MINNEAPOLIS - MARCH 12: Tim Duncan(notes) #21 of the San Antonio... NBAE/Getty Images
MINNEAPOLIS - MARCH 12: Tim Duncan(notes) #21 of the San Antonio Spurs shoots against Oleksiy Pecherov(notes) #4 of the Minnesota Timberwolves during the game on March 12, 2010 at the Target Center in Minneapolis, Minnesota. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this Photograph, user is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2010 NBAE (Photo by David Sherman/NBAE via Getty Images)
View original story : download+wii
Feed : Yahoo! Sports - NBA - Minnesota Timberwolves Photos
MINNEAPOLIS - MARCH 12: Keith Bogans(notes) #10 of the San Anton... NBAE/Getty Images
MINNEAPOLIS - MARCH 12: Keith Bogans(notes) #10 of the San Antonio Spurs attacks the basket against Ryan Gomes(notes) #8 of the Minnesota Timberwolves during the game on March 12, 2010 at the Target Center in Minneapolis, Minnesota. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this Photograph, user is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2010 NBAE (Photo by David Sherman/NBAE via Getty Images)
View original story : download+wii
Feed : Yahoo! Sports - NBA - Minnesota Timberwolves Photos
MINNEAPOLIS - MARCH 12: DeJuan Blair(notes) #45 of the San Anton... NBAE/Getty Images
MINNEAPOLIS - MARCH 12: DeJuan Blair(notes) #45 of the San Antonio Spurs goes up against Al Jefferson(notes) #25 of the Minnesota Timberwolves during the game on March 12, 2010 at the Target Center in Minneapolis, Minnesota. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this Photograph, user is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2010 NBAE (Photo by David Sherman/NBAE via Getty Images)
View original story : download+wii
Feed : Yahoo! Sports - NBA - Minnesota Timberwolves Photos
Knicks set franchise losing record against Spurs (AP)
Losing Tony Parker hurt, just like when Manu Ginobili went down around this time last season. Parker picked up the slack then. Ginobili is doing the same so far. Ginobili scored 28 points and the San Antonio Spurs won for the fifth time in six games with a 97-87 victory over the New York Knicks, who guaranteed themselves a franchise-record ninth consecutive losing season.
View original story : download+wii
Feed : Yahoo! Sports - NBA - San Antonio Spurs News
Texas Conservatives Set the Standards for History Textbooks
And given that Texas is the largest market for these books they will have an effect on textbooks nationwide:
The State Board of Education tentatively approved new standards for social studies Friday with members divided along party lines — some blasting them as a fraud and conservative whitewash, others praising them as a tribute to the Founding Fathers that rightly portrays America as an exceptional country.
The standards, which will influence history and government textbooks arriving in public schools in fall 2011, were adopted by 10 Republicans against five Democrats after weeks of debate and across a racial and ideological chasm that seemed to grow wider as the proposal was finalized Thursday.
The document faces a public hearing and a final board vote in May.
The often contentious process has been watched closely across the nation, particularly this week as the board gathered to debate and vote on the proposed standards. Because of Texas' size, decisions by the board on what should and should not be included can influence publishers whose textbooks may be adopted by other states.
Democrats on the board — all of them black or Hispanic — complained the new standards dilute minority contributions to Texas and U.S. history.
“We have been about conservative versus liberal. We have manipulated the standards to insist on what we want to be in the document, regardless whether it's appropriate,” said Mavis Knight, D-Dallas. “We are perpetrating a fraud on the students of this state.”
But Terri Leo, R-Spring, called the proposal “a world class document” and told her Democratic colleagues the board has “included more minorities and historical events than ever before ... I am very disappointed at those allegations because they are simply not true.”
Ken Mercer, R-San Antonio, said the proposed standards reflect the desires of his constituents to emphasize “personal responsibility and accountability” and “to honor our Founding Fathers, and our military.”
Mary Helen Berlanga, D-Corpus Christi, said the standards ignore the Ku Klux Klan in Texas, Texas Rangers “killing Mexican-Americans without justification” and the U.S. Army's role in the attempted extermination of American Indians.
“Until we are ready to tell the truth about history, we don't have a good history or a good social studies curriculum for Texas,” she said.
She had failed in an attempt earlier in the meeting to get the history standards to identify Tejanos who fell defending the Alamo.
The board majority's conservative approach to “culture, government and the changing political landscape” was impossible 13 years ago when the social studies curriculum last was updated, said David Bradley, R-Beaumont.
“There's been a cultural and political shift in Texas, at least in the policy-making level,” he said. “We all represent a constituency. Elections matter.”
For decades libs have been trying to rewrite history by removing the influence of prominent white men and replacing them with overstated bios of minorities and women (see previous item on this controversy). When they start removing Neil Armstrong and replacing him with Famous Amos you know you've got a problem.
It's very similar to what Disney did with their "Golden Dreams" show at California Adventure which purported to show the history of California. It was little more than political correct agitprop which I named "The We Hate White People Movie" the first time I saw it the day after the park opened. To watch that movie you'd think Caucasians had nothing to do with the development of the state. The show has since closed, thank goodness, before future generations could be brainwashed with that nonsense.
History is about facts and giving inflated importance to someone just because of race, gender, or sexual preference is both factually inaccurate and harmful to the proper understanding of events.
View original story : download+wii
Feed : HolyCoast.com
Recap: San Antonio vs. LA Clippers
Matt Bonner had a team-high 21 points, as the San Antonio Spurs cruised to a 118-88 win, their 16th consecutive victory over the Los Angeles Clippers.
The Spurs also completed the series sweep for the fourth consecutive season, as the Clippers haven't won against them since March 7, 2006. San Antonio's current streak against the Clippers is the league's longest by one team against a single opponent.
Richard Jefferson added 18 points and nine rebounds for the Spurs, who have won three in a row and seven of eight overall. Manu Ginobili and George Hill each scored 14, while Hill had 11 assists and actually took over coaching duties from Gregg Popovich in the fourth quarter.
View original story : download+wii
Feed : Kansas.com: NBA
NBA Injury News: Antawn Jamison is a Game Time Decision
Antawn Jamison was forced to sit out the final minutes of Monday’s win over the San Antonio Spurs thanks to discomfort in his knee. And after having a few days rest, the newly acquired power forward is upbeat about his chances to get back on the floor for tomorrow’s game in Philadelphia against the 76ers.
“It’s [...]
View original story : download+wii
Feed : WaitingForNextYear
Antawn Jamison discusses new life in Cleveland
As I stated earlier, former Wizard Antawn Jamison left in the third quarter of the Cleveland Cavaliers' 97-95 win against the San Antonio Spurs on Monday after developing stiffness in his left knee. At the time he left the game, Jamison had already scored 17 points. He seems to have made an easy transition to his new digs. He's averaging 17 points and 7.5 rebounds in his first 10 games with the Cavaliers, and scored 30 points in a loss to Milwaukee last Saturday. Jamison recently sat down with Branson Wright of the Cleveland Plain Dealer to discuss his new team. Jamison said that it was weird joining the Cavaliers because it was a team that he always hated and caused a lot of headaches, but added, "there was a piece of me that wanted to see what it felt like to play alongside LeBron James, and Shaquille O'Neal and
View original story : download+wii
Feed : Wizards Insider
Rescue Haitis Children: Incredible Report from Beall on the Ground With Just Released Haitian Orphans Now United With Families
By Beall Phillips
Things can move painfully slow, and then surprisingly fast when it comes to the plight of the Haitian orphan. With just hours’ notice, Doug sent me, my two eldest, and our good friend and camera man Christopher Gill to Miami on behalf of Rescue Haiti’s Children to welcome and document the arrival of 44 Haitian orphans. Doug and the boys had shared the momentous days following the earthquake with 11 of these precious ones while at Haiti Christian Rescue Mission—and he was determined that we be there for their first glimpse of life in the United States of America.
An unexpected bonus of this trip is that an important part of my life has come full circle for me. Having been adopted as a baby into a loving Christian family, I have now been witness, on a very intimate level, to the other side of adoption—a loving Christian family waiting, agonizing, and finally, welcoming into their aching arms the precious children by adoption that the Lord ordained for them before the dawn of time.
I can hardly describe how fulfilling this is for me, having been the recipient of this love 42 years ago.
THE CHILDREN ARRIVE IN MIAMI
We arrived in Miami Saturday afternoon. Our flight left San Antonio at 8 in the morning and should have arrived shortly after 1 pm, but mechanical difficulties on the second leg delayed us so that we didn’t land at Miami International until after 4 pm. The plane with the children was supposed to have left Port au Prince at 1:30 to land in Miami around 3 pm, but they were delayed too.
We scouted around to find the right place closest to the children, and were soon joined by about fifteen other sets of parents or parts of families, waiting for the same group of children.
The afternoon and evening alternated between delight and agony. The agony was the interminable waiting. Waiting with very few answers for all the questions the parents had about when they could have their children.
The delight was in the multitude of conversations with the families who were waiting for children. Some had started the adoption process only months before and were starry-eyed babies to the whole thing. Others had been waiting a year or two and found a bittersweet relief in the earthquake which broke down some obstacles, paving the way for their children to be released to them.
And then there were the few families whose story seemed almost incomprehensible. Waiting years and years and years, persevering against all odds and unbelievable circumstances, making it to this point, and then waiting another 8 hours, wondering if it would all really come about or if it would fall apart again.
NINE YEARS OF WAITING
One couple had started adopting their boy when he was three. They had a three year old biological boy and looked forward to these two boys growing up together. That was nine years ago. Nine years ago! Three times they filled out all the papers. Three times it all fell apart. They were told he had been kidnapped, lost, sold into slavery, you name it. They never gave up. For two years he was lost; no one knew what had happened to him. Then the earthquake hit. They never gave up. They overturned every piece of rubble, it seemed, determined that they would find him. They had not come this far to lose him. And they didn’t. Someone found him. Someone contacted them. Hope was renewed. The process began again. And here we were. They would not sit down. They could not sit down. They hovered as close as they could to the walkway that just might possibly at last bring their 12-year-old son to them.
I was composed all evening. Until their son walked out. Then we all wept.
Nine years. Nine years, and they now had him in their arms.
View original story : download+wii
Feed : Doug's Blog
Cancer institute awards first prevention grants
Promoting vaccination against the cervical cancer-causing human papillomavirus at Dallas-area clinics and educating Houston-area Asian Americans about cancer prevention are among the first prevention projects funded by Texas’ new cancer institute.
Today, the Cancer Prevention and Research Institute of Texas announced $6.8 million in awards for a dozen projects at clinics, community organizations and academic institutions.
None of today’s recipient organizations are in the Austin area. Most of the money is going to Dallas or Houston.
Of the 12 prevention projects — some of which involve multiple types of cancer — eight involve breast cancer, eight involve cervical cancer and five involve colorectal cancer.
The Institute selected the projects from 56 applications, officials said. That is far fewer than the number of applications the institute received for research projects — 880 (66 of which were selected in January, when the institute awarded its first $61 million in research grants).
The Institute was created through a constitutional amendment approved by Texas voters in 2007. The amendment authorizes $3 billion in bonds for cancer research and prevention over 10 years.
“It all starts with prevention and until we find the cure for all cancers, these efforts are critical, James Mansour, chairman of the Institute’s oversight committee, said in a statement. “This investment places Texas in the forefront of the nation in our commitment to cancer prevention.
Here are the recipients of the prevention grants (award amounts are maximums and could change in the final contracts, the Institute said):
$999,877 to the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center at Dallas for a breast screening program in Denton, Hood, Johnson, Parker and Wise counties.
$998,045 to The Rose, a non-profit breast cancer organization in Houston, for a Houston-area program called Empower Her to Care.
$961,021 to the University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston for increasing breast, cervical and colorectal cancer screening and HPV vaccination among underserved Texans (a collaboration with United Way’s 2-1-1 Program). Counties served: Austin, Brazoria, Cameron, Chambers, Colorado, Fort Bend, Galveston, Harris, Hidalgo, Liberty, Matagorda, Montgomery, Starr, Walker, Waller, Wharton and Willacy.
$953,131 to Baylor College of Medicine in Houston for a Web-based program to disseminate individualized screening recommendations for pediatric cancer survivors throughout Texas.
$898,662 to the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center at Dallas for increasing colorectal cancer screening among the uninsured in Tarrant County.
$300,000 to the Asian American Health Coalition of Greater Houston, Inc. (Hope Clinic) for preventing multiple types of cancer multiple types in the Houston-area Asian American community.
$300,000 to University Health System (Bexar County) for a breast and cervical cancer prevention program.
$300,000 to Mercy Ministries of Laredo for a peer-to-peer cancer awareness program (breast, cervical and colorectal cancer) in Duval, Jim Hogg, Webb and Zapata counties.
$299,998 to the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center at Dallas for promoting HPV vaccination in safety-net clinics in Dallas County.
$299,930 to the University of North Texas Health Science Center at Fort Worth for a breast cancer prevention education program in Dallas County.
$299,310 to the University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio for promoting breast, cervical and colorectal cancer education among Latinas in Bexar County.
$272,753 to the University of Houston for a project in Harris County called Framing Effective Cervical Cancer Messages for Vietnamese American Women.
View original story : download+wii
Feed : Postcards
