Tonight, in an historic vote, the House of Representatives passed a bill that would finally make real the promise of quality, affordable health care for the American people.The Affordable Health Care for America Act is a piece of legislation that will provide stability and security for Americans who have insurance; quality affordable options for those who don’t; and bring down the cost of health care for families, businesses, and the government while strengthening the financial health of Medicare. And it is legislation that is fully paid for and will reduce our long-term federal deficit.Thanks to the hard work of the House, we are just two steps away from achieving health insurance reform in America. Now the United States Senate must follow suit and pass its version of the legislation. I am absolutely confident it will, and I look forward to signing comprehensive health insurance reform into law by the end of the year. http://my.barackobama.com/page/community/post/obamaforamerica/gGMmWn
Tonight, in an historic vote, the House of Representatives passed a bill that would finally make real the promise of quality, affordable health care for the American people.The Affordable Health Care for America Act is a piece of legislation that will provide stability and security for Americans who have insurance; quality affordable options for those who don’t; and bring down the cost of health care for families, businesses, and the government while strengthening the financial health of Medicare. And it is legislation that is fully paid for and will reduce our long-term federal deficit.Thanks to the hard work of the House, we are just two steps away from achieving health insurance reform in America. Now the United States Senate must follow suit and pass its version of the legislation. I am absolutely confident it will, and I look forward to signing comprehensive health insurance reform into law by the end of the year.
http://my.barackobama.com/page/community/post/obamaforamerica/gGMmWn
From a Romanian Newspaper
We rarely get a chance to see another country's editorial about the USA
Read this excerpt from a Romanian Newspaper. The article was written by Mr. Cornel Nistorescu and published under the title 'C'ntarea Americii, meaning 'Ode To America ') in the Romanian newspaper Evenimentulzilei 'The Daily Event' or 'News of the Day'.~An Ode to America ~ Why are Americans so united? They would not resemble one another even if you painted them all one color! They speak all the languages of the world and form an astonishing mixture of civilizations and religious beliefs.On 9/ll, the American tragedy turned three hundred million people into a hand put on the heart. Nobody rushed to accuse the White House, the Army, or the Secret Service that they are only a bunch of losers. Nobody rushed to empty their bank accounts.. Nobody rushed out onto the streets nearby to gape about. Instead the Americans volunteered to donate blood and to give a helping hand. After the first moments of panic, they raised their flag over the smoking ruins, putting on T-shirts, caps and ties in the colors of the national flag. They placed flags on buildings and cars as if in every place and on every car a government official or the president was passing. On every occasion, they started singing: 'God Bless America !' I watched the live broadcast and rerun after rerun for hours listening to the story of the guy who went down one hundred floors with a woman in a wheelchair without knowing who she was, or of the Californian hockey player, who gave his life fighting with the terrorists and prevented the plane from hitting a target that could have killed other hundreds or thousands of people. How on earth were they able to respond united as one human being? Imperceptibly, with every word and musical note, the memory of some turned into a modern myth of tragic heroes. And with every phone call, millions and millions of dollars were put into collection aimed at rewarding not a man or a family, but a spirit, which no money can buy. What on earth can unites the Americans in such way? Their land? Their history? Their economic Power? Money? I tried for hours to find an answer, humming songs and murmuring phrases with the risk of sounding commonplace, I thought things over, I reached but only one conclusion... Only freedom can work such miracles. Cornel Nistorescu (This deserves to be passed around the Internet forever.) It took a person on the outside - looking in - to see what we take for granted !
GOD BLESS AMERIC A !!!
Do you think it is far-fetched to design applications in United States classrooms, using mathematics and sports? Science, physics and chemistry can also be blended with sports for an interdisciplinary learning experience for students at all levels.
My article on "The Nitty-Gritty of the NFL Football" and an article in the Official Pro Football Hall of Fame Yearbook (2007) discuss the characteristics and "Evolution of the Football." On pages 100-104 in the Pro Football Hall of Fame magazine, you learn that the football is not a pigskin. You see images of the early football in 1894, the Duke Football, and the White Football in 1956.
Once more, you read:
"On January 1, 2006, New England Patriots backup quarterback Doug Flutie converted the NFL's first successful dropkick since 1941. He converted an extra point in the fourth quarter of the season-ending game against the Miami Dolphins.
"Prior to Flutie's kick, the league's last successful dropkick was on December 21, 1941--two weeks after the bombing of Pearl Harbor--when Ray "Scooter" McLean drop-kicked an extra point as the Chicago Bears beat the New York Giants, 37-9, in the NFL championship game."
Why is the above quote so important? Here is the answer:
"Changes to the football made the art of drop-kicking significantly more difficult due to the more erratic bounce (physics) of a tapered ball.
"The upward bounce of the older, rounder version of the ball was much more predictable (physics and mathematics)."
The NFL archives enlighten the 2009 fans, telling us that in 1899 the Official Football Rules Book contained a definition to include the descriptive shape.
The 1899 Rules Book says that "the football used shall be of leather, enclosing an inflated rubber bladder. The ball shall have the shape of a prolate spheroid."
Prolate spheroid? You mean to say that the football officials knew the mathematics term, prolate spheroid! Yes, and it could mean that the students in 1899 may have known and loved mathematics more than the students in 2009.
Well, it's clear to me that there is so much knowledge embedded in the world of sports that we must be like "gold diggers." We should, perhaps, chisel through the surface and get to the deeper things that need to be revealed in the world of sports.
Why? We need to motivate our students to the highest level of excellence, again, so as to maintain our position and rank in an international setting.
In January 2009 at the Joint Mathematics Meeting, in Washington, D.C., there were several sessions, conducted by mathematicians, disseminating information on sports and mathematics. One session was led by Howard Penn of the United States Naval Academy.
The topic I prepared for presentation in the 2009 Washington, D. C. meeting was titled, "New Ways of Assessing NFL Players." The inspiration came from the observation that many NFL players who made outstanding contributions to the sport, have been misrepresented by statistics which lacked the dimensionality to describe their intensity and integrity as sportsmen.
Data was collected from public databases. Mathematical modeling was used to compare players, and interesting results were evident. I tagged a term "sport's prodigy" because some guys were able to set records in a much shorter time frame than others.
The argument could go like this: Just as we marvel over the 13 year-old B/R writers who publish such powerful and outstanding work at such a young age, there are NFL players who performed on the playing field, doing marvelous feats, yet their career was not long.
Bleacher Report encourages us to give credit where credit is due. As a sports writing site, we, then, must give credit to the players when credit is due.
It's the 21st century. We need not rant and rave about who is the better player. We must, I believe, use more sophisticated analysis and assessment strategies to measure and identify impact in the games, and in the entire sports industry.
Not only have I and other B/R sportswriters been perceived as underrated, there are many sportsmen of my generation who have been both underrated, and I might add, berated.
They have been berated by faulty reasoning, and incomplete analysis with gaps in understanding.
In some cases, too little emphasis has been placed on athletic performance, and too much on personal challenges which are intimately connected with, in my opinion, the culture of the sports and entertainment industry.
There have been growth and "forgiveness" in the media recorded images of the lives of some great sportsmen. For example, Kobe Bryant and Majic Johnson have been able to move forward in their lives, although human error put pimples on their careers in the past.
So how do we use these ideas in the classroom?
We teach cognitive, affective and psycho-motor skills. The content for the cognitive lessons can be draw from sports databases.
The biographical sketches of the stars who achieved, stumbled in some social or legal way, and then are in recovery and redemptive stages, can be used to educate in the affective domain.
Finally, the archival records demonstrating superior athletic skills, feats of endurance, courage and compassion, can be used to teach in the psycho-motor domain.
In early October 2009, another conference, sponsored by the U. S. Department of Education will convene in Washington, D. C. I will be there representing the National Association of Mathematicians, and my good experiences of learning more about sports through my interactions with the Bleacher Report (B/R) will be shared with some of my colleagues.
Many of the articles on B/R are loaded with wisdom, knowledge and analysis in each of the cognitive, affective and psycho-motor domains. The concepts in these domains are taught in curriculum and instruction.
Once we eradicate the "warts" on our complexion, we will display a beautiful image of the creative uses of the Bleacher Report.
B/R is an excellent outlet to demonstrate that sports can entertain, educate and even elevate academic achievement in America, if we collaborate and put our best foot forward.
One of the amenities of our mission is to share the concept:
Sports can help entertain, educate, and elevate academic achievement in America, and in the international community.
Finally, one good way to get started on this mission is to visit the Pro Football Hall of Fame website or contact Mr. Jerry Csaki, the education director of the Pro Football Hall of Fame, in Canton, Ohio.
When can you get started? My answer: In a few days the 2009 Enshrinement Ceremonies will begin. Not only should you be there for that historical event, but also spend a little time visiting the education division of the Hall of Fame.
The lightning flashed. An idea popped up in my mind. The thunder began to roar. It hit me—BAM! I am sitting in a place that was trod by the great Walter Cronkite.
I immediately emailed Leroy Watson, who has mentored me on B/R, and who is very discerning. I wrote:
"Look at how near to excellence we sometimes tread..... Walter Cronkite is represented in the museum at the college where I teach, located at Holman Street in Houston, Texas.
"The museum occupies a room on the second floor of the San Jacinto Building of the Houston Community College, Central Campus. Many years ago (I have taught at Central College for about 21 years), I noticed the names of Walter Cronkite and other great people who attended the then San Jacinto High School.
"Sometimes some very dedicated alumni come and monitor the facility to make certain the museum is in order. We have lost a great communicator/journalist. It is an honor to teach at the location where he once trod as a very young man.
"There is a Texas Historical Marker on the grounds on Holman Street. Cronkite and his generation of journalists will be remembered and honored for years, as many students pause to read the marker, on a daily basis."
Watson’s quick response:
"OH MY GOODNESS! That is simply amazing! Have you written a Bleacher article on that? I think it would make an amazing story."
I, then, wrote:
"It just hit me—BAM (smiles) tonight when I wrote you. Tomorrow I will go over to that building and take a few pictures. Then, I will think over it. You see, we are having quite of few of these timely moments."
So, the morning of July 21, 2009, I arrived at school with my digital camera, ready to take pictures of the historical marker. In the San Jacinto Memorial Building (once called San Jacinto High School) a museum houses archives containing historical information on thousands of high school students who once walked the grounds of 1300 Holman Street, Houston, Texas.
I trotted to the second floor, and the central display showed Walter Cronkite, featured in a May 15, 1985 article of the Houston Post. A story written by Dalma Heyn contained a prophetic question, “What would we do without him? Walter Cronkite had told us…”
That question is still pertinent. During his career, Cronkite “interpreted for us the myriad complicated happenings in our world.
“He explained changes that were taking place so rapidly we could hardly process them, let along comprehend their significance.”
Does history repeat itself? Yes, said a college student in a math class at Houston Community College, Central Campus, the precise location where Cronkite once dwelled as a young man, and the place where I have tried to inspire young people to pursue excellence.
And to bring it all full circle, I have now shared the halls with a great football coach who became the nation's leading educator, Dr. Rod Paige, U. S. Secretary of Education, and now Walter Cronkite, gentleman, sportsman, journalist extraordinaire.
Is Bleacher Report special or what?
As history seems to repeat itself, so then Cronkite’s question must be resounded, “What would we do without him?”
One answer is clear: We will continue to be inspired by his contributions, and we will function as befitting protégés, vicariously mentored by his standard of excellence in communications and journalism, in sports and news.
A classical response of Walter Cronkite’s is appropriate here: “…And that’s the way it is.”
Walter Cronkite stood out in the crowd of 37,948 students who attended San Jacinto High School. His career glares through dark moments, like lightning streaking the sky at night.
He reported on the dark moments in history: assassinations of President John F. Kennedy, Robert Kennedy, and Dr. Martin Luther King; of Watergate and the resignation of President Richard Nixon; and of the Vietnam War.
He shared the excitement of reporting on the first man on the moon.
He was athletic, and he loved to play tennis. He even raced cars at 140 mph. The Post writer said, “He was once the proud owner of a Lotus.”
“He still plays hard and plays to win,” said the reporter, in 1985, 4 years after his so-called retirement from CBS.
In the article mounted and posted in the museum at my college, Cronkite is seen grasping his pipe, a man married for more than 60 years.
His final words at a benchmark in his career:
This is my last broadcast as the anchorman of The CBS Evening News; for me, it's a moment for which I long have planned, but which, nevertheless, comes with some sadness. For almost two decades, after all, we've been meeting like this in the evenings, and I'll miss that. But those who have made anything of this departure, I'm afraid have made too much.
“This is but a transition, a passing of the baton. A great broadcaster and gentleman, Doug Edwards, preceded me in this job, and another, Dan Rather, will follow. And anyway, the person who sits here is but the most conspicuous member of a superb team of journalists; writers, reporters, editors, producers, and none of that will change.
“Furthermore, I'm not even going away! I'll be back from time to time with special news reports and documentaries, and, beginning in June, every week, with our science program, Universe.Old anchormen, you see, don't fade away; they just keep coming back for more. And that's the way it is: Friday, March 6, 1981. I'll be away on assignment, and Dan Rather will be sitting in here for the next few years. Good night”
Walter Leland Cronkite, Jr. (November 4, 1916 – July 17, 2009), farewell as we recall your words:
“This is but a transition, a passing of the baton…”
Chris, please give us a Organizing for America Personal Fundraising "page". Is it Okay for us to still use The Holiday Fundraising and the Main Personal Fundraising Campaign for '08 pages for fundraising drives? s.o.s. we need new FR pages to help us raise finances for the PBO Mega-Party!!!!!!! C'Mon!!!!! Let's Do This!!!!!
We Really, Really, Really Need a New Fundraising Page!!!!!!
The Great Depression was the worst economic slump ever in U.S. history, and one which spread to virtually all of the industrialized world. The depression began in late 1929 and lasted for about a decade. Many factors played a role in bringing about the depression; however, the main cause for the Great Depression was the combination of the greatly unequal distribution of wealth throughout the 1920's, and the extensive stock market speculation that took place during the latter part that same decade. The maldistribution of wealth in the 1920's existed on many levels. Money was distributed disparately between the rich and the middle-class, between industry and agriculture within the United States, and between the U.S. and Europe. This imbalance of wealth created an unstable economy. The excessive speculation in the late 1920's kept the stock market artificially high, but eventually lead to large market crashes. These market crashes, combined with the maldistribution of wealth, caused the American economy to capsize.
The federal government also contributed to the growing gap between the rich and middle-class. Calvin Coolidge's administration (and the conservative-controlled government) favored business, and as a result the wealthy who invested in these businesses. An example of legislation to this purpose is the Revenue Act of 1926, signed by President Coolidge on February 26, 1926, which reduced federal income and inheritance taxes dramatically. Andrew Mellon, Coolidge's Secretary of the Treasury, was the main force behind these and other tax cuts throughout the 1920's. In effect, he was able to lower federal taxes such that a man with a million-dollar annual income had his federal taxes reduced from $600,000 to $200,000. Even the Supreme Court played a role in expanding the gap between the socioeconomic classes. In the 1923 case Adkins v. Children's Hospital, the Supreme Court ruled minimum-wage legislation unconstitutional.
The large and growing disparity of wealth between the well-to-do and the middle-income citizens made the U.S. economy unstable. For an economy to function properly, total demand must equal total supply. In an economy with such disparate distribution of income it is not assured that demand will always equal supply. Essentially what happened in the 1920's was that there was an oversupply of goods. It was not that the surplus products of industrialized society were not wanted, but rather that those whose needs were not satiated could not afford more, whereas the wealthy were satiated by spending only a small portion of their income. A 1932 article in Current History articulates the problems of this maldistribution of wealth:
We still pray to be given each day our daily bread. Yet there is too much bread, too much wheat and corn, meat and oil and almost every other commodity required by man for his subsistence and material happiness. We are not able to purchase the abundance that modern methods of agriculture, mining and manufacturing make available in such bountiful quantities.
Through such a period of imbalance, the U.S. came to rely upon two things in order for the economy to remain on an even keel: credit sales, and luxury spending and investment from the rich.
http://www.geocities.com/CapitolHill/Senate/6854/greatdep.html
One method of putting money in the hands of middle class people who are struggling to make ends meet is to allow the withdrawal of funds from their 401K accounts without incurring penalties or excessive fees. Waiving restrictions on these withdrawals and IRS early withdrawal penalties will enable people to access their money and it will not add to the deficit while putting money in the hands of those in need.
Comments posted by Clay Smith are his personal views not those of any organization he represents.
President Obama is intelligent (we finally have a president who was at the top of the class) but also down to earth like "We The People". He will/has come up with a Blueprint America Needs NOW. It will be done systematically, thoughtfully and AFTER listening and HEARING EVERYONE on the subjects. Also he has the character and values of caring for ALL people that we need to get our nation back on the right track.
He strongly believes, as do I, that we will NOT Get Out of the "huge mess we are in" to become what we need to be unless we face head-on the issues of Health Care, Energy and Education Reforms AND DO IT NOW.
Oh Yes, I do hear the "chattering heads" of Congress, the media and all around us saying "WHY NOW? We have too many other problems. We need to focus on them first." I say that kind of talk is part of what got us into "this huge mess"--IGNORING--WAITING--AVOIDING "closing our eyes" so as to make the problems go away. SORRY that did not work for me even as a child AND it sure WILL NOT WORK now for our country.
We will not solve "the other problems" UNLESS and UNTIL we REFORM these 3 areas as President Obama plans to do. The money inefficiently spent on Health Care and Foreign Oil will get us into a deeper hole if it is not addressed NOW. The education of our children is what we must count on to survive and compete in a global economy. They are our nation's future. AND we must give them tools NOW for our country's sake and our world.
BATON ROUGE, La. -- The Jindal administration is estimating that Louisiana will have to spend $336 million to buy land that the Army Corps of Engineers needs to build levees and floodgates on to protect the New Orleans area.
On Wednesday, Garret Graves, the chairman of the Coastal Protection and Restoration Authority, said the Jindal administration wants the Louisiana Legislature to use $200 million this year from the state surplus to buy land with.Graves said the state will need to buy $336 million in land by 2010.As part of the state's share of levee costs, the state has agreed to buy land sitting next to levees and floodgates the corps is working on.
http://www.katc.com/Global/story.asp?S=9870124
Klein makes an interesting observation about what he sees as the "overreaction" to the state of Obama's presidency.
"Some form of stimulus will pass. If it doesn't revive the economy, then more stimulus will be passed. Obama's maintaining the proper balance of reaching out to Republicans, making some compromises, but staying firm on the need for a bill that includes public works as well as tax cuts. A Republican Senator, a vocal opponent of the bill, told me the other day: "The guy has really impressed us. We may not vote for the bill, and he may have to learn that you have to give us more than he wants to give us to make us happy, but he's made a really strong start that will work to his benefit down the road." ...But with Klein's observation in mind, Obama is going to get a stimulus package. It will come soon after he signed S-CHIP and the Lily Ledbetter Fair Pay Act into law. And those laws come in the midst of key executive orders on national security, lobbying reform, and women's health here and around the world.
"Some form of stimulus will pass. If it doesn't revive the economy, then more stimulus will be passed. Obama's maintaining the proper balance of reaching out to Republicans, making some compromises, but staying firm on the need for a bill that includes public works as well as tax cuts. A Republican Senator, a vocal opponent of the bill, told me the other day: "The guy has really impressed us. We may not vote for the bill, and he may have to learn that you have to give us more than he wants to give us to make us happy, but he's made a really strong start that will work to his benefit down the road." ...
But with Klein's observation in mind, Obama is going to get a stimulus package. It will come soon after he signed S-CHIP and the Lily Ledbetter Fair Pay Act into law. And those laws come in the midst of key executive orders on national security, lobbying reform, and women's health here and around the world.
WASHINGTON, DC – U.S. Senator Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) today released the following statement after meeting with law enforcement officials to discuss the Inauguration Swearing-In Ceremony:
“Today I met with Mark Sullivan, Director of the Secret Service, Philip D. Morse, the Chief of the Capitol Police, and Terrence Gainer, Senate Sergeant at Arms, along with other law enforcement officials to discuss the 56th Presidential Inaugural Swearing-In Ceremony.An unprecedented number of people, estimated at nearly two million, converged on the National Mall area for this ceremony, and there was not one major arrest or injury at the event, apart from various medical emergencies. All law enforcement agencies worked very hard to keep the nation’s capital safe during this historic event, and they deserve our thanks. But the purpose of the discussion today was to learn more about what led to thousands of people not being able to get into their designated ticketed areas.It is clear that there were significant problems with managing crowds, especially in the Third Street Tunnel and the agencies involved are in the process of sorting out exactly what happened. There will be an after-action report compiled, not to cast blame, but to help us understand what mistakes were made so that we can make sure they are not repeated at future Inaugurals.”
“Today I met with Mark Sullivan, Director of the Secret Service, Philip D. Morse, the Chief of the Capitol Police, and Terrence Gainer, Senate Sergeant at Arms, along with other law enforcement officials to discuss the 56th Presidential Inaugural Swearing-In Ceremony.
An unprecedented number of people, estimated at nearly two million, converged on the National Mall area for this ceremony, and there was not one major arrest or injury at the event, apart from various medical emergencies. All law enforcement agencies worked very hard to keep the nation’s capital safe during this historic event, and they deserve our thanks. But the purpose of the discussion today was to learn more about what led to thousands of people not being able to get into their designated ticketed areas.
It is clear that there were significant problems with managing crowds, especially in the Third Street Tunnel and the agencies involved are in the process of sorting out exactly what happened. There will be an after-action report compiled, not to cast blame, but to help us understand what mistakes were made so that we can make sure they are not repeated at future Inaugurals.”
