Barack Obama

Barack Hussein Obama II (US ⁱ/bəˈrɑːk huːˈseɪn oʊˈbɑːmə/; born August 4, 1961) is an American politician serving as the 44th President of the United States, the first African American to hold the office. Born in Honolulu, Hawaii, Obama is a graduate of Columbia University and Harvard Law School, where he served as president of the Harvard Law Review. He was a community organizer in Chicago before earning his law degree. He worked as a civil rights attorney and taught constitutional law at University of Chicago Law School between 1992 and 2004. He served three terms representing the 13th District in the Illinois Senate from 1997 to 2004, and ran unsuccessfully in the Democratic primary for the United States House of Representatives in 2000 against incumbent Bobby Rush.

In 2004, Obama received national attention during his campaign to represent Illinois in the United States Senate with his victory in the March Democratic Party primary, his keynote address at the Democratic National Convention in July, and his election to the Senate in November. He began his presidential campaign in 2007 and, after a close primary campaign against Hillary Rodham Clinton in 2008, he won sufficient delegates in the Democratic Party primaries to receive the presidential nomination. He then defeated Republican nominee John McCain in the general election, and was inaugurated as president on January 20, 2009. Nine months after his inauguration, Obama was named the 2009 Nobel Peace Prize laureate.

Barack Obama in comics

Barack Obama has appeared as a character in comic books published by a number of publishing companies.

Publication history

Obama made his first appearance as a comic book character in July 2007 in Licensable BearTM No. 4 by Nat Gertler, where he appeared as a U.S. Senator. The comic only had a print-run of 1,050 issues. A year later, in September 2008, Obama appeared in Erik Larsen’s Savage Dragon No. 137. This issue featured a variant cover which showed Obama with the Savage Dragon, who proclaims that he is endorsing him for President. The issue sold out four print runs. A month later, the comic was followed up by Presidential Material: Barack Obama by Jeff Mariotte and in November 2008 with Obama: The Comic Book by Rod Espinosa.

In November 2008, two things led to an explosion in popularity of the Obama comic book character. One of Obama's advisers gave an interview to journalist Jon Swaine of The Daily Telegraph titled, “Barack Obama: The 50 facts you might not know.” In the interview, it emerged that Obama collects “Spider-Man and Conan the Barbarian.” Then later that month, on November 4, 2008, Obama became the first African-American to be elected President of the United States.

The Union

The Union may refer to:

Political unions

Medicine

Newspaper

The Union (band)

The Union are a British rock band formed in 2009 by Luke Morley, guitarist for Thunder, and Peter Shoulder, formerly of Winterville.

History

Formation and The Union

After the breakup of Thunder in August 2009, guitarist Luke Morley announced that he had formed a new group with Pete Shoulder, whose previous band, Winterville, had split in 2007. The band was to be called The Union. The pair had met each other eight years previously and had "worked together ever since whenever our previous commitments allowed us time".Chris Childs (also previously in Thunder) and Phil Martini (from Down 'n' Outz) were later named as the bassist and drummer respectively for the band, although not as 'full' members of the group, as they intend to have a more "fluid line-up".

The Union made their live debut on 15 December 2009, at The Relentless Garage in London. The show was filmed for a live DVD, which was released with their debut album. It was announced in February 2010 that the band were to play at that year's inaugural High Voltage Festival; they played the Main Stage on Saturday 24 July. This followed their first full tour of the UK, which took place over ten dates in April. The Union also played the 2010 Sonisphere Festival at Knebworth on Sunday 1 June.

The Union (newspaper)

The Union is a daily newspaper serving Grass Valley and Nevada County, California. The Union provides news coverage of the local and regional level. Sections include news, sports, opinion, entertainment, and more. It has a daily print circulation of over 14,000 copies. As a local newspaper, most readers live in Nevada County area. The Union also publishes an online edition. Sixty-five people work for the newspaper. Swift Communications, based in Carson City, owns The Union and 20 more newspapers in the western United States.

History

The Union began publication as the Grass Valley Daily Morning Union on October 28, 1864. Townsend and Blumenthal founded the paper to support the Union cause in the Civil War. Every issue in later years has carried the motto "Founded in 1864 to Preserve The Union - One and Inseparable." In 1893 the Union became the Associated Press wire service's first affiliate in the West. The Union incorporated in 1906. From 1864 to March 1945, it was a morning paper. It ran as an afternoon paper until July 1999 when it resumed morning delivery. Over the Union's history, twelve men and one woman have served as publisher.

State of the Union

The State of the Union is the address presented by the President of the United States to a joint session of the United States Congress, typically delivered annually. The address not only reports on the condition of the nation but also allows the President to outline his legislative agenda (for which he needs the cooperation of Congress) and national priorities. The address fulfils rules in Article II, Section 3 of the U.S. Constitution, requiring the President to periodically give Congress information on the "state of the union" and recommend any measures that he believes are necessary and expedient. During most of the country's first century, the President primarily only submitted a written report to Congress. With the advent of radio and television, the address is now broadcast live across the country on most networks.

Background

The practice arises from a command given to the president in the Constitution of the United States:

Although the language of this Section of the Constitution is not specific, by tradition, the President makes this report annually in late January or early February. Between 1934 and 2013 the date has been as early as January 3, and as late as February 12.

1816 State of the Union Address

The 1816 State of the Union Address was the last annual address given by President James Madison, the fourth president of the United States. It was given on December 3, 1816. It was read in Washington, D.C, addressed to both houses of Congress. It was the 26th address given, given to the 14th United States Congress. The United States House of Representatives and Senate were addressed. He summarized it with these words: seeks by appeals to reason and by its liberal examples to infuse into the law which governs the civilized world a spirit which may diminish the frequency or circumscribe the calamities of war, and meliorate the social and beneficent relations of peace; a Government, in a word, whose conduct within and without may bespeak the most noble of ambitions—that of promoting peace on earth and good will to man.

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