What Should Michelle Obama Wear on Inauguration Day?

Inauguration Day is right around the corner on January 20th and it's almost time for Michelle to pick what she will wear. Take a look at the some of the front runners below and tell us what you think she should wear.

poll by twiigs.com

And You Think Your School Is Expensive?

Michelle Obama toured around the Capitol this week to find the perfect school for 10-year-old Malia and seven-year-old Sasha to attend. Take a look at some of the top contenders below and you will notice that there is no budget when it comes to a White House education.

Georgetown Day School

This school is housed on two seperate campuses and enrolls students from Pre-K to High School. Its mission is to "encourage our students to wonder, to inquire, and to be self-reliant, laying the foundation for a lifelong love of learning." The cost? More than $27,000 a year.







Maret School

The Maret school is located in the heart of D.C. and houses K-12 all on one campus. The school was founded in 1911 and prides itself on being "organic, fluid, not limited to clocks, schedules, and facilities." Tuition here will run about $26,000 a year.






Sidwell Friends School

Based entirely on Quaker values, Sidwell Friends School is where Chelsea Clinton attended while her father was in office. Their philosophy: "Above all, we seek to be a school that nurtures a genuine love of learning and teaches students "to let their lives speak." This is the most expensive of the three school, running about $29,000 a year.

Breaking News: Bush, Obama will meet with former presidents

Caption: Red, white, and blue potato chips?

Just minutes ago, CNN got confirmation from White House Press Secretary Dana Perino that President Bush and President-Elect Barack Obama will meet again for another post-election transfer-of-power discussion. The pow wow is set for January 7. But this time, they've invited a few more guests to the party.

"President Bush will host a lunch for President-elect Obama and former Presidents Carter, Clinton, and Bush," White House Press Secretary Dana Perino told CNN.

The idea to include all the living former presidents was Obama's -- he proposed it to President Bush at their last meeting on November 10, and Mr. Bush quickly agreed.

Perino said the White House would release additional details about the meeting as the date nears. I guess we'll just have to wait to hear what kind of finger sandwiches are served at a meeting of five U.S. presidents. Do I hear red, white, and blue potato chips?

We won't need to wait for the outcome of the meeting, or even for Obama to take power and his policies to go into effect -- Time Magazine has already named him the 2008 Person of the Year.

But Obama isn't chalking one down in the victory column just yet. Here's a few of the tough questions he's going to judge his presidency on:

"Have we helped this economy recover from what is the worst financial crisis since the Great Depression? Have we instituted financial regulations and rules of the road that assure this kind of crisis doesn't occur again? Have we created jobs that pay well and allow families to support themselves? Have we made significant progress on reducing the cost of health care and expanding coverage? Have we begun what will probably be a decade-long project to shift America to a new energy economy? Have we begun what may be an even longer project of revitalizing our public-school systems?" he said in an interview with Time.

Sounds like a pretty tough checklist to me. He might want to consider an extra helping of my "Freedom Chips."

Obama announced that he will be appointing Nobel Prize winner Steven Chu as Secretary of the department of energy. Obama spoke to reporters in Chicago minutes ago and CNN picked up the story shortly after that. Obama hinted at this nomination last week when he It is expected that Lisa Jackson will be nominated as the ambassador of the Environmental Protection Agency later this week. But much of this has been overshadowed by the controversy surrounding Blagojevich who returned to work today despite calls for his resignation.


Below is a video of Chu at last weeks National Energy Summit.

Obama's Cabinet is Taking Shape--See Who Made the Cut...

Secretary of Education Still Unpicked

As the US school system fails, reformers and teachers' unions are looking forward to whom Obama will name as Secretary of Education. Reformers like that Obama mentioned that a teacher's salary should correlate with students' achievement. However, Obama has also said salary should not just be based on test scores, which the teachers' unions support. He has artfully appeased both sides throughout his campaign, but now the real decisions must be made. Who will Obama pick as Secretary of Education?

There is the safe choice of picking a governor, the more eye-brow raising choice of picking someone who enjoys causing tension, and there is the likely choice of picking someone with whom Obama is friends.

There are many contenders for the yet-to-be-filled position in Obama's cabinet, but each come with their ups and downs. At the crux of the failing education system is the No Child Left Behind Act and making sure schools achieve certain test scores. For college students, even Teach for America, which matches graduates with a struggling school for two years, has been criticized.

Below is a list of possible choices:

1. Arne Duncan - Chief of Chicago Schools
Good: plays basketball with Obama, toured Chicago schools with Obama, fellow Harvard alumnus, signed bills for reformers and unions, friend of the teachers' unions; helps failing Chicago schools; pay teachers for performance

Controversy: not much really; appeases both sides and is bound to upset one of them

2. Joel Klein - Chancellor of New York City's Department of Education
Good: oversees nation's largest public school system, wants more teaching/ performance accountability

Controversy: known to cause tension

3. Linda Darling-Hammond - Stanford University Professor
Good: on Obama transition team - head of education

Controversy: Reformists don't like her because she criticized the No Child Left Behind act and Teach for America

4. Kathleen Sebelius - Governor of Kansas
Good: campaigned for Obama

Controversy: remove herself from being considered for the cabinet because of Kansas' budget crisis

For more read the Huffington Post article.

"Obama-nomics": College Edition

So I got an e-mail the other day from FastWeb, which normally provides information about scholarships and internships but sends out the occasional newsletter.  This edition was all about President-elect Barack Obama and how his presidency will affect our "Virgin Voters" (although hopefully there aren't too many of you left out there after this monumental election).  Here's a summary, since you have to have a subscription to access many of the articles.

Obama has been repeatedly likened to JFK for his charisma and charm, but in revamping the Fireside Chat, he now draws allusion to another abbreviated president-- FDR.  Have a look at his chat on education.

No matter what your political leanings, there's no denying that Obama is a definite favorite among the youth of America... and that's exactly to whom he is speaking!

Another huge issue for college students is financial aid.  So here's a brief overview of what Obama plans to do for all us starving college students:

"American Opportunity Tax Grant 

Under Obama's American Opportunity Tax Grant, all Americans will receive $4,000, fully refundable, for their college education. This amount actually covers 2/3 of a first year at a public university and one whole year in community college costs. But you don't just get $4K for going to college; there is a 100 hours community service requirement.

Simplify the FAFSA
Insert huge sigh of relief. Obama proposes to replace the complicated FAFSA from with a check box on all tax forms that authorizes the use of tax information for financial aid purposes.

Early Assessment Program Funds
Some states have developed Early Assessment Programs for juniors in college. Basically, these programs assess the individual junior and determine whether he/she is prepared for college. If not, the program provides resources to get that student up to speed. Obama hopes to encourage EAP and will provide $25 million in matching funds for states that develop the programs.

Increase in Pell Grants
During his term as president, Obama hopes to maximize the Pell Grant to the amount of $5,400.

Community College Partnership Program
Conduct more analysis on types of skills and technical education that are in high demand from students and local industries
Create new associate of arts degree programs
Reward institutions that graduate more students and also increase number of transfers to four-year institutions

Student Loans
Obama hopes to eliminate the Federal Family Education Loan Program, which has a focus in private student loans and is more expensive."

source: FastWeb Resources ("Change... In Higher Education" by Katherine Knight)

For more on Obama's plan, here's another great article from Education.com.

For more help on paying for college, head on over to FastWeb to set up your account and start taking advantage of all the amazing scholarship opportunities.