Book Review: Plain, Honest Men

Title: Plain, Honest Men: The Making of the American Constitution
Author: Richard Beeman
Year: 2009
Type: Non-Fiction
Genre: American History

Review: Pretty decent book about the founding fathers and the ratification of the Constitution (although there are MANY books on the same topic). I still think there are better out there than this particular one (i.e. "Miracle at Philadelphia").

Grade: B-

Book Review: Revolutionary Mothers

Title: Revolutionary Mothers: Women in the Struggle for America's Independence
Author: Carol Berkin
Year: 2005
Type: Non-Fiction
Genre: American History

Review: Very short and easy to read book about the role of women during the Revolution. Women were spies, cooks, prostitutes, couriers, farmers, and some even took up a weapon for the fight.

Grade: B+

Book Review: Boss

Title: Boss: Richard J. Daley of Chicago
Author: Mike Royko
Year: 1971
Type: Non-Fiction
Genre: Politics

Review: Interesting and disturbing look at the history of the political machine in Chicago. It fits the stereotype that politicians have only one aspiration in life - to get your vote.

Grade: B+

What Is the Electric Power Grid, and What Are Some Challenges It Faces?

The grid of electric power lines has evolved into three large interconnected systems that move electricity around the country. Standards have been developed by the electric power industry to ensure coordination for the linked operations. Challenges facing the power grid include getting approval for corridors of land for new transmission lines within States or that cross multiple States, and the financing and constructing of new transmission lines to assure continued reliability of our electricity supply.

Around the beginning of the 20th century, there were over 4,000 individual electric utilities, each operating in isolation. Almost all of those used low-voltage connections from nearby generating power plants to the distribution lines serving their local customers.

As the demand for electricity grew, particularly in the post-World War II era, electric utilities found it more efficient to interconnect their transmission systems. In this way, they could share the benefits of building larger and, often, jointly-owned generators to serve their combined electricity demand at the lowest possible cost, and to avoid building duplicative power plants. Interconnection also reduced the amount of extra capacity that each utility had to hold to assure reliable service. With growing demand and the accompanying need for new power plants came an ever-increasing need for higher voltage interconnections to transport the additional power longer distances. Over time, three large interconnected systems evolved in the United States.

Fossil Fuels’ Hidden Cost Is in Billions, Study Says

Burning fossil fuels costs the United States about $120 billion a year in health costs, mostly because of thousands of premature deaths from air pollution, the National Academy of Sciences reported in a study issued Monday.

The damages are caused almost equally by coal and oil, according to the study, which was ordered by Congress. The study set out to measure the costs not incorporated into the price of a kilowatt-hour or a gallon of gasoline or diesel fuel.

The estimates by the academy do not include damages from global warming, which has been linked to the gases produced by burning fossil fuels. The authors said the extent of such damage, and the timing, were too uncertain to estimate.

Nor did the study measure damage from burning oil for trains, ships and planes. And it did not include the environmental damage from coal mining or the pollution of rivers with chemicals that were filtered from coal plant smokestacks to keep the air clean.

“The largest portion of this is excess mortality — increased human deaths as a result of criteria air pollutants emitted by power plants and vehicles,” said Jared L. Cohon, president of Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh, who led the study committee.

Nearly 20,000 people die prematurely each year from such causes, according to the study’s authors, who valued each life at $6 million based on the dollar in 2000. Those pollutants include small soot particles, which cause lung damage; nitrogen oxides, which contribute to smog; and sulfur dioxide, which causes acid rain.

Coal burning was the biggest single source of such external costs . The damages averaged 3.2 cents per kilowatt-hour, compared with 0.16 cents for gas. But the variation among coal plants was enormous.

Plants can recognize rivals and fight, study says

Plants can't see or hear, but they can recognize their siblings, and now researchers have found out how: They use chemical signals secreted from their roots, according to a new study.

Back in 2007, Canadian researchers discovered that a common seashore plant, called a sea rocket, can recognize its siblings — plants grown from seeds from the same plant, or mother. They saw that when siblings are grown next to each other in the soil, they "play nice" and don't send out more roots to compete with one another.

But as soon as one of the plants is thrown in with strangers, it begins competing with them by rapidly growing more roots to take up the water and mineral nutrients in the soil.

Further, when sibling plants grow next to each other, their leaves will often touch and intertwine, while stranger plants near each other grow rigidly upright and avoid touching, the authors say.

Death penalty is too expensive for states, study finds

A group opposing capital punishment is urging government officials to reassess the costs and benefits of the death penalty in light of America's economic troubles.

State and local governments facing dire budget crunches can realize substantial savings by replacing capital punishment with a regime that sentences the worst offenders to life in prison without parole, according to a report released Tuesday by the Death Penalty Information Center (DPIC).

The number of death sentences handed down in the United States has dropped from roughly 300 a year in the 1990s to 115 a year more recently. Executions are falling off at the same rate, the report says.

In the meantime, some 3,300 inmates remain on death row.

Despite the report's findings, the death penalty has the support of most Americans. According to an October 2008 Gallup survey, 64 percent of Americans favor the death penalty for a person convicted of murder. Thirty percent oppose it.

Only once in the past 70 years (in 1966-67) did more Americans oppose capital punishment than support it, the poll results show. In that time span, 47 percent opposed it, while 42 percent supported it.

A 2008 study in California found that the state was spending $137 million a year on capital cases. A comparable system that instead sentenced the same offenders to life without parole would cost $11.5 million, says the DPIC report, citing the study's estimates.

New York spent $170 million over nine years on capital cases before repealing the death penalty. No executions were carried out there.

Some officials may be tempted to try to cut capital-punishment costs, notes the DPIC report, but many of those costs reflect Supreme Court-mandated protections at the trial and appeals-court levels. "The choice today is between a very expensive death penalty and one that risks falling below constitutional standards," the report says.

Nationwide, the report estimates, at least $2 billion has been spent since 1976 for costs that wouldn't have been incurred if the severest penalty were life in prison. The figure is based on an estimate in a 1993 North Carolina study that found the average extra cost of a death sentence in this state was $300,000. The average extra cost of capital punishment is significantly higher in several other states like California, Florida, and Maryland, the report says.

Medical Marijuana Proponents Breathe Easier Under New Guidelines

Diagnosed with a brain tumor, chronic pain and scoliosis, Raich, 43, says she uses marijuana to help her survive. But having lost multiple court cases, including one in the Supreme Court, the Californian has lived in constant fear that she and others in her position will be arrested by the feds.

But new formal guidelines by the U.S. Department of Justice could change that. In a marked departure from the Bush administration, Attorney General Eric Holder made it clear today that medical marijuana users and dispensaries in states that permit its usage should not be prosecuted.

California is one of 14 states where it's permissible to use marijuana for medicinal purposes. But even though it's permitted for sale there, it still violates federal law, which bans any use of marijuana. And in the previous administration, authorities targeted medical marijuana sellers under federal laws even if they complied with state laws.

The new policy is in line with what candidate Barack Obama promised in his campaign. As a presidential candidate, Obama said he would end federal raids on people who used marijuana for medical purposes.

Pending home sales surge in NE Florida

Pending home sales surged 60.4 percent in September compared with the same time in 2008 and closed sales were up 12.7 percent over September 2008, according to the Northeast Florida Association of Realtors.

There were 1,628 pending sales, or sales that have gone under contract but have not yet closed, in September in the Jacksonville area. There were also 1,297 closed sales during the month, 336 of which were lender mediated sales.

The huge spike is attributed to first-time home buyers rushing to take advantage of the $8,000 tax credit, in combination with low interest rates, according to a news release announcing the figures.

Government unveils new mortgage help

The Obama administration on Monday unveiled a new program to support state and local housing finance agencies. The plan will help the agencies finance mortgages for first-time homebuyers and develop rental housing.

The agencies have had a hard time raising money because of the housing crisis and credit crunch. This year, the agencies have sold about $4 billion in tax-exempt bonds — one-fourth the amount in a typical year. That reduction is limiting the number of loans they can make.

The new program uses mortgage finance companies Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac to help fix the financing crunch. The two companies will package mortgages made by the housing agencies and sell them as bonds to the Treasury Department.

The agencies play a relatively small role in the mortgage market, aiding about 100,000 to 200,000 first-time borrowers a year.

Bank failures drain FDIC insurance

Nearly 100 banks have failed so far this year, pushing the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp.'s insurance fund into the red for only the second time since its founding in 1933.

As the worsening commercial real estate debacle continues to ravage the balance sheets of thousands of mostly small and medium-sized banks, analysts expect hundreds more could fail before the problem abates.

This year's 99 bank failures have already cost the FDIC more than $25 billion. That's on top of the nearly $20 billion in costs absorbed by the federal agency from the 25 banks that failed last year.

The recession has so devastated the FDIC's deposit insurance fund that the agency has had to take the unprecedented step of requiring banks to prepay $45 billion of insurance premiums by the end of this year in order to replenish the FDIC's coffers. The premiums would cover the fourth quarter of this year and all of 2010, 2011 and 2012.

UN backs Gaza war crimes report

The UN human rights council has endorsed the Goldstone report on Israel's war on Gaza, which accuses the military of using disproportionate force as well as laying charges of war crimes on Israeli occupation forces and Hamas.

The council's resolution adopting the report was passed in Geneva by 25 votes to six with 11 countries abstaining and five declining to vote.

The United States and Israel were among those countries which voted against the resolution.

In addition to endorsing the report, the resolution "strongly condemns all policies and measures taken by Israel, the occupying power, including those limiting access of Palestinians to their properties and holy sites".

It also calls on Israel to stop digging and excavation work around the al-Aqsa mosque in occupied East Jerusalem as well as other Islamic and Christian religious sites.

Israel rejected the charges saying the resolution – drafted by the Palestinians with Egypt, Nigeria, Pakistan and Tunisia, on behalf of non-aligned, African, Islamic and Arab nations – threatened peace efforts.

The Goldstone report recommended that its conclusions be sent on to the International Criminal Court (ICC) prosecutor in The Hague if Israel and Hamas do not hold their own credible investigations into allegations of war crimes within six months.

The report accused Israel of war crimes and crimes against humanity.

It also accused the Hamas movement, which has de facto control of Gaza, of war crime violations, but reserved most of its criticism for Israel.

About 1,400 Palestinians – the majority of them civilians - and 13 Israelis were killed during Israel's three-week war on Gaza, which had the stated aim of stopping rocket attacks by Palestinian fighters from the coastal territory.

Obama signs off on extra aid for Pakistan

President Obama on Wednesday signed legislation that triples economic aid to Pakistan, even as it seeks to shift the focus of the US partnership with Pakistan from the military to the country's people and civilian institutions.

The new assistance program, which boosts US aid to Pakistan to $7.5 billion over the next five years, seeks to redirect the substantial aid the US has provided Pakistan since the 9/11 attacks to a "hearts and minds" battle aimed at winning over the Pakistani population in the struggle with Islamic extremism.

Federal deficit triples from year ago

The federal budget deficit has surged to an all-time high of $1.42 trillion as the recession caused tax revenues to plunge while the government was spending massive amounts to stabilize the financial system and jump-start the economy.

As a portion of the economy, the budget deficit stood at 10 percent, the highest since World War II, according to government data released Friday.

For 2009, the government collected $2.10 trillion in revenues, a 16.6 percent drop from 2008. The plunge reflected declining income tax collections as millions of Americans lost their jobs or saw their wages cut. Corporate taxes also plummeted as the recession squeezed companies' profit margins.

Government spending last year jumped to $3.52 trillion, up 18.2 percent over 2008. The $700 billion financial bailout fund and increased spending and tax relief from the $787 billion economic stimulus program that Obama pushed through Congress in February drove the increase.

For September, a month when the government usually records surpluses, the deficit totaled $46.6 billion. That's a sharp contrast to the $45.7 billion surplus in September 2008, the last time the government's books were in the black.

U.S. Rep. Corrine Brown opts against Senate run

U.S. Rep. Corrine Brown is opting against a Senate run.

In a prepared statement released Friday, the Democratic lawmaker said she wants to campaign to retain the House seat she’s held since 1992.

“From providing health care for everyone to helping create jobs and stimulating economic development to protecting our beautiful beaches and coastline from the drill-first-and-ask-questions-later crowd, I am in a unique position to fight more effectively than ever for northeast and central Florida,” it reads.

A $250 bribe to help the ObamaCare medicine go down.

No one ever went broke underestimating political cynicism, but these days even we can't keep up: On Wednesday, President Obama announced that he wants to send every American senior a $250 check.

"Even as we seek to bring about recovery, we must act on behalf of those hardest hit by this recession," Mr. Obama said. Of course it's a mere coincidence that these checks are being proposed, and probably passed, just as Congress is about to vote on health care.

Supposedly these "economic recovery payments" are justified because seniors won't get an inflation-adjusted increase in Social Security benefits this year. This zero cost-of-living, or COLA, increase has many seniors alarmed, and AARP and other lobbies have been fanning their anxiety. Mr. Obama's Wednesday news was timed to pre-empt yesterday's announcement of the zero COLA by the Social Security Administration. The $250 checks will funnel $13 billion to some 57 million beneficiaries—in addition to whatever they have already received as part of the $787 billion stimulus.

Florida workers’ comp rates to decrease 6.8%

Florida employers will get another break on workers’ compensation insurance.

The state’s insurance commissioner said Thursday he has approved a proposed rate decrease of 6.8 percent, effective Jan. 1 for all new and renewed workers’ comp policies.

The rate reduction, submitted by the National Council on Compensation Insurance, will result in an estimated $166 million in savings for employers.

It is the seventh consecutive decline in rates since the Florida Legislature passed reforms in 2003.

U.S. spends $3.6 billion a month in Afghanistan

The United States spends about $3.6 billion a month in Afghanistan, according to data from the Congressional Research Service.

The average cost per month is calculated per 51,000 U.S. troops in Afghanistan, but that number likely will increase with the 68,000 troops the Obama administration is planning on having in that country.

The cost of sending one U.S. soldier into Afghanistan for one year is $1 million versus an estimated $12,000 for an Afghan soldier, according to Stephen Daggett, a specialist with the Congressional Research Service.

Limbaugh dropped from group bidding for St Louis Rams

Controversial conservative talk show host Rush Limbaugh has been dropped from a group trying to buy the St. Louis Rams after several black NFL players objected and the league commissioner weighed in against Limbaugh's "divisive comments."

"It has become clear that his (Limbaugh's) involvement in our group has become a complication and a distraction to our intentions," said SPC Worldwide Chairman Dave Checketts, who is leading the bid to buy the National Football League team and keep it in St. Louis.

"We have decided to move forward without him and hope it will eventually lead us to a successful conclusion," Checketts said in an emailed statement.

Several black NFL players have told newspaper reporters they would never play for a team owned by Limbaugh because of remarks they found racially objectionable, including his comment that the media wanted Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Donovan McNabb to succeed because he is black.

Job Program Found to Miss Many States That Need It Most

The new jobs reported Thursday come from a small slice of a sliver of the $787 billion stimulus program: the roughly $16 billion worth of stimulus contracts that were awarded directly by federal agencies, of which about $2.2 billion has been spent so far. But the preliminary data represented the first time that the federal government has reported actual job figures, and not just job estimates, and they provided the most complete snapshot yet of how one component of the sprawling program — direct federal contracts — was shaping up.

One thing was clear: while the federal contracts have created or saved 30,383 jobs, they were not directed to states with the highest jobless rates. Businesses in Michigan, whose 15.2 percent unemployment rate in August was the highest in the nation, reported creating or saving about 400 jobs. Businesses in Nevada, which had the next highest unemployment rate, reported 159. And businesses in Rhode Island, which had the third-highest unemployment rate, 12.8 percent, reported the fewest jobs: just six.

More jobs, by contrast, were reported in some of the states with lowest unemployment rates. Businesses in North Dakota, whose 4.3 percent unemployment rate was the lowest in the nation, reported creating or saving 219. The most jobs were reported in Colorado, whose 7.3 percent unemployment rate was below the national average that reached 9.8 percent last month, and where businesses reported creating or saving 4,695 jobs.

What U.S. Companies Really Pay in Taxes

At the moment, most companies pay less than the official tax rate of 35%. A study published last summer by the General Accounting Office found that from 1998 to 2005, 55% of large U.S. companies had at least one year of paying no taxes at all.

The result is a list of players whose tax burdens ranged widely, from essentially nothing to almost 400% of pretax income a year. Troubled industries with weakening profits had the highest tax rates: The auto sector averaged 45.5%, banks paid 50.3%, and real estate companies paid 66.1%. The least-taxed industries were semiconductors, at 19.6%, often because of high expenses in the U.S. and high overseas income. Infrastructure investments helped to keep telecoms at a low 22.2%.

States Letting Inmates Cut Even More Prison Time

States under pressure to erase budget deficits and ease prison overcrowding are allowing inmates to shave greater amounts of time off their sentences through good behavior and participation in classes such as job training and substance abuse treatment.

Among new laws passed this year: Colorado now permits low-risk inmates 12 days per month of earned time instead of 10; Mississippi lifted a 180-day cap on earned time; and Oregon raised the amount of time inmates can deduct from their sentences for good behavior from 20 percent to 30 percent.

Rhode Island revised its earned time statute last year. Now, virtually all inmates convicted of nonviolent offenses can deduct up to 10 days per month for good behavior, two per month for having prison jobs and five per month for participating in treatment programs. There's a one-time 30-day credit for class completion.

Key Vote: Department of Defense Authorization, FY 2010

Department of Defense Authorization, FY 2010

- Vote Passed (281-146, 6 Not Voting)

The House passed this bill authorizing defense spending, which also contains a provision that extends the definition of federal hate crimes to include crimes in which victims are targeted because of their sexual orientation and gender identity.

Rep. Ander Crenshaw voted NO......send e-mail

or see bio

Key Vote: Agriculture, Rural Development, Food and Drug Administration, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 2010

Agriculture, Rural Development, Food and Drug Administration, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 2010

- Vote Passed (263-162, 7 Not Voting)

The House approved the conference report of this $23.3 billion funding bill for the Department of Agriculture, Food and Drug Administration and other related agencies and programs.

Rep. Ander Crenshaw voted NO......send e-mail

or see bio

Key Vote: Department of Defense Appropriations Act, 2010

Department of Defense Appropriations Act, 2010

- Vote Passed (93-7)

The Senate approved this $636.3 billion bill funding the Department of Defense during fiscal year 2010.

Sen. Bill Nelson voted YES......send e-mail

or see bio

Sen. George LeMieux voted YES......send e-mail

or see bio

The Medicare Monster

The cost of Medicare is a good place to begin. At its start, in 1966, Medicare cost $3 billion. The House Ways and Means Committee estimated that Medicare would cost only about $ 12 billion by 1990 (a figure that included an allowance for inflation). This was a supposedly "conservative" estimate. But in 1990 Medicare actually cost $107 billion.

This is a mere bagatelle compared with "conservative" projections for the next generation. The Congressional Budget Office estimates that Medicare will cost $223 billion by 1997. Constance Homer, deputy secretary of Health and Human Services, warns that "by the year 2003, at the current rates, we will be spending more on Medicare than we do on Social Security."

Anticipating a 3.5-percent annual inflation rate, government actuaries predicted that the cost of a day’s hospital stay by 1985 would be $155 and that the hospital insurance portion of Medicare would cost $9 billion by 1990. The actual average cost of a hospital day by 1985 was over $600; instead of $9 billion, the hospital-insurance program cost $63 billion in 1990.

Insurance Industry Assails Health Care Legislation

A lobby for the industry, America’s Health Insurance Plans, focused its criticism on a bill likely to be approved Tuesday by the Senate Finance Committee.

“The overall impact will be to increase the cost of private insurance coverage for individuals, families and businesses above what these costs would be in the absence of reform,” said Karen M. Ignagni, president of the trade association.

Democratic aides on the Finance Committee disputed the conclusion. They said the bill would provide tax credits to millions of people to help them afford coverage. Moreover, they said, people could keep the coverage they now have if they wanted. In addition, they said, some provisions of the bill would reduce the administrative costs of insurance.

The report says that the cost of the average family coverage, now $12,300, will rise to $18,400 in 2016 under current law and to $21,300 if the Senate bill is adopted. Likewise, it said, the cost of individual coverage, now $4,600, will average $6,900 in 2016 under current law and $7,900 under the bill.

U.S. can't trace foreign visitors on expired visas

Eight years after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks and despite repeated mandates from Congress, the United States still has no reliable system for verifying that foreign visitors have left the country.

Last year alone, 2.9 million foreign visitors on temporary visas like Mr. Smadi’s checked in to the country but never officially checked out, immigration officials said. While officials say they have no way to confirm it, they suspect that several hundred thousand of them overstayed their visas.

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Over all, the officials said, about 40 percent of the estimated 11 million illegal immigrants in the United States came on legal visas and overstayed.

Since the Sept. 11 attacks, immigration authorities, with more than $1 billion from Congress, have greatly improved and expanded their systems to monitor foreigners when they arrive. But despite several Congressional authorizations, there are no biometric inspections or a systematic follow-up to confirm that foreign visitors have departed.

Last year, official figures show, 39 million foreign travelers were admitted on temporary visas like Mr. Smadi’s. Based on the paper stubs, homeland security officials said, they confirmed the departure of 92.5 percent of them. Most of the remaining visitors did depart, officials said, but failed to check out because they did not know how to do so. But more than 200,000 of them are believed to have overstayed intentionally.

Freddie Mac to help banks get credit

Freddie Mac is starting a pilot program to help lenders get access to warehouse lines of credit to fund loans those lenders eventually sell to Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae.

Freddie Mac says it is currently working with Natty Mac, a Guggenheim Partners company, in the pilot program it says.

“The warehouse lending industry has nearly exited the market making it increasingly difficult for lenders to fund loans,” Freddie Mac’s new chief executive Charles Haldeman said in a statement. He calls it much needed additional liquidity for residential financing.

Obama vows to end restrictions on gays in military

President Barack Obama, speaking on the eve of a major gay-rights march, told gay supporters on Saturday he would fight for their causes and renewed a pledge to end restrictions on their service in the U.S. military.

To a standing ovation at a dinner held by the Human Rights Campaign, a gay advocacy group, Obama said he would "end 'don't ask, don't tell,' That's my commitment to you."

At the dinner, Obama acknowledged that work on those issues was "taking longer than you'd like" as the push to overhaul healthcare and dealing with the economic crisis dominate his domestic agenda.

Feds: Food stamps swapped for booze, Viagra

The alleged scheme worked this way: Food stamp recipients would get cash from the store in exchange for swiping larger amounts off their electronic cards. The store would then be reimbursed by the U.S. Agriculture Department.

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And in some transactions, the government says the store provided informants Viagra, liquor and porn in exchange for swiping about $2,000 off food stamp cards.

The government says fraud at the store topped $130,000 over 2 1/2 years. The store is closed.

Pollution an Enduring Legacy at Old Missile Sites

To date, the corps has spent $116 million at 44 former Atlas and Titan intercontinental ballistic missile — or ICBM — sites and 19 former Nike anti-aircraft missile sites from the early Cold War. The missile sites include 14 in Kansas, 10 in Nebraska, seven in Wyoming, seven in Colorado and two in Oklahoma. California, New Mexico, New York and Texas have one contaminated site each.

Total cleanup costs are projected to cost $400 million, according to corps spokeswoman Candice Walters.

Paying for Jaguars' jungle has Jacksonville in debt

But since the team took the field for the first time in 1995, the math hasn't worked.

Even when then-Alltel Stadium was a tough ticket and the high-octane offense twice had the team a game from the Super Bowl, the stadium was being subsidized by taxpayers - at least $3 million a year to cover debt and other expenses.

As the city borrowed money to get Jacksonville Municipal Stadium primed for international eyes and the 2005 Super Bowl, the equation tilted further.

By the end of the 2007-08 budget year, the fund set up to pay stadium expenses was more than a million dollars in the red, and another $8 million-plus was needed to cover basic operating costs and debt service.

The plan calls for taking $5 million in bed tax revenue that will be freed up now that the Prime Osborn Convention Center is paid off - and directing those dollars to the football stadium, Veterans Memorial Arena and the Baseball Grounds of Jacksonville.

The dollars would go for routine maintenance, which the city is contractually obligated to pay for. A 2007 study commissioned by the Jaguars shows a $148 million need over the next 30 years - from replacing every seat in the approximately 75,000-seat stadium to upgrading the sound system from analog to digital.

The city gets about $14 million a year in revenue - including a cut of ticket sales and parking costs. Those shares are adjusted annually for inflation.

Included in that $14 million is rent from the team and the $5 million in bed tax revenue already committed to the stadium.

US: Taliban has grown fourfold

Taliban-led forces fighting US and Nato troops in Afghanistan have increased nearly fourfold since 2006, according to a US intelligence estimate presented to the US president.

The report says that the number of Taliban fighters has grown to 25,000, from 7,000 four years ago, the officials said on Friday as Barack Obama convened a fifth cabinet-level meeting on his country's military strategy in Afghanistan.

The US president is considering whether to agree to a request by the senior commander of US and Nato forces in Afghanistan for up to 40,000 extra troops to be deployed.

General Stanley McChrystal has warned that the US mission in Afghanistan risks failure unless more troops are sent to combat the Taliban and provide training and support to Afghan government forces.

Officials said on Friday that Obama - who agreed early in his presidency to send 21,000 extra troops to Afghanistan - has not made any firm decision in regard to McChrystal's request.

Study Finds High Rate of Imprisonment Among Dropouts

On any given day, about one in every 10 young male high school dropouts is in jail or juvenile detention, compared with one in 35 young male high school graduates, according to a new study of the effects of dropping out of school in an America where demand for low-skill workers is plunging.

The picture is even bleaker for African-Americans, with nearly one in four young black male dropouts incarcerated or otherwise institutionalized on an average day, the study said. That compares with about one in 14 young, male, white, Asian or Hispanic dropouts.

A coalition of civil rights and public education advocacy groups and a network of alternative schools in Chicago commissioned the report as part of a push for new educational opportunities for the nation’s 6.2 million high school dropouts.

The new report, in its analysis of 2008 unemployment rates, found that 54 percent of dropouts ages 16 to 24 were jobless, compared with 32 percent for high school graduates of the same age, and 13 percent for those with a college degree.

Again, the statistics were worse for young African-American dropouts, whose unemployment rate last year was 69 percent, compared with 54 percent for whites and 47 percent for Hispanics. The unemployment rate among young Hispanics was lower, the report said, because included in that category were many illegal immigrants, who compete successfully for jobs with native-born youths.

Young female dropouts were nine times more likely to have become single mothers than young women who went on to earn college degrees, the report said, citing census data for 2006 and 2007.

Surprise Nobel for Obama Stirs Praise and Doubts

The choice of Barack Obama on Friday as the recipient of the 2009 Nobel Peace Prize, less than nine months into his eventful presidency, was an unexpected honor that elicited praise and puzzlement around the globe.

Normally the prize has been presented, even controversially, for accomplishment. This prize, to a 48-year-old freshman president, for “extraordinary efforts to strengthen international diplomacy and cooperation between peoples,” seemed a kind of prayer and encouragement by the Nobel committee for future endeavor and more consensual American leadership.

But the committee, based in Norway, stressed that it made its decision based on Mr. Obama’s actual efforts toward nuclear disarmament as well as American engagement with the world relying more on diplomacy and dialogue.

“The question we have to ask is who has done the most in the previous year to enhance peace in the world,” the Nobel committee chairman, Thorbjorn Jagland, said in Oslo after the announcement. “And who has done more than Barack Obama?”

He said, though, that he would “accept this award as a call to action, a call for all nations to confront the challenges of the 21st century.” Mr. Obama plans to travel to Oslo to accept the award on Dec. 10. He will donate the prize money of $1.4 million to charity, the White House said.

Limiting malpractice lawsuits can save big

Limits on medical malpractice lawsuits would lead doctors to order up fewer unneeded tests and save taxpayers billions more than previously thought, budget umpires for Congress said Friday in a reversal that puts the issue back in the middle of the health care debate.

The latest analysis from the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office estimates that government health care programs could save $41 billion over ten years if nationwide limits on jury awards for pain and suffering and other similar curbs were enacted. Those savings are nearly ten times greater than CBO estimated just last year.

US Education Chief Appeals for Great New Teachers

"I believe that education is the civil rights issue of our generation," Duncan said. "And if you care about promoting opportunity and reducing inequality and social injustice, the classroom is the place to start."

Duncan told about 100 prospective teachers at the University of Virginia that veterans, retirees and professionals seeking a second career must heed the call to teach. He said the need is especially acute for black men in the nation's classrooms.

Bus shelter battle heads to Jacksonville City Council

In 1987 the installation of new billboards and other commercial signs was banned in Jacksonville. This ban also mandated the incremental removal of existing signs and billboards.

Now the Jacksonville Transportation Authority is looking for a way around it.

The JTA has asked the council to amend an existing ordinance so that advertising would be allowed on bus shelters within the city. The council will take up the issue at its meeting on Tuesday.

Ten of the 19 City Council members have co-sponsored the legislation, all but guaranteeing the bill will pass unless one of the co-sponsors changes his or her mind.

Opponents say the amendment could allow sign companies to sue the city and put the entire law in legal jeopardy.

The JTA wants a company to build and maintain bus shelters in exchange for the right to sell advertising. Executive Director Michael Blaylock said that with advertising, the JTA could construct about 80 shelters a year, instead of the 20 or so a year being built now.

It costs $4,000 to $12,000 to construct a shelter and about $1,200 a year to maintain one, but the new shelters might by more ornate and cost more than the existing shelters, JTA spokesman Mike Miller said.

OBAMA ADMINISTRATION RELEASES NEW DATA ON MAKING HOME AFFORDABLE PROGRAM, ACHIEVES KEY MILESTONE WEEKS AHEAD OF SCHEDULE

Today, almost one month ahead of a November 1 benchmark set earlier this year, the U.S. Department of the Treasury and U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) announced a new milestone of more than 500,000 trial loan modifications in progress under the Making Home Affordable program.

Want good health care? It's location, location ...

The quality of health care Americans receive depends largely on where they live, with insurance coverage, access to preventive medicine and disease treatment varying widely from state to state, according to a study released on Thursday by the Commonwealth Fund.

Residents of Vermont have the best health care in the country, the foundation said. The small northern state, which embarked on a radical plan to provide all citizens with health care less than a decade ago, also leads the nation in "equity," or making sure that people of lower income groups have health care.

Generally, the report found, states in the South, Southwest and lower Midwest have worse insurance rates and less access to good medical treatment.

Report: Fla. medical malpractice rates fall in 2008

Legislation passed in 2003 to stem the rising tide of malpractice insurance premiums appears to be working.

A new report by the Florida Office of Insurance Regulation finds a net decline of 10 percent for all approved medical malpractice rates in Florida. That’s the fifth year in a row that the cost of medical malpractice insurance has fallen.

There were 3,336 closed claims in 2008, which paid an estimated $700 million, according to an analysis of the closed claims data submitted to the OIR’s Professional Liability Closed Claims Reporting system.

HUD APPROVES $130 MILLION DEAL TO FINANCE EXPANSION AND RENOVATION OF HOSPITAL IN CAYEY, PUERTO RICO

"The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development today announced a commitment to insure a mortgage loan to Mennonite General Hospital in Cayey and Aibonito, Puerto Rico, to expand and renovate its Cayey campus. The $129,966,100 loan is made possible through the Federal Housing Administration's Section 242 Hospital Mortgage Insurance Program."

Sheriff's office sells ads on inmate monitors

"The Charlotte County Sheriff's Office said Tuesday it is starting to sell advertising space on the video monitors used by jail visitors to communicate with inmates."

"The rotating still-frame ads will air on the terminals in 2-minute intervals when they're not in use by a visitor. Advertisers will pay 60 cents per showing."

Book Review: Somebody's Gotta Say It

Title: Somebody's Gotta Say It
Author: Neal Boortz
Year: 2007
Type: Non-Fiction
Genre: Politics

Review: Excellent and humorous book. It can open a whole new world for you and can also make you a cynic.

Grade: B+

Key Vote: Energy and Water Development and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 2010

Energy and Water Development and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 2010

- Vote Passed (308-114, 10 Not Voting)

The House approved this $33.5 billion bill funding the Department of Energy, Army Corps of Engineers and related agencies and programs.

Rep. Ander Crenshaw voted NO......send e-mail

or see bio

Key Vote: Legislative Branch Appropriations Act, 2010

Legislative Branch Appropriations Act, 2010

- Vote Agreed to (62-38)

The Senate approved this $4.66 billion bill that funds the legislative branch for Fiscal Year 2010, sending it to the President. The bill also includes a continuing resolution to fund government operations through October 31, as this is the only one of the 12 annual appropriations bills to have been completed before FY 2010 began.

Sen. Bill Nelson voted YES......send e-mail

or see bio

Sen. George LeMieux voted NO......send e-mail

or see bio

Waves of New Fund Cuts Imperil US Nursing Homes

"A Medicare rate adjustment that cuts an estimated $16 billion in nursing home funding over the next 10 years was enacted at week's end by the federal Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services — on top of state-level cuts or flat-funding that already had the industry reeling."

"And Congress is debating slashing billions more in Medicare funding as part of health care reform. Add it all up, and the nursing home industry is headed for a crisis, industry officials say."

"The funding crisis comes as the nation's baby boomers age ever closer toward needing nursing home care. The nation's 16,000 nursing homes housed 1.85 million people last year, up from 1.79 million in 2007, U.S. Census Bureau figures show."

"Medicaid reimbursement rates to nursing homes were cut this year by Rhode Island (5 percent); Michigan (4 percent) and Florida (3 percent)."

"A University of Pittsburgh study earlier this year found nearly 1,800 nursing homes nationwide closed from 1999 to 2005, about 2 percent each year."

"On average, Medicaid payments by states to nursing homes fell short by $12 per patient, per day last year — nearly $4.2 billion in unreimbursed costs for Medicaid-allowed expenses, according to the AHCA."

UNF announces $110 million campaign

"In the midst of this economic upheaval, the University of North Florida has been planning the Jacksonville school’s most ambitious capital fundraising campaign."

“The needs of a university — especially one that’s developing as rapidly as UNF — they don’t go away during lean times,” President John Delaney said. “We identified areas that we can improve to make this a better college, and we owe it to our students and the community to follow through.”

"The multi-year fundraising campaign, dubbed “The Power of Transformation,” was unveiled Friday night. Its net goal: $110 million."

"UNF’s previous campaign, Access to Excellence, raised about $100 million from 1997 to 2003 during Anne Hopkins’s tenure as president. It led to the creation of 180 scholarships."

Book Review: In Fed We Trust

Title: In Fed We Trust
Author: David Wessel
Year: 2009
Type: Non-Fiction
Genre: Politics, Finance

Review: Wessel is basically making the argument that the Federal Reserve messed up in its handling of the current economic crisis or "great panic" as he calls it. It is a pretty boring book though it is interesting to see how complicated everything is when it comes to the economy - adding to the argument that the Federal Reserve and government, with one person (Ben Bernake) or even if given to a group, has just way too much power. Yet we still believe in government...

Grade: C+

All Printouts at Library Now Cost 10 Cents

"Yesterday, the libraries started charging a new, 10-cent fee for all printouts on library computers."

"Previously, customers were allowed five free printouts."

Smokers, Overweight People to Face Fine Under Health Bill

To prove that the American health care system is not part of a "free market":

"The Senate Finance Committee approved an amendment to the healthcare bill Wednesday that would allow employers to charge workers with unhealthy lifestyles more for their insurance coverage. "

"The amendment would permits employers to adjust premiums as much as 50 percent according to the level of workers’ health habits, up from 20 percent now."

"The USA's largest teachers union will encourage local chapters to ignore contract provisions that in the past have kept school districts' best teachers out of schools that serve mostly poor and minority students."

"Testifying Tuesday before the House education committee, National Education Association President Dennis Van Roekel said the union, which represents about 3.2 million teachers and other workers, will ask local affiliates to draw up memoranda of understanding with local school districts that would "waive any contract language that prohibits staffing high-needs schools with great teachers."

"Van Roekel said the move is part of the union's "Priority Schools" campaign that will also encourage "the most accomplished teachers-members" to start their teaching careers in high-needs schools, remain there or transfer there."

Report finds progress in narrowing achievement gap

"Some of the most significant improvements were seen in elementary black and Latino students: The percentage of fourth-grade Latino students scoring proficient in reading exams increased from 46 to 64 percent between 2002 and 2008, and from 36 to 53 percent for blacks. Similar jumps in proficiency were seen in fourth-grade math."

"Despite those improvements, however, the gap between white, black and Latino students remains significant: 81 percent of fourth-grade white students tested proficient in reading, compared to 53 percent of blacks and 64 percent of Latinos."

"That gap tends to widen as students enter middle and high school. Fifty percent of 10th-grade white students scored proficient in reading, compared to 17 percent of blacks and 30 percent of Latinos."

State, local revenues soared until 2007: census

"Before the U.S. recession delivered a one-two punch to state and local economies, most cities and states experienced five years of rapid revenue and spending growth, according to a U.S. Census Bureau report."

"From 2002 to 2007, state and local government revenue increased 69.6 percent to $3.1 trillion, while expenditures rose 29.5 percent to $2.7 trillion, according to the Census Bureau report released on Wednesday."

"Over a third of 2007 revenue came from taxes, the report found. Property tax revenue totaled $383.14 billion in 2007, up by 37.2 percent from 2002, and equal to 30 percent of overall tax revenue, according to the Census."

Obama awards $5 billion for medical research

"President Barack Obama has announced $5 billion in government grant money to help pay for research into cures for cancer and other diseases."

"The president said "we know that that the work you do would not get done if left solely to the private sector." He said he is making a "historic commitment" to new research to save and enrich the lives of people. Obama said the money from the $787 billion economic stimulus law represents the "single largest boost" to biomedical research."

Senate Cap & Trade Bill

"Here is a summary of the new Cap and Trade bill introduced by Sen. Barbara Boxer and Sen. John Kerry. The Democratic plan tracks a bill approved by the House earlier this year, weighing in at 821 pages in all."

"If you want to read the actual bill text that relates to these sections, you can download it from Sen. Kerry's website at http://is.gd/3OUUu ."

Jacksonville loses 23,000 jobs

"Jacksonville lost 23,000 jobs, down 3 percent in August."

Jacksonville City Council passes rare tax hike

"With only minor dissent, the Jacksonville City Council on Tuesday night approved a billion-dollar 2009-10 budget balanced with the help of a rare property tax rate hike. The 9 percent rate increase, to 9.27 mills, boosts the average homeowner’s tax bill about $75 a year."

"City Council members Daniel Davis and John Crescimbeni opposed the tax increase, while Davis went further, casting the lone dissenting vote against the compromise budget."

"In the end, after several private meetings between Mayor John Peyton and Clark, a compromise agreement was reached that restored everything but the 3 percent cuts. A $10 million contingency fund was set aside in case union negotiations fall short of the desired salary rollbacks."

"To avoid some of the pitfalls experienced this year, Clark wants to begin working on the 2010-11 budget as soon as possible."

1. Iran: "New Site Is Part of Our Rights"

"Iran said Tuesday it would soon give international nuclear inspectors a timetable to visit the country's newly disclosed uranium enrichment facility. Meanwhile, the country also insisted that the plant is "part of our rights and there is no need to discuss" the plant at talks Thursday with with U.N. Security Council in Geneva."

"The facility, which was revealed to the international community last Friday by Barack Obama and the leaders of Britain and France, is thought to be capable of producing nuclear material for one weapon each year once it is completed, but Iran maintains that the enrichment program is meant only for energy production."

More cities are putting social services under one roof

"Many cities facing an increase in demand for social services are turning to a one-stop, centralized office to handle the challenge."

"The idea behind Neighborhood Place is to centralize resources such as health care, education, employment and juvenile justice."

"Other cities that have looked at Louisville's model include Atlanta, Milwaukee, Jacksonville, St. Louis and Washington, D.C., Miller says. "We want everyone to be able to access these services without anything getting in their way."

Recession pushes income gap between rich, poor to record

"The wealthiest 10% of Americans — those making more than $138,000 a year — earned 11.4 times the $12,000 or so made by those living near or below the poverty line in 2008, according to newly released census figures. That ratio is an increase from 11.2 in 2007 and the previous high o11.22 in 2003."

"Household income declined across all groups, but more sharply for middle-income and poor Americans. Median income fell last year from $52,163 to $50,303, wiping out a decade's worth of gains to hit the lowest level since 1997. the median is the midpoint — half of households made more, half less."

Few Eating Enough Fruits, Veggies

"Only 14% of U.S. adults and 9.5% of U.S. teens meet the government's goals for eating enough fruits and vegetables, according to a new CDC report."

"30. Florida and Oregon: 15.6%"

JEA Rate Increase Might Not Mean Higher Bill

"The base rate for electricity, water, and sewage is going up on the first of October. JEA's Gerri Boyce said the average costumer will see an increase in those utilities."

"And then their base rate will go up about 6 dollars, a little over six dollars, and water and sewer will go up a little bit," Boyce said."

"She said despite that, the average fuel charge will drop about 13 dollars. That is decreasing because it costs less to by the fuel to power the plants that produce the energy.
"And when all is said and done, their rates will be a $1.85 less," Boyce said."

Poverty increasing in Florida, survey finds

"New figures from the U.S. Census Bureau show poverty is increasing in Florida, revealing the recession’s impact even before the most massive layoffs began."

"The American Community Survey found that 13.2 percent of people in Florida were living in poverty in 2008, up from 12.1 percent the previous year. Only one other state — California — saw a bigger increase."

"Poverty guidelines are based on family size. The threshold for a family of four is about $22,000 per year or less."

"The Florida Department of Children and Families reported that the number of people receiving food stamp assistance in August 2008 was 1.6 million, up 23 percent from the same month in 2007. In the judicial circuit that consists of Nassau, Clay and Duval counties, that number was 102,737, up 22 percent. To qualify for food stamps, family income must be no higher than 130 percent of poverty before taxes."

"Last month, the number of people on food stamps was up 40 percent in Northeast Florida and 41 percent statewide compared to August 2008."

Wall Street money rains on Chuck Schumer

"Wall Street has showered nearly $11 million on the Senate since the beginning of the year, and more than 15 percent of it has gone to a single senator: Democrat Chuck Schumer of New York."

"Schumer’s $1.65 million take from the financial services industry is nearly twice that of any other senator's — and more than five times what the industry gave to any single Republican senator."

"Of the $10.6 million the industry has given to sitting senators this year, more than $7.7 million has gone to Democrats. Schumer got his $1.65 million; his New York colleague Kirsten Gillibrand took in $886,000; Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid of Nevada received $814,000; Senate Banking Committee Chairman Chris Dodd of Connecticut scored $603,000; Colorado freshman Michael Bennet got $401,000; and Agriculture Committee Chairman Blanche Lincoln of Arkansas— who will have a big say on the derivatives portion of regulatory reform — got $336,000."

"Among Republicans, the biggest recipient of financial-industry money so far this year is Richard Shelby of Alabama. But although he’s the ranking Republican on the Banking Committee — ground zero for the regulatory reform bill in the Senate — he’s received just $313,000 from the industry this year."

Book Review: The Catcher in the Rye

Title: The Catcher in the Rye
Author: J.D. Salinger
Year: 1945
Type: Fiction
Genre: Drama

Review: This was a quick read. It reminded me of an episode of Seinfeld, not really about anything, but yet very amusing. I was a little disappointed about the ending, however, I just felt a little let down as nothing really happened.

Grade: B+

U.S. Department of Labor awards nearly $59 million to eliminate exploitive child labor in 19 countries

"Secretary of Labor Hilda L. Solis today announced nearly $59 million in grants awarded by the U.S. Department of Labor in fiscal year 2009 to combat exploitive child labor in 19 countries. The grants will help rescue more than 85,000 children from exploitive labor, and offer them hope for the future through education and training. The grants will also help improve collection and analysis of child labor data and support for the development and implementation of national action plans to address the problem."

"Since 1995, Congress has appropriated approximately $720 million to the Labor Department to support efforts to combat exploitive child labor internationally. As a result of that funding, the department has rescued approximately 1.3 million children from exploitive child labor. "

French arms exports rise 13%

"Deals with countries including Brazil, Saudi Arabia and Morocco have pushed French arms sales up to their highest level since 2000."

"The increase of 13 per cent on last year's sales follows a drive by Nicolas Sarkozy, the country's president, to support defence export companies. The government argues that the industry provides 50,000 jobs in France."

"French companies took new orders worth $9.7bn, meaning they have about seven per cent of the world's arms market, according to the defence ministry's annual report released on Monday."

Key Vote: Making appropriations for the Legislative Branch FY 2010

Legislative Branch Appropriations Act, 2010

- Vote Passed (217-190, 25 Not Voting)

The House approved this $4.66 billion bill that funds the legislative branch for Fiscal Year 2010. The bill also includes a continuing resolution to fund government operations after the current fiscal year ends on September 30, as this is the only one of the 12 annual appropriations bills to have been completed.

Rep. Ander Crenshaw voted NO......send e-mail

or see bio

Key Vote: Unemployment Compensation Extension Act of 2009

Unemployment Compensation Extension Act of 2009

- Vote Passed (331-83, 18 Not Voting)

The House passed this bill that would extend by 13 weeks unemployment benefits in states with a jobless rate over 8.5%.

Rep. Ander Crenshaw voted YES......send e-mail

or see bio

Key Vote: Interior, Environment, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 2010

Interior, Environment, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 2010

- Vote Passed (77-21, 1 Not Voting)

The Senate approved this $32.1 billion bill funding the Department of the Interior, Environmental Protection Agency and related programs for the next fiscal year.

Sen. Bill Nelson voted YES......send e-mail

or see bio

Sen. George LeMieux voted NO......send e-mail

or see bio

Cash-strapped sell their kidneys to pay off debts

"Nearly 7,000 people in the UK are waiting for kidney transplants and 300 died last year while on the waiting list."

City Program Pays for JSO Officers to Get in Shape

"The goal is for them to do this, make that lifestyle change and make that long term change on their own," says HIT Center owner Aaron Marsten."

"The HIT Center trains both JSO officers and JFRD firefighters as part of their new contract with the city, which is worth $442,000 a year. The city pays the entire bill for an eight week training program and nutrition classes for any first responder that shows they have a heart related health problem, including hypertension and obesity."

"Only a small group of 100 has gone through the program so far but there are 480 JSO officers on the waiting list, all of them with a qualified heart condition."

"But he says the city has seen a 700 percent increase in four years in heart related insurance claims from first responders, which is much more expensive than the prevention. Spencer says the cost to treat one first responder hospitalized for a heart attack is $200,000."

Federal Government Spends Stimulus Money Faster Than Expected

"The government has already paid out around $48 billion of the $49 billion that was expected to go to states and localities in the fiscal year that ends on Sept. 30, putting the rate of spending slightly ahead of schedule, according to the report, which was issued by the Government Accountability Office. The vast majority of the money spent so far — 84 percent — was provided in the form of extra Medicaid and education money to keep states afloat during the downturn; about 4 percent of it was for highway construction."

"When direct federal spending to contractors and other parties, as well as tax relief, are included in the tally, more than $150 billion worth of stimulus money has been pumped into the economy so far, the White House stated. Vice President Joseph R. Biden Jr. said in a statement that the report had confirmed that the stimulus “is working to jump-start critical infrastructure projects, cushion the impact of record state budget deficits and provide new job opportunities for hard-hit communities.”

Veterans Report G.I. Bill Fund Delays

"The new benefit enticed more than 277,000 veterans and their eligible relatives to apply for assistance. Such a flood of claims had been expected, but the veterans department, with its antiquated technology, has struggled to keep up with it."

"This week, the department reported that it had made tuition payments to colleges on just 20,000 of those applications, and had made an additional 13,000 payments directly to veterans for various expenses. The department said that it was taking an average of 35 days to process claims but that the wait could stretch to eight weeks and possibly longer."

“Taking into account the complexity of this bill, we’ve done about as well as could have been done,” said Keith Wilson, the department’s education service director. “That doesn’t alleviate our concern that we’re not meeting everybody’s expectations.”

Carmakers favor U.S. ban on texting while driving

"Automakers backed calls to ban drivers on U.S. roads from text messaging with cell phones and other hand-held devices, an issue gaining attention from the Obama administration and Congress."

"The auto alliance represents General Motors Co, Ford Motor Co and Chrysler as well as Toyota Motor Co, Volkswagen and other overseas carmakers."

"The wireless industry -- including cellphone manufacturers, carriers, and some Internet companies represented by the CTIA-Wireless Association -- also believes texting "is incompatible with safe driving."

Florida the fifth most biz-friendly state

"Florida has the fifth most business-friendly tax system in the union, according to the Tax Foundation’s 2010 State Business Tax Climate Index released Tuesday."

T"he Index measures the competitiveness of the 50 states’ tax systems and ranks them based on the taxes that matter most to businesses and business investment: corporate income, individual income, sales, property and unemployment insurance taxes."

"The states are scored on these taxes, and the scores are weighted based on the relative importance or impact of the tax to a business. The Index measures how well a state’s tax system encourages investment by maintaining a broad tax base and low rates."

"The top 10 most business friendly states were South Dakota, Wyoming, Alaska, Nevada, Florida, Montana, New Hampshire, Delaware, Washington, and Utah. The 10 least friendly are New Jersey, New York, California, Ohio, Iowa, Maryland, Rhode Island, Minnesota, Wisconsin, and Vermont."

New Teen Club Donated by Local Organizations

"A new Rent-A-Center room for teens is being dedicated today at the Laurence F. Lee Boys & Girls Club."

"The Boys & Girls Club of America joined with Rent-A-Center with the hopes the new Teen Center at the Club will give teens a safe place to hang out and call their own. Rent-A-Center recently furnished the new club with computers, an HDTV, computer games, sound system, sofa, loveseat, chair, dining set and lamps."

Couldn't we fix the health care system by paying doctors less?

"There's no question that doctors in the United States make a lot of money, especially compared with their counterparts abroad. American doctors make, on average, four times what French doctors earn. And it's not just because everyone in America makes more money: The gap between doctors' incomes and those of professionals is far bigger in the United States than elsewhere. In the 1990s, the ratio of the average American doctor's income to the average American employee's income was about 5.5. In Germany, it was 3.4; Canada, 3.2; Australia, 2.2; Switzerland, 2.1; France, 1.9; Sweden, 1.5; the United Kingdom, 1.4."

"American doctors' salaries are high for several reasons. The first is the cost of education. In France and Great Britain, students go directly to medical school after high school, and their entire educations are free. In the United States, students must first get a bachelor's degree before attending medical school, and the average medical student's debt is $155,000. Then come at least three years of residency, which usually pays less than $50,000 a year. After all that, it's no wonder doctors feel entitled to six-figure salaries. Another reason U.S. doctors get paid a lot is market forces: In a single-payer system like Britain's, the government can bargain down the prices of treatments, which leads to lower income for doctors. No such entity exists in the United States—Medicare is big, but not that big."

"But none of this really matters, because doctors' salaries aren't a large enough chunk of health care spending in the United States to make a difference. According to Reinhardt, doctors' net take-home pay (that is, income minus expenses) amounts to only about 10 percent of overall health care spending.* So if you cut that by 10 percent in the name of cost savings, you'd only save about $26 billion. That's a drop in the ocean compared with overhead for insurance companies, billing expenses for doctors' offices, and advertising for drug companies. The real savings in health care will come from these expenses."

"That said, it appears that health care reform will have some leveling effect on doctors' salaries. Primary-care doctors, for example, make significantly less than specialists. While the median salary of a family doctor is $137,000, the median anesthesiologist makes $260,000. The House bill would boost Medicare payments to primary-care physicians by about 10 percent. The theory is that rejiggering payment incentives will attract more primary-care doctors—which would promote prevention and front-end treatment—and reduce the flow of patients to specialists."

The machine that's ruining health care

"According to the latest data, the United States has just over one MRI scanner for every 40,000 people. That number that may not sound high, but it means that we have more than three times as many devices per person as you will find in the United Kingdom or France, and almost four times as many as in Canada. Only Japan, an MRI-happy outlier, has more."

"Obviously, the MRI is an extremely useful tool, giving doctors an ability to see inside the body and diagnose conditions that would otherwise require them to probe and cut into their patients' bodies. It is also expensive to buy -- at about $2 million -- and expensive to operate. Worse, the machine is used aggressively for tests such as breast-cancer screening and yields a high rate of false positives that lead, in turn, to unnecessary surgeries"

Book Review: Don't Think of an Elephant!

Title: Don't Think of an Elephant! Know Your Values and Frame the Debate
Author: George Lakoff
Year: 2004
Type: Non-Fiction
Genre: Politics

Review: This book is basically an introduction to progressive liberalism in America. In addition, Lakoff argues that "framing" (using a word to make an idea sound better) should be used to propel progressive ideas. It was worth the read (it only took an hour) though it was often repetitive. I suggest reading his book and then a Glenn Beck book or something of that nature to make it more fun.

Grade: C

US High School Graduation Rates 2005-06

Book Review: The New Deal

Title: The New Deal
Author: Paul Conkin
Year: 1967
Type: Non-Fiction
Genre: History

Review: I had to read this book for a class. It is absolutely horrible. Although short (which is a plus) it contains few facts in regards to the New Deal. It talks about FDR though told from the author's point of view (far from objective). I am sure there are better books dealing with this time frame out there. Do not read.

Grade: D

Book Review: The Camp of Saints

Title: The Camp of Saints .
Author: Jean Raspail.
Year: 1973.
Type: Fiction.
Genre: Social Issues/Political

Review: Started slow but finished fast. This is a good "thinking" type of book in regards to immigration and racism in the modern world. It is well worth the time.

Grade: B-

WHO: H1N1 Vaccine Production Falling Short

"WHO spokesman Gregory Hartl said the production will be "substantially less" than the goal of 94 million doses a week, because some manufacturers are still working on vaccines for seasonal flu."

"The WHO also announced Friday that deaths from the H1N1 influenza virus have reached 3,486."

"The United States has on order 195 million doses of the swine flu vaccine, which is due to start arriving early next month."

"Vaccine makers GlaxoSmithKline and Sanofi-Pasteur have also pledged 120 million doses to the WHO."

Smoking bans reduce heart attacks by a third

"Smoking bans in public places can reduce the number of heart attacks by as much as 36 percent, offering fresh proof that the restrictions work, U.S. researchers said on Monday."

"The team pooled data from 13 studies of smoking bans in communities in the United States, Canada and Europe."

"They said heart attack rates fall immediately after smoking bans are put in place, dropping by 17 percent in the first year and by as much as 36 percent after three years."

"Secondhand smoke kills an estimated 46,000 Americans every year from heart disease alone, the CDC and Heart Association say. Smoking also causes several types of cancer, stroke and emphysema or chronic obstructive pulmonary disease."

Obama: Legalize illegals to get them health care

"President Obama said this week that his health care plan won't cover illegal immigrants, but argued that's all the more reason to legalize them and ensure they eventually do get coverage."

"He also staked out a position that anyone in the country legally should be covered - a major break with the 1996 welfare reform bill, which limited most federal public assistance programs only to citizens and longtime immigrants."

"Even though I do not believe we can extend coverage to those who are here illegally, I also don't simply believe we can simply ignore the fact that our immigration system is broken," Mr. Obama said Wednesday evening in a speech to the Congressional Hispanic Caucus Institute. "That's why I strongly support making sure folks who are here legally have access to affordable, quality health insurance under this plan, just like everybody else."

"Mr. Obama added, "If anything, this debate underscores the necessity of passing comprehensive immigration reform and resolving the issue of 12 million undocumented people living and working in this country once and for all."

City Council Greenlights Property Tax Rate Hike

"Jacksonville's first property tax rate hike in nearly two decades is earning strong support from City Council. All but one lawmaker backed a tentative spending plan that calls for a nine percent millage rate increase."

"I thought we could still cut some more," Clay Yarborough said after casting the lone 'nay' vote on setting the millage rate at 9.27 mills, the highest rate allowed. "The Metro Park improvements and Northbank Riverwalk enhancements, that's almost 26 million dollars we don't need to be spending right now."

"Wednesday, City Council leaders and the Mayor's office announced a budget compromise, setting the millage rate at 9.27 mills, cutting more than $60 million dollars in spending and establishing a near $10 million budget stabalization fund to help cover unexpected costs."

Harvard study: 45,000 deaths linked to lack of insurance

"Nearly 45,000 people die each year due to a lack of health insurance, with 3,925 of those deaths occurring in Florida, according to a study published on Thursday in the online edition of the American Journal of Public Health."

"The study, carried out by Harvard researchers and funded by a research grant, found that uninsured, working-age Americans have a 40 percent higher risk of death than their privately insured counterparts, up from 25 percent in 1993."

"The study was released by Physicians for a National Health Program, an organization that favors a single-payer system. It takes into account socioeconomics, health behaviors and baseline health. The bottom line is that the uninsured are more likely to go without the kind of care that can save their life."

U.S. employers will defray health reform costs: study

"If U.S. health reform efforts lead to higher costs for employers, employees may end up bearing the brunt, according to a new survey."

"Employers will not absorb higher costs, choosing instead either to reduce benefits, lower salaries or cut jobs, the survey from professional services firm Towers Perrin said on Thursday."

"Eighty-seven percent of employers said they were very likely or likely to cut benefits if reform leads to higher costs. Only 11 percent said they would accept lower profits."

Homebuyer credit used by 1.4 million taxpayers: IRS

"U.S. tax authorities on Thursday said that 1.4 million taxpayers have used an $8,000 homebuyer tax credit so far and reminded homebuyers they need to close on a purchase before the December 1 deadline to qualify."

"Sales of previously-owned homes rose in July for the fourth straight month, hitting an annual rate of 5.24 million units, the highest since August 2007, the National Association of Realtors said last month."

"The group estimates the credit will spur about 350,000 first time purchases that would not have occurred without it this year."

Obama scraps Bush-era Europe missile shield

"President Barack Obama on Thursday scrapped the Bush-era plan for a missile shield to defend Eastern Europe, prompting some Republicans to immediately accuse the White House of going soft."

"Obama promised a redesigned defensive system, saying it would be cheaper, quicker and more effective against the threat from Iranian missiles. The Bush-era plan had complicated ties with Russia, which objected to where the shield installations would be built. "

"The New York Times, quoting people familiar with the matter, reported that the revised plan would call for the deployment of smaller SM-3 missiles, initially aboard ships and later likely in Turkey or southern Europe."

Florida #1 in Adoptions from Foster Care

"Florida is being rewarded for being the best state in the nation when it comes to adopting children from foster care."

"As a reward for leading the way, the state is receiving $9.75 million from the federal government in bonus funds, according to the Florida Department of Children and Families. That money is a huge chunk of the total amount the government is paying out, which is $35 million over 38 states and Puerto Rico."

"The DCF reports 3,777 children adopted from foster care in the most recent fiscal year, breaking the record set the year before of 3,674."

Obama seeks Patriot Act extensions

"The Obama administration has asked Congress to extend three contentious provisions of the USA Patriot Act - a bill once described by President Obama as "shoddy" - and urged an appeals court to deny access to U.S. courts for detainees at a military prison in Afghanistan."

"The Obama administration has asked Congress to extend three contentious provisions of the USA Patriot Act - a bill once described by President Obama as "shoddy" - and urged an appeals court to deny access to U.S. courts for detainees at a military prison in Afghanistan."