In the year-long battle for health care reform, President Barack Obama has lobbied, compromised, implored, and negotiated with members of Congress, getting mixed results.

So this week, as crucial votes in the House of Representatives loom, Obama is using the most powerful weapon in his arsenal-- his ability to speak directly to people -- to get the final push he needs to make health care reform a reality.

In a seniors' recreation center in Strongsville, Ohio, outside of Cleveland, Obama got personal with the audience, telling the story of how a self-employed wash woman named Natoma Canfield was being financially battered with spiraling health care costs and a recent cancer diagnosis.

The Texas State Board of Education apparently doesn't believe that hip hop should be considered a social movement in America. They also decided to remove various areas of civil rights and global politics from their curriculum, to exchange them for conservative historic figures and beliefs.

After deciding that hip hop should not be taught as a social movement, they also agreed to remove institutional racism and it's presence in American society. To make matters more interesting, they chose to eliminate important references to Latino and Hispanic figures.

Most of you remember Rev. Jeremiah Wright, the pastor thrust out in to the media during the historic presidential campaign of Barack Obama. Unfortunately, millions of Americans only know Wright from a few soundbites, as well as the incredibly biased news coverage presented by Fox News. This is unfortunate. Most people who know the history of Jeremiah Wright would realize that he is an outstanding scholar and has engaged in courageous activism for the last 40 years. He deserves every bit as much respect for his accomplishments as President Barack Obama. Wait, scratch that - Jeremiah Wright deserves MORE respect for his accomplishments than President Obama. I stand by that statement, since Wright was fighting for black folks when President Obama was in diapers.

Lesbian Air Force Sergeant Jene Newsome was a poster child for how the "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" policy is supposed to work in the U.S. armed forces.

She didn't disclose her sexuality, and she had no problems - until officers from the Rapid City, South Dakota, police department discovered her sexual orientation. They told military officials she was gay, and now Newsome is without her military career.

Newsome and the ACLU have filed complaints against the police, claiming they violated her right to privacy when they informed the military about Newsome's sexual orientation after seeing a copy of her marriage certificate in her home. Police were at the home in search of Newsome's partner, who was wanted on theft charges in Alaska.

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi pushed back aggressively in response to Sen. Richard Durbin's statement that he will work hard to pass a public option, should the House include it in a package of "fixes" for the upcoming health care reform reconciliation process. In a statement to the Progressive Change Campaign Committee, a Durbin spokesman said Friday morning, "I want to be crystal-clear: Senator Durbin and the rest of the Senate leadership will be aggressively whipping for the public option, if it is included in the reconciliation bill the House sends over." The PCCC has secured commitments from 41 Democratic senators to vote for a public option if it comes up for a vote in the reconciliation process. That would be far fewer votes than necessary for passage using any legislative process. When asked during her weekly press conference Friday if she will include the public option in her legislation, Pelosi reminded reporters that she has always wanted to create a single-payer health care system. Short of that, she said she fought for and passed a public option when it came up for a vote last year. But Senate Democrats failed to include the public option, or government-run health insurer, in its bill, and President Obama never pushed to include it in either piece of legislation.

Source: Politics Daily

Kevin Eason is a freelance editorial cartoonist and Illustrator from New Jersey . His brand of satire covers news events in politics, entertainment, sports and much more. Learn more about the artist at kevineasoncartoon.com

Mobley, 26, had mostly low-level jobs, hauling trash and other materials and constructing scaffolding for contractors at plants in New Jersey, Pennsylvania and Maryland from 2002 to 2008.

Mobley is a U.S. citizen, originally from Somalia, and has passed criminal background, drug testing, psychological and identity testing prior to getting work at the nuclear plants.

A Muslim who grew up in Buena, N.J., Mobley was among 11 al-Qaida suspects arrested earlier this month in Yemen. Officials there said that while on a hospital visit, Mobley snatched a gun and shot a security guard to death in an escape attempt from the hospital.

Academy Award–nominee Gabourey Sidibe has folks buzzing, but not about her newfound screen success as the star of "Precious." Instead, tongues are wagging about the young woman's dire need to shed quite a few pounds.