Our president is a compassionate father, and his eloquent, passionate letter to his daughters espouses that. Via the letter, he sent a message to America when he shared what he wants for Malia and Sasha – and every child in America.

The letter sings with sincerity, and we can surmise that letter isn’t for publicity sake, as some detractors have said. It makes it clear that his journey to the White House is for a higher calling: truth, justice and equality for all.

PARADE Magazine asked Obama to write a letter to his daughters, which ran two days before he was sworn-in as the nation’s 44th president. It was a brilliant idea because Obama shared a private, personal side of himself with us.

He talked about why he ran for president: “I realized that my own life wouldn’t count for much unless I was able to ensure that you had every opportunity for happiness and fulfillment in yours.” He also extended that hope for opportunity to all American children.

“I want all children to go to schools worthy of their potential – schools that challenge them, inspire them, and instill in them a sense of wonder about the world around them. And I want them to get good jobs that pay well and give them benefits like health care, jobs that let them spend time with their own kids and retire with dignity.”

He spoke about the importance of technology and told them about the “obligation to one’s self” to improve the world by correcting its wrongs. “Because it is only when you hitch your wagon to something larger than yourself that you will realize your true potential.”

All of America can grab the torch and join our president to fulfill his hopes and aspirations. The lessons can apply to American adults, too, because it might inspire them to strive harder for the sake of their children.

It is an inspirational and provocative letter that his daughters and others can cherish always.

– Joyce E.

The battle of the bulge is a beast that destroys health and self-esteem. Oprah Winfrey and I along with millions of Americans – children and adults – feel the pain every day.

When I learned about Oprah’s plight of regaining 40 pounds that she struggled so hard to lose, I said, “Oh, no.” When I learned that she now weighs 200 pounds, I said, “I’d kill to weigh 200 again.” I’ve been trying to break 200 for 25 years and have lost an aggregate of 200-plus pounds only to regain it.  Last year, I managed to lose 70 pounds, and I’m down to 270 after a lengthy and arduous weight war.

I’ve tried everything, including hypnosis 25 years ago when I lost 60 pounds. No matter what I’ve done, the weight eventually came back. I, along with Oprah, and others are locked into this recurring drama.

Being overweight is troublesome, but obesity, that complex chronic disease, is alarming. Obesity is the leading cause of preventable death in the United States, reports the American Obesity Association.

Obesity in the U.S. has reached a milestone. The National Center for Health Statistics states that more people are obese than overweight. The statistics center released stats Sunday that show 34 percent, or 72 million adults, were obese; 32.7 percent were overweight; and 6 percent were morbidly obese, according to a survey in 2005-06. The center is part of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

I fit into the morbidly obese category because I have a Body Mass Index of 47 based on 5-3 height and 270 pounds; Oprah’s BMI is 32.3 based on a 5-6 height and 200 pounds. The BMI is a measure of body fat based on one’s height and weight. According to the CDC web site: an adult BMI below 18.5 is underweight; 18.5 to 24.9 is normal, or a healthy weight; 25.0 to 29.9 is overweight; and above 30.0 is obese.

Sometimes there’s more to weight gain than simply eating more calories than we burn. According to the National Institute of Mental Health, studies have found that obesity is associated with increasing rates of major depression, bipolar disorder, panic and other disorders. These issues along with thyroid problems, like Oprah has, and eating disorders — such as bulimia, compulsive overeating, and emotional eating — compound the problem.

It’s obvious that weight gain is attributed to something other than lack of will power. Obesity is the symptom than spawns deadly consequences. A holistic approach is needed to combat obesity. There’s really no magic pill to take it off and keep it off. Weight-loss surgery has its own set of risks, but for many those risk pale in comparison to the risks of obesity. Whatever the strategy, it’s a struggle that Oprah and the rest of us sad souls must strive to win.

For too many of us, our lives depend on it.

– Joyce E.

Sandwiched between the countdown for President-elect Barack Obama to assume office and the controversy surrounding the seating of Roland Burris in the U.S. Senate, some may have noticed that the Colorado General Assembly was making a little history of its own.

With the swearing-in Wednesday of Terrance Carroll as speaker of the state House of Representatives, the legislature is the first to have blacks head both chambers. Senate President Peter Groff was first elected to his position a year ago.

When I saw the story on CNN Wednesday, I smiled. I didn’t jump up and down. I just smiled.

This happened in a legislature, according to published reports, in which Carroll and Groff are the only black legislators and in a state with a black population of about 4 percent.

“Americans have sent a clear message to their political leaders: We don’t care where you come from, what color your skin is, or what party you belong to. We care only how you can move us forward,” Carroll said.

I hope Carroll is right.

These are very hard times and we need the best and brightest to guide us through a very vexing and growing minefield. Too many people have lost jobs, financial security and trust in our institutions. We don’t have time to waste on politics and business as usual.

Obama, Carroll, Groff and their contemporaries are proof of changing times, and the fruit of the efforts of  predecessors  who fought in various ways to get a collective foot in the door of opportunity. Unfortunately not everyone is sharing in those fruits.

“What makes America great is that the fabric of our community is sewn together by a single thread. That thread is called opportunity,” Carroll told his colleagues Wednesday.

We still have much work to do to make sure that thread of opportunity stays strong and continues to grow.

– Vivian D

Roland Burris should have just said “No thank you” to that Senate-seat appointment by Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich. But there he was this week standing before the U.S. Senate, which closed the door on Burris.

But after meeting with Senate leadership on Wednesday, Burris now believes  the Senate will seat him soon. A resolution of this problem would be welcomed because the country has too many catastrophes to wrestle with.

The investigation of Blagojevich allegedly trying to sell President-elect Barack Obama’s Senate seat will be a long process.

Burris believes along with the governor that the people of Illinois need that second seat to be filled. The swirl of controversy is a sad sign of the times and an unfortunate distraction. Even if Burris is seated, he’ll have to run in 2010 in a crowded field of opponents.

For now, it bodes well to be rid of this Senate-seat complication.

– Joyce E.

I told everybody so. As one who hates to say, “I told you so,” I cannot resist it now.
In the ‘90s, women on welfare were considered tax burdens and reforms were touted to save taxpayers money, but left corporate welfare untouched.
Little or no attention was paid to the fact that these women spent their money and helped stimulate the economy. And they had social workers to keep score. But, it was called wasteful spending.
Now some of these corporate types are stepping up to beg for a chunk of that $700 billion taxpayer-funded bailout without any accountability. Those early handouts to AIG, and the like, haven’t trickled down anywhere. Average people have got to be saying that poor people don’t matter since government tripped all over itself to bail out these wasteful spenders, some of whom had lavish retreats and were paid exorbitant bonuses
Taxpayers were jubilant about welfare reform because they didn’t want to help poor women, but these wealthy corporations and Wall Street are sinking the economy. Let’s hope that we’ll get corporate welfare reform with strings attached before these giants
bankrupt the country.

– Joyce E.