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 Special
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9-11
Meta Index September 11 2001
CLONING
NEWS
STEM
CELL NEWS
ENRON
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MICROSOFT
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NEWS
|
Parents News:
20081221
 Working
-  People
-  Economics
-  Education
-  Safety
-  Enforcement
-  Politics
-  Maryland
"Squeezed
on All Sides, Parents Forgo Day Care: Education,
Safety Sacrificed in Fiscal Crunch." ... "In the [Maryland's] Prince George's
County community of Riverdale Park, town officials have noted a distressing
sign of the national economic downturn: more children left home alone to
fend for themselves by working parents too strapped to afford child care."
... "The problem was discovered by code enforcement officers who inspect
apartments in the town of 7,000. They used to come across such cases once
every couple of years. Then, six months ago, they found one child left
alone, followed by another and another." ... "In one instance, a kindergarten-age
girl was found hiding in a closet, apparently because she was scared, code
enforcement officers said. In another, children aged 10 or 12 were missing
school to watch their younger siblings." ... "Riverdale's experience comes
amid an increasing economic strain in child care across the Washington
[Washington DC, United States capital] region. In an area known for day-care
waiting lists, many operators report a rise in vacancies as parents withdraw
their children or cut back on hours because they can no longer afford the
cost." ... "The phenomenon is not universal, but it has struck in many
middle- and working-class areas as lost jobs, reduced work schedules and
foreclosed homes affect families with few reserves." (1, 2,
3)
-By Donna St. George -WashingtonPost
20081218
 Barack
Obama - Gay
- Politics
- Religion
-  Book
- People
- Children
-  Girls
- Schools
-  US
-  Pakistan
- Palestine
-  British
-  Soviet
-  Military
-  History
"Three
Cups of Tea for Rick Warren." ... "Rick Warren is
providing the invocation for the [Democratic President Elect Barack Obama's]
presidential inauguration. As a pastor whose books have been read by tens
of millions of Americans and whose voice is respected by an equal or larger
number, he has tremendous influence and power. And as an open homophobe
who aggressively works to wound gay people in this country (as well as
pretty much anybody else who doesn’t believe with his own particular and
peculiar recently-invented version of Christian theology) he should be
the guy with the bull’s-eye on his back for the progressive movement."
... "But consider that metaphor for a moment. In Pakistan there are entire
regions filled with people who not only hate gays but hate Americans as
well, regardless of religion. We've tried bombing them (as the Soviets
did, and the British before them). Three consecutive Western empires have
tried threatening them, starving them, poisoning them, infiltrating them,
and overpowering them - all without success." ... "And then Greg Mortenson
came to one of their villages, had three cups of tea with them (a metaphor
for hospitality - they nursed him back to health after a mountain climbing
injury - and the title of his best-selling book), and now in dozens of
these formerly Taliban-controlled villages the people are rejecting the
Taliban, embracing modernity, and openly proclaiming themselves as our
friends." ... "His "weapon" for this conversion? He built schools for their
children, particularly their previously-banned-from-school girls." ...
"We pushed the Palestinians on the West Bank to have open and democratic
elections, assuming that because they were using the tool of our culture
(the secret ballot) they’d vote in people reflecting the values of our
culture. Instead, they voted in Hamas, a group that is openly hostile to
us and our allies. Hamas’ “weapon” for winning the hearts and minds of
the Palestinians? They supported schools, hospitals, and fed and clothed
people." ... "You’d think that we’d have learned from these experiences
- particularly those of us who call ourselves “progressives” - that you
get your desired results faster when you embrace, engage, and nurture your
“enemies” than when you physically or rhetorically bomb them." ... "Barack
Obama has learned that lesson, and is applying it in inviting Rick Warren
to perform the invocation for his inauguration. In doing so, he is reaching
out a hand to those who today are - out of fear and ignorance - pushing
away gays the same way their intellectual ancestors pushed away African
Americans when anti-miscegenation laws were supported by most of these
same “fundamentalist” Christian churches in the 1950s and 1960s." -By Thom
Hartmann -ThomHartmann.com
20081212
 Christmas
- Children
- Consumer
- History
- Sacramento
-  California
"Christmas
bleak for KB Toys as it files Chapter 11." ... "The
toy retailer filed for bankruptcy protection Thursday just two weeks before
Christmas and announced plans to immediately liquidate its stores, including
all four in the Sacramento [California's capital] area." ... ""It's sad
that all of these companies are going out of business," said Gina Quivan
of Sacramento after a day of Christmas shopping with husband Justin Vasquez
and their three children. Vasquez carried a large bag of toys stamped with
the KB Toys logo." ... "KB Toys now joins a growing list of household names
tacking up going-out-of-business signs, from Linens 'n Things to Mervyns
to Circuit City and Shoe Pavilion. That a toy retailer failed just before
Christmas shows how bleak things have become." ... "Retail sales are at
their worst in 35 years, and three in five people say they'll spend less
money over the next 90 days, according to a survey of consumer spending
released Thursday by Maryland-based researcher ChangeWave." ... "The 86-year-old
company decided the most viable way to cover its debt was to liquidate
its stores via immediate going-out-of-business sales." -By
Darrell Smith -SacBee.com
20081210
 Homeless
- Families
- Poverty
- Crisis
- Politics
-  Law
- Police
-  Florida
"Homeless
turn foreclosures into shelters." ... "For Max Rameau,
a vacant, boarded-up home is more than just a symbol of the national housing
crisis. It's an opportunity to house the homeless." ... "Rameau, a homeless
advocate, runs a controversial program in Miami [Florida] that helps families
squat in homes vacated because of bank foreclosures. Using Internet listings
and a team of volunteers, Rameau and his Take Back the Land foundation
matches homeless families with empty homes." ... "Rameau, 39, says his
efforts are creative solutions for two of America's biggest problems: rising
numbers of vacant homes and a growing homeless population. He has moved
in six families since January. The authorities so far haven't stopped him."
... ""It's morally indefensible to have vacant homes sitting there, potentially
for years, while you have human beings on the street," Rameau says." ...
"Kelly Penton, a city of Miami spokeswoman, says police don't have the
manpower to scour neighborhoods looking for squatters. Police only act
on a complaint by a property owner, which so far hasn't happened, she says."
... ""People need to obey the law, obviously," Penton says. "But it has
to be something that's reported to the city."" ... "With 44% of the nation's
744,000 homeless unsheltered, it's not surprising that people want to take
over homes, says Michael Stoops, executive director of the National Coalition
for the Homeless." -By Rick Jervis
-USATODAY
20081209
Adolescents
- Emergency
-  Mental
-  Privacy
"Adolescents,
Failed by U.S. Health Care, Go to Emergency Rooms."
... "Adolescents rely on hospital emergency rooms for routine treatment
more than any other age group, according to a report that found the U.S.
[United States] health-care system often fails those ages 10 to 19." ...
"Many youths lack access to specialty services for mental health, substance
abuse and sexual and reproductive health, according to the report today
by the National Research Council and the Institute of Medicine." ... "“Even
when services are accessible, many adolescents may not find them acceptable
because of concerns that confidentiality is not fully ensured, especially
in such sensitive domains as substance use or sexual and reproductive health,”
according to the report." -By Justin Blum
-Bloomberg
REPORT:
"Adolescent
Health Services: Missing Opportunities." -Institute
of Medicine
20081126
Infant
-  Food
-  Health
-  Science
- Politics
- Industrial
-  Maker
- US
-  China
"FDA
finds melamine traces in U.S. infant formulas." ...
"The Food and Drug Administration has found trace amounts of the industrial
chemical melamine in some U.S. [United States] infant formulas, but at
levels 10,000 times lower than those found in Chinese-made formula." ...
"In China, where faked formula killed at least four children and sickened
more than 53,000, large amounts of melamine were added to watered-down
milk to make it appear to have an appropriate protein content." ... "The
trace amounts of melamine and cyanuric acid, a melamine by-product, were
found in formula from Abbott Laboratories, Nestle and Mead Johnson, which
together make more than 90% of all infant formula produced in the United
States." -AP
via -USATODAY
20081117
Children
- Food
- Poverty
- Health
- Safety
-  Government
- Language
- Politics
- Economics
-  Accounting
"50
percent more US children went hungry in 2007." ...
"Some 691,000 children went hungry in America sometime in 2007, while close
to one in eight Americans struggled to feed themselves adequately even
before this year's sharp economic downtown, the Agriculture Department
reported Monday." ... "The department's annual report on food security
showed that during 2007 the number of children who suffered a substantial
disruption in the amount of food they typically eat was more than 50 percent
above the 430,000 in 2006 and the largest figure since 716,000 in 1998."
... "Overall, the 36.2 million adults and children who struggled with hunger
during the year was up slightly from 35.5 million in 2006. That was 12.2
percent of Americans who didn't have the money or assistance to get enough
food to maintain active, healthy lives." ... "Almost a third of those,
11.9 million adults and children, went hungry at some point. That figure
has grown by more than 40 percent since 2000. The government says these
people suffered a substantial disruption in their food supply at some point
and classifies them as having "very low food security." Until the government
rewrote its definitions two years ago, this group was described as having
"food insecurity with hunger."" -By Michael J. Sniffen
-AP via -Yahoo
PDF:
USDA.gov Report: "Household Food Security in the United States, 2007."
20081110
Child
- Labor
- Safety
- Enforcement
- Employers
- Politics
- Food
-  Agriculture
- Plants
-  Construction- People
- Federal
- Immigration
-  North
Carolina -  South
Carolina -  Iowa
"Child
labor going largely unchecked." ... "Nery Castañeda
tackled a job that was never intended for kids his age." ... "One afternoon
last fall, the 17-year-old Guatemala native ran a machine to grind damaged
pallets into mulch. When a co-worker at the Greensboro [North Carolina]
plant returned from another task, he didn't see Nery – until he looked
inside the shredder." ... "“A person shouldn't die like this,” said older
brother Luis. “…He came with a dream and found death.”" ... "Decades after
the enactment of regulations designed to prevent such tragedies, thousands
of youths still get hurt on American jobs deemed unsafe for young workers.
On a typical day, more than 400 juvenile workers are injured on the job.
Once every 10 days, on average, a worker under the age of 18 is killed,
federal statistics show." ... "Enforcement has waned, despite new evidence
that many employers are ignoring child labor laws. U.S. [United States]
Department of Labor investigations have dropped by nearly half since fiscal
year 2000." ... "“There are lots of kids being asked to do work that's
been prohibited for them – and it's been prohibited because it's dangerous,”
said Carol Runyan, who heads UNC's Injury Prevention Research Center. “…Our
system is failing them.”" ... "More than 3 million youths under age 18
have jobs. Regulations prohibit them from doing a variety of hazardous
jobs, including most meat-processing work." ... "But last month, at an
immigration raid at a House of Raeford Farms poultry plant in Greenville,
S.C. [South Carolina], six juveniles were among the workers detained. Three
young workers told the Observer they were under 18 when they held jobs
at House of Raeford plants requiring them to make thousands of cuts a day
with sharp knives. The company says it requires job applicants to present
identification showing their age, but not all the documentation is accurate."
... "At Agriprocessors, a large meatpacking plant in Postville, Iowa, authorities
recently charged owners with thousands of child-labor violations after
finding that teenage employees were asked to use circular saws, clean floors
with powerful chemicals and perform other dangerous tasks." ... "“The raids
in Postville and Greenville show that 15- and 16-year-old kids are doing
some of the most dangerous jobs in America,” says Reid Maki of the National
Consumers League. “ … It's time for the U.S. Department of Labor to investigate
slaughterhouses and poultry plants.”" ... "A study of 16- and 17-year-old
construction workers in North Carolina, published in 2006, found that more
than 80 percent did tasks that were clearly prohibited. A national survey
of young retail and service workers, published in 2007, found that more
than half of males and more than 40 percent of females performed prohibited
tasks." ... "Runyan, who co-authored both studies, says much of the blame
lies with employers." ... "“I suspect there are employers who flagrantly
disregard the law,” she said. “And I suspect there are others who are clueless.”"
... "Total federal penalties for child labor violations dropped 29 percent
from 2000 to 2007." -By Ames Alexander and Franco
Ordonez -Observer
20081108
Gay
- Religion
- Money
- Salt
Lake City -  Utah
-  Tourism
- California
- Family
- Law
- 2008
Election
"Utah
Boycott Urged After Calif. Vote." ... "Utah's growing
tourism industry and the star-studded Sundance Film Festival are being
targeted for a boycott by bloggers, gay rights activists and others seeking
to punish the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints for its aggressive
promotion of California's ban on gay marriage." ... "Gay rights activist
John Aravosis, whose well-trafficked AmericaBlog.com is urging the boycott,
is unapologetic about targeting Utah rather than California, where voters
defined marriage in the state Constitution as a heterosexual act." ...
"Utah, Aravosis said, "is a hate state," and on this issue, "at a fundamental
level, the Utah Mormons crossed the line. . . . They just took marriage
away from 20,000 couples and made their children bastards. You don't do
that and get away with it."" ... "The Mormon Church, based in Salt Lake
City [Utah's capital], encouraged members to work for passage of the ballot
measure. Thousands of Mormons worked as grass-roots volunteers and gave
tens of millions of dollars to the campaign." ... "Proposition 8, the measure
passed Tuesday, overrode a state Supreme Court ruling that briefly gave
same-sex couples the right to wed." -By Brock Vergakis
-WashingtonPost
20081103
Barack
Obama -  Madelyn
Lee Payne Dunham - Grandmother
-  Hawaii
- NC
- 2008
Election - Politics
"Obama's
grandmother dies a day before election." ... "[2008
Election Democratic Presidential Candidate] Barack Obama's grandmother,
whose personality and bearing shaped much of the life of the Democratic
presidential contender, has died, Obama announced Monday, one day before
the election. Madelyn Payne Dunham was 86." ... "Obama announced the news
from the campaign trail in Charlotte, N.C. [North Carolina.] The joint
statement with his sister Maya Soetoro-Ng said Dunham died peacefully late
Sunday night after a battle with cancer." ... "They said: "She was the
cornerstone of our family, and a woman of extraordinary accomplishment,
strength, and humility. She was the person who encouraged and allowed us
to take chances."" ... "Last month, Obama took a break from campaigning
and flew to Hawaii to be with Dunham as her health declined." ... "Stanley
Dunham [Obama's grandfather] died in 1992, while Obama's mother died in
1995. His father is also deceased." ... "When Obama was young, he and his
grandmother toured the United States by Greyhound bus, stopping at the
Grand Canyon, Yellowstone Park, Disneyland and Chicago [Illinois], where
Obama would years later settle. " -By Herbert A. Sample
with contributions by Nedra Pickler -AP
via -Yahoo
20081101
 Halloween
- Politics
-  John
McCain - Barack
Obama - 2008
Election -  Michigan
- Kids
"McCain
Supporter Denies Candy To Children Of Obama Supporters On Halloween (VIDEO)."
... "Kids in this suburban Detroit [Michigan] neighborhood cried foul after
a [2008 Election Republican Presidential Candidate John] McCain supporter
refused to give them candy because they were the children of [2008 Election
Democratic Presidential Candidate Barack] Obama supporters." -By
Nicholas Graham -HuffingtonPost.com
 WATCH:
"Michigan McCain-Palin supporter says no treats for Obama kids on Halloween."
20081030
 Sarah
Palin - Money
- Politics
- Family
- Travel
-  Flights
- 2008
Election
"Palin
faces new ethics complaint over kids' travel." ...
"A new ethics complaint has been filed against [2008 Election Republican
Vice Presidential Candidate and Alaska Governor] Sarah Palin, accusing
the Alaska governor of abusing her power by charging the state when her
children traveled with her." ... "The complaint alleges that the Republican
vice presidential nominee used her official position as governor for personal
gain, violating a statute of the Alaska Executive Branch Ethics Act. It
follows a report by The Associated Press last week that Palin charged the
state more than $21,000 for her three daughters' commercial flights, including
events where they weren't invited, and later ordered their expense forms
amended to specify official state business." ... "In some cases, Palin
also has charged the state for hotel rooms for the girls." ... ""Governor
Palin intentionally secured unwarranted benefits for family members, improperly
used state property to benefit her personal and financial interests, and
illegally altered documents that were the subject of a Public Records request,"
the complaint states." ... "Earlier this month, a legislative report found
Palin violated state ethics laws when she fired her public safety commissioner."
... "The state already is reviewing nearly $17,000 in per diem payments
to Palin for 312 nights she slept at her home in Wasilla [Alaska], about
an hour's drive from her satellite office in Anchorage [Alaska]." -By
Rachel D'Oro -AP
via -BostonGlobe
20081029
Barack
Obama - 
- Ad
-  Media
- 2008
Election - Families
- Economy
- Military
-  Ohio
-  Missouri
-  Kansas
-  New
Mexico - Florida
-  Arizona
- - US
-  Iraq
"30-minute
Obama ad shows campaign muscle." ... "[2008 Election
Democratic Presidential Candidate and Illinois Senator] Sen. Barack Obama's
30-minute TV ad, which ran simultaneously on broadcast and cable networks
at 8 p.m. ET Wednesday, is muscle-flexing that has little precedent, a
campaign advertising expert said." ... ""It's evidence, if you needed any,
that the Obama campaign has more money than there is ad time left to buy,"
said Evan Tracey, director of the Campaign Media Analysis Group. "This
is flexing the muscles."" ... ""The strategic brilliance of this for Obama
is that he is going to consume about 24 hours of the news cycle," Tracey
said. "It boxes [John] McCain in, takes the oxygen out of the room."" ...
"In the carefully produced infomercial, Obama laid out his plans for the
economy and for bringing an end to the war in Iraq." ... "It also featured
stories of struggling families in swing states such as Ohio and Missouri
and included testimonials from high-profile supporters, including Kansas
[Democratic Governor] Gov. Kathleen Sebelius and New Mexico [Democratic
Governor] Gov. Bill Richardson." ... "Obama's Republican opponent, Arizona
Sen. John McCain, was not mentioned, nor was the GOP [GOP=Grand Old Party=Republican].
The spot ended with a brief, live Obama address to a rally in Florida,
another hotly contested state in this year's campaign." -By
Richard Allen Greene -CNN
WATCH
Barack
Obama ad: "American Stories, American Solutions."
"Obama:
"I'm reminded every single day that I am not a perfect man. I will not
be a perfect president. But I can promise you this: I will always tell
you what I think and where I stand. I will always be honest with you about
the challenges we face. I will listen to you when we disagree. And, most
importantly, I will open the doors of government and ask you to be involved
in your own democracy again."" - BarackObama.com
20081020
Barack
Obama - Madelyn
Payne Dunham - Grandmother
- Hawaii
-  Illinois
- Kansas
- Politics
- Race
- History
- Book
- 2008
Election
"Obama's
grandmother fights to see him elected." ... "Madelyn
Payne Dunham gave young [2008 Election Democratic Presidential Candidate]
Barack Obama a place to call home while his mother traveled the world.
When he needed money for school, she went without new clothes to help pay
his tuition." ... "And when the Illinois Senator decided to seek the Democratic
presidential nomination, Dunham provided the "Kansas heartland" pedigree
he needed to appeal to conservative white voters — and a personal anecdote
about racial prejudice that helped the man with the foreign name and Ivy
League resume connect with the African-American experience." ... "The 85-year-old
former bank executive is said to be "gravely ill" after falling and breaking
her hip, and some reports suggest she might not live to see the results
of the Nov. 4 election. Whatever happens, she's already lived long enough
to see her "Barry" achieve what she'd wanted for him, her brother says."
... "Although he made his mark thousands of miles from the Honolulu [Hawaii's
capital] apartment where she helped raise him, Obama and others credit
Dunham — whose birthday is Sunday — with instilling in him an appreciation
for education and hard work, and with setting an example of thrift, practicality
and tolerance." ... ""I think there's nobody more important than her, except
his mother, in shaping his character," said David Mendell, who interviewed
Dunham in 2004 for the Chicago Tribune and later wrote the book, "Obama:
From Promise to Power."" ... "While her husband [Obama's grandfather, Stanley
Dunham] was away in the Army during World War II, she was home raising
their daughter, Stanley Ann, and supervising a B-29 bomber assembly line
at the Boeing plant in Wichita [Kansas]." -By Allen
G. Breed -AP
via -Google
Obama's
Grandmother:
Madelyn
Payne Dunham
Obama's Grandparents:
Stanley
Armour Dunham and Madelyn Lee Payne Dunham
Barack
Obama's Grandparents
Barack
Obama - Madelyn
Dunham - Grandmother
- Hawaii
-  Indiana
-  Wisconsin
- Des-Moines
- Iowa
- Politics
- 2008
Election
"Obama
will make emergency trip to Hawaii to visit his Grandmother."
... "[2008 Election Democratic] Presidential hopeful Barack Obama will
make an emergency trip back to the [Hawaii] islands this week to visit
his grandmother." ... "A campaign spokesman says 86-year old Madelyn Dunham
is very ill." ... "Obama plans to leave Indianapolis [Indiania's capital]
on Thursday afternoon." ... "His grandmother has always been one of the
most important people in his life." ... ""She's the one who put off buying
a new car or a new dress for herself so that I could have a better life.
She poured everything she had into me," said Obama on August 28." ... "Obama
will be stepping off the campaign trail for a couple days to be at his
grandmother's side." ... "He cancelled his appearances in Madison, Wisconsin,
and Des Moines, Iowa to make the trip." -By Marisa
Yamane -KHON2.com
Barack
Obama - Madelyn
Dunham - Grandmother
- Politics
- 2008
Election
"Obama
Calls Grandmother "Rock of My Family"." ... "In September,
[2008 Election Democratic Presidential Candidate] Barak Obama talked about
his grandmother [Madelyn Dunham] during an interview with CBS News' Katie
Couric." ... ""She's been the rock of my family. She worked very hard all
of her life. And made a lot of sacrifices on my behalf. And now she can't
travel. She's got osteoporosis that's very bad. She's as sharp as they
come. She explained to me the other day, she said you know the problem
with getting old is that you're the same person, just your body is falling
apart, and it's very frustrating. And that's how she feels. And you know,
spending time with her is something that's going to be a priority after
the election is over."" -By Tim Sakahara
-KGMB9.com
Barack
Obama - Madelyn
Dunham - Business
- Woman
- Grandmother
- Hawaii
- Illinois
- Politics
- 2008
Election
"Obama's
Grandmother Described As 'Strong Willed': Senator
Leaves Campaign Trail To Make Visit." ... "Those who know Madelyn Dunham
said throughout her life she has been "strong willed" and ambitious." ...
"Dunham's health has slowly deteriorated and during his recent visit to
Hawaii [2008 Election Democratic Presidential Candidate and Illinois Senator]
Sen. Barack Obama spoke about his grandmother's condition." ... ""Her body
is not in great shape she has osteoporosis which means she can't travel.
She can't sit for a long periods of time on the plane so that's why it
is so important for me to take these trips back to Hawaii," Obama said."
... "Barack Obama since he was 10." ... "Dunham turns 86 on Sunday." ...
"University of Hawaii professor Alice Dewey is a longtime friend of the
Obamas and remembers Dunham's tenacity." ... ""She was a very determined
person as you began to get to know her she knew her mind and followed her
principles," Dewey said." ... "Dunham was one of the first women vice presidents
at the Bank of Hawaii. Co-workers said she was a well respected business
woman." -KITV.com
Barack
Obama - Madelyn
Dunham - Grandmother
- Health
- Hawaii
- Illinois
- Politics
- 2008
Election
"Obama
coming to Hawaii to visit ailing grandmother." ...
"[2008 Election Democratic Presidential Candidate Barack] Obama spokesman
Robert Gibbs announced that the senator will head to Hawaii Thursday to
see his 86-year-old grandmother, Madelyn Dunham, who is seriously ill."
... "She was released from the hospital last week and is at her home on
Oahu [Hawaii]. Obama plans to return to the campaign on Saturday." ...
"In a statement Gibbs said: "[Illinois] Senator Obama's grandmother, Madelyn
Dunham, has always been one of the most important people in his life. Along
with his mother and his grandfather, she raised him in Hawaii from the
time he was born until the moment he left for college. As he said at the
Democratic Convention, she poured everything she had into him." ... ""Recently,
his grandmother has become ill, and in the last few weeks, her health has
deteriorated to the point where her situation is very serious. It is for
that reason that Senator Obama has decided to change his schedule on Thursday
and Friday so that he can see her and spend some time with her. He will
be returning the the campaign trail on Saturday.""
-KHNL.com
Obama's
Grandparents:
Barack
Obama's Grandparents: Grandmother Madelyn Dunham and Grandfather Stanley
Dunham
20081006
John
McCain - Poor
- Families
-  Seniors
- Federal
- Health
- Politics
- Arizona
- 2008
Election
"McCain
Plans Federal Health Cuts: Medicare, Medicaid Spending
Would Be Reduced to Offset Proposed Tax Credit." ... "[Republican Presidential
Candidate] John McCain would pay for his health plan with major reductions
to Medicare and Medicaid, a top aide said, in a move that independent analysts
estimate could result in cuts of $1.3 trillion over 10 years to the government
programs." ... "The Republican presidential nominee has said little about
the proposed cuts, but they are needed to keep his health-care plan "budget
neutral," as he has promised. The McCain campaign hasn't given a specific
figure for the cuts, but didn't dispute the analysts' estimate." ... "In
the months since Sen. McCain introduced his health plan, statements made
by his campaign have implied that the new tax credits he is proposing to
help Americans buy health insurance would be paid for with other tax increases."
... "But Douglas Holtz-Eakin, Sen. McCain's senior policy adviser, said
Sunday that the campaign has always planned to fund the tax credits, in
part, with savings from Medicare and Medicaid. Those government health-care
programs serve seniors, poor families and the disabled." ... "In April,
when [Arizona Senator] Sen. McCain gave a major speech about his health
plan, Mr. Holtz-Eakin, the senior policy adviser, said the tax provisions
alone were budget neutral -- meaning that health benefits would have to
be subject to both income and payroll taxes." -By
Laura Meckler -WSJ.com
20080923
Housing
- Consumer
- People
- Working
- Families
"Millions
spend half of income on housing." ... "[Al] Ray is
one of more than 7.5 million people — almost 15 percent of American homeowners
with a mortgage — who are spending half of their income or more on housing
costs, according to 2007 data released Tuesday by the U.S. Census Bureau.
That is up from nearly 7.1 million the year before." ... "Traditionally,
the government and most lenders consider a homeowner spending 30 percent
or more of their income on housing costs to be financially burdened. But
that definition now covers almost 38 percent of American homeowners with
a mortgage — 19 million of them." ... "Though home prices have fallen this
year, in the most expensive markets where home prices tripled during the
boom, many working families still cannot afford to buy a home." ... "More
than 4 million homeowners were at least one month behind on their loans
at the end of June, and almost 500,000 had started the foreclosure process,
according to the Mortgage Bankers Association." -By
Adrian Sainz and Alan Zibel with contributions by Allen Chen
-AP via -Yahoo
20080921
John
McCain - Barack
Obama - Health-Care
- Economy
- Parents
- Social
Security - Journal
- Fla
- 2008
Election
"McCain
Health-Care Article Fuels New Clash Over Economy."
... "An article [by McCain] about health care published in an obscure journal
led to a new skirmish Saturday between the campaigns of [2008 Election
Presidential Candidates] Democrat Barack Obama and Republican John McCain
over who should be trusted with the ailing economy." ... "The article was
published in Contingencies magazine, which is produced under the auspices
of the American Academy of Actuaries. In it, McCain touted his plans for
increasing competition in health care as one way to expand coverage and
reduce costs." ... "McCain wrote, "Opening up the health insurance market
to more vigorous nationwide competition, as we have done over the last
decade in banking, would provide more choices of innovative products less
burdened by the worst excesses of state-based regulation."" ... "Obama,
appearing at Bethune-Cookman University in Daytona Beach, Fla. [Florida],
mocked his rival for sounding out of touch at a time when Washington is
moving rapidly to re-regulate the financial industry to curb the excesses
that put the system into near-paralysis in the past week." ... ""So let
me get this straight -- he wants to run health care like they've been running
Wall Street," Obama told the audience. "Well, Senator, I know some folks
on Main Street who aren't going to think that's such a good idea."" ...
"With millions of Americans worrying about their retirement security as
federal officials rushed to stabilize the shaky financial system, Obama
also seized on McCain's support for partial privatization of Social Security.
He said McCain was prepared to gamble with people's life savings." ...
""If my opponent had his way, the millions of Floridians who rely on it
would've had their Social Security tied up in the stock market this week,"
he said. "Millions would've watched as the market tumbled and their nest
egg disappeared before their eyes. Millions of families would've been scrambling
to figure out how to give their mothers and fathers, their grandmothers
and grandfathers, the secure retirement that every American deserves.""
(1, 2)
-By Dan Balz -WashingtonPost
20080919
Political
- Science
- Psychology
-  DNA
-  Nature
- Nurture
-  Nebraska
"Are
you a born conservative (or liberal)? A new study
suggests that your political attitudes are wired in from the beginning."
... "It's literally in their DNA." ... "People with strongly conservative
views were three times more fearful than staunch liberals after the effects
of gender, age, income and education were factored out." ... "Kevin B.
Smith, a political science professor at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln
and a study author, said conservatives were more vigilant to environmental
threats, and he speculated that this innate tendency led them to support
policies that protect the social order." ... "Fowler said the study added
to the growing research suggesting that over millions of years, humans
have developed two cognitive styles -- conservative and liberal. Cautious
conservatives prevented societies from taking undue risks, while more flexible
liberals fostered cooperation." ... ""For the species to survive, you need
both," he said." ... "But Jon Krosnick, a political science professor at
Stanford University, said it was impossible to draw any conclusions from
a study with so few people, all from a small Midwestern town." ... "The
study is the latest to challenge the long-standing dogma that upbringing
and environmental factors determine political attitudes." -By
Denise Gellene -LAtimes
20080916
Sarah
Palin - Criminal
- Money
- Politics
- Women
- Children
- Law
- Federal
-  Alaska
- 2008
Election
"Source:
Sex Assault Program Cited in Monegan Firing Targeted Child Abusers."
... "So [2008 Election Republican Presidential Candidate and Alaska Governor]
Sarah Palin's latest explanation
for why she fired Walt Monegan is that he had gone over her head in seeking
federal money for an initiative to combat sexual assault crimes, before
she had approved the program." ... "But it now appears that the program
in question is one that most elected officials would be wary of admitting
they hadn't strongly backed. According to Peggy Brown, who heads the Alaska
Network on Domestic Violence and Sexual Assault, Monegan wanted to use
the federal money to hire retired troopers and law enforcement officials,
and assign them to investigate the most egregious cases of sexual assault
-- including those against children." ... "In other words, if Palin's new
story is true, she fired Monegan for being too aggressive in going
after child molesters." ... "ABC News reported
yesterday that, although Alaska leads the nation in reported rapes
per capita, Palin hasn't made the issue a priority as governor." ... "Monegan,
however, appeared eager to change that. "He seemed to get the issue and
really took it seriously," Brown told TPMmuckraker." ... "According to
the Palin camp, too seriously." -By Zachary Roth
-TPMMuckracker
.TalkingPointsMemo
20080915
Sarah
Palin - John
McCain - Money
- Politics
- Travel
- Family
- Alaska
- 2008
Election
"Palin
Tax Mystery Enters Second Week: Itemizing The Questions."
... "When news broke last week that [2008 Election Republican Vice Presidential
Candidate and Governor of] Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin received more than $17,000
in state-issued per diems for evenings spent in her own home, several tax
experts and watchdogs asked whether [2008 Election Republican Presidential
Candidate] John McCain's running mate had ever declared and paid taxes
on that money as income. Including travel reimbursements for Palin's family
members, the Washington Post reported
that the total amount of potentially taxable income totals over $60,000
for Palin's first 18 months as governor." -By Seth
Colter Walls -HuffingtonPost.com
Sarah
Palin - John
McCain< |
