Beginning in March, Pinellas County residents will receive their 2010 Census forms in the mail. The census data are important because they are used in determining congressional and legislative districts as well as determining funding for schools, housing, roads, and more. The form is shorter this year than in 2000, and is comprised of only 10 questions. Residents are asked to fill out the form and return it by U.S. mail. If forms are not received by April 1, 2010, census workers will begin visiting those households that did not return their forms. These visits will occur from April through July, 2010. Federal law mandates that individual responses are confidential.

The official U.S. Census, which is conducted every ten years and is described in Article I, Section 2 of the U.S. Constitution, calls for an accurate count of people living in the United States and is used as a gauge in the allotment of each state’s seats in the House of Representatives and in the allocation of funds to citizens in need. The first official Census was conducted in 1790 under Thomas Jefferson, who was the Secretary of State. That census, taken by U.S. marshals on horseback, counted 3.9 million inhabitants. Since that time, the Census has been conducted every ten years. 

I received this amazing message today from a friend and I thought it would be totally appropriate to forward it as part of my CRISIS BUSTER mission. You probably missed this in the rush of news, but there recently was a report that someone in Pakistan had published in a newspaper, an offer of a reward to anyone who killed an American, any American. So an Australian dentist wrote an editorial the following day to let everyone know what an American is – so they would know when they found one. (Good one, mate!)

Nettleton, MS –  Oil prices are through the roof and it’s costing us dearly. We empty our pockets in order to line those of the oil barons in the Middle East and elsewhere, and as we do so our dependence on their crude oil continues to deepen at an alarming rate due to our consumption habits.

This need not be the case because America has the technology and the natural resources to break this reliance on the Middle East. In fact doing so has several other significant benefits. Firstly, by purchasing American fuel we can stimulate the economy by keeping our US dollars in US pockets, but perhaps the most attractive aspect is the green issue; for the fuel in question is renewable plant and/or animal fat-based biodiesel.

Florida Medicaid To Review Antipsychotics & ADHD
January 28th, 2008

The move comes amid growing scrutiny. The taxpayer bill for these meds jumped from $9 million seven years ago to nearly $30 million in 2006. Florida Medicaid records reportedly show the number of children - some just months old - who were prescribed the drugs went from 9,364 seven years ago to 18,137 in 2006. And even as drugmakers were being told to issue warnings about risks, a Florida Legislature-directed program partly funded by drugmakers was recommending the meds as treatment for ADHD, although FDA approval is lacking.

As a result, the Florida attorney general is considering whether to file a lawsuit. Now, the state's Agency for Health Care Administration is responding to concerns that the meds are being used inappropriately for treating ADHD, in particular, and will review coverage.