Bill Clinton visited US senators yesterday talking up health care legislation, with his signature message, 'It's the economics, stupid.'
“The point I tried to make is this is an economic imperative,” he said.
Passing health care reform would start delivering benefits quicker than people think, he said, pointing to guarantees of coverage and other items that would kick in soon, and arguing that it would give U.S. companies a much more level playing field quicker than congressional numbers crunchers will allow.
“It is the right thing for America,” he added. “The worst thing to do is to keep dragging around a 16-and-a-half percent of GDP health system.”
New Jersey Sen. Frank Lautenberg called the talk “a lesson in economics 105, and a soul-charger for all of us.”
Crime rates for homicide, robbery and rape have been dropping for several years, according to FBI statistics, but now, despite the recession, in communities large and small, burglary rates are plummeting too. Philadelphia, St. Louis, Minneapolis, Boston, and Phoenix are witnessing this remarkable trend:
St. Louis County, a whopping 35 percent drop in the first six months of 2009
Minneapolis, down more than 15 percent in the first nine months and more than 25 percent compared with 2007
Boston, a 13.2 percent drop with 335 fewer burglaries tallied than last year
Philadelphia, down more than 17 percent in the first 6 months
Phoenix, 14 percent drop in burglaries so far this year; 4,000 fewer than this stretch in 2008
(Read the full AP article at USA Today, and look for nationwide statistics to come out next year)
The
only men are the ones standing guard outside: welcome to the first bank
reserved exclusively for women. In the holy town of Najaf, the financial instution provides a female-only staff for a female-only
clientele.
Little by little, individuals and organizations are creating glimmers
of hope across a country steeped in war, promising that Afghanistan will
once again flourish someday. Here are five things happening in
Afghanistan that are helping its citizens get back on their feet, and
what you can do to support those efforts:
-- "Skateistan" creates skater boys (and girls)
-- Farmers find sustainable crops in Global Partnership for Afghanistan
-- Women Speaking Their Minds with the Afghan Women's Writing Project
-- UN is promoting Afghanistan For tourists
-- Schools spring up in the middle of nowhere, thanks to Pennies for Peace
The Keshet Dance Company uses dance to teach literacy, math and conflict-resolution skills to 250 incarcerated youths at the New Mexico state juvenile detention center.
The Harmony Project in Los Angeles provides intensive, year-round music instruction, choir and orchestra programs, to inner-city children from low-income families.
These are just two of the 19 after-school programs to which first lady Michelle Obama presented a 2009 "Coming Up Taller Award" in a White House ceremony November 4. The award, which honors arts and humanities programs for underserved children, comes with a $10,000 prize for each recipient.
"Each of your programs is using achievement in the arts as a bridge to achievement in life,” said Mrs. Obama, the honorary chairman of the President’s Committee on the Arts and the Humanities, which sponsors the Coming Up Taller awards in partnership with three federal agencies.
Bill Clinton visited US senators yesterday talking up health care legislation, with his signature message, 'It's the economics, stupid.'
Crime rates for homicide, robbery and rape have been dropping for several years, according to FBI statistics, but now, despite the recession, in communities large and small, burglary rates are plummeting too. Philadelphia, St. Louis, Minneapolis, Boston, and Phoenix are witnessing this remarkable trend:
The
only men are the ones standing guard outside: welcome to the first bank
reserved exclusively for women. In the holy town of Najaf, the financial instution provides a female-only staff for a female-only
clientele.
Little by little, individuals and organizations are creating glimmers
of hope across a country steeped in war, promising that Afghanistan will
once again flourish someday. Here are five things happening in
Afghanistan that are helping its citizens get back on their feet, and
what you can do to support those efforts:
The Keshet Dance Company uses dance to teach literacy, math and conflict-resolution skills to 250 incarcerated youths at the New Mexico state juvenile detention center.
