It's not just about polar bears

In more refreshing news from Washington, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) unveiled a revamped website on Climate Change Indicators last Wednesday, calling it a “comprehensive resource.” The Associated Press heralded the update, saying the site now “presents clear and compelling evidence of changes to the climate.” As we all recall, no new information was allowed to be posted on the site during the former administration, and the effects of climate change were regularly disputed and downplayed.

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Pew Research Study Finds that Americans See Broad Responsibilities for Government

A new Pew Research survey was released yesterday that said that Americans believe that the government has broad responsibilities. This has not changed since 2019. The number of American adults who are "basically content" with the federal government is at its highest point since 2004. The public trust that the government will always or most of the time do what is right remains low, while confidence in the future has increased for Democrats since the election.

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6 grocers making a difference

Nearly a third of all food produced in the United States is wasted. While this number is startling, in light of the fact that one in six children goes to bed hungry, it is also significant because of the effect that food waste has on climate change. When zero waste is achieved, and no food is sent to landfills, methane emissions and our carbon footprint are significantly reduced.

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What’s A TCU? HBCU?

When President Biden delivered his first address to a joint session of Congress last Wednesday night, he talked passionately about the importance of expanding educational opportunity by providing free preschool and postsecondary schooling. He pointed to research showing that two years of preschool and post-high school training expands a child’s lifelong learning and earning achievements…

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What are Human Rights?

“Where, after all, do universal human rights begin? In small places, close to home - so close and so small that they cannot be seen on any maps of the world. Yet they are the world of the individual person; the neighborhood he lives in; the school or college he attends; the factory, farm, or office where he works. Such are the places where every man, woman, and child seeks equal justice, equal opportunity, equal dignity without discrimination. Unless these rights have meaning there, they have little meaning anywhere…

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Profile in Courage: James Armistead Lafayette

James Armistead Lafayette's story would make a great movie. Born into slavery in New Kent, Virginia around 1760, James received permission from his master, William Armistead, who helped to supply the Continental Army, to enlist with General Marquis de Lafayette's French Allied units. James, a native Virginian, became a spy, posing as a runaway slave. He was hired by the British, and he worked in camps where generals and the British Commander-in-Chief, Lord Cornwallis, were located, giving James access to crucial information on strategy and troop movements.

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WAATB BlogBritney Achin
Good News: Anonymous Stranger Returns Lost Wallet

Imagine you are checking out at your local store, and you go into your purse or pocket to pull out your wallet, and it isn't there. Anxiety and thoughts course through your mind. Where is my wallet? Did I drop it? What am I going to do? I have to replace my driver’s license, credit cards. How long will that take? This happened to Debra Crosby, a middle school science teacher and resident of Jacksonville, Florida recently. She didn't realize that she had dropped her wallet in the parking lot on her way into the store. As Debra was checking out at her local Walmart and found that her wallet was not in her purse…

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An Open Letter To Our Granddaughters

Today is Inauguration Day, a day of new beginnings for our country. As we write this, we do not know if today’s transition of power will be peaceful, but we do know that by the end of the day there will be a new administration - one that promises more equity, more decency, and more compassion than the one that is leaving.

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GovernmentBritney Achin
Truth To Power

As Congress pursues impeaching the current president of the United States for the second time, and we look forward to the inauguration of a new administration that promises to operate with integrity and decency, we might feel encouraged and even optimistic.…

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Won’t You Help Your Neighbor?

As we write this, it looks very promising that the two Senate races in Georgia will go to the Democratic candidates. This will give the new administration of Biden and Harris a much easier time in addressing many of the causes that Leading Ladies support: homelessness, food insecurity, universal health care, equitable education, prison reform, and humane immigration laws. We rejoice in that good news…

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Britney Achin
'Tis The Season

As we look around us and plan a holiday season like none ever, we remember how lucky we are to have roofs over our heads and food in our refrigerators. We hope that is true for all of you as well. It is truly heartbreaking and astonishing that so many of our neighbors and fellow Americans are struggling with hunger, joblessness, and having a place to call home in our land of plenty…

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Britney Achin