Every day, we wake up with a choice. We can choose to embrace the day as a new opportunity to learn, grow, and make a positive impact on the world, or we can let fear, doubt, and negativity hold us back. It's easy to get caught up in the challenges and obstacles we face, but it's important to remember that these challenges are what shape us into who we are. Each obstacle is a chance to learn something new, to become stronger, more resilient, and more capable than we were before. But we don't hav
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Thursday, September 4, 2008
Kwame Kilpatricick resigned as mayor
Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick has resigned from office as Detroit's Mayor.Part of his plea deal requires that he spend 120 days in jail and he surrenders his law license and he can not run for office for the 5 years that he will be on probation. He has to pay 1 million dollars in restitution and he will loose his state pension has restitution to the city
One of the most disappointing things that the City of Detroit has to face is that he was a good mayor with a few hang ups. Hopefully he will learn from his past mistakes.
McCain Camp Battles National Enquirer Over Alleged Palin Affair
John McCain's presidential campaign is threatening a lawsuit against the National Enquirer over a print edition story the tabloid ran today alleging that Gov. Sarah Palin has had an extramarital affair with her husband's business partner.
The allegation would normally be dismissed by political observers as the random musings of a supermarket tabloid -- indeed, the McCain campaign said as much in its statements on Wednesday -- except that the paper has built up a reservoir of legitimacy following its earlier reporting on the John Edwards affair.
In a statement to the Huffington Post, a spokesman for the paper, who promised a larger report next week, tapped into that pool of quasi-respect.
"The National Enquirer's coverage of a vicious war within Sarah Palin's extended family includes several newsworthy revelations, including the resulting incredible charge of an affair plus details of family strife when the Governor's daughter revealed her pregnancy. Following our John Edwards' exclusives, our political reporting has obviously proven to be more detail-oriented than the McCain campaign's vetting process. Despite the McCain camp's attempts to control press coverage they find unfavorable, The Enquirer will continue to pursue news on both sides of the political spectrum."
Clearly, this is a touchy matter. Already, rumors that Palin's youngest son was actually the son of her daughter were batted down. And the McCain campaign has strenuously insisted that the current crop of insinuations is not only false but also potentially libelous.
"The smearing of the Palin family must end. The allegations contained on the cover of the National Enquirer insinuating that Gov. Palin had an extramarital affair are categorically false. It is a vicious lie," said McCain senior adviser Steve Schmidt. "The efforts of the media and tabloids to destroy this fine and accomplished public servant are a disgrace. The American people will reject it."
But the Edwards reporting complicates matters. Just one month ago, conservatives were bemoaning the fact that no major media outlets had the temerity to follow the politically and personally sensitive rumors about the former North Carolina senator's infidelities. Jonah Goldberg, for example, wrote on the National Review's the Corner in later July that:
"Whatever the merits of the whole Edwards love child story, are we really supposed to believe that one of America's most famous trial lawyers wouldn't sue a publication that printed defamatory and slanderous lies about him? Also, it's worth pointing out that while the Enquirer may or may not be scrupulous in its choice of stories -- that's in the eye of the beholder -- it is pretty scrupulous about its facts. They win lawsuits. They've broken a host of stories the MSM guys couldn't."
Does the MSM now have an obligation to pursue this rumor, however touchy, or at least ask questions?
"The "success" with Edwards no doubt will give them some more credibility, although we should remember that some of the allegations in their "lovechild" stories have been far from proven (although also far from disproven)," wrote Greg Mitchell, editor of Editor and Publisher Magazine. "Some of their Palin revelations may be quickly firmed up, prove bogus or more likely rest somewhere in-between for awhile. But what will be interesting is whether the Republicans and conservatives and MSM critics who jumped on the MSM and liberals for not quickly embracing the Enquirer's Edwards work will now pooh-pooh the Enquirer when it comes to THIS candidate....:"
And yet, at the same time, the Enquirer's story may be something of a break for the McCain campaign, which has come under siege for the Palin pick. If the Arizona Senator and his aides are able to effectively portray attacks on the Palin as the product of smear, sleaze and innuendo, it clouds those that are more legitimate. And with new attack lines opening up against Palin seemingly every hour, Democrats may be even more hesitant about straying into the tawdry.
Wednesday, September 3, 2008
Gene Upshaw died. he was 63.
Gene Upshaw, the Hall of Fame guard who during a quarter century as union head helped get NFL players free agency and the riches that came with it, has died. He was 63.
Upshaw died Wednesday night at his home near California's Lake Tahoe of pancreatic cancer, which was diagnosed only last Sunday, the NFL Players Association said Thursday. His wife, Terri, and sons Eugene Jr., Justin and Daniel were by his side.
Frequently listed as one of the most powerful men in U.S. sports, Upshaw was drafted in the first round by Oakland in 1967 out of Texas A&I -- hardly a football factory. He was an NAIA All-American at center, tackle and end, but was switched to left guard by the Raiders.
That's where he stayed through a magnificent career that included 10 conference championship games as well as the Super Bowl victories.
His playing career was summed up Thursday by his close friend Art Shell, who played next to him on Oakland's offensive line, and in 1989 became the first black coach of the modern era when he took over the Raiders.
"Gene was a true pioneer as one of the few African-American leaders of a major union," Shell said. "He was the equal of owners in negotiations and made the league a better place for all players. Playing alongside of Gene was an honor and a privilege. He was a pillar of strength and leadership for our great Raider teams."
Highlights of Gene Upshaw's numerous contributions to pro football for four-plus decades:
• Executive director of NFLPA since June 1983
• Took part in all negotiations leading up to CBA in 1977, '82 and '93 (and extensions in '96, '98, '02 and '06)
• Raiders' first pick in 1967 draft (17th overall; '67 was first combined AFL-NFL draft)
• Played 15 seasons with Raiders (1967-81)
• 7-time Pro Bowl selection
• 5-time First Team All-Pro
• Won 2 Super Bowls
• Inducted into Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1987
• Started 207 straight regular-season games from 1967 to '81
• Played 307 preseason, regular season, and postseason games
• Only player ever to start on championship teams in both the AFL and NFL
• NAIA All-America honors at Texas A&I
Though the news devastated Upshaw, he was wide
Killer Kowalski, Wrestler, Dies at 81
Walter (Killer) Kowalski, one of professional wrestling’s biggest stars and most hated villains when wrestlers offered a nightly menu of mayhem in the early years of television, died Saturday in Everett, Mass. He was 81.
Kowalski’s death was announced by his wife, Theresa, who said he had been hospitalized since a heart attack in early August.
At 6 feet 7 inches and 275 pounds or so, Kowalski was a formidable figure who delighted in applying his claw hold, a thumb squeeze to an opponent’s solar plexus, when he was not leaping from the top strand of the ropes and descending on his foe’s chest.
Emerging as a featured performer in the early 1950s, he became a TV celebrity with wrestlers like Antonino Rocca, Lou Thesz, Gorgeous George, Haystacks Calhoun and Nature Boy Buddy Rogers.
Kowalski wrestled on the pro circuits for some 30 years and appeared in more than 6,000 matches, by his count. Early in his career, he called himself Tarzan Kowalski. But, as he often related it, one particular match, at Montreal in the early 1950s, literally made his name.
“I was leaping off the rope, and Yukon Eric, who had a cauliflower ear, moved at the last second,” Kowalski told The Chicago Tribune in 1989. “I thought I missed, but all of a sudden, something went rolling across the ring. It was his ear.”
Yukon Eric was taken to a hospital, and the promoter asked Kowalski to visit him and apologize for severing his ear. Reporters were listening to their chat from a corridor.
“There was this 6-foot-5, 280-pound guy, his head wrapped like a mummy, dwarfing his bed,” Kowalski said. “I looked at him and grinned. He grinned back. I laughed, and he laughed back. Then I laughed harder and left.
“The next day the headlines read, ‘Kowalski Visits Yukon in the Hospital and Laughs.’ And when I climbed into the ring that night, the crowd called out, ‘You animal, you killer.’ And the name stuck.”
Kowalski came to incur the wrath of the fans. As he told Esquire magazine in 2007: “Someone once threw a pig’s ear at me. A woman once came up to me after a match and said, ‘I’m glad you didn’t get hurt.’ Then she stabbed me in the back with a knife. After a while, I got police escorts to and from the ring.”
Walter Kowalski, his legal name, was born in Windsor, Ontario. His parents, Anthony and Marie Spulnik, had emigrated from Poland. He hoped to become an electrical engineer, but while he was working out at a Y.M.C.A., someone who was evidently impressed by his physique suggested he become a wrestler. He made his pro debut in the late 1940s.
He eventually tussled with all the famous names of wrestling, and in his later years he teamed with Big John Studd as a tag team called the Executioners.
“He was a hell of an attraction,” Thesz told The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette in 1998. “He had a great body back then. He was not a sophisticated wrestler, but every promoter wanted him because he made a lot of money.”
Kowalski retired in 1977 and founded Killer Kowalski’s School of Professional Wrestling in Malden, Mass. His protégés included the wrestlers Triple H and Chyna. He sold the school in 2003, and it is now in North Andover, Mass.
Kowalski married in 2006, his first marriage. In addition to his wife, of Malden, he was survived by a brother, Stanley Spulnik.
Beyond the ring, Kowalski displayed a gentle and even aesthetic side. He became a vegetarian in the mid-1950s, pursued charitable work for children with special needs and delighted in photographing fellow wrestlers. His work was sometimes displayed at galleries.
“I wanted to take action pictures,” he told The New York Times shortly after retiring. “But I went up to the ring, the fans screamed at me and threw garbage at me. It was detrimental to my health. So all I took were posed pictures. I sign my photographs Walter Kowalski. I used to be a villain, but now I’m a good guy. I kiss old women and pat babies. I’ve gone from Killer Kowalski to a pussycat.”
Don LaFontaine Dies at 68
Don LaFontaine, the "Voiceover King", died Monday in Los Angeles at the age of 68
He is most famous for the line, “In a world…”.
He recorded almost 5,000 movie trailers and nearly 350,000 commercials, programs, files, and other presentations.
The "King of Voiceovers" died at Cedars-Sinai Medical Centre from complications that resulted from a collapsed lung, reports the CBC. LaFontaine was originally admitted for a blood clot in the lung.
Over the past 25 years, LaFontaine cemented his position as the "King of Voiceovers."
Aside from being the preeminent voice in the movie trailer industry, Don also worked as the voice of Entertainment Tonight and The Insider, as well as for CBS, NBC, ABC, Fox and UPN, in addition to TNT, TBS and the Cartoon Network. By conservative estimates, he voiced hundreds of thousands of television and radio spots, including commercials for Chevrolet, Pontiac, Ford, Budweiser, McDonalds, Coke, and many other corporate sponsors.
He is survived by his wife, actress Nita Whitaker, and three children, Christine, Skye and Elyse.
Tuesday, September 2, 2008
What is Barack Obama Political positions
What is Senator Barack Obama political position? His senatorial voting record seems to be an issue that remains a topic of conservation with conservative talk show host.
You really have to listen to what these conservative talk show host amd think are these guys for real? The major comment on Obama is he that he has no experience and he has done nothing since he has been in the senate. With a little reasearch I found information to show different. Obama really impressed me with his desire to improve health care for the millions of american with no health care.
In 2003, Barack Obama sponsored and passed legislation that expanded health care coverage to 70,000 kids and 84,000 adults. In the U.S. Senate, Obama cosponsored the Healthy Kids Act of 2007 and the State Children's Health Insurance Program (SCHIP) Reauthorization Act of 2007 to ensure that more American children have affordable health care coverage.
Obama has co-sponsoring 619 bills since Jan 4, 2005 been described to have and he has sponsored "131 bills since Jan 4, 2005," of which 118 bills remain in committee one bill that has been enacted into law is the such as the Coburn-Obama Federal Funding Accountability and Transparency Act of 2006
The Federal Funding Accountability and Transparency Act of 2006 (S. 2590)[1] is an Act of Congress that requires the full disclosure to the public of all entities or organizations receiving federal funds beginning in fiscal year (FY) 2007. The website USAspending.gov opened in December 2007 as a result of the act, and is maintained by the Office of Management and Budget. The Congressional Budget Office estimates S. 2590 will cost $15 million over its authorized time period of 2007–2011.[2]
The bill was introduced by Senator Tom Coburn, for himself and Senators Barack Obama, Tom Carper and John McCain on April 6, 2006.[3] After a "secret hold" was revealed and removed, it was passed unanimously in the Senate on September 7, 2006 and by the House on September 13, 2006. The bill was signed into law by President George W. Bush on September 26, 2006.[4]
On June 3, 2008, Senator Obama, along with Senators Carper, Coburn and McCain, introduced follow-up legislation: Strengthening Transparency and Accountability in Federal Spending Act of 2008.[5]
Barack Obama's Plan on improving and making health care and making it affordable is just what the doctor order. Quality, Affordable and Portable Coverage for All
Obama's Plan to Cover Uninsured Americans: Obama will make available a new national health plan to all Americans, including the self-employed and small businesses, to buy affordable health coverage that is similar to the plan available to members of Congress.
The Obama plan will have the following features:
Guaranteed eligibility. No American will be turned away from any insurance plan because of illness or pre-existing conditions.
Comprehensive benefits. The benefit package will be similar to that offered through Federal Employees Health Benefits Program (FEHBP), the plan members of Congress have. The plan will cover all essential medical services, including preventive, maternity and mental health care.
Affordable premiums, co-pays and deductibles.
Subsidies. Individuals and families who do not qualify for Medicaid or SCHIP but still need financial assistance will receive an income-related federal subsidy to buy into the new public plan or purchase a private health care plan.
Simplified paperwork and reined in health costs.
Easy enrollment. The new public plan will be simple to enroll in and provide ready access to coverage.
Portability and choice. Participants in the new public plan and the National Health Insurance Exchange (see below) will be able to move from job to job without changing or jeopardizing their health care coverage.
Quality and efficiency. Participating insurance companies in the new public program will be required to report data to ensure that standards for quality, health information technology and administration are being met.
National Health Insurance Exchange: The Obama plan will create a National Health Insurance Exchange to help individuals who wish to purchase a private insurance plan. The Exchange will act as a watchdog group and help reform the private insurance market by creating rules and standards for participating insurance plans to ensure fairness and to make individual coverage more affordable and accessible. Insurers would have to issue every applicant a policy, and charge fair and stable premiums that will not depend upon health status. The Exchange will require that all the plans offered are at least as generous as the new public plan and have the same standards for quality and efficiency. The Exchange would evaluate plans and make the differences among the plans, including cost of services, public.
Employer Contribution: Employers that do not offer or make a meaningful contribution to the cost of quality health coverage for their employees will be required to contribute a percentage of payroll toward the costs of the national plan. Small businesses will be exempt from this requirement, and will receive a new Small Business Health Tax Credit that helps reduce health care costs for small businesses.
Support for Small Businesses: Barack Obama will create a Small Business Health Tax Credit to provide small businesses with a refundable tax credit of up to 50 percent on premiums paid by small businesses on behalf of their employees. This new credit will provide a strong incentive to small businesses to offer high quality health care to their workers and help improve the competitiveness of America’s small businesses.
Mandatory Coverage of Children: Obama will require that all children have health care coverage. Obama will expand the number of options for young adults to get coverage, including allowing young people up to age 25 to continue coverage through their parents' plans.
Expansion Of Medicaid and SCHIP: Obama will expand eligibility for the Medicaid and SCHIP programs and ensure that these programs continue to serve their critical safety net function.
Flexibility for State Plans: Due to federal inaction, some states have taken the lead in health care reform. The Obama plan builds on these efforts and does not replace what states are doing. States can continue to experiment, provided they meet the minimum standards of the national plan.
Monday, September 1, 2008
Who is Tiffany Pollard
Who is TiffanyPollard? You probably know her by her tv name of Newyork. Tiffany was born January 6, 1982 in New York. She [2] is a reality television contestant, best known for VH1's Flavor of Love and I Love New York. Pollard was given the nickname "New York" by Flavor Flav during the first season of Flavor of Love; she is, to television viewers, better known by her nickname than her given name. She is also known colloquially by her self-proclaimed nickname the "HBIC (Head Bitch In Charge)",[3] which she exclaimed in the series Flavor of Love in an attempt to taunt her fellow competitors.[4]
Tiffany was the girl you love to hate on the Flavor of Love (Season 1).
Pollard clashed with virtually all of the contestants in both seasons, including:
Thela "Rain" Brown
Nicole "Hoopz" Alexander
Chandra "Deelishis" Davis
Larissa "Bootz" Aurora
Becky "Buckwild" Johnson
Heather "Krazy" Crawford
Brooke "Pumkin" Thompson
Schatar "Hottie" Taylor
Leilene "Smiley" Ondrade
Shay "Buckeey" Johnson
Mieko "Cherry" Smith
Saaphyri Windsor
Although these feuds were, in general, nothing more than screaming matches, an incident in the penultimate episode of season one led to violence. After her elimination, an outraged Brooke Thompson spat on Pollard after the two had exchanged words. Pollard vowed to "whoop Pumkin's ass", and attempted to do so at the season one reunion. However, in another VH1 special, "New York" and "Pumkin" were shown making up at a club. Meanwhile, the final two contestants journeyed to Mexico where Flavor Flav chose Nicole "Hoopz" Alexander to be his mate.
After his relationship did not work out with Alexander, Flavor Flav chose to do a second season of his dating show, and invited Pollard to participate nearly halfway through the season. She agreed, but was once again eliminated, finally severing her romantic connection with Flavor Flav. Pollard verbally fought with Flav in the season finale, asking why he had brought her back only to be ultimately eliminated. However, the two announced on the Flavor of Love: After the Lovin reunion show that aired October 28, 2006, that they would remain friends.
In the reunion of the second season, contestants "Bootz", "Deelishis", "Buckeey", "Buckwild", and Saaphyri attempted to physically attack "New York". Numerous security guards protected Pollard keeping the other contestants from harming her. All the contestants, except "Deelishis", who had won the second season, and Saaphyri were then asked to leave the reunion.
In October of 2006, Pollard announced plans for her own dating show entitled, I Love New York, which premiered on January 8, 2007, on VH1. The series followed the same theme as Flavor of Love, where contestants competed for her affections. In the show's finale, which aired on April 2, 2007, the man she chose, Patrick "Tango" Hunter, proposed to her, and after slight hesitation, she agreed to marry him. However, after watching the show himself, Tango was offended by the comments made about his mother, and he broke off the engagement on the reunion show. Thus, New York was left alone again.
In April 2007, VH1 announced plans for a second season of I Love New York shooting in July 2007. The second season maintains the same premise as the first season of I Love New York, in addition to an online casting process by fans. A special, I Love New York 2: Casting Special aired on VH1 allowing viewers to see potential contestants' casting videos and are given the opportunity to vote at VH1's official website.
Another special, I Love New York 2: Casting Special 2, aired on October 1, 2007 to reveal the contestants chosen by fans.[5]I Love New York 2 premiered October 8, 2007 on VH1.
In the finale of I Love New York 2, contestant "Tailor Made" (real name George Weisgerber) proposed to Pollard, but was turned down. During the I Love New York 2 reunion special, "Tailor Made" proposed a second time and Pollard accepted.[6][7]
Main article: New York Goes To Hollywood
New York Goes to Hollywood began airing on August 4, 2008. The reality show, consisting of ten 30-minute episodes, follows New York as she moves to Hollywood and attempts to become a legitimate actress. The show focuses primarily on her attempts to become a serious actress by securing an agent and an acting coach and going on auditions. In the third episode New York is offered a chance to film a commercial for a Japanese energy drink. There is also some focus on her attempts to consolidate her personal life with her professional ambitions. The series debuted to high ratings with 1.7 million views beating I Want to Work for Diddy, its lead-in show, in ratings.
After watching Newyork goes to Hollywood, you will find yourself glued to the tube in awe. The things that this lady does proves one thing, that she may be the next cash cow for VH1. I kept wondering what was she going to do next, and before I knew it the show was over... I really like the show I will give it a 3 stars.
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