Michael Honda (D-CA) has no idea which country he was elected to serve.
Fearful that they’re losing ground on immigration and health care, a group of House Democrats is pushing back and arguing that any health care bill should extend to all legal immigrants and allow illegal immigrants some access.
The Democrats, trying to stiffen their party’s spines on the contentious issue, say it’s unfair to bar illegal immigrants from paying their own way in a government-sponsored exchange. Legal immigrants, they say, regardless of how long they’ve been in the United States, should be able to get government-subsidized health care if they meet the other eligibility requirements.
“Legal permanent residents should be able to purchase their plans, and they should also be eligible for subsidies if they need it. Undocumented, if they can afford it, should be able to buy their own private plans. It keeps them out of the emergency room,” said Rep. Michael M. Honda, California Democrat and chairman of the Congressional Asian Pacific American Caucus.
Mr. Honda was joined by more than 20 of his colleagues in two letters laying out the demands.
Coverage for immigrants is one of the thorniest issues in the health care debate, and one many Democratic leaders would like to avoid. But immigrant rights groups and the Democrats who sent the letters say they have to take a stand now. (Read more.)
B.S. Report–We cannot allow any government health bill to pass in any form. Because it will be altered to suit the whims of the politicians. They have no respect for our money and will spend it to buy votes. Why don’t we just extend our health care to cover Germans, or Belarusians? What’s the difference?
Worried residents thought their rubbish was being stolen when council ‘spies’ dressed in hoodies started rifling through their bins.
Concerned neighbours saw mysterious men emptying their bins into black sacks and loading them into an unmarked white van.
When homeowners questioned the official binmen an hour later they learned their council was conducting a survey of what was being thrown away.
The ‘spies’ were part of a week-long waste analysis study by the Northamptonshire Waste Partnership, a collaboration of eight local authorities working to reduce rubbish going to landfill. An external contractor was told to go through the bins of residents.
One thousand houses were targeted as part of the survey, including 780 in Northamptonshire.
But none of the inhabitants of Cedar Close, Irchester, near Wellingborough, Northants, had received any notice from their council about what was going on.
Resident Gillian Barnett, 61, said the snoopers made her feel ‘very uncomfortable’.
She said: ‘Three young men parked outside my house and just started going through my bins – I thought they were pinching my rubbish. It was very suspicious.
‘We haven’t had a leaftlet or a letter, all my neighbours were going round asking each other what was happening.
‘If they’d had “County Council” marked on their van it would have been less concerning but as it was nobody knew what was going on.
It made me worry about what I had put in the bin – I didn’t know I was going to be fined or what.
‘I heard this was happening in nearby streets like Pine Close too.’
Another resident, who asked to remain anonymous, slammed the council for using ‘Big Brother’ tactics. (Read more.)
B.S. Report–Welcome to “enviro-world.” You can bet that they’re going to determine that UK residents aren’t disposing properly and all sorts of new laws and regulations will result from this “study.” As for the lady who said she would have at least been more comfortable had the van the rummagers been driving been marked, “County Council,” I couldn’t disagree with her more.
If these were merely thieves going through your garbage you wouldn’t have to worry about them passing any new laws affecting the way you live. All you would have to do is make sure you shred any financial documents or other identity information that the thieves might use. That’s far simpler than stopping the out-of-control government machine.
ATLANTA (AP) – Tupac Shakur’s mother has donated a collection of the rapper’s writing to the Atlanta University Center’s main library.
Afeni Shakur has handed over more than 150 of her son’s items, ranging from rough drafts of lyrics and poems to a photocopy of his contract with Suge (shugh) Knight and Death Row Records.
The rapper’s collection will be part of the archives at the Robert W. Woodruff Library on the campus of the Atlanta University Center.
The library also houses The Martin Luther King Jr. Collection at Morehouse College.
Shakur was one of rap’s best-selling artists, becoming an even bigger star after his release from prison in 1995 with his multi-platinum selling album “All Eyez on Me.” He was shot to death a year later.
B.S. Report–Move over Martin Luther King Jr., make room for the Tupac collection. I’ve read some of Tupac’s writings in the past, and, no offense to the late rapper, but he’s another example of the depths that art in the 20th century and beyond has sunk to in the U.S.
Do you really think that Tupac was a transcendent talent that will be remembered hundreds of years in the future? There are very few people whose talents are remembered even 100 years later. Atlanta University can do what it pleases and collect the artifacts it wants. That’s not my issue. And it’s no insult to Tupac to say his contributions are not worthy of the esteem given to truly great artists or individuals. Virtually none of us are worthy of that. My only problem is with people pretending his work was that important.
All art is subjective–but there has to be more to it to be considered “great” art. A special something or a certain divine “spark” that touches people’s inner soul in a way other works do not. That’s why millions are still awed by the works of Michelangelo or DaVinci or Mozart or Beethoven. That’s why we still read and study Shakespeare 400 years later. None of us knows definitionally what “great art” is–but we usually know it when we see it, hear it or read it. And it’s the “dumbing down” of the arts’ society in the name of diversity that wishes to elevate Tupac to a status he doesn’t merit.
Here’s an example of some of his “artistry.” (Language warning, of course.)
Three decades after he fled the United States following his arrest for unlawful sex with a 13-year-old girl, Roman Polanski was taken into custody in Zurich this morning and faces extradition to Los Angeles.
Polanski, the famed film director whose career continued to flourish even after fleeing for Europe, was arrested as he arrived in the Swiss city to accept an award at the Zurich Film Festival.
The Los Angeles County district attorney’s office learned last week that Polanski had plans to travel to Zurich this weekend, said Sandi Gibbons, spokeswoman for the district attorney’s office.
Prosecutors sent a provisional arrest warrant to the U.S. Justice Department, which presented it to Swiss authorities. On at least two previous occasions, the district attorney’s office has received reports that Polanski had travel arrangements to countries with extradition treaties with the U.S. and prepared paperwork for his arrest, Gibbons said.
“But in the end, he apparently found out about it and didn’t go,” she said.
A source familiar with the investigation told The Times that the U.S. Marshals Service had come close to arresting Polanski half a dozen times or so over the past few decades — though several of those opportunities presented themselves in the last two years.
“For one reason or another, it just didn’t work out,” said the source, who spoke on condition of anonymity because the case was ongoing. “There are so many variables.”
The source said Polanski always was very careful about when and where he traveled. But as new questions arose in recent years about the fairness of his case, the source said Polanski appeared to become more at ease about travel.
1841 – Georges Clemenceau
French government leader; died Nov 24, 1929
1856 – Kate Douglas (Smith) Wiggin
writer: Rebecca of Sunnybrook Farm, Timothy’s Quest, The Bird’s Christmas Carol; organized 1st free kindergarten in San Francisco, established California Kindergarten Training School; died Aug 24, 1923
1892 – Elmer Rice
Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright: Street Scene [prize for drama: 1929]; died May 8, 1967
1901 – William S. Paley
Television Hall of Famer, broadcast executive: founder/owner of CBS; died in 1990; died Oct 26, 1990
1902 – Ed (Edward Vincent) Sullivan
newspaper columnist, TV host: Toast of the Town, The Ed Sullivan Show; died Oct 13, 1974
1905 – Max (Maximillian Adolph Otto Siegfried) Schmeling
International Boxing Hall of Famer: heavyweight champ: bouts: 70; won: 56; lost: 10; drew: 4; KOs: 39
1909 – Al Capp (Alfred Gerald Caplin)
cartoonist: Li’l Abner; died Nov 5, 1979
1916 – Peter Finch (Frederick George Peter Ingle-Finch)
Academy Award-winning actor: Network [1976]; Flight of the Phoenix, Raid on Entebbe, Elephant Walk; died Jan 14, 1977
1919 – Tom Harmon
football: University of Michigan [Heisman Trophy: 1940], AFL: NY Americans [1941], NFL: LA Rams [1946-1947]; broadcaster: ABC Sports; World War II fighter pilot [Silver Star, Purple Heart]; father of actor Mark Harmon; died Mar 17, 1990
1923 – William Windom
Emmy Award-winning actor: My World and Welcome to It [1969-70]; Murder, She Wrote, The Farmer’s Daughter, The Girl with Something Extra, Planes, Trains & Automobiles, Escape from the Planet of the Apes, To Kill a Mockingbird
1924 – Marcello Mastroianni (Marcello Vincenzo Domenico Mastrojanni)
actor: White Nights, Yesterday, Today and Tomorrow, Used People, Divorce, Italian Style, La Dolce Vita; died Dec 19, 1996
1925 – Arnold Stang
comedian, actor: Broadside, The Milton Berle Show, Dennis the Menace; cartoon: voice of Top Cat
1930 – Tommy Collins (Leonard Sipes)
singer: You Better Not Do That, It Tickles, If You Can’t Bite, Don’t Growl, I Made the Prison Band; songwriter: If You Ain’t Lovin’ then You Ain’t Livin’, You Gotta Have a License; died Mar 14, 2000
1934 – Brigitte Bardot (Camille Javal)
actress: And God Created Woman, Viva Maria, A Very Private Affair
1935 – Bruce Crampton
golf: best PGA year: 1973: won four times and finished second five times; 10 holes-in-one in pro career
1938 – Ben E. King (Benjamin Earl Nelson
singer, songwriter: group: The Drifters: There Goes My Baby, Save the Last Dance for Me; solo: Spanish Harlem, Stand by Me, What is Soul, Supernatural Thing Part 1
1941 – Charley Taylor
Pro Football Hall of Famer: Washington Redskins wide receiver: played in seven Pro Bowls
1943 – J.T. Walsh
actor: Breakdown, Hope, Hannah and Her Sisters, Tin Men, Tequila Sunrise, The Grifters, Backdraft, A Few Good Men, Loaded Weapon 1, The Last Seduction, The Client, The Babysitter, Crime of the Century, Pleasantville, Hidden Agenda; died Feb 27, 1998
1946 – Helen Shapiro
singer: Please Don’t Treat Me like a Child, You Don’t Know, Walkin’ Back to Happiness, Tell Me What He Said, Little Miss Lonely, Fever; actress: It’s Trad, Dad, Play It Cool, Oliver!
1952 – Anthony Davis
football: Univ. of Southern California All-American, Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Houston Oilers, LA Rams
1954 – Steve Largent
Pro Football Hall of Famer: Seattle Seahawks wide receiver; seven Pro Bowls; NFL record holder: most consecutive games with a reception [177], most yards on receptions [13.089], most touchdown passes [100]; member of U.S. House of Representatives [Oklahoma]
1964 – Janeane Garofalo
actress: 24, The Larry Sanders Show, The Ben Stiller Show, Saturday Night Live, TV Nation, The Truth About Cats & Dogs, The Cable Guy, Cop Land, Felicity, The Independent, The Adventures of Rocky & Bullwinkle, The Laramie Project
1967 – Mira Sorvino
Academy Award-winning supporting actress: Mighty Aphrodite [1995]; Norma Jean & Marilyn, Tales of Erotica, The Replacement Killers, Joan of Arc: The Virgin Warrior, The Triumph of Love
1967 – Moon Unit Zappa
actress: Dark Side of Genius, Heartstopper, Spirit of ’76, The Boys Next Door; daughter of singer Frank Zappa
1972 – Gwyneth Paltrow
Academy Award-winning actress: Shakespeare in Love [1998]; Hook, Great Expectations, A Perfect Murder, The Talented Mr. Ripley, Bounce, The Anniversary Party, Possession, The Royal Tenenbaums, Shallow Hal, A View from the Top
“One hundred nations in the UN have not agreed with us on just about everything that’s come before them, where we’re involved, and it didn’t upset my breakfast at all.”
– Ronald Reagan, former US President, basking in the triumph that was the US invasion of Grenada, 1983
1542 – Portuguese explorer Juan Rodriguez Cabrillo landed his ship at what we now call San Diego Bay. The site is marked with a monument, the Cabrillo National Monument, and some folks in California still celebrate Cabrillo day. There’s a reason for that. Cabrillo was the first to find California.
1928 – Glen Gray’s orchestra recorded Under a Blanket of Blue, with Kenny Sargeant on vocals.
1936 – Bachelor’s Children debuted on CBS radio (at 9:45 a.m.) in addition to its schedule on the Mutual Network (at 10:15 a.m.). The show’s theme song, Ah, Sweet Mystery of Life, opened the 15-minute, critically acclaimed, daily serial. Bachelor’s Children became very popular because of its natural dialogue which made folks think they were hearing a real event. Bachelor’s Children … brought to you by Old Dutch Cleanser, Palmolive-Peet Soap, Colgate Toothpaste and Wonder Bread.
Olan Soule portrayed Sam Ryder on Bachelor's Children for 11 years.
1939 – The final broadcast of The Fleischmann Hour was heard on radio. The star of the show, Rudee Vallee, wrapped things up after a decade of entertaining radio. The Fleischmann Hour was sponsored by Fleischmann’s Yeast. What else?
1955 – “The following program is brought to you in living color on NBC.” The World Series was seen in all its colorful glory for the first time this day. The New York Yankees beat the Brooklyn Dodgers in the first game, 6-5.
1961 – Richard Chamberlain played the part of handsome, young, Dr. Kildare for five years, beginning this day on NBC. Raymond Massey co-starred in the TV medical drama. Chamberlain’s Theme from Dr. Kildare (Three Stars Will Shine Tonight) became a hit a year into the show. He also sang Love Me Tender and All I Have to Do is Dream in 1962 and 1963 — all on MGM. Scalpel, doctor?
1961 – Hazel premiered on NBC-TV. The sitcom starred Shirley Booth in the title role, with Don DeFore as George Baxter and Whitney Blake as Dorothy Baxter (the family who Hazel adopted). She was their maid and housekeeper. Hazel was based on the Saturday Evening Postcartoon series by Ted Key.
1968 – The Beatles rode the nearly seven-minute-long Hey Jude to the top of the charts for a nine week-run starting this day. Talk about your microgroove recording! Copies of this Apple release were shipped by the dozen to radio stations because the platters wore out after just a few plays.
1984 – Saluting his 34 years in television, Bob “If There’s an Honor I’ll Be There” Hope showed outtakes of his years in television on (where else?) NBC. When he began in television’s infancy, back in 1950, Hope said he got into the new medium “…because the contract was so delicious, I couldn’t turn it down.”
1991 – Garth Brooks, big ol’ black hat and all, hit number one with his album Ropin’ the Wind. He was the first country artist to debut an album at #1 on both the Billboardalbum chart and country album chart.
1997 – Europe held off the U.S. in the Ryder Cup, 14.5-13.5.
Mr. Honda was joined by more than 20 of his colleagues in two letters laying out the demands.
