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Monday, February 7, 2011

National Black HIV/AIDS Awareness Day:

Coming Together to Fight HIV/AIDS

To commemorate National Black HIV/AIDS Awareness Day, Senior Advisor to President Obama Valerie Jarrett shared her heart-felt thoughts on the importance of combating HIV/AIDS. Watch her video message:

National Black HIV/AIDS Awareness is not just a day to increase awareness, but a day to act on your own health.
  • Do you know your status? If not, text your zipcode to 566948 (“KNOWIT”) to find and HIV testing site near you or go to HIVtest.org.
  • You can also call 1-800-CDC-INFORMATION for more information and testing sites in your area.
  • Visit www.aids.gov for Federal resources, events in your area and tools to commemorate National Black HIV/AIDS Awareness Day.

An ObamaCare Appeal From the States


Unless you're in favor of a fully nationalized health-care system, the president's health-care reform law is a massive mistake. It will amplify all the big drivers of overconsumption and excessive pricing: "Why not, it's free?" reimbursement; "The more I do, the more I get" provider payment; and all the defensive medicine the trial bar's ingenuity can generate.
All claims made for it were false. It will add trillions to the federal deficit. It will lead to a de facto government takeover of health care faster than most people realize, and as millions of Americans are added to the Medicaid rolls and millions more employees (including, watch for this, workers of bankrupt state governments) are dumped into the new exchanges.
Many of us governors are hoping for either a judicial or legislative rescue from this impending disaster, and recent court decisions suggest there's a chance of that. But we can't count on a miracle—that's only permitted in Washington policy making. We have no choice but to prepare for the very real possibility that the law takes effect in 2014.
For state governments, the bill presents huge new costs, as we are required to enroll 15 million to 20 million more people in our Medicaid systems. In Indiana, our independent actuaries have pegged the price to state taxpayers at $2.6 billion to $3 billion over the next 10 years. This is a huge burden for our state, and yet another incremental expenditure the law's authors declined to account for truthfully.
Perhaps worse, the law expects to conscript the states as its agents in its takeover of health care. It assumes that we will set up and operate its new insurance "exchanges" for it, using our current welfare apparatuses to do the numbingly complex work of figuring out who is eligible for its subsidies, how much each person or family is eligible for, redetermining this eligibility regularly, and more. Then, we are supposed to oversee all the insurance plans in the exchanges for compliance with Washington's dictates about terms and prices.
Martin Kozlowski
The default option if any state declines to participate is for the federal government to operate an exchange directly. Which got me thinking: If the new law is not repealed by 2013, what could be done to reshape it in the direction of freedom and genuine cost control?
I have written to Kathleen Sebelius, secretary of Health and Services (HHS), saying that if her department wants Indiana to run its program for it, we will do so under the following conditions:
• We are given the flexibility to decide which insurers are permitted to offer their products.
• All the law's expensive benefit mandates are waived, so that our citizens aren't forced to buy benefits they don't need and have a range of choice that includes more affordable plans.
• The law's provisions discriminating against consumer-driven plans, such as health savings accounts, are waived.
• We are given the freedom to move Medicaid beneficiaries into the exchange, or to utilize new approaches to the traditional program, instead of herding hundreds of thousands more people into today's broken Medicaid system.
• Our state is reimbursed the true, full cost of the administrative burden to be imposed upon us, based on the estimate of an auditor independent of HHS.
• A trustworthy projection is commissioned, by a research organization independent of the department, of how many people are likely to wind up in the exchange, given the large incentives for employers to save money by off-loading their workers.
Today's Rasmussen poll finds that Americans still favor repeal of the President's health-care reform. Senior editorial writer Joseph Rago has the latest. Also, Opinionjournal.com columnist John Fund on the unanswered questions about the Gipper.
Obviously, this is a very different system than the one the legislation intends. Health care would be much more affordable, minus all the mandates, and plus the consumer consciousness that comes with health savings accounts and their kin. Customer choice would be dramatically enhanced by the state's ability to allow more insurers to participate and offer consumer-driven plans. Through greater flexibility in the management of Medicaid, the state might be able to reduce substantially the hidden tax increase that forced expansion of the program will impose.
Most fundamentally, the system we are proposing requires Washington to abandon most of the command-and-control aspects of the law as written. It steers away from nanny-state paternalism by assuming, recognizing and reinforcing the dignity of all our citizens and their right to make health care's highly personal decisions for themselves.
So why would Ms. Sebelius and HHS agree to this de facto rewrite of their treasured accomplishment? A glance at the recent fiasco of high-risk pools provides the answer. When a majority of states, including Indiana, declined to participate in setting up these pools, which cover those with high-cost, existing conditions, the task fell to HHS. As widely reported, it went poorly, with costs far above predictions and only a tiny fraction of the expected population signing up.
If the feds can't manage this little project, what should we expect if they attempt it on a scale hundreds of times larger and more complex? If it were only Indiana asking, I have no doubt that HHS would ignore us. But Indiana is not alone. So far, 21 states—including Pennsylvania, Texas and Louisiana—have signed the same letter. We represent more than 115 million Americans. Washington's attempt to set up eligibility and exchange bureaucracies in all these places would invite a first-rate operational catastrophe.
If there's to be a train wreck, we governors would rather be spectators than conductors. But if the federal government is willing to reroute the train to a different, more productive track, we are here to help.
Mr. Daniels, a Republican, is the governor of Indiana.

Carter: Laid-off Paterson school music instructor continues teaching violin class without pay

Published: Sunday, January 30, 2011, 12:00 PM     Updated: Sunday, January 30, 2011, 3:39 PM




Paterson teacher inspires students EnlargeMusic teacher Nathan Thomas leads students Jahid Hussain, Foiaz Ahmed center, and Shahin Hussain during the Christmas concert held at Saint Bonaventure Roman Catholic Church in Paterson. 12/17/10 (Jennifer Brown /The Star-Ledger)Paterson teacher inspires students gallery (26 photos)
PATERSON — It was 11 p.m. on a Friday in December when Nathan Thomas, one of the many music teachers laid off in the recent purge, received a text message from a student in Paterson.
"Jahid and I have been practicing since 8 p.m. in my room, and we still are as we speak," wrote Foiaz Ahmed.
Thomas knew they could have been at the movies, eyeballing girls at the mall, losing their natural mind in cyberspace video games.
Instead they were practicing classical music on their violins. On this evening it was the “Canon” by Johann Pachelbel, a work rich and serene with violins.
Thomas, still taken aback, was stunned by what the two students did next. They sent him clips of the music he taught them for their Christmas concert.
You see, Thomas, who never wanted to do anything but inspire kids to love music, was laid off at the beginning of the school year from School No. 7, but he has continued to teach a violin ensemble of 16 kids who were once his middle school students in Paterson. He drives 80 miles round trip from Franklin Township in Somerset County to Paterson each Saturday for the two-and-a-half-hour class. And he does it for no money at all.
“That’s very good to hear, wow,” Thomas texted back that night. “Have a good night. Talk to you later. Get some sleep.”
But they kept practicing until well into the morning. Their texts were just one more tribute his students have paid Thomas. They know how much he cares about them, how much he wants them to play beautiful music and how much he has sacrificed for them.
And now that they are hooked on the violin, they know he won’t let them down.
“It’s just eternal joy for me,” 14-year-old Jahid Hussain said of the violin. “It’s so pure. I’ll play this as long as I can, until I the day I die.”
The Paterson school district eliminated Thomas’ job and most of its music and arts program for the school year as a cost-saving measure. Why that would be taken away from children distresses Thomas. Classical music, he says, is “inherently beautiful,” and can take urban students through doors they never imagined.
“I am quantitative proof,” he said. “Look at the things I’ve had a chance to do.”
It took him from the streets of Baltimore, where he grew up, to the University of California, Santa Barbara, on a full scholarship. He’s played in France, Switzerland, England and Italy. He’s even made a stop at the White House.
Thomas would not let budget cuts ground the Paterson Strings, his violin unit of 40 to 50 kids, mostly boys at School No. 7. He believes music, in any form, helps young people express that which they can’t put into words.
“They are taking part in something that is rich in history and valuable on so many levels in the development of civilized adults,” Thomas said. “Part of a well-rounded education is understanding the fine arts.”
After he was laid off in September, Thomas set out on his mission. He met with the Rev. Daniel Grigassy at Saint Bonaventure, the Roman Catholic Church in Paterson where he always held his Christmas and spring concerts. Grigassy jumped at the idea of having the kids practice in the sanctuary.
When word spread about the plan, students were psyched. This e-mail from Ashraf Siddique, 14, is a glimpse of what it meant to have that distinct, robust sound in their lives again.
“Hi Mr. Thomas! I knew you (would) come up with an idea,” he said. “I need all the information so I can do my best to get everybody to come back. Don’t worry Mr. Thomas, I got your back.”
And he has their back, too.
So every Saturday since October, he gathers with 15 boys and one girl who faithfully show up at the church.
“He’s really developed them,” Grigassy said. “You can see in their faces how proud they are. There will be at least two, three or four of them who will find a profession in this, because of that man.”
Paterson music teacher continues to inspire his students even after he loses his jobPaterson music teacher continues to inspire his students even after he loses his jobFor Nathan Thomas, a laid off music teacher from a Paterson middle school, his love of music and teaching enables him to continue to teach a violin ensemble of 16 of his former students, for no money at all. (Video by Jennifer Brown / The Star-Ledger)Watch video
There is an uplift of joy when you see them file into church on a Saturday, smiling, giving each other high-fives, getting right to work after Thomas tunes their violins.
Take Ahmed, the kid who sent the text message that he had been playing all night with Jahid Hussain. He’s in high school, has a job and is about to graduate in June. But he still comes back to learn and help Thomas instruct the younger students. Ahmed says he’s been hooked on the violin since fifth grade and he will not give it up, even if it’s only a hobby.
“It keeps me calm,” he said. “When I’m angry about something, I play the violin and it makes me feel better.”
The kids soak up their precious two-and-a-half hours of practice, taking the weekend lesson home to play some more. They don’t have to come on Saturdays. There’s no grade to earn, no carrot he can dangle in front of them. Just passion.
“That’s a powerful statement about these children,” Thomas said. “This is proof of how much these children do want to succeed.”
You can see why he couldn’t let them down after losing his gig, the only job he says he still wants. He is getting by on unemployment for now and hopes to somehow get his old job back.
He has grown close to the kids in 10 years with the district, keeping their pictures behind the bow in his violin case. The students were despondent when they thought they had lost their teacher.
Ashley Zarate, 14, was looking for him, walking past the music room, wondering why he wasn’t there that first week of school. Where was Mr. Thomas?
“I saw them putting his stuff in boxes,” Zarate said. “I was upset.”
Hussain said he almost broke down crying, realizing he might never see his mentor again.
This is the man they talk to about problems, the uncle they look to for guidance. He’s young at heart like them, his youthful face, helps, too. The students say what counts most is that Thomas cares beyond the music. It was never more evident than at the Christmas concert, when Thomas, his voice cracking, read a letter from Jesus Rolon, one of his students, to the audience at the church.
“You have taught me something I never thought I could have learned, which is the violin,” Thomas read. “You were always there to help me when people didn’t want to deal with me. I want to thank you for everything you have done and I’m glad to have met you.”
Thomas, standing at the altar, teared up. Rolon, did too, as he sat between his fellow violinists, all of them decked out in red, gold and green bow ties and cummerbunds Thomas bought for the performance. Parents, teachers and staff from School No. 7 were there that night.
They know what Thomas does for the kids and what they mean to him. If they need violins, he buys them. The ones that are donated, he repairs with money from his unemployment check.
Ten more are waiting to be fixed right now in his office at home. The audience felt his raw emotion, giving up warm applause as Thomas explained that he’s on this planet to make his kids life better through music.
His former principal, Joann Cardillo, misses him at school. Music no longer fills the hallway, where she stood near his room at times to listen. “It’s sad,” she said. “It’s quiet now.”
The district saw the talent it cut earlier this month when the Paterson Strings showed up unannounced at a board of education meeting. They marched from the back of the auditorium at John F. Kennedy High School, walking slowly down the center aisle, playing “O Come Little Children.” When they reached the front, they stood before board members and the superintendent and received a standing ovation from the crowd.
This is a tight-knit family. They laugh at each other’s jokes, gobble up pizza and soda Thomas buys when they’re together. When it’s time to work, they perk up, keying in on Thomas’ direction and his discipline. It can be biting at times, but it’s firm, fair and done out of love.
“Your posture, it’s horrible. Stand up,” he says in one moment.
But there’s always encouragement when they play and get it right.
“Give me more, good,” he said during one of their sessions.
“Ahh, lift, lift. Nice lift,” he told Zarate, complimenting the only girl in the group on how she controlled the violin bow. “It was beautiful. She had the most beautiful and professional lift.”
Thomas challenges them every time out, demanding they play in tune. He’s patient with his instruction, yet hyper as he moves between the first and second violinists, showing them through his play, calling out notes and stopping them when necessary.
Thomas says he wants nothing less than their best and he urges them to play crisp and with feeling. Mediocrity is unacceptable and he rejects the thought that children have to play like children.
“We’ve all heard those (concerts) and been to them, where everybody is like ‘Oh God,’” he said. “I don’t allow screeching and scratching and improper tone production.”
They don’t sound like children, nor do they behave like typical kids when Thomas tells them to take a break. You’d think they’d goof off a little and talk, whip out a cell phone or something. Not this crew. They keep right on playing, tinkering with “Gavotte in D Major” until someone had Thomas get sheet music for the “Irish Washer Woman,” a fast song they devoured with enthusiasm.
Ahmed picked it up quickly. Hussain knew it too, jumping in to challenge Thomas. The impromptu race with his teacher started out slow, then picked up momentum as the others looked on. Hussain held his own, keeping pace, sliding the bow rapidly back and forth, up and down. His frame, rigid, shook as if he was nervous, but he wasn’t.
He was confident, determined not to miss a beat.
“Yes,” he said as they finished. “I finally caught up to him.”
And the young apprentice jumped up and down, punching the air with his violin bow three times as if he had just hit a game-winning shot.

Olbermann's New Job---on Current TV!?!?

NEWS| FEBRUARY 07, 2011







Last month the cable news world was left flat-footed by the surprising announcement that Keith Olbermann was leaving the MSNBC airwaves. The controversial firebrand anchor and leading liberal pundit was seen by many as the programming tent-pole at MSNBC, but recent battles with management over internal rules seemed to leave the relationship is disrepair. Shortly after his departure, many cable news watchdogs wondered what his next step may be. It now appears that we’ll know the answer tomorrow morning according to a release from a PR Firm ostensibly hired by Olbermann (and his partners.) Update below!

Moments ago, Mediaite received an email from a publicist announcing plans for a conference call tomorrow in which Olbermann and his partners “will make an exciting announcement regarding the next chapter in his remarkable career.” No further details have yet emerged, leaving us to only guess as to what to expect. We do know that the plans appear to be big enough to have warranted to employ a PR firm (which is no small expense.) And there are some other facts at play that can inform some theories about what one could reasonably expect.

While no one knows the specifics of the exit agreement between MSNBC and Olbermann, we have reported that there is a six to nine month non-compete clause that would ostensibly keep Olbermann off television. So what can we expect to learn in this announcement? Many have suggested that Olbermann’s next move is starting an online entity that would provide an appropriate platform for the prodigious thought leader of the left, but also a hub for his legions of fans.

Former MSNBC colleague David Shuster reported a few weeks ago on CNN’s Reliable Sources that Olbermann had been quite moved by the outpouring of support that he felt from his suspension, that culminated in over 250,000 signatures on a petition to bring him back to air. As Mediaite’s Alex Alvarez surmised at the time, Olbermann already has the community of audience (and clearly a strong point of view), all he needs now is a content management system and a domain.

Is that what Olbermann’s next step? Honestly we have no idea. But we will find out tomorrow at 11am.

Update: A Mediaite tipster points out that a simple whois search reveals that the domain names “theolbermannshow.com” and “thekeitholbermannshow.com” were registered January 19th, 2011, just two days before his last appearance on MSNBC.

Palin says she'd deport Christina Aguilera for botching the national anthem

COMEDY| FEBRUARY 07, 2011


DALLAS, TX - Potential 2012 presidential candidate Sarah Palin says that if she were president, she would deport pop star Christina Aguilera for botching a portion of The Star-Spangled Banner during her performance at Super Bowl XLV. Making an appearance on Sean Hannity's radio program on Monday, Palin pointedly criticized Aguilera's gaffe, and called her out for exhibiting 'diva behavior.'

"Quite frankly, Sean, public figures must be held accountable for what they say," explained Palin. "Here's another case of an airhead diva going on TV, running her mouth off, sounding like a fool. She doesn't understand something so basic about America, yet we're supposed to tolerate her diva behavior? Americans can see through that, Sean."

Palin also levied criticism on the Obama administration for allowing "spicy Latin princesses" to do the jobs of American pop divas. "Unemployment is at nine percent, yet we have to suffer through a performance by a foreigner with a poor grasp of the English language? If I were president, I'd deport Ms. Aguilera back to wherever it is she's from and give Amy Smart a call." Aguilera was, in fact, born in New York and grew up in Pennsylvania.

Though Palin was critical of Aguilera's performance, she claimed her attack on the songstress wasn't personal. "I'm sure Ms. Aguilera is a very nice person, but I just think the American people deserve better than a demanding beauty queen who's clearly in over her head."

Gingrich says Obama administration 'amateurish' on Egypt


Gingrich says Obama administration 'amateurish' on Egypt
February 7th, 2011
08:08 PM ET

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(CNN) – Former Republican House Speaker Newt Gingrich said he's "concerned" about the Obama administration's handling of the situation in Egypt and what he sees as a divide between the White House and diplomat Franks Wisner.
"I think the fact that they appointed a very able diplomat Frank Wisner and within two days were publically contradicting him is you know so amateurish," Gingrich told CNN Chief National Correspondent John King. "I was with John Bolton (former ambassador to the United Nations) last night. He said it's inconceivable that they would be this clumsy and this out of sync. I mean just with themselves, forget the Arab world. They can't even get the White House and their special envoy to be on the same page."

Wisner was sent to Egypt by the United States to negotiate directly with Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak on the transition, and on his return said Mubarak should remain in office, at least for now, in order to hand over authority in an orderly manner.
At the White House press briefing Monday, White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs said that Wisner does not speak for the administration.
"His views on who should or shouldn't be the head of Egypt don't represent the views of our administration," Gibbs said. "The views of our administration are that those are the decisions that will be made by the Egyptians."
But the envoy's remarks were not entirely out of line with those of other officials who have noted that there are "certain legitimate legislative hurdles" that must be overcome by Mubarak and could take some time to accomplish.
Gingrich also said he's worried that the United States might reach out to the Muslim Brotherhood, an opposition Islamist umbrella group in the country.
"I think this is absolute total misreading of history. The Muslim Brotherhood is a mortal enemy of our civilization, they say so openly," Gingrich said.
The Brotherhood, officially banned but still tolerated by the Egyptian government, is already in negotiations with other – but not all – opposition groups and Egypt's new vice president, Omar Suleiman. The Brotherhood was removed from the U.S. list of foreign terrorist organizations in the 1970s and, at least in Egypt, has renounced violence.
The likely 2012 presidential candidate reiterated his "end of February and to March" deadline to make a decision and turned the discussion to former President Ronald Reagan, whose centennial birthday celebration he attended Sunday.
"Reagan did what he believed in when he thought it was right," Gingrich said. "I frankly try to study Reagan and (Margaret) Thatcher and (Abraham) Lincoln because I think they were the great truth tellers of modern politics, sometimes when telling the truth people in the establishment go nuts because it's not the truth they want to hear."