HomeAway is Saving Summer Vacations

We are officially in the season of summer; schools are getting out and summer vacation leaves are being taken, and while most families would be planning their summer vacations, this summer is a bit different than the others that have preceded for quite some time. A lot of families simply don’t have the money to take their annual summer vacations this year and while some are just scaling back expenses or dipping into savings in order to do something fun for the summer, a lot of families cannot even do that.

That is why HomeAway, the world’s leading vacation rentals marketplace, has started a movement called Save Our Summer Vacation to help literally save summer vacations by petitioning Congress to proclaim August 7th as “National Vacation Day.” In addition to working toward National Vacation Day, HomeAway is also searching for the person who is most deserving of a week-long summer vacation.

If you know that you and your family are most deserving of a week-long summer vacation and drool at the mere thought of taking a break from stress, having enough space to truly relax, recharging and reconnecting with your family and friends, and of course, traveling in style without breaking your budget, all you have to do is submit a short text, video, or photo entry explaining why you deserve to have your vacation saved by HomeAway!

I find myself thinking about what my dream vacation would be quite a bit, particularly because it has been the same dream vacation since I was in the sixth grade. Since that time, I have been dreaming of going to Italy. I have also been fascinated and intrigued about Naples, Italy and more specifically, about Mt. Vesuvius. It isn’t that I just have a fascination with volcanos, but Mt. Vesuvius has always held a special place in my heart and since the sixth grade, I have read anything and everything I could get my hands on about it, poured over documentaries of Pompeii and have looked up prices on flight and hotel arrangements on several different occasions, but of course, finances have not allowed me to make those arrangements, so hands down, my dream $10,000 summer vacation would most definitely be to visit Italy and my beloved Mt. Vesuvius; and since HomeAway Vacation Rentals has savings tips and rentals at the some of the best prices I’ve seen, they are most definitely the best people to run a movement and to give a lucky person the vacation of their dreams!

How America is Pledging to End Hunger

Just a few months ago we wrote about Share Our Strength, an organization that has seen that the multi-layered epidemic of childhood hunger. They saw the harsh reality that hunger affects 13.4 million American children and they stood up to do something about it. About three months ago they launched Pledge to End Hunger, an initiative that brought the epidemic of hunger to us and asked us what we were going to do about it. They asked us to give, volunteer, or share the word of Pledge to End Hunger and in just three months, the work that they have accomplished is astronomical.

Pledge to End Hunger has teamed up with Hum Office and Tyson Foods to successfully bring semi trucks of foods to food banks to cities all over the country.

Tyson Foods has donated more than 54 million pounds of chicken, beef, and pork–enough for approximately 216 million meals–to food banks and agencies serving local communities all around the country!

Tyson Team Members in more than 50 communities across the country have started a fund-raising program called Powering the Spirit and have raised more than $150,000 for the fight against hunger in partnership with Share Our Strength. They have also engaged high school students to help collect food for local food banks in partnership with America’s Second Harvest–the Nation’s Food Bank Network. They have teamed up with Lift Up America as well as professional and college sports teams to donate protein and bring hope to the less fortunate. Tyson has also been a first-responder on the scene with much needed protein in the aftermath of a natural disaster or other major crisis as part of their Disaster Relief. Finally, they have collaborated with organizations such as League of United Latin American Citizens (LULAC), Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCU), as well as colleges and universities associated with Tyson’s own Executive Diversity Business Council to fight hunger in communities across the country.

Pledge to End Hunger has certainly accomplished so much and has helped countless communities and families. Help support Pledge to End Hunger and spread the word about their cause and help other communities and families all across the country in need. Visit Pledge to End Hunger to give, volunteer, or share and you can even spread the word through Twitter using hashtag #HUNGERPLEDGE and also be sure to follow WomanTribune on Twitter, we’ll be tweeting some helpful information on Pledge to End Hunger as well as other great initiatives you won’t want to miss!

Carrie Prejean Now Former-Miss-California

Carrie Prejean has done pretty well for herself publicity-wise since losing the Miss USA title; what we thought would be yet another name to be plastered all over the blogosphere after her comment about being against same-sex marriage has certainly been drawn out far longer than we initially thought–And hoped. But yet again Carrie Prejean is popping up all over the internet, but not for making a bigoted comment or for topless images of her being leaked; no, this just may be the end of the road for Ms. Prejean as she has officially been dethroned.

While her comments against same-sex marriage didn’t land her in hot water with Donald Trump, directly violating her contact did.

As Miss California, USA, Carrie Prejean was under contract to make appearances on behalf of the Miss California USA organization and not only did she fail to live up to that requirement, she went one step further and decided to give the state pageant Executive Director, Keith Lewis, a piece of her mind, saying:

“She came to us and said I’m not interested in your input; I’ll make my own decision what I’m going to do.”

I don’t know about you, but it sure seems to me that someone got a bit too used to seeing her own name in print so many times, thinking that she could work for herself and didn’t need the Miss California title to ride on anymore.

But Carrie Prejean is not being fired without a fight! Her lawyer, Charles Limandri has stated that something else is lurking in the mind of Donald Trump since he states that Prejean has attended all speaking events she has been asked to do and that they have all went very well. So what story is Prejean and her lawyer going with? You guessed it, they’re claiming that she was fired over a civil rights issue, that it was because of her answer during the Miss USA pageant that cost her the Miss California title.

During a radio interview on Wednesday with Billy Bush, who was also the host of the Miss USA pageant, Prejean said that the controversy surrounding her not believing that same-sex couples should be given the fundamental civil right to marry.

“It’s just because of my answer, i think. None of this owuld be happening right now if I just said yeah, gays should get married, you’re right Perez Hilton.”

If Prejean’s lawyer is correct in stating that she had attended all speaking engagements she was under contract to do as well as any and all other events and responsibilities she had as Miss California, then she should most certainly not be fired under those grounds. If Donald Trump is revoking her title due to the fact that she publicly stated that she believes some citizens should be treated unfairly as opposed to other citizens, then I think it’s about time that he comes forward and says that; it will most likely make him a great deal more appealing to those who believe in equal rights, and how could that be a bad thing?

It has been said that runner-up Tami Farrell, who was Miss Malibu, will immediately assume the Miss California USA title and perhaps Carrie Prejean can fall into the background, like we expected her to after her Miss USA loss, anyway.

US Journalists Laura Ling & Euna Lee Sentenced to 12 Years Hard Labor in North Korea

Laura Ling and Euna Lee, US journalists that were working for Current TV, a cable and Web network co-founded by former vice president Al Gore, were detained March 17 by North Korean soldiers along the border of North Korea and China. The reporters were working on a story about North Koreans who flee the country.

The US journalists were just recently sentenced to 12 years of hard labor in a labor concentration camp in a North Korea; their sentences cannot be appealed due to the fact that in Communist North Korea, all rulings made by their highest court are final.

US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said that the charges against “these young women are absolutely without merit or foundation,” and to add to that, it seems that they were sentenced to a much harsher punishment than anyone was expecting due to the fact that the country is adament on fueling bad blood between themselves and the United States and our neighbors.

It is being speculated that Al Gore may visit North Korea to negotiate the reporters’ release, although a spokeswoman for Gore contacted by the Associated Press declined to comment on the issue.

There are believed to be about 200,000 political prisoners in North Korean concentration camps, where former inmates have reported that the conditions are often brutal, hunger is widespread, and attempts to escape typically result in public execution. Luckily (and hopefully) it is said that Ling and Lee are “very unlikely to be sent to a real prison, since there they would learn too much about things outsiders are not supposed to know.”

The GOP’s Campaign Against Sonia Sotomayor

Sonia Sotomayor was originally nominated to federal court by George Herbert Bush; a fact that Obama mentioned in his speech to nominate Sotomayor for the US Supreme Court and a fact that the entire GOP and its supporters have conveniently ignored for the sake of having something else to bitch and complain about.

The Guardian’s Scott Lemieux has put together an article on Sotomayor’s qualifications for the job she has been nominated for and has discovered that Sotomayor’s qualifications mirror those of current Justice Samuel Alito; a man who the GOP has fawned over and that John McCain wholeheartedly supports and name-dropped all over the place during the last presidential election. But given the fact that Sotomayor is obviously qualified and possesses the same qualifications of a man supported at large by the GOP, they aren’t going to let her confirmation go without a fight… And the only reason why several smear campaigns have already started against her is because she is not a white, privileged male.

Did you know that all Latina women are named Maria? Well according to Mike Huckabee, the nomination of Maria Sotomayor “will likely leave us with something akin to the “Extreme Court” that could mark a major shift” because she is so “far left.”

The appointment of Maria Sotomayor for the Supreme Court is the clearest indication yet that President Obama’s campaign promises to be a centrist and think in a bipartisan way were mere rhetoric. Sotomayor comes from the far left and will likely leave us with something akin to the “Extreme Court” that could mark a major shift. The notion that appellate court decisions are to be interpreted by the “feelings” of the judge is a direct affront of the basic premise of our judicial system that is supposed to apply the law without personal emotion. If she is confirmed, then we need to take the blindfold off Lady Justice.—

I’m sure Maria Sotomayor will be displeased to learn that Mike Huckabee is not a fan of her, but I wonder how he feels about Sonia Sotomayor… And um, Lady Justice!? I don’t think so. Does the GOP refer to Justice Alito as Mr. Justice Alito? No, I don’t think they do.

Newt Gingrich, who apparently took Meghan McCain’s advice to start Twittering, joined his fellow fraternity brothers Republican colleagues Sen. James Inhofe and Rep. Lamar Smith in calling Sotomayor racist for claiming that judicial diversity is important when determining “race and sex discrimination cases.”

So apparently Gingrich believes that an out of context remark made during a speech on race and sex discrimination cases that appeared in print in the Berkeley La Raza Law Journal in 2002 is proof that Sotomayor is a racist… Because no one knows what it’s like to be a woman of color more than a white male, right?

Karl Rove jumped on board calling Sotomayor an “intellectual lightweight,” obviously encouraged by Jeffrey Rosen’s New Republic article which allowed unnamed sources to attack Sotomayor as “not that smart” and lacking “penetrating” questions on the bench.

Because nothing shows someone’s lack of intellect than graduating summa cum laude from Princeton University as well as attending Yale Law School and holding the job of editor of the Yale Law Journal.

The attacks against Sonia Sotomayor are in bad taste and fueled by nothing less than racism and sexism… Pot calling the kettle black, anyone?

This post can also be seen on Menstrual Poetry

Obama Nominates Sonia Sotomayor for Supreme Court

Yesterday morning Obama announced his nomination of Sonia Sotomayor for Supreme Court to replace Justice Souter.

Sotomayor would become the second woman on the court, only the third female justice in the history of the Supreme Court, and the first Hispanic justice to serve on the Supreme Court.

She is obviously qualified for the job, having graduated from Princeton University summa cum laude, she attended Yale Law School, where she was an editor of the Yale Law Journal. She spent five years as a prosecutor with the Manhattan district attorney’s office before entering a private practice. She currently serves as an appeals judge for the US Court of Appeals for the 2nd Circuit, covering New York, Vermont, and Connecticut.

Even with all of her extensive experience and qualifications for the job, conservatives have already started showing us how rocky the road to her confirmation will be, calling her a “judicial activist”

Conservatives argue Sotomayor has a “hard-left record” and believes that judges should consider experiences of women and minorities in their decision-making.

Here is President Obama’s introduction of Sonia Sotomayor:

And here is her speech:

This is great news for both gender and race equality; let’s just hope that the road to her confirmation doesn’t get too ugly.

America’s Obsession with Michelle Obama’s Arms

Since before Barack Obama won the presidency and was campaigning for the chance to be America’s 44th President, America has been obsessed with Michelle Obama’s “right to bare arms.” We saw political analysts, news anchors, professional and respected journalists and of course, fashion magazines and celebrity media outlets talk about Michelle Obama’s fashion choices and most of all, why a lot of her fashion choices are missing sleeves.

Since the Obamas have been in the White House, this frenzy over Michelle Obama’s arms has only grew. But why? Does it really matter whether Michelle Obama wears dresses with sleeves or without? Are we really that bored that we have nothing else to do but obsess over why a stylists won’t tell this woman to get some cardigan sweaters with really, really long sleeves? Will her arms just not fit into sleeves because they are that toned and defined? Actually, a recent poll showed that we really don’t care. The Michelle Obama bare arms controversy just doesn’t rank that high up on our stories of interest meters. But that isn’t stopping the media from bringing the story up again and again.

Sarah Haskins who does the Target Women segments for Current recently put out a hilarious video on ‘Obama Arms.’ Check it out below:

Mustard Too “Fancy” for the Right?

Perhaps it is because there is a Democrat in the White House again; perhaps it’s because Barack Obama is doing an exceptional job in office thus far; or perhaps world peace has finally become something attainable… Whatever it is, the right’s most recent attack on President Obama has absolutely nothing to do with his policies, his speeches, nor his action in office, it has to do with mustard.

Well, President Obama and Vice President Biden made a trip to Arlington, VA and stopped in a local burger joint for a bite to eat. When ordering their burgers, Obama asked for Dijon mustard on his burger; no ketchup. Ordering a burger sans ketchup, according to Laura Ingraham, means Obama is not a real man because only real men like ketchup on their burgers! According to Sean Hannity, Dijon mustard is just too fancy for the average person and anything it touches is magically turned into a fancy feast of greatness… Yes, even when it comes to burgers.

Why has a condiment made the right so upset? Well, I think it has something to do with all of the right wing commentators being so bored with everything else going on in the world that they spent some time on a huge conference call with each other, pumping each other up in order for them to get so mad in the first place that Obama simply prefers one condiment over the other on his burger.

I cannot even believe that I am sitting here, writing a post on presidency and Dijon mustard. I wonder how Bush likes his fish; I hear tartar sauce is the approved condiment of choice by the American people.

Win a Weekend Getaway or Week-Long Vacation to Kissimmee

Everyone has heard the saying that the best things in life are free, and now a vacation in Kissimmee could be yours for free, too. Kissimmee is giving away three weekend getaways (3 days, 2 nights) to two lucky winners as well as two week-long vacations to four lucky winners as part of their Kissimmee Freedom Sweepstakes.

This could be a great opportunity to take that family vacation you’ve been saving up for, or a time to take that romantic getaway for two that you’ve been hoping to take with your partner for far too long. This is especially a great opportunity in this economy, when families are worried about saving money and certainly do not have the financial stability to take a vacation.

Kissimmee has everything you need to take the vacation of your dreams. It offers theme parks, great restaurants, shows, and a beautiful historic downtown area complete with great shops and boutiques. It also offers wilderness preserves just waiting to be taken in by you and your family. No matter what your tastes or what you envision when you think of the ultimate vacation, you will find it in Kissimmee.

Be sure to enter the Kissimmee Freedom Sweepstakes for your chance to go on the vacation of your dreams. Drawings will be held on May 1, 2009 and June 1, 2009 just in time for summer!

How the White House Celebrated Easter

The White House was definitely the place to be last Easter Sunday; over 30,000 people and a handful of Easter bunnies gathered to join the first family to participate in the annual White House Easter Egg Roll. The White House boiled and dyed 13,000 eggs for the event and all children under 10 received a wooden egg souvenir.

The Obama family is also using the Easter Egg Roll, a tradition dating back to 1878, as a chance to demonstrate healthy living, adding yoga classes for children, dance workshops, basketball games, and other physical activities to the itinerary. Children were also treated to a performance by Fergie and a reading of Where the Wild Things Are, read by the president himself.

This is the first year that tickets to the annual White House Easter Egg Roll were administered to interested parties online; yet another demonstration of how the current first family is benefiting from advances in technology.

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