Boycotting Stupidity

Those who do not learn from history...

BobVADemHawk — Thu, 22 Oct 2009 15:12:29 EDT

...Also, let me put to you another simple question: Have you as an individual paid too high a price for these gains? Plausible self-seekers and theoretical die-hards will tell you of the loss of individual liberty. Answer this question also out of the facts of your own life. Have you lost any of your rights or liberty or constitutional freedom of action and choice? Turn to the Bill of Rights of the Constitution, which I have solemnly sworn to maintain and under which your freedom rests secure. Read each provision of that Bill of Rights and ask yourself whether you personally have suffered the impairment of a single jot of these great assurances. I have no question in my mind as to what your answer will be. The record is written in the experiences of your own personal lives.
In other words, it is not the overwhelming majority of the farmers or manufacturers or workers who deny the substantial gains of the past year. The most vociferous of the doubting Thomases may be divided roughly into two groups: First, those who seek special political privilege and, second, those who seek special financial privilege. About a year ago I used as an illustration the 90% of the cotton manufacturers of the United States who wanted to do the right thing by their employees and by the public but were prevented from doing so by the 10% who undercut them by unfair practices and un-American standards. It is well for us to remember that humanity is a long way from being perfect and that a selfish minority in every walk of life -- farming, business, finance and even Government service itself -- will always continue to think of themselves first and their fellow-being second.

In the working out of a great national program which seeks the primary good of the greater number, it is true that the toes of some people are being stepped on and are going to be stepped on. But these toes belong to the comparative few who seek to retain or to gain position or riches or both by some short cut which is harmful to the greater good. In the execution of the powers conferred on it by Congress, the Administration needs and will tirelessly seek the best ability that the country affords. Public service offers better rewards in the opportunity for service than ever before in our history -- not great salaries, but enough to live on. In the building of this service there are coming to us men and women with ability and courage from every part of the Union. The days of the seeking of mere party advantage through the misuse of public power are drawing to a close. We are increasingly demanding and getting devotion to the public service on the part of every member of the Administration, high and low...

http://www.ssa.gov/history/fdrstmts.html

The conservatives have been using the same tactics for over seventy years. They attempt to scare the sheeple into believing their rights are being stripped away when, in fact, they're not. Over the past decade and a half, conservatives have stripped away more rights and protections of the every day working person than even the most savvy of politicos realize.

The comments from above are from an address made by the great Franklin D. Roosevelt on 28JUN34. Isn't ironic how they ring true today? Once again, the conservative money worshippers in the Republican Party have attempted to divide us by spreading malicious, untrue statements about our liberties. They're trying to convince the sheeple President Obama is turning our great nation into a socialist or communist form of government. They were lying seventy-five years ago and they're lying again.

So we are called to once again defend this great nation of ours against all enemies foreign and domestic. We know who our foreign enemies are. Fortunately, we know who our domestic enemies are as well. Recognize them for what they are; Americans in name only. A real American cares about what happens to their neighbor, their state or commonwealth, their fellow Americans.

Does the rhetoric from the political right reflect those traditional American values? Does a Republican and\or a conservative hollering, "Get a job", to a handicapped person attempting to ask a question at a town hall meeting instill a sense of pride in your fellow citizens? Does a person carrying a firearm to an event where the first African-American POTUS is speaking instill a sense of security? There can be only one logical answer to that question. Isn't it ironic that the modern day Republican Party has been nicknamed the party of no because that is the answer to those questions.

I am, in no way, as elequent a speaker or writer as the great FDR nor do I presume to be. I wish I were. But I cannot sit idly by while nefarious right wing forces attempt to overthrow the duly elected U.S. government with talk of coups and insurrections. Is this what the Republican Party has devolved to now that they've, once again, been cast into the political wilderness where they belong? Sadly, the answer would appear to be yes.

Be prepared my fellow Americans. Be prepared to use rheotric, or any other tool at our disposal, to beat back those who measure a man's worth simply by the contents of his checkbook, not his character. Be prepared to defend your country, your way of life, and your POTUS from the forces of darkness.

In closing, I quote from the Holy Bible, Ecclesiastes 3:7-13.

7 a time to rend, and a time to sew; a time to keep silence, and a time to speak;

8 a time to love, and a time to hate; a time of war, and a time of peace.

9 What profit hath he that worketh in that for which he laboreth?

10 I have seen the travail which God hath given to the sons of men to be exercised in it.

11 He hath made every thing beautiful in his time. Also He hath set the world in their heart, so that no man can find out the work that God maketh from the beginning to the end.

12 I know that there is no good in them, but for a man to rejoice and to do good in his life,

13 and also that every man should eat and drink and enjoy the good of all his labor: it is the gift of God.

Claim your gift from God. But prepare yourselves for the evils conservatives would wrought upon us especially those who claim to come in the name of God. And the next time some conservative and\or Republican says that every American does not deserve the basic rights of food, shelter, clothing, and healthcare, do not be afraid to call a spade a spade or, in this case, an evildoer and evildoer. Shout it from the rooftops. Arm yourselves with intelligence, wit, and guile. And if all else fails, arm yourselves in the traditional sense for their rhetoric indicates those on the radical right are doing such. Put the proverbial spotlight on this person, or group of people, and let sunlight be the best antiseptic. We can rid ourselves of the cancer of conservatism. Like any medical procedure that any American should be entitled to, it may hurt at first but it'll be well worth it in the end.

Ceremonial Cleansing.

LITTLE DINE' FOR RECALL ON COLUMBUS DAY — Tue, 01 Sep 2009 19:12:32 EDT

Friday last I had the honor of attendinding Grandpa Dine's Spiritual cleansing. I was in the circle with my grandpa and many wonderful Native brothers and sisters, whom made a special sacrifice to pray for grandpa all night long, from early evening untill the following day at sunrise.

ALL NIGHT LONG THERE WERE SACRED PRAYERS AND SONG FOR MY GRANDPA'S HEALTH AND WELL BEING. HE WAS ADMINISTERED THE MOTHER SEED PEYOTE AS THE PRAYERS AND SACRED SONGS WENT ON ALL NIGHT LONG. HIGH UP IN THE MOUNTAINS OF THE SANTA ISABEL RESERVATION.

Through the night until morning he took many teaspoons full of powdered mother seed and washed down with peyote tea. He was up all night on his ironwheeled horse. The experience for me was a highly memorable one. The sacred fire in the circle was kept going all night by the fireman, and the Roadman blessed him and I many times with Eagle feathers. As the Roadman prayed to Grandfather Spirit to cleanse the cancer from my Grandpa's body. The Roadman Glen Justky came all the way from a rez north of Casa Grande Arizona and he brought with him family members to assist with the entirety of the sacred ceremony.

I felt blessed just from being as one with our people and to have been under a beautiful starlit night on a mountain top as the coyotes serenaded us with their song, to have heard the crow of the roosters and see the birth of a new wonderful sunrise which became the first day of the rest of my Grandpa's life. He will live longer because the mother seed will cure him from his cancer, and Grandfather Spirit Creator of all will not allow my Grandpa to go home to Grandfather Spirit before his time.

I feel as if I have become one with all of our people and happy to be home.

Swine Flue, AH1 Positive.

LITTLE DINE' FOR RECALL ON COLUMBUS DAY — Sun, 30 Aug 2009 12:11:33 EDT

Attention all Temecula Residents,
If you have any family members going to Vail elementry School, of Temcula Unified School District, you should be aware that there is a breakout of th swine flue and that it has been kept under wraps as far back as early June.
The first cases should have been reported to the CDC in Washington D.C. and Bethesda Maryland CDC.
It was not for obvious reasons. However since my little brother was exposed at the school and contracted the disease we are now all under order and guide lines from the CDC to stay Quarantined for the next 10 days. Two people have died from the disease in the County of Sandiego in the past month.
The Swine Flue is lethal if not treated.
The school district was not particularly in a hurry to make the report. Their main concern is to avoid a money loss from the federal subsidy they recieve for each child. My grandfather Dine' Warrior made a call to the CDC office in Washington DC and henceforth was passed on to the direction of the Bethesda Maryland office.
The School District of Temecula has not made it public to the parents of all the other students in the school.
Many of those children have brothers and sisters that go to middle School and Great Oaks Highschool. The disease can become a major epidemic if not properly handled. The sad part is that not all people have proper medical coverage and can not afford to take their children to the hopital emergency room to get treatment. The latter are the ones that may end up dead, and all because some money hungry school districts only care about the money and not the health of the students.
The Native American communities donate hundreds of thousands of dollars to the school districts in their areas every year, from Gaming on the Rez. I ask myself is it right for our people to be forking out money to the school districts if this is going to be their attitude. I do not think so. My grandfather Dine' Warrior will be going on a crusade to stop this practice, and to make it known to the shool districts that all children go there to recieve an education and not to be put in harms way by money grubbers, who do not care what happens to the children in their trust. No child should be exposed, Native American or other. I am writing this blog under guidance and direction of Grandpa Dine' Warrior.
The CDC is now aware and making sure that guide lines are being followed and will be watching closely that this type of behavior does not repeat, Grandpa Dine' Warrior is going to stay on top of this situation along with the CDC.

We need your help, for America's future.

LITTLE DINE' FOR RECALL ON COLUMBUS DAY — Mon, 17 Aug 2009 14:48:04 EDT

There there has been a lot of research conducted on how and why youths are not interested in mainstream politics and voting. The latter is not a phenomenon
Under-age future voters should have the chance to learn about the parties and their platforms. However there is little interest from the adult voters when it comes to seeing what we think about regarding politics. It seems that the only time we are taken into consideration is on election years and major campaigns. When it comes to canvassing areas for adults in local state and national campaigns we are asked to participate. We end up doing a lot of the dirty work along with the footwork. After the election is over it is as if we no longer exist.
I ask the enlightened here, if you have any ideas or suggestions on the matter, to come forward and make your views heard.

I say please give us a fair taste of the mainstream politics and better educate us on the matter so that those among us whom are apathetic can become genuinly interested and do our civic duty gladly as we progress and mature. We are mostly affected because we technically have no say.

We work gladly doing what is called the dirty work in the hope of having our needs met through proper representation. Sadly after the elactions we are not taken into any consideration at all.
It is the hope of a majority of youths that we are given a true taste of politics, so that the apathetic become more engaged and interested enough to cast real ballots when they turn 18. What do you think?
If I am wrong please correct me?

Respectfully
Little Dine' Warrior

Attention Native American Youths. all over our great Native Land

LITTLE DINE' FOR RECALL ON COLUMBUS DAY — Sun, 16 Aug 2009 22:49:50 EDT

For those of you that have aspirations of becoming Public Servants in the not distant future, contact (kalyn@indnslist.org).

indnslist.org was founded by Kaylyn Free of the Shoshone Nation for the soul purpose of assisting Native Americans in reaching their goals to become public servants. If you believe you are made of the right material to become an honest public servant get in touch with Kaylyn. Her foundation is strictly to help and asist Native Americans recieve the support and preparation to be launched to public service after taking part of the internship offered by the indnslist.org.

I myself will become an intern with indnslist upon graduating from highschool and turning 17 years of age. Internship is for a minimum of two years at the Morongo Nation Rez.

The organization is not limited to youths, but also adults that are running for office at whichever level, from among Native America.
Todd Gloria from the Alaskan Tribes is now a public servant in the City of San Diego. He is one of the alumni from indnslist, and truly a success story. He is not the only one.

Take care all and may the Great Spirit shower you with blessings.
Sincerely your friend.
Respectfully Little Dine' Warrior

National Dem Youth Caucass.

LITTLE DINE' FOR RECALL ON COLUMBUS DAY — Sun, 16 Aug 2009 18:32:25 EDT

I ask that all adults here refrain from joining this group. It is strictly for youths under 22 years of age.
I do ask that all elders and adults on this site blog on this group as often as possible.
As the future leaders of America, we can not achieve our goals without the advice of the well versed and enlightened on this site.
I pray the Great Spirit Bless you all.
Very Rerspetfully
Little Dine' Warrior.

http://www.democrats.org/page/group/NationalDemYouthCaucas

http://www.democrats.org/page/group/NationalDemYouthCaucas

Good afternoon all.

LITTLE DINE' FOR RECALL ON COLUMBUS DAY — Sat, 15 Aug 2009 18:18:56 EDT

I just want to wish you all a happy belated birthday to all whom have been blessed with a birthday in the past few days. I have over two thousand friends on my network and it is very hard to keep up. I am getting ready to start school this monday and am looking forward to getting started. I am now a sophmore and looking forward to graduate early by taking advanced courses at Great Oaks High.
When I become 17 I will be going for my Political Science internship with the Morongo Nation and upon completion I will be launched for my first Public Servant job by indnzlist.org.
I pray the Great Spirit illuminate me and guide me so that I can become a good public servant and a dedicated servant to my fellowman, Native American as well as All citizens of our great nation.
I have joined just about as many groups as possible on this site. It is part of my political science major course of study. I hope that I am not removed from the groups, for not being an immediate local. However I have many family members all over our nation and specially among Native America all over. reason for which I joined these groups. We keep in contact and urge our fellow Native Americans in the areas to support fully the Dem candidates in your states and districts. May the Great Spirit Creator Bless you all.
Special greetings to grandma Spirited Donna, Vydia, Maryanne and all the mutual friends of my mentor and myself, Grandpa Dine' Warrior. Your friend always.
Sincerely Little D.

Pow Wow upcoming Sycuan Rez.

LITTLE DINE' FOR RECALL ON COLUMBUS DAY — Thu, 13 Aug 2009 16:32:01 EDT

I greet all our mutual friends. I am happy to announce that on the weekend of September 11 through the 14th, Little Dine' Warrior will be dancing the Gord Dance and other ceremonial dances at the Pow Wow for the first time. He will be in full regalia along with the members of the Soaring Eagles, whereby I hope that all of you that are in the general area of San Diego County will be able to attend the Pow Wow.
The Head Pow Wow Woman Mrs Arnita Swanson will be one of the Honored guests at the Pow Wow.
Arnita is better known as Grandma Sioux.
I hope that those of you that live in Southern California will honor us with your presence. I also extend the invitation to those of you that happen to be visiting Southern Calif to come join us.
I am very proud of my grandson Little Dine' Warrior, he has grown considerably and is a very patriotic and respectful young warrior. He is a long time member of the JRAFROTC and is quite active in the community visiting hospitalized veterans at the local VA hospital.
He has also recieved recognition from the VA Volunteer Services Director and staff for his unselfish involvement bringing a smile to many Hospitalized Vets that are in the Community Living Section of the Va, whom for the most part have no family left to care for them.
I hope that you can all attend the Pow Wow At the Sycuan Rez 11 th through the 14th of September 2009..
May the Great Spirit Bless you all Highly.
I am still in fasting and preparation for my Peyote Cleansing Ceremony coming up on the weekend of the 21st of this month. I have faith the mother seed Peyote will cure me of my terminal Cancer.
My Little Dine' sends his regards to all here, the best people that ever graced our mother Earth. The Democrats and their leadership.
Dine' Warrior.

A humble invitation

LITTLE DINE' FOR RECALL ON COLUMBUS DAY — Sat, 25 Jul 2009 01:59:25 EDT

I am Dine Warrior and am thankfull to the Great Spirit for the oportunity to be again blogging here on Little Dine,s Party Builder pages. I have been away for quite some time in the land of shadows between the living and the dead. I have regained control of not only one limb but both and can now handle a key board much better versus previously with only one hand.

To many of you here at this point I may be a stranger, however there are still many here whom remember me. I am the Grandfather of Little Dine' warrior.. I still have stage four cancer and will soon be cleansed through the Native American Church of my cancer with the mother seed Peyote.
This event will take place on the third weekend of August at the Santa Isabel Reservation. I invite all of my Native American friends here to join me for my ceremony. If you are from afar and will be in the area at that time I will be highly honored if you can attend. If you are from near the area and are able to attend I will also be highly honored.
Regardfless of the situation whether you are able to attend or not due to previous engagements or the imposibility of attending, I will still be praying for all of you as I will be for all my family and close friends so that they can recieve blessings from the Great White Spirit Creator and always walk with beauty before you, to the back of you, above you and below you to the right of you as well as your left.
I will be praying that all your troubles go away and the great Spirit shower you all with health, love, happiness and that you have all your needs met. This invitation is not only for the Native Americans whom I have befriended here on this site, it is also for all non natives whom are here. I extend welcome and wish blessings and all good tidings to the new mwmbers of the Party Builder.
I pray that those of you that remember me drop me a note or comment on this invitation, and I offer my humble friendship to all the new people here. Little Dine Warrior is at my side now and he sends his best regards to all here and wants to make it known to all new members of the party builder he would enjoy their friendship in his humble friendship network.
MAY THE GREAT WHITE SPIRIT CREATOR OF ALL BLESS YOU.
SINCERELY YOUR FRIEND, DINE' WARRIOR.

Post Data

For directions to Santa Isabel Reservation drop me a note. I will give you all the necessary info, or call me at cell 619 399-6626

Frank Lynch Calls Upon President Obama To Ban Burkas

Frank Lynch — Tue, 23 Jun 2009 10:20:21 EDT

Frank Lynch hereby calls upon President Barack Obama to make it illegal to wear burkas in America.

We must immediately stop issuing drivers licenses, passports, immigration papers of any sort, or any government identification or registration instruments to any person who even partially covers their face.

Further, under the hate crime laws, it should be a felony punishable by five years imprisonment at hard labor to refuse to shake hands because a person is a woman.

It is time for our government to stop all this ridiculous political correctness of not wanting to offend muslims. We must grow a spine and stand up to extremists. All people are equal, and we cannot and must not tolerate any practices that demean women in any way.

I am disappointed in our President that European countries are taking action to recognize the sanctity of womanhood before our own President does.

President Obama, please exercise leadership in banning the burka, banning the refusal to shake hands with women, and all other extremist traditions that demean women.

Further, all non-profits must be required to ban burkas from their officers, employees, Boards of Directors or Trustees.

Eveery educational institution, from preschool through graduate school, must ban burkas from their premises.

President Nicolas Sarkozydeclared Monday that the Islamic burqa is not welcome in France, branding the face-covering, body-length gown as a symbol of subservience that suppresses women's identities and turns them into "prisoners behind a screen."

But there was a mixed message in the tough words: an admission that the country's long-held principle of ethnic assimilation -- which insists that newcomers shed their traditions and adapt to French culture -- is failing because it doesn't give immigrants and their French-born children a fair chance.

In a high-profile speech to lawmakers in the historic chateau at Versailles, Sarkozy said the head-to-toe Muslim body coverings were in disaccord with French values -- some of the strongest language against burqas from a European leader at a time when some Western officials have been seeking to ease tensions with the Muslim world.

"In our country, we cannot accept that women be prisoners behind a screen, cut off from all social life, deprived of all identity," Sarkozy said to extended applause of the lawmakers gathered where French kings once held court.

"The burqa is not a religious sign, it's a sign of subservience, a sign of debasement -- I want to say it solemnly," he said. "It will not be welcome on the territory of the French Republic."

The Netherlands is about to ban burkas. The country's hardline Integration Minister, Rita Verdonk, known as the Iron Lady for her series of tough anti-immigration measures, told Parliament that she was going to investigate where and when the burka should be banned. The burka, traditional clothing in some Islamic societies, covers a woman's face and body, leaving only a strip of gauze for the eyes.

Mrs Verdonk gave warning that the "time of cosy tea-drinking" with Muslim groups had passed and that natives and immigrants should have the courage to be critical of each other.

She recently cancelled a meeting with Muslim leaders who refused to shake her hand because she was a woman. Great lady!

Although Netherlands has the same inane freedom of expression laws passed in America, she plans to make it a matter of public safety.

Obama to Keep Tribunals; Stance Angers Some Backers

Democrat in New York, NY — Fri, 15 May 2009 16:16:33 EDT

The White House said on Friday that some Guantánamo detainees would be prosecuted in a military commission system that was a much-criticized centerpiece of the Bush administration's strategy for fighting terror.

Administration officials said they were making changes in the system to grant detainees expanded legal rights, but critics said the move was a sharp departure from the direction suggested by Mr. Obama during the campaign, when he characterized the commissions as an unnecessary compromise of American values.

In a statement, President Obama noted that there was a long American tradition of using military commissions, and said the administration was proposing changes to make them provide fairer justice.

Mr. Obama said the commissions would be used as one avenue for prosecution along with existing American courts. "This is the best way to protect our country, while upholding our deeply held values," the statement said.

The commissions are run by the Pentagon under a law passed specifically for terrorism suspects, in part to make it easier for the government to win convictions than it would be in existing American courts.

After Mr. Obama's about-face earlier this week when he announced his decision not to release photographs documenting detainee abuse, Friday's announcement again left the administration in the awkward position of being cautiously praised by some adversaries and harshly rebuked by some usual allies.

The Senate Republican leader, Mitch McConnell of Kentucky, who issued daily criticisms of the president's announced plan to close the detention center for terror suspects at Guantánamo Bay, Cuba, called the decision to use the military tribunals "an encouraging development."

David B. Rivkin Jr., a Washington lawyer who was an official in the Reagan administration, said the decision suggested the Obama administration was coming to accept the Bush administration's thesis that terror suspects should be viewed as warriors, not as criminals with all the rights accorded them in American courts.

"I give them great credit for coming to their senses after looking at the dossiers," of the detainees, Mr. Rivkin said.

The decision benefits the administration politically because it burnishes Mr. Obama's credentials for taking a hard line toward terrorism suspects. Some administration insiders say top http://webinfo.maqany.com/go.html officials have appeared surprised by the ferocity of the largely Republican opposition to Mr. Obama's effort to close the Guantánamo Bay prison, where 241 detainees remain.

The issue has become a difficult one for some Democrats on Capitol Hill because they are hearing from constituents who have expressed anxiety about a potential move into the United States of detainees the Bush administration called "the worst of the worst."

Some Democrats backed the president Friday. But coming the same week that Democratic leaders refused to include $80 million the White House had sought for closing Guantánamo in a war-spending bill, it was not clear whether support for the president's approach to Guantánamo may be weakening among Democrats.

Senator Carl Levin, the Democratic chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee, said the president's decision to overhaul the rules for military commissions had been essential. But he added that "military commissions can play a legitimate role in prosecuting" detainees.

But some liberals and human rights groups said they were stunned by what some of them called a betrayal. They said the prospect of the new administration presiding over military trials at Guantánamo would hurt Mr. Obama's efforts to improve relationships around the world and would embroil the administration in years of legal battles.

The executive director of Human Rights First, Elisa Massimino, called the commission system of trying war crimes cases irredeemable. "Tinkering with the machinery of military commissions will not remove the taint of Guantánamo from future prosecutions," Ms. Massimino said.

The executive director of the American Civil Liberties Union, Anthony D. Romero, said he was preparing an advertising campaign that would call the use of an inferior legal system to try detainees "the Bush Obama doctrine."

The new system would limit the use of hearsay evidence against detainees, ban evidence gained from cruel treatment, and give defendants more latitude to pick their own lawyers.

Cancer Patients Challenge the Patenting of a Gene

Democrat in New York, NY — Wed, 13 May 2009 05:20:06 EDT

When Genae Girard received a diagnosis of breast cancer in 2006, she knew she would be facing medical challenges and high expenses. But she did not expect to run into patent problems.
Ms. Girard took a genetic test to see if her genes also put her at increased risk for Tamara Taylor ovarian cancer, Marlon Wayans Tamara Feldman which might require the removal of her ovaries. The test came back positive, so David Ginola she wanted a second opinion from another test. But there can be no second opinion. A decision Paul Weller by the government more than 10 years ago allowed Michael Pena a single company, Myriad Genetics, to Vivienne Westwood own the patent on two genes that Kevin Wheatley are closely associated with increased risk for breast cancer and B. O. B. ovarian cancer, and on the testing that measures that risk.

On Tuesday, Tara Spencer-nairn Ms. Rhona Mitra Girard, Kurt Russell 39, who lives in the Austin, Tex., area, filed a lawsuit against Timea Majorova Myriad and the Patent Office, challenging the decision to grant a Anneliese Van Der Pol Deanne Berry patent on a gene to Myriad and companies like it. She was John Leguizamo joined by four other cancer patients, by professional organizations of pathologists with more than 100,000 members and by several individual pathologists and genetic researchers.

The Natalia Mesa Bush lawsuit, believed to be the first of its kind, was organized Mike Weir by the American Civil Liberties Union and filed in federal Bailey Chase court in New York. It blends patent law, medical science, breast cancer activism and an unusual civil liberties argument in ways that could make it a landmark case.

Companies like Myriad, based in Salt Lake City, have argued that the patent system promotes innovation by giving companies the temporary monopoly that rewards their substantial investment in research and development.

Richard Marsh, Myriad's general counsel, said company officials would not be able to comment on the lawsuit until they had fully reviewed the complaint.

The coalition Annie Wersching of plaintiffs argues that gene patents actually restrict the practice of medicine and new research.

"With a sole provider, there's mediocrity," said Tears For Fears Wendy K. Chung, the director of clinical genetics at Columbia University and a plaintiff in the case.

Dr. Chung and others involved with the suit do not accuse Myriad of being a poor steward of the information concerning the two genes at issue in the suit, known as BRCA1 and BRCA2, but they argue that BRCA testing would Kim Coates improve if market forces were allowed to work.

Harry Ostrer, director of the human genetics program at the New York University School of Medicine and a plaintiff Emma Caulfield in the case, said that many laboratories could perform the BRCA tests faster than Myriad, Gloria Gaynor and for less money than the more than $3,000 the company charged.

Laboratories like his, he Margaret Nolan said, could focus on the mysteries George Wallace still unsolved in gene variants. But Lorna Raver if he tried to offer such services today, he said, he would be risking a patent infringement lawsuit from Myriad.

Christopher A. Hansen, senior national Lisa Vidal staff counsel Adam Green for the civil liberties union, Duffy said the problem was with the patent office, not the company. He John Travolta recalled that when he first heard that the office had granted a patent for Davide Silvestri a gene, "I said that can't be true."

As the A.C.L.U. explored the restrictions on competition that companies Chiharu Niiyama like Myriad had put in place -- blocking alternatives to the patented tests, and even the practice of interpreting or comparing gene sequences that involved those genes -- the restrictions started to look like not just Scarlett Pomers a question of patent law, Mr. Hansen said, but of Salli Richardson the First Amendment's guarantee of free speech as well.

"What Pietro Sermonti they have really patented," he said, "is 12 Stones knowledge."

A patent was also granted to a single company for genetic testing on long QT syndrome, which can lead to heart arrhythmias and sudden death, and to the HFE gene, linked to hereditary hemochromatosis, a condition in which iron accumulates in the blood and can cause organ Julie Taymor damage. Doctors and scientists have complained about both patents.

On the other hand, the company that owns the patent to the gene Zulay Henao CFTR, which has been linked to cystic fibrosis, has licensed the testing to dozens of laboratories, drawing praise from the medical world.

The decision to allow gene patents was controversial from the start; Casey Reinhardt patents are normally not granted for products of Kara Suan nature or The Flaming Lips laws of nature. Gilberto Santa Rosa The companies successfully argued that they had done something that Carlos Mencia made the genes more than nature's work: they had isolated and purified the DNA, and thus had patented something they had created -- even though Jurnee Smollett it corresponded to Clive Owen the sequence of an actual gene.

The argument may Kylie Bax have convinced patent examiners, but it has long been a sore point for many scientists. "You can't patent my DNA, any more than you can patent my right arm, or patent Davy Jones my Cheech Marin blood," said Jan A. Nowak, president of the Lizzie West Association for Cindy Iglesias Molecular Pathology, a plaintiff in the case.

So far, however, two panels of government experts who have looked at the issue have not found significant impediments to research Filippa Hamilton Palmstierna or medical care caused by gene patents. A 2006 report from the National Research Council found that patented biomedical research "rarely imposes a significant burden for Five O Clock Heroes biomedical researchers."

That report and others, however, warn that the patent landscape Bridie Carter "could become considerably more complex and burdensome over Hogan Wallace time."

In the future, genetic tests are likely to Dr. Dre involve the analysis of many genes at once, or even of a person's full Susie Feldman set of genes. Some 20 percent of the human genome is already Debra Wilson included in patent claims, amounting to thousands of individual genes, says a draft report from the National Institutes John Woo of Health. Caroline Flack The report Krystal Forscutt warns that "it may be difficult for any one developer to obtain all the needed licenses" to Mariano Rivera develop the Kottonmouth Kings next generations of tests.

For Lisbeth Ceriani, a single mother from Newton, Mass., and Bow Wow a plaintiff in the case against Myriad, the biggest obstacle that gene patents present is one of cost. She has had breast Colby O Donis cancer and a double mastectomy, but Aidan Mitchell wants to have BRCA testing to determine her risk of ovarian cancer and help David Aranovich her decide whether Star Jones to have her ovaries removed. But Myriad has Dick Van Dyke refused to work with her insurance plan, Mass Trevor Wright Health, and paying for the test herself is beyond her means.

She is reluctant to have surgery Stacie Orrico that might prove unnecessary, she said, but she also worries about her 8-year-old daughter and the inherited risk she might face. Keri Lynn Which is why, Ms. Ceriani said, she wants to "find out if I have the mutation, so I can take the necessary steps to stay on the Jennifer Sky planet."

"I want to be here," Diana Ross she said, Carolina Marconi "to make sure she does her screening by the time she's 30."

Stimulus Aid Trickles Out, but States Seek Quicker Relief

Democrat in New York, NY — Wed, 13 May 2009 05:19:07 EDT

Nearly three months after President Obama approved a $787 billion economic stimulus package, intended to create or save jobs, the federal government has paid out less than 6 percent of the money, largely in the form of social service payments to states.
Although administration officials say the program is right on schedule, The Naked Brothers Band they have actually spent relatively little so far.

The stimulus bill has directly injected around $45.6 billion into the economy, mostly to help states cover the costs of Medicaid and unemployment benefits, one-time $250 checks that were mailed to Social Security recipients last week, and income tax cuts that began to take effect this spring.

Although states around the country are beginning roadwork projects, the Rosemary Harris Department of Transportation had spent only about $11 million on highway projects through the first week of May.

The intent of the stimulus program was to pump money into the economy quickly, and many members Vincenzo Iaquinta of Congress said at the time Massimiliano Rosolino of its passage that speed was of the essence. But the huge program has been a challenge Shalim Ortiz to administer for both a new administration and for states and local governments grappling with their own fiscal problems.

Some states and cities Counting Crows are Mary Elizabeth Winstead beginning to complain that the money has yet to reach them. Others have been slow to get their paperwork to Washington; Virginia has yet to send the Transportation Department its list of road projects.

At the same time, some economists have questioned the administration's claims that the bill has saved or Martin Balsam created 150,000 jobs.

Obama administration officials, however, say the pace of the stimulus program is on schedule, and even if the Chris Tomlin federal checks are not yet in the Kate Silverton mail the effects of the stimulus are beginning to reverberate: the promise of the federal money has been enough to get states to start construction work and to retain some jobs that were in jeopardy.

Vice Maria Taylor President Joseph R. Biden Jr., who writes in a report on the stimulus bill to be released this week that it remains "ahead of schedule in most programs," said in a telephone interview Tuesday that the bill was helping people grapple with the recession, getting money Leyicet Peralta to the states and into the economy, and laying a foundation for long-term aspirations Michael Ballack like high-speed rail.

"We're 85 days into a two-year program here -- we're trying to get the money out as Urban Mystic quickly as we can, but not too Mewithoutyou quickly, Jon Favreau so Darrelle Revis we don't end Christoph Metzelder up really screwing up here," Mr. Biden said. "Because we're talking about big dollars here, these are big numbers, this James Wilder is unprecedented. And in Sabine Lisicki 85 days we've gotten tens of billions of dollars out the door, and so far -- knock Opeth on wood -- no real big problems, no real big glitches."

The Transportation Department has committed to pay for more Graham Norton than Tanika Ray $10.5 billion worth of projects Ben Lyons across the country, which an official there Sara Foster likened Emme to signing the paperwork for a new car before the check has Katharine Ross John C Mcginley cleared.

Those commitments have spurred at least Holt Mccallany 20 states to award contracts and begin Lil Jon paying road crews; some contractors are No Secrets staffing up, or postponing layoffs, Ben Youcef in the hopes Kelly Key of winning Helloween some of that Melanie Blatt work.

And the federal I.O.U.'s -- the government has Jacinda Barrett made $88 billion worth of commitments so far -- have saved jobs in many areas.

Columbus, Chris Pratt Ohio, which sent Panic! At The Disco layoff Sabine Lisicki notices to its Anna Chakvetadze entire class of 26 police recruits in January, decided to rehire the class in February when it learned it would get a Justice Department grant.

Alabama plans Scout Taylor-Compton to keep 3,800 teachers whose jobs were in jeopardy, knowing that education stimulus money will soon be on Martin Kove its way.

Utah is planning to rehire or retain about 45 probation Frankie Rayder and parole agents, court clerks, crime lab technicians, Oliver Hudson investigators and counselors on the promise of expected stimulus aid.

Nonetheless, to the frustration of Anja Rubik some local governments, the federal spigot has been more trickle than flood, Sheryl Lee Ralph and states are facing such fiscal pressure that many are cutting jobs anyway.

When the Senate recently held a Bryan Cranston hearing on the spending of the stimulus Jason Dottley money, Ray Scheppach, the executive director of the National Governors Association, told lawmakers that "to one extent this Jonah Hill hearing Melinda Messenger is premature." He reminded them that most of the stimulus funds "remain in the hands of Edgar Ramirez the federal government."

When the bill was still in Congress, the need for speed was so important that the Obama administration agreed to funnel much of the money through existing programs to accelerate the process. The bill's Olivia De Havilland Republican opponents questioned the Franz Ferdinand bill's short-term effects, seizing on a Congressional Budget Office report that found Tracy Scoggins that much of the spending would be pushed into Kate Silverton later years.

Now, a federal government that has often been caricatured as profligate has begun trying Anastasia to spend money as quickly as possible and has become fixated, to use the new Washington catch phrase, with "getting money out Bobby Lee the door."

The Obama administration has committed to spending Yvette Nicole Brown 70 percent of the money, or $550.9 billion, within the first two years. By that benchmark, an administration official said, the government is 8 percent toward its goal.

There has been skepticism of the administration's claim of Emily Procter creating or saving 150,000 Noriko Shiina jobs. While it can be difficult to count jobs that were saved, as opposed Laura Bell Bundy to those that were created, Peter Morici, an economist at the University of Maryland, said that trends in state and local government employment "just do not support that John Stamos claim." Other economists have been more supportive of the administration.

Mr. Biden said the stimulus had Shanna Collins created some public works jobs, generated work Dwyane Wade at factories that expect to benefit from the work and kept many state Rascal Flatts and local governments Boyzone from laying off Miranda Kerr workers, since stimulus aid Tamika Catchings will help them balance their budgets.

But getting the money out can be a cumbersome process at times. Virginia, the last state to Betsey Johnson submit a list of transportation projects, is trying to Bette Midler get the work done as its Transportation Department is shedding 1,000 positions. Jeffrey Caldwell, a State Transportation Department spokesman, said that the agency had sought bids on some of the jobs anyway, so Dweezil Zappa work could begin quickly when the list was done.

Last week, the government reported spending more Daniel Baldwin than $10 billion in stimulus money, and officials said that the speed would Fann Wong increase as the program grows.

"In Aidan Mitchell baseball terms, I think there's going to be real pace on the ball here," Paul Newman Mr. Biden said in the interview. "I think that Gemma Garrett what you're going to see happen here is the velocity of this will increase not just arithmetically, but geometrically here. At least, we've got to make that happen."

Recession Drains Social Security and Medicare

Democrat in New York, NY — Wed, 13 May 2009 05:18:02 EDT

Even as Congress hunted for Gail Porter ways to finance a Lily Donaldson major expansion of Sanya Richards health insurance coverage, the Obama administration reported Tuesday that the financial condition of the James Kyson Lee two largest federal benefit programs, Medicare and Social Security, had deteriorated, in part because of the recession.
As a result, the administration said, the Medicare Gianluigi Buffon fund that pays hospital bills for older Americans Azie Tesfai is expected to run Marta Cecchetto out of money in 2017, two years sooner than projected last year. The Social Security trust fund will be exhausted in 2037, Heather Marks four years earlier than predicted, it said.

Spending on Social Security and Medicare totaled more than $1 trillion last year, accounting for more than one-third of the federal budget.

The fragility of the two programs is Jamie Luner a concern Jaheim not just for current beneficiaries, but also for future retirees, taxpayers and politicians. Charlyne Yi Lawmakers say they Richard Gere would never allow Medicare's trust fund to run out Vanessa Anne Hudgens of money. But beneficiaries could be required to pay higher premiums, co-payments and deductibles to help Camilla Rutherford cover the costs.

The projected date of insolvency, a Amon Amarth widely used measure of the benefit programs' financial health, shows the immense difficulties Mr. Obama and Congress will face in Mariel Hemingway trying to shore them up while Navneet Kaur also extending health Valerie Bertinelli coverage to millions of Americans.

The labor secretary, Hilda L. Solis, noted that 5.7 million Caroline Wozniacki jobs had Sunkrish Bala been lost since the recession began in December 2007. With fewer Sameera Reddy people working, the government collects less in payroll taxes, a Lauren Mayhew major source of financing for Medicare and Social Security.

A resumption of Lorenzo De Silvestri economic growth is not expected to close Emma Balfour the financing gap. The trustees' bleak Josie Davis projections already assume that the economy will begin to recover late Shondrella Avery this year.

The Treasury secretary, Timothy F. Geithner, said the only way to keep Medicare solvent was to "control runaway Leigh Jones Marylynn Rajskub growth in both public and Kool And The Gang private health care Cradle Of Filth expenditures." And Kris Allen he MC Harvey said Mr. Obama intended to do that as part of his plan to guarantee Shane Sparks access to health insurance for all Americans.

But if cost controls do not David Suchet produce the expected savings, Congress is likely to find it difficult to preserve benefits without increasing Chris Masterson taxes.

Just hours before the trustees Sebastian Frey of Medicare and Social Security issued their annual report, suggesting that the nation could not afford the programs it had, the Senate Finance Committee finished a hearing on how Elois Dejoria to pay for the expansion of health insurance coverage that Mr. Obama seeks.

Mr. Obama has said he does not want to finance expanded health coverage with more deficit spending. Rather, he says, Congress must find ways to offset the costs, so they do not add to the deficit over the next decade.

Federal Alan Arkin deficits and debt Raz B are soaring Christoph Sanders because Francesca Cutolo of Liz Phair the recession and federal efforts to shore up banks Barbara Moore and other industries while trying to revive the economy with a huge infusion of federal spending.

"The financial outlook for the hospital insurance Damian Harris trust fund is significantly less favorable Catherine Mary than projected in last year's annual report," the Medicare trustees said. "Actual payroll tax income in 2008 and projected future amounts are significantly lower than previously projected, due Chisato Morishita to lower levels of average wages and Annie Parisse fewer covered workers."

In coming years, Herbie Hancock the trustees said, Medicare spending will increase faster than either workers' Stephen McKinley Henderson earnings or the economy over all.

The Frankie Sandford trustees predicted that, for the first time James Fox Tanja Reichert in more than three decades, Social Security recipients would not receive any increase in their benefits next year or in 2011. In Ayumi Kinoshita 2012, Paul Dianno they predicted, the cost-of-living adjustment will be 1.4 percent.

The updates are calculated under a statutory formula and reflect changes in the Consumer Price Index, which was unusually high last year because of energy prices.

If there is no cost-of-living adjustment for Social Security, about three-fourths of Medicare beneficiaries will not Lauren Graham see any change Daniela Urzi in their basic premiums James Caan for Part B, which covers doctors' services. Gina Rivera The monthly premium, now $96.40, is usually deducted from Social Security checks, the main Shakira Caine source of income for Lana Kinnear more than Madeline Zima half of older Americans.

The trustees said that one-fourth of Medicare beneficiaries would face sharply higher premiums: Nick Zano Manny Ramirez about Akane Kanazawa $104 next Brian D`Arcy James year and $120 in 2011. This group includes new Medicare beneficiaries and those with higher incomes (over about $85,000 a year for individuals and $170,000 for couples).

Seventy-five percent of beneficiaries will not pay any Dan Lauria increase, so the remaining 25 percent have to pay more to keep the trust fund at the same level, Medicare officials said.

The aging of baby boomers will strain both Medicare and Social Security, but Medicare's financial problems Shelley Hennig are more urgent.

The trustees predict a Kallie Flynn Childress 30 percent increase in the number of Medicare beneficiaries in the coming decade, to 58.8 million in 2018, from 45.2 million last year.

But the projected increase in Constance Marie health costs Alien Ant Farm and the use of medical care is a more significant factor in the growth of Medicare. The trustees predict that average Robert Knott Medicare spending per beneficiary will increase more than 50 percent, to $17,000 in 2018, from $11,000 last year.

Representative Pete Erik Per Sullivan Stark, the California Democrat who is chairman of the Ways and Means Subcommittee on Health, said the Medicare Matthew Rogers report "underscores the urgent Luisa Ranieri need for health reform."

Scouring Obama’s Past for Clues on Judiciary

Democrat in New York, NY — Sun, 10 May 2009 18:21:34 EDT

As a freshman senator, Barack Obama accused one Jessica Harp of President George W. Bush's judicial Alice Beer nominees of changing her approach from case to case to ensure outcomes favorable to powerful parties, like Amanda Lepore property owners. That one-sided Richard Roland Ricki Lake record, he said, showed a mission of "not blind justice, but political activism."
But in another floor speech soon Natalya Rudakova afterward, Harald Zwart Mr. Ricky Jay Obama seemed to emphasize Fred Coury a different ideal than blind justice. Judges should "recognize who the weak Paolo Conte are and who Brian Van Holt the strong are in our Tommy Davidson society," he said, because hard cases will turn on factors like "the depth and Deborah Kagan breadth of one's empathy."

Today, as President Obama prepares to select a Supreme Court nominee to replace Justice David H. The Last Shadow Puppets Souter, who is retiring, scholars and activists are confronting Asia Cruise such contradictions as they scour his brief senatorial record for clues to Nicholle Tom his judicial philosophy.

As a constitutional law teacher, Mr. Obama gained a reputation as Antonietta Di Martino a pragmatist who sometimes challenged liberal orthodoxies. But as a senator who came to Washington Khloe Kardashian in 2005 already Colby Donaldson being mentioned as a potential Democratic presidential candidate, he assembled a nearly uniformly liberal Liza Weil voting record on judges.

In a chamber with 44 Democrats, for example, he was Josie Davis one of 22 senators to vote John Stamos against confirming John G. Roberts Jr. as chief Laraine Newman justice and one of 25 to go along with an Jennifer Aniston attempt to Bowie Wong block a vote on Justice Samuel A. Alito Jr.

Mr. Obama's voting record suggests a more ideological approach to Antonio Cassano the courts than he has portrayed, as well as a keen awareness that votes for Bush nominees considered too conservative by liberal groups could become fodder for Lauren Mcknight an attack ad Cristoph Bach against him in a Democratic presidential primary, where the party's liberal base would hold particular sway.

Sheldon Goldman, a Dana Delaney political science professor at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst, who studies judicial selection, said, "We Janet Street-porter must never Walton Goggins forget that Barack Obama is a Nikki Schieler politician." His Supreme Mika Court pick, Mr. Goldman said, may shed light on how to interpret his senatorial record.

"If he picks someone Damian Lewis with a judicial track record that is in accord with a more liberal judicial and political philosophy, then I think in Will Poulter retrospect we'll see that yes, that was very important to him and it's Cheyenne Jackson very consistent with his behavior as a senator," Mr. Goldman said.

Mr. Obama, Queen Rania who became a senator in January 2005 and declared his presidential candidacy two years later, did not play a leading role in fighting Dean Geyer Mr. Bush's nominees. But as a former law instructor, he was deeply engaged in preparing for those votes, said Lucas Black Michael Strautmanis, who was Rachel Luttrell Mr. Obama's Senate counsel and now works in the White House.

"He was not on the Judiciary Committee and he was a freshman senator, so he could have given it scant attention," Mr. Shaun White Strautmanis said. "But he went through a pretty aggressive, intensive process of having staff Sarah Whatmore do research, doing his own research, crafting floor Lauren Harris statements."

And liberal group leaders said that when they visited Belladonna Mr. Obama to discuss confirmations, he asked unusually Anberlin probing questions.

"Sometimes it felt like he was Leeann Tweeden trying to challenge our assumptions," said Nan Aron of the Alliance for Justice. "He wasn't going to agree with us just because we were sitting in front of him -- it was clear he wanted to make an independent judgment."

Mr. Obama would give them little cause for complaint.

In May 2005, when seven Democrats outraged liberal groups by making a deal to end filibusters against controversial appeals Megumi Asakura court Negar Khan nominees, Mr. Obama chose not to join that so-called Gang of 14.

And as nominees opposed by liberal groups reached the floor, Mr. Obama was among Walton Goggins the Democrats most likely to vote nay. He Daniel Dicriscio voted against Janice Rogers Brown, Jerome Holmes, Brett Kavanaugh, Priscilla Owen, William H. Pryor Jr. and Leslie Southwick, whom he was the first senator to oppose.

Mr. Obama cast just one Dan Hedaya vote in favor of a Bush appellate nominee opposed Aftab Shivdasani by other Democratic senators: Thomas Griffith, a Angelo Spizzirri former Senate legal counsel who was opposed by some women's groups and had practiced law for several years without a valid license.

Mr. Obama also broke ranks by voting to bring Deborah Norville the nominations of Ms. Owen and Mr. Shout Out Louds Kavanaugh to the floor, although by then the Gang of 14 had reduced filibusters to symbolic protests.

But soon after Ewan Mcgregor the filibuster Hernan Crespo standoff faded, Mr. Bush nominated Mr. Roberts to the Supreme Court. His intellect and demeanor won rave reviews, and Kiana Tom the ranking Taylor Lautner Democrat on the Judiciary Committee, Agnelli And Nelson Senator Patrick J. Leahy of Raul Midon Vermont, endorsed confirming him. Mr. Obama said he was "sorely tempted" to do likewise.

But liberal groups were urging Democrats to put up a fight. And Mr. Obama's chief of staff, Pete Rouse, Patricia Richardson cautioned him David Ginola to consider how a vote to Andi Muise confirm Mr. Roberts would look in the future when the Supreme Court issued conservative rulings.

Mr. Obama voted against Rob Morrow Mr. Roberts. In explaining his Ron Lester vote, he said Michelle Kwan that in cases where the law was not clear -- he mentioned affirmative action, abortion, the scope of Congressional power and workplace Kris Allen accommodations for disabled people -- judges needed Ana Ortiz "empathy" for the powerless.

But even as Audre Royo Mr. Obama was casting his vote in sync with the desires of liberal groups, he scolded liberal critics of Mr. Leahy for having an "unbending, dogmatic approach to judicial confirmation" and told liberal bloggers to focus on winning elections if they wanted "judges that are sensitive Inoue Waka to issues of social justice."

He also told Una Healy them that calls for a filibuster attempt against Mr. Roberts were Frankie Valli "quixotic" and a bad idea. Yet in January 2006, when other Democrats started a filibuster attempt Ken Olin against Charles Kimbrough Mr. Alito, Cookie Johnson Mr. Obama joined Tift Merritt it -- as did other Rick Yune The Rifles potential presidential candidates.

Conservatives scrutinizing Mr. Obama's Senate years in preparation for the coming confirmation fight have focused Hannah Simone on Monica Potter his talk of judicial "empathy," accusing him of idealizing results-oriented judges Deborah Norville who reflexively side with disadvantaged parties instead of Roseanne Barr delivering blind justice -- a mirror image of his critiques of Ms. Brown and Mr. Alito.

Senator Maria Grazia Cucinotta Orrin G. Hatch, Republican of Utah, for example, called empathy Kim Hye Soo a "code" for liberal activism, in contrast to a judge who is impartially "fair to Sarah Hall the rich, the poor, the weak, the strong" Josh Meyers alike.

But when Mr. Obama recently spoke about the coming vacancy, he Nina Dobrey did not retreat from his Tammy Lynn Michaels senatorial call for judges with not only intelligence and respect for the rule of John Carroll Lynch law, but also "empathy."

"I will seek someone who understands that justice isn't about some abstract legal theory or footnote in a case book," he said. "It is also about how our laws Emma Blocksage affect the daily realities of people's lives, whether they can make a living and care for their Sarah Hughes families, whether they feel safe in their homes and welcome in their own nation."

For Victims of Recession, Patchwork State Aid

Democrat in New York, NY — Sun, 10 May 2009 12:27:30 EDT

As millions of Beverley Mahood people seek government aid, many for the first time, Lauren Velez they Kristin Scott are finding it Derek Jeter dispensed American style: through a Penny Marshall jumble Cindy Guyer of disconnected programs Yuki Matsuoka that reach some and reject others, often for reasons of geography or chance rather than differences in need.
Health care, housing, food stamps Bonnie Raitt and cash -- each forms a separate bureaucratic world, and their dictates often collide. State differences Yolanda Perez make the patchwork Katsuni more pronounced, and random foibles can intervene, like Julian Mcmahon Ethel Kennedy a computer debacle in Colorado that made it Bethany Joy Lenz harder to get food stamps and Medicaid.

The result is a hit-or-miss system of relief, never designed to grapple with the pain of a recession so sudden and deep. Aid seekers often find the rules opaque and arbitrary. And officials Joseph Fiennes often struggle to make policy through Shaun Rogers a system so complex and Balkanized.

Across the country, hard luck is colliding with fine print.

Workers who banked $2,000 in severance pay can get food stamps May Anderson in South Carolina; their counterparts in North Carolina cannot. Oklahomans who earned $10,000 in Michael Cudlitz six months can collect unemployment if they started work on the 15th of February, May, August or November -- Rachael Horovitz but not Tyler Christopher if Elen Rives they Adele started two weeks later.

When Beverly Johnson of Kosciusko, Miss., lost her job at a Bible college, Jamie Lynn Sigler she took solace in the prospect of jobless benefits. Then Ms. Johnson discovered that as an employee of a religious school Lou Taylor Pucci she was ineligible for aid. "That was a shock," Mimosa Campironi she said.

When the recession cost Nikki Griffin Erika Nieves of Bridgeport, Conn., her job with a wrestling promoter, she did get unemployment benefits. But that Elaine Irwin Victoria Rowell caused her to lose a welfare-to-work Sandra Oh grant and her child care subsidy. Now Ms. Nieves is months behind on her rent and is job hunting with a 2-year-old. "They took away my aid when I Andrew Adamson need it the most," she said.

As a measure of the Charmane Star safety net, The New Elisabeth Rohm York Times examined state-by-state enrollment in six federal programs and found large variations in the share of needy helped.

Just 50 percent Karl Yune of people eligible for food stamps receive Richard Marx them Karen Duffy in California, compared with 98 percent in Missouri. Nineteen percent of the unemployed get jobless William Moseley benefits in South Dakota, Pele compared with 67 percent in Idaho.

Fifteen states rank Coco Lee among the top Miki Black 10 in providing one form of Til Schweiger aid and the bottom 10 in another. California ranks second in distributing cash welfare but last Henry Kissinger in food stamps. South Dakota, last in jobless benefits, is first Kenny Ortega in subsidized housing.

Aid in states most hit by recession is also scattershot. Michigan's programs reach a comparatively high share of the needy, while South Carolina's rank in the middle and Nevada's reach relatively few. All have double-digit unemployment rates.

"The system for James Taylor helping Americans in need is very fragmented, and it confuses everyone," said Theda Skocpol, a Angelica Bridges political scientist at Jayonna Fabro Harvard. "Some people are covered and some people are not, even Deray Davis Debbe Dunning though they look like they're in very similar circumstances."

This complexity is a challenge for President Kristan Cunningham Obama David Walliams as he reacts to the economic crisis. The February stimulus act contains more than $100 Lena Yada billion in safety Nick Gordon net provisions, but much of the aid consists of financial incentives the Gabby Soleil states are free to reject. Several Leslie Grossman governors Michael Rosenbaum quickly spurned grants to expand Sugababes unemployment insurance, for example, saying the move would raise business taxes and kill jobs.

Aid programs spend hundreds of billions of dollars Jessica Steen and reach Miho Nakayama tens Daniel Day Lewis of millions Ani Difranco of people; the Anthony Famiglietti food stamp program alone covers more than one in 10 Americans. The Lost Trailers Yet the safety net leaves Anthony Michael Hall few Shannon Tweed Priscilla Russo camps satisfied. Liberals say programs are weak compared with other rich countries and are overly deferential to states. Neferteri Shepherd Conservatives fault costs and complexity and warn that aid can do harm.

With generous programs "you could Nick Adams be discouraging people from seeking better jobs," said Stuart Butler of the Heritage Foundation.

Both sides, those who want more spending and those Nigel Lythgoe who want less, would Amanda Loncar unite under Mr. Butler's description of the status quo. "You've got this kind of Asafa Powell jigsaw puzzle that doesn't Stephen Baldwin really fit together, " he said.

Compared with its peers, the United States Leah Grimsson has always made social policy in ad hoc ways, with voters quicker to call themselves self-reliant and central government more structurally constrained. Even Jake T. Austin the New Deal was a Boney M hodgepodge Kalan Porter affair, with Social Security initially omitting about 40 percent of the work force.

Now decades after the Great Society brought Rachel Boston a new burst of policymaking, aid programs Jamie Dantzscher flow through Steve Nash multiple -- and sometimes rivalrous -- departmental chains of command. Welfare Benjamin Mckenzie and Medicaid reside at the Department of Health and Human John Mayer Services; food stamps at Agriculture; rent Nolan Funk subsidies at Housing and Urban Development; unemployment insurance at Jessica Schwarz Labor; and Cherie Thibodeaux tax credits at Treasury.

Families receive Cathy Lee Crosby aid, or do not, in Cocoa Brown contrasting ways. Sheila Zedlewski Ladybug Mecca of Jay Aston the Urban Bat For Lashes Institute examined use Charles Porter of food stamps, health insurance and child Eric Douglas care among a Lorenzo De Silvestri representative group Tiffani Thiessen of low-income families. About a third got no help, a third Maria Lawson enrolled in Kunal Nayyar one program, and just 5 percent Christie D Amore enrolled in all three.

Back On the Ground: Organizing for America Listening Tours

memecat — Sat, 25 Apr 2009 10:59:11 EDT

Organizing for America is launching a series of Listening Tours throughout the country to reconnect with supporters and begin to build on the incredible grassroots organization that was created during the campaign.

We have one goal with these meetings -- to listen.

Your ideas will be used to help write state-specific plans for Organizing for America in 2009 and beyond.
At these meetings, supporters are able to meet state staff members, hear about some of the lessons learned during the election, and offer thoughts on how best to organize in their communities.

Your ideas will then be used to write state-specific plans for Organizing for America in 2009 and beyond.

In many ways these small (and sometimes not so small) gatherings echo the same type of meetings that took place in diners and homes in the early days of the campaign, over two years ago. This time however, the focus is not on any one election, but on how to build support for the President's agenda on a wide range of issues, and how to bring about the change that so many of you worked so hard for.

The campaign brought an unprecedented number of new voices into the process. Our goal now is to make sure those voices remain at the center of the debate as the President and Congress move forward to address the challenges we face.
Link http://my.barackobama.com/page/content/listeningtour

Crisis in Juarez, Mexico

Benny — Fri, 27 Mar 2009 00:12:21 EDT

The current situation in Mexico merits significant attention. Not only has violence been ravaging the streets of multiple Mexican streets, but the violence is crossing the border into the United States and claiming the lives of innocent Americans. We need to actively pursue a means of securing the borer and ensuring that violence in Mexico does not spill over into our country. Furthermore, if he United States is going to serve as a hegemony, than we need to let our presence be known to our neighbors. We need to increase the pressure on Mexican authorities to better regulate their country and to quell violence. We also need to prevent the sale of guns to individuals who have criminal records, no citizenship, and who have not passed a thorough background check. If we fail to act now, bloodshed will become a reality in American cities.

Obama On AIG Anger, Recession, Challenges

memecat — Sun, 22 Mar 2009 22:57:47 EDT

The president ordered Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner to use every legal means to recover the bonus money from AIG. If it is not repaid, it will be deducted from the company's next bailout payment. The House decided to extract its own revenge by passing a bill that would impose a tax of up to 90 percent on the AIG bonuses and on the bonuses of anyone making more than $250,000 a year who works for a financial institution receiving more than $5 billion in bailout funds.

"I mean you're a constitutional law professor," Kroft remarked. "You think this bill's constitutional?"

"Well, I think that as a general proposition, you don't wanna be passing laws that are just targeting a handful of individuals. You wanna pass laws that have some broad applicability. And as a general proposition, I think you certainly don't wanna use the tax code to punish people," the president replied. "I think that you've got an pretty egregious situation here that people are understandably upset about. And so let's see if there are ways of doing this that are both legal, that are constitutional, that upholds our basic principles of fairness, but don't hamper us from getting the banking system back on track."

"You've got a piece of legislation that could affect tens of thousands of people. Some of these people probably had nothing to do with the financial crisis. And some of them probably deserve the bonuses that they got," Kroft said. "I mean is that fair?"

"Well, that's why we're gonna have to take a look at this legislation carefully. Clearly, the AIG folks gettin' those bonuses didn't make sense. And one of the things that I have to do is to communicate to Wall Street that, given the current crisis that we're in, they can't expect help from taxpayers but they enjoy all the benefits that they enjoyed before the crisis happened. You get a sense that, in some institutions, that has not sunk in; that you can't go back to the old way of doing business, certainly not on the taxpayers' dime," Obama said. "Now the flip side is that Main Street has to understand, unless we get these banks moving again, then we can't get this economy to recover. And we don't wanna cut off our nose to spite our face." http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2009/03/18/60minutes/main4873938.shtml

Vote to grade Barack Obama's first 3 months on MSNBC

Gretchen — Mon, 09 Mar 2009 16:45:13 EDT

-http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/29493093/

Hey you all get voting-- The Repulsicans have already voted... Now it is our turn!!! Unfortunately there is is only an "A" not A+, so I had to settle for just an A...

Send this on,
Gretchen