As the Haiti begins to cope with the aftermath of the devastating earthquake, people around the world  seek ways to help the nation rebuild and recover.  Governments will play a sizable role in this venture, but it will be up to private citizens, NGO’s, and businesses to carry the fight to the finish line. 

On January 27^th, The Common Good held a discussion with entrepreneur-turned-philanthropist Bobby Sager, to hear how private citizens can impact situations from Haiti to Afghanistan and beyond. 

The discussion with Bobby Sager continued The Common Good’s Advocates & Activists Series.   Bobby Sager, the real life inspiration for the television show, The Philanthropist, spoke from personal experience how to be a champion of these methods and how individuals in the private sector can make an enormous difference.   This event was uniquely inspirational.

On January, 18, 2010, people of all ages and backgrounds will come together to improve lives, bridge social barriers, and move our nation closer to the “Beloved Community” that Dr. King envisioned. Dr. Martin Luther King devoted his life’s work to causes of equality and social justice…. He taught that through nonviolence and service to one another, problems such as hunger and homelessness, prejudice and discrimination can be overcome. Dr. King’s teachings can continue to guide us in addressing our nation’s most pressing needs—poverty, economic insecurity, job loss and education.

Volunteer with Americans across the nation on the 2010 King Day of Service and make a real difference in your community.

More Information On MLK Jr. Day of Service

As the world has seen in countless alarming newscasts, the devastation caused in Haiti by the magnitude 7.0 earthquake two days ago is nearly unimaginable.  Prior to the earthquake the Haiti was in dire shape; now its capitol and main urban center, Port-au-Prince, has been almost completely destroyed.  We’re only beginning to get a real sense of how far and deep are the loss of life, lack of shelter and damage to basic communication, infrastructure, and internal aid services by the disaster.

The people of Haiti now more than ever are in need of our help. We are encouraging everyone to make a donation to support the humanitarian relief effort.  Below please find links to several organizations which already have efforts under way.  You may also use your mobile phone to donate by texting “Haiti” to 90999 right now from your mobile phone and give $10 to the American Red Cross.  Please make a donation today and ask your friends to join you by forwarding them this message. 
Please click on the each of the following lines to connect immediately to select charities and NGOs responding to the disaster:

Red Cross;  CARE;  International Rescue Committee; UNICEF;  Salvation Army;  Haitian Health Foundation; Doctors Without Borders

Daniel Ellsberg, the man who altered the history of the Vietnam War with the release of the Pentagon Papers was on hand for a screening of the condensed version of the award-winning documentary, The Most Dangerous Man in America, Daniel Ellsberg and the Pentagon Papers and for a lively Q&A for The Common Good.  Also with us, the film’s producers, Judith Ehrlich and Rick Goldsmith for our discussion as a continuation of our Advocates and Activists Series.

The film is a riveting look at a defining moment in American history when, Daniel Ellsberg, then a RAND Corporation employee and a Pentagon analyst, made the decision at great risk to his own life and liberty to release the classified report exposing details of U.S. involvement in Vietnam to the New York Times and other newspapers.  The Pentagon Papers revealed that the government had knowledge, early on, that the war would not likely be won, and that continuing the war would lead to many more casualties than was admitted publicly.  The film dramatically portrays the importance of courage and commitment of just one individual for survival of our democracy.

“Riveting! A straight-ahead, enthralling story of moral courage. This story changed the world.”    New York Magazine 

“Detailed, clearly told, persuasive.”   The New York Times

Cory Booker, the charismatic mayor of Newark, is often cited as a rising leader in American politics.   Booker’s background of achievement and a dynamic leadership style has created high expectations and at TCG’s event with the Mayor he lived up to his reputation — inspiring, smart and energetic.  

Booker, a Rhodes Scholar, earned undergraduate and graduate degrees at Stanford University, studied at Oxford College, received a law degree from Yale, and played varsity football.  He was active as a community organizer while at these various schools and later in Newark.  Booker won an upset victory when elected to the Newark Municipal Council and started taking on issues such as housing, law and order, transparency and efficiency in City Hall with a fervor and an unconventional approach that was all his own.  He ran a heated campaign against Sharpe James for Mayor in 2002 but lost.  Undeterred, he ran against Ronald Rice and took victory with an overwhelming percentage of the vote in 2006. 

Booker has since taken on some of Newark’s toughest issues of corruption, education and crime, and even survived an assassination plot by gang members.  Cory Booker provides a new and exciting era of leadership. 

Today a permanent Washington class — members of Congress, lobbyists, journalists, bureaucrats — exercise  a pervasive degree of concentrated power that would terrify the Founders(federalists and anti-federalists alike).  According to Carl Bernstein, this stultifying fact is perhaps President Obama’s greatest challenge and obstacle to national progress.
 
Carl Bernstein shared a Pulitzer Prize with Bob Woodward for his coverage of Watergate for The Washington Post. His most recent book is the acclaimed biography, A Woman in Charge: The Life of Hillary Rodham Clinton. He is the author, with Woodward, of All the President’s Men and The Final Days, and, with Marco Politi, of His Holiness John Paul II and the History of Our Time. 

Bernstein’s appearance at The Common Good is a continuation of TCG’s Democracy&Politics Series which has included: Paul Begala, Robert Shrum, Tucker Carlson, Markos Molitsos, Joel Benenson, Kelly Ann Conway, and many more.