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.

Offbeat's Definitive List Of America's Strangest Laws

Yes, yes, Zsa Zsa Gabor's husband, Prince Frederic von Anhalt, was found "tied to his steering wheel in his birthday suit," but did you know that it is illegal to peel an orange in a Los Angeles hotel room? If not, don't fret -- OFF/beat is here to set you straight with our definitive list of America's 20 strangest laws. Readers are encouraged to add their own as long as doing so doesn't violate any obscure statute in their locality ... this means you, readers in Turkmenistan and North Korea! It's Against the Law to: 20) Fish while wearing pajamas in Chicago. 19) Sell instruments in South Carolina on Sunday. 18) Be drunk in a Wyoming mine. 17) Have a goatee in Boston. 16) Serve margarine in a Wisconsin restaurant unless the customer specifically requests it. 15) Eat a hamburger on Sunday in Minnesota. 14) Offer cigarettes and/or whiskey to...

washingtonpost.com Tue, 31 Jul 2007 12:11:01 EDT

Source: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/blog/2007/07/31/BL2007073100762.html?nav=rss_opinion/columns
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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 they sense, deep in their bones, that with just a slight change in priorities, we can make sure that every child in America has a decent shot at life, and that the doors of opportunity remain open to all. Obama's parents separated when he was two years old and later divorced. He hired former Senate Democratic Leader Tom Daschle's ex-chief of staff for the same position, and Karen Kornbluh, an economist who was deputy chief of staff to former Secretary of the Treasury Robert Rubin, as his policy adviser. In March 2007, speaking before AIPAC, a pro-Israel lobby, he said that while the U.S. "should take no option, including military action, off the table, sustained and aggressive diplomacy combined with tough sanctions should be our primary means to prevent Iran from building nuclear weapons. 55 million for candidates he supports and his own 2010 re-election fund. In his preface to the 2004 revised edition, Obama explains that he had hoped the story of his family "might speak in some way to the fissures of race that have characterized the American experience, as well as the fluid state of identity—the leaps through time, the collision of cultures—that mark our modern life. It was an immediate bestseller and remains on the New York Times Best Seller List. " Before the conference, 18 pro-life groups published an open letter stating, in reference to Obama's support for legal abortion: "In the strongest possible terms, we oppose Rick Warren's decision to ignore Senator Obama's clear pro-death stance and invite him to Saddleback Church anyway.

"In 1988, while employed as a summer associate at the Chicago law firm of Sidley & Austin, Obama met Michelle Robinson, who also worked there. " Before the conference, 18 pro-life groups published an open letter stating, in reference to Obama's support for legal abortion: "In the strongest possible terms, we oppose Rick Warren's decision to ignore Senator Obama's clear pro-death stance and invite him to Saddleback Church anyway. "He was an early opponent of Bush administration policies on Iraq. 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. "I've got relatives who look like Bernie Mac, and I've got relatives who look like Margaret Thatcher. " The chapter details how Obama, in his twenties, while working with local churches as a community organizer, came to understand "the power of the African American religious tradition to spur social change. " The audio book edition earned Obama the 2006 Grammy Award for Best Spoken Word Album. 55 million for candidates he supports and his own 2010 re-election fund. Among his major accomplishments as a state legislator, Obama's U.S. Senate web site lists: "creating programs like the state Earned Income Tax Credit"; "an expansion of early childhood education"; and "legislation requiring the videotaping of interrogations and confessions in all capital cases. Obama left for his third official trip in August 2006, traveling to South Africa and Kenya, and making stops in Djibouti, Ethiopia and Chad.