Obama went On The View Today. But he has been in the view for a while now. he has received a lot of criticism for his relationship with Reverend Jeremiah Wright. But he has also received praise for his “A More Perfect Union” speech on race in America, which has even been compared to the speeches of Martin Luther King. Let’s look at the speeches of King and Obama. Are they similar? You be the judge.

Watch the videos below. Are you inspired? Then . Did you know that Martin Luther King said “Of all the forms of inequality, injustice in healthcare is the most shocking and inhumane.” So to continue King’s legacy and fight for Healthcare Now. Sign this petition for HR 676, guaranteeing non-profit Medicare for all.

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Things heated up on “The View” this week when Whoopi and Elisabeth had a little verbal tete-a-tete over the subject of racism in America. The discussion was prompted by a mention of pastor Jeremiah Wright, and also Obama’s recent comments about his grandmother being a “typical white person.” The Huffington Post reported on the episode earlier in the week:

Whoopi declared, “This is a racist country,” and told Elisabeth that she, like Obama’s grandmother, would be scared if she saw six young black men standing on a corner. Elisabeth, for her part, denied that this would alarm her and demanded (in harsh tones and with exaggerated hand gestures) that someone “write [her] the rules on racism.

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Scenarios USA is an awesome non-profit that asks teens to write about what’s real to them. Their “What’s the REAL DEAL” contest takes all kinds of writings form teens, stories, plays, poetry and scripts all related to a specific real topic and picks the top 3 and turns them into movies directed by real working directors.

The winners of the “What’s the REAL DEAL about Masculinity?” have just been announced and the projects sound great….

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I love discovering new networks of folks using their creative powers for good like Paradigm Shift. This monthly gathering of feminists celebrates themselves through literary and artistic expression in New York City. Paradigm Shift strives to foster a thriving and active feminist community with the purpose of self-expression, creating a shift in social, political, and economic consciousness. They sell art online, and host an open mic which includes musical performances, poetry, and more, with feminist themes (and they have a gorgeous logo).

Their next open mic is tonight March 28th at Think Coffee in NYC with the theme From Violence to Empowerment. featuring the NYC Radical Cheerleaders, an anarcho-feminist performance/activist group working to fight injustice in its many forms. All the details are at paradigmshiftnyc.com.

So go on New Yorkers and by joining the Paradigm Shift NYC network.

GUANTANAMO BAY, CUBA — Under gray skies all but obscured by an opaque canopy and high concrete walls topped with razor wire, two bearded young men in tan tunics are having “rec time” inside separate chain-link pens. One jogs frenziedly back and forth in the 30-foot enclosure; the other is curled like a fetus at the base of a cement block.

It’s a dreary winter afternoon, but the scene could be any time of the day or night. The hour for rec time is one of the few unpredictable features in a day in the life of a detainee. [LA Times]

That’s just an excerpt from a great article in today’s LA Times that traces a day in a Guantanamo detainee’s life. The article goes on to detail the schedule of someone who is in the prison starting with their 5am reveille and their end of a day which is signaled at 10 p.m. by the arrival of the bedsheet. But don’t think this means lights out - prisoners have to sleep with the lights on, many growing their hair long to try and cover their eyes with it.

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Check out People.com for actress Natalie Portman’s 30-second public-service announcement encouraging people to get out and vote. In the video Portman says “voting is our most powerful weapon.”

Right on Natalie!

Portman’s non-partisan PSA focuses on the importance of participating in the democratic process. In conjunction with the new documentary Chicago 10, about protesters at the 1968 Democratic National Convention, the PSA directs viewers to our site, Takepart.com. So and join Takepart’s network and voice your political views and concerns on the forum.

Jayci Yaeger died this morning of brain cancer. She was 10-years-old and had been diagnosed with brain cancer at the age of 3. But cancer wasn’t the only battle this young girl had to fight. Thanks to the “justice” of our criminal justice system, Jayci and her family spent the last month of her life battling with a warden over Jayci’s right to spend the last dies of her 10-year-long life with her father. Jason Yaeger is serving the final year of a five-year sentence for a drug conviction in a minimum security prison camp in South Dakota, a 3½-hour drive from his daughter who was in a Lincoln, Nebraska. And Yaeger had the nerve to ask for a furlough or transfer to a halfway house so he could be closer to his terminally ill daughter. But luckily, the Warden, JD Whitehead, who sits on the board of the United Way, denied the request because he followed the law, which only allows transfers under “extraordinary” circumstances. And there is obviously no extraordinary circumstance in this story. Nothing to see here folks, just a girl dying of cancer who wants to see her dad. Just a guy who is getting out of jail in August, who wants to see his daughter before she dies. Keep it moving folks.

Seriously, who do these Yaegers think they are? And where do they think they live? In America? In a democracy? In the land of the free?

Mr. Warden Whitehead, I hope you’re reading this. I want to commend you for not caving into Jason Yaeger’s request for handouts.

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Since the premiere of “Brother Outsider” at the Sundance Film Festival, millions of people have been introduced to Bayard Rustin, who until now has remained somewhat of an unsung hero of the civil rights movement.

“Brother Outsider” is a film about the life of Bayard Rustin, a mentor to Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and one of the major architects of the 1963 March on Washington. His pioneering activist spirit penetrated his personal life as well, as he was an openly gay man in the 1940s, 1950s and 1960s. The film takes a many-sided approach to Rustin’s life, recreating a chronological and thematic portrait of his 60-year activist career through the use of traditional documentary and interview techniques. Historical research for the film was done by examining Rustin’s personal correspondence, papers, letters, archival footage, government propaganda films, stills, and paintings.

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The TakePart Top 10 Weekly Roundup is a compilation of the week’s most notable stories from our entertainment-meets-social-action blogging network. We brought you some excellent top 10 lists this week on art, technology, director Errol Morris, and naughty celebs who should rethink their eco-lifestyles. Don’t forget to catch up with some of our other most popular articles of the week, as well as a few TakePart blogger favorites.

Katie:

Bush’s War: PBS Frontline Brings the War to a Computer Near You

Inverted Areola, Asymmetrical Breasts, & the Miss Bimbo Game

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Nicole:

Where the Wild Things Are: Top 10 Art Blogs

Dark Water: Artist Explores Consequences of Three Gorges Dam Project

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Giulia:

A Pregnant Man?

Is the Lebron / Gisele Vogue Cover Racist?

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Gina:

Top 10 Technology Blogs

Errol Morris’ Top 10 Films

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Kerry:

Top 10 Celebrities Who Need a New Cause

Dead Bats Flying: Mysterious Fatal Illness Alarms Scientists

Actors Courteney Cox and David Arquette, have co-designed a necklace with a butterfly, a symbol for hope and freedom, etched onto a small silver pendant, to benefit the Epidermolysis Bullosa Medical Research Foundation (EBMRF). The necklace on sale at SATYA boutique in New York and online at www.satyajewelry.com

Epidermolysis Bullosa (EB) is a genetic condition that causes skin and linings to break and blister at the slightest touch. Sufferers battle daily with fluid loss and infection of the open wounds. In worst cases, they’ll die of skin cancer before the age of 40, many in infancy.

This rare skin disease is affecting someone near and dear to both David and Courteney prompting them to get involved with EBMRF. and buy the necklace for yourself or as a gift, it not only looks good but it’s for a good cause.