rick Santorum stating that he wants to go to war with China; or Mitt Romney asserting that if Barack Obama is re-elected, “Iran will have a nuclear weapon,” but if Romney is elected, “They will not have a nuclear weapon.” My favorite is Bachmann (again) telling an Iowa crowd that if she is elected, she will close the

Suddenly the struggle to stop Iran is not about saving Israel from nuclear annihilation. After a decade of scare-mongering about the second coming of Nazi Germany, the Iran hawks are admitting that they have other reasons for wanting to take out Iran, and saving Israeli lives may not be one of them. Suddenly the neoconservatives have discovered the concept of truth-telling, although, no doubt, the change will be ephemeral.
The shift in the rationale for war was kicked off this week when Danielle Pletka, head of the American Enterprise Institute’s foreign policy shop and one of the most prominent neoconservatives in Washington explained what the current obsession with Iran’s nuclear program is all about.
Hold