america_kill_you_in_your_sleep

america_kill_you_in_your_sleep
Originally uploaded by ItStands

Make Poverty History - Bono

Help us win the war...On terrorism...On hopelessness...On disease.

Let's make poverty history.

What are you doing today? Invest 10 minutes in making poverty disappear, whether that's hitting the park bench for lunch with the homeless, or sponsoring a child or school struggling to survive around the world.

Every second counts. And yes, the world depends on you.

Join in our generation's greatest challenge. We need you to put a stop to this.

Text Message Security Program Works

FERRUM, VIRGINIA--26 FEB 2008:
From Katherine Porter, photography editor at Ferrum College (VA) newspaper The Iron Blade:

"Students awoke to the sound of sirens and cell phone’s going off this morning after a young, Caucasian, male was spotted with a handgun located on him.

E2campus, a mass notification system that can alert students of important information via text message, sent out its first text message to individuals signed up for the service at 7:54 a.m. saying, “Possible shooter on campus. Stay indoors. More details to come.”

“I woke up to a loud siren. Then I looked out my window and saw a bunch of cops with large guns. There were cops everywhere; on top of buildings, on the sidewalk, just everywhere. When I found out what was happening all I could think of was Virginia Tech, I couldn’t believe this was happening here,” stated Orlando Romero, a junior majoring in Political Science at the college."

"Bradley Goode, a freshman who is a resident of Bassett Hall, explained that she is glad she signed up for the E2Campus service. “Without it I would not have known what was going on. When my roommate and I heard there was a possible shooter in our dorm, we locked our door and sat on the floor. We were both really scared, but impressed with the way that Ferrum has handled the situation. No one has been hurt.” "

After recent high-profile tragedies at schools across our country, campuses are finally using technology to their advantage. First tested at Anne Arundel Community College in Maryland, E2Campus alerts students of dangerous situations via text message, E-mail, and Palm Pilot (among other mediums). This mass notification system allows school and law enforcement authorities to get word out to students more quickly--helping to save lives.

To learn more about how to bring E2Campus to your school, visit their website. If your school currently uses this system, drop us a line and let us know your opinion.

Take Back the Night

Help make the world a safer place for everyone. Help us all to feel safe at night again.

Words that Inspire: Robert F. Kennedy

Just before a scheduled speech to a crowd of supporters--mostly African-American, ironically--presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy was informed that Martin Luther King Jr. had been assassinated in Memphis, Tennessee.

The exuberant crowd did not yet know of this terrible happening, so Kennedy crumpled up the speech he had planned to give, opting instead to tell the crowd himself what had transpired that night. After delivering the news, Kennedy went on to give a passionate, ad hoc speech calling for healing and unity that has become one of the greatest speeches of the last century.

"What we need in the United States is not division; what we need in the United States is not hatred; what we need in the United States is not violence and lawlessness, but is love, and wisdom, and compassion toward one another, and a feeling of justice toward those who still suffer within our country, whether they be white or whether they be black." --Robert F. Kennedy, August 4th, 1968, Indianapolis

Louisiana Students Start Saving World

Students' program earns former president's approval - News:

From Loyola University of Louisiana's student newspaper, The Maroon, written by Katie Urbaszewski:

"It's a dynamic team: Aaron Kirsh has the financial knowledge, Nicole Kone is involved with community outreach and Elliot Sanchez has the university connections. Together, they have developed an idea for poverty alleviation in New Orleans that Bill Clinton personally recognized.

Kirsh, finance senior, Kone, English writing senior, and Sanchez, philosophy senior, are in the process of developing a loan system that will give people in the low-income bracket the opportunity to start their own businesses and earn a better salary. They should have the Loyola Microfinance Initiative entirely organized by the beginning of the fall semester, Sanchez said. Loyola will provide the money, and students will run the program.

The three seniors developed the idea during the Clinton Global Initiative, a conference at Tulane University that students from across the globe attended last month to discuss and attempt to solve global issues. Out of 700 groups, theirs was one of nine that Clinton acknowledged as noteworthy plans."

Click the link above to read about their plan and how they plan to do it!

Click here for information on the Clinton Global Initiative.

Don't wait another day to start changing the world. Really, we all need your help!

Daily Iowan TV: 'Kristin's story' about inspiring women

Daily Iowan TV: 'Kristin's story' about inspiring women - Metro

From the University of Iowa, this story about a mother who is able to take the most dire of circumstances and turn it into an inspiration to us all. Please click the link above to watch.

As Sexual Assault Victims Awareness Month comes to a close, know what the truth is. 1 in 6 women and 1 in 33 men will be sexually assaulted in their lifetime. In 2006, there were over 270,000 victims of sexual assault--in other words, someone was sexual assaulted in the United States every 2 minutes.

What's worse? 60% of sexual assaults are not reported to the police. 73% of rape victims know their assailants. And only 6% of rapists will ever spend a day in jail.

In a free society, in a peaceful society, in an intelligent society--we must do all we can to educate, police, and protect everyone in our communities from becoming victims or criminals.

(Figures and statistics from RAINN--Rape, Abuse & Incest National Network)

Gators Chomp Up Renewable Energy

The Independent Florida Alligator: News - Poll reveals UF students willing to pay extra for renewable energy


The University of Florida is taking an important step in the field of renewable energy by creating a 50-cent per credit hour fee for students each year to be used to finance sources of renewable energy at "The Swamp." Read the above link by UF student Amelia Harnish to find out more.

Whether you drive a Prius or a Porsche, we all have an equally vested interest in promoting renewable sources of energy when practical.

Don't just sit there--get a few people together and DO something about it!

SAVE YOUR SCHOOL and SAVE THE PLANET!

Going Green

...It's been a while! Like most of you, we have been incredibly busy, as well.

In light of Earth Day earlier this week, we thought we'd highlight one of the coolest sites advocating for better protection of the planet we live on:

Treehugger.com

Manly men need not be wary--no actual hugging of trees necessary to use this site. Rather, Treehugger can help you improve our environment by cutting your own carbon emissions and waste while saving you money on energy.

If you've ever wanted to get active in the great environmental wave sweeping the world, this is the place to do it!!!

Eve Carson

Today we mourn the loss of one of our own--UNC-Chapel Hill student body president Eve Carson.

An enthusiastic and vibrant senior at North Carolina, it has been said that Eve was "everything that was great about Carolina." Her accomplishments were many, but were nothing compared to the care she showed her fellow Tar Heels every day.

We would not be where we are today if not for the support and work of people like Eve Carson. And so, today, we are all Tar Heels.

If you have any stories you'd like to share about Eve Carson and how she touched your life, please post here. If you are a student and are looking for support through this difficult time, contact the Office of the Dean of Students or Counseling and Wellness Services at Chapel Hill. We are all here for you.

Voting and YOU!

In case you need a good laugh before you can vote--here it is! Thanks to the folks at DeclareYourself.com, who are also keeping the stead and trying to get everyone to vote! Visit their YouTube channel or visit their website for more hilarious clips on getting out the vote!

And remember--VOTE!!!

Headline from DeclareYourself.com:

TRIPLE TURNOUT IN IOWA

The youth turnout in Iowa more than tripled compared to the 2004 caucus from 4% to 13%! Young voters came out to support their candidates and their voices were clearly heard as Senator Obama took the lead for the Democrats and Huckabee for the Republicans.

(Hey America--KEEP UP THE GOOD WORK!)

Keeping the Vote

“Voting is a civic sacrament.” -Theodore Hesburgh

While political minds have been focused on Iowa and New Hampshire, it's time for the rest of America to get up and get a plan for voting in your own state's primary. In this day and age, voting in your state party's primary or caucus is as important as voting in the General Election.

If you're not even registered to vote--do it! If you're in the armed services, you can register to vote AND get your absentee ballot here: http://www.fvap.gov/pubs/onlinefpca.pdf. If you're not in the armed services, you can find EVERYTHING you need to know at MTV's Rock the Vote, or at your state's Secretary of State website (google it, lazy!).

It is going to take a considerable effort from the 18-24 year old demographic to effect any sort of change in this year's election, but it is already happening--a HUGE swell in youth voter turnout helped Democratic Senator Barack Obama win the state of Iowa last Thursday. The moral of the story? When you vote, people listen!

Happy New Year!

We hope that everyone had an enjoyable New Year's celebration, and is ready to welcome in 2008. We sure are--the American Leaders Organization is looking forward to an outstanding year.

We already have many great things planned. "Operation: Vote!" is already underway at the US Naval Academy, registering and requesting absentee ballots for already over 200 students. We are putting in place a program that would register every single student at each US military service academy--that would mean a drive registering over 15,000 people to vote!

On top of that, we're teaming up with Washington/Baltimore area universities to deliver much needed books and supplies to Baltimore city schools. We're putting together care packages for troops overseas. We're helping struggling communities out by partnering them with businesses who can improve their local economies.

In short, 2008 is all about "what [we] can do for our country." We hope that one of your New Year's resolutions will be to take the message of the American Leaders Organization to your school and community--together, we can make America a better place to live!

A new oath holds pretty well; but... when it is become old, and frayed out, and damaged by a dozen annual retryings of its remains, it ceases to be serviceable; any little strain will snap it. ~Mark Twain

Ten Things to Do

"What gets us into trouble is not what we don't know. It's what we know for sure that just ain't so."
--Mark Twain


The following is straight from the inner-sleeve of the film "An Inconvenient Truth"--the documentary that has brought the fight against global warming to the forefront of many Americans' lives. Visit ClimateCrisis.net to find out more on how you can help save the world, and watch "An Inconvenient Truth" for an innovative look into the future of our global environment.

Ten Things to Do
Want to do something to help stop global warming?

Change a Light
Replacing one regular light bulb with a compact fluorescent light will save 150 pounds of carbon dioxide per year.

Drive Less
Walk, bike, carpool or take metro transit more often. You'll save one pound of carbon dioxide for every mile you don't drive!

Recycle More
You can save 2400 pounds of carbon dioxide per year by recycling just half of your household waste.

Check your Tires
Keeping your tires inflated properly can improve gas mileage by more than 3%. Every gallon of gasoline saved keeps 20 pounds of carbon dioxide out of the atmosphere!

Use Less Hot Water
It takes a lot of energy to heat water. Use less hot water by installing a low-flow showerhead (350 pounds of CO2 saved per year) and washing your clothes in cold or warm water (500 pounds saved per year).

Avoid Products with a lot of Packaging
You can save 1200 pounds of carbon dioxide if you cut down your garbage by 10%.

Adjust Your Thermostat
Moving your thermostat down just 2 degrees in winter and up 2 degrees in summer could save about 2000 pounds of carbon dioxide per year.

Plant a Tree
A single tree will absorb one ton of carbon dioxide over its lifetime.

Turn off Electronic Devices
Simply turning off your television, DVD player, stereo, and computer when you're not using them will save thousands of pounds of carbon dioxide per year.

Be a part of the Solution
Learn more and get active at ClimateCrisis.net.

Future generations may well have occasion to ask themselves, "What were our parents thinking? Why didn't they wake up when they had a chance?" We have to hear that question from them, now.
--Al Gore

Operation: Vote!

Jimmy V and the 1993 ESPY Awards

"Cancer can take away all my physical ability. It cannot touch my mind; it cannot touch my heart; and it cannot touch my soul. And those three things are going to carry on forever."
-Jimmy Valvano

Jimmy Valvano is a legendary basketball coach from North Carolina State University, leading the Wolfpack to the national championship in 1983 against all odds. A graduate of Rutgers University, Valvano led a brilliant coaching and broadcasting career.

In the early 1990s, "Jimmy V" contracted a particularly devastating form of cancer. In 1993, ESPN awarded Valvano the "Arthur Ashe Courage and Humanitarian Award" at their annual ESPY awards. His acceptance speech has become legendary, as he accepted the award, announced the creation of the "V Foundation" for cancer research, and imparted passionate words of wisdom to the audience. Two months after this speech, Valvano lost his battle with cancer--but his spirit lives on today.

You can help the memory of Jimmy V live on by supporting cancer research, appreciating those who have survived the battle, and honoring those who have gone before us. The V Foundation is just one avenue in the road to curing cancer--we hope that you will do what you can to bring that cure closer to reality.

"Don't give up, don't ever give up."
-Jimmy V

Rocking the (Primary) Vote

Ballots are the rightful and peaceful successors to bullets. --Abraham Lincoln

The ignorance of one voter in a democracy impairs the security of all. --John F. Kennedy


With the Iowa caucuses and the New Hampshire primary just about a month away, it's time to make our first big-time push for voter participation in 2008! As '07 comes to a close, we embark upon one of the most exciting and important election years in the past half-century--an election that will no doubt set the course of the country for years to come.

Shortly, we will post our very own ALO-Election page, but for now, "Connecticut Bob" has a great primary calendar. Also, The Green Papers has excellent resources for everything you ever wanted to know about primaries, caucuses, and how to participate in this important process of selecting a party nominee.

If you're looking for an absentee ballot, visit http://www.fvap.gov/pubs/onlinefpca.pdf! And if you have any questions, E-mail us at AmericanLeaders@gmail.com--we've got your answers.

Happy Voting!

Pictures from last year's Poetry Slam!

Here are some pictures from last year's Poetry Slam! hosted by DC SCORES. This year's event is tonight and tomorrow night at Gallaudet University!

E V E N T I N F O R M A T I O N
Event Date	Wed 11/28/07 - Thu 11/29/07
Start Time	5:00 PM - 7:30 PM
Location	Elstad Auditorium, Gallaudet University
Address	800 Florida Avenue, NE Washington, DC
Cost	Free & Open to the Public
Contact	202-393-6999 x303

Poetry Slam!

Chris McGuire, our friend from popular youth-program DC SCORES, announces the following event:

More than 300 of the District's public elementary and middle school students will take the stage during the 10th annual citywide DC SCORES Poetry competition to vie for the coveted Golden Mic trophy. The Slam! showcases original works of poetry written and performed by students from the DC SCORES after-school program.

The DC SCORES Poetry Slam! funnels the energy and creativity of children into self-expression as a means of improving their literacy rates and raising their self-esteem. The children, ages 8 to 14, represent DC Wards 1, 2, 4, 5, 6, 7 and 8.

The 10th Annual Poetry Slam! is FREE and open to the public.

If you would like to volunteer at the event please contact VolunteerDC@americascores.org.

E V E N T I N F O R M A T I O N
Event Date	Wed 11/28/07 - Thu 11/29/07
Start Time	5:00 PM - 7:30 PM
Location	Elstad Auditorium, Gallaudet University
Address	800 Florida Avenue, NE Washington, DC
Cost	Free & Open to the Public
Contact	202-393-6999 x303

We hope that you will support the EXCELLENT work that DC SCORES is doing--making a difference in the lives of America's youth. With the help of DC SCORES, we can make the world a better place for our children by giving them options other than gangs, drugs, and violence. With a little help from soccer and creative writing, DC SCORES and you can change the world.

What is Loyalty?

The following is an editorial.

Loyalty is simply defined as devotion to a particular person or cause--and we here in America are all about it. We exercise patronage in our political system, we are die-hard sports fans, and we are fiercely loyal to our freedoms. We remember the Alamo, remember the Maine, (try to) remember our mother's birthdays.

Yet, loyalty has gotten us in quite a fix lately. Loyalty got in the way of doing the right thing in Iraq during Abu Ghraib; it got in the way of effective governance during the scandal at the Attorney General's office; and it is especially being questioned in the political arena after convicted felon Norman Hsu donated large sums of money to the Hillary Clinton campaign. In modern times, "blind loyalty" has gotten such a bad rap that, unless you are the family dog, you don't want to be described as such.

But I look around and ask, where has loyalty gotten us today? What do we have to show for it?

Well, the answer is simple: a nation. The loyalty of our founding fathers to that idea of independence, their loyalty to each other, and their loyalty to generations of Americans yet unborn allows us to sit in comfort and exercise freedoms unmatched elsewhere in the world.

Not all loyalty is created equal, however, and it should never be used to excuse or rationalize a course of action that you know is wrong. No one needs a lecture on the difference between right and wrong, but we all must look deep into our hearts to find where our true loyalties lie.

We should never be afraid to question our loyalties, and if need be, to change them. There are certain loyalties that will never change--for our President and military members, their loyalties always lie in the Constitution of the United States. However, as Mark Twain once said, "Loyalty to petrified opinions never yet broke a chain or freed a human soul in this world--and never will." If our loyalties get in the way of progress, of justice, of equality, of peace, or of human life--it is time to rethink where our efforts truly belong.

There are loyalties that I think we can all agree on: loyalty to the future of our nation; loyalty to the children of the world--their education, their well-being, and their continued safety; loyalty to end the unnecessary deaths of innocent men, women, and children everywhere; loyalty to our men and women serving in combat; loyalty to the prospects of peace above all; loyalty to a better world for us all.

For, if we are not committed to these principles, what are we doing here on Earth? Progress, justice, equality, peace, and life. Made strong by our loyalty, these principles will bring us all to a better day.