On April 20, at the age of 98, Civil rights activist and educator, Dorothy Height left this (partially) green globe. She was the president of the National Council of Negro Women for forty years and received the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 1994. I will not pretend to know the details of her impact in the civil rights movement, but those who fought for our rights as equal citizens of this country deserve to be acknowledged and thanked for their efforts. It’s nearly impossible for anyone of the hip-hop generation - not to mention internet babies - to imagine the life of African-Americans during 1937. That’s when Dorothy Height was 25 years old and just beginning her life as a civil rights activist. Martin Luther King Jr., sparked by Rosa Parks’ refusal to give up her seat, which sparked the Montgomery bus boycott and put the civil rights movement into full gear, wouldn’t happen until, a rounded, 20 years later.

As part of Let’s Move, the campaign to end child obesity, First Lady Michelle Obama is taking on food deserts. Not dessert - as in chocolate cake and cookies. Desert - as in neighborhoods with any number of fried chicken spots, Chinese restaurants behind bullet proof glass, and corner convenience stores stocked with sodas, chips, ‘cigar wrappers’, and not much else. In short, a food desert is a place strangely absent of fresh fruit and vegetables. We’re talking areas of the country you might live in and if you have ever ventured to ‘the other side of town,’ the differences in food quality is striking. As a result, people who live in food deserts resort to eating food tagged responsible for weight gain and later in life, health problems.

After watching Michelle Obama make a guest appearance on the Food Network’s Iron Chef challenge over the weekend, it occurred to me that the Obama girls haven’t been pictured in awhile. Maybe they found their comfort zone, tucked away with school interests and whatever else White House kids get into. Kick that to the curb.

Is there any reason why president’s Weekly Addresses aren’t broadcast on TV stations every Saturday? At five minutes, it seems like a no-brainer way to keep people informed of the state of the nation. This idea was relevant for George Bush’s presidency, especially during the Iraq war, and boomerangs to the present with Barack Obama and the economy being devastated by Wall Street’s financial crisis. I do know the answer to my question, but explaining it will lead into a four page Neil Postman discourse, cross tracks to a rant about rats wearing $300 ties, and just overall shenanigans.

Legendary news anchor Walter Cronkite died today. The cause of death was listed as cerebral vascular disease. He was 92. In an era long before Tweets and blogs, Youtube and podcasts, Walter Cronkite was considered to be America’s most rusted source of news. He was the shining example of what a news anchor should be and inspired a generation of reporters. Via Twitter, NBC’s Ann Curry was quick to supply me with quotable material..“Watching Walter Cronkite cover Vietnam and the Civil Rights movement is why I became a journalist. Cronkite’s legacy includes his worry that journalism has become too soft, too vulnerable to financial interests.”

This afternoon, Sarah Palin announced that she will retire as the Governor of Alaska at the end of July. The current Lt. Governor Sean Parnell will officially take over at Alaska’s Governor’s Picnic on July 26. During the press conference in front of her home in Wasilla, Sarah Palin said since she wasn’t running for re-election she had no interest in ‘lame duck’ politics and would find another way to make positive changes for the people of Alaska.

Michelle Obama was happy during Barack Obama’s run for president. When they weren’t together on the campaign trail, Michelle would occasionally speak at another event in the state; holding it down and promoting the cause for Change. Now that Barack Obama is the Commander in Chief, The Washington Post is reporting that Michelle Obama is wondering what exactly she’s supposed to do with this First Lady thing ..

If you look around the room during President Obama’s White House meetings, you will see a few fresh, young faces. One that’s front and center every morning is Darienne Page, President Obama’s receptionist. At 27 years old, she’s already a military veteran. After high school, Darienne joined the Army, sort of a family tradition. Working as a paralegal in Iraq she took depositions at the infamous Abu Gharib prison. Lucky for her, she wasn’t involved in any of the back room shenanigans.

I was listening to a podcast last week, these business types were talking shop and one of them said Barack Obama inspired him to keep his New Year’s resolution to exercise. “Here’s a guy that’s the President of the United States, you know he has things to do and yet he finds the time to exercise for 45 minutes, every day.” On the campaign trail, especially towards the end, this miraculous time management thing of his was on display as well. He’d give a midnight rally speech and be back at it a few hours later at an early morning rally in another state. Does the guy ever sleep?

History was made yesterday. You might have heard about it: a guy named Barack Obama was sworn in as the 44th President of the United States of America. There was no way to put the moment into words. I was soaking up the sounds and images since Saturday’s Obama Express, but the inauguration ceremony was something I will always remember. Where were you when? &8592; I got that. So do you. Anyone sitting on the outside of living history has one foot in the past or is ignoring the future. Last night it was inaugural ball time.. three quick highlights.