The voice of the middle class will be heard this Saturday as the One Nation Working Together march takes place in Washington, DC. Stephen Greenhouse of The New York Times writes:
“Predicting a crowd of more than 100,000, some 300 liberal groups — including the N.A.A.C.P., the A.F.L.-C.I.O., the National Council of La Raza and the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force — are sponsoring a march on Saturday in the hope of transforming the national conversation so it focuses less on the Tea Party. The groups sponsoring the rally, which is called ’One Nation Working Together,’ say they hope to supplant what they say is the Tea Party’s divisiveness with a message of unity to promote jobs, justice and education.
“‘The Tea Party has been getting much more media attention than it deserves, and it’s been saying it represents the voice of middle-class America,’ said George Gresham, president of 1199 S.E.I.U., a New York health care union local, who says his union has chartered 500 buses to carry 25,000 union members to the rally. ‘A lot of us feel we have to get a different voice out there speaking for working people, one respecting the diversity of this country, which the Tea Party does not.’”
President Obama calls for a longer school year and acknowledges that money alone cannot fix our school system. The Washington Post writes:
“Bemoaning America's decreasing global educational competitiveness, Obama sought in a nationally broadcast interview to reinvigorate his education agenda. At the same time, the president acknowledged that many poor schools don't have the money they need and he defended federal aid for them. But Obama also said that money alone won't fix the problems in public schools, saying higher standards must be set and achieved by students and teachers alike.
“Asked in an interview if he supported a year-round school year, Obama said: ‘The idea of a longer school year, I think, makes sense.’ He did not specify how long that school year should be but said U.S. students attend classes, on average, about a month less than children in most other advanced countries.”
Latinos in California still remember the political battle over Proposition 187, a proposal pushed by Pete Wilson, a Republican governor in the early ’90s, that would have denied services to undocumented immigrants. The Los Angeles Times writes:
“Latino voters, who have helped to propel California's leftward political swing over recent years, remain reluctant to embrace Republican candidates as the November general election nears, a new Los Angeles Times/USC poll shows.
“Registered voters who identified themselves as Latino backed Democrat Jerry Brown by a 19-point margin over Republican Meg Whitman in the race for governor, despite Whitman's multiple appeals to Latino voters during the general election campaign. Registered voters who identified themselves as white gave Brown a slim 2-point margin.
“In the race for U.S. Senate, incumbent Democrat Barbara Boxer held a 38-point lead over Republican Carly Fiorina among registered Latino voters, five times the lead she held among white voters.
“Latino views are keenly watched by political candidates and campaigns because of the state's demographic march. A 2009 study by the Field Poll found that white voters had declined from 83% to 65% of the electorate in the previous three decades. At the same time, the percentage of Latino voters had almost tripled, to 21%.”
The quality of care received in U.S. hospitals has improved, according the a new study in USA Today:
“A report says treatment has improved substantially at U.S. hospitals for several ailments including heart attacks, pneumonia and children's asthma.
“The report released Wednesday is based on more than 3,000 hospitals accredited by the Joint Commission, an independent regulatory group.
“On average, hospitals in the report gave recommended heart attack treatment almost 98% of the time in 2009, versus 89% in 2002. That includes aspirin upon arriving and aspirin and beta blockers upon leaving.
“For pneumonia, recommended treatment was given almost 93% of the time in 2009. That compares with 72% in 2002. And for asthma care in children, it was 88% versus 71% in 2007, the first year the commission included that in its annual report.
“Substantial improvement was also seen in surgical care, including appropriate use of antibiotics; the score rose to 96% from 77% in 2004.
“The results suggest that increasing numbers of patients are surviving because they're receiving better care, said Dr. Mark Chassin, the commission's president.”