'Shaking Naughty Bits' on Dancing With The Stars

While the star power of the current crop of Dancing with the Stars celebrities is somewhat lower wattage than previous seasons, the dancing talent is at an all-time high. The stars span ages from 16 to 50-something, with different races, sexual orientations and weight categories represented.  Kudos to DWTS for including people that can appeal to just about any viewer demographic that decides to tune in.

No one went home last week, but it seems it bit more clear who may be on the chopping block this week. Martina Navratilova may be quick and powerful on the tennis court, but she had little pizzaz or agility on the dance floor.  Katherine Jenkins fared much better, after Mark Ballas helped her bring out her sexy. Roshon Fegan, the youngest member of the group, fared almost as well with Chelsie Hightower and a fresh, young dance routine. Sherri Shepherd scored high, even after she made a mistake that caused her partner, Val Chmerkovsky, to stop until he could find his place again. The pair still walked away with pretty good scores, getting an 8, 7, 8 for a total of 46 so far for the season. No one went home the first week, so the anticipation is building for tomorrow's elimination night. In terms of scores, Melissa Gilbert and Gavin DeGraw round out the bottom three. Melissa's score did not improve since the first episode, and Gavin DeGraw slipped a point. After the top two dancers, Katherine Jenkins and Roshan Fegan, comes the Latin hearthrob William Levy. Cheryl Burke, Levy's partner, promised the audience that some of Levy's clothing would come off next week. He may be new to the U.S., but he seems to have already attracted a large following of fans here.

Students Become Bookworms, Thanks to Michael Oher

Michael Oher is an American football offensive tackle playing for the Baltimore Ravens, with a new book and an inspiring story. Oher and his life story have become an inspiration to many. He was drafted to play football for the Ravens in 2009, as a first round draft pick. He has been made famous by the movie "The Blind Side", which chronicles his life growing up as a troubled youth before he developed into a star football player. Now, Severna Park High school teachers are using Oher's story to inspire their students, after Oher donated 2,100 copies of his book to the school.

Teachers discuss the lessons in Oher's book, "I Beat the Odds" with students and help them learn ways to improve their decision making and self esteem, while learning to rely more on social support resources as a means to prevent destructive types of behavior.  Oher was born to a mother that was addicted. crack cocaine and alcohol, as one of 12 children. His father spent most of his time in prison. Oher received very little attention or discipline as a young child as he endured foster care and periods of living on the streets. While he was in high school, Oher's father was murdered in prison. Overtime, Oher started to draw attention as he excelled in sports. Community supporters helped him get into a better school, improve his grades, and the Tuohy family, the parents of one of Oher's class mates, gave him much support and ultimately adopted him. Oher has gone on to become a well-known football star, and has proven to be truly inspirational to many.

Can Jim Yong Kim Deliver for the World Bank? Obama Thinks So

President Obama has made a nontraditional choice for his World Bank President nomination: Jim Yong Kim. Kim, the president of Dartmouth College, seems to fit in with the ideals that most of America expects from Obama. Kim does not fit into the mold of a banker, neoconservative warlord or politician, as other nominees have. Plus, Kim has expertise in fighting conditions such as world poverty and disease, which is an understandably important requirement for this type of job.

Kim, an impressive individual by any yardstick, served as director for the HIV/Aids Department at WHO, the World Health Organization. Additionally, he co-founded, along with Paul Farmer, the global charity organization Partners in Health. Partners in Health is responsible for the dramatic decrease in tuberculosis among the people of Peru. Kim has many backers, as other dignitaries and politicians are very aware of the contributions he has made through out his life in terms of helping solve the problems of world poverty. Many were against the potential nomination of Larry Summers, the complete opposite of Kim. Summers does not have many fans, it seems, at least when it comes to running the World Bank. Trained as an Economist, many fear that Summers does not have the background or enlarged vision to successfully lead the World Bank. Some point to character references such as Summer's comment that women do not excel in math and sciences because they are fundamentally different than men and cannot compete against them for top spots.

Kim stands to bring a very different perspective to the leadership of the World Bank, one steeped in the experience of growing global organizations, and refined by the discipline of working behind a microscope.

Al Sharpton a Strong Force at Rally for Trayvon Martin

The Reverand Al Sharpton has taken an aggressive stance in the case of Trayvon Martin, a teen from Florida that was shot by a local neighborhood watch man. This, while Sharpton's mother died on the same day in Alabama after a struggle with multiple health issues. Sharpton has made a career as a civil rights activist, working to advocate for many people, such as Trayvon Martin, who cannot effectively advocate for themselves.

Martin, a 17-year old male, was walking through a gated community when he was shot by George Zimmerman. Zimmerman, a neighborhood watch citizen living in the area, reported that he shot the youth in self-defense. However, some sources say that Zimmerman followed and gunned down a teenager that had only a bag of skittles and a drink with him, rather than a weapon. The incident took place on February 26, and Zimmerman claims that self-defense was his only motive. Sharpton feels that, although the FBI and the U.S. Department of Justice are investigating, things are not moving fast enough. Sharpton, on behalf of the boy's bereaved parents, is arguing for permanent justice and an arrest of Zimmerman. Some say that race is an issue in the case, because Zimmerman is allegedly Caucasian. His family, however, claims he is Hispanic and that the incident had no racial motivation.

Sharpton is continuing to protest against Martin's killing, along with many other celebrities and politicians, and says he is doing so on behalf of his deceased mother.

Do you think George Zimmerman should go to jail? Leave your thoughts in the comments below.