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Saturday, September 29, 2012
Six-year-old 'Mrs. Bieber' dies of brain cancer
Sep 26, 2012
By Olivia Barker, USA TODAY
Big day today. Tonight is for my angel.#mrsbieber
STAND UP TO CANCER
Justin Bieber paid tribute to the self-styled 'Mrs. Bieber' Avalanna Routh, who passed away from cancer at the young age of 6 recently. Her biggest wish before dying was to meet Bieber and she did in 2011 on Valentine's Day. The two spent the day together and kept in touch via iChat. They even met again this year on the Today Show.
Sad news to share: Six-year-old Avalanna Routh, aka "Mrs. Bieber," who got to meet her idol as she battled a rare form of brain cancer, died Wednesday morning, her family announced on Twitter: "Oh Avalanna, the brightest star -- you took our hearts with you, our greatest Love."
While Avalanna was being treated at Boston's Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, staff there helped her stage a mock wedding, with the little girl wearing a "Future Mrs. Bieber" T-shirt next to a portrait of the pop star and under a banner that read, "Just Married." A social media frenzy brought Avalanna and Bieber together in New York, after which Bieber tweeted, "she was AWESOME! Feeling really inspired now! #MrsBieber."
Avalanna suffered from a fast-growing atypical teratoid rhabdoid tumor. Only 30 new cases, typically in young children, are diagnosed nationally every year.
Avalanna "was diagnosed when she was 18 months and responded to initial treatment for quite a while, but the cancer kept coming back and ultimately she was no longer responsive," Dana-Farber's Charles Robert told the Associated Press. The girl died at home in Merrimac, Mass.
"She was a very courageous young person who lived her life with grace and determination," the institute said in a statement to the AP. "By generously sharing her story, she raised awareness worldwide about atypical teratoid rhabdoid tumors and articulated the need for greater research of this rare cancer."
Justin Bieber Tweets About His ‘Angel’ Avalanna Routh
Justin continues to share his thoughts on the tragic passing of sweet
Avalanna, his “Mrs. Bieber,” posting a touching photo of the two on his
Twitter account. When Justin Bieber heard the tragic news that Avalanna
Routh had sadly passed away from her battle with brain cancer on
Wednesday, Sept. 26, he immediately took to Twitter to express his
sadness over the loss of the sweet girl he referred to as his “wifey.”
A day later, Justin has continued to share his thoughts. On Thursday, Sept. 27, Justin posted a touching photo of himself with “Mrs. Bieber,” with an accompanying message that read, “My angel.” So sweet. Justin had previously tweeted, “Just got the worst news ever. one of the greatest spirits i have ever known is gone. please pray for her family and for her. RIP Avalanna. I love you. Please show respect to her and her family. Say a prayer for her and for them. I miss her,” on Sept. 26. Our thoughts remain with Avalanna’s family during this tragic time.
Justin Bieber Gives Six-Year-Old Fan Her Valentine’s Day Wish By ‘Marrying’ Her
![[PICS] Justin Bieber And Avalanna Routh ' Mrs. Bieber'](http://pmchollywoodlife.files.wordpress.com/2012/02/021412_jb_-avalanna120214115151120214123103.jpeg?w=544)
Move over Selena — Justin’s into girls with chubby cheeks! One of Justin’s biggest Beliebers finally got her wish: The cancer patient got ‘married’ to the pop star for Valentine’s Day! When Justin Bieber, 17, got word that Avalanna Routh, 6, was campaigning to meet him via Facebook, he flew her and her family from Boston to New York to show her the lovin’!
Biebs met the self-proclaimed “Mrs. Bieber” and spent time playing boardgames, exchanging autographs, and eating cupcakes with her. Apparently, this once-in-a-lifetime meeting signified for her that the two were officially “married.” “That was one of the best things i have ever done. she was AWESOME! Feeling really inspired now!” he tweeted on Feb. 13.
“#MrsBieber really inspired me.” According to the Daily Mail, Avalanna has a rare, aggressive form of brain cancer called ATRT (atypical teratoid rhabdoid tumor) and has been undergoing radiation and chemotherapy. This heartwarming gesture isn’t the first time Biebs has shown how much he loves
his fans. Last December, he held a Christmas concert and donated $100K — with toys in tow — to a low-income school in Las Vegas. He proves again that his gratitude for his fans — even the smallest of ‘em — are top priority!
silverfish
Posted at 1:53 PM on February 14, 2012
I have never really heard any Bieber songs (country fan) but this is the most heartfelt thing for such a young man to do, this will be a perfect memory for this beautiful little girl. Bless both your hearts and Bieber….keep up the good work. You WILL be an amazing father someday!! Your momma must be as proud of you as so many of your fans are. I guess that now makes me a fan too :o)
Roseann Capurro Vuotto · Top Commenter · NYU
God bless Justin Bieber. Although not highly publicized, this boy spends a great deal of his free time visiting sick children in hospitals as is evidenced in the case of Avalanna. He deserves a great deal of credit and respect, and he certainly has mine. His heart is definitely in the right place, and his manager keeps him grounded. RIP Avalanna, I'm glad you had the experience of being 'Mrs. Bieber' before you left us. And thank you, Justin, for all you do for the sick children, you are an inspiration.
Donna Demmin Church · Top Commenter
Rest with the angels sweet little Avalanna..and God bless Justin for the selfless and wonderful act that probably brought joy into her last days.
Megan
Posted at 8:16 PM on September 27, 2012
This is so incredibly sad. He must be taking this so hard. I think it’s lovely that he’s doing a dedication to her on his tour. He genuinely cared about that little girl and he needs to know what a difference he makes. Her parents will always remember that he did all he could to give her a reason to be happy in the end. He’s a great guy and I am very proud to be a fan. I’m glad that someone with a heart of gold, like Justin, is in the position he’s in and is able to help so many people, especially children. He’s an amazing person.
My prayers are with the family of little Mrs Bieber. bless her family.
Justin you are a real sweet heart the love you have shown this little girl means so much.
you are so sweet. God Bless You.
Justin you are a real sweet heart the love you have shown this little girl means so much.
you are so sweet. God Bless You.
Carsyn
Posted at 7:54 PM on September 28, 2012
Crying right now, even though I never met her, I loved her, I feel soo bad for her family, Justin, and anyone else who truely loved her. Avalanna, you will be in my prayers, the door to heaven in open for you. I know you are in heaven right now, thanking everyone who loved you..I’m sorry to everyone who lost this amazing little girl in their life. She was sooo amazing!!!
'Super' spending OK, but not if you're a teacher
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Wed Sep 26, 2012 4:16 PM EDT
The Sunlight Foundation
We knew super-PACs were spending a lot of money in this campaign season -- in the presidential race, and in down-the-ballot races. But this much?
About 78% of campaign spending comes from super-PACs, a new study from the Sunlight Foundation found this week. Of the $465 million reportedly spent by Sunday evening in the 2012 campaign cycle, $365 million can be attributed to the Citizens United effect, and the majority of that money was spent on local races and on negative campaigning.
This may not come as news to many who have grown increasingly aware of the role that "dirty, angry money" now plays in politics, but it's important to note how fast this business of outside campaign spending has grown: in 2010, only about 40% of spending came from outside groups.
The Sunlight Foundation's Following the Unlimited Money site tracks this out-of-hand spending by states, races, candidates, and it's worth checking out for the shock value. Italics mine:
- $363.2 million was spent on negative ads against a candidate; $99.6 million was spent in support of a candidate.
- The pro-Romney super PAC Restore Our Future spent made more than double the independent expenditures and contributions than the pro-Obama super PAC, Priorities USA Action.
- Opposing expenditures against President Obama top more than $130 million; opposing expenditures against Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney are about $50 million.
- Supporting expenditures for Obama amount to about $6.5 million, while supporting expenditures for Romney total about $15.7 million.
Those numbers are just a few related to the presidential race, but what's happening in local House and Senate races is important, as well. Senate control is up for grabs this year -- as we noted in last week's "Go Figure," only so it's unsurprising that the top 12 races influenced by outside spending right now (not including the presidential race) are all Senate races.
Last month, the President addressed the question of super-PACs on Reddit and said the flood of anonymous money influencing politics is a problem. "They fundamentally threaten to overwhelm the political process over the long run and drown out the voices of ordinary citizens," Obama wrote.
What does Romney think of all this? Well, he's for limiting campaign contributions -- as long as they're coming from teachers' unions. John Nichols in The Nation reported what the GOP nominee said during an appearance at NBC's Education Nation earlier this week:
America’s primary proponent of big money in politics now says that he wants to silence K-12 teachers who pool their resources in order to defend public education for kids whose parents might not be wealthy enough to pay the $39,000 a year it costs to send them to the elite Cranbrook Schools attended by young Willard Mitt.“We simply can’t have a setting where the teachers unions are able to contribute tens of millions of dollars to the campaigns of politicians and then those politicians, when elected, stand across from them at the bargaining table, supposedly to represent the interest of the kids. I think it’s a mistake,” the Republican nominee for president of 53 percent of the United States said during an appearance Tuesday with NBC’s Education Nation. “I think we’ve got to get the money out of the teachers unions going into campaigns. It’s the wrong way for us to go.”
For Congress' part, Democrats introduced the DISCLOSE Act in 2010 in response to the Supreme Court's Citizens United ruling. DISCLOSE promotes transparency and gives the public access to information regarding political contributions and campaign expenditures. Naturally, in July, Senate Republicans blocked the bill from advancing.
See Melissa's Saturday "Go Figure" on the aforementioned down-ballot races, and subsequent discussion, after the jump. Below, thanks to a tip on our Facebook page from viewer Tony Anderson, you'll find last night's coverage on "The Ed Show" of Romney's Education Nation appearance, adding depth to the report we reference earlier.
Mitt Romney laid out his plans for public education during the NBC Education Nation Summit. Ed Schultz talks with former Vermont Governor Howard Dean and Atlanta Mayor Kasim Reed about the future of public education under a Romney presidency.
Go Figure: Melissa Harris-Perry runs through the polling and figures in the Congressional races on which party is most likely to gain the upper hand of power on Capitol Hill.
Between Elizabeth Warren and Scott Brown in Massachusetts to Tim Kaine and George Allen in Virginia, Melissa Harris-Perry and her panelists outline the down ballot races across the country.
| Israel PM in 'full agreement' with US on Iran | ||||
Binyamin Netanyahu eases tensions with White House in phone call with American leader following notable speech at UN
Last Modified: 28 Sep 2012 23:08
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Obama and Netanyahu smoothe relations after Israeli leader used prop during speech at General Assembly [Getty]
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| The US president and the Israeli prime minister have expressed agreement on the goal of preventing Iran from acquiring a nuclear weapon, the White House said. Barack Obama and Binyamin Netanyahu sought on Friday to ease tensions over how to deal with Iran's nuclear programme, presenting a show of solidarity over how to confront Tehran. Obama, widely seen as having snubbed Netanyahu by not meeting face-to-face during the annual UN gathering, spoke instead by phone to the Israeli leader amid signs of movement toward a truce in their war of words. Netanyahu used his UN speech a day earlier to keep pressure on Washington to set a "clear red line" for Tehran. But in a softening of his approach, he signaled that no Israeli attack on Iran was imminent before the November 6 US presidential election. With an eye to the close US presidential race, Netanyahu also fielded a call during his New York visit from Obama's Republican rival, Mitt Romney, who has accused the president of being too hard on a close US ally and not tough enough on Iran. 'Shared goal' Obama's aides believe he has played his cards right with Netanyahu, with whom the president has had a notoriously testy relationship.
In recent days, the Israelis have sought to dial down the rhetoric, signalling that they would not blindside Washington with a unilateral attack on Iran any time soon. "The two leaders underscored that they are in full agreement on the shared goal of preventing Iran from obtaining a nuclear weapon," the White House said in a summary of their 20-minute phone conversation. The White House stopped short of saying Obama had given any ground on his resistance to issuing an ultimatum to Tehran, as Netanyahu has repeatedly demanded. "It was a good conversation. They discussed all the issues," said a senior Israeli official. An Obama aide went further, saying, "The temperature is lower than it had been." 'Military action' Netanyahu dramatically ramped up pressure on Obama earlier this month when he insisted that the United States did not have a "moral right" to hold Israel back from taking action against Iran because Washington had not set its own limits on Tehran's nuclear developments. Obama's aides were furious that Netanyahu was trying to put pressure on the president in the midst of the election campaign and refused to budge on the red line issue despite the risk of alienating pro-Israel voters in election battleground states like Florida and Ohio.
provider - moved into damage-control mode. Michael Oren, the Israeli ambassador to the United States, flew back for a short visit to Jerusalem last weekend, during which he urged Netanyahu to tone down public statements that could be construed as interfering in the US election or supporting Romney, according to sources in the Jewish community in Washington. The Israeli desire to defuse the crisis may also have reflected an interpretation of recent US opinion polls showing a widening of Obama's lead over Romney, who has suffered a series of campaign stumbles. Romney, speaking to reporters on his campaign plane, said he and Netanyahu agreed that Iran must be denied nuclear capabilities but did not agree on specific "red lines" to confront Tehran. "I do not believe in the final analysis we will have to use military action," Romney said. "I certainly hope we don't have to. I can't take that action off the table." 'Final stage' In his UN speech, Netanyahu held up a cartoon-like drawing of a bomb with a fuse and literally drew a red line just below a label reading "final stage", in which Iran would supposedly be 90 per cent along the path to having weapons-grade material. Nevertheless, his warning that Iran would be on the brink of developing a nuclear weapon in less than a year was widely interpreted as some giving breathing space to Obama, who has urged more time for sanctions and diplomacy to work. Speaking ahead of a meeting with his Canadian counterpart on Friday, Netanyahu said Iran's uranium enrichment was the "only discernible and vulnerable part of their nuclear programme". "I tried to say something yesterday that I think reverberates now around the world," he said Netanyahu referred on Thursday to a spring or summer 2013 time frame for Iran to complete the next stage of uranium enrichment. Iran denies it is seeking to build nuclear weaponry. Netanyahu's praise for Obama's stern words for Iran in the US president's own UN speech on Tuesday - although it lacked any specific ultimatum - was also seen as a sign that the Israeli leader wanted a ceasefire in the unusually public dispute with Washington. "I think we are moving in a direction where the differences that were there, which were always tactical and not strategic, are in fact being managed at this point," Dennis Ross, Obama's former Middle East adviser, told MSNBC. |
Chronicling Mitt's Mendacity, Vol. XXXVI
By Steve BenenFri Sep 28, 2012 3:04 PM EDT
When Mitt Romney talked to "60 Minutes" last week, he said President Obama has "repeatedly shown a reckless disregard for the truth." If there's ever been a more blatant example of political "projection," I can't think of it.
And yet, Romney is increasingly invested in this. This week, several reports noted that Romney intends to use next week's debate to "fact check" the president. The Obama campaign, unimpressed, released a video this morning on the subject.
Of course, if the 2012 presidential race comes down to which candidate is more dishonest, Romney's in trouble. Consider, for example, the 36th installment of my weekly series, chronicling Mitt's mendacity.
1. Romney argued just yesterday that the crisis of military suicides would be made worse by looming cuts to the defense budget.
That's plainly untrue.
2. In same speech, Romney said, "You realize we have fewer ships in the Navy than any time since 1917."
This one again? Romney dropped this lie a while ago, but it's apparently back.
3. Romney went on to say, in reference to the president, "[H]is plan also calls for trillion dollar deficits."
Obama's plan calls for trillions in deficit reduction.
4. Romney added, "It is the same series of policies he's put in place over the last four years and they have not worked. And if you don't, why, look at the price of gasoline."
To blame gas prices on the president's policies is ridiculously untrue.
5. Romney also said in reference to Obama, "He's put us on a road to Europe."
The irony is, Europe is trying to grow through austerity, just as Romney intends to do here. He's lying in a self-refuting sort of way.
6. In a speech at Westerville, Ohio, Romney boasted, "We got unemployment down [in Massachusetts] to 4.7 percent."
Well, in reality, the unemployment rate in Massachusetts dropped because so many people dropped out of the state's workforce. The fact of the matter is Massachusetts' job creation record during Romney's term was "one of the worst in the country," ranking 47th out of 50 states.
7. In the same speech, Romney argued, "Now we have a president who the other day says something quite revealing. He said he can't change Washington from the inside. Only from the outside."
That's not what Obama said.
8. Romney added, "Obamacare is point number one. It's the example number one, where he wants to put bureaucrats between you and your doctor."
There's nothing in the Affordable Care Act that does this. Maybe Romney is thinking of his pal, Virginia Gov. Bob "Ultrasound" McDonnell?
9. Romney also said, "He believes that government should have a board of people that tell you what kind of care you could receive."
Romney's trying to describe the Independent Payment Advisory Board (IPAB), but he's doing so in a way that's completely dishonest.
10. In a minute-long ad, Romney said, "My plan will create 12 million new jobs over the next four years."
Putting aside the pesky detail that Romney doesn't actually have a specific jobs plan, the fact remains that if we do nothing, we're on track to create 12 million new American jobs over the next four years anyway.
11. Romney told ABC News this week, "[M]ine is a campaign about 100% of the people, not 99 and 1, not any other percent."
I seem to recall watching a video in which Romney said it's not his "job" to "worry about" 47 percent of the population.
12. In an interview with CNN, Romney said, "[C]rippling sanctions [on Iran] ... These are the types of things that the president could have done, should have done from the very beginning, which he did not."
Yes, he did.
13. Asked about his own dishonest ads, Romney said, "We've been absolutely spot-on. And any time there's anything that's been a miss we correct it or remove it."
You've got to be kidding me.
14. Romney also argued, "Look, it has been shown time and again that the president's effort to take work requirement out of welfare is a calculated move."
This continues to be as obvious a lie as Romney has told all year.
15. Romney added, "The requirement that they're waiving was saying that people don't have to work to get welfare. That's the change that they proposed."
Still lying.
16. Romney said in an ABC interview, "And of course also on 60 Minutes he laid out his economic agenda saying things are going just fine."
Obama never said that.
17. At a campaign event in Ohio, Romney said on Obama, "He's going to bring the deficit down. Of course, he didn't. He doubled it."
Maybe Romney doesn't know what "double" means. The deficit on Obama's first day was $1.3 trillion. Last year, it was also $1.3 trillion. This year, it's projected to be $1.1 trillion. When he says the president "more than doubled" the deficit, as he has many times, Romney's lying.
18. In the same speech, Romney added, "[D]o you know how much money he's spent in one year putting money into companies that he thought had a bright future, green companies? He spent $90 billion! $90 billion!"
The details matter: much of the $90 billion was appropriated by George W. Bush, not Obama.
19. Romney also argued, "This president persists on the road of making it harder and harder for small businesses to grow and thrive."
Actually, the administration has done the opposite.
20. Romney went on to say, "This president has a plan for small business. He's got a plan for small business. He's going to raise their taxes!"
In reality, Obama has repeatedly cut taxes on small businesses -- by some counts, 18 times -- and if given a second term, his tax plan would have no effect on 97% of small businesses.
21. On a conference call with a group of Iowans, Romney argued, "Small business is getting crushed under the president's program ... by forcing people to join unions that don't want to. That's something known as card check."
Card check didn't pass. It wouldn't crush small businesses anyway, but a law can't have any effect if it doesn't exist.
22. In an interview with CBS, Romney defended himself against the flip-flop label. "The president has certainly changed his view on a whole host of things. He was going to close Guantanamo."
Obama's views on Guantanamo didn't change; Congress intervened to keep the detention facility open
23. Romney added, in reference to voters looking for details, "Well, I can tell them specifically what my policy looks like. I will not raise taxes on middle income folks."
There's ample evidence that Romney will raise taxes on the middle class.
24. Asked about what spending he'd cut to balance the budget, Romney said, "The first big one is I'm not going to go forward with Obamacare. I will repeal Obamacare. It costs about $100 billion a year."
That's the exact opposite of the truth. The Affordable Care Act saves the country hundreds of billions of dollars. If Romney repeals it, the deficit goes up, not down.
25. Romney added, "I don't want any change to Medicare for current seniors or for those that are nearing retirement. So the plan stays exactly the same"
That's demonstrably wrong. Under Romney's policy, the cost of prescription drug prices and preventive care for seniors would go up immediately -- for current and future retirees.
26. Romney also said, "The president's cutting $716 billion from current Medicare. I disagree with that."
Sigh.
27. Romney argued, "I'm going to look at every federal program and I'll ask this question, 'Is this program so critical it's worth borrowing money from China to pay for it?'"
The implication here is that U.S. debt is financed by the Chinese, but this isn't true -- China only holds about 8% of the nation's debt.
28. Romney went on to say in reference to the president, "His challenge with blaming it on the Republican Congress is of course that for his first two years, right now the majority of his term, he had a Democrat Congress, a super majority in the Democrat Congress."
The Senate supermajority lasted four months, not two years.
29. In his weekly podcast, Romney said, "As many of the original proponents of welfare reform have made clear, the Obama Administration's actions were not in keeping with the spirit or the letter of the law."
As many of the original proponents of welfare reform have made clear, Romney's lying.
30. He added, "My five-point plan will deliver the economic recovery we've all been waiting for."
The five-point plan is a sham, and to pretend otherwise is dishonest.
31. At an event in Las Vegas, Romney said of Obama, "This redistribution idea, this redistribution idea has been tried in other places. This is not a new idea. It's just never worked in other places. And it's certainly not going to work here."
As falsehoods go, this is just dumb.
32. In the same speech, Romney argued, "I don't want to have a government getting bigger and bigger, more intrusive, telling us what kind of health insurance we have to have."
As Romney surely knows -- his state-based policy works the same way -- the whole point of the Affordable Care Act is to provide consumers with choices of private plans, made available through regulated exchanges. Giving people choices and telling people "what kind of health insurance we have to have" are opposites.
33. At an event in Florida, Romney said, "We can't keep spending a trillion dollars more than we take in every year or we will be Greece at some point."
This is painfully untrue.
34. In the same speech, Romney promised, "I'll get America on track to have a balanced budget.", he won't. Romney says his plan "can't be scored," but independent budget analysts have found his agenda would make the deficit bigger, not smaller, and add trillions to the national debt.
35. Romney added, "I think a lot of us were really surprised when the President in Roanoke, Virginia a few weeks ago, he stood up and said, 'If you've got a business, you didn't build that. Someone else did that.'"
not even close to what the president said.
36. Romney went on to say, "I will never apologize for American abroad."
How is it possible the whole "apology" lie hasn't gone away yet?
37. Romney also argued, "One more thing this president has proposed, and that is the combination of the sequential idea come from the White House which is cutting our military by hundreds of billions of dollars in its own budget, which cutting our military by hundreds of billions of dollars, he would have cut a trillion dollars by this decade."
That's two falsehoods in one. First, the sequester would cut about $500 billion from the military budget, not $1 trillion. Second, Romney's not only lying, he's also condemning defense cuts crafted by his own party and endorsed by his own running mate.
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