Yesterday, the Senate Armed Services Committee held a hearing related to the nation’s use of military forces. The hearing included testimonies about the law of armed conflict as well as the 2001 Authorization for Use of Military Force. The war authorization was passed after 9/11 and allows the President to put military forces anywhere. As you can imagine, this power outraged many policy makers, especially those committed to bringing all troops back home. 

One thing I love about my job is that no two days are the same.  “Policy and advocacy” means lots of things: listening, persuading, recommending a course of action and—perhaps most importantly—giving a voice to people who haven’t been given the opportunity to speak up for themselves. Advocacy happens when someone engages in dialogue about an issue they care about—and I care about making water and sanitation a reality for people in every corner of the globe.

Earlier this week, President Obama nominated Charlotte Mayor Anthony Foxx to become Secretary of the Department of Transportation. As the President solidifies his second-term cabinet, transportation policy comes to the forefront.

In a 2007 national survey, 40% of children adopted by Americans, both domestically and internationally, were of a different race than their adoptive parents (source). Transracial adoptions are very common.  But who adopts who?  If you ask Google Images, white families adopt non-white children. Six of the images below appear to feature white parents with children of color:

Senator Joel Anderson’s new bill hopes to revitalize the death penalty in California. One of the most controversial aspects of the bill is the proposal for gas chambers to be included in their death penalty system. This will allow California to be the only place globally to use suffocation as a form of criminal punishment.

Step One: Call It Out

Education has been labeled the “civil rights issue of our time.” Dropout factories––high schools where no more than 60% of the students that start as freshmen make it to their senior year––has become a common-day term. These low-performing public schools tend to be in the poorest zip codes across our country. The negative impacts of poverty on the health and education of students is well documented, mostly affecting kids of color who tend to live in lower-income communities.

On Wednesday, progress for gun control in America was challenged by the defeat of a bipartisan bill. The bill between Sens. Joe Manchin (D-W.V.) and Pat Toomey (R-Pa.) sought to expand the national background check system for gun ownership. Despite the support from Republican and Democrat lawmakers and the impact of gun-related tragedies, politics held precedence over American people. Experts provide perspectives on the defeat of the gun control legislation.

One of our Pinterest boards collects images that reveal that men are the “neutral” sex in contemporary Western cultures. This means that (1)  the image that pops up in our minds when we say “person” or “human” or “worker” is usually implicitly male, (2) non-sexed representations of people are usually assumed to be male (e.g., cartoon animals appear female to us unless we slap on eyelashes and lipstick), (3) items for sale often get marketed as either “item” or “women’s item” (e.g., “deodorant” and “women’s deodorant”), and (4) men and male bodies get to stand in for humanity (e.g., in scientific research).

I am pleased that the President's FY14 Budget addresses the student loan crisis in our country. From leading the world into the age of democracy to spearheading the technological revolution, America has always been at the forefront of greatness. 

Rep. Greg Walden (R-OR) brought attention to social security when he criticized President Obama’s budget proposal on Wednesday. President Obama’s budget seeks to lower cost-of-living increases for those who receive social security. Some lawmakers, both Republican and Democrat, were outraged by the cuts between $200 billion and $380 billion on social security. While others like House Speaker John Boehner believes the President is taking necessary steps to help the nation. This week, experts weigh in on the importance of social security and whether or not these cuts will benefit our country.

During the last election cycle Al Sharpton famously said, "It's not about Obama, it's about your momma." He was making a compelling argument that the public needed to be concerned about Mitt Romney's draconian Social Security and Medicare proposals. Now that the Obama Administration has released its 2014 budget that includes cuts to both Social Security and Medicare, African Americans must now face the bitter reality that it's literally about Obama and our mommas.

Imagine the year 2057. What does it look like? Are you picturing driverless cars, tiny tablet supercomputers, and everyone wearing a pair of Google glasses? Are you picturing a country where women finally earn as much as men?

North Korea had the attention of Americans after threatening to bomb several U.S. cities. Kim Jong Un, North Korean ruler, announced his potential attack on the U.S. after the deployment of U.S. battalion in South Korea, a known adversary of North Korea. Some Americans laughed at the young ruler, while other panicked at the thought of an attack. As North Korea continues to be the topic of conversation this week, let’s see what experts have written on the subject.

Although boys and girls who drop out of high school sometimes do so for similar reasons, there are also some clear gender differences in what drives them to drop out. If we are to make progress in supporting all students to graduate, we need to understand these different causes for boys and for girls, and create solutions tailored to anticipate, prevent and respond to them.

Reid Cramer is director of the Asset Building Program at the New America Foundation, which aims to promote policies and ideas that significantly broaden access to economic resources through increased savings and asset ownership, especially among lower-income families. 

This week the Supreme Court heard arguments in cases related to marriage equality. The two cases separately examine Proposition 8 and the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA)-- laws that prevent the LGBT community from freely marrying. As this topic gained national attention this week experts offer their opinion on whether or not everyone should have the right to marry.

Ms. Judd, I was disheartened to read that you decided not to run against Mitch McConnell for the Kentucky senate seat. Several days prior to your announcement, I was especially disturbed by reports that the Clinton machine had thrown their support behind newly elected Secretary of State, Alison Lundergan Grimes. News accounts suggested that they favored Ms. Lundergan Grimes because of her family's political ties and her more moderate ideological views, which they believed would go over well in the supposedly conservative state.

Did you know that the growth of support for same-sex marriage over the past ten years represents one the largest changes in public opinion on any policy issue over this time period? Back in 2003 more than half (58%) of Americans opposed gay marriage, whereas today less than half (44%) oppose it.

The Cyber Intelligence Sharing Protection Act (CISPA) is currently under review in the House Intelligence Committee. This bill will determine if private companies can share information with the federal government regarding cyber threats.

Water is a women’s issue.

It’s an important adage, one that highlights how we expect governments to prioritize investments in safe drinking water, sanitation, hygiene (WASH), and water resource management. It links to the theme of this year’s World Water Day, too.

Here we are in 2013. You may wonder, is there really still a need for an International Women’s Day?
The answer, in short, is an unabashed yes!

Earlier this month, President Obama announced Gina McCarthy as the new administrator for the Environmental Protection Agency and Ernez Moniz as the Secretary of the Department of Energy. These nominations are only a catalyst for a stronger focus on environmental-related policy this term.

"Remember that this is not just a debate about policy. It’s about people. It’s about men and women and young people who want nothing more than the chance to earn their way into the American story.” These were the words of President Obama on January 29, 2013 as he called for comprehensive immigration reform.

While in search of the American Dream, many immigrants have made unimaginable sacrifices to create a better life for their families. Some arrived to our shores legally with temporary visitor, worker or student visas which they have overstayed.

As the nation sees improvements in the housing industry, some have noticed communities of color left out. The monitor for the 2009 fair housing settlement in Westchester is currently studying data to determine if the county’s zones excludes Blacks and Hispanics.

Agriculture is a hot topic these days. Americans are more and more concerned about where their food comes from, if it is organic, and if their beef was grass orgrain fed. But one topic frequently eludes our dialogues: labor. Its no surprise to many that farm laborers frequently work an exhaustive number of hoursweekly for abysmally low wages.

Section 5 of the Voting Rights Act of 1965 is currently under scrutiny by the Supreme Court.  This section requires areas of the country with a history of discrimination within their voting process to receive clearance from the Justice Department before making voting law changes.

Ever heard of NTDs? They are the 17 neglected tropical diseases (NTDs) whose infamous members include trachoma, onchocerciasis, schistosomiasis, and soil transmitted helminths (STH) or worms.

“Say it loud!” “I’m Black and I’m proud!” I’d just placed an order for a tall soy vanilla latte when the music filtered through the fog in my brain. After I handed over a good chunk of my paycheck to the barista, I raised an eyebrow at him and pointed in the direction of a speaker. “Are you hearing this?” He shrugged and moved on to take the next order.

Kezia Williams serves as Chair of Capital Cause, a DC-based fiscally-sponsored nonprofit dedicated to engaging young philanthropists in giving. Her work with this organization has included growing the organization from five vested members to over 5,000 young professionals influenced by the message of young philanthropy.

Republican Governor Rick Scott announced his support of Medicaid expansion this Wednesday. This was surprising due to his avid disagreement with the Affordable Care Act prior to last year’s Supreme Court ruling that upholds the law.

Indi Dutta-Gupta is Senior Policy Advisor at the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities (CBPP), where his work primarily focused on federal budget and tax policies and cross-cutting low-income issues.

Experts of color and policy-makers were eagerly anticipating President Obama’s State of the Union Address this week. During the speech, President Obama addressed policies to improve immigration, education, and the economy, among other items.

President Barack Obama's State of the Union Address was a renewed commitment to rebuilding our nation. Strengthening our economy is essential to our stability, and can only be accomplished by creating jobs, rebuilding our middle class, and investing in our future.

I applaud the President’s talk tonight regarding jobs and technology. We must ensure the resilience of the American worker, and the adaptability and innovation inherent in our economy, to keep us at the forefront of global competitiveness.

This is the Silicon Valley way of life and business, where the manufacturing sector employs 1 in 5 workers (more than twice the national average), where breakthrough ideas are cultivated, and where the world’s most successful visionaries and businesses call home.

Martin Luther King, Jr., the drum major for justice, might have some difficulty today raising an army of soldiers for justice! The time for marching is not over as civil rights struggles continue. Witness the pandemic levels of mass incarceration. In many cities the young men, the men who used to march in an earlier era, are gone away to years behind the fence of jail or prison.