Author Archives: Tanya Brothen

About Tanya Brothen

Tanya Brothen is a blogging enthusiast who began writing for the web on a whim. Now it’s her job.||She recently received a Master’s Degree in International Affairs and works as a New Media Officer for the State Department. Tanya not only writes for By the People, but also acts as the blog’s organizer, keeping everyone on topic and on time. To demonstrate her understanding of democracy, she holds regular blog team meetings and usually listens to what the others have to say.

President Obama: “Egyptians have inspired us all.”

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In a White House speech televised live throughout the United States, President Obama reflected on recent events in Egypt, including the protests, the actions of Egyptian citizens, and the departure of long-time President Hosni Mubarak.  He called for a transition that would be “credible in the eyes of the Egyptian people,” and that would bring “all of Egypt’s voices to the table.”

President Obama also asserted that the United States “will continue to be a friend and partner to Egypt,” adding, “Egyptians have inspired us all.”

What message do you have for the Egyptian people?

Obama Wants Wireless Internet for 98% of Americans

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President Obama traveled to Michigan Thursday to announce the National Wireless Initiative, a program that promised to bring 4G high-speed wireless internet to 98 percent of Americans. He first announced plans for extended wireless coverage during his State of the Union speech earlier this year.

Speaking to a crowd at North Michigan University the president said access to the internet will “spark new innovation, new investment, new jobs.” He also told the audience that currently only 65 percent of American households have access to high-speed broadband. By comparison that number is more than 90 percent in South Korea.

One focus of the initiative is to bring high-speed internet to small towns and rural areas. Larger cities in the United States are rapidly gaining access to 4G technology through private investment, but the country’s vast rural areas are largely being left behind. The National Wireless Initiative will work to ensure all Americans – urban and rural – can take advantage of the social, economic, and educational benefits of access to high-speed wireless.

Michelle Obama Celebrates First Anniversary of Anti-Obesity Initiative

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One year ago this week, first lady Michelle Obama launched her Let’s Move! campaign to end childhood obesity in the United States.  To celebrate the program’s first anniversary, Mrs. Obama is making multiple media appearances, releasing a televised public service announcement, and traveling to Atlanta, Georgia to meet with students, teachers, and parents.

While in Atlanta on Wednesday the first lady visited a public elementary school that emphasizes teaching students about the benefits of a healthy diet.  She snacked on blueberries with kindergarteners, and first-graders showed her around the school’s garden, which grows produce such as collard greens, potatoes, and bok choy. 

What has the Let’s Move! program accomplished in its inaugural year?  For starters, the first lady has created partnerships with major players in the U.S., including Wal-Mart stores, which agreed to lower prices on fruits and vegetables and change the ingredients in their store-brand food items in an effort to make them healthier.  She also worked with Congress to pass the Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act, which aims to improve nutrition and focus on reducing childhood obesity.

Super Bowl Party at the White House

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As Americans and American football fans around the world prepare for this Sunday’s Super Bowl, the White House is busy making plans of its own for the big game.  More than 100 people have accepted invitations to the Obamas’ Super Bowl party, including musicians Jennifer Lopez and Marc Anthony, Obama administration officials such as Attorney General Eric Holder, and both Democrat and Republican members of Congress.

The Super Bowl is the championship game of the National Football League, an organization that represents the highest level of professional American Football.  In the U.S., “Super Bowl Sunday” is thought of as an unofficial American holiday, and the game itself is often the most-watched television event of the year.  The first Super Bowl took place on January 15, 1967.  This year’s game will pit the Pittsburgh Steelers against the Green Bay Packers.

Obama Announces “Better Buildings Initiative”

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President Obama traveled to a university in Pennsylvania today to promote the energy efficiency-focused Better Buildings Initiative.  The initiative aims to make commercial buildings across the country 20 percent more energy efficient over the next decade, a move the  White House estimates could save American businesses roughly $40 billion per year.

Some of the programs the Better Buildings Initiative will launch include new tax incentives for building efficiency, more financing opportunities for commercial retrofits, and training for the next generation of commercial building technology workers.

At today’s event the president called developing cleaner sources of energy, “one of the fastest, easiest and cleanest ways to create jobs.”

President Obama Celebrates National African American History Month

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During the month of February, festivities across the United States will highlight African American contributions to American society and remember the struggles and triumphs that generations of African Americans have lived through.  In a proclamation released yesterday, President Obama recognized the beginning of National African American History Month, stating:

“For centuries, African American men and women have persevered to enrich our national life and bend the arc of history toward justice… African Americans have strengthened our Nation by leading reforms, overcoming obstacles, and breaking down barriers.  During National African American History Month, we celebrate the vast contributions of African Americans to our Nation’s history and identity.”

The United States first celebrated National African American History Month in 1976.  The theme of this year’s month-long celebration is “African Americans and the Civil War,” which will honor the efforts of people of African descent to end slavery and ensure universal freedom in the United States.

Read President Obama’s full proclamation - http://bit.ly/fKjK2F

Egyptians Create Their Own Paths to Freedom of Speech

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What do you do when officials in your country are limiting freedom of speech, but you have a message to distribute to the world?  That’s a question some Egyptians have been dealing with as they demonstrate in the streets and call for economic and political reforms.  The answer for many has been to create new paths of communication using old technologies. 

And Egyptians’ communication workarounds seem to be working. When the Egyptian government hit the “Internet kill switch,” effectively shutting down access to the web in Egypt, citizens turned to DSL dialup services, modem-sharing, and have even created what has been called an independent “mesh” of connections that allow them to circumvent official Egyptian networks.   Fax machines have also proven useful tools for distributing information within the country as well as sending messages out to the international press.  Once Egyptian officials reestablished mobile phone service, Egyptian citizens started using Google’s new speak-to-tweet service, calling a designated number to leave a voicemail message that would then be turned into a tweet and broadcast via Twitter. 

Many consider such technologies – fax machines, dial-up, and voicemail – out-dated, but they have proven invaluable to activists and regular citizens who have been cut off from more modern communication tools.  By turning to these technologies, and with help from companies, organizations, and regular men and women outside of Egypt who are sympathetic to the Egyptian cause, Egypt’s citizens are creating their own paths to Freedom of Speech. 

Learn more:

President Obama’s statement on the events in Egypt

United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights

Behind the Scenes at the White House

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The White House has released new, behind-the-scenes photos that chronicle everything from a visit by former president Bill Clinton to the Obama family vacation in Hawaii.  All of the 61 photos were taken in December.  The White House has been releasing monthly photo albums since May 2009.  You can view the December 2010 photo album on the White House’s official Flickr page: http://bit.ly/eFIVFF

President Obama: “We Are Poised for Progress”

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President Obama delivered his second official State of the Union address to the nation last night, telling Americans the worst of the economic downturn is over, making now the time to rebuild and reinvest.

State of the Union speeches are generally heavy on domestic priorities.  It’s the president’s opportunity to tell Americans what initiatives he wants the country to undertake, and what goals he wants the country to achieve.   In his speech, President Obama focused largely on education, innovation, and fiscal responsibility.  He reminded Americans that they “do big things,” and are “poised for progress.”

He set goals for the United States, including:

-  By 2035, 80 percent of America’s electricity will come from clean energy sources 

-  By the end of the decade, have the highest proportion of college graduates in the world

-  Within 25 years, give 80 percent of Americans access to high-speed rail 

-  Lower the corporate tax rate without adding to our deficit

But along with the upbeat outlook and talk of past and future American success, President Obama also acknowledged the difficult realities facing Americans in the 21st Century.  “The world has changed,” he said, “And for many, the change has been painful.”  He spoke of changes in manufacturing needs, technology, and global competition, all of which have left some Americans feeling as though “the rules have been changed in the middle of the game.”  He added, “They’re right.  The rules have changed”

The speech focused on domestic issues, but it was not without reference to foreign policy and foreign events.  The president touched on shrinking safe havens for al Qaeda in Pakistan, the New START treaty between the U.S. and Russia, cooperation among nations to place tougher sanctions on Iran, U.S. involvement in NATO, as well as recent democratic movements in south Sudan and Tunisia.  He also announced he will travel to Brazil, Chile, and El Salvador this March. 

Despite the changes and the challenges Americans have seen and are facing, President Obama was optimistic about the future of the United States.  He assured Americans that the United States is not in decline as many have predicted, but that the country’s talented citizens, free society, and democratic traditions will ensure a strong future.  He ended his speech with the traditional declaration: “The State of our Union is strong.”

Obama’s State of the Union Speech to Get “Enhanced” Online

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For over 200 years, presidents of the United States have delivered a State of the Union speech to Congress and the American people.  This year, that tradition will receive a 21st Century makeover when the White House offers Americans the chance to watch an “Enhanced State of the Union” online.

The State of the Union speech is an annual opportunity to talk about where the country is economically, socially, and in terms of foreign policy, and give the president a chance to lay out his plans for the country’s future.  The new enhanced speech, which can be viewed on the official White House website, will include not just President Obama’s words, but also charts, facts, statistics, and resources that will appear next to live video of the speech and serve to reinforce the president’s key points.

Immediately after the speech, Senior White House officials will answer questions about President Obama’s policies, which the public can submit online ahead of tonight’s event.  In the days after the speech, officials will continue to answer questions from the public in a variety of online events, including a Twitter interview with Press Secretary Robert Gibbs.

President Obama himself will answer questions in a live YouTube interview from the White House.