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MJ getting too much attention, but America is still enthralled July 2, 2009

Posted by Christina Burton in Deaths, Music, The Nation.
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“A new national media study among 1,850 Americans revealed that the majority of respondents (63%) believe that Michael Jackson’s death is receiving too much media coverage in comparison to the coverage of Farrah Fawcett’s death.”

I dunno. I’m torn (again). But I do think that he is being covered over things that are supposed to be broadcast regularly which isn’t fair. I do want to see news on when his funeral will be, what commerative things are happening, what is going ot happen to his kids.

And I kinda want someone to figure out how much money MJ had left in his savings.

“…an even larger majority (80%) reported that they are engaged in the topic when they are exposed to it by the media. However, a slightly higher percentage of respondents (84%) indicated that they are engaged with the topic of Fawcett’s death when they are exposed to it by the media.”

Apparently, 39% of people think Farrah Fawcett’s death isn’t getting enough media attention. Personally, I think MJ was way more pressing than Ms. Fawcett’s because of what he did for people’s lives and love for music. Sorry to the Fawcett family.

U.S. wants to let HIV-positive immigrants in July 2, 2009

Posted by Christina Burton in Government, The Nation.
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PERSONAL SIDEBAR: I freaked out when I read this in the Federal Register. My first thought was, “Won’t that increase the HIV/AIDS population in the U.S. now?”

But apparently not. The government (meaning the public health department), industry officials and consumer advocates are not really worried about it.

Apparently, in the 80’s, when AIDS was on the rise, the U.S. made a swift move to keep out anybody who had HIV or AIDS. Immigrants who had HIV when they got to the border were turned away.

A federal health agency today announced that they want to remove HIV from the list of diseases that can keep an immigrant from crossing permanently into the United States. In fact, in July 2008, an act under the Bush administration allowed the CDC to reconsider whether HIV should remain and be removed from the regulations.

Now Obama is following up in agreement.

A notice of proposed rules from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says that HIV is a “serious health condition,” but “it does not represent a communicable disease that is a significant threat for introduction, transmission, and spread to the U.S. population through casual contact.”

(What is casual contact anyway?) The CDC answers this and other questions that you probably have about this here.

If the rule passes, aliens would no longer be inadmissible into the US based solely on their HIV-positive status, and they would no longer take HIV tests as part of pre-border crossing medical examinations.

Currently, communicable diseases, as defined by government standards, include tuberculosis, syphilis, gonorrhea, HIV and diseases that pose public health emergencies. The President can also designate a quarantinable disease through an executive order. Things that can keep a non-citizen from receiving a visa such as threatening mental disorders, drug addiction, and not having vaccinations for preventable diseases like measles, polio, tetanus, and hepatitis.

See proposal here: http://edocket.access.gpo.gov/2009/E9-15814.htm

Bend over and get paid an easier way June 17, 2009

Posted by Christina Burton in Business, Savings.
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It’s time to set pride aside and realize it’s really a recession. I’m even saying that to myself.

Whenever I see loose coinage on the streets when I’m walking, at least 22 percent of me wants to pick it up (One percent for every year I’ve been a live to watch coins pass me by).

But it depends.

The probability of me picking up a quarter versus a penny is 100 to 1, though. Similarly, I’ll pick up a quarter before I pick up a nickel and before a dime; the only way I pick up other silver coins is if they happen to be lying by a quarter (and whoever dropped it really didn’t care about their cash liquidity).

But pennies? I see the worth and the value in them because I know they are valid currency, BUT something – pride, shame, or both – prevent me from bending down to clinch potential, yet small savings. My mind goes here, too: D.C. Metro fare card machines don’t accept pennies, and neither do Metrobuses, so why do I need to scrounge for them? America has taken the appeal of a penny with its brownish cooper, overpopulated qualities, and made it a shameful piece of the American dream.

I’m sure if pennies were rarer like their coin counterparts, they’d be sought out more.Girl putting change in a jar

But a Coinstar survey found that Hispanic people were very thrifty when it came to coin collecting. Nearly 92 percent of the respondents said they keep change in comparison to 77 percent a year ago, and “most are using these funds to help pay bills and other expenses, or saving it for a rainy day.” One in every six Hispanics surveyed said they collect and save coins to set a good example for their kids.

I also went on a search and Yahoo! Answers had an answer-forum for why people don’t pick up loose change, and a lady commented that she picks up loose pennies all the time, and accumulates an extra $1,000 a year, give or take. She takes vacations with that money! I have family members who sit those big, blue water jugs in the corners of their kitchens, and change just inadvertently accumulates over a short period of time simply because there are a few people who live in the house.

I couldn’t find results for African Americans or even Caucasians and Asians. But I inquired, so maybe I’ll be able to get back to you. But it makes sense, and it makes cents, too. With minority unemployment rates being as high as they are, there’s a lot of motivation in something like…oh, I don’t know…how about an EXTRA $1,000 A YEAR!!!!!!!…to step past your pride and bend over!