FIRST LOOK: Coco Rocha Tap Dances for White House | Black Market

As we put together our post-Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week FW12 blog posts and videos, we found ourselves treated to a delightful little video from none other than White House | Black Market (whose tweed black & white shoes were photographed on our feet as stylish more than once during NYFW).

For Spring, Coco Rocha signed-on with the brand and shows that she’s a lot more than just a pretty face.

Rocha can dance, too! [Read more...]

5 Reasons E-Mail Isn’t Dead

Image via WeHeartIt.com

E-mail isn’t dead because the Facebook hasn’t killed it yet and that’s the truth of the matter.

I don’t get [Read more...]

With Great Power Comes Great Responsibility

Arlen Specter By DJ Whelan. All Rights Reserved 2009.

By: Rachel Steinman, guest blogger

I do not have to remind anyone that Senator Arlen Specter changed his party affiliation after decades of being a proud cardholding member of the GOP.
There have been speculation on why Specter would change, especially now that he has single handily gave the Democrats an overwhelming majority in almost every branch of the United States government.
Some have argued that he did not like what the Grand Old Party was turning into, while others saw it as his ticket towards reelection.
While an entire blog (probably even a thesis) can be used to explain the reasoning of why, we have to look at the big picture:

  • Democrats own our federal government.

From the leader of the free world to both chambers of Congress is consumed with Democrats.
It has been a very long time since the Democrats had this kind of control in the government.
John Stewart on the Daily Show remarked that this was the first time of complete and total domination of Democrats since President Jimmy Carter.
He also added the punch line that we saw how well that worked out.
Democrats can prevent filibusters in Senate, control the agenda in the House, and basically do whatever they want.
Now with a Supreme Court justice David Souter stepping down from court, President Barack Obama has almost free reign to put any left-leaning judge on the bench without criticism from an opposing party.
Now for the Democrats to maintain power they need to be able to work together.
Since the inauguration Congressional Democrats have argued that they are not just following Obama’s orders and sometimes have argued vocally against the President.
The Obama administration and Congressional Democrats need to work together and make sure that they do not abuse their power.
The American people did not like the corruption and the lies they were told by the Republican majority, Democrats do not follow in their footsteps!

Rachel Steinman is currently a International Relations and History major, with a minor in Art History, at the University of Florida. She is the 2009-10 UF Model United Nations president and she hopes to enter law school in fall 2009.  

Copyright © 2009 SashaHalima PR. All rights reserved.

Barack Obama: a 100-day report card

Stock from Obama for America. All rights Reserved 2008-2009.

Today’s the day.

It has been 100 days since President Barack Obama took office.

So how is he doing?

According to a recent Gallup poll, the US President has a 65-percent approval rating, the highest 100-day approval since President Reagan.

Not to mention that the new Associated Press GfK poll shows that 48-percent of Americans believe the United States is moving in the right direction. Granted 48-percent doesn’t sound that all that much, right? It is less than half of the country’s population.

But considering what those numbers were in 2004 — it is a big deal.

A very big deal.

So big a deal in fact, take a look at what the Huffington Post described at what would have been a recap of John McCain’s first 100 days had he won.

As amusing as it is, mulling over the-would-have-been of Sarah Palin’s fight with the tabloids over “Bristol Palin’s engagement to Levi Johnston [making] OctoMomseem publicity-shy,” or “House Speaker Nancy Pelosi [branding McCain as] ‘President McCheap’” over a his original economic stimulus package proposal of $420 billion, it all strikes eerily too close to home.

But the McCain-Palin ticket did not win the election, the Obama-Biden did.

So just how well are they doing?

According to the BBC, he is doing rather well:

  • cutting torture off at its knees
  • closing Gitmo
  • working with Russia to seek a new arms control treaty in order to work towards his goal of a nuclear weapon free world
  • initiating to have our US troops out of Iraq by the end of May 2010
  • etc.

But President Obama is not perfect. The charisma, glamour and swaggeraside, there has been a whirlwind of policy making, legislation brewing and Obama’s team has been shoved into crisis management mode so often that one begins to wonder if David Plouffe should start confidence-rebuilding workshops. There has been, however, one issue that just hasn’t reared it’s head…just yet. Race. The Obama camp has been relatively quiet about it. Keeping his to his word that

As Lincoln said to a nation far more divided than ours, we are not enemies but friends. Though passion may have strained, it must not break our bonds of affection.

Yesterday, was the birthday of Saddam Hussein and that era of the history of the United States seems to be flying out the door as swiftly as it entered.

By informally greeting Hugo Chavez at the Summit of the Americas, President Obama accidentally created a best-seller out of a book that has been on the shelves for over 30-years.

That says quite a bit about just how much we the people stalk his every step.

I cannot recall the sales of Ford trucks of Bud beers increasing in sales during the last presidency.

While at the Summit, Obama also asked for the re-entry of Cuba as a CARICOM nation begging the question, “would these events signify a change in the engagement of the US with the Cuban government and other entities in South America?”

Let me be clear, I’m not interested in talking just for the sake of talking. But I do believe that we can move U.S.-Cuban relations in a new direction.

Well, it is quite possible, considering that Cuban-Americans are now able to visit their loved ones on the island nation.

The winds of change are blowing and I feel the urge to listen to Bob Dylan.

Stock from Obama camp. All Rights Reserved 2008-2009.

It may be Day 100, but there is no rest for he who is cleaning up the work of the wicked.

Swine Flu, more stress tests analysis, the Chrysler deadline this week, GM possibly filing Chapter 11 and more health care debates are swimming up the Beltway like hungry great white sharks gleeful over the smell of blood.

A friend of mine told me,

“It was once said that a black man would be president “when pigs fly” indeed 100 days into Obama’s presidency, Swine flu.”

What will be, will be. C’est la vie.


Sasha H. Muradali is the owner of SashaHalimaPR and the Little Pink Book.

Copyright © 2009 SashaHalima PR. All rights reserved.

Obama’s Beast Has Arrived in T&T

The BBC had it right when they said, The Beast looks like something out of a James Bond film.

Earlier today Barack Obama touched down on the Caribbean isle of Trinidad and Tobago for the Summit of the Americas (April 17-19, 2009).

The focus for the President for the 5th Summit’s meet, is the reentry of Cuba.

The purpose of the Summit of the Americas is to bring together various Heads of State and government officials in the Western Hemisphere. They seek to develop solutions, share ideas and promote prosperity throughout the region.

The Little Pink Book obtained some exclusive pictures earlier of Obama’s Beast arriving in Piarco Airport.

Copyright Richard Teixeira. All Rights Reserved 2009.

Copyright Richard Teixeira. All Rights Reserved 2009.

Copyright Richard Teixeira. All Rights Reserved 2009.

Copyright Richard Teixeira. All Rights Reserved 2009.

 

—

Sasha H. Muradali runs the ‘Little Pink Book’ and SashaHalimaPR. 

Copyright © 2009 SashaHalima PR. All rights reserved.

 

You’ve got me feeling emotions

Let's Party Like it is 1773

Let's Party Like it is 1773

By: Stephanie Ruby, guest blogger

As a Democrat, I often watch the Republican Party in bewilderment.
O’Reilly’s yelling, Hanity’s crazy accusations and Limbaugh’s know it
all judgments seem to me, at least, crazy and part of fringe element in our public discourse.
So, why then are they so damn popular?
Today, April 15th, while you and I are paying our membership fee in to an organized society with roads and firefighters and police officers, the republicans will be hosting tea parties all across the nation to protest taxes.
Yes, taxes.
They are harkening back to the Boston Tea party which protested the tyranny of Britain’s taxation of the American people.
Because our current situation is much like the incredibly hard time of the late 1700’s.
My interest in the tea parties comes, mainly, from a point of reluctant admiration.
The Republican agenda right now is continually being drowned out by President Obama and the Democratic majority in Congress.
Yet, the crazier they become…the more they say that President Obama is a socialist who will take away their guns, the more popular they become.
I’d like to think that reason is what dictates the choices that the general public makes.
So does the Democratic Party, which might be their problem.
What do you think is more effective?
Appealing to the rational or emotional side of people?

 

Stephanie Ruby is a lobbyist in Harrisburg, PA who has worked on multiple campaigns, including Hillary Clinton’s 2008 bid for the presidency. She helped organized the Women’s Caucus at the Democratic National Convention in 2008 and she holds a B.A. in Political Science from the University of Florida with a concentration in Political Communication.

 

Copyright © 2009 SashaHalima PR. All rights reserved.

Kumar Goes to the White House

 

ROBYN BECK/AFP/Getty Images

ROBYN BECK/AFP/Getty Images

By: Rachel Steinman, guest blogger

Normally, I promise to be more unbiased and demonstrate a professional demeanor when it comes to posting political blogs, but this week I am going through withdrawal of a particular actor that I have come to respect and “crush” on.  

Kal Penn is not your typical A-list actor like Angelina Jolie or Matt Damon.  Kal Penn is mostly known for his role as Kumar in Harold and Kumar Go to White Castle and its sequel Harold and Kumar Escape from Guantanamo Bay, both not very highly regarded roles.  

But to judge him merely on these roles, you would have to judge many other notable actors for their first roles in Hollywood.  

Jennifer Aniston’s debut movie was in Leprechauns and Kevin Bacon played a narcissistic fraternity boy in Animal House.  

Kal Penn has proven himself that he can immerse himself into any role.

 Moviegoers got a taste of his dramatic chops in the independent film The Namesake.  

But this week, Kal took on his most challenging role yet, working for President Obama.

Taking on the position of associate director of the White House Office of Public Liaison, Kal will be refraining from acting for the next four, possible eight years.  

While I will miss watching him on the silver screen, his work in the political arena will have a positive impact.  

More and more celebrities these days have taken on political causes to enhance publicity surrounding certain issues.  

With name recognition and a famous face, people are drawn to that cause.  

Take Angelina Jolie for instance on her role as a Goodwill Ambassador for the United Nations.  Because of her role, not to mention numerous adoptions, world issues and UN work became a household name.  

With Kal Penn in the White House, there is no telling what that can do for public interest in DC politics.  

His role with the Office of Public Liaison will make Kal one of the major faces coming from the White House.  

Not only does he have the name recognition, but he also has the “cool” factor that teens and those in people in there 20s like.  

His celebrity status will help draw those who are not really into politics to become more interested in what is going on The Hill.  

He could help keep the momentum of youth involvement going outside of the election year.  

With an economic recession and a war being fought on two fronts, the youth of America need to have a vested interest in the politics.

So while I will miss my weekly dose of Kal Penn, I know he is doing bigger and greater things up in Washington DC.  

Who knows maybe he’ll become the next Ronald Reagan or Arnold Schwarzenegger.

  — 

Rachel Steinman is currently a International Relations and History major, with a minor in Art History, at the University of Florida. She is the 2009-10 UF Model United Nations president and she hopes to enter law school in fall 2009.

 

  
 

Copyright © 2009 SashaHalima PR. All rights reserved.

 

 

 

 

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