Misc. Articles
Industrial Cleaner Linked to Increased Risk of Parkinson's Disease
ScienceDaily (Feb. 8, 2010) -- Workers exposed to tricholorethylene (TCE), a chemical once widely used to clean metal such as auto parts, may be at a significantly higher risk of developing Parkinson's disease, according to a study released today that will be presented at the American Academy of Neurology's 62nd Annual Meeting in Toronto April 10 to April 17, 2010.
"This is the first time a population-based study has confirmed case reports that exposure to TCE may increase a person's risk of developing Parkinson's disease," said study author Samuel Goldman, MD, with the Parkinson's Institute in Sunnyvale, California, and a member of the American Academy of Neurology. "TCE was once a popular industrial solvent used in dry cleaning and to clean grease off metal parts, but due to other health concerns the chemical is no longer widely used."
For the study, researchers obtained job histories from 99 pairs of twins in which only one of the twins had Parkinson's disease. All of the twins were men and identified from the World War II-Veterans Twins Cohort study. Scientists used twins in the study because they are genetically identical or very similar and provide an ideal population for evaluating environmental risk factors.
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Conservatives suggest cutting Utah's budget deficit by eliminating mandatory 12th grade.
As states around the country face budget crises, "deficit peacocks" continue to demand cutting social spending while ruling out tax increases on those who have benefited immensely from years of conservative policies. In Utah, deficit peacocks are suggesting eliminating mandatory 12th grade to help close the state's $700 million budget gap:
The sudden buzz over the relative value of senior year stems from a recent proposal by state Sen. Chris Buttars that Utah make a dent in its budget gap by eliminating the 12th grade. The notion quickly gained some traction among supporters who agreed with the Republican's assessment that many seniors frittered away their final year of high school, but faced vehement opposition from other quarters, including in his hometown of West Jordan.
During a hearing of the state's Public Education Appropriations Subcommittee earlier this month, Buttars suggested that funding 12th grade amounts to "spending a whole lot of money for a whole bunch of kids who aren't getting anything out of that grade." The state senator also has also suggested ending "all busing for high school students," which would disadvantage poor students and only save a paltry $15 million.
Despite His Stimulus Bashing, Almost A Third Of Pawlenty's Budget Relies On Stimulus Money
Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty laughsIn December, Fox News' Eric Bolling presented Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty as an example of a conservative politician making tough choices to balance his state's budget. "A big hole and a simple plan to dig out of it, stop spending," said Bolling while introducing Pawlenty. "Sounds simple enough. Hold the line on taxes, live within your means. That is how my next guest aims to close his state`s billion-dollar-plus projected budget gap."
During the interview, Bolling asked Pawlenty about whether he would seek federal stimulus funds to help close his budget gaps. Pawlenty criticzied the idea, claiming that it would "delay the inevitable" by "just sending some cash out as a Band-Aid":
Yesterday, Pawlenty revealed his proposal to balance Minnesota's budget. The proposal would cut "$250 million from aid to cities and counties and $347 million from health and human services programs" while lowering taxes for businesses. The Minneapolis Star Tribune notes that "nearly one-third of the governor's budget fix would rely on $387 million in federal stimulus money. That money isn't yet in the bank and, if it doesn't come through, the cuts could be far deeper."
This isn't the first time that Pawlenty's actions have contradicted his words regarding the stimulus. Last August, Pawlenty told Bloomberg's Al Hunt that most of the stimulus money was "misdirected" and "largely wasted" on projects that won't create jobs. But weeks before Pawlenty's comments, his own economic development director went on a 10 city road show titled "Advancing Economic Prosperity" touting the benefits of the stimulus. "Communities and job-seekers throughout Minnesota are seeing tangible results from this funding," said Dan McElroy, Pawlenty's "point man on jobs and economic development."
Despite Opposing Withdrawal From Iraq, Cheney Takes Credit For Withdrawal Success
Vice President Biden, appearing on Larry King earlier this week, stated, "I am very optimistic about Iraq. I think it's going to be one of the great achievements of this administration." This statement has been widely distorted, with claims from conservatives that the Obama administration is trying to take credit for the surge.
Biden's comments do no such thing; instead they note that the withdrawal of American troops - something that conservatives for years have said would be a disaster - has gone very well. In February, President Obama announced a timetable for withdrawal of U.S. troops from Iraq - an issue that he campaigned on and was vigorously opposed by Sen. John McCain (R-AZ), who advocated keeping U.S. troops in Iraq indefinitely. Biden was pointing out that conservatives were wrong that withdrawal would, as Weekly Standard editor Bill Kristol argued, "likely lead to carnage on a scale that would dwarf what is now occurring in Iraq."
On ABC's This Week today, former Vice President Cheney further distorted Biden's comments and took credit for a withdrawal plan he opposed, saying that Biden should be "thanking George Bush." Biden, however, pushed back against Cheney's distortions on Meet the Press and Face the Nation, maintaining that the Iraq war "wasn't worth it." Biden argued that the Obama administration has managed the drawdown "very very well," noting that the administration has acted as a "catalyst" for political reconciliation, which was the source of violence and the primary obstacle to a successful withdrawal. He also pointed out that in January 2009, the Bush administration had no political plan for Iraq.
ECONOMY -- REPUBLICAN LAWMAKERS WHO OPPOSED THE STIMULUS SEEK FEDERAL FUNDS FOR THEIR DISTRICTS:
At the House GOP retreat last month, President Obama called out the hypocrisy of Republican opponents of his stimulus plan who had "gone to appear at ribbon-cuttings for the same projects that [they] voted against." While all but three Republicans in both chambers of Congress voted against the economic recovery bill, many more of them have sought funds from the legislation for their home districts and taken credit for projects funded by the Recovery Act. The Wall Street Journal reported today that "more than a dozen Republican lawmakers" wrote letters supporting "stimulus-funding requests submitted to the Department of Labor, the Environmental Protection Agency and the Forest Service." The list includes some of the most outspoken stimulus critics. Rep. Paul Ryan (R-WI) called the bill a "wasteful spending spree" but then "wrote to Labor Secretary Hilda Solis in October in support of a grant application from a group in his district which, he said, 'intends to place 1,000 workers in green jobs.'" National Republican Senatorial Committee Chairman Sen. John Cornyn (R-TX) sent two letters to the Environmental Protection Agency "asking for consideration of grants for clean diesel projects in San Antonio and Houston." The Wall Street Journal's report follows a similar piece published last week by the Washington Times, exposing another dozen Republicans who sent letters requesting "stimulus money for home-state pork" to the Department of Agriculture. Melanie Sloan, director of Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington, summed up the hypocrisy: "It's not illegal to talk out of both sides of your mouth, but it does seem to be a level of dishonesty troubling to the American public."
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