Barack Obama

Obama was born in Honolulu, Hawaii to Barack Obama, Sr. (born in Nyanza Province, Kenya) and Ann Dunham (born in Wichita, Kansas). Barack Hussein Obama (born August 4, 1961) is the junior United States Senator from Illinois and a member of the Democratic Party.

Obama grew up in culturally diverse surroundings. He spent most of his childhood in the majority-minority U.S. state of Hawaii and lived for four years in Indonesia. Obama delivered the keynote address at the 2004 Democratic National Convention while still an Illinois state legislator. Since announcing his candidacy in February 2007, Obama has emphasized ending the Iraq War and implementing universal health care as campaign themes.

As a member of the Democratic minority in the 109th Congress, Obama co-sponsored the enactment of conventional weapons control and transparency legislation, and made official trips to Eastern Europe, the Middle East, and Africa. Obama's parents separated when he was two years old and later divorced. His father went to Harvard University to pursue Ph.D. studies, then returned to Kenya, where he died in an auto accident when the younger Obama was twenty-one years old.

The Baffling Beltway

Lately, we've discussed plenty of important and controversial transportation issues here on the blog and in the Dr. Gridlock columns, including the traffic problems created by the rehab of the Douglass Bridge and the Legion Bridge, and the new transportation taxes and fees in Northern Virginia. So it came as a surprise that the topic generating the most responses in the past month was this: How do you figure out which way you're going on the Capital Beltway? It must be a credit to the role this central artery plays in our traveling lives. It's a valuable resource and the bane of our existence. I'll run some more of the letters in an upcoming newspaper column, but here's one that illustrates the themes and suggestions among the writers. Dear Dr. Gridlock: I could really relate to the inner/outer loop confusion discussed in the Sunday column. I was born and raised

washingtonpost.com Tue, 31 Jul 2007 09:11:06 EDT

Source: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/blog/2007/07/31/BL2007073100564.html?nav=rss_opinion/columns
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The protection was not in response to any specific threat, but the campaign had received "hate mail, calls and other 'threatening materials'" in the past, and officials felt that the large crowds and increased campaign activity warranted the order. In September 2006, Obama supported a related bill, the Secure Fence Act, authorizing construction of fencing and other security improvements along the United States–Mexico border. Obama's energy initiatives scored pluses and minuses with environmentalists, who welcomed his sponsorship with Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) of a climate change bill to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by two-thirds by 2050, but were skeptical of Obama's support for a bill promoting liquefied coal production. He has authored two bestselling books: a memoir of his youth entitled Dreams from My Father, and The Audacity of Hope, a personal commentary on U.S. politics. But I've got news for them too. In 2003, Obama began his run for the U.S. Senate open seat vacated by Peter Fitzgerald. The family moved to Jakarta in 1967, where Obama attended local schools from ages 6 to 10.

He received his B.A. degree in 1983, then worked for one year at Business International Corporation. Born to a Kenyan father and an American mother, Obama grew up in culturally diverse surroundings.

" Entered in fulfillment of a campaign promise, the bill proposed increasing the maximum amount of Pell Grant awards to help students from lower income families pay their college tuitions.

" He joined with Sen. Russ Feingold (D-WI) in strengthening restrictions on travel in corporate jets to S.1, the Legislative Transparency and Accountability Act of 2007, which passed the Senate with a 96-2 majority. Obama joined Charles Schumer (D-NY) in sponsoring S. 453, a bill to criminalize deceptive practices in federal elections, including fraudulent flyers and automated phone calls, as witnessed in the 2006 midterm elections. His mother married Lolo Soetoro, an Indonesian foreign student, with whom she had one daughter, Maya. The "Coburn-Obama Transparency Act" provides for a web site, managed by the Office of Management and Budget, listing all organizations receiving Federal funds from 2007 onward, and providing breakdowns by the agency allocating the funds, the dollar amount given, and the purpose of the grant or contract. Supporters and critics have likened Obama's popular image to a cultural Rorschach test, a neutral persona on which people can project their personal histories and aspirations. Finally, he spoke for national unity: The pundits like to slice-and-dice our country into Red States and Blue States; Red States for Republicans, Blue States for Democrats.

" But in an October 2006 article titled "Obama: Black Like Me," British columnist Gary Younge describes Obama as "a black man who does not scare white people.