Frances Willard ? Forgotten Feminist | Saints, Sisters, and Sluts

Often when we think about the temperance movement it?s limited to Prohibition, mobsters, and the roaring twenties. Temperance was an idea that was tried and failed in the sense that it didn?t work well for the country resulting in the repeal of the Eighteenth Amendment via the Twenty-first Amendment. Because it is an idea that came and went, it is easy to forget the individuals who made their mark in history through the temperance movement. One of these individuals is Frances Willard.

But Frances Willard was much more than a temperance worker. She was a feminist and an advocate for women?s rights in the broadest sense. Her motto: ?Everything is not in the Temperance Movement, but the Temperance Movement should be in everything? ?was her way of rallying a large number of women all across the country to work for reform in many different areas, but always with temperance at the core.

The Temperance movement was born out of the Second Great Awakening of religious fervor in America in the early nineteenth century. One of the people who found a renewed spirituality and a call to serve was Josiah Willard. In 1841, in order to study for the ministry under Charles Finney, Josiah and his wife Mary took their two children, Oliver and two year old Frances, and moved to Oberlin Ohio. He and Mary both studied at Oberlin College for the next four years until Josiah?s health required a move to the country.

In 1846, the family moved to a farm outside Janesville, Wisconsin, where Oliver, Frances, and younger sister Mary, born in Oberlin, spent 13 happy years. Frances?s talents began to emerge during this time. Mary was more artistic; Oliver played ?fort? and wanted to explore; but Frances wanted to play ?city? and organize. Their mother taught them at home until public schools were available in the area and was aware of and promoted each of her children?s strengths. When Frances was 17 she went to the Milwaukee Seminary where her aunt taught. In 1858, the family moved to Evanston Illinois where Frances attended the Evanston College for Ladies and graduated valedictorian in 1859.

Between 1859 and 1868, Frances taught school at various places before returning to the Evanston College for Ladies as the President, making her the first woman college president in the United States. When the college merged with Northwestern University in 1871, she became the Dean of Women. This was an ideal position for Frances to use her considerable organizational skills, but it was short lived. She resigned in 1874 after having her influence and responsibilities greatly reduced by the President of Northwestern, Charles Fowler. These may have been typical university political struggles, but they were complicated by the fact that Frances had previously been engaged to Fowler and broken the engagement. This experience left Frances distraught and at a loss as to how to proceed in her life. She had no desire to go back to one small schoolhouse after the other teaching. She also believed that God would use her.

Willard with Anna Gordon and Mary Willard.

These years had been difficult for Frances in other ways as well. Both her father and her younger sister Mary died of tuberculosis and her brother Oliver began to drink heavily and gamble. She found herself without work and her mother?s sole source of support, so after leaving the University, she decided to go on the lecture tour for the cause of temperance. Frances was tireless, over the next ten years she averaged 30,000 miles and 400 lectures a year. Never domestically inclined, this suited the independent non-conformist side of Frances, but she was also ambitious.

In 1874, Frances became the corresponding secretary of the newly formed Women?s Christian Temperance Union, the President of the Chicago chapter, and head of the WCTU publications committee. During her lectures, Frances also began to speak in favor of women?s suffrage. Just as Lucy Stone and Susan B. Anthony found in the abolition society, this created a conflict with the leadership, in Frances?s case Annie Wittenmyer, the first WCTU president.

This is where Frances?s brilliance as a strategist began to show. As corresponding secretary, no problem or concern was too small to receive a letter from her. Through her travels and letter writing, with the help of long-time companion Anna Gordon, she made personal contacts all over the country. When the time was right, in 1879, Frances ran for president of the national WCTU, and won. She held this position until her death in 1898.

Many women in the WCTU were conservative and involved in the fight against alcohol because they believed that indulgence was sinful and because of the impact it had on the family. The fight for temperance was seen as fighting for the home, family, and motherhood thus an acceptable cause for women to work outside their homes, but many saw suffrage as too radical. Frances had the same values with regard to alcohol; she had seen its devastating effects in her brother?s life, but she also believed that the way for women to affect change in their domestic lives was to have the vote. She insisted that women not view themselves as the ?weaker sex? and that they had a place in politics.

Wittenmyer had insisted on uniformity among the chapters of the WCTU. Frances preferred a more liberal approach. As long as the chapters took the temperance pledge and paid their dues they had the flexibility to work for the causes appropriate to their location. ?Do everything,? was her motto. This led to work in many different areas, such as free school lunches, 8 hour work days, anti-rape laws, protection for children against abuse, and work relief for the poor. Although some thought that too broad a focus would fracture the organization, Frances?s organizational skills, her intense travel schedule, and prolific correspondence prevented this from happening.

Frances Willard was the first woman to be represented in the Statuary Hall in the United States Capitol.

Frances Willard?s profound belief that she was called by God for this task, her excellent speaking skills, and even her feminine demeanor made her and her message acceptable to some who rejected the message of other suffragists of the time. At the time of her death in 1898, the WCTU had grown to approximately 150,000 women, making it the largest women?s organization in the world at the time, and making Frances one of the most famous women in the nation. She truly had an impact on the fight for women?s rights and should be remembered for her considerable contribution.

Frances was also a prolific writer. Some of her works were
? Woman and temperance, or the work and workers of the Women?s Christian Temperance Union, 1883
? Glimpses of fifty years: the Autobiography of an American Woman, 1889
? How to Win: A Book for Girls, 1886
? Woman in the Pulpit, 1888
? Do everything: a Handbook for the World?s White Ribboners, 1895
? A Wheel within a Wheel: How I Learned to Ride the Bicycle, 1895

Resources
Sisters: The Lives of America?s Suffragists by Jean H. Baker
Glimpses of fifty years: the Autobiography of an American Woman, 1889
The Beautiful Life of Frances E. Willard by Anna Adams Gordon

Source: http://saintssistersandsluts.wordpress.com/2012/07/25/frances-willard-forgotten-feminist/

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Merge contact info into metacontacts with IM+ for iPhone and iPad update

The popular instant messaging client for iPhone and iPad, IM+ has received an update that allows users to merge multiple accounts of one contact into a metacontact. It also includes iCloud support to sync your IM+ settings and preferences across your iPhone and iPad.

IM+ was one of the first instant messaging clients to hit the App Store and it continues to be at the top of its class. Are you excited for iCloud integration and the ability to clean up your contacts by combining them into metacontacts?

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Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/TheIphoneBlog/~3/-lk0fb8kBF8/story01.htm

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Sacramento Flood Insurance depends on location

Location, location, location, three rules of business that flooding does not follow. Floods can happen almost anywhere. They are not limited to coastal areas or to devastating tropical storms. Flooding happens in Sacramento too. In fact Sacramento is rich in history when comes to floods. Floods are the most common natural disaster. They happen more often and in more locations than you realize. So what is your flood risk? If you reside in the greater Sacramento area your risk is very high. So now we know living in Sacramento does have some added risk. If your home has been designated a high risk flood zone you probably are already paying flood insurance premiums. You may very well be paying a much higher premium than necessary. There are choices in flood insurance coverage. You may have heard that all flood insurance rates are the same. This is NOT true. If you live in Sacramento and are looking for an alternative to the high flood insurance rates you have been paying, look no more. Sacramento flood insurance offers lower premiums and broader coverage than the National Flood Insurance Program. High risk does not translate to high premiums if you have Sacramento Flood Insurance. Sacramento Flood Insurance rates are often 30-40% lower than the NFIP. So even if you think that you will never experience a flood, it is good to know that if that day should come you will be fully covered by an A+ rated insurance company. You don?t have to suffer financial devastation should you experience a flood in the Sacramento area. Flood insurance can be one of your best investments if your home is in the Sacramento area. For just pennies on the dollar Sacramento Flood Insurance provides the coverage you need to weather the storm.

Source: http://californiafloodinsurance.com/blog/sacramento-flood-insurance-location-location-location

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Jaimie Etkin: 'Pretty Little Liars' Recap: Mona Gets Crazier And A Code Points To Maya

Note: Do not read on if you have not seen Season 3, Episode 7 of ABC Family's "Pretty Little Liars," entitled "Crazy."

Just as Hanna's on the phone with her mom, saying that no one is coming over, there's a knock at the back door. It's Wilden, who didn't get the front door memo. "Why do they all have glass doors?" my mom asks of the Liars' living spaces. "You know what they say about people you live in glass houses." I mean, I do, but I'm not sure how this applies here. I appreciate her effort nonetheless.

Wilden tells Hanna that the new blood sample matches her's -- O negative. And that she needs to come in for a blood test. She denies it could be hers, but a sassy Wilden replies, "Then why do you look so scared?"

Hanna is telling the girls about Wilden on Rosewood's only block and they say not to worry. Spencer says she'll talk to Jason about his family slamming Wilden to find a suspect. But Hanna can't talk about it anymore. She has to go to school. That might be the biggest bunch of bulls--- ever on this show.

While the Prettiest Biggest Liar storms off, Aria, Spencer and Emily enter The Brew and hear a voice that sounds a lot like Ali's at the counter. She turns around and though she has the blonde hair-blue eye thing going on, it's clear she's not Ali.

Turns out, she's Cece, whose family rented a summer home in Cape May near Ali's family's house. She even dated Jason. But then she moved to LA. Though Aria, Spencer and Emily have never heard of Cece, she knows all about them. Apparently, Ali talked about all of them a lot. Cece says Ali was going through a rough time when they were friends, comparing her to "a broken doll." But before she can give too much info, Cece has to go back to work at the boutique across the street, which is probably bustling on a weekday morning on Rosewood's one block. They wonder if Cece is like Ali or if Ali was like Cece, but mostly, they're weirded out she knows their secrets, just like Ali did. My mom, on the other hand, doesn't see the Ali connection, especially since "she looks like she's 30."

Aria apparently finally gets to school and sees her mom opening a garment bag with a slutty dress inside. "Does she live in her classroom?" my mom wonders. A valid question. "That dress is really ugly," she continues. "She probably got it at Frederick's of Hollywood." A not quite as valid remark. Ella confesses to Aria about her date that night. They have girl talk -- it's nauseating. They discuss fashion options and though Ella notes Aria "wears forks as earrings," she listens to Aria's one tip: Don't wear a scarf. (Note: My mom loves scarves, a fact she does not disclose as we chat throughout this entire episode.)

Outisde of school, where every high schooler should be, Spencer is snooping in a yearbook and making some sort of crazy Ali map and wearing some sort of crazy lumberjack stiletto boots. "Oh! Spencer has go go boots. Her boots were made for walking," my mom says. Toby comes up and asks why Spencer's been avoiding him. "Did the Tobmeister drop out of high school? I forget -- or is he home schooled by his imaginary parents?" my mom wonders. (I don't have an answer since school is tertiary -- if that -- on this show. So if you do, please fill us in in the comments.)

Anyway, Spencer lets Toby know what's going on and why she's spending so much time with Jason. He thinks maybe she shouldn't be so certain it's Garrett and then urges her to get to class. At least SOMEBODY cares about this girl's education.

Nate (who's really having a hard time leaving Rosewood evidently) goes up to his "favorite barista" at The Brew -- perhaps Emily never made it to school. He has a candle for her to sniff ... for Jenna. "It looks like a Yahrzeit candle," my mom says of the Jewish memorial candle. (Clearly, she's upping the references that only people who went to Hebrew school would understand.) Emily's ready to shut down the convo with Nate and simply says Jenna will like it. "She has a highly developed sense of smell," Emily says relatively disgustedly. But Nate wants her help. Apparently, Jenna told Nate that she was good friends with Emily and Maya, who she said drove her home from school a couple times.

Hanna and Aria get home from school -- long day -- and there's a Ouija board sitting on Hanna's kitchen counter. It has all the letters crossed out except the A, which is circled in red. Hanna goes to pick up the planchette -- a word I learned this episode thanks to Aria -- and gets pricked by the pins on the opposite side. On the bottom of the planchette, there's a typed note: "See how easy it is for me to get your blood?"

Hanna starts freaking out. Aria asks what the Ouija board means, but Hanna says she doesn't know ... until Aria pushes further. It was what she buried with Ali, she admits. Her and Mona played with it just days before Ali's body was discovered.

Cue flashback: Hana's isn't into the Ouija board, but Mona wants to play. She asks if the spirits know what happened to Ali, despite Hanna's objections. The planchette starts to move and it spells out A-L-I-V-E. Cue thunder and lightning as Hanna looks up and sees a vision of Ali, but the most disturbing part of this, is that Hanna's nails are without polish.

Back in the present, Aria thinks Mona planned the whole thing, since she was A and all, and is determined to go talk to her to find out who else she told that story to. Suddenly, a potted plant slams agains the glass door. S---'s getting scary and yeah, maybe those in glass houses ... you know.

Spencer runs into Jason outside of school and they talk about the anklet. "Oh god. Jason and his hair -- so greasy," my mom complains. "And this 'do is as dumb-looking as the other one." When I say, "It's half-Biebery," she's quick to defend Justin: "Which half? Biebs washes his." Touche.

Jason's pissed and giving up the search for Ali's killer after the anklet debacle. He says he's done looking for answers, but he does have to look for his dad at the airport later since he's coming into town.

Spencer brings up Cece and asks about the "intense" summer she mentioned. Jason says everything with Ms. Cece Drake is intense. "Did it end on a bad note?" Spencer wonders. "You could say that," he says, before running off. "The new 'do makes his ears stick out," my mom says, relentlessly.

Apparently, Emily agreed to go Jenna gift shopping with Nate at the new Rosewood boutique and Cece is trying to push some wallet that Rachel Zoe loves on him. Cece pulls Emily aside and asks what's going on between them and why she's not into the gift purchasing. Soon, she realizes Emily's "the one ... with the giant crush on Ali." Em tells Cece she's just upset Nate wants to go out with Jenna, but before she can fill her in on the Blind Little Liar, Nate calls her over to check out some more possible gifts. "Did you notice that art work of the baby with three eyes," my mom asks. No. No, I did not.

Nate picks up a pair of earrings that Maya had. Emily asks how he knows Maya owned them and he suspiciously says he "must of seen them in a picture or something." Nate quickly changes the subject and we find out he wishes "the hottest girl in Rosewood" (i.e. Emily) "likes guy" (i.e. is straight). "Ooooh snap," my mom adds.

Emily decides to tell Nate about Jenna dating Garrett and he seems to worry about Jenna almost being another victim like Maya, instead of getting the hint that she's not as perfect as he thinks. Oh, Em.

Ella walks into the brew in her slutty dress (which elicits an "OMG" from my mom) and starts flirting with the barista with the fresh pastries and plastic gloves. She tells him she's going on a first date. Enter Pastor Ted, which led me to audibly laugh. "Ted is quite the womanizer," my mom says. Is there an Ella/Ashley catfight in our future? One can only hope. Anyway, they decide to head out for ice cream instead of coffee. But as they eat their dessert, Ella seems disturbed by something ... and it's not the church talk.

Aria's at Radley and magically, Mona's visitation rights have been changed (we saw A do it earlier this season) -- she can head is as long as she leaves her bag, any lighters, matches, and her earrings at the desk, says the nurse. "That nurse look like that Spanish teacher who painted on her eyebrows," my mom says. ( Upside down exclamation mark. Shout out to, Senora Corrasco!)

But the nurse has to supervise their visit and Mona is creepily composed. "So, would you like to play a game?" she asks. Mona's building a giant house of cards and starts talking about the importance of a strong foundation. She asks the nurse to get her meds so she can ask Aria why she's really there. Aria is quick to tell Mona about the Ouija board and planchette on Hanna's kitchen table that was taken from Ali's grave. She tells Mona to think about Hanna and begs her to tell her who's trying to hurt her. Aria is laying down the law in an incredibly bad ass fashion when Lisa returns with the drugs. She says visiting hours are over, but before she can pull Mona and her giant cardigan away, Mona says: "It's not me. Tell Hanna I'm sorry." I was really hoping Aria would smash down cards. But despite my "do it" chanting, no dice.

Though it looks frighteningly dark at Radley, it's apparently a sunny day in Rosewood. Spencer tells Hanna her mom's going to try to get a court order and a nervous Hanna sees Ali's dad and Jason's pull up. She seems to be even more uneasy now.

Hanna decides to go over to Mr. DeLaurentis and apologizes for what she did and says she has nothing to do with Ali's body being taken. He doesn't accept her apology (for what, we're still not sure) and starts speaking to her very sternly. "At the time, it seemed like a childish prank. Seems like you've gotten crueler with age," he says before turning his back on her.

Then Hanna decides to drive to Radley and she sees Aria storming out of the building into the now very dark night. Hanna's not satisfied with what Mona told her so she decides to sneak into Radley -- and Aria's going with her even though she's quick to saucily tell her, "Visiting hours are over."

Emily's leaving The Brew when she runs into Cece, who asks what happened with Nate. Emily tells her and she says Em should take her number for some bizarre reason. Emily does, but Cece -- in a very Ali-like fashion -- instead calls Jenna and tell her she's Nate's girlfriend and she better back off or Cece's going to scratch her eyes out. Emily's quick to tell her that Jenna was blind, but Cece says, "Well, it needed to be done." (Sidebar: She also asks if Jason is still single. My mom gags.)

Apparently, Ella's date that was not so good with Pastor Ted went well into the night and she heads back to The Brew, looking for Aria via Emily, only to find the flirty barista who is again offering her pastries. He reveals he's Zack, the owner of The Brew, and he asks her to stay. My mom's response to Ella's giggle? "Vomit ... She is missing the bottom part of her dress, unless it's a romper."

Back at Radley, which gives my mom "the willies," Hanna and Aria sneak into Mona's room pretty seamlessly. She's sitting straight up in a chair and plays clueless with Hanna, who's not buying. Alison's dad's back, she says, and she's the only one who knows about the night she saw Ali. Mona pressures her to tell Aria about why Ali's dad is really angry and we flashback to Hanna and Mona walking around Rosewood.

Mona tells Hanna about their new code in which the letter of each word spells at the word they mean to say. So "she lives under trees" equals slut, which is apropos because there's a missing poster of Ali on the tree they're standing near. Suddenly, a car pulls up and Ali's dad rushes towards them while Jason follows. He yells at Hanna for giving Ali's mom hope and urges her to stay from his family.

Hanna confesses to Aria in the present that she night with the Ouija board, when she saw Ali on the patio, she called Ali's mom and told her Ali was alive, only to learn her body was discovered just three days later. But when she's done with the story, they realize, now, it's Mona who's gone.

Spencer's on the road and sees Jason's car rush by and crash right in front of her. She gets out and sees he's drunk so she pushes him over and takes the wheel. "This never happened," she tells him as she pulls out of his incredibly horrible parrell parking job, leaving her car, with the driver's door ajar, on the side of the road.

When she gets home, she tries to tell Toby what happened, but suddenly there's a knock on the back door. Of course, it's Wilden and another officer, who wonder why her car was left on the side of road. Toby covers for her and they leave, but Wilden's not buying it. Spencer confesses everything to Toby and asks him to promise not to tell about the drunk driving incident because he could lose everything. (What is "everything? exactly?)

Back at Radley, Hanna and Aria are looking for Mona when they see a door partly ajar. Then they see a lock on the door that's been picked open with the tweezers Hanna used on Mona during her sanitarium makeover session. They sneak in and hear humming, which they follow, because apparently they've never seen a scary movie. "JESUS," I say emphatically. "He's with Ted the pastor," my mom retorts.

Aria and Hanna walk through a creepy abandoned basement with giant cribs until they reach Mona's who brushing the porcelain hair of a doll who has no hair. Then she starts repeating partially non-sensical phrases over and over.

"Miss Aria, you're a killer, not Ezra's Wife."

"Where were we? Maya's away sleeping sweet. Until Garrett's all rosy, count on me."

Mona barely acknowledges them, but Hanna begs her to tell them what she knows. Then, they hear nurses looking for Mona so Hanna and Aria duck into a closet.

"No one to save Ali from evil," she says repeatedly before the nurses reach her.

"I missed my dolls," Mona says as the nurses take her upstairs, still repeating the non-sentence sentences.

Back at home in sweatpants and bunny sweatshirt, Ella and Aria talk on the phone about her not one, but two dates. The first one, she confesses, wasn't great ... solely because he ate ice cream like Byron. Aria climbs in bed with Hanna, who's obviously petrified to stay at her house tonight, and tells her mom she's definitely wearing a scarf next time. They hang up and she tells Hanna "she's a slut" (a.k.a. "she lives under trees"). Easily, my mom's favorite line.

Before they go to bed, Hanna looks at another creepy-looking doll next to Aria's bed and I Carrie Bradshawedly can't help but wonder, "Why doesn't anyone on this show have a non-old-timey doll?" My mom asks me the same thing at the same time. Seriously ... Where are the American Girls and Cabbage Patch Kids?!

Emily's still traipsing around Rosewood and sees an abandoned Nate at the restaurant. Clearly, Jenna never showed. Thanks, Cece.

Hanna can't sleep and starts looking at that 1950s doll. She remembers what Mona kept saying and the code they once head. Emily and Spencer head over to Aria's (despite the near midnight hour, which upsets my mom). Hanna fills them in on how the code worked and Spencer's freakishly quick to realize, "No one to save Ali from evil" spells out "Not safe."

The other phrase -- about Maya and Garrett -- spells out a website:

www.masssugar.com (M.A.S. being Maya's initials, Emily explains.)

When they go to the site, they see a picture of Maya giving the Lindsay Lohan/Miley Cyrus peace sign with the text, "What's the magic word?" beneath the photo. Then, a pop up box comes up asking for the password, which no one knows. Aria wonders aloud: "Did she mean Maya wasn't safe or we're not?"

In the black-gloved epilogue, we see A moving through the Children's Ward at Radley until s/he reaches the dolls Mona was playing with. The glove pops off one doll's head to reveal a recorder that has the entire Aria, Spencer and Hanna interaction in the basement on tape.

Okay. Now breathe. And it's okay if you peed your pants. This episode was so crazy and really yell-worthy (i.e. SCARY). My mom and I decide we're going to talk about people like this for a long time, if only we were smart enough to do so.

Quotes (were few and far between this episode, but most shockingly go to Aria)
"Who is he, where does he live and what is the hair situation?"- Aria

"Friends don't let friends sneak into insane asylum's alone."- Aria

"It's not like you shot a unicorn. You're helping your friend out."- Cece

"You gave tweezers to a mental patient."- Aria

"How many times did I tell you to lock your door, Spence? It's not the 1950s."- Toby

"I don't suppose crazy slipped you the password as well."- Spencer (she had to have one)

?

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Source: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/jaimie-etkin/pretty-little-liars-recap_10_b_1700582.html

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Budget office: Obama's health law reduces deficit

FILE - In this Jan. 27, 2010 file photo, Congressional Budget Office (CBO) Director Douglas Elmendorf testifies on Capitol Hill in Washington. Will President Barack Obama?s health care law increase the government?s huge deficit or reduce it? How many people will it really cover? How much will it cost taxpapers? Congress? nonpartisan budget scorekeepers release their findings, the first in-depth look at the law since the Supreme Court ruled it constitutional. (AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta, File)

FILE - In this Jan. 27, 2010 file photo, Congressional Budget Office (CBO) Director Douglas Elmendorf testifies on Capitol Hill in Washington. Will President Barack Obama?s health care law increase the government?s huge deficit or reduce it? How many people will it really cover? How much will it cost taxpapers? Congress? nonpartisan budget scorekeepers release their findings, the first in-depth look at the law since the Supreme Court ruled it constitutional. (AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta, File)

President Barack Obama waves upon his arrival, Tuesday, July 24, 2012, at the 142nd Fighter Wing Oregon Air National Guard Base, in Portland, Ore. President Barack Obama has arrived in Oregon to raise money for his re-election campaign. (AP Photo/Rick Bowmer)

FILE - In this Feb. 17, 2012 file photo, House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Rep. David Camp, R-Mich. walks to his office on Capitol Hill in Washington. Will President Barack Obama?s health care law increase the government?s huge deficit or reduce it? How many people will it really cover? How much will it cost taxpapers? Congress? nonpartisan budget scorekeepers release their findings, the first in-depth look at the law since the Supreme Court ruled it constitutional. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite, File)

FILE - In this March 24, 2010 file photo, Rep. Sander Levin, D-Mich., ranking member on the House Ways and Means Committee, speaks during a news conference on Capitol Hill in Washington. Will President Barack Obama?s health care law increase the government?s huge deficit or reduce it? How many people will it really cover? How much will it cost taxpapers? Congress? nonpartisan budget scorekeepers release their findings, the first in-depth look at the law since the Supreme Court ruled it constitutional. (AP Photo/Harry Hamburg, File)

WASHINGTON (AP) ? President Barack Obama's health care overhaul will shrink rather than increase the nation's huge federal deficits over the next decade, Congress' nonpartisan budget scorekeepers said Tuesday, supporting Obama's contention in a major election-year dispute with Republicans.

About 3 million fewer uninsured people will gain health coverage because of last month's Supreme Court ruling granting states more leeway, and that will cut the federal costs by $84 billion, the Congressional Budget Office said in the biggest changes from earlier estimates.

Republicans have insisted that "Obamacare" will actually raise deficits ? by "trillions," according to presidential candidate Mitt Romney. But that's not so, the budget office said.

The office gave no updated estimate for total deficit reductions from the law, approved by Congress and signed by Obama in 2010. But it did estimate that Republican legislation to repeal the overhaul ? passed recently by the House ? would itself boost the deficit by $109 billion from 2013 to 2022.

"Repealing the (health care law) will lead to an increase in budget deficits over the coming decade, though a smaller one than previously reported," budget office director Douglas Elmendorf said in a letter to House Speaker John Boehner, R-Ohio.

The law's mix of spending cuts and tax increases would more than offset new spending to cover uninsured people, Elmendorf explained.

Tuesday's budget projections were the first since the Supreme Court upheld most of the law last month but gave states the option of rejecting a planned expansion of Medicaid for their low-income residents. As a consequence, the budget office said the law will cover fewer uninsured people.

Thirty million uninsured people will be covered by 2022, or about 3 million fewer than projected this spring before the court ruling, the report said.

As a result, taxpayers will save about $84 billion from 2012 to 2022. That brings the total cost of expanding coverage down to $1.2 trillion, from about $1.3 trillion in the previous estimate.

The Congressional Budget Office has consistently projected that Obama's overhaul will reduce the deficit, although previous estimates aren't strictly comparable with Tuesday's report because of changes in the law and other factors.

At the time it was approved in 2010, CBO estimated the law would reduce the deficit by $143 billion from 2010 to 2019. And CBO estimated that last year's Republican repeal legislation would increase deficits by $210 billion from 2010 to 2021.

That may sound like a lot of money, but it's actually a hair-thin margin at a time when federal deficits are expected to average around $1 trillion a year for the foreseeable future.

When the law is fully in effect, 92 percent of citizens and legal residents are estimated to have coverage, as compared to 81 percent now.

Democrats hailed Tuesday's estimates as vindication for the president. "This confirms what we've been saying all along: the Affordable Care Act saves lots of money," said Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev.

Actually, the government will spend more. It just won't go onto the national credit card because the health care law will be paid for with a combination of spending cuts and tax increases.

GOP leaders sought to shift attention from claims about the deficit and focused instead on the additional spending. "What we know from today's CBO report ... is that the new health care law is dramatically increasing health care spending and costs," said Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell of Kentucky.

Republicans said they remain unswervingly committed to repealing what they dismiss as "Obamacare." When combined with other budget-cutting measures, GOP leaders say that repeal will ultimately reduce deficits. Romney says if elected he will begin to dismantle the law his first day in office.

Medicaid has been one big question hanging over the future of Obama's law since the Supreme Court ruled.

Some GOP-led states, such as Texas and Florida, say they will not go forward with the expansion. Others are uncommitted, awaiting the voters' verdict on Obama in November.

Although the federal government would bear all of the initial cost of that expansion, many states would have to open their Medicaid programs to low-income childless adults for the first time.

CBO analysts did not try to predict which specific states would jump in and which would turn down the Medicaid expansion. Instead, they assumed that many states would eventually cut deals with the federal government to expand their programs to some degree.

As a result, the budget office estimates that more than 80 percent of the low-income uninsured people eligible under the law live in states that partially or fully expand their programs.

The big coverage expansion under the law doesn't start until 2014, with middle-class uninsured people signing up for subsidized private plans and more low-income people picked up through Medicaid.

___

Associated Press writer Laurie Kellman contributed to this report.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/bbd825583c8542898e6fa7d440b9febc/Article_2012-07-24-US-Health-Care-Overhaul-Costs/id-8bc9fcffc24a41fb985e3a499d706854

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Pentagon concludes oxygen supply behind F-22 breathing problems

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Defense Secretary Leon Panetta approved plans to send a squadron of Lockheed Martin Corp F-22 fighter jets to Japan, a step toward lifting flight restrictions on the most advanced U.S. warplane after the Air Force ruled out that contaminants were causing some F-22 pilots to get dizzy at the controls.

Pentagon spokesman George Little announced the decision on Tuesday, noting that a detailed and lengthy Air Force analysis had concluded that symptoms of oxygen deprivation experienced by some F-22 pilots were caused by the amount of oxygen delivered to pilots, not the quality of the air.

He said the Air Force was initiating a series of actions aimed at removing current altitude and other restrictions on the F-22 over time, and would recommend resuming most long-duration flights after the F-22 squadron flew to Japan.

The Air Force stopped flying the F-22 completely for five months last year. It resumed flights in September, but in May the Pentagon imposed new restrictions on how far they could fly from airstrips and how high they could climb.

Concern about the aircraft flared again this year after two F-22 pilots told CBS's "60 Minutes" program they had stopped flying the fighter jet due to worries about safety.

Panetta "believes that pilot safety is paramount," Little said. "The gradual lifting of restrictions will enable the Air Force to resume normal F-22 operations over time while ensuring the safety of the incredible airmen who fly this critical aircraft."

Air Force Chief of Staff General Norton Schwartz said the squadron of F-22s traveling to the U.S. air base in Kadena, Japan would be accompanied by a refueling tanker, that would carry an F-22 pilot on board, who "can offer advice" in case any further incidents of oxygen deprivation, or hypoxia, developed en route.

He said the tankers would follow a flight plan that meant they were never more than an hour and a half from a landing point, and the accompanying tanker would carry enough fuel to allow the planes to reach their destination at a lower altitude

"We're confident that we have managed the risk associated with continuing operations in the F-22," Schwartz said, noting that modified equipment would be available in September, and it would be tested under the most demanding conditions.

"What we have is a phased approach to removing limitations," Schwartz said. "We have to go back to the Secretary of Defense and demonstrate the results of the improvements, the tests that we've performed, and get his head nod on each sequential."

He said the risk associated with continued operations would be minimized but not wholly eliminated until the equipment modifications were in place.

Asked why the F-22s were being sent to Japan now, Schwartz said, "There's an operational requirement and the birds are ready to go." He gave no further details.

Little said the Air Force would replace a valve in flight suits that had restricted breathing at high altitude and has increased the oxygen supply to pilots by removing a charcoal air filter aimed at trapping contaminants that was actually making it harder for pilots to breathe.

"After receiving assurances that these corrective measures would minimize hypoxia-like events in the F-22, (Defense Secretary Leon Panetta) approved the Air Force planned sequence of actions to remove flight restrictions over time. This process starts today," Little told reporters.

Senator Mark Warner, a Virginia Democrat, and Representative Adam Kinzinger, an Illinois Republican, said the news was promising, but most safety restrictions should remain in force.

They welcomed news that the Air Force had stopped using the charcoal breathing filters that prompted the two pilots to go public about their concerns, and urged the Air Force to rescind disciplinary actions that were still pending against them.

Air Force officials have said they will afford the pilots the same protections guaranteed to government whistleblowers.

Little said the Air Force would also complete other steps designed to make the planes safer, including installation of a back-up oxygen system.

He said altitude restrictions for F-22s could be lifted as early as the fall after a revamped high-altitude garment had been tested and other improvements and studies completed.

Alison Orne, a spokeswoman for Lockheed, welcomed the news, noting that the Air Force was taking the issue very seriously and doing all it could to ensure the safety of the pilots.

Asked why the issue was not discovered earlier, Schwartz said the F-22 was a unique airplane.

"You can pull G6 Gs at 50,000 feet. Tell me what other airplane ever can do that," he said, referring to the airplane's unique ability to defy gravitational forces and execute hairpin turns at high altitudes.

Schwartz said testing of the airplane did not reveal the shortcomings that were recently discovered, underscoring the need for deep and continuous testing.

(Reporting By Missy Ryan, David Alexander and Andrea Shalal-Esa; Editing by David Brunnstrom and Andrew Hay)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/pentagon-concludes-oxygen-supply-behind-f-22-breathing-223459092--finance.html

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Far-right groups hurl racist abuse at parade to commemorate life and role of James Larkin

The Irish Times - Monday, July 23, 2012

MARK HENNESSY London Editor in Liverpool

Some 25 were arrested on Saturday in Liverpool as protesters taunted marchers celebrating at the birthplace of the Irish trade union leader

JAMES LARKIN, who later founded the Irish Transport and General Workers? Union, was born into grinding poverty in Combermere Street in Toxteth, one of Liverpool?s poorest quarters, in the 1870s. Today, nearly 150 years on, it has the record for being Britain?s most deprived district.

On Saturday afternoon, the James Larkin Society, led by the Liverpool Irish Patriots Republican Flute Band, gathered for the seventh occasion ? this time outside the Globe pub on Park Road ? to commemorate Larkin?s life and works.

In the past, it has been a family occasion, with children brought along. However, times have changed in ways that indicate that street violence by the far right, seeking to exploit economic troubles and unemployment, is returning. For days previously, far-right groups had urged protesters to come on to the streets to ?stop the IRA march?, telling them that they should remember Tim Parry and Jonathan Ball, killed in an IRA bomb blast in 1993.

From the off, beginning outside the Toxteth Tabernacle Church on Park Road, police ? some on horseback ? kept protesters away from the marchers, many of them carrying trade union placards, as they gathered outside the Globe pub.

Most of the protesters were young, male and tattooed, but not all. One elderly woman, her lips pinched from years of heavy smoking, told a policeman: ?This is terrible. They shouldn?t be allowed to march like this, no way.?

From Park Road into Liverpool city centre, the abuse came in torrents.

?F*** off back to Ireland, ye murdering bastards,? one man screamed, as he tried to force his way towards the marchers. Like 25 others, he was arrested.

Some were locals, others had clearly travelled for the day.

On the junction of Park Road and Upper Warwick Road, significant numbers had gathered, chanting variously ?Rule Britannia?, or ?No surrender to the IRA?. One was seized by police after he sent a volley of phlegm-lined spittle into the marchers.

?It?s not like the worst of the troubles that you see at an Orange Order march in Belfast, but it?s not a bad imitation, is it?? said Billy Hayes, general secretary of the Communications Workers Union, one of those who spoke at a rally later.

Historically, Liverpool has always had sectarian tensions. The city has a dozen Orange lodges, while the Liverpool Protestant Party, which had once campaigned against Irish emigration after the Famine, existed up to the 1970s.

However, Saturday was, at times, surreal. The majority of those marching behind the James Larkin Society flag were not Irish. One Muslim man in his early 20s sighed in despair as he was accused by an obese black teenager of being ?an IRA murdering scum?.

Another, Jane Calveley, a member of the UK?s largest public sector union, Unison, told The Irish Times: ?This has come as a bit of a shock, it was always such a peaceful event. It has nothing to do with the IRA. I?m actually Jewish, anyway.?

Despite the far right?s claims, Liverpool has not seen an influx of recent Irish emigrants. Once heavily Irish, Toxteth, for example, has become home to new generations of migrant Somalis, Indians and Bangladeshis, among others.

In flyers distributed in the city, one far-right group, the North West Infidels, claimed that Liverpool and the northwest of England had seen ?the rise of anti-British feelings projected on them by immigrant families from the Republic of Ireland.

?These people are much like Islamics [sic]. They take, take, take with one hand and abuse their host nation with the other. They openly support Sinn F?in and the Irish Republican Army and we are expected to stand by, smile and allow them to spread their hatred for Britain.?

Police see Saturday?s protests by the far right as further evidence it has decided on street violence rather than politics, following the heavy losses suffered by the British National Party in the May local elections.

The primary targets are not the Irish. Last November, striking public sector workers were assaulted; so, too, were Occupy Liverpool protesters. Unite?s Liverpool offices were vandalised, while the left-wing bookshop News from Nowhere has been repeatedly attacked.

In February, the far right forced the rerouting of a march to commemorate Liverpool-born War of Independence fighter Se?n Phelan, organised by C?irde na h?ireann, a British-based republican organisation.

Held back for so long, a small group of protesters, carrying a Union Jack inscribed with ?Combined Ex-Forces?, evaded police to scream abuse at the march?s final rally, near the Catholic cathedral of Christ the King. ?You?re all scum,? one roared.

Addressing the crowd, Hayes, remembering his Liverpool childhood as the son of Irish emigrants, could not help but see the protests in sectarian terms, even if most of his audience did not necessarily do so.

?We refuse to be second-class citizens in our own city but they still refuse to accept that. The days of second-class citizenship for Catholics in Liverpool are over,? said the leader of a 250,000-strong union.

Once the rally was over, marchers left by specially organised buses, believing that it would not be safe to walk in small groups towards the city centre.

Source: http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/ireland/2012/0723/1224320625472.html

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