Open letter to Obama on democracy in the Arab World

This is the best news I have read in a WHILE!

Freedom House reports that more than 80 activists and scholars of the region are calling on Obama not to abandon democracy building via an open letter to the President issued this afternoon at the Press Club.

It is an amazing (4 page long) list of signatures, really a who's who in Middle East everything and anything - individuals from ALL fields: policy groups, activist orgs, academics, journalists, state dept officials (Morton Halperin, former dir of policy planning). Very comprehensive.

Among them are Saad Eddin Ibrahim, who spoke in the Fall at a POMED (Project on Middle East Democracy) panel at GWU with academic activist Marc Lynch. While he was here he also lobbied congress to attach reform requirements to funding that goes states like Egypt, his home country where he (a democracy advocate) was imprisoned for many years.

POMED, by the way, is one of the best organizations out there advocating serious democratic reform in the region.

Obama Backs Teacher Merit Pay

Reports the Wash Post . Merit based pay is a great idea for teachers in my opinion. (I have taught for two years.)

Other things I care about that I am going to post about.

Being a DC native living in DC for the time being, there are some other local and national issues I care about that I am going to start posting about:
(I love how I wrote things like this as if people actually read my blog. Sad isn't it.)

1. The ineffective prison system in this country.
- We spend an average $29,000 on a prisoner a year
- 1 in every 31 adults (7.3 million Americans) is in jail
- Rehabilitation is a much more effective policy than imprisonment which hardens criminals
Here is the first article on this topic: Pew study in NYTimes "Study Shows High Cost of Criminal Corrections"

2. Public School/ Education reform, DC's successful charter schools and Michelle Rhee

3. DC Restaurants bc I am a connoisseur

4. This list might grow