Parents News:

20090219
Parents - Genetics - Psychological - Health - Alzheimer's - Seniors - Employer - Workplace - Discrimination - Federal - Laws
"Alzheimer's study finds parental link: Patients' offspring have memory loss." ... "Children of parents with Alzheimer's disease can develop memory problems in their 50s or even younger - much earlier than previously thought - according to a large study released yesterday by researchers at Boston University School of Medicine." ... "The study subjects, who carried a gene strongly linked to Alzheimer's, performed worse in memory tests, on average, than other middle-aged people who had the same gene but did not have a parent diagnosed with Alzheimer's. The difference in memory between the two groups was equivalent to approximately 15 years of brain aging, researchers found." ... "The BU findings do not suggest that everyone with the gene, known as APOE-e4, will develop Alzheimer's, said Seshadri. The gene is believed to play a role in about 50 percent of Alzheimer's cases. The study also did not address whether the people showing early memory impairment were destined to develop Alzheimer's." ... "[T]he study has not yet gone through the traditional scientific vetting process, which includes other scientists reviewing the data before it is published in a journal." ... ""I wonder about genetic discrimination," said Dr. Rudy Tanzi, a neurology professor at Harvard Medical School who co-discovered three other genes that have been linked to early-onset Alzheimer's, a more rare form of the disease that typically strikes before 65." ... ""If it's out there that my parents have APOE-e4, there is a chance my employer might know and wonder, 'Should I promote this guy?' " Tanzi said." ... "The BU findings, he added, increase the urgency for stronger genetic nondiscrimination laws. Tanzi said that even though a federal law - The Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act, enacted last year - protects against employment discrimination, he worries about subtle discrimination in the workplace." -By Kay Lazar -BostonGlobe

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20090218
Barack Obama - Michael Steele - Pete Hoekstra - Don Young - Lindsey Graham - Ken Calvert - Emergency - Economics - Politics - Families - Jobs - Housing - Construction - Education - Government - US_Debt - Missouri - MN - SC - FL - CA - MI - NJ - AK
"Kit Bond Touts Effects Of Stimulus Bill He Voted Against." ... "[Missouri Republican Senator Kit Bond voted against the stimulus bill asserting:} “Unfortunately, this bill stimulates the debt, it stimulates the growth of government, but it doesn’t stimulate jobs,” Bond insisted." ... "However, today Bond is touring Missouri to tout the very stimulus plan he railed against. In a press release, Bond boasted about an amendment he included in the bill to provide more funding for affordable housing — and that will create jobs:"

"Last week, Bond led a bipartisan group of Senators in introducing an amendment to help provide needy families affordable housing. Bond’s amendment provides $2 billion to fund low-income housing tax credit (LIHTC) projects that have been stalled by the financial credit crisis. As part of the Democrats’ spending bill now signed into law, the Senate unanimously accepted Bond’s provision. […]"

"This provision will have a real impact in Missouri, especially for low-income, working families in need of safe and affordable housing. … Bond’s amendment will save more than 700 housing units and create 3,000 new jobs in Missouri."

"“This is the type of emergency stimulus spending we should be supporting — programs that will create jobs now and help families,” Bond said." ... "Bond’s “I was against it before I was for it” maneuver at least has local media fooled. Just 24 hours after noting his opposition to the stimulus bill, local news this morning reported that Bond would be touring the state “pushing his plan to create 3,000 jobs in the state and build more than 700 affordable housing units.” Watch the local CBS channel try to keep up with Bond’s flip-flops:"

WATCH: "Kit Bond Touts Stimulus Plan He Voted Against."

"Bond is not alone in trying to reap the political benefits both from voting against the bill and from bringing much needed funding to his district:"

"– [Minnesota Republican Governor] Gov. Tim Pawlenty (R-MN), who complained that the “federal government is spending money they don’t have,” told Rachel Maddow he would nevertheless accept funds for Minnesota: “Our view is, if you buy the pizza, it’s OK if you have a slice.”"

"– [South Carolina Republican Senator] Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC), who also campaigned ardently against the bill, said he would nevertheless gladly accept its funds for his state. “You don’t want to be crazy here,” he said."

"– [Florida Republican Representative] Rep. John Mica (R-FL) gushed over the bill, which he, too, voted against. “I applaud [Democratic] President Obama’s recognition that high-speed rail should be part of America’s future,” he said in a press release."

"– [Alaska Republican Representative] Rep. Don Young (R-AK) boasted that he “won a victory for…Alaska small business owners” in the recovery bill he refused to vote for."

"No wonder RNC [Republican National Committee] Chairman Michael Steele declared recently, “You have absolutely no reason — none — to trust our word or our actions at this point.”"
"Update [Missouri Republican Representative] Rep. Blaine Luetkemeyer (R-MO) boasted about the educational benefits of the recovery act, while [California Republican Representative] Rep. Ken Calvert (R-CA) said his office "will do what we can to direct as much money as we can." Neither voted for the bill."
"Update [Michgan Republican Representative] Rep. Pete Hoekstra (R-MI) joins in, praising the stimulus' "generous" incentives for home buyers on his Twitter feed:"

"petehoekstra If you know of someone thinking of buying first home, now may be the time.Stimulus incentive is very generous!Up to 8k!Check it out."

"UpdateBlueJersey notes adds [New Jersey Republican Representative] Rep. Leonard Lance (R-NJ) to the growing list. After insisting last Friday that the recovery bill "would have exploded our national debt without providing meaningful job growth," Lance toured construction sites in his district yesterday, touting funds that would come from the stimulus bill. "This is a classic example of a "shovel-ready' project," Lance said after the tour." -By Ali Frick -ThinkProgress.org

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20090212
Children's - Vaccines - Psychological - Medical - Science - Minnesota
"Vaccines don't cause autism, special court says." ... "The special masters who decided the case expressed sympathy for the families, some of whom have made emotional pleas describing their children's conditions, but the rulings were blunt: There's little if any evidence to support claims of a vaccine-autism link." ... "The evidence "is weak, contradictory and unpersuasive," concluded Special Master Denise Vowell. "Sadly, the petitioners in this litigation have been the victims of bad science conducted to support litigation rather than to advance medical and scientific understanding" of autism." ... "Science years ago reached the conclusion that there's no connection, but Thursday's rulings in a trio of cases still have far-reaching implications — offering reassurance to parents scared about vaccinating their babies because of a small but vocal anti-vaccine movement. Some vaccine-preventable diseases, including measles, are on the rise, and last fall a Minnesota baby who hadn't been vaccinated against meningitis died of that disease." -By Kevin Freking and Lauran Neergaard -AP via -Yahoo

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Barack Obama - Working - Families - Economic - Government - Accounting - History - Lawmakers - Politics
"BIGGEST. TAX CUT. EVER." ... "A few weeks ago, when the House approved the economic stimulus bill without any Republican votes, David Weigel noted that he literally couldn't remember "a time when the entire Republican conference in either house voted against tax cuts."" ... "That's true, but let's go a little further. The compromise plan announced last night includes $282 billion in tax cuts over two years. With that in mind, Steven Waldman argues, persuasively, that when the vast majority of congressional Republicans oppose the package, they'll be voting against the biggest tax cut "in history.""

"According to the Wall Street Journal, [Republican President] Bush's first two years of tax cuts amounted to $174 billion. A second batch in 2004 and 2005 cost $231. And those were thought to be bigger than the tax cuts offered by Reagan, Kennedy or others."

"Now, perhaps some new analysis will show that the tax cuts end up not quite being the largest in history by this measure or that. But it's clear they're massive."

"I'm ducking the debate on whether this is economically a good or bad -- but surely it ought to be a big story."

"True. Waldman also notes that this is also an example of a liberal Democrat delivering early on a tax cut he promised during the campaign, a pledge "few Republican thought he'd keep."" ... "[Democratic President] Obama's tax cuts, meanwhile, are short-term refunds paid directly to working and middle class families (some of which Republicans have denounced as "welfare")." ... "As such, GOP [GOP=Grand Old Party=Republican] lawmakers are going to reject one of the largest, if not the largest, tax cut ever proposed by a president -- which just so happens to be targeted at the working and middle class families Obama vowed to look out for." -By Steve Benen -WashingtonMonthly.com

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20090211
Corporate - Government - Politics - PA - Kids- Prisons - Enforcement
"Pa. judges accused of jailing kids for cash: Judges allegedly took $2.6 million in payoffs to put juveniles in lockups ." ... "For years, the juvenile court system in Wilkes-Barre [Pennsylvania] operated like a conveyor belt: Youngsters were brought before judges without a lawyer, given hearings that lasted only a minute or two, and then sent off to juvenile prison for months for minor offenses." ... "The explanation, prosecutors say, was corruption on the bench." ... "Prosecutors say Luzerne County [Pennsylvania] Judges Mark Ciavarella and Michael Conahan took $2.6 million in payoffs to put juvenile offenders in lockups run by PA Child Care LLC [Limited Liability Company] and a sister company, Western PA Child Care LLC." ... "In Luzerne County, prosecutors say, Conahan shut down the county-run juvenile prison in 2002 and helped the two companies secure rich contracts worth tens of millions of dollars, at least some of that dependent on how many juveniles were locked up." ... "One of the contracts — a 20-year agreement with PA Child Care worth an estimated $58 million — was later canceled by the county as exorbitant." ... "Robert J. Powell co-owned PA Child Care and Western PA Child Care until June." (1, 2) -AP via -MSNBC

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20090205
Barack Obama - Noteworthy - Economic - Crisis - History - People - Families - Jobs - Homes - Consumer - Energy - Health Care - Education - Internet - Science - Transportation - Construction - Government - Legislation - Politics
"The Action Americans Need." [By Democratic President Barack Obama] ... "By now, it's clear to everyone that we have inherited an economic crisis as deep and dire as any since the days of the Great Depression. Millions of jobs that Americans relied on just a year ago are gone; millions more of the nest eggs families worked so hard to build have vanished. People everywhere are worried about what tomorrow will bring." ... "What Americans expect from Washington is action that matches the urgency they feel in their daily lives -- action that's swift, bold and wise enough for us to climb out of this crisis." ... "Because each day we wait to begin the work of turning our economy around, more people lose their jobs, their savings and their homes. And if nothing is done, this recession might linger for years. Our economy will lose 5 million more jobs. Unemployment will approach double digits. Our nation will sink deeper into a crisis that, at some point, we may not be able to reverse." ... "That's why I feel such a sense of urgency about the recovery plan before Congress. With it, we will create or save more than 3 million jobs over the next two years, provide immediate tax relief to 95 percent of American workers, ignite spending by businesses and consumers alike, and take steps to strengthen our country for years to come." ... "This plan is more than a prescription for short-term spending -- it's a strategy for America's long-term growth and opportunity in areas such as renewable energy, health care and education. And it's a strategy that will be implemented with unprecedented transparency and accountability, so Americans know where their tax dollars are going and how they are being spent." ... "In recent days, there have been misguided criticisms of this plan that echo the failed theories that helped lead us into this crisis -- the notion that tax cuts alone will solve all our problems; that we can meet our enormous tests with half-steps and piecemeal measures; that we can ignore fundamental challenges such as energy independence and the high cost of health care and still expect our economy and our country to thrive." ... "I reject these theories, and so did the American people when they went to the polls in November and voted resoundingly for change. They know that we have tried it those ways for too long. And because we have, our health-care costs still rise faster than inflation. Our dependence on foreign oil still threatens our economy and our security. Our children still study in schools that put them at a disadvantage. We've seen the tragic consequences when our bridges crumble and our levees fail." ... "Every day, our economy gets sicker -- and the time for a remedy that puts Americans back to work, jump-starts our economy and invests in lasting growth is now." ... "Now is the time to protect health insurance for the more than 8 million Americans at risk of losing their coverage and to computerize the health-care records of every American within five years, saving billions of dollars and countless lives in the process." ... "Now is the time to save billions by making 2 million homes and 75 percent of federal buildings more energy-efficient, and to double our capacity to generate alternative sources of energy within three years." ... "Now is the time to give our children every advantage they need to compete by upgrading 10,000 schools with state-of-the-art classrooms, libraries and labs; by training our teachers in math and science; and by bringing the dream of a college education within reach for millions of Americans." ... "And now is the time to create the jobs that remake America for the 21st century by rebuilding aging roads, bridges and levees; designing a smart electrical grid; and connecting every corner of the country to the information superhighway." ... "These are the actions Americans expect us to take without delay. They're patient enough to know that our economic recovery will be measured in years, not months. But they have no patience for the same old partisan gridlock that stands in the way of action while our economy continues to slide." ... "So we have a choice to make. We can once again let Washington's bad habits stand in the way of progress. Or we can pull together and say that in America, our destiny isn't written for us but by us. We can place good ideas ahead of old ideological battles, and a sense of purpose above the same narrow partisanship. We can act boldly to turn crisis into opportunity and, together, write the next great chapter in our history and meet the test of our time." -By Barack Obama -WashingtonPost

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