Talkarazzi!

1. We and the E! Network might stop talking about Heidi and Spencer. The hourglass has about run out on the Pratts’ vacuous run. Al Roker votes yea, but sometimes Speidi are fun for all the wrong reasons. So get your vote in on theblockfm.com and on eonline.com so to state your case before a final ruling is announced Monday night during E! News.

2. David Letterman threw himself under the bus and offered up a more sober apology to Sarah Palin, who accepted the Late Show host’s kinder mea culpa. Palin is SO good at making herself SEEM so important…seems she and the Pratts should have a pow-wow.

3. The next episode of Jon & Kate Plus 8 will feature a “special announcement.” We’re thinking divorce, but isn’t that what TLC wants us to think? Won’t we feel silly when it turns out they’re just planning a trip to Mall of America or something.

4. A couple of cops in Ohio are being investigated for allegedly breaking into the home of the woman who’s carrying Sarah Jessica Parker and Matthew Broderick’s baby in order to dig up tabloid dirt. For God’s sake, now the po-po’s are turning paparazzi?

6. Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie made for all sorts of good news this past week, as they donated $1 million each to a cancer center and refugees in Pakistan, and then Angie took to the airwaves to bring us up to speed on where she’s coming from with her humanitarian heart.

5. Chace Crawford is People’s Hottest Bachelor of 2009. Do you agree? There’s a picture on our blog at http://www.theblockfm.com …get your comments in.

6. Adam Lambert is really pissed. Adam Lambert has an album coming out — and he’s not happy!
A small record label called  Hi-Fi Recordings/Wilshire Records is releasing On With the Show, an album filled with material the American Idol runner-up reportedly co-wrote and recorded before his run on the hit TV talent show.

John Hecker, the CEO of Hi-Fi, says the the music is incredible — and insists that releasing the unofficial record is completely legal. “We would never put anything out that wasn’t fully owned by the parties involved with all the rights secured. We were really careful,” he said.

Lambert — who is currently working on his debut album with 19 Recordings/RCA records — does not condone the release. “The work I did back then in no way reflects the music I am currently in the studio working on,” he said.

“Back in 2005 when I was a struggling artist, I was hired as a studio singer to lend my vocals to tracks written by someone else. I was broke at the time and this was my chance to make a few bucks, so I jumped at the opportunity to record for my first time in a professional studio.

“I’m thrilled to be working with some of today’s hottest songwriters and producers and can’t wait for people to hear what my music really sounds like.”

Lambert’s debut with RCA Records is expected to hit stores this fall.

90 Seconds of News

LAPD Job Ratings UP!
The strong endorsement of the LAPD cuts across racial and ethnic lines, according to a new Los Angeles Times Poll — with the percentages of ablack and Latino voters who say they approve of how the police do their jobs almost as high as the level among white voters. That result is particularly notable given the long history of tensions between the police and the city’s black and Latino communities

Chris Brown Hearing Today to be a Media Spectacle
The crowd expected at this afternoon’s preliminary hearing for R&B singer Chris Brown will be on a different order. Fifty-two media outlets have asked to attend the proceeding, far more than were on hand for Paris Hilton’s re-jailing, Britney Spears’ divorce, the DUI cases of Lindsay Lohan and Nicole Richie, or the murder trials of Robert Blake or Phil Spector.

Sandra Bullock Tops the Box Office with “The Proposal”
People are giving The Proposal a big “I Do.” The comedy featuring Sandra Bullock and Ryan Reynolds finished at No. 1 with 34.1 million dollars in its opening weekend. In other movie news, “The Hangover” and “Ice Age 3D” are great too!

WANTED: Healthcare Reform
Republicans and some Democrats oppose increasing the government’s role in healthcare — it already runs the Medicare and Medicaid systems for the elderly and indigent — fearing it would require vast public funds and reduce the quality of care. But the Times/CBS poll found 85 percent of respondents wanted major healthcare reforms and most would be willing to pay higher taxes to ensure everyone had health insurance. An estimated 46 million Americans currently have no coverage.

I have a newsflash for y’all….if we continue to have politicians at the beckon call of lobbyists and big business who funds their campaigns, we will never have a TRULY representative democracy. Our representatives forget about their constituents because we are not paying for their office runs. Campaign finance reform is the root of this issue, and the only way to solve MANY of our current problems is to force our representatives to actually do their job….REPRESENT US!

Khadija Williams, An Inspiration For Us All

This story about a homeless girl now bound for Harvard is one we all should read. The Moderate Voice did a great job at recapping the story, so I’ll let it speak for itself.

FASCINATING FACTS ABOUT TOILETS

1. The film “Psycho” was the first movie to show a toilet flushing – the scene caused an inpouring of complaints about indecency

2. Pomegranates studded with cloves were used as the first attempt at making toilet air-freshner

3. Hermann Goering refused to use regulation toilet paper – instead he bought soft white handkerchiefs in bulk and used them

4. Over $100,000 US dollars was spent on a study to determine whether most people put their toilet paper on the holder with the flap in front or behind; the answer: three out of four people have the flap in the front

5. King George II of Great Britain died falling off a toilet on the 25th of October 1760

6. The average person spends three whole years of their life sitting on the toilet

7. The first toilet cubicle in a row is the least used (and consequently cleanest)

8. An estimated 2.6 billion people worldwide do not have access to proper toilet facilities, particularly in rural areas of China and India.

9. The Roman army didn’t have toilet paper so they used a water soaked sponge on the end of a stick instead!

10. The toilet is flushed more times during the super bowl halftime than at any time during the year.

11. 90% of pharmaceuticals taken by people are excreted through urination. Therefore our sewer systems contain heavy doses of drugs. A recent study by the EPA has found fish containing trace amounts of estrogen, cholesterol-lowering drugs, pain relievers, antibiotics, caffeine and even anti-depressants.

12. Lack of suitable toilets and sanitation kills approximately 1.8 million people a year, many of them children.

13. The toilet handle in a public restroom can have up to 40,000 germs per square inch.

14. While he didn’t invent the toilet, Thomas Crapper perfected the siphon flush system we use today. He was born in the village of Thorne – which is an anagram of throne.

15. In a 1992 survey, British public toilets were voted the worst in the world. Following quickly behind were Thailand, Greece, and France.

How the Recession is Affecting U.S. Cities

A survey of the nation’s 100 largest metropolitan areas ranks cities from strongest to weakest economic performance according to six “key indicators” — employment, unemployment rates, wages, gross metropolitan product, housing prices, and foreclosure rates. Here are the results…

Arizona Election Decided by Card Game

Arizona is a modern place, among the fastest-growing states and home to Phoenix, the nation’s fifth-largest city, with gleaming office towers and a just-opened light rail system.

But now and then, the state’s Western heritage comes storming through the saloon doors to remind one and all just what this place was like not so long ago.

It happened here Monday in the shadow of the Phoenix sprawl, when it came to settling a draw in a local election.

Adam Trenk and Thomas McGuire, both in blue jeans and open-collar shirts, strode nervously into Town Hall with their posses. There stood the town judge. He selected a deck of cards from a Stetson hat and shuffled it — having removed the jokers — six times.

Mr. McGuire, 64, a retired science teacher and two-term incumbent on the Town Council, selected a card, the six of hearts, drawing approving oos and aws from his supporters.

Mr. Trenk, 25, a law student and newcomer to town, stepped forward. He lifted a card — a king of hearts — and the crowd roared. Cave Creek had finally selected its newest Council member.

In traditional balloting last month, the voters in Cave Creek could not decide between Mr. Trenk and Mr. McGuire the conventional way, giving each man, even after a recount, 660 votes in a runoff for a seat on the seven-member Council.

So, as the state’s Constitution allows, a game of chance was called to break the deadlock. The two candidates agreed on a card game (alternatives from the past have included rolling dice and, on rare occasions, gunfights).

Mr. Trimble said a cutting of the cards or roll of the dice had decided ties a handful of times in Arizona local elections. Tie-breakers have also been tried in other states, including in recent years in Alaska and Minnesota, said Paul Fidalgo, a spokesman for FairVote, a Washington group that monitors and advocates for fair elections.

Texting Competition?!

The nation’s newest texting champion has a message for parents across the land — although they might not want to hear it.

“Let your kid text during dinner! Let your kid text during school! It pays off,” 15-year-old Kate Moore said Tuesday after winning the LG U.S. National Texting Championship.

After all, she said: “Your kid could win money and publicity and a phone.”

For the Des Moines, Iowa, teenager, her 14,000 texts-per-month habit reaped its own rewards, landing her the competition prize of $50,000 just eight months after she got her first cell phone.

Moore, with a speedy and accurate performance, beat out 20 other finalists from around the country over two days of challenges such as texting blindfolded and texting while maneuvering through a moving obstacle course.

In the final showdown, she outtexted 14-year-old Morgan Dynda, of Savannah, Ga. Both girls had to text three lengthy phrases without making any mistakes on the required abbreviations, capitalization or punctuation. Moore squeaked through by a few seconds on the tiebreaking text, getting the best two out of three. As she anxiously waited for confirmation of her win, tears streamed down her face.

The teen dismisses the idea that she focuses too much on virtual communications, saying that while she has sometimes had her phone taken away from her in school, she keeps good grades, performs in school plays and socializes with friends — in person — on the weekends.

In between, she finds time to send about 400 to 470 texts a day. Among her uses of the text messages? Studying for exams with friends, which she says is better done by text because she can look back at the messages to review.

The finalists, all 22 or younger, were among 250,000 people who tried to get spots in the competition. Some won their spots at the Manhattan finals by being the fastest people to text responses to televised ads.

It’s the third year for the texting competition, sponsored by LG Electronics Inc.’s mobile-phones division.

TOMORROW ON THE BLOCK FM….POTTY TALK

You know Cassie is crazy about structure and logic, so we’re is adding a LIST-ALICIOUS segment to The Block FM! awwwwwwyeeeeahhh!

Tomorrow…a list about toilets….what a way to start the day!

LAKERSSSSSSSS

What happened to the gritty Orlando Magic basketball team that battled past the defending champion Boston Celtics and LeBron-led Cleveland Cavaliers in the playoffs? Looks like they decided to stay home for Game 5 of the NBA finals Sunday night, limping to a lopsided 99-86 loss to hand the Los Angeles Lakers their 15th franchise title. It is the fourth championship for Lakers star Kobe Bryant, who scored 30 points—and Coach Phil Jackson’s NBA best 10th championship, vaulting him past the previous record holder, legendary Celtics Coach Red Auerbach.

Another Reason Why I Think Barack Obama is Cool

Ten-year-old Kennedy Corpus has a rock-solid excuse for missing the last day of school: a personal note to her teacher from President Barack Obama.

Her father, John Corpus of Green Bay, stood to ask Obama about health care during the president’s town hall-style meeting at Southwest High School on Thursday. He told Obama that his daughter was missing school to attend the event and that he hoped she didn’t get in trouble.

“Do you need me to write a note?” Obama asked. The crowd laughed, but the president was serious.

On a piece of paper, he wrote: “To Kennedy’s teacher: Please excuse Kennedy’s absence. She’s with me. Barack Obama.” He stepped off the stage to hand-deliver the note _ to Kennedy’s surprise.

“I thought he was joking until he started walking down,” Kennedy said after the event, showing off the note in front of a bank of television cameras. “It was like the best thing ever.”

Letter from Dr. Chris McCoy to the AMA…I QUIT!

Dear American Medical Association,

I recently had the opportunity to read your response to the Senate Finance Committee proposal [pdf] for health care reform, and it is clear to me that I cannot remain a member in your organization. Please remove my name from your membership rolls, effective immediately.

In reading the response, I was frustrated and disheartened by the fact that you couldn’t get through the second paragraph before bringing up the issue of physician reimbursement. This merely highlights how the AMA represents a physician-centered and self-interested perspective rather than honoring the altruistic nature of my profession. As a physician, I advocate first for what is best for my patients and believe that as a physician, as long as I continue to maintain the trust and integrity of the profession, I will earn the respect of my community. The appropriate financial compensation for my endeavors will follow in kind.

I encourage the AMA leadership to read Atul Gawande’s recent article describing how physician culture drives up the cost of health care without benefiting patient outcomes. At the heart of this problem are physicians who have a vision of themselves as money-generating profit centers rather than professionals serving the public good. The AMA represents, and encourages, this mindset with its single-focus on physician reimbursement over all other health care reform issues.

However, the most disappointing aspect of the AMA’s response to the proposed health care reforms was the opposition to the public health insurance option. I simply cannot support an organization that opposes the public health insurance plan for my patients. Instead of advocating for patients, the AMA is supporting the private insurance industry, which has been a driving force in creating the dysfunction health care system we have today.

But this should not have surprised me: when health care reform has been necessary, the AMA has always stood on the wrong side of history. The AMA opposed the creation of Medicare in the 1930s, when it was first proposed as part of Social Security. The AMA opposed Medicare again in the 1960s, going as far as to hire an actor named Ronald Reagan to read a script to the AMA Auxiliary declaring Medicare as the first step toward socialism, and concluding with the statement that if Medicare were to become law, “One day, we will awake to find that we have socialism…. One of these days, you and I will to spend our sunset years telling our children, and our children’s children, what it was once like in America when men were free.”

That was 50 years ago … and none of that has come to pass. And yet this year, the AMA argues that a public health insurance plan will destroy the private insurance market. I challenge the AMA leadership to cite a single example of an industry where involvement by the government has lead to the elimination of private enterprise. This has not been the case with the creation of public police forces in the second half of the 1800′s (private security companies still exist), we have a robust system of public and private colleges existing the same market, and bookstores still sell books despite the presence of public libraries. A mix of public and private enterprises in the market is a truly American solution to ensuring equal access, as well as competition to drive quality improvement. In fact, the creation of the public health insurance option will *increase* competition, as demonstrated by the AMA’s own studies showing that 94% of health insurance markets only have 1 or 2 providers in the market.

It would appear that the AMA’s position against the public health insurance market is driven by out-dated political ideology that blindly supports private industry rather than a careful examination of the facts of the current situation.

The AMA seems to be fixated on the fact that Medicare and Medicaid payments are lower than other payers. Let’s go back to the history again: because the AMA opposed the creation of Medicare, physicians were not represented at the table when the system was designed. As a great policy wonk once said, “If you’re not at the table, you’re on the menu.” And thanks to the dismal leadership and short-sightedness of the AMA in the 1960s, physicians were not a full partner in the creation of Medicare. And we’re still feeling the reprocussions of that today. And yet now in 2009, the AMA is going to repeat that mistake by opposing the public plan.

The health care system is broken, and physician leadership is needed now more than ever to help direct the reforms that are desperately needed. However, the AMA has not shown itself to be the organization to provide that leadership in restoring the profession of medicine. New physician leadership is needed to fully achieve a reformed health care system that works for our patients and for our country.

Sincerely,

Chris McCoy, MD

Michael Moore is at it Again

Michael Moore wants his money back. Actually, he wants your money back, if you lost any in the financial meltdown.

And though he knows that probably won’t happen, the filmmaker at least wants to stick it to the people who took it.

The still untitled film, which opens Oct. 2, will zero in on the corporations and politicians he says caused the global financial crash.

The Block FM’s Father’s Day Poll

Which celebrity fathersdo you want to see in their underwear?

Your choices….

1. Matthew McConaughey
2. Hugh Jackmann
3. Will Smith
4. David Beckhamm
5. Derek Fisher

Vote MONDAY at The Block FM’s  homepage!

Big Day for Iran…Big Day for the World

Iran held its election yesterday/today and voter turnout so far is unprecedented. The world is now holding its breath to see if extreme right winger Ahmedinejad will remain in power or if reformer and more liberal Mousavi will prevail to dethrone one of the most controversial leaders in our world today and open Iran to a new era of global engagement.

Want Something to Do This Summer? Tutor…

June 18, 2009 6:00 pm – 9:00 pm. Volunteer Tutor Workshop. Help adults improve reading, writing and spelling skills. Free one-to-one tutoring for adults, 18 or older, who speak and understand English, and read below an 8th grade level. Great opportunity for adults. No experience necessary. You’ll be amazed at what you’ll learn. Must attend all 3 sessions: June 18, 20 & 27.  Register for the first session of this 15-hour workshop by calling 818-238-5577

Swine Flu Pandemic

Swine flu declaration will speed work on vaccine. But scientists have encountered problems along the way, so doses of an H1N1 vaccine will not be available before fall, experts say. I get the urgency, but it seems sad that they only are going to NOW speed up the research & development of a vaccine now that it’s been called a pandemic. Sad for the people who died already.

The GOP’s Empty Throne

How bad are things in the Republican Party? In a new USA Today poll, 52 percent of respondents, when asked to name “the main person” who speaks for the GOP, couldn’t come up with an answer. For those who could answer, Rush Limbaugh was the first choice with 13 percent, followed by Dick Cheney, John McCain, Newt Gingrich, and George W. Bush. Does that mean a Limbaugh-Cheney ticket in 2012?

Palau to Take Uighur Detainees

Perhaps the U.S. government is thinking out of sight, out of mind? The tiny Pacific island nation of Palau—population 20,000—has agreed to resettle up to 17 Uighur detainees from Guantanamo Bay. The Chinese Muslims have been stuck at Gitmo, despite the fact that the Pentagon has said they are not “enemy combatants.” Palau said that it will accept them “as a humanitarian gesture” toward, as President Johnson Toribong put it, “our best friend and ally.” According to the Associated Press, “The U.S. was prepared to give Palau up to $200 million in development, budget support and other assistance in return for accepting the Uighurs and as part of a mutual defense and cooperation treaty that is due to be renegotiated this year.”

Palin & Letterman Trade Spars…

Someone may want to advise Sarah Palin to choose her battles. The Alaska governor has called late-night host David Letterman “pathetic” after he cracked a joke about her “slutty flight-attendant look” on his show. “What a commentary there,” Palin told radio host John Ziegler. “That’s pretty pathetic, good ole David Letterman.” Palin said Letterman was part of a media culture “where everything is commentary and facts don’t matter anymore.” Letterman’s joke came as part of a Top Ten List about Palin’s recent trip to New York. The number two reason for her visit, he said, was she “bought makeup at Bloomingdale’s to update her ‘slutty flight attendant’ look.”

Chrysler & Fiat Tie the Knot

Chrysler and Italian automaker Fiat on Wednesday officially signed a strategic alliance brokered by the U.S. government, after the Supreme Court cleared the path for the deal late Tuesday.

Fiat will initially take a 20% stake in the company, which can go up to 35% if it reaches certain goals.