Arizona residents are relieved to see that their education system won’t be seeing any budget cuts for the foreseeable future. Voters approved a proposition that would increase the state’s sales tax to 6.6%, effectively generating nearly $1 billion in tax revenue during the first year. Arizona has been experiencing cash flow problems for some time now, and the passage of this bill will allow the state to maintain the quality of its educational system as well as other public departments, including law enforcement. According to estimates made by advocacy organization Arizona Education Network last month, had voters not approved the proposition 15%-20% of teachers at the primary and secondary levels could have been laid off due to the over $800 million worth of budget cuts that the state would have to make. Universities as well as community colleges in the state also lobbied for the passage of the bill, which would have collectively cost them over $130 million dollars.

Right wing political organizations within Arizona claim that the bill infringes on American rights. Former presidential hopeful John McCain, who is a senator from Arizona, has expressed that he is against the bill. Some organizations also claim that the tax hike will not be enough to shore up the deficit.

Vice president Joe Biden had some trouble holding his excitement in during the signing ceremony for the “landmark” health care legislation that got passed by the House Sunday. Biden, in yet another of his memorable moments was caught whispering to Obama saying something to the effect of “this is a big fu#king deal” as Obama prepared to deliver a speech. Biden has been surrounded in controversy before for similar slip ups. In 2007, he commented on how much Barrack Obama was a departure from the stereotyped black American male, the first “mainstream” of his type to be “articulate and bright and clean and a nice-looking guy.” This comment backfired unexpectedly, causing some hurdles for Biden in raising funding for his 2008 presidential campaign. In 2006, he pulled yet another off-color stunt when he stated that visitors to 7-11 locations must have a “slight indian accent” to be able to communicate with employees.

It is very clear that Biden’s mouth could pose a danger to the administration. Yes, this incident is nothing to write home about, but it could be an indicator of worst things to come. Just days ago another politician was heard uttering the phrase “baby killer” before a House hearing Sunday on the health care reform. The congressperson, later identified as Randy Neugebauer, apologized for the outburst. If this sort of behavior among our political leaders continue, our image will continue to tarnish in the face of the rest of the world.

It seems like a rare occurrence that you find a politician these days that actually has the interest of his/her constituents in mind. From what we can tell, John Boehner, like many others is the antithesis to this naive, idealist notion of a politician. Boehner commented today on the passage of “landmark” health care reform that has been in the works for what seems like decades. The most appealing aspect to this reform was the offering of a public option, which would help extend coverage to millions of Americans that had gone insured. Boehner, along with his clan of Republicans, have been steaming all day after the legislation passed without any Republican votes. There has even been talk underway about removing Nancy Pelosi from her reign as Speaker of the House. The GOP took this sensible piece of legislation and essentially turned it on its head. This is not to say that Democrats didn’t succumb to the special interests, finally being forced to take the public option out oft the picture.

We here are pretty disappointed by what our legislators have been able to accomplish in this significant span of time and given the worsening state of the economy, where more and more people are facing the prospect of no health insurance. Apparently, the legislation will extend coverage to over 32 million Americans. We will see about that. Illegal immigrants will not be covered, regardless of whether they are willing to pay, and those who decide to remain uncovered will be slapped with a fine. We can only wait and see how this pans out, although what could have been accomplished without such a corrupt legislature could have been far greater.

An effort by the Republican party is underway to fire Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi (D) after the long delayed passage of health care reform that is expected to cost in excess of $900 billion. The health care reform bill passed today with no Republican votes. The reform will require insurers to extend coverage to those with pre-existing conditions and will be forced to retain children on parents’ policies until they reach the age of 26, among other things. Some of the bill’s provisions will take effect almost immediately, including a requirement for insurance companies to insure children with pre-existing conditions. The health care bill which has gone back and forth between the House and Senate these past months poses a threat to the Republican constituency, especially considering the fact that families earning over $250,000 a year will see a spike in Medicare payroll taxes that will help pay for the legislation. Many Democrats have characterized the legislation as being “watered down,” with the ambitious public option having been removed from the table some time ago. Health care reform has been a cornerstone of President Barrack Obama’s platform since he came into office in 2008.

A final controversy that succeeded in delaying the passage of the bill dealt with abortion coverage. The final word is that insurance companies wont have to to offer abortion coverage to policy holders. There are some strict penalties ahead for those who fail to obtain coverage by 2014. A $695 annual fee will be imposed on individuals who are found to be uncovered. Illegal immigrants will no qualify for coverage under the new legislation, even if they are willing to cover the costs.

What we can say is that this reform has been a long time in the making, beginning with Hillary Clinton’s efforts as first lady in the 90′s. Although this bill has been significantly altered since being introduced, we can only hope that it is a step in the right direction. Whether we like to admit it or not, the special interests will always get a final say in how these laws pan out. The state of the modern health care system is unacceptable. Perhaps this reform will make it a little more bearable, for at least a while.

We here have mixed feelings about this bill. Sure it is a step in the right direction, but the critics are right in saying that the effect can be negligible. Despite the passing of the stimulus package, we have yet to see any promising results in the job sector. Perhaps a different approach needs to be examined, however, we personally couldn’t tell you what direction legislators need to take. It is nice however to see some Republican cooperation in this whole debacle. They have been very confrontational about the legislation the Obama administration has been trying to push through. Naturally, this lack of cooperation is drawing out the recovery process even further. Hopefully we will see some more collaborative efforts in the near future so that the nation can make a comeback from this time of financial instability.

Although the police are taking this as a mere rumor, they will be upping enforcement in the areas which they feel could be at risk. According to a local news station, the Walmart Gang Initiation text message warned residents of visiting Walmart “tonight.” The text message was as specific to say that 3 women would be killed during the Walmart Gang Initiation incident.

It is our hope that police will investigate who would distribute such an alarming message to residents. If the distributors of such information were doing it to merely scare residents, they should be subject to some jail time or at least some hefty penalties for getting residents and police all riled up. So, in closing, there is no credible evidence that this supposed Walmart Gang Initiation will occur tonight. So residents can sleep easy. However, remember to be at least somewhat cautious.

SMS Text Message

SMS text message, an abbreviated form for short messaging service, has grown in popularity these past few years. People have started to adore SMS text messages because they can quickly convey a message and cost much less than traditional phone calls do. Writing up an SMS text message will save you time as opposed to spending hours on the phone with someone else. SMS text message is most commonly found in cellphones. It’s rare that you don’t see a teenage boy or girl using their phone to send text messages to their friends.

A major benefit of SMS text message is that you don’t need pay outrageous long distance fees and such. It is cheap to send an SMS text message just about anywhere in the world. Since these message are sent via the internet, they arrive quickly and spare you a hefty bill.

In this technological day, you can’t afford not to have SMS text messaging capabilities. Almost all modern phones come equipped with SMS text message capabilities, and as such, it would be ridiculous not to take advantage of this exciting technology.

According to Joel Sokol of Georgia Tech, UNC is slated to win the NCAA Men’s basketball tournament this year. Joel Sokol Georgia Tech along with associates have devised a statistical formula which has successfully predicted the winner of the tournament in the past. There have been numerous models used for attempting to determine the outcomes of games, however, Joel Sokol Georgia Tech’s takes a different approach to others in that it asks different questions.

The Jeff Sagarin computer model, one which has been in competition with the Joel Sokol Georgia Tech statistical model, looks into who played who, where, and what the outcomes of the game were. Jeff Sagarin has given some insight into why he’s intertwined game location into the model. He believes that home-court advantage has plenty to do with the outcome of a game.

Many people have resorted to not bothering with completing brackets as they feel it takes away from the joy of keeping up with the game. However, those who are looking to score cash this season should consider looking into the Joel Sokol Georgia Tech model. Given the success it had last year in making predictions, it could be your best bet in winning some office bets. A Joel Sokol Georgia Tech completed bracket is actually available online for those of you who don’t like to tinker with complicated math. We will post the link to this Joel Sokol Georgia Tech bracket as soon as we can find it in a proper format.

Gen. Eric k. Shinseki is 66 years old and was a former Army chief of staff. Gen. Eric k. Shinseki has been retired for some 5 years. He served for some 38 years.

Not much news has come to the center about Gen. Eric k. Shinseki since he departed form the Pentagon in 2003. Gen. Eric k. Shinseki is believed to have had several clashes with Donald Rumsfield during his time as the Army chief of staff. Gen. Eric k. Shinseki was criticized when in 2003 he suggested that post-invasion Iraq might require several hundred thousand American soldier to maintain control.

Gen. Eric k. Shinseki’s prediction proved true, when in 2007 President Bush authorized an additional surge into Iraq.

It is unclear where Gen. Eric k. Shinseki will be introduced tomorrow, however, updates will be made available when information becomes available.

Luci Baines Johnson apparently campaigned for Obama during the heated race. You can find video footage of Luci Baines Johnson speaking to crowds at a special breakfast held just days before election day. We haven’t had a chance to hear Luci Baines Johnson speak just yet, however, it’s a recommended viewing for anyone who wants to see just how much support Obama garnered during this election.

Recent data indicates that there has been a spike of interest for Luci Baines Johnson. We have been unable to pinpoint why web surfers have developed such excitement over Luci Baines Johnson. You can find additional information on Luci Baines Johnson from her Wikipedia page, or by viewing news article written about her in the days encompassing the presidential election.

The moment we find more information surrounding the sudden interest in Luci Baines Johnson, we will be sure to post. However, now we can only assume that Luci Baines Johnson has done something noteworthy to trigger skyrocketing searches for her name. Whatever the case is with Luci Baines Johnson, we will keep everyone posted.

Sidwell Friends School Washington DC is divided into sub-campuses, if you will. The main Sidwell Friends School Washington DC has a middle school building, arts building, administration building, underground parking structure for staff members and students who drive, and many other amenities which other schools lack. One could only imagine how big Sidwell Friends School Washington DC is, as it is able to accommodate students in this wide spectrum of grade levels.

President-elect Barack Obama recently chose Sidwell Friends School Washington DC as the new school for his daughters. When Barack Obama moves into the white house, his daughters will begin attending Sidwell Friends School Washington DC. Chelsea Clinton, daughter of Hillary Clinton, was said to once attend Sidwell Friends School Washington DC. Other schools were being considered, however, all involved parties agree that Sidwell Friends School Washington DC was the best choice for the girls.

A spokeswoman for the school said that it is readily able to accommodate the girl’s needs, in terms of security. Being the daughter of a president likely carries a good amount of danger. Joe Biden’s grandchildren already attend Sidwell Friends School Washington DC. They are believed to have become good friends with Barack Obama’s children.

We can only hope that the Obama children don’t have trouble adjusting to the atmosphere and change of pace at Sidwell Friends School Washington DC. We will be monitoring the transition and bringing updates as more information becomes available.