March 29, 2011 (BURR RIDGE, Ill.) (WLS) -- A Burr Ridge fashion designer met with a Miss USA pageant contestant Tuesday to help her select an evening gown. What makes the story unique, however, is that the contestant -- Miss Colorado -- is homeless, and the designer is making the gown for free.
Blair Griffith's, 23, heartache was turning into joy that could be seen in her face and in the way she walked Tuesday.
A University of Arkansas graduate from Rogers has invented a device that is helping to clean up some of the language on TV.
It’s called TVGuardian, and it reads closed captioning on TV shows and movies then mutes certain language replacing it with a profanity free version. It was invented more than a year ago by Rick Bray.
“We were on vacation, sat down to watch ET and ET had some language in it we had forgotten about, we had nieces there too it was quite a surprise,” said Bray.
It led Bray to invent and paten the new device. He said even family shows and movies like the Blind Side contains some questionable language. TVGuardian allows families to enjoy the programming without having to worry about certain words and phrases.
“You might see something like move your tail pop up instead of what was actually there,” said Bray.
There are also all sorts of settings to meet your family’s needs. The device costs $130 dollars for a standard TV and $180 for HD TV. Bray said the last few years have been tough. Due to the digital conversion some of their parts were obsolete and they had to go off the market, but now the business is back on track.
“We’re selling thousands each month,” said Bray.
According to the Parents Television Council TV profanity has increased 69 percent since 2005. Bray said parents need help monitoring what their child is watching and he’s glad to provide it.
“Standards keep on loosening, the only control parents have on what comes through TV is through technology,” said Bray.
TVGuardian can only be purchase online at TVGuardian.com.
In a little-noticed story by the Australian news website News.com.au, animator Andreas Deja, who reported working on the Disney films "Beauty and the Beast," "Aladdin" and "The Lion King," said the company is open to the concept of homosexual entertainment.
"Is there ever going to be a family that has two dads or two mums? Time will tell," he said. "I think once they find the right kind of story with that kind of concept, they will do it.
"It has to be the right kind of story and you have to find that first," said Deja, according to News.com.au.
Disney, which already allows various "gay days" and other such events at its theme parks, is a "gay-friendly" company, Deja said. The report cited "Lion King" contributor Elton John as well as the late Howard Ashman, who worked on the lyrics to "The Little Mermaid."
Deja said that the Disney characters already come from a wide range of backgrounds – such as Cinderella's step-family, Aladdin's street life and Bambi's motherless childhood.
He tried to be reassuring, however, in saying, "We won't all of a sudden make R-rated films."
At the ATV website, commentator Ian Westhead suggested, "Conservative America may not quite be ready for gay characters or gay families cropping up in Disney films though."
In a report on Deja's interview, The Christian Institute news website in the United Kingdom noted the influence of homosexual characters and themes in movies and television.
Earlier this year, a homosexual producer of Britain's most popular soap opera, "Coronation Street," admitted he used the show to promote homosexual issues.
In an interview with the London Sun, Phil Collinson called his show "an amazing platform" that really makes "a difference to the way people think."
"What's transmitted on Monday night people talk about in pubs, clubs and at work the next day," Collinson told the London paper..
"You can really make a difference to the way people think – and this show has always had a gay sensibility."
However, in a review of one Disney's latest films, "Mars Needs Moms," WND columnist Drew Zahn found a refreshing emphasis on the fact that children need their parents – a mother and a father.
He wrote, "In the 'Martian' culture, the aliens eventually discover, the upbringing of a child requires both discipline and love, both order and affection, and upon the Red Planet, the traits of both mothers and fathers are needed to fulfill the Creator's intent as well."
JERUSALEM – A Facebook page calling on Palestinians to take up arms against Israel has been removed from the social-networking site after a high-profile Israeli appeal.
Entitled "Third Palestinian Intifada," the page had more than 350,000 fans before it was taken down. Facebook didn't comment the removal on Tuesday.
Israeli Cabinet Minister Yuli Edelstein said in a letter to Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg that the page included calls to kill Jews and for "liberating" Jerusalem through violence.
It urged Palestinians to take to the streets after Friday prayers on May 15 and begin an uprising. It read: "Judgment Day will be brought upon us only once the Muslims have killed all of the Jews."
Edelstein said the page incites to violence and violates Facebook content regulations.
The following is a presidential
address to the nation — to be
delivered in March 2026.
MY fellow Americans, I come to you today with a heavy heart. We have a crisis on our hands. It is one of our own making. And it is one that leaves us with no good choices.
For many years, our nation’s government has lived beyond its means. We have promised ourselves both low taxes and a generous social safety net. But we have not faced the hard reality of budget arithmetic.
The seeds of this crisis were planted long ago, by previous generations. Our parents and grandparents had noble aims. They saw poverty among the elderly and created Social Security. They saw sickness and created Medicare and Medicaid. They saw Americans struggle to afford health insurance and embraced health care reform with subsidies for middle-class families.
But this expansion in government did not come cheap. Government spending has taken up an increasing share of our national income.
Today, most of the large baby-boom generation is retired. They are no longer working and paying taxes, but they are eligible for the many government benefits we offer the elderly.
Our efforts to control health care costs have failed. We must now acknowledge that rising costs are driven largely by technological advances in saving lives. These advances are welcome, but they are expensive nonetheless.
If we had chosen to tax ourselves to pay for this spending, our current problems could have been avoided. But no one likes paying taxes. Taxes not only take money out of our pockets, but they also distort incentives and reduce economic growth. So, instead, we borrowed increasing amounts to pay for these programs.
Yet debt does not avoid hard choices. It only delays them. After last week’s events in the bond market, it is clear that further delay is no longer possible. The day of reckoning is here.
This morning, the Treasury Department released a detailed report about the nature of the problem. To put it most simply, the bond market no longer trusts us.
For years, the United States government borrowed on good terms. Investors both at home and abroad were confident that we would honor our debts. They were sure that when the time came, we would do the right thing and bring spending and taxes into line.
But over the last several years, as the ratio of our debt to gross domestic product reached ever-higher levels, investors started getting nervous. They demanded higher interest rates to compensate for the perceived risk. Higher interest rates increased the cost of servicing our debt, adding to the upward pressure on spending. We found ourselves in a vicious circle of rising budget deficits and falling investor confidence.
As economists often remind us, crises take longer to arrive than you think, but then they happen much faster than you could have imagined. Last week, when the Treasury tried to auction its most recent issue of government bonds, almost no one was buying. The private market will lend us no more. Our national credit card has been rejected.
So where do we go from here?
Yesterday, I returned from a meeting at the International Monetary Fund in its new headquarters in Beijing. I am pleased to report some good news. I have managed to secure from the I.M.F. a temporary line of credit to help us through this crisis.
This loan comes with some conditions. As your president, I have to be frank: I don’t like them, and neither will you. But, under the circumstances, accepting these conditions is our only choice.
We have to cut Social Security immediately, especially for higher-income beneficiaries. Social Security will still keep the elderly out of poverty, but just barely.
We have to limit Medicare and Medicaid. These programs will still provide basic health care, but they will no longer cover many expensive treatments. Individuals will have to pay for these treatments on their own or, sadly, do without.
We have to cut health insurance subsidies to middle-income families. Health insurance will be less a right of citizenship and more a personal responsibility.
We have to eliminate inessential government functions, like subsidies for farming, ethanol production, public broadcasting, energy conservation and trade promotion.
We will raise taxes on all but the poorest Americans. We will do this primarily by broadening the tax base, eliminating deductions for mortgage interest and state and local taxes. Employer-provided health insurance will hereafter be taxable compensation.
We will increase the gasoline tax by $2 a gallon. This will not only increase revenue, but will also address various social ills, from global climate change to local traffic congestion.
AS I have said, these changes are repellant to me. When you elected me, I promised to preserve the social safety net. I assured you that the budget deficit could be fixed by eliminating waste, fraud and abuse, and by increasing taxes on only the richest Americans. But now we have little choice in the matter.
If only we had faced up to this problem a generation ago. The choices then would not have been easy, but they would have been less draconian than the sudden, nonnegotiable demands we now face. Americans would have come to rely less on government and more on themselves, and so would be better prepared today.
What I wouldn’t give for a chance to go back and change the past. But what is done is done. Americans have faced hardship and adversity before, and we have triumphed. Working together, we can make the sacrifices it takes so our children and grandchildren will enjoy a more prosperous future.
N. Gregory Mankiw is a professor of economics at Harvard.via Huffington Post
Parents, we tuck our children in safely each night, giving them a kiss on their forehead, saying "sweet dreams" and telling them how much we love them. Some of us do this each night and rarely think of children without a parent, without a kiss, or without a place to sleep. However, the grim reality is that there are millions of homeless American children. On April 1 Governor Cuomo plans to cut all funding for programs in New York State working to house and support homeless children and youth, potentially sending thousands of children back onto the streets. We want the people of New York State to stop Governor Cuomo from cutting funds that house, support, and advocate for our homeless children and youth.
The United States has over 1.5 million homeless children, some studies suggest up to as many as 2.8 million. According to The National Center on Family Homelessness, New York State is currently ranked the 12th worst state in the nation with over 45,000 homeless youth, over 18,000 of those under the age of 6. The state is plagued with inadequate policy and planning efforts as it relates to child homelessness. While Cuomo intends to cut the funding going to these organizations there is a major need to increase it. Not only is it un-American, but it's inhumane to sit back and watch these children be thrown back onto the streets with little to no support. It is critical to act now, every voice matters.
New York State has funded programs through the Runaway Homeless Youth Act (RHYA) since 1978. Funding has provided youth shelters, outreach, crisis intervention, case management, basic needs such as food and clothing and many other services for homeless youth across the state.
In 2007, the state was supporting services for approximately 70 programs with an appropriation of $6.8 million. Between 2007 and 2010, the amount was reduced 30 percent due to state budget problems, to the current $4.7 million. "It is not possible to cut any further and still maintain safe services. Programs are already turning away the increasing number of youth who are ending up homeless," says Margo Hirsch, Executive Director at the Empire State Coalition.
"Governor Andrew Cuomo recently took office and he is already poised to make one of the most disastrous political decisions in New York State history," said Aaron Wrench, Operations Director for Forsaken Generation. In the proposed budget expected to be finalized by April 1, 2011 the Governor has proposed all funding to the RHYA (Runaway Homeless Youth Act) to be cut. The NYS Assembly and Senate have passed a budget slashing 50% to the RHYA which would reduce funding to $2.4 million, but if Governor Cuomo has his way, all of the funding will be cut.
These cuts will throw thousands of New York children out onto the streets robbing them of shelter beds and a chance at rebuilding their lives. A study done by the United States Justice Department stated that 1 in 3 homeless teens that are on the street will be forced into prostitution within only 48 hours. If these cuts are made and children are forced back out onto the streets, the results will be catastrophic.
Since the funding has been provided through the RHYA, it has enabled the identification, assistance, housing, and stabilization of tens of thousands of homeless children each year. "These programs turn young people's lives around by providing shelter; re-connecting them with family, where appropriate; teaching them how to live independently; connecting them with education and employment; and overall fostering their growth at becoming successful adults," said Andrew Peters, Associate Executive Director for the Long Island Crisis Center.
New York should be a model for opportunity and a place where the people and the government support one another to succeed in life and to be responsible citizens. To cut all funding to these programs can potentially have grave consequences. Children that are forced to the streets are at extremely high risk of sexual exploitation, violence, drug abuse, health risks, as well as significant educational challenges.
Over the summer of 2010, a shelter in Brooklyn, New York took in two 12-year-old twin boys, Brad and John, with a plan of placing them together in the foster care system. Their home situation was unsafe and the shelter system was the only option for keeping them together.
Throughout the thirty days that Brad and John stayed at the shelter they ate a well balanced diet, showed signs of improved health through regular physical activity, improved their education levels through the summer tutoring program, and both learned to swim through staff instruction. "For the twins, the shelter was the only place they could safely go until their long-term living situation could be stabilized. It was a much needed oasis in the desert of turmoil that was their lives," said Margo Hirsch. Leah, who was fourteen years old upon entering a shelter, was an abused child who was being hurt almost daily. "I had no one to turn to, no one would listen, and no safe place to go," says Leah.
Through a community member she had met, Leah found a shelter that she could call home. A safe, caring place where there was no worry of abuse. Leah said that, "for the first time in my life, I realize that not everyone is out to hurt me."
Leah, Brad and John are just a few out of thousands of young people who will be impacted by the decision of New York State to make drastic budget cuts designed to help homeless children.
Time is of the essence since a budget could be finalized within a matter of days. As residents of New York State you can voice your opposition to these proposed cuts. We urge you to please contact the following people.
Please call the officials below to voice your disapproval:
- Governor Andrew Cuomo (518) 474-8390
- Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver (518) 455-3791
- Senate Majority Leader Dean Skelos (518) 455-3171
- Senator Joseph Robach (877) 854-2687
You can also visit www.forsakengeneration.com/actnow and follow the links to also contact these representatives via an online contact form. You will also find Twitter and Facebook links to some of these representatives as well. We encourage you to communicate with them in every way possible.
An aide to Vice President Joe Biden has apologised to a reporter who was locked in a closet for hours after he was invited to cover a Florida political fundraiser because they did not want him talking with the guests.
Spokeswoman Elizabeth Alexander said the decision to hold local reporter Scott Powers there was a 'mistake'.
And she claimed an inexperienced staffer had put Powers in the closet instead of a 'hotel room' as was their normal practice.
As the unaware $500-a-head invitees dined on caprese crostini with oven-dried mozzarella and basil, rosemary flatbread with grapes honey and gorgonzola cheese, grilled chicken Caesar and garden vegetable wraps, last week, the veteran reporter was locked away.
The Orlando Sentinel reporter was ushered into the closet inside wealthy property developer Alan Ginsburg’s Winter Park mansion, after being told that Joe Biden and Senator Bill Nelson had not yet arrived.
They were due to speak to the audience to raise money for the 2012 elections.
He was told he could only come out when the politicians were ready to give their speeches.Powers told The Drudge Report: ‘When I'd stick my head out, they'd say, “Not yet. We'll let you know when you can come out.”’
After 90 minutes he was allowed out to hear Biden and Nelson speak for 35 minutes, before being taken back to the closet for the remainder of the event.
From inside his temporary prison Powers emailed his office from his cell phone: ‘Sounds like a nice party.’
When Ginsburg – who has supported both Democrat and Republican candidates in the past – learnt of the treatment that took place in his house, he called the reporter.
Powers said: ‘[Ginsburg] said he had no idea they'd put me in a closet and was very sorry.
‘He said he was just following their lead and was extremely embarrassed by the whole thing.’
Today Ms Alexander followed suit.
She said Power has accepted her 'unequivocal apology' made shortly after the fundraiser.
'This was the unfortunate mistake of an inexperienced staffer and the vice president's office has made sure it will never happen again,' she said.
She said pool reporters are usually given 'hotel rooms' when the Vice President speaks at private homes.
She explained that the closet was chosen because of its 'close proximity' to the room where Mr Biden was speaking, and that it had a table and chair where the reporter could work, as well as open space.
But she clarified: 'A hotel room, however, should not be a storage room'.
Some guests were shocked by the Vice President’s staff.
One emailed the paper saying: ‘I was in attendance at the Fundraiser and enjoyed a nice lunch.
‘If I had known there was a reporter stuffed in the closet, I would have been compelled to stand up and demand answers.
‘I would also like to know if this is actually legal to treat people like caged animals. I’m disgusted by these actions.’
Florida state law says kidnapping entails ‘forcibly, secretly or by threat confining, abducting or imprisoning another person against her or his will and without lawful authority.’
Powers said of his treatment: ‘It was frustrating and annoying that I was not given a chance to do my job fully and properly.
‘This was an extreme, and extremely inappropriate way of handling the press… it was essentially a rude and uncomfortable way to treat a reporter.’
He attempted to play down his treatment calling it ‘hardly unusual or shocking’ and confirmed that he received an apology from Ginsburg.
But he said the Vice President’s staff emailed him an apology which ‘I found far less satisfying than Ginsburg’s.’
Should churches bring attention to pornography during their services? Pastor Jeremy Geerdes thinks so.
Pornography is a multi-million-dollar industry that results in ruined lives and broken homes. Pastor Geerdes knows people whose lives have been affected by this addiction, so he took a courageous step in holding Porn Sunday at Debra Heights Wesleyan Church in Des Moines, Iowa.
The idea behind National Porn Sunday originated with Triple X Church, an organization aimed at ministry to persons directly involved in the adult entertainment industry.
“Pornography is one of those elephants that hides in plain sight in too many churches, including ours,” says Pastor Jeremy. Triple X reports that 47 percent of Christians report that porn is a major problem in the home.
“We need to address matters which are relevant to the world in which we live,” he says. “Sometimes it’s easy to study Jesus and talk theology without ever really impacting real life.”
Craig Gross, founder of Triple X Church, presented via video three practical steps to escape porn addiction: confess it to Jesus, confess it to someone else, and clean it up. Pastor Jeremy hoped change would come about after addressing the issue through hosting Porn Sunday.
NEW YORK | Dozens of bills are advancing through statehouses nationwide that would put an array of new obstacles — legal, financial and psychological — in the paths of women seeking abortions.
The tactics vary: Mandatory sonograms and pro-life counseling, sweeping limits on insurance coverage, bans on abortions after 20 weeks of pregnancy. To pro-choice activists, they add up to the biggest political threat since the Roe v. Wade decision of 1973, which legalized abortion nationwide.
“It’s just this total onslaught,” said Elizabeth Nash, who tracks state legislation for the Guttmacher Institute, a reproductive-health research organization that supports abortion rights.
What’s different this year is not the raw number of anti-abortion bills, but the fact that many of the toughest, most substantive measures have a good chance of passage due to gains by conservative Republicans in last year’s legislative and gubernatorial elections. On Tuesday, South Dakota Gov. Dennis Daugaard signed into law a bill that imposes a longest-in-the-nation waiting period of three days before women may have an abortion — and also requires them to undergo counseling at pregnancy help centers that discourage abortions.
“We’re seeing an unprecedented level of bills that would have a serious impact on women’s access to abortion services that very possibly could become law,” said Rachel Sussman, senior policy analyst for the Planned Parenthood Federation of America.
On the other side, pro-life strategists such as Mary Spaulding Balch of the National Right to Life Committee have been scrambling to keep up with legislative developments. “Until the bills get on the governors’ desks, it’s premature to claim victory. But it’s moving faster than it has in previous years. … We’re very pleased with the progress thus far,” she said.
In a number of states, lawmakers are considering bills that would ban elective abortions after 20 or 21 weeks of pregnancy. These measures are modeled after a law approved last year in Nebraska that was based on the disputed premise that a fetus can feel pain after 20 weeks.
The Idaho Senate approved one such bill Wednesday. Similar bills have made progress this session in Kansas and Oklahoma.
In Ohio, there has been a hearing on an even tougher measure that would outlaw abortions after the first medically detectable heartbeat — as early as six weeks into a pregnancy. At that hearing, two pregnant women underwent ultrasounds so lawmakers could see and hear the fetal hearts.
The Ohio bill and the bans on abortions after 20 weeks are direct challenges to the legal status quo, based on Supreme Court rulings that permit abortions up to the point of a fetus’s viability — approximately 24 weeks — and allow states to impose restrictions for abortions after that stage.
