Another scholarship opportunity blackstudents.com. If you are studying business, finance, economics, accounting, information technology, or the liberal arts this opportunity is for you. I’ll be posting one scholarship opportunity a week.

source

This scholarship program provides merit-based scholarships to minority students pursuing studies in business, finance, economics, accounting, information technology, or the liberal arts.

To be considered, you must be entering your senior year of college in fall 2010; be a member of a racial minority; be enrolled full-time in a four-year accredited college or university in the United States; be pursuing studies in business, finance, economics, accounting, information technology, or the liberal arts; have a minimum cumulative grade point average of 3.0 on a 4.0 scale; and be a U.S. citizen or lawful permanent resident of the United States.

The program’s goal is to remove financial barriers for students who demonstrate academic excellence and leadership potential. Recipients will be required to report other awards granted and supply their school’s financial aid award letters. Scholarship checks are sent directly to your home address, made payable to the school on your behalf. Your scholarship can be used for tuition, fees, books, and supplies.

Deadline:
November 30, 2009

Award Amount:
$10,000

Website/Contact Info:

http://sms.scholarshipamerica.org/vanguard/

On Monday October 19th, at 7pm EST / 4pm PST, Bill Cosby will be hosting a virtual town hall meeting live via Ustream. The purpose is to promote his new CD “Bill Cosby Presents the Cosnarati: State of Emergency”, which is an album of music with messages reflecting today’s most critical issues affecting young people. The 90-minute event will include a first time ever performance by Cosnarati where they will showcase a few songs from the record. Audience members will be able to tweet @BillCosby before and during the live town hall using http://www.tinyurl.com/ASKCOSBY and connect with him directly at http://twitter.com/BillCosby.

Bill Cosby is not new to saying things black people don’t always want to hear. I wrote a review about his book “Come On People” when it was published and I thought he hit on some pretty important topics. While I may not have agreed with everything he had to say, I do see where he is coming from. Being a comedian in a time when people weren’t always fond of black people, I’m sure Dr. Cosby has experienced some things we can never imagine. He’s opened the doors for a lot of actors and for that alone, his street cred in my opinion is pretty high. I applaud him for his efforts and it’ll be interesting to see how the CD is received.

I will embed the stream on my site or you can go directly to his UsreamTV site where you can chat with others who are watching.

http://www.ustream.tv/billcosby

Today, President Barack Obama will join Former President George Bush to commemorate the 20th anniversary of the vision of a thousand “Points of Light.”  A presidential forum on community service will be held at Texas A&M University’s Rudder Auditorium.  The event will honor the advances of the service movement that began 20 years ago and will celebrate the contributions of more than 4,500 Daily Point of Light Award winners. The George Bush Presidential Library Foundation will be streaming this event live at 4pm CST. For more information visit www.pointsoflight.org.

I’m a graduate of Texas A&M and I can honestly say my experience there went far beyond the classroom. I enjoyed my time in Aggieland and encourage potential college bound students to add us to their list of colleges to consider. But I also know that the red state of Texas will be “rallying the troops” to protest Obama’s arrival. I have no issue with the protesters because that’s a basic right for all American citizens. But, I have had the pleasure of attending a number of protests during my time at A&M and sometimes you run into people who don’t always display appropriate Aggie Spirit.

For those interested, A&M’s campus newspaper The Battalion will have continuous  coverage of President Obama’s visit starting at 12pm CST. The link to the site and some video reactions of A&M student a

I also thought I’d post some video of the students’ reaction to the president’s visit.

Early Friday morning around 7:31 a.m. ET, NASA is planning to crash a rocket into the moon. The collision is expected to kick up tons of moon dirt and debris that will then be scanned for signs of water ice suspected to be buried beneath the floor of a permanently shadowed crater at the lunar south pole.

If you are interested in watching the blast, you can watch it live on NASA TV at 7:30 a.m. ET. Out of curiousity, I’ll probably be up to see how it goes because I’ve always had an interest in astronomy as a kid. If it all goes according to plan, it should be pretty cool to watch. If it doesn’t then I guess that’s $79 million down the drain.

NASA Set to Dive Bomb the Moon

Here’s an opportunity for to get some scholarship money. I remember working on teams to get projects done and it can be a daunting task if you don’t have the right people. While I didn’t realize it at the time. the group projects I had to do prepared me for the corporate environment. Learning how to recognize people’s strengths and utilizing them for the benefit of the team can be the difference between a good application and one that was a waste of time creating.

Here’s more information on the Big Mobile:

What: The Big Mobile on Campus Challenge is a contest to create mobile applications. The contest encourages participants to develop innovative and creative mobile applications that enhance the student experience and improve the educational process. One grand-prize winner will receive a $10,000 scholarship presented at the EDUCAUSE Annual Conference in Denver, Colorado from November 3-6, 2009. Additionally, two runner-up winners will receive a $5,000 scholarship.

Who: Full time students and full or part time faculty and staff of accredited universities are eligible to participate. Participants can work on an application independently or with a team of up to four individuals.

How: There are three categories for the contest—mobile learning, mobile identity, and student system integration. All of these categories are meant to help participants create an application that enhances academic performance, builds campus community, and improves campus operations. The official contest registration form can be found at: http://higheredcontest.wireless.att.com

When and Where: The Big Mobile on Campus Challenge application deadline is October 15, 2009. The finalist applications are then reviewed by a panel of judges, who consider the overall concept of the application, the design implementation and quality, and the impact the application will have on the higher education community.

Okay, this is a quick last minute petition to support the American Heart Association’s Dallas Heart Walk 2009. I’ve participated in the event and think it’s a worthwhile organization to support. For those who do not know, heart disease and stroke is very prevalent in the black community and events like this help raise money for research and improving treatments to combat these diseases.

I’m sure you know someone who has high blood pressure, diabetes (sugar) or high cholesterol. The American Heart Association is dedicated to helping people learn how to control and improve their quality of life by reducing the number of deaths from coronary heart disease. If there’s anyone who’s down for that, it’s me. My dad died of a stroke at the young age of 57. His first stroke happened in his early 40s. When I do walk in Heart Walk, I do it for him and my family. I do it because I understand what heart disease and stroke can do to a family. I do it because I want to bring awareness to others who may not know how they can prevent it.

If you would like to donate, please follow the link here. Donations can be accepted at any time throughout the year. If you are interested in walking in Heart Walk, I’ve provided some information below. For additional information, you can visit the Frequently Asked Questions page on the event website.

The Dallas Heart Walk is Saturday, September 12, 2009. The Opening Ceremony starts 8:30 a.m. and the walk begins at 9:00 a.m. The Dallas Walk will start at Victory Park (at American Airlines Center), 2500 Victory Avenue, Dallas, 75219 and will take a path through downtown for a total distance of 3 miles. Parking is free at the American Airlines Center in Lot F, Lot E and the Platinum Parking Garage. If you want to take the rail, the Red and Blue Line will be running to the American Airlines Center. DART passes are available from your Heart Walk staff person in limited quantities. DART passes will be acceptable for use on the light rail, buses and the TRE.

For the curious and those who are not allowing your kids to go to school because the President is speaking tomorrow, here are the prepared remarks from the White House website. After reading it, I’m sure your opinion won’t change because the President will still encourage your student to do well in school and make their mark in society. I personally don’t see the big deal about it and I hope someone reading this post who disagrees will explain to me why they feel the way they do. If it were a Republican president, it wouldn’t both me because my four year old has yet to make up his mind about which political party he’s going to vote for when he becomes of age (slacker). And even more important, I still have time to mold his mind and show him the direction I want him to follow when it comes to politics.

I’m sure Obama is not trying to brainwash your child to become a Democrat. Believe it or not, he’s a positive role model for a lot of young kids around the world. Americans should be happy about the speech because it takes one more excuse away from those intolerant inner-city kids. I applaud the President for not backing down on giving the speech and removing the part that upset his opponents. Who knows, maybe it will inspire some kid to begin his quest to be the President. I’d like to hear what the kids have to say about the speech.

How to Watch (SOURCE)

• The President’s message will be streamed live on WhiteHouse.gov/live, and broadcast live on C-Span
• Downloadable video of the speech will be made available on this page later that day as it becomes available
• For school districts hoping to access the satellite feed, it will be available beginning at 11:00 AM (EDT) using the following coordinates:
  • Galaxy 28/Transponder 17, Slot C (9 MHz)
  • Uplink Frequency 14344.5 Horizontal
  • Downlink Frequency 12044.5 Vertical

I heard about reducetherate.org on a radio interview with Jesse Jackson. Since the deregulation of college tuition, the price of going to school has greatly increased, so a lower interest rate on school loans would help those who have to finance their education through loans. I know I could use a lower payment on my loan. But realistically, the President has a lot more on his plate to deal with right now.

If you are interested in signing the petition, you can visit the website at reducetherate.org.

This is a campaign by the Rainbow PUSH Coalition. It calls on Congress to:

• Reduce the interest rate on all student loans to 1%. If banks can borrow money at 1% or less, then so should our students.
• Extend the grace period before loan repayment begins from 6 months to 18 months for students who graduate. In these tough economic times, it takes a college graduate an average of 6 months to 1 year to find a job. The rules should reflect this reality.
• Stop penalizing schools for student loan defaults. Schools should not be penalized for students who don’t pay back their loans.
• Increase Pell Grants to cover the average yearly cost of a public 4 year institution. The real cost of college and the impact of the current financial crisis both need to be reflected in the dollar value of Pell Grants.

Before his speech with the NAACP centennial convention in New York City, President Obama spoke before another audience of African-American reporters aboard Air Force One. It was the President’s first meeting with African-American media with some of the topics covering racial disparities, health care and education. From what I could tell from the article, the meeting seemed to go well. But I wonder how satisfied the reporters were with his answers.

From the very beginning of the elections, I’ve said that a win from Obama does not mean we have overcome. There are a lot more issues facing the black community and we shouldn’t rely on President Obama to fix them all. The solution to the problems in our community is reading this post. It’s me, you and everyone else who cares about the general welfare of those in need. I’ll be the first to say it’s a hard thing to do because my life is already full of things I have to do for my own family. But even if I can sacrifice a couple of hours a month, that time can make a difference in someone’s life. It doesn’t have to be a grand all out gesture. Helping others is addictive. Once you get started, it is a hard habit to quit.

Here’s the article from CNN “President Obama on What Black America Needs”.

Okay, I dropped the ball on my monthly posts of the bills passed by the White House. But I’m back and here’s what happened from March to June. The purpose for this post is to inform you of the new laws and acts enacted by Congress and President Obama. With the advent of the Internet it’s gotten easier to watch every step our government takes. And President Obama is making some nice moves to make what they do more transparent to the American people. We elect them, so we need to make sure they are doing their job. The laws I list are posted at govtrack.us, which is a nice site for checking laws in any stage their in. As always feel free to leave any additional comments.

On Mar 20, 2009, the President signed the following bill(s) into law:
H.R. 1541: Small Business Act Temporary Extension. To provide for an additional temporary extension of programs under the Small Business Act and the Small Business Investment Act of 1958, and for other purposes.

On Mar 30, 2009, the President signed the following bill(s) into law:
H.R. 146, Omnibus Public Land Management Act of 2009. An act to designate certain land as components of the National Wilderness Preservation System, to authorize certain programs and activities in the Department of the Interior and the Department of Agriculture, and for other purposes.

On Apr 21, 2009, the President signed the following bill(s) into law:
H.R. 1388: Serve America Act. A bill entitled “The Edward M. Kennedy Serve America Act, an Act to reauthorize and reform the national service laws.”

On May 20, 2009, the President signed the following bill(s) into law:
S. 386: Fraud Enforcement and Recovery Act (FERA). An Act to improve enforcement of mortgage fraud, securities and commodities fraud, financial institution fraud, and other frauds related to Federal assistance and relief programs, for the recovery of funds lost to these frauds, and for other purposes. From the White House

S. 896: Helping Families Save Their Homes Act. A bill to prevent mortgage foreclosures and enhance mortgage credit availability. From the White House

On May 22, 2009, the President signed the following bill(s) into law:
S. 454: Weapons Systems Acquisition Reform Act. A bill to improve the organization and procedures of the Department of Defense for the acquisition of major weapon systems, and for other purposes.

H.R. 627: Credit Card Accountability, Responsibility, and Disclosure (CARD) Act of 2009. To amend the Truth in Lending Act to establish fair and transparent practices relating to the extension of credit under an open end consumer credit plan, and for other purposes. From the White House

On June 22, 2009, the President signed the following bill(s) into law:
H.R. 1256: Family Smoking Prevention and Tobacco Control Act. To protect the public health by providing the Food and Drug Administration with certain authority to regulate tobacco products, to amend title 5, United States Code, to make certain modifications in the Thrift Savings Plan, the Civil Service Retirement System, and the Federal Employees’ Retirement System, and for other purposes.