Advocates

With the arrest and indictment of crooked GOP Congressman Rick Renzi and his forced retirement, Arizona’s first congressional district is unlikely to fall into Republican hands again. If we’re lucky, progressive environmental lawyer Howard Shanker will win the primary against a well-funded but empty-headed, Republican-lite insider– being pushed by Rahm Emanuel and other corrupt f

In a surprising victory for natural health proponents, Canadian Health Minister Tony Clement has agreed to the key demands of a grassroots campaign against restrictions on homeopathic medicines and herbal remedies in new legislation. In the proposed new law’s original language, natural medicines were lumped in with pharmaceutical drugs, raising concerns they would be subject to the same type of

A very important decision came down from the Supreme Court yesterday. The case involved a woman who became disabled while working for Sears. The insurance company at first paid her benefits but two years later decided to “reevaluate” whether or not the woman, Wanda Glenn, was still disabled. A doctor said in [...]

The federal Department of Education has published another Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (or NPRM). These will become federal regulations unless the DOE is persuaded by public comments to make changes. This may sound esoteric, but it is very important in the realm of special education law. Federal regulations have the force and effect of law unless overturned by a court of competent jurisdiction.

Wow wouldn't that be splendid? They are only a few years behind in maturation. Check out the video... I liked the way Adam Carolla characterized religious people yesterday... they are like insects in the garden of life... some are pretty caterpillars and butterflies that kinda just flutter around (ie - Buddhists, Hindus) and then some are ticks and fleas and mosquitoes which feast on others

Advocates have warned the Jakarta administration's plan to establish 13 new shopping centers in Jakarta will damage its environment."The new malls will decrease the availability of land for water catchment," said Firdaus Hidayat, an officer for sustainable development at OneWorld Indonesia, on Thursday.OneWorld and Kaukus Lingkungan Hidup Jakarta, also an environmental non-government organization, said there were already too many malls for the city's residents.Firdaus said by approving the plan, the administration was putting the city at risk of more flooding.He also highlighted the importance of resident involvement in revitalizing the city.Indonesia News Blog:

There’s little doubt that China once viewed this summer’s Olympiad as the ultimate opportunity to highlight considerable national progress on the world’s grandest stage. Perhaps it still does. But as the torch made its tumultuous journey through Paris, San Francisco, and points beyond, it became readily apparent that many view China’s political and economic progress as not [...]

Many of you have probably never heard of Dr. Aajonus Vonderplanitz. Although somewhat lesser known than Dr. Joseph Mercola (of mercola.com *fame), the two men are very close together in their wellness philosophies [particularly in pointing out the benefits of a raw food diet]. In their disciplines, their fearlessness and dedication to altruism has distinguished both men as virtually unassailable. In the opinion of many, these men rank as the two most nutritionally advanced health researchers/authors alive today. This is no accident. Both men are fond of speaking their mind and when they lecture or hold workshops, corporate moguls cringe while chips fly like confetti at a tickertape parade. Where truth is at stake, these men seldom exhibit any respect toward corrupt vested interests. *Dr.

MADISON — Wisconsin Gov. Jim Doyle on Thursday blamed his state’s projected budget shortfall on the state’s smokers, citing a drastic dropoff in revenue from the recently imposed $1.77 per pack cigarette tax. State lawmakers assumed when they passed the budget last year that cigarette taxes would bring in $987.5 million through June 30, 2009. Earlier [...]

U.S. official lauds Bahamas as strong human rights advocate: By ROGAN M. SMITH, Guardian Senior Reporter - Nassau, Bahamas: A recently released U.S. report on human rights in The Bahamas expressed serious concern about complaints of police and prison guard abuse, delays in court trials, lengthy pre-trial detentions and discrimination against persons of Haitian descent. The report noted concerns about the lack of government transparency with regards to investigations of human rights abuses and the plight of Haitians living in The Bahamas whose claims to citizenship were not resolved speedily. The report was released by the U.S. government on Tuesday. Deputy Chief of Mission at the U.S. Embassy, Dr. Brent Hardt said, however, that The Bahamas was one of the strongest advocates of h

This from the Detroit News:Die-hard charter school advocates are rethinking their approach to school reform and the ability of competition and charter schools alone to transform American urban schools and their awful student achievement rates.It's a surprising change and it's hardly common, particularly at the grassroots level.Still, in recent weeks a number of the country's leading pro-charter think-tanks and leaders have published pieces, announced policies or made statements indicating their reconsideration -- and it likely will have an enormous impact on policymaking and Republican politics.From New York City to Detroit to Atlanta, charter advocates have echoed writer Sol Stern, an important conservative voice on education reform, when he wrote in a recent edition of the City Journal:

Seniors, advocates push for new laws in'08 legislative session - The Virginian-Pilot Seniors, advocates push for new laws in'08 legislative sessionThe Virginian-Pilot, VA -12 hours agoThat was a central theme this morning at the 11th Annual Legislative Event, sponsored by the Greater Hampton Roads Coalition onAging, which represents… Aging at Home cash will benefit town, province - Tillsonburg News Agingat Home cash will benefit town, provinceTillsonburg News,  Canada -15 hours agoEarmarked forAgingat Home, the cash is designed to support new and existing services that help keepseniorsactive, vital, and in their own homes for as… Tough sell in senior market - Los Angeles Times Tough sell in senior marketLos Angeles Times, CA -22 hours ago"Seniorsdon't spend big, they have a lot of time to pick and choose and, if they don't like what they get, they complain." Japan has beenagingfor some… G

After the Republicans were voted out of office in 2006, George Bush has been able to do what many conservatives have asked him to do for years: Veto excessive spending. Not only did George Bush rightfully veto the SCHIP program, because of the devastating effect it would have on our future economy, but this week he threatened Congress with additional vetoes unless the Democrats cut their budget. Yes, $2.9 trillion is excessive.I am personally thrilled by this news. Finally, George Bush is acting like a Conservative, rather than a Compassionate Conservative (a.k.a. Huge Liberal). The question now is whether this is too little too late?Bush already was responsible for the Medicare Part D plan, which added another massive Government entitlement to our budget. So there is nothing Bush can do until the end of his term to make up for that mistake. However, this is a great start.The problem of fiscal irresponsibility all stems from Washington, D.C. When Republicans go to Washington, D

Legalization, Not Guest Worker Programs, is the Solution The New Challenges Facing the Immigrant Rights Movement Counterpunch July 6, 2007 THE U.S. Senate and the Bush administration failed in their effort to revive an immigration proposal, which, among other things, would have separated families, heightened worker exploitation by creating a “guest-worker” program, further militarized the U.S.-Mexico border, and provided [...]

Education Week reports:As Congress wrestles with reauthorizing the 5½-year-old No Child Left Behind Act, some disability-rights advocates fear high standards for students with disabilities could be sacrificed as states seek more flexibility in the law.Some education groups, as well as lawmakers, have called for more choice in how states can administer the law’s accountability provisions, including greater power for school-based teams to decide what type of assessment a student receiving special education services should take.That’s a step away from grade-level achievement as a goal for all students, said James H. Wendorf, the executive director of the National Center for Learning Disabilities, a New York City-based group that works to provide opportunities for children and adults with learning disabilities. The law needs tweaks, not wholesale changes to its ambitious achievement goals, he believes.Mr. Wendorf’s group advocates on behalf of the largest group of children served un

The conservatives’ favorite Democrat, now independent, recently went on CBS’s “Face the Nation” and said: I think we’ve got to be prepared to take aggressive military action against the Iranians to stop them from killing Americans in Iraq This goes beyond even the Bush administration’s position on Iran. Lieberman pisses me off.

Wealthy philanthropic foundations are helping bankroll the pro-immigration movement, while groups advocating for tighter control of U.S. borders say they take a more grass-roots approach to raising money. The Ford Foundation, the Carnegie Corporation and Democratic activist George Soros are among the liberal funders that have donated millions of dollars to pro-immigration groups, as the Senate continues its debate on a contentious bill that would overhaul the nation’s immigration policy. Three of the nation’s biggest and most influential pro-immigration groups — the National Immigration Forum, the Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund (MALDEF) and the National Council of La Raza (NCLR) — collectively received more than $3.25 million from Ford Foundation since 2005. The three advocacy groups generally support the proposed Senate bill which would give many of the estimated 12 million to 20 million illegal aliens in the U.S. a path to citizenship. The

Have a need to find a represent tenants or buyers in Denver right now? You can find it at MacLaurin website, they offer commercial real estate services to tenants and buyers in corporate America including management, purchase and consultancy of Denver Office Space. They are excellent negotiator to reach an agreement, so, you don’t need to be worried, they attend everything and always on your side. The firm has its main office in Denver, Colorado, and delivers Tenant and Buyer Representation services throughout North America, Latin America, the Pacific Rim and Europe as a Partner of ITRA Realty Group. Read here to learn all about them and what all they can do for you.This is a sponsored post.

Imagine you are at work or school and a group of people approaches you yelling derogatory comments about your work and physical attributes. Outrageous, right? Or stepping out of the elevator onto a wet floor, you slip and fall. A group gathers around you shouting insults about your physical ineptitude and repeats it every time they see you step off an elevator in the future. These scenarios may sound extreme but sport fans routinely respond to opposing teams, coaches, and players in this manner every day. Michael David Smith recently wrote an article about the Cincinnati Little League’s decision to ban “chatter” in the name of fair play. I think the League had the right concept, discouraging verbal abuse of opponents, but a less than satisfactory justification. The Ten Commandments’ admonishment against murder and bearing false witness provides a stronger argument against verbal abuse. The Catechism states that detraction and calumny destroy the reputation and honor o

Morgan Brown, who heads the US Department of Education’s Office of Innovation and Improvement faced a sympathetic crowd last week as he promoted the voucher elements of President Bush’s plans for renewing the No Child Left Behind Act—ideas that will surely prove a tougher sell in the Democratic-controlled Congress.Under the Bush plan, if a public school failed to make adequate yearly progress for at least five years under the NCLB law, its students would be eligible for vouchers worth about $4,000 each to attend religious or secular private schools. Last week, the top Republican on the House Education and Labor Committee, Rep. Howard P. “Buck” McKeon of California, introduced a bill largely mirroring that plan.This from Education Week.

Lemon Law Advocates Kimmel & Silverman Honored as Pennsylvania Super Lawyers for Third Year in a Row! Founding Partners were honored for building the State’s oldest and largest lemon law firm and helping to recover $135 million for distressed drivers throughout the region..For Immediate Release - For the third year in a row, Robert M. Silverman and Craig Thor Kimmel, founding partners of the Ambler and Pittsburgh-based lemon law and consumer advocacy firm of Kimmel & Silverman, have been named Pennsylvania Super Lawyers in a survey conducted by Law & Politics Magazine. The findings are published in the June 2006 edition of Philadelphia Magazine. More than 34,000 attorneys were asked to vote for the most effective counsel they have personally observed in action. Kimmel and Silverman were recognized among the top 5% of all attorneys statewide for building Pennsylvania's oldest and largest full-service lemon law firm, and assisting more than 40,000 distressed drivers across th

This is an interesting poll. I personally thought the numbers would be higher. The question posed by the poll was: There are those who claim that Ariel Sharon, Haim Ramon, Moshe Katzav, Halutz and Karadi were Divinely punished for supporting the Disengagement plan. To what extent do you agree or... [ visit A Jewish Blog to continue reading ]

George Bush now wants to turn website owners and Internet service providers into agents of the Government. The Bush administration has accelerated its Internet surveillance push by proposing that Web sites must keep records of who uploads photographs or videos in case police determine the content is illegal and choose to investigate, CNET News.com has learned. That proposal surfaced Wednesday in a private meeting during which U.S. Department of Justice officials, including Assistant Attorney General Rachel Brand, tried to convince industry representatives such as AOL and Comcast that data retention would be valuable in investigating terrorism, child pornography and other crimes. The discussions were described to News.com by several people who attended the meeting. A second purpose of the meeting in Washington, D.C., according to the sources, was to ask Internet service providers how much it would cost to record details on their subscribers for two years. At the very least, the comp

In honor of today being Valentine’s Day, I thought I’d devote a post to the topic of marriage. An initiative has been launched by gay rights advocates calling for married couples to be required to have children within three years or have their marriages annulled. Gregory Gadow, the man who filed the initiative has said, “Our intention is not to actually put this into law…All we want is to get this on the ballot and cause people to talk about it.” While I obviously don’t “support” this initiative in the traditional sense, as I would never actually want it passed, I definitely support what they are trying to do. There has been this rhetoric against gay marriage that stems from the idea that since man and woman can procreate (as opposed to a man and a man) it is only natural for them to marry and live together. In other words, marriage between a man and a woman is natural because it is the only way to biologically start a family. The peop

The Opponents Our encounter with these people almost come to an unpleasant experience…it so happens that we as individuals have different point of views over how to make money online. The opponents simply say, “Internet marketers DON’T NEED SEO! Just keep on selling with sales page after sales page. Build that list, warm ‘em up, pre-launch, viral-market, presell, educate, send one e-mail and watch for multiple ‘** You got a sale!’ headlines in your inbox!” Money comes with a ‘THUD!’ The Advocates The advocates, like Dan Borlan and Holly Cotter whom we introduce below, are the success stories that make sure SEO does not just reap long-term intangible value, but is a part of a sales-conversion process or blueprint that literally translates traffic from “outer space” (random visitors from search engines) into real buyers. That’s real money results within a time frame. They also know that SEO has a larger impact on sma

Wichita, Kansas - Critics of high-interest, short-term loans are seeking tighter restrictions on an industry they say is keeping poor people in a cycle of debt. At least 64 businesses in Wichita offer payday loans, and opponents say that makes it too easy for people to get in over their heads.

San Francisco, CA - (CaymanMama.com) -- Mary Alexander of the San Francisco Based Personal Injury Law Firm, Mary Alexander & Associates Becomes Recognized Leader in Helping Individuals with Primary Pulmonary Hypertension Injuries May 14, 2008- Many individuals are prescribed medications yearly that contribute to their becoming ...