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James O’Keefe took out ACORN and now NPR. How about O’Keeefe takes on the government union bosses & collective bargaining for government workers? That would be a plus for taxpayers.

DrCamernJackson@gmail.com

What will James O’Keefe think of next?

How about if O’Keefe tapes government union bosses as they plan strategy to keep collective bargaining rights alive for state and local government workers after the battering they took in Wisconsin? Who is O’Keefe anyhow? Here is a hero for citizens who want transparency in government.

What is wrong with collective bargaining by government employees? The federal government has no “chips” or profits to divvy up. The government has a fiduciary responsibility to provides services. When the unions sit on one side are giving huge donations to the elected officials sitting on the other side of the bargaining table there is no way that the tax payer is represented. That’s why there is no collective bargaining by FEDERAL government employees. And why there should be no collective bargaining by state or local government employees.

How do we know that things are wacky? When a bus driver makes over 100,000 you know things are wacky. When teachers don’t pay into their health insurance or retirement you know things are wacky. When government employees make 2-3 times what the same person in the private sector gets — you know things are wacky.

That’s why it is time to remove collective bargaining from all government workers. The federal government workers do not have it. And nor should state and local government workers.

By Patrik Jonsson, Staff writer / March 8, 2011

‘A video sting targeting former NPR fund-raising executive Ron Schiller could create political and public-relations problems for the news organization – just as it steels itself for a battle with congressional Republicans over federal funding.

“In comments made to a hidden camera, Mr. Schiller called the tea party movement that propelled Republicans to huge congressional gains in the midterm elections “scary” and “seriously racist.” In addition, he complained that America did not have enough “educated, so-called elite” citizens, and that the Republican Party was anti-intellectual. Perhaps most damaging, however, was Schiller’s statement that NPR would do better without federal funding.

The video is the work of James O’Keefe, the sting artist who took down ACORN in 2009, and it marks the second time in as many months that conservative provocateurs have targeted an organization they see as liberal in a bid to persuade Congress to defund it. In February, O’Keefe protegée Lila Rose released videos that suggested Planned Parenthood employees were willing to collude with sex workers to procure abortions for under-age girls.

RELATED: James O’Keefe and Landrieu-gate: Whither right-wing muckraking?

An attempt to defund NPR in 1995 failed as listeners bombarded conservative congressmen with phone calls and letters. But Schiller’s unguarded comments indicate that NPR itself has inwardly debated whether or not defunding could actually ultimately help the 41-year-old journalism organization’s mission.

“My inclination is that cutting off federal funding to NPR might be a good thing, since this kind of political interference is not healthy for the media in general,” says Tom Edsall, a professor at Columbia Journalism School.

But he also suggests that government funding might be forcing NPR to be more even-handed than it would otherwise be. “For a place like NPR, being tied to the government may in the end help them to stay fairly objective,” he adds.

For its part, NPR has renounced the comments of Schiller, who left NPR on Monday for unrelated reasons, according to officials. “We are appalled by the comments made by Ron Schiller in the video, which are contrary to what NPR stands for,” NPR spokeswoman Dana Davis Rehm said in a statement.

What is the video about?
The video shows Schiller and another NPR fund-raising executive having lunch with two purported members of a fake Muslim organization called the Muslim Education Action Center, which is falsely offering a $5 million gift to NPR. The group also set up a fake website that explicitly stated that it supported the spread of sharia law.

SOUND OFF: Read what Monitor Facebook fans are saying about Vivian Schiller’s resignation.

The two actors clearly goad Schiller into making observations, most of which are made after Schiller explicitly takes off his “NPR hat” to give his personal opinion. For example, Schiller says there aren’t enough “educated, so-called elite” Americans, adding that public opinion is driven by “this very large uneducated part of the population.”

Of tea partyers, he adds: “I mean, basically they … believe in sort of white, middle-America, gun-toting. I mean, it’s scary. They’re seriously racist, racist people.”

The impact could be serious, because the comments play right into the hands of those who believe that NPR is a “socialist adventure,” says Stephen Ward, the director of the Center for Journalism Ethics at the University of Wisconsin in Madison.

“I don’t think any of this helps the survival, let alone the quality existence, of public broadcasting in the United States,” says Mr. Ward. “You can argue that these comments … don’t reflect the grander importance of public broadcasting, but in a world of agenda-setting journalism, these are perfect examples for people who dislike or oppose public broadcasting to use for political purposes.”

“The timing couldn’t be worse,” agreed Maxie Jackson, president of the National Federation of Community Broadcasters.

NPR’s battles
On one hand, Schiller said he’s “very proud” of NPR’s handling of the Juan Williams debacle, in which the veteran commentator was fired in October after acknowledging that he felt fearful when flying with people in Muslim dress. NPR President Vivian Schiller (no relation to Ron Schiller) has said recently that the network botched the Williams firing.

At the same time, NPR is fighting an effort to defund $90 million of Corporation for Public Broadcasting grants, which are allotted to independent affiliate stations which then pay NPR for its broadcasting. Ms. Schiller has said she wants federal funding to continue, primarily so that public radio stations in far-flung parts of the US can survive.

But Mr. Schiller said: “Well frankly, it is clear that we would be better off in the long-run without federal funding. The challenge right now is that if we lost it all together we would have a lot of stations go dark.”

Conservatives have latched on to this comment. “At a time when the country is upside down by more than a trillion dollars, can we really afford to provide huge subsidies to entities that openly state that they don’t need the money?” said Mark Meckler, national coordinator for Tea Party Patriots, in USA Today.

From a media perspective, however, some experts worry that Mr. O’Keefe’s partisan “gotcha” tactics could be a slippery slope for both sides of the political spectrum. “If [these kinds of sting videos] become the methodology of journalism in general, then we’re going to sink the reputation of journalists and bury it forever in a grave,” says Ward.

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Aptos, CA psychologist: Does nature (genes) and nurture (enviornment) account for why lots of Palo Alto, CA and Mountain View, CA students excel? Or do they excel because they have the highest paid teachers in California? Does highest paid teachers = best teachers? Think of Wisconsin where 2 out of 3 students in 8th grade are not proficient in reading although the highest paid in that area of U.S.

DrCameronJackson@gmail.com

Why might the teachers in the Mountain View – Aptos High School district be paid the most in California?

Might it have anything to do with private Stanford University which is located in the heart of Palo Alto, California? Berkeley has CAL but apparently the teachers in Berkeley, California are not as good as those in the Palo Alto-Aptos District since Berkeley, California teachers make less money.

Palo Alto, California is OLD money… not like Berkeley. Mountain View, California is filled with Asians from all over the world. They are attracted to the Silicon Valley and the computer industry in that area.

The Aptos – Mountain View are the best — so they say — and hence are paid the highest wages. What say you?

Just thinking about the teachers that have been on strike in Wisconsin. The teachers in Wisconsin are the highest paid int that region of the U.S. Yet, only 1 in 3 8th grade students in Wisconsin can read proficiently Which means that two out of three (two-thirds) of students in Wisconsin cannot read proficiently — even though they have the highest paid teachers. And Wisconsin teachers/ public sector employees spent 2 weeks of protesting that they be asked to contribute to their health care and retirement.

As a tax payer, what percent of health benefits do Mountain View – Aptos High School teachers pay? And what do they have to pay into their retirement fund? The first day that Jerry Brown was on the job as governor in California he replaced 6-7 persons on the board that permits charter schools. Charter schools in California are competition for the public school system.

Obviously Gov. Brown wants to gut charter schools which means kill competition for the public schools. It appears that Gov. Brown wants the California teacher unions to keep on dong what they have been doing — turning out mediocre students at a high price to the tax payer.

On the other hand, some high schools in California graduate a lot of smart, able to compete anywhere students. Is it because of the public school teachers or is it because of the home life and general environment wherein these high school students live?

Do students in the Palo Alto – Mountain View excel because they have the highest paid California public school teachers? Doubtful. My guess is that nature (genetics) and nurture (family environment) account for more than 75 to 80 percent of why the Palo Alto – Mountain View students excel. New from the Voice, Express

“According to data released by the state Department of Education this month and compiled by the Sacramento Bee, teachers in the Mountain View-Los Altos High School District are the highest paid in the state.“We have the best teachers in the state and they deserve to be paid well,” said Superintendent Barry Groves.

The Bee’s report, which examined districts with more than 100 teachers, said MVLA pays an average of $95,365 a year, with the lowest earning $61,184 and the highest $115,616.“We value our beginning teachers,” Groves said in regards to the starting salary, adding that they are an “investment.”

He said one reason for the high pay scale is that the district attracts and retains experienced teachers.

According to 2008-09 data from Ed Data, a collaborative Web site that analyzes data provided by the state, MVLA teachers averaged 11.2 years of teaching experience and 9.3 years with the district. Twenty-three of the district’s 193 teachers, or about 12 percent, were first or second year teachers.

But when compared to county and state figures, it appears that in terms of teacher experience and longevity with a district, MVLA is only comparable, rather than noticeably higher.

Joe White, associate superintendent of business, said another factor is the cost of living in the area.

“When you put a blanket across the state or various parts of Northern California it makes it look like, ‘Wow there’s a huge difference,'” White said. “But there’s a huge cost of living here.” He added that many employees, including himself, commute from other areas to work in the district.
For Superintendent Groves, the chief issue was teacher quality.

“I believe that MVLA has a cadre of professional, highly qualified teachers in every academic discipline,” Groves wrote in an e-mail. “As we have high standards for achieving tenure in our district, we believe that our teaching staff is second to none. Our students and their families profit by this incredible group of professionals.”

According to the state data, teachers in the Mountain View Whisman School District make an average of $61,147 annually. The lowest pay offered in that district is $44,609, while the highest is $82,315.

In the Los Altos School District, teachers earn between $44,832 and $86,924, with an average salary of $73,569.
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Comments
Posted by Ted, a resident of the Old Mountain View neighborhood, on Feb 3, 2010 at 6:45 pm

The side-by-side comparisons are misleading. You compare the HS district against the elementary districts, suggesting there is some correlation.

MVWSD are among the lowest paid teachers while their administrators are among the higher paid! Compare their salaries to other local elementary salaries.

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Posted by Jess, a resident of the Old Mountain View neighborhood, on Feb 3, 2010 at 7:15 pm

and on top of Ted’s comment…. Los Altos School Disitrict (K-8) is amoung the LOWEST paid in Santa Clara County!

They have one been in the top 10 elementary school districts in the entire state yet they are one of the lowest paying in the county! Doesn’t make sense. Poor teachers (literally)

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Posted by Scot Lee, a resident of the Old Mountain View neighborhood, on Feb 4, 2010 at 10:32 am

I live in Mt. View but teach High School in San Jose. Based on averages (I’m an eleven year teacher) MVLA High School District teachers are making in excess of 25K more a year than teachers in Eastside Union High School District. I hope we all keep that in mind before pushing another parcel tax for schools down home owners throats/.

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Posted by Neighbor, a resident of the Old Mountain View neighborhood, on Feb 4, 2010 at 2:31 pm

@Ted – I’m confused. Which is the high school district and which is the elementary school district? (and why are they different?)

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Posted by Anonymous, a resident of the Old Mountain View neighborhood, on Feb 4, 2010 at 2:43 pm

As a teacher in the Mountain View High School district I must say that the level of professionlism in the district is very high. MVHS is ranked among the top 3% of schools in the entire country and we have a very hard working, dedicated staff. Many teachers are at work before 7am and do not leave until well after 4pm. We come in on the weekends, work on lessons at night, and collaborate during the summer. Compared to many other professionals in other industries we make less money and have to deal with more scrutiny. I am thankful that my salary allows me to live and help to support my family in this community and I only wish that hard working teachers in other districts could be paid what they deserve for committing their lives to such a challenging profession.

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Posted by parent, a resident of the Waverly Park neighborhood, on Feb 4, 2010 at 2:50 pm

In response to Jess – “Los Altos School Disitrict (K-8) is amoung the LOWEST paid in Santa Clara County!”

According to the story, LASD’s average is $73,569. The low is $44,832 and the high is $86,924. Whereas, MVWSD’s average is $61,147. The low is $77,609, and the high is $82,315. The number clearly shows LASD’s pay is higher than the MVWSD by over $4,000 on the high end. Let’s stick to the facts.

One of the reason the pay is lower in wealthy districts such as LASD, and Cupertino is because the school demographic is made up of more educated families; thereby, allowing teachers to focus on teaching and not on non-educational related issues. Bottom line is that their work load is less than other districts.

LASD has several parcel taxes which the money goes to providing student related programs.

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Posted by jane, a resident of the North Whisman neighborhood, on Feb 4, 2010 at 2:53 pm

Teachers by and large are so dedicated and hard-working — I am thankful that there is a district that can pay them close to what they are worth!

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Posted by KD, a resident of the Waverly Park neighborhood, on Feb 4, 2010 at 3:26 pm

Salary is only a portion of a teacher’s compensation.

A 65 year old male teacher in California, earning $100,000 a year retires after 30 years service with a (taxpayer guaranteed) pension of $75,000 a year.

Web Link

What is that worth?

Well, at current rates, it costs $1,000,000 to purchase a $75,000 life annuity with survivor benefits (assume he has a 60 year old wife).

Web Link

It would take $1,400,000 (before tax) to build up a $1,000,000 401k nest egg. Over 30 years that’s $46,000 a year (ignoring the impact of present valuing, etc)

Think about it.

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Posted by Bob, a resident of the Old Mountain View neighborhood, on Feb 4, 2010 at 3:58 pm

Anonymous:

Wow you guys work from before 7 to after 4!. Isn’t that just a standard 8 hour day? And you collaborate in the summer (when you’re not working!). …hardly matches the work load of professionals in other fields.

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Posted by CHW, a resident of the North Whisman neighborhood, on Feb 4, 2010 at 4:01 pm

Besides good pension, teachers do not work 12 months a year. They get the summer off.

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Posted by Ann, a resident of the Old Mountain View neighborhood, on Feb 4, 2010 at 8:21 pm

Dear Anonymous – your account of working from 7am to past 4pm, and even during the summer – undermines the veracity of any claim you have tried to put forth about going an extra mile.

The truth is that most folks work 8-hour days, through the summer, and make less than MVLAHS teachers.

I agree with Scot Lee: I am not at all inclined to support another parcel tax.

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Posted by huh?, a resident of the Blossom Valley neighborhood, on Feb 4, 2010 at 10:50 pm

parent-

the salaries are all over the map and if anything, it looks like the MORE educated the parents, the higher the salary… look at the ‘bachelors + 60’ salary for what appears to be the closest to apples-to-apples comparison. I highly doubt teachers in the Palo Alto ($82k), Menlo City ($82k), Hillsborough ($86k) and Las Lomitas ($101k) districts have a more difficult caseload than San Jose ($71k), San Francisco ($64k), Ravenswood City ($62k), South San Francisco ($62k) and Oakland ($54k) districts. It is unbelievable that Oakland pays half the salary of Las Lomitas for what appears to be the same level of education. I would offer that compared to similar communities up and down the peninsula, the Los Altos Elementary district underpays by quite a bit.

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Posted by huh?, a resident of the Blossom Valley neighborhood, on Feb 4, 2010 at 10:55 pm

I do not doubt for a moment that teachers work long hours (my sister-in-law is a teacher and brings her work home almost every night and often on weekends). I’ll withhold judgement on future parcel taxes until I read the language of the proposal.

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Posted by Anonymous, a resident of the Old Mountain View neighborhood, on Feb 5, 2010 at 7:25 am

In response to the number of hours I wrote before 7-4, I would like to clarify a few things: I said before 7am and well after 4pm. Many days I leave work at 5pm or later, I have only one or two free lunch times a week where I can get some work done, but most of the time I am helping students. This makes for a 9+ hour day almost every single day with no breaks. In addition, I also stated that “we come in on the weekends, work on lessons at night, and collaborate during the summer.” I can’t remember a single weekend during the school year or the summer that I didn’t do lesson planning, grading, collaboration, or some other form of professional growth. Most weekends, I work on Saturday AND Sunday. Most evenings, after dinner, I am lesson planning and grading. Also, many of my colleagues have a second job in the summer or teach summer school to make ends meet… and most of them still can’t afford a house in Mountain View.

Please be respectful of how hard teachers work and don’t think that we just collect a paycheck and lay about in the summertime.

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Posted by Castro Mom, a resident of the Castro City neighborhood, on Feb 6, 2010 at 5:21 pm

I love the teachers at my daughter’s school! They work hard, the principal is available to talk with, even if only for a moment, as she is usually so busy. We have a faculty and staff who seem to do their best to put the students first. These people earn every penny they get!! As for the summers off, I don’t think so!! I know many who work other jobs, and teach summer school–although even that perk for our students has pretty much gone by the wayside. Anyone who thinks a teacher in the MVWSD sits idly by in the summer, is out of touch!!

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Posted by I’m a mom, a resident of the Cuesta Park neighborhood, on Feb 7, 2010 at 9:12 am

Teachers work amazingly hard. Don’t let anyone fool you! They take their work home nightly and worry about their students daily. On the weekends, they are in their classrooms on the weekend. Sitting around in the summer? Most of the teachers need to take classes and workshops and plan for the coming year. Their class sizes are getting bigger and parents are getting much more demanding. Classes are full of children with special needs (thank you no child left behind) and teachers are struggling to teach to the wide range of students who are entering elementary school. The Mountain View and Los Altos School District teachers should be compensated equally to the high school teachers. The elementary school’s are the building blocks for those successful students down the road. It is too bad the Superintendents and School Boards of both those district’s don’t value their teachers like the MVLA high school district. It’s a shame!

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Posted by DCS, a resident of the Old Mountain View neighborhood, on Feb 7, 2010 at 9:20 am

Anonymous:

I worked 15 hour days/weekends/summers in a technical profession and still did not receive this type of compensation. Your compensation is extremely good. Be thanful for what you have.

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Posted by InTheKnow, a resident of the Blossom Valley neighborhood, on Feb 7, 2010 at 3:50 pm

Teachers’ summers are WITHOUT PAY, as are vacations! Teachers may opt to draw their salaries over 10 or 12 months, giving the impression that we are paid during the summer, but we are not. We do not have three months off during the summer; that it a common misconception. We are unpaid when we continue to work in our classrooms at year’s end, and we are unpaid for the days, often weeks, we come in to set up our rooms to make them a pleasing place in which to be. We plan as grade level partners and as individuals. As an elementary school teacher, I typically put in a 60 – 80 hour work week. I spend hundreds of dollars of my own money every year on classroom supplies, materials, and books for my students. Fortunately, I love teaching. But the disparity between the pay between elementary and high school is not right. Nor is our salary adequate.

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Posted by another teacher, a resident of the Old Mountain View neighborhood, on Feb 8, 2010 at 5:17 pm

About the misconceptions I hear everyday regarding teacher’s retirement pensions,…. a large portion of my monthly salary is sent to STRS, and it is not matched by the school district. It’s similar to buying an annuity, and the payout is determined in part by the option I choose (less money in order to provide monthly income to a spouse if I pass on first.) Otherwise my survivor receives a very small final sum. If I outlive the average person, it’s a good deal, but if I die younger, it’s not. That’s the way insurance works. If teachers have good pensions, it’s because they are required to save not because the public is gifting them undeserved largess.

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Posted by Evan, a resident of the Old Mountain View neighborhood, on Feb 9, 2010 at 6:28 am

another teacher:

that’s why you should “spike your salary” right before retiring like past supe and assist supe did in MVWSD! Roll in everything you can (cost of health insurance, travel expences, ect into your final high three).

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Posted by D. Morton, a resident of the Shoreline West neighborhood, on Feb 9, 2010 at 2:11 pm

I am a father of a first grade teacher in Butte county and I can tell you it is one of the hardest and mentally demanding jobs one can have. Parents expect the teacher not only to teach their children, but to do the things that they as parents should be doing at home, such as discipline, respect for peers and elders, accountabiliy, etc. Teachers also put in extra hours nightly and on weekends preparing lessons and grading papers, etc. Yet even with this, the rewards of being a teacher are enormous, for they are the teachers and mentors of the next generation.

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Posted by Parent at MVHS, a resident of the Waverly Park neighborhood, on Feb 12, 2010 at 5:29 pm

Neighbor asked: “Which is the high school district and which is the elementary school district? (and why are they different?)” School districts in California are not set up like in other places. Where I grew up, each city/town had its own school district; sometimes small towns were combined into one district. Here, the districts were each created separately, at different times over the last century and a half, and the districts overlap. Sometimes you have Unified districts (like Palo Alto, where all the schools in K-12 are one district) but more often you have separate elementary districts and high school districts. For ours, Mountain View Whisman School District(MVWSD) (encompassing most of Mountain View and a handful of Palo Alto addresses) and Los Altos School District (LASD)(encompassing most of Los Altos, part of Mountain View, and a bit of Palo Alto) both feed into the Mountain View Los Altos High School District. Half of the kids in each high school are from MVWSD, half from LASD. Separate district, separate funding, separate administration. This is just “how it is” in California.

Now, about parcel taxes. The High School District has never assesed a parcel tas. Both elementary districts have them, and property owners who live within the respective district’s boundaries pay the parcel tax accordingly, to either LASD or MVWSD. Parcel tax revenues can be used for teacher’s salaries and other programs.

The High School district is placing a BOND measure on the ballot. Bond measures cannot pay for salaries, they pay for facilities improvements. A short way to remember this is Parcel taxes=People, Bonds=Buildings.

From what I can tell, in general teachers’ salaries are commensurate with how much money a school district has. I agree with the earlier poster who demonstrated that the communities with higher-educated parents have higher-paid teachers. More property tax revenue could account for some of this (higher education=higher income=nicer homes and high test scores=higher property values in the district=more property tax revenue), if the districts are basic aid (if you don’t know what “basic aid” is, Google California Education Funding, then prepare to read a lot and still be confused!), but also because parents in those districts are able to support educational foundations and parcel taxes, providing supplemental funding to districts and freeing up funding for salaries.

Mountain View Los Altos High School District is a Basic Aid district, and is relatively well-funded compared to many California School Districts. They are not rolling in dough, and are experiencing cutbacks due to the funding crisis, but to a lesser degree than many other districts. Hence, they have been able to pay their teachers more. I think they are fortunate that they have been able to compensate the teachers so well, at least so far. I will say that I think they have excellent teachers. And, High School Teachers all need specialized teaching credentials rather than general credentials. You do want your Calculus or Physics AP teachers to really know their stuff. So these are people who could probably make more money in industry, but their calling is teaching. I don’t have a problem with how much they are paid. I’m glad we have high caliber instructors preparing our kids for top-notch colleges.

Those who complain that teachers have cushy jobs must not have any friends or family who are teachers. Lots of fun to go on a vacation weekend with one and watch them spend hours correcting homework. Teachers work a lot more hours outside of the school day and calendar.

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Posted by former teacher, a resident of another community, on Nov 11, 2010 at 7:44 am

I have been both a high school teacher and a tech professional.

Which pays more? Tech, by a long shot! Which is more demanding?

Engineering for me requires long hours and often missed vacations, but there was always an ebb and flow to the work, both long term and short term. If I’m not feeling well, or just having a slow morning, it is usually manageable. I spend long hours in the cube, but at least for me, when I go home I leave work at work.

Teaching is brutal in comparison. Teachers are ALWAYS “on”. Not feeling great, or just having a hard time getting going in the morning? Too bad. There are students expecting a creative, energetic, and sharp person to lead their class. And when I went home at the end of the day? Plenty of work came with me. Feeling like you need to miss a day due to illness or family matters? Better think twice, because catching up is really, really tough.

Summer? Nearly every summer I had was spent working an average of 10 to 20 hours a week. I frequently attended week long all day seminars without pay, and was usually overhauling or creating lesson plans throughout. I often was prepping for a new to me course for the next school year. I laughed at the comments containing “3 months off for summer”. It’s not nearly “off”, and mine were much closer to two.

I know there are engineers and other professionals who are “on” throughout the day. I’m just sharing my own experience.

Side thought? Superintendant Groves needs to give more thought to whether his teachers are indeed second to none. Most of them are quite good, but he is still paying top dollar to a significant percentage of clunkers.

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Aptos, CA psychologist: Best to know your spouses’s medical history… Kids with ear infections –how can parents help?

What about people who are about to marry, do they inquire about the t0-be spouse’s medical history?

Doubtful. But important. Yes, it is important to know your family history. Best to know and accept it before you see it versus realized when you see it realized through your children.

For example:; do you have any family with early ear infections?

“Ear infections can be one of the most painful ailments for children and disorienting for parents as well that are not sure what is happening to their offspring when they are crying, complaining and obviously hurting. However there is some good news. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), there has been a 30% drop in doctor visits related to ear infection over the past 15 years.

“Researchers suggest a decline in smoking by parents might be part of the reason. Scientists at Harvard University in Cambridge, Massachusetts say fewer people smoke, which means less carcinogens irritation of children’s airways. In children, the ear is more directly connected to the back of the nose, so infections in a child’s nose and throat can easily trigger ear inflammation. Cigarette smoke, inhaled through a child’s nose, can trigger the same kind of irritation and swelling.

“Among sociodemographic subgroups, smoking prevalence is expected to decrease by up to 20% among men, to 23% among women, to 25% among blacks, and to 21% among whites in the next few years. Between 1974 and 1985, approximately 1.3 million persons per year became former smokers, indicating considerable success in public health efforts to encourage people to stop smoking.

“Another reason doctors say the decline in ear infections may be due to the growing use of a vaccine against the bacteria that cause them. It is estimated that children with recurrent ear infections who are vaccinated will have about a 10%-20% lower chance of having recurrent ear infections or tube placement.

“Prevnar, approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration in February of 200, may also reduce the number of ear infections a child has in children with a history of recurrent ear infections. Although often thought of by parents as the ear infection vaccine, it is not yet approved by the FDA for this indication specifically however.

The American Academy of Pediatrics recommendations for the prevention of pneumococcal infections with Prevnar includes the routine use of Prevnar for all children 23 months and younger, and for children aged 24-59 months who are at high risk, including children with an immune deficiency, sickle cell disease, asplenia (children without a working spleen), HIV infection, chronic cardiac conditions, chronic lung problems (including asthma), cerebrospinal fluid leaks, chronic renal insufficiency (including nephrotic syndrome) , diabetes mellitus, and children who are receiving immunosuppresive therapy (organ transplants, etc.).

The AAP does not recommend routine use in children who are only at moderate risk of infection, including all children aged 24-35 months old, and children aged 36-59 months who attend daycare or who are of Native-American, Alaskan-native, or African-American descent.

Still others think increased breast-feeding is protecting more children. Breast milk is rich in antibodies. Even though breast milk is known for being nutritionally-perfect, perhaps the most amazing characteristic about breast milk is its ability to fight off and protect babies from illness. In fact, some have said that the antibodies in breast milk make it more like human blood since they both contain white blood cells.

Inflammation in the middle ear area is known as otitis media. When referring to an ear infection, doctors most likely mean “acute otitis media” rather than the common ear infection called swimmer’s ear, or otitis externa.

Acute otitis media is the presence of fluid, typically pus, in the middle ear with symptoms of pain, redness of the eardrum, and possible fever.

Click HERE for a plethora of articles from the CDC about ear infections, prevention, research and treatment.

Written by Sy Kraft, B.A.

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Young Muslims sought to discuss American/ Muslim identity, separation mosque and state contact infor@aifdemocracy.org

Dr. Jasser seeks to counter radicalization of Islamic youth with a different program.

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Dear Friends and Colleagues,
We are seeking a few more young Muslims to participate in our first annual retreat. The purpose of this event is to seek answers to the challenges faced by young Muslims in the context of a rapidly modernizing world, including the separation of mosque and state, balancing an American and Muslim Identity, and opportunities for Islamic reform.

Please review the attached program flyer and application. We would appreciate your assistance in spreading the word. If you, or someone you know, are interested in attending, please fill out the application and return via email to info@aifdemocracy.org.

Application deadline is Sunday, March 6, 2011.

Sincerely,

M. Zuhdi Jasser

Founder and President

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Why the revolt in Lybia? One reason: relatives of 1,000 detainees from eastern Libya were massacred in 1996 at a Tripoli prison. Other reasons?

Opponents of Col. Muammar el-Qaddafi held a radio station on Wednesday in Al Baida, Libya.

Libya Revolt Spreads as Qaddafi Tightens Grip in Capital (February 24, 20The reasons for the revolt were not all economic. The recent uprising started with an old memory: the police last week arrested a human rights lawyer representing the relatives of more than 1,000 detainees, mostly from eastern Libya, who were massacred in 1996 at a Tripoli prison. 11)

Obama Condemns Libya Amid Stalled Evacuation (February 24, 2011)
Why the Disruption of Libyan Oil Has Led to a Price Spike (February 24, 2011) Stationed in front of the gate were burly guards with enormous machines guns and ammunition belts slung over their shoulders. Not far away, other armed men guarded an airport, and throughout the rebellious eastern half of this country, the protesters set up checkpoints and flew the old Libyan flag.

But at the radio station, Hamdi Zaidy, a former Libyan ambassador to Nigeria who has joined the antigovernment protesters, asked that any conversations about the state of the country be conducted outside of the building. “Qaddafi could bomb at any time,” said Mr. Zaidy, who was armed with a tiny Italian pistol.

One of the guards was actually a medical student. Mr. Zaidy said he was unsure whether the student knew how to use his machine gun.

Committed but ragtag, and with no weaponry to match a state’s power, Libya’s rebels anxiously awaited Colonel Qaddafi’s fall and hoped that their fellow citizens — and especially Colonel Qaddafi’s air force pilots — would join their side.

Though cities all along Libya’s eastern coast appeared to be controlled by Colonel Qaddafi’s opponents, supported by defecting soldiers and police officers, that control seemed tenuous and largely subject to the whims of the colonel’s feared militias and mercenaries, along with helicopters and fighter planes.

Alongside that fear was a determination to succeed, if only because for many of the protesters, failure to remove Colonel Qaddafi would mean death.

Others decided it was better to leave, and minivans filled with Egyptians streamed toward the border on Wednesday, past a cluster of people waiting for scarce cooking gas in Baida and past lines that formed at a gas station near the coastal town of Darnah.

Rumors circulated about the scale of the carnage in Tripoli, the capital, thought to number hundreds of deaths. Two people who spoke to relatives in Tripoli said the security forces had started staking out hospitals in order to arrest wounded protesters.

Mustafa Mohamed Abd al-Jalil, who recently quit his post as the justice minister and joined the protests, said different units of the security forces, led by three of Colonel Qaddafi’s sons, were still stationed around Tripoli.

Mr. Jalil, who was appointed to his post by one of the sons, Seif al-Islam Qaddafi, in 2007, said there were rumors of disagreements among the sons but no rift. He said that mercenaries had been arrested in eastern Libya, many of them coming from Chad and Niger, and that most of them had been hanged.

As he saw it, Colonel Qaddafi was teetering, and there was little chance he would survive. “If Tripoli falls, he will kill himself,” Mr. Jalil said. “Or the people close to him — maybe one of his sons — will kill him.”

In the meantime, Libyans focused their anger on the leader’s effigy, drawing Colonel Qaddafi as a clown in graffiti on a wall, or kicking a fallen poster of him at the La Abraq Airport, which had been the scene of a fierce battle last week. As the protesters told the story, a group of citizens traveled to the airport last week after hearing that mercenaries flown in by Colonel Qaddafi had arrived to put down the rebellion.

With eyes bruised from a beating and lacerations on his wrists, Rafaa Saad Younis said that he was among the group that went to the airport, but he said that he was taken hostage along with two dozen other people by a group of mercenaries and soldiers. He said the security forces killed people “in front of my eyes.”

Nothing set off both anger and talk of brutal revenge like the mercenaries. Cellphone videos were passed around among friends, showing black men, dead or being beaten.
Not far from the radio station, teenagers from Chad were among about 200 people detained in a school, people the government apparently sent to put down the uprising. Some said they belonged to the brigade supervised by Khamis Qaddafi, one of the colonel’s sons.

In one room, 76 men practically slept on top of one another, and one of them, Osman Ali, said they had come from the southern Libyan city of Sabha, which is loyal to Colonel Qaddafi. He said he and his fellow prisoners, along with hundreds of other people, were asked to attend a pro-Qaddafi rally in Tripoli last week, and then were put on a plane.

They were flown to Benghazi, he said, and were then sent to an army base that was surrounded by angry citizens. Mr. Ali said he and the other men never picked up weapons, but, he added, “We’re ashamed of what we did.”

It was no surprise that the revolt started here, in a part of Libya ignored by the government, said Mahmoud Mabrouk, whose niece was killed in last week’s violence. “It was a very oppressive regime, and this area was deprived,” said Mr. Mabrouk, who was visiting the Shahhat radio station. “If you go to Tripoli, you will see new projects and job opportunities for people.”

The reasons for the revolt were not all economic. The recent uprising started with an old memory: the police last week arrested a human rights lawyer representing the relatives of more than 1,000 detainees, mostly from eastern Libya, who were massacred in 1996 at a Tripoli prison.

Eastern Libya was also a center of resistance against the Italian occupation in the early 20th century, Mr. Mabrouk said. He mentioned Omar al-Mokhtar, who fought a guerrilla war against the Italians and was hanged in 1931.

With Colonel Qaddafi’s posters gone, Mr. Mokhtar’s face almost alone decorates the streets of eastern Libyan towns.

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Why I like my Google phone better than Apple’s I-Phone

Google is better than Apple for many reasons: YouTube, better sizing of text reading stuff, lower cost to buy applications, only charges 10% versus 30% charged by Apple…

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I am a psychologist in California. I want to use the latest tech stuff that connects people world wide. Frankly, I think that Google wins hands down. And will continue to. I cannot imagine an Apple person helping freedom and democracy come to Egypt. I can see why someone connected to Google did assist. All about freedom!

Here’s my reasons why I like my Goggle phone more than I-Phone:

Apple wants people to stay in the Apple world and not stray. Hence Apple applications cannot be used on Google phones. I really like Words with Friends first developed by Apple. It could not be accessed by my Google phone. I just heard that Google now has Words for Friends. Great to hear!

Google gave the world YouTube. And look what that has done for freedom to say what is going on through out the world. Apple has not done anything comparable.

Today someone sent me a terrific YouTube from Mama Hope. A great take off on the CA governor when he was in movies done by a young African boy who wants no pity. He wants a chance. Can you imagine Apple making it possible for simple videos from Africa to be broadcast to the world?

When I buy a Google application it typically costs me 99 cents. And if I don’t like the application I can return it within 24 hours and get my 99 cents back. Apple in comparison charges $5 or so and there is no return policy.

When I read stuff on the Internet using my Google phone it is nicely sized and easy to read. When I use the I-Phone I have to play around with the size of text. For someone who has visual problems –which I do — the Google sizing is much easier to use.

Now I read that Google will take 10% to cover costs compared to the 30% that Apple charges. Do you see a pattern here? I do. Apple wants a monopoly and does all to create and continue a monopoly. Google wants the world to have access to the world’s information. Of course, one might wonder what “information” is and who will be in control.

In the long run it’s best that we have both Apple and Google. Competition, free enterprise …. it works! written by Cameron Jackson drCameronJackson@gmail.com

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Google takes 10% of subscriptions compared to 30% by Apple is typical. Google supports free enterprise and Apple supports monopoly. So which supports freedom?

Google is pro free enterprise compared to Apple which wants to keep users in “their” world and away from anything else. Hence no surprise that Google charges 10% to cover costs compared to Apple which takes 30% of the money and will not provide lists. That’s why it was a Google person assisting freedom in Egypt — and not Apple.

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The phrase “30 percent” now amounts to fighting words in the media and gadget industries.

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Titans of the technology industry

Apple’s taking 30 percent of app store subscriptions is an unkind cut
That’s the share of revenue Apple will keep from new subscriptions and media purchases made in an iPhone or iPad application through its App Store – part of a feature it launched Tuesday for its mobile devices.

Apple knows a thing or two about smartphones, tablets and getting users to buy things on them through its App Store. So why is this a problem?

Because Apple doesn’t just want to offer the store’s one-click buying as an option to companies that sell subscriptions or extra content inside programs. It will require that they add App Store transactions – and demand that they offer users the same price in the App Store and at their own Web site.

Developers have until June 30 to correct existing applications.

Further, Apple’s news release spells out that an app cannot even include a link to an outside Web store. And Apple won’t tell developers who their customers are unless they allow that disclosure, a move guaranteed to infuriate publishers used to knowing their readers.

Essentially, Apple proposes to annex a developer’s subscription business – then charge that firm 30 percent for the privilege.

That 30 percent figure is the same share Apple keeps from sales of applications, where it provides valuable hosting services, copious bandwidth and one-click installation and updates.

But in providing subscription billing, Apple won’t do much more than move money from one party to another. The fees for that sort of financial convenience, whether you conduct your transaction through PayPal or the check-cashing place a few blocks from my house, tend to be around 2 percent.

Apple cites only one exemption to this new policy: Subscriptions that come free with the purchase of something else, such as a print subscription to a newspaper.

(Web-based applications, meanwhile, remain unaffected by Apple’s App Store rules.)

Remember when people in the news business were hoping that Apple was throwing them a lifesaver with the iPad? That device may look more like an anvil after this news.

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Dr. Jasser, a Muslim, supports mosque-state separation and rejects jehad. Question: how to pick and choose from the Koran? Time that all of the organizations and persons who support “moderate” Islam say why?

AIFD in the Media] “Voices of Moderation face irrational rants” – Editorial Board, Arizona Republic, Friday, Feb. 18, 2011
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1] The following op-ed featured from the Arizona Republic Editorial Board appeared in today’s newspaper and can be found online at this link.

2] Also for those who missed it Wednesday, Feb 16 see our latest [MEDIA UPDATE- VIDEO LINK] – Dr. Jasser discussed on MSNBC the latest developments in the murder trial of Faleh Al-Maleki here in Phoenix.

Voices of moderation face irrational rants
4 comments Feb. 18, 2011 12:00 AM

The Arizona Republic
It is a distressing fact of modern life that too few moderate Muslims have stood up over the years to condemn the predations of radical Islamists, the violent extremists who dare lay claim to a great world religion.

They are few and brave. Like Arizona’s own Dr. M. Zuhdi Jasser, an indefatigable defender of his faith. You would think that self-proclaimed defenders of Western culture would cherish the company of the likes of Jasser and author Ayaan Hirsi Ali, both of them rare Muslim voices willing to publicly condemn violent religious extremism.
Alas, you’d be wrong.

With astonishing fury, some conservative commentators have begun raging irrationally against Jasser, as well as Ali, for having the gall to . . . well, to claim to speak for Muslims.

Writing on the conservative website American Thinker, former newspaper publisher Pamela Geller contends Jasser “cannot educate about the threat (of radical Islam), because he obfuscates the truth and has invented the Islam he follows.” Commentators at other sites like Frontpage Magazine logged similar views.

They appear to be animated by the fact that Jasser was invited to appear at Capitol Hill hearings on Islamic radicalization. They also appear to believe that moderate voices cannot speak for Islam because Islam itself, in their view, is immoderate.
Jasser himself destroys Geller’s error-laced tirade in a Feb. 13 posting on American Thinker. It’s worth reading.
The spectacle must be of great comfort to the Taliban and the Iranian mullahs:
Witnessing their fiercest American critics rejecting their fiercest Muslim critics as somehow being inauthentic.

Read more: http://www.azcentral.com/arizonarepublic/opinions/articles/2011/02/18/20110218fri2-18.html#ixzz1EKZuMQUo

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Big changes for CA regional centers: 2 hr. emergency response, 1 to 62 ratio staff to clients, transparency in government, audits …

Look for big changes in how California regional centers conduct business based on changes in the law. All sorts of information must be made readily available to the public via the Internet. Staff to consumer ratios will ensure a certain level of service. All contracts between $250, 000 to $500,000 must get separate audits. All contracts larger than $350 K must be reviewed and approved by the board.

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New CA law 4629.5 requires that 85% of regional center money be spent on DIRECT services (assessment, diagnosis, clinical services) and only 15% go for administrative costs.

CA law 4629.5 requires that 85% of money spent by the regional centers be spent on direct services –and only 15% on administrative services. Some regional centers are “top heavy” with administrators called District Managers. Will the excess District Managers be sacked or moved into direct service jobs?

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So how can the public see the books for the 20+ non-profit California regional centers? What changes will the 4629.5 law have?

Some CA regional centers have lots of administrators — called district managers — who do not provide direct services. So will regional center district managers become service coordinators in order to keep their jobs? That would be one way to reduce the huge case loads!

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