Next week is pretty huge. Not only is Barack Obama being inaugurated as the first black president of the United States, but it is all happening the day after Martin Luther King Day.

MLK Day is often thought of as just another day off of school and a glorious long weekend, but this year – more than any other year – should be different.

MLK died in his efforts to get equal rights for African American men and women. And now, 40 years later, a black man will finally be president. The thought is chilling, and has inspired all of us to dream again. Our dreams and goals really can become reality.

So this week, in honor of MLK, Obama, and history in the making, the CC writers share their dreams for the United States and our futures.

Elisabeth – UA Huntsville: It would be nice to see deserving students be able to get the financial help they need for school without having to jump through ridiculously tiny hoops.

Brithny – Duke University: My dream is to get more sleep so I can actually have dreams. The REM-induced ones. Read More »

When Raul Castro replaced his brother Fidel as leader of Cuba last month, President Bush took a predictably cynical perspective. In a March 7th press conference he stated that,

“So far, all Cuba has done is replace one dictator with another. And its former ruler is still influencing events from behind the scenes. This is the same system, the same faces, and the same policies that led Cuba to its miseries in the first place.”

Well Mr. Bush, here’s a newsflash for you — if Mariela Castro, Raul’s daughter, has her way, Cuban transsexuals and gays will have more documented rights than any other Latin American country. Moreover, despite the overall human rights abusing nature of the regime, the bill will allow transsexuals and gays more equality and options than what is offered in the US.

According to the BBC, under the bill, same-sex unions and inheritance rights would be recognized. Transsexuals would have the right to free sex-change operations and switch the gender on their ID cards, with or without surgery.

Let’s compare this proposal to current US policies shall we? Read More »