President Obama’s Weekly Address – 10/31/09
Filed under: Blog Entries, Business, Obama, Personal Finance, Politics
While there is nothing to celebrate until job numbers turn around, the President cites the recent dramatic turnaround in gross domestic product as a sign of better things to come. He also applauds the fact that the Recovery Act has now created or saved more than a million jobs.
Dalylight Savings Poll
Filed under: Blog Entries, Community, Society & Culture, Think Global
Don’t forget to turn those clocks back one hour tonight before you go to bed. There’s a lot of debate around daylight savings, so I want to know what you think. Is daylight savings necessary? Do you like getting and losing that extra hour of sleep each year?
Before you vote, here’s some more information regarding daylight savings.
You can vote yea or nay vote at the almanac.com website.
stopmedicarefraud.gov
During a talk radio show on health care, I learned about a joint U.S. Department of Health and Department of Justice website that educates the public on Medicare fraud. In order to help pay for for health care reform, President Obama mentioned the need to find better ways to be efficient and this is one of those ways. According to the website, eliminating fraud will cut costs for families, businesses and the federal budget and increase the quality of services for those who need care. Below, I’ve listed some ways you can identify fraud and not become a victim. For more information and contact information to report a potential fraud case, visit stopmedicarefraud.gov.
Be suspicious of doctors, health care providers, or suppliers that tell you the following:
- The equipment or service is free; it won’t cost you anything, and they only need your Medicare number for their records
- Medicare wants you to have the item or service
- They know how to get Medicare to pay for the item or service
- The more tests they provide, the cheaper the tests become
Be suspicious of doctors or plans that do the following:
- Don’t charge copayments without checking on your ability to pay
- Advertise “free” consultations to people with Medicare
- Claim they represent Medicare or a branch of the Federal government
- Use pressure or scare tactics to sell you high-priced medical services or diagnostic tests
- Bill Medicare for services you didn’t get
- Use telephone calls and door-to-door selling as marketing tools
- Offer non-medical transportation or housekeeping as Medicare?approved services
- Put the wrong diagnosis on the claim so that Medicare will pay
- Bill home health services for patients who aren’t confined to their home, or for Medicare patients who still drive a car
- Bill Medicare for medical equipment for people in nursing homes
- Ask you to contact your doctor and ask for a service or supplies that you don’t need
- Bill Medicare for tests you received as a hospital inpatient or within 72 hours of admission or discharge
- Bill Medicare for a power wheelchair or scooter when you don’t meet Medicare’s qualifications
Watch Out For These Common Fraud Schemes:
- People who approach you in parking lots, shopping centers, or other public areas and offer free services, groceries, transportation, or other items in exchange for your Medicare number. Just walk away!
- People who call you claiming to be conducting a health survey and ask for your Medicare number. Simply hang up the phone
- Telephone marketers who pretend to be from Medicare or Social Security and ask for payment over the phone or Internet. Don’t do it! They may want to steal your money.
Sabrina Matthews
Filed under: Blog Entries, Community, Society & Culture
When you do an initial search for Sabrina Matthews, you find a lot of content regarding Sabrina Matthews the lesbian comic (there’s also a ballet choreographer with the same name). But there is another Sabrina Matthews that is not getting a lot of national attention in the news.
According to mahalo.com and other sources, 14-year-old Sabrina Matthews was found in her Queens, New York, home on Sunday, November 9, 2008. Police said the teen’s throat had been slashed and her father reportedly found his daughter’s body when he returned home from work. There was no immediate word on any arrests in the case.
When I first heard this story, I was upset that it didn’t get as much attention as other cases similar to this. As the anniversary of her death approaches, I still haven’t heard much regarding her case and thought I’d continue to shed some light on her story by keeping it in the minds of those who read this blog.
Here are some Fast Facts from the Mahalo website:
- Matthews’ body found in her home in Queens, New York, on the afternoon of November 9, 2008
- Livingston Matthews reportedly found his daughter’s body in her bedroom around 1: 30 p.m. local timeDaily News: 14-year-old girl found slashed to death in her Queens bedroom2
- Teen was reportedly “naked from the waist down, with blood gushing from a wound to her throat”Daily News: 14-year-old girl found slashed to death in her Queens bedroom2
- Reports said police had been called to the home multiple times in weeks leading up to Matthews’ deathDaily News: 14-year-old girl found slashed to death in her Queens bedroom2
- Authorities were reportedly investigating “domestic incidents” at the houseDaily News: 14-year-old girl found slashed to death in her Queens bedroom2
- Matthews’ father was questioned by police, then releasedNY1: Autopsy To Be Performed On Slain Queens Teen (November 10, 2008)3
- No arrests or suspects named as of November 10, 2008NY1: Autopsy To Be Performed On Slain Queens Teen (November 10, 2008)3
- Friend quoted as saying Matthews had been associating with “a rough group of boys”Daily News: 14-year-old girl found slashed to death in her Queens bedroom2
- Matthews had three older sistersDaily News: 14-year-old girl found slashed to death in her Queens bedroom2
- An autopsy was planned on Monday, November 10, 2008NY1: Autopsy To Be Performed On Slain Queens Teen (November 10, 2008)3
- Matthews lived in the Cambria Heights area of Queens
- Matthews was a ninth-grader at Martin Van Buren High School in QueensThe New York Times: Girl, 14, Is Found Dead by Her Father in Queens (November 9, 2008)
President Obama’s Weekly Address – 10/24/09
The President restates his commitment to small business as key to economic recovery — from the Recovery Act to Financial Stability to Health Reform — and pledges more to come.
FREE WEBINAR! Strategy: Don’t Just Plan…EXECUTE!
Filed under: Blog Entries, Business, Education, Technology
Date: Tuesday, October 27, 2009
Time: 10:30am PST
Space is limited
Reserve your webinar seat now at:
https://www2.gotomeeting.com/register/528874154
“82% of Fortune 500 CEO’s feel their organization did an effective job of strategic planning. Only 14% of the same CEO’s indicated that their organization did an effective job of implementing the strategy.“
- Fortune Magazine
The latest Conference Board CEO Challenge Survey identifies the top 3 CEO concers are:
1) Excellence in Execution
2) Consistent Execution of Strategy by Top Management
3) Speed, Flexibility, Adaptability to Change
So ask yourself these 3 questions:
- Are you executing your strategy?
- Does your workforce understand the corporate strategy and their role in executing it?
- Can your organization respond timely to the rapidly changing business environment, seize opportunities and mitigate threats?
After registering you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the Webinar.
System Requirements:
PC-based attendees
Required: Windows® 2000, XP Home, XP Pro, 2003 Server, Vista
Macintosh®-based attendees
Required: Mac OS® X 10.4 (Tiger®) or newer
Vanguard Scholarship Program
Filed under: Blog Entries, Business, Education, Personal Finance
Another scholarship opportunity blackstudents.com. If you are studying business, finance, economics, accounting, information technology, or the liberal arts this opportunity is for you. I’ll be posting one scholarship opportunity a week.
This scholarship program provides merit-based scholarships to minority students pursuing studies in business, finance, economics, accounting, information technology, or the liberal arts.
To be considered, you must be entering your senior year of college in fall 2010; be a member of a racial minority; be enrolled full-time in a four-year accredited college or university in the United States; be pursuing studies in business, finance, economics, accounting, information technology, or the liberal arts; have a minimum cumulative grade point average of 3.0 on a 4.0 scale; and be a U.S. citizen or lawful permanent resident of the United States.
The program’s goal is to remove financial barriers for students who demonstrate academic excellence and leadership potential. Recipients will be required to report other awards granted and supply their school’s financial aid award letters. Scholarship checks are sent directly to your home address, made payable to the school on your behalf. Your scholarship can be used for tuition, fees, books, and supplies.
Deadline:
November 30, 2009Award Amount:
$10,000Website/Contact Info:
http://sms.scholarshipamerica.org/vanguard/
President Obama’s Weekly Address – 10/17/09
Filed under: Blog Entries, Business, Family, Health, Obama
As the health insurance reform debate enters into its final stages in Congress, the President denounces the desperate and deceptive last-ditch efforts of the health insurance companies to derail it.
Bill Cosby to Host Virtual Town Hall
Filed under: Blog Entries, Community, Education, Entertainment & Sports, Family, Relationships, Society & Culture
On Monday October 19th, at 7pm EST / 4pm PST, Bill Cosby will be hosting a virtual town hall meeting live via Ustream. The purpose is to promote his new CD “Bill Cosby Presents the Cosnarati: State of Emergency”, which is an album of music with messages reflecting today’s most critical issues affecting young people. The 90-minute event will include a first time ever performance by Cosnarati where they will showcase a few songs from the record. Audience members will be able to tweet @BillCosby before and during the live town hall using http://www.tinyurl.com/ASKCOSBY and connect with him directly at http://twitter.com/BillCosby.
Bill Cosby is not new to saying things black people don’t always want to hear. I wrote a review about his book “Come On People” when it was published and I thought he hit on some pretty important topics. While I may not have agreed with everything he had to say, I do see where he is coming from. Being a comedian in a time when people weren’t always fond of black people, I’m sure Dr. Cosby has experienced some things we can never imagine. He’s opened the doors for a lot of actors and for that alone, his street cred in my opinion is pretty high. I applaud him for his efforts and it’ll be interesting to see how the CD is received.
I will embed the stream on my site or you can go directly to his UsreamTV site where you can chat with others who are watching.
http://www.ustream.tv/billcosby
Obama At Texas A&M Live Stream
Today, President Barack Obama will join Former President George Bush to commemorate the 20th anniversary of the vision of a thousand “Points of Light.” A presidential forum on community service will be held at Texas A&M University’s Rudder Auditorium. The event will honor the advances of the service movement that began 20 years ago and will celebrate the contributions of more than 4,500 Daily Point of Light Award winners. The George Bush Presidential Library Foundation will be streaming this event live at 4pm CST. For more information visit www.pointsoflight.org.
I’m a graduate of Texas A&M and I can honestly say my experience there went far beyond the classroom. I enjoyed my time in Aggieland and encourage potential college bound students to add us to their list of colleges to consider. But I also know that the red state of Texas will be “rallying the troops” to protest Obama’s arrival. I have no issue with the protesters because that’s a basic right for all American citizens. But, I have had the pleasure of attending a number of protests during my time at A&M and sometimes you run into people who don’t always display appropriate Aggie Spirit.
For those interested, A&M’s campus newspaper The Battalion will have continuous coverage of President Obama’s visit starting at 12pm CST. The link to the site and some video reactions of A&M student a
I also thought I’d post some video of the students’ reaction to the president’s visit.
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