BOSTON (AP) — It was bad enough that President Barack Obama lost his filibuster-proof margin in the U.S. Senate to a Republican. Now it turns out he also lost it to a relative.
Genealogists said Friday that the Democratic president and the newly elected senator from Massachusetts, Scott Brown, are 10th cousins.
The New England Historic Genealogical Society said Obama's mother, Stanley Ann Dunham, and Brown's mother, Judith Ann Rugg, both descend from Richard Singletary of Haverhill, Mass.
He died in 1687 at the unheard-of, for the time, age of 102.
"I think it's a really interesting thing, where you have the separation between a Democrat and a Republican, but you have one link," said David Allen Lambert, the society genealogist who co-discovered the connection with colleague Chris Child.
Lambert said the work was aided by prior research about Obama, as well as Brown's cooperation with the society when researchers first contacted him in December.
"I'm glad to be in such distinguished company," Brown said of the findings.
In 2008, the society discovered that Obama is related to seven prior presidents, including George H. W. Bush, George W. Bush, Jimmy Carter, Gerald Ford, Lyndon Johnson, Harry S. Truman and James Madison. They also learned he was related to actor Brad Pitt.
Friday, January 29, 2010
Wednesday, January 27, 2010
Hawaii's socialized medicine
I am shocked by the opposition to health care reform expressed by letter writers. This is because the bill working its way painfully through Congress is not all that different from the health care reform passed by our Legislature in the mid-1970s.
We have universal health care. There are homeless in a nearby park who have the same wonderful Kaiser plan I do (only, they don't have co-pays). It's been working for us for more than 30 years. So, how is Hawaii's "socialized medicine" doing?
• Hawaii has the lowest per capita health care costs of the 50 states. The second-lowest state is not even close. Can you name anything else that has the nation's lowest cost in Hawaii?
• Hawaii has the nation's longest longevity. We tend to live longer than our mainland friends.
Put the two together and you have to give our health care system an A+ grade. How anyone in Hawaii could oppose our mainland friends getting this is nothing short of astonishing.
Rick Lloyd
Honolulu
We have universal health care. There are homeless in a nearby park who have the same wonderful Kaiser plan I do (only, they don't have co-pays). It's been working for us for more than 30 years. So, how is Hawaii's "socialized medicine" doing?
• Hawaii has the lowest per capita health care costs of the 50 states. The second-lowest state is not even close. Can you name anything else that has the nation's lowest cost in Hawaii?
• Hawaii has the nation's longest longevity. We tend to live longer than our mainland friends.
Put the two together and you have to give our health care system an A+ grade. How anyone in Hawaii could oppose our mainland friends getting this is nothing short of astonishing.
Rick Lloyd
Honolulu
Honolulu has good water
A Washington, D.C.-based environmental group says Honolulu has among the best-quality tap water among large metropolitan areas.
The Environmental Working Group ranked 100 utilities based on water testing reports and put Honolulu in the top 10, having the sixth-best-quality water.
The cities with better-quality drinking water above Honolulu were Arlington, Texas; Providence, R.I.; Fort Worth, Texas; Charleston, S.C.; and Boston.
Cities that had the lowest-rated water utilities were Pensacola, Fla.; Riverside, Calif.; Las Vegas; Riverside County, Calif.; and Reno, Nev.
The Environmental Working Group ranked 100 utilities based on water testing reports and put Honolulu in the top 10, having the sixth-best-quality water.
The cities with better-quality drinking water above Honolulu were Arlington, Texas; Providence, R.I.; Fort Worth, Texas; Charleston, S.C.; and Boston.
Cities that had the lowest-rated water utilities were Pensacola, Fla.; Riverside, Calif.; Las Vegas; Riverside County, Calif.; and Reno, Nev.
Monday, January 25, 2010
Jerry Coffee on health care reform
Just as the ill-fated, comprehensive, all-things-to-all-people immigration-reform bill failed a couple of years ago, this Obama-forced healthcare legislation is so comprehensive, convoluted, multilayered, incomprehensible and ever-changing that most who voted for it still don’t even know what’s in it. Understandably, the American people don’t trust that kind of legislation.
None of this is to say that our national healthcare system doesn’t need some reform, but the obvious, common-sense fixes have received little or no consideration in this process.
None of this is to say that our national healthcare system doesn’t need some reform, but the obvious, common-sense fixes have received little or no consideration in this process.
Wednesday, January 20, 2010
Hamamoto resigns
In a surprise move that was kept quiet for days, the head of the financially challenged state Department of Education has resigned.
In a Dec. 28 letter, schools Superintendent Patricia Hamamoto—whose department has been forced to cut the public school year by 17 Furlough Fridays this school year and next-- said her resignation was effective yesterday.
The resignation stunned some Education Board members who said they only learned of it yesterday.
State board member Lei Ahu Isa said she heard the news yesterday evening on television. "I'm kind of surprised at this point, but I don't blame her because she must be so frustrated with what's going on with this furlough thing," Isa said.
She said Hamamoto tried hard to resolve the budgetary problems and restore instructional days in talks with the Hawaii State Teachers Association and Gov. Linda Lingle.
Hamamoto and Board of Education Chairman Garrett Toguchi met with members of Lingle's staff Monday to look at ways to increase the number of instructional days.
***
Patricia Hamamoto will continue to participate in talks to end Furlough Fridays for Hawaii's public schoolchildren despite her sudden departure this week as schools superintendent.
"She's not in charge of it anymore ... (but) she said she would continue on the negotiating team," Board of Education Chairman Garrett Toguchi said yesterday.
The Lingle administration, state education officials and Hawaii State Teachers Association leaders met Wednesday in yet another attempt to reach a deal that would end or reduce Furlough Fridays. Hamamoto attended that meeting even though she had submitted her resignation earlier in the week.
In a Dec. 28 letter, schools Superintendent Patricia Hamamoto—whose department has been forced to cut the public school year by 17 Furlough Fridays this school year and next-- said her resignation was effective yesterday.
The resignation stunned some Education Board members who said they only learned of it yesterday.
State board member Lei Ahu Isa said she heard the news yesterday evening on television. "I'm kind of surprised at this point, but I don't blame her because she must be so frustrated with what's going on with this furlough thing," Isa said.
She said Hamamoto tried hard to resolve the budgetary problems and restore instructional days in talks with the Hawaii State Teachers Association and Gov. Linda Lingle.
Hamamoto and Board of Education Chairman Garrett Toguchi met with members of Lingle's staff Monday to look at ways to increase the number of instructional days.
***
Patricia Hamamoto will continue to participate in talks to end Furlough Fridays for Hawaii's public schoolchildren despite her sudden departure this week as schools superintendent.
"She's not in charge of it anymore ... (but) she said she would continue on the negotiating team," Board of Education Chairman Garrett Toguchi said yesterday.
The Lingle administration, state education officials and Hawaii State Teachers Association leaders met Wednesday in yet another attempt to reach a deal that would end or reduce Furlough Fridays. Hamamoto attended that meeting even though she had submitted her resignation earlier in the week.
earthquake hits Haiti
A major earthquake struck southern Haiti on Tuesday, knocking down buildings and power lines and inflicting what its ambassador to the United States called a catastrophe for the Western Hemisphere's poorest nation.
Several eyewitnesses reported heavy damage and bodies in the streets of the capital, Port-au-Prince, where concrete-block homes line steep hillsides. There was no estimate of the dead and wounded Tuesday evening, but the U.S. State Department has been told to expect "serious loss of life," department spokesman P.J. Crowley told reporters in Washington.
"The only thing I can do now is pray and hope for the best," the ambassador, Raymond Alcide Joseph, told CNN.
***
On Oct. 17, 1989, a major earthquake with a magnitude of 7.0 struck the Bay Area in Northern California. Sixty-three people were killed. This week, a major earthquake, also measuring a magnitude of 7.0, struck near Port-au-Prince, Haiti. The Red Cross estimates that between 45,000 and 50,000 people have died.
This is not a natural disaster story. This is a poverty story. It’s a story about poorly constructed buildings, bad infrastructure and terrible public services. On Thursday, President Obama told the people of Haiti: “You will not be forsaken; you will not be forgotten.” If he is going to remain faithful to that vow then he is going to have to use this tragedy as an occasion to rethink our approach to global poverty. He’s going to have to acknowledge a few difficult truths.
The first of those truths is that we don’t know how to use aid to reduce poverty. Over the past few decades, the world has spent trillions of dollars to generate growth in the developing world. The countries that have not received much aid, like China, have seen tremendous growth and tremendous poverty reductions. The countries that have received aid, like Haiti, have not.
... it’s time to promote locally led paternalism. In this country, we first tried to tackle poverty by throwing money at it, just as we did abroad. Then we tried microcommunity efforts, just as we did abroad. But the programs that really work involve intrusive paternalism.
These programs, like the Harlem Children’s Zone and the No Excuses schools, are led by people who figure they don’t understand all the factors that have contributed to poverty, but they don’t care. They are going to replace parts of the local culture with a highly demanding, highly intensive culture of achievement — involving everything from new child-rearing practices to stricter schools to better job performance.
The late political scientist Samuel P. Huntington used to acknowledge that cultural change is hard, but cultures do change after major traumas. This earthquake is certainly a trauma. The only question is whether the outside world continues with the same old, same old.
***
They both have been colonized, oppressed and exploited. They have lived through brutal dictatorships and U.S. invasions.
The two countries that occupy the tiny island of Hispaniola may have a shared history, but they have developed into two startlingly different places. The massive earthquake that devastated the Haitian capital of Port-au-Prince left many people in the Dominican Republic, just 155 miles away, feeling nothing worse than a little dizziness.
Several eyewitnesses reported heavy damage and bodies in the streets of the capital, Port-au-Prince, where concrete-block homes line steep hillsides. There was no estimate of the dead and wounded Tuesday evening, but the U.S. State Department has been told to expect "serious loss of life," department spokesman P.J. Crowley told reporters in Washington.
"The only thing I can do now is pray and hope for the best," the ambassador, Raymond Alcide Joseph, told CNN.
***
On Oct. 17, 1989, a major earthquake with a magnitude of 7.0 struck the Bay Area in Northern California. Sixty-three people were killed. This week, a major earthquake, also measuring a magnitude of 7.0, struck near Port-au-Prince, Haiti. The Red Cross estimates that between 45,000 and 50,000 people have died.
This is not a natural disaster story. This is a poverty story. It’s a story about poorly constructed buildings, bad infrastructure and terrible public services. On Thursday, President Obama told the people of Haiti: “You will not be forsaken; you will not be forgotten.” If he is going to remain faithful to that vow then he is going to have to use this tragedy as an occasion to rethink our approach to global poverty. He’s going to have to acknowledge a few difficult truths.
The first of those truths is that we don’t know how to use aid to reduce poverty. Over the past few decades, the world has spent trillions of dollars to generate growth in the developing world. The countries that have not received much aid, like China, have seen tremendous growth and tremendous poverty reductions. The countries that have received aid, like Haiti, have not.
... it’s time to promote locally led paternalism. In this country, we first tried to tackle poverty by throwing money at it, just as we did abroad. Then we tried microcommunity efforts, just as we did abroad. But the programs that really work involve intrusive paternalism.
These programs, like the Harlem Children’s Zone and the No Excuses schools, are led by people who figure they don’t understand all the factors that have contributed to poverty, but they don’t care. They are going to replace parts of the local culture with a highly demanding, highly intensive culture of achievement — involving everything from new child-rearing practices to stricter schools to better job performance.
The late political scientist Samuel P. Huntington used to acknowledge that cultural change is hard, but cultures do change after major traumas. This earthquake is certainly a trauma. The only question is whether the outside world continues with the same old, same old.
***
They both have been colonized, oppressed and exploited. They have lived through brutal dictatorships and U.S. invasions.
The two countries that occupy the tiny island of Hispaniola may have a shared history, but they have developed into two startlingly different places. The massive earthquake that devastated the Haitian capital of Port-au-Prince left many people in the Dominican Republic, just 155 miles away, feeling nothing worse than a little dizziness.
Massachusetts elects Republican senator
Republicans are rejoicing and Democrats reeling in the wake of Scott Brown's stunning triumph in a special Massachusetts Senate election, a devastating Democratic defeat that triggered soul-searching within President Barack Obama's party over how to stem further losses in November's midterm elections.
Obama himself grimly faced a need to regroup on Wednesday, the anniversary of his inauguration, in a White House shaken by the realization of what a difference a year made.
The most likely starting place was finding a way to save the much-criticized health care overhaul Democrats have been trying to push through Congress. The Democratic Party also faced a need to determine how to assuage an angry electorate, and particularly attract independent voters who have fled to the GOP after a year of Wall Street bailouts, economic stimulus spending and enormous budget deficits.
In one of the country's most traditionally liberal states, Brown rode a wave of voter anger to defeat Martha Coakley, the attorney general who had been considered a surefire winner until just days ago. Her loss signaled big political problems for Obama and the Democratic Party this fall when House, Senate and gubernatorial candidates are on the ballot nationwide.
Obama himself grimly faced a need to regroup on Wednesday, the anniversary of his inauguration, in a White House shaken by the realization of what a difference a year made.
The most likely starting place was finding a way to save the much-criticized health care overhaul Democrats have been trying to push through Congress. The Democratic Party also faced a need to determine how to assuage an angry electorate, and particularly attract independent voters who have fled to the GOP after a year of Wall Street bailouts, economic stimulus spending and enormous budget deficits.
In one of the country's most traditionally liberal states, Brown rode a wave of voter anger to defeat Martha Coakley, the attorney general who had been considered a surefire winner until just days ago. Her loss signaled big political problems for Obama and the Democratic Party this fall when House, Senate and gubernatorial candidates are on the ballot nationwide.
fireworks ban?
It's that time of year again, when those who love to light fireworks buy and use them while another group runs for relief from the smoke. It's an annual, one-night battle with many neighborhoods looking like battle zones.
We often hear from those who like fireworks: "But it's only one night."
What they don't realize is that this one night compromises 175,000 children and adults in Hawaii who have lung disease; 175,000 people totals more than all those on Maui and Kauai combined. With our state population now approaching 1.3 million, 175,000 represents about 13.5 percent of us who struggle to breathe ... and one night can be deadly.
We like to think of ourselves as nice, good, people who take care of each other. Yet on New Year's Eve, this caring often gives way to entitlement. Many light fireworks with not even a passing thought about what the smoke drift may do to someone else's air quality, or even if the chemical-filled smoke might cause serious complications for someone nearby — a neighbor, a child, an elder.
But for the 175,000 kids and adults who are affected by this lack of thought, their daily fight for air will be made worse. Many will suffer in silence. Some will end up in an emergency room.
Please, skip the fireworks this year. Instead, put the money you would have spent on fireworks toward a healthy family activity — or create a learning experience for the children in your life and donate your fireworks dollars to your favorite nonprofit.
And let's consider passing stricter regulations on fireworks use. Many more will breathe easier.
-- Jean Evans, MPH, is executive director of the American Lung Association in Hawaii.
***
Honolulu Police Chief Louis Kealoha acknowledged the problem seems to be increasing and that "many complaints involve the discharge of exceptionally loud explosives that can shake homes and scare and disturb neighbors and pets."
But he urged the public to help catch the perpetrators. Unless the police witness the infraction, they need witnesses willing to testify, he said.
The culprits are usually gone by the time officers arrive, and witnesses are often unwilling to testify against their neighbors.
***
Police officers issued 93 citations for the illegal use of fireworks this New Year's, an increase from 14 handed out over the same period in 2008.
Maj. Clayton Kau, Honolulu Police Department spokesman, said yesterday that officers responded to 1,860 complaints from Dec. 26 through Saturday, compared with 1,361 complaints in 2008.
Kau attributed the increase in the number of citations to "greater increase in public involvement and stepped-up enforcement," noting patrols were set up throughout the island specifically to catch people using illegal fireworks, such as aerials.
Kau renewed the Police Department's call for a total ban on consumer fireworks because responding to these calls "takes away from other emergencies and the damage to property they cause."
Kau said a total ban would mean that illegal aerial and other fireworks could not be concealed in shipping containers that are used to import legal fireworks.
State Rep. K. Mark Takai, who has introduced six bills to ban fireworks because he feels they are a serious health and safety hazard, said he will renew his efforts this legislative session for a statewide ban of all fireworks except for public displays or for religious or ceremonial occasions.
***
I want to discuss the New Year's celebration, with the worst illegal fireworks I have ever experienced in my entire life here on Oahu. There is no such thing that fireworks is a local tradition or a religious tradition because it didn't start on New Year's Eve; in fact, those who celebrated began in October and continued every night till New Year's.
These individuals are outright terrorists — they have ruined every holiday: Veterans Day, Thanksgiving Day, especially Christmas Day and the New Year's Eve celebration, till 4 a.m. New Year's Day.
This type of illegal fireworks has no place in residential neighborhoods and should only be in designated areas for display. Do you know how it feels to be shelled for 10 hours? These explode like a big bomb and scare the hell out of babies, children, seniors and pets. You become shellshocked, and every loud sound scares your senses, rattles your nerves and you can't get a decent night's sleep.
It would be in the interest of public safety to ban all fireworks on Oahu before someone is injured or killed by dangerous loud explosive aerial fireworks — and make it happen before October.
Darryl Lum
Aiea
***
K. Mark Takai hopes this is the year. The state lawmaker has tried six times to ban the use of personal fireworks in Hawaii, and each time he has been thwarted.
But as the explosive celebrations grow longer and louder - not confined to a few hours on New Year's Eve - Takai sees more support for a ban, rising in tandem with safety concerns over the proliferation of professional-grade aerial shows above densely populated urban areas and thundering concussive devices that rattle neighborhoods.
"I think people are just getting fed up," said Takai, a Democrat who represents Pearl City and Aiea.
He'll introduce a bill this month to ban fireworks except in public displays or for religious and ceremonial occasions.
***
Fireworks killed my beloved dog
I wholeheartedly agree with the letter written by Stann W. Reiziss ("City and state abet terrorism," Star-Bulletin, Jan. 6). The city and state are sponsors of terrorism because they continue to collect money for something that has proven to be a major health and safety threat to its citizens. Did we have to wait for children to be severely burned? Why must we feel like we are in a war zone when people are detonating bombs that shake our homes? And this was not even New Year's Eve; it was Christmas night!
Mr. Reiziss spoke about the loss of his expensive ukulele, with which we can sympathize. My collateral damage was far worse: My beloved dog, who was my best friend for 10 years, died as a result of these huge explosions. She was so traumatized by the deafening noise, she broke free and was hit by a car. Will our political leaders wait until one of their children is burned or one of their beloved pets killed before they step up and help protect and serve the public?
Maura Grey
Kaneohe
***
The letter from Bill Wong was as impressive as a flat tire ("Fireworks show draws support," Star-Bulletin, Jan. 7). When illegal homemade bombs shatter neighborhoods at night from Halloween to past New Year's, it's time to stop this insanity. Mr Wong might not remember about nine years ago, 81-year-old Lillian Herring was sleeping in her home and fireworks landed on her roof, which burned her house down and the poor woman died. Do you think that's entertainment?
Two children had third- degree burns and were in critical condition this year, not to mention many other injuries that were reported. Do you think it's fun that our firefighters are put in harm's way when they have to put out brush and house fires from senseless fireworks? If our lawmakers really care for the people's safety, they have to pass a total ban on fireworks.
Eugene Cordero
Pearl City
We often hear from those who like fireworks: "But it's only one night."
What they don't realize is that this one night compromises 175,000 children and adults in Hawaii who have lung disease; 175,000 people totals more than all those on Maui and Kauai combined. With our state population now approaching 1.3 million, 175,000 represents about 13.5 percent of us who struggle to breathe ... and one night can be deadly.
We like to think of ourselves as nice, good, people who take care of each other. Yet on New Year's Eve, this caring often gives way to entitlement. Many light fireworks with not even a passing thought about what the smoke drift may do to someone else's air quality, or even if the chemical-filled smoke might cause serious complications for someone nearby — a neighbor, a child, an elder.
But for the 175,000 kids and adults who are affected by this lack of thought, their daily fight for air will be made worse. Many will suffer in silence. Some will end up in an emergency room.
Please, skip the fireworks this year. Instead, put the money you would have spent on fireworks toward a healthy family activity — or create a learning experience for the children in your life and donate your fireworks dollars to your favorite nonprofit.
And let's consider passing stricter regulations on fireworks use. Many more will breathe easier.
-- Jean Evans, MPH, is executive director of the American Lung Association in Hawaii.
***
Honolulu Police Chief Louis Kealoha acknowledged the problem seems to be increasing and that "many complaints involve the discharge of exceptionally loud explosives that can shake homes and scare and disturb neighbors and pets."
But he urged the public to help catch the perpetrators. Unless the police witness the infraction, they need witnesses willing to testify, he said.
The culprits are usually gone by the time officers arrive, and witnesses are often unwilling to testify against their neighbors.
***
Police officers issued 93 citations for the illegal use of fireworks this New Year's, an increase from 14 handed out over the same period in 2008.
Maj. Clayton Kau, Honolulu Police Department spokesman, said yesterday that officers responded to 1,860 complaints from Dec. 26 through Saturday, compared with 1,361 complaints in 2008.
Kau attributed the increase in the number of citations to "greater increase in public involvement and stepped-up enforcement," noting patrols were set up throughout the island specifically to catch people using illegal fireworks, such as aerials.
Kau renewed the Police Department's call for a total ban on consumer fireworks because responding to these calls "takes away from other emergencies and the damage to property they cause."
Kau said a total ban would mean that illegal aerial and other fireworks could not be concealed in shipping containers that are used to import legal fireworks.
State Rep. K. Mark Takai, who has introduced six bills to ban fireworks because he feels they are a serious health and safety hazard, said he will renew his efforts this legislative session for a statewide ban of all fireworks except for public displays or for religious or ceremonial occasions.
***
I want to discuss the New Year's celebration, with the worst illegal fireworks I have ever experienced in my entire life here on Oahu. There is no such thing that fireworks is a local tradition or a religious tradition because it didn't start on New Year's Eve; in fact, those who celebrated began in October and continued every night till New Year's.
These individuals are outright terrorists — they have ruined every holiday: Veterans Day, Thanksgiving Day, especially Christmas Day and the New Year's Eve celebration, till 4 a.m. New Year's Day.
This type of illegal fireworks has no place in residential neighborhoods and should only be in designated areas for display. Do you know how it feels to be shelled for 10 hours? These explode like a big bomb and scare the hell out of babies, children, seniors and pets. You become shellshocked, and every loud sound scares your senses, rattles your nerves and you can't get a decent night's sleep.
It would be in the interest of public safety to ban all fireworks on Oahu before someone is injured or killed by dangerous loud explosive aerial fireworks — and make it happen before October.
Darryl Lum
Aiea
***
K. Mark Takai hopes this is the year. The state lawmaker has tried six times to ban the use of personal fireworks in Hawaii, and each time he has been thwarted.
But as the explosive celebrations grow longer and louder - not confined to a few hours on New Year's Eve - Takai sees more support for a ban, rising in tandem with safety concerns over the proliferation of professional-grade aerial shows above densely populated urban areas and thundering concussive devices that rattle neighborhoods.
"I think people are just getting fed up," said Takai, a Democrat who represents Pearl City and Aiea.
He'll introduce a bill this month to ban fireworks except in public displays or for religious and ceremonial occasions.
***
Fireworks killed my beloved dog
I wholeheartedly agree with the letter written by Stann W. Reiziss ("City and state abet terrorism," Star-Bulletin, Jan. 6). The city and state are sponsors of terrorism because they continue to collect money for something that has proven to be a major health and safety threat to its citizens. Did we have to wait for children to be severely burned? Why must we feel like we are in a war zone when people are detonating bombs that shake our homes? And this was not even New Year's Eve; it was Christmas night!
Mr. Reiziss spoke about the loss of his expensive ukulele, with which we can sympathize. My collateral damage was far worse: My beloved dog, who was my best friend for 10 years, died as a result of these huge explosions. She was so traumatized by the deafening noise, she broke free and was hit by a car. Will our political leaders wait until one of their children is burned or one of their beloved pets killed before they step up and help protect and serve the public?
Maura Grey
Kaneohe
***
The letter from Bill Wong was as impressive as a flat tire ("Fireworks show draws support," Star-Bulletin, Jan. 7). When illegal homemade bombs shatter neighborhoods at night from Halloween to past New Year's, it's time to stop this insanity. Mr Wong might not remember about nine years ago, 81-year-old Lillian Herring was sleeping in her home and fireworks landed on her roof, which burned her house down and the poor woman died. Do you think that's entertainment?
Two children had third- degree burns and were in critical condition this year, not to mention many other injuries that were reported. Do you think it's fun that our firefighters are put in harm's way when they have to put out brush and house fires from senseless fireworks? If our lawmakers really care for the people's safety, they have to pass a total ban on fireworks.
Eugene Cordero
Pearl City
Top stories of 2009
The convoluted American economy — restoring windfalls to a lucky few while leaving millions jobless and distraught — was the top news story of 2009, followed closely by the inauguration of President Barack Obama, according to U.S. editors and news directors voting in The Associated Press' annual poll.
The economy, which has superseded other issues as Americans' No. 1 concern, received 61 first-place votes out of 117 ballots cast for the top 10 stories. A related saga, the tribulations of the U.S. auto industry, was voted the No. 4 story.
In 2008, the top story was Obama's election as the first African-American president. His inauguration this year was No. 2, receiving 45 first-place votes, while the bruising battle in Congress over a health care overhaul was No. 3.
Here are 2009's top 10 stories as voted by the U.S. editors and news directors:
The economy, which has superseded other issues as Americans' No. 1 concern, received 61 first-place votes out of 117 ballots cast for the top 10 stories. A related saga, the tribulations of the U.S. auto industry, was voted the No. 4 story.
In 2008, the top story was Obama's election as the first African-American president. His inauguration this year was No. 2, receiving 45 first-place votes, while the bruising battle in Congress over a health care overhaul was No. 3.
Here are 2009's top 10 stories as voted by the U.S. editors and news directors:
Friday, January 15, 2010
Warren Buffett on health care
"What we do know is the present system is not working well," Buffett said. "Health care costs have galloped up as a percentage of GDP (gross domestic product), and we haven't covered the population the way a rich country should.
"It is time for us to try to make an improvement."
"The perfect is always the enemy of the good," he said, "and the unknown scares people."
But tackling health care reform now is "the right thing for the country."
"This bill is not going to be perfect," Buffett said. "There will be some unintended consequences and some surprises."
But it's time to start, he said, and then modify the legislation as needed.
***
[3/1/10 on CNBC, posted 3/2/10]
QUICK: We've covered ground looking at the economy and where things are headed. We've talked a little bit about Coca-Cola. What we have not touched on yet is where the government stands right now. We--you mentioned briefly about the jobs report, but there are so many other bills that are moving through that have captured the people's attention, including the health care bill and...
BUFFETT: Yeah. Or not moving through.
QUICK: Or not moving through. Nancy Pelosi said at this point she does not think that there's going to be any bipartisan support. What do you think about the idea of taking this into reconciliation and cramming it through?
BUFFETT: Well, the health--the health situation, what we have now is untenable over time. I mean, it--call what we're doing now plan A, and plan A has taken us from 5 percent of GDP to 17 or close to 17 percent of GDP. And that kind of a cost compared to the rest of the world is really a--it's like a tapeworm eating, you know, at our economic body. Every--everything we produce for export, everything we compete with that comes imported in this country, everything is bearing that cost, and it's a cost that the rest of the world isn't bearing. And the--tops around the world, you find 10 percent of GDP. We have fewer doctors than many--we have two and a half--a little over two and a half doctors per thousand, much of the world has well over three doctors. We have 11 nurses per thousand, much of the world has far more nurses per thousand. We have three beds per thousand, hospital beds per thousand, much of the world has six or seven beds per thousand. We have higher infant mortality than most places, or many places. We have higher--we have shorter overall mortality. So we have a health system that, in terms of costs, is really out of control. And if you take this line and you project what has been happening into the future, we will get less and less competitive. So we need something else. Unfortunately, we came up with a bill that really doesn't attack the cost situation that much. And we have to have a fundamental change. We have to have something that will end the constant increase in medical costs as a percentage of GDP.
QUICK: Then are you in favor of scrapping this and going back to start over?
BUFFETT: I would be--if I were President Obama, I would just show this chart of what's been happening and say this is the tapeworm that's eating at American competitiveness. And I would say that one way or another, we're going to attack costs, costs, costs, just like they talk about jobs, jobs, jobs in the...(unintelligible). It's cost, cost, cost on this side. That's a tough job. I mean, we're spending maybe $2.3 trillion on health care in the United States, and every one of those dollars is going to somebody and they're going to yell if that dollar becomes 90 cents or 80 cents. So it take--but I would--I would try to get a unified effort, say this is a national emergency to do something about this. We need the Republicans, we need the Democrats. We're going to cut off all the kinds of things like the 800,000 special people in Florida or the Cornhusker kickback, as they called it, or the Louisiana Purchase, and we're going to--we're going to get rid of the nonsense. We're just going to focus on costs and we're not going to dream up 2,000 pages of other things. And I would say, as president, `I'm going to come back to you with something that's going to do something about this, because we have to do it.'
QUICK: Just focus on cost, or focus on cost while insuring more people? Those are two different problems.
BUFFETT: Well, yeah, universality, I--no, I believe in insuring more people. But I don't believe in insuring more people till you attack the cost aspect of this. And there is no reason for us to be spending 17 percent or thereabouts when all--many other developed countries are spending, we'll say, 9 or 10. They have more beds, they have more nurses, they have more doctors, they even have more consultations by far. We have about four consultations per person in the United States with doctor interaction per year. Other countries have far more than that. I mean, we spend a lot of money on equipment here. I mean, if you want to get the very best, I mean, if you want to spend a million dollars to prolong your life another three months, you know, in some coma or something, you can probably do it better here in the United States than any place else. But we need a fundamental reform. And, you know, I admire people for tackling it, because it's so tough politically. But I would--I would like to see them really get the job done.
"It is time for us to try to make an improvement."
"The perfect is always the enemy of the good," he said, "and the unknown scares people."
But tackling health care reform now is "the right thing for the country."
"This bill is not going to be perfect," Buffett said. "There will be some unintended consequences and some surprises."
But it's time to start, he said, and then modify the legislation as needed.
***
[3/1/10 on CNBC, posted 3/2/10]
QUICK: We've covered ground looking at the economy and where things are headed. We've talked a little bit about Coca-Cola. What we have not touched on yet is where the government stands right now. We--you mentioned briefly about the jobs report, but there are so many other bills that are moving through that have captured the people's attention, including the health care bill and...
BUFFETT: Yeah. Or not moving through.
QUICK: Or not moving through. Nancy Pelosi said at this point she does not think that there's going to be any bipartisan support. What do you think about the idea of taking this into reconciliation and cramming it through?
BUFFETT: Well, the health--the health situation, what we have now is untenable over time. I mean, it--call what we're doing now plan A, and plan A has taken us from 5 percent of GDP to 17 or close to 17 percent of GDP. And that kind of a cost compared to the rest of the world is really a--it's like a tapeworm eating, you know, at our economic body. Every--everything we produce for export, everything we compete with that comes imported in this country, everything is bearing that cost, and it's a cost that the rest of the world isn't bearing. And the--tops around the world, you find 10 percent of GDP. We have fewer doctors than many--we have two and a half--a little over two and a half doctors per thousand, much of the world has well over three doctors. We have 11 nurses per thousand, much of the world has far more nurses per thousand. We have three beds per thousand, hospital beds per thousand, much of the world has six or seven beds per thousand. We have higher infant mortality than most places, or many places. We have higher--we have shorter overall mortality. So we have a health system that, in terms of costs, is really out of control. And if you take this line and you project what has been happening into the future, we will get less and less competitive. So we need something else. Unfortunately, we came up with a bill that really doesn't attack the cost situation that much. And we have to have a fundamental change. We have to have something that will end the constant increase in medical costs as a percentage of GDP.
QUICK: Then are you in favor of scrapping this and going back to start over?
BUFFETT: I would be--if I were President Obama, I would just show this chart of what's been happening and say this is the tapeworm that's eating at American competitiveness. And I would say that one way or another, we're going to attack costs, costs, costs, just like they talk about jobs, jobs, jobs in the...(unintelligible). It's cost, cost, cost on this side. That's a tough job. I mean, we're spending maybe $2.3 trillion on health care in the United States, and every one of those dollars is going to somebody and they're going to yell if that dollar becomes 90 cents or 80 cents. So it take--but I would--I would try to get a unified effort, say this is a national emergency to do something about this. We need the Republicans, we need the Democrats. We're going to cut off all the kinds of things like the 800,000 special people in Florida or the Cornhusker kickback, as they called it, or the Louisiana Purchase, and we're going to--we're going to get rid of the nonsense. We're just going to focus on costs and we're not going to dream up 2,000 pages of other things. And I would say, as president, `I'm going to come back to you with something that's going to do something about this, because we have to do it.'
QUICK: Just focus on cost, or focus on cost while insuring more people? Those are two different problems.
BUFFETT: Well, yeah, universality, I--no, I believe in insuring more people. But I don't believe in insuring more people till you attack the cost aspect of this. And there is no reason for us to be spending 17 percent or thereabouts when all--many other developed countries are spending, we'll say, 9 or 10. They have more beds, they have more nurses, they have more doctors, they even have more consultations by far. We have about four consultations per person in the United States with doctor interaction per year. Other countries have far more than that. I mean, we spend a lot of money on equipment here. I mean, if you want to get the very best, I mean, if you want to spend a million dollars to prolong your life another three months, you know, in some coma or something, you can probably do it better here in the United States than any place else. But we need a fundamental reform. And, you know, I admire people for tackling it, because it's so tough politically. But I would--I would like to see them really get the job done.
Senate passes health care bill
The Senate voted Thursday to reinvent the nation’s health care system, passing a bill to guarantee access to health insurance for tens of millions of Americans and to rein in health costs.
The 60-to-39 party-line vote, starting at 7:05 a.m. on the 25th straight day of debate on the legislation, brings Democrats closer to a goal they have pursued for decades and brings President Obama a step closer to success in his signature domestic initiative. When the roll was called, with Vice President Joseph R. Biden Jr. presiding, it was the first time the Senate had gathered for a vote on Christmas Eve since 1895.
If the bill becomes law, it would be a milestone in social policy, comparable to the creation of Social Security in 1935 and Medicare in 1965. But unlike those programs, the initiative lacks bipartisan support. Only one Republican supported a broadly similar bill that the House approved last month 220 to 215, and no Republicans backed the Senate version.
The bill would require most Americans to have health insurance, would add 15 million people to the Medicaid rolls and would subsidize private coverage for low- and middle-income people, at a cost to the government of $871 billion over 10 years, according to the Congressional Budget Office.
The budget office estimates that the bill would provide coverage to 31 million uninsured people, but still leave 23 million uninsured in 2019. One-third of those remaining uninsured would be illegal immigrants.
When the roll was called Thursday morning, the mood was solemn as senators called out “aye” or “no.” Senator Robert C. Byrd, the 92-year-old Democrat from West Virginia, deviated slightly from the protocol.
“This is for my friend Ted Kennedy,” Mr. Byrd said. “Aye!”
Senator Kennedy of Massachusetts, a longtime champion of universal health care, died of brain cancer in August at age 77.
After struggling for years to expand health insurance in modest, incremental ways, Democrats decided this year that they could not let another opportunity slip away. As usual, lawmakers were deluged with appeals from lobbyists for health care interests who have stymied similar ambitious efforts in the past. But this year was different.
Lawmakers listened to countless stories of hardship told by constituents who had been denied insurance, lost coverage when they got sick or seen their premiums soar. Hostility to the insurance industry was a theme throughout the Senate debate.
“The health insurance policies of America, what we have right now is a moral disgrace,” said Senator Tom Harkin, Democrat of Iowa. “We are called upon to right a great injustice, a great wrong that has been put upon the American people.”
Costs of the bill would, according to the Congressional Budget Office, be more than offset by new taxes and fees and by savings in Medicare. The bill would squeeze nearly a half-trillion dollars from Medicare over the next 10 years, mainly by reducing the growth of payments to hospitals, nursing homes, Medicare Advantage plans and other providers.
Republicans asserted that the cuts would hurt Medicare beneficiaries. But AARP, the lobby for older Americans, and the American Medical Association ran an advertisement urging senators to pass the bill, under which Medicare would cover more of the cost for prescription drugs and preventive health services.
The 60-to-39 party-line vote, starting at 7:05 a.m. on the 25th straight day of debate on the legislation, brings Democrats closer to a goal they have pursued for decades and brings President Obama a step closer to success in his signature domestic initiative. When the roll was called, with Vice President Joseph R. Biden Jr. presiding, it was the first time the Senate had gathered for a vote on Christmas Eve since 1895.
If the bill becomes law, it would be a milestone in social policy, comparable to the creation of Social Security in 1935 and Medicare in 1965. But unlike those programs, the initiative lacks bipartisan support. Only one Republican supported a broadly similar bill that the House approved last month 220 to 215, and no Republicans backed the Senate version.
The bill would require most Americans to have health insurance, would add 15 million people to the Medicaid rolls and would subsidize private coverage for low- and middle-income people, at a cost to the government of $871 billion over 10 years, according to the Congressional Budget Office.
The budget office estimates that the bill would provide coverage to 31 million uninsured people, but still leave 23 million uninsured in 2019. One-third of those remaining uninsured would be illegal immigrants.
When the roll was called Thursday morning, the mood was solemn as senators called out “aye” or “no.” Senator Robert C. Byrd, the 92-year-old Democrat from West Virginia, deviated slightly from the protocol.
“This is for my friend Ted Kennedy,” Mr. Byrd said. “Aye!”
Senator Kennedy of Massachusetts, a longtime champion of universal health care, died of brain cancer in August at age 77.
After struggling for years to expand health insurance in modest, incremental ways, Democrats decided this year that they could not let another opportunity slip away. As usual, lawmakers were deluged with appeals from lobbyists for health care interests who have stymied similar ambitious efforts in the past. But this year was different.
Lawmakers listened to countless stories of hardship told by constituents who had been denied insurance, lost coverage when they got sick or seen their premiums soar. Hostility to the insurance industry was a theme throughout the Senate debate.
“The health insurance policies of America, what we have right now is a moral disgrace,” said Senator Tom Harkin, Democrat of Iowa. “We are called upon to right a great injustice, a great wrong that has been put upon the American people.”
Costs of the bill would, according to the Congressional Budget Office, be more than offset by new taxes and fees and by savings in Medicare. The bill would squeeze nearly a half-trillion dollars from Medicare over the next 10 years, mainly by reducing the growth of payments to hospitals, nursing homes, Medicare Advantage plans and other providers.
Republicans asserted that the cuts would hurt Medicare beneficiaries. But AARP, the lobby for older Americans, and the American Medical Association ran an advertisement urging senators to pass the bill, under which Medicare would cover more of the cost for prescription drugs and preventive health services.
Thursday, January 14, 2010
planning days? you talking 'bout planning days?
What's all this brouhaha about planning days? There are too many already. Our public school teachers get 11 days, including waiver days (whatever those are) and professional development days. On top of that they get early breaks on Wednesdays. And on top of that they get 15 sick days plus two personal days.
Now you ask, where have all those generous times-off gotten us?
Near the bottom of the heap of the national school standing.
Personal calls to the competition — private schools — revealed the following:
» Iolani: Zero planning days, one professional development day, between five and 10 sick days, plus six family days.
» Punahou: Five planning and professional development days and 10 sick days, including up to two personal days.
» Waldorf: Zero regular days off, 10 sick days plus three personal days.
And where do those schools stand? Among the best in the country. One even produced a president of the United States.
I grew up in the German school system, which has generated scientists and inventors of many things. There were zero planning days. People would have laughed at such an idea.
Japan adopted the German school system. That means two scientifically and technologically leading countries in the world work on the same highly successful school system — with no planning days.
Gerhard C. Hamm
Waialae Iki
Now you ask, where have all those generous times-off gotten us?
Near the bottom of the heap of the national school standing.
Personal calls to the competition — private schools — revealed the following:
» Iolani: Zero planning days, one professional development day, between five and 10 sick days, plus six family days.
» Punahou: Five planning and professional development days and 10 sick days, including up to two personal days.
» Waldorf: Zero regular days off, 10 sick days plus three personal days.
And where do those schools stand? Among the best in the country. One even produced a president of the United States.
I grew up in the German school system, which has generated scientists and inventors of many things. There were zero planning days. People would have laughed at such an idea.
Japan adopted the German school system. That means two scientifically and technologically leading countries in the world work on the same highly successful school system — with no planning days.
Gerhard C. Hamm
Waialae Iki
Monday, January 11, 2010
flawed reform better than no reform
A message to progressives: pass the health care bill.
let’s all take a deep breath, and consider just how much good this bill would do, if passed — and how much better it would be than anything that seemed possible just a few years ago. With all its flaws, the Senate health bill would be the biggest expansion of the social safety net since Medicare, greatly improving the lives of millions. Getting this bill would be much, much better than watching health care reform fail.
At its core, the bill would do two things. First, it would prohibit discrimination by insurance companies on the basis of medical condition or history: Americans could no longer be denied health insurance because of a pre-existing condition, or have their insurance canceled when they get sick. Second, the bill would provide substantial financial aid to those who don’t get insurance through their employers, as well as tax breaks for small employers that do provide insurance.
The result would be a huge increase in the availability and affordability of health insurance, with more than 30 million Americans gaining coverage, and premiums for lower-income and lower-middle-income Americans falling dramatically. That’s an immense change from where we were just a few years ago: remember, not long ago the Bush administration and its allies in Congress successfully blocked even a modest expansion of health care for children.
Bear in mind also the lessons of history: social insurance programs tend to start out highly imperfect and incomplete, but get better and more comprehensive as the years go by. Thus Social Security originally had huge gaps in coverage — and a majority of African-Americans, in particular, fell through those gaps. But it was improved over time, and it’s now the bedrock of retirement stability for the vast majority of Americans.
Look, I understand the anger here: supporting this weakened bill feels like giving in to blackmail — because it is. Or to use an even more accurate metaphor suggested by Ezra Klein of The Washington Post, we’re paying a ransom to hostage-takers. Some of us, including a majority of senators, really, really want to cover the uninsured; but to make that happen we need the votes of a handful of senators who see failure of reform as an acceptable outcome, and demand a steep price for their support.
The question, then, is whether to pay the ransom by giving in to the demands of those senators, accepting a flawed bill, or hang tough and let the hostage — that is, health reform — die.
Again, history suggests the answer. Whereas flawed social insurance programs have tended to get better over time, the story of health reform suggests that rejecting an imperfect deal in the hope of eventually getting something better is a recipe for getting nothing at all. Not to put too fine a point on it, America would be in much better shape today if Democrats had cut a deal on health care with Richard Nixon, or if Bill Clinton had cut a deal with moderate Republicans back when they still existed.
By PAUL KRUGMAN
Published: December 17, 2009
let’s all take a deep breath, and consider just how much good this bill would do, if passed — and how much better it would be than anything that seemed possible just a few years ago. With all its flaws, the Senate health bill would be the biggest expansion of the social safety net since Medicare, greatly improving the lives of millions. Getting this bill would be much, much better than watching health care reform fail.
At its core, the bill would do two things. First, it would prohibit discrimination by insurance companies on the basis of medical condition or history: Americans could no longer be denied health insurance because of a pre-existing condition, or have their insurance canceled when they get sick. Second, the bill would provide substantial financial aid to those who don’t get insurance through their employers, as well as tax breaks for small employers that do provide insurance.
The result would be a huge increase in the availability and affordability of health insurance, with more than 30 million Americans gaining coverage, and premiums for lower-income and lower-middle-income Americans falling dramatically. That’s an immense change from where we were just a few years ago: remember, not long ago the Bush administration and its allies in Congress successfully blocked even a modest expansion of health care for children.
Bear in mind also the lessons of history: social insurance programs tend to start out highly imperfect and incomplete, but get better and more comprehensive as the years go by. Thus Social Security originally had huge gaps in coverage — and a majority of African-Americans, in particular, fell through those gaps. But it was improved over time, and it’s now the bedrock of retirement stability for the vast majority of Americans.
Look, I understand the anger here: supporting this weakened bill feels like giving in to blackmail — because it is. Or to use an even more accurate metaphor suggested by Ezra Klein of The Washington Post, we’re paying a ransom to hostage-takers. Some of us, including a majority of senators, really, really want to cover the uninsured; but to make that happen we need the votes of a handful of senators who see failure of reform as an acceptable outcome, and demand a steep price for their support.
The question, then, is whether to pay the ransom by giving in to the demands of those senators, accepting a flawed bill, or hang tough and let the hostage — that is, health reform — die.
Again, history suggests the answer. Whereas flawed social insurance programs have tended to get better over time, the story of health reform suggests that rejecting an imperfect deal in the hope of eventually getting something better is a recipe for getting nothing at all. Not to put too fine a point on it, America would be in much better shape today if Democrats had cut a deal on health care with Richard Nixon, or if Bill Clinton had cut a deal with moderate Republicans back when they still existed.
By PAUL KRUGMAN
Published: December 17, 2009
Sunday, January 03, 2010
Hawaii losses of 2009
Hawai'i will start the new year absent a trio of influential icons: newsman Bob Sevey, progressive politician Tom Gill and women's sports advocate Donnis Thompson. All three, who died over the past year, were named to The Advertiser's select list of 50 people who "steered the course after statehood."
The state also bid aloha in 2009 to master kumu hula Uncle George Na'ope, who helped steer the course of a Hawaiian cultural renaissance .
Two other notable losses were sitting City Council members Barbara Marshall and Duke Bainum, both remembered for their willingness to tackle tough issues.
The state also bid aloha in 2009 to master kumu hula Uncle George Na'ope, who helped steer the course of a Hawaiian cultural renaissance .
Two other notable losses were sitting City Council members Barbara Marshall and Duke Bainum, both remembered for their willingness to tackle tough issues.
Saturday, January 02, 2010
Oral Roberts
Oral Roberts, the Pentecostal evangelist whose televised faith-healing ministry attracted millions of followers worldwide and made him one of the most recognizable and controversial religious leaders of the 20th century, died Tuesday in Newport Beach, Calif. He was 91.
The cause was complications of pneumonia, said Melany Ethridge, a spokeswoman for Mr. Roberts. He died at a hospital in Newport Beach, where he lived.
At the height of his influence, Mr. Roberts sat at the head of a religious, educational and communications enterprise based in Tulsa, Okla., that managed a university that bears his name, mounted healing “crusades” on five continents, preached on prime-time national television and published dozens of books and magazines.
The cause was complications of pneumonia, said Melany Ethridge, a spokeswoman for Mr. Roberts. He died at a hospital in Newport Beach, where he lived.
At the height of his influence, Mr. Roberts sat at the head of a religious, educational and communications enterprise based in Tulsa, Okla., that managed a university that bears his name, mounted healing “crusades” on five continents, preached on prime-time national television and published dozens of books and magazines.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)