The Cat Who Could Predict Death « RASBOA

The Cat Who Could Predict Death « RASBOA: "- Sent using Google Toolbar"

this is a very feel good story for my friends « RASBOA

Once upon a time there was an Island, where all the feelings lived; Happiness, Sadness and all the others including love.

One day it was announced to the feelings that the Island would sink, so all repaired their boats and left. Love was the only one who stayed. Love wanted to persevere till the last possible moment. When the Island was sinking, Love decided to ask for help.

Richness was passing by Love, in a grand boat, Love said "Richness can you take me with you?"

Richness answered "no I can't." There is a lot of gold and silver in my boat and there is no place for you here.

Love decided to ask Vanity who was also passing by in a beautiful vessel, "Vanity please help me?"

I can't help you love. You are all wet and might damage my boat," Vanity answered.

Sadness was close by so Love asked for help, "Sadness let me go with you?"

"Oh......Love I am so sad I need to be by myself!" Happiness passed by Love too, but she was so happy she did not even hear when Love called her!

Suddenly there was a voice "Come Love, I will take you." It was an elder. Love felt so pleased and overjoyed that he even forgot to ask the elder her name.

When they arrived on dry land, the elder went her own way Love realizing how much he owed the elder asked Knowledge, another elder "Who helped me?"

"It was Time” Knowledge answered. "Time?" asked Love. But why did Time help me?" Knowledge smiled with deep wisdom and answered, "Because only Time is capable of understanding How Great Love Is.

4TH GRADE TEACHER LETS OBAMA HAVE IT

4TH GRADE TEACHER LETS OBAMA HAVE IT

 

 

 

 

IF SHE GETS FIRED THEN THEY NEED

TO REPLACE THE SCHOOL BOARD.

 

 

 

 

A TEACHER FROM THE  GREAT  STATE OF  MISSOURI WILL LOSE HER JOB FOR STANDING UP FOR ALL OF US.  Give this teacher and true American a standing ovation.
This 4th grade teacher has said it all, and she was brave enough to attach her name to it.         April  17, 2009   The  White House     1600  Pennsylvania Avenue     Washington ,   DC     20500
     
    
      Mr. Obama:     
      I have had it with you and your administration, sir.  Your  conduct on your recent trip overseas has convinced me that you are not an adequate representative of the  United States of America collectively or of me personally.

You are so obsessed with appeasing the Europeans and the Muslim world that you have abdicated the responsibilities of the President of the  United States of America  .  You are responsible to the citizens of the  United States .  You are not responsible to the peoples of any other country on earth.

I personally resent  that you go around the world apologizing for the  United States telling Europeans that we are arrogant and do not care about their  status in the world.  Sir, what do you think the First World  War and the Second World War were all about if not the consideration of the peoples of   Europe ?  Are you brain dead?   What do you think the Marshall Plan was all about?  Do you not understand or know the history of the 20th century?      
     Where  do you get off telling a Muslim country that the  United States does not consider itself a Christian country?  Have you not  read the Declaration of  Independence or the Constitution of the  United States ?  This country was founded on Judeo-Christian ethics and the principles governing this country, at least until you came along, come directly from this heritage.   Do you not understand this?

Your bowing to the king of  Saudi Arabia is an affront to all Americans.  Our President does not bow down to anyone, let alone the king of  Saudi Arabia .... You didn't show  Great Britain , our best and one of our oldest allies, the respect they deserve yet you bow down to the king of  Saudi Arabia ..  How dare you, sir! How dare you!

You can't find the time to visit the graves of our greatest generation because you don't want to offend the Germans but make time to visit a mosque in    Turkey ......  You offended our dead and every veteran when you give the Germans more respect than the people who saved the German people from themselves.  What's the matter with you? I am convinced that you and the members of your administration have the historical and intellectual depth of a mud puddle and should be ashamed of yourselves, all of  you.

You are so self-righteously offended by the big bankers and the American automobile manufacturers yet do nothing about the real thieves in this situation, Mr. Dodd, Mr. Frank, Franklin Raines, Jamie Gorelic, the Fannie Mae bonuses, and the Freddie Mac bonuses. What do you intend to do about them? Anything? I seriously doubt it.

What about the  U.S. House members passing out $9.1 million in bonuses to their staff members on top of the $2.5 million in automatic pay raises that lawmakers gave themselves?  I understand the average House aide got a 17% bonus.  I took a 5% cut in my pay to save jobs with my employer.  You haven't said anything about that.  Who authorized that?  I surely didn't!

Executives at Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac will be receiving $210 million in bonuses over an eighteen-month period, that's $45 million more than the AIG bonuses.  In fact, Fannie and Freddie executives have already been awarded $51 million not a bad take.  Who authorized that and why haven't you expressed your outrage at this group who are largely responsible for the economic mess we have right now?

I resent that you take me and my fellow citizens as brain-dead and not caring about what you idiots do.  We are watching what you are doing and we are getting increasingly fed up with all of you.

I also want you to know that I personally find just about everything you do and say to be offensive to every one of my sensibilities.  I promise you that I will work tirelessly to see that you do not get a chance to spend two terms destroying my beautiful country.      Sincerely,

Every real American      P.S.  I rarely ask that emails be 'passed around'.................PLEASE SEND THIS TO YOUR EMAIL LIST......it's past time for all Americans to wake up!

Ms Kathleen Lyday
Fourth Grade TeacherGrandview
11470  Hwy . CHillsboro ,  MO     63050  Elementary School

(636)  944-3291 Phon e
(636) 944-3870  Fax      
This woman may lose her job for this letter..  I believe we owe it to her for expressing the outrage that we feel but fail to address.   Please pass this on.

94801899-8393-44ea-8936-6cd258ff77ee

1.03.01

Released from her pain « RASBOA

Released from her pain « RASBOA: "-

STORIES BY THE REMOVAL GUY

Ok this one is a very sad one but I think I came to terms with, it when I seen the end result.

It was about 2 or 3 in the morning it was a cool night about 65 degrees when this call came in it was a freeway call so I knew it was going to be a messy one.

I rolled on to the scene I had to drive about three quarters of a mile to get to where the deceased was.

I get there and of course, she’s covered with a blanket so I do not know what she looks like yet but I ask what happened.

The officer said she and her friends were running across the freeway to get to their house because it was a short cut. Well they all made it but her. She was 15 years of age. A waste of life I said to myself at that time. At that part of the freeway, cars are going in access of 80 to 85 miles an hour. I do not need to explain what she looked like. The reason for this story is I think it was blessing to her to get out of this life she was in.

I uncovered her because I had to put her in a bag and seal it, then take it to the medical examiner’s office. She was, messed up. Well anyway, I drop the body at the ME. Then a couple days later I get a call to go pick her up from the ME. When I get there, I have to open the bag, and make sure it is the rite body.

When I did that, I seen the most disturbing thing.

That is when my feelings of sorrow changed to feelings of comfort.

This poor girl must have been in a lot of mental pain.

She had cuts on her body from her toes to the base of her neck I mean she had thousands of cuts all over her body. These were self-inflicted wounds.

That is why I say she is in a better place. No longer in the pain, she was going through here on earth.

This in my opinion, was God’s way of releasing here from the horrible feelings she was going through here on earth.

God bless you little lady, and rest in peace.

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1.03.01

The science of optical illusions

In the left image, the black and white spaces in the central pin-wheel seem to blend more than in the right image - though the two are the same

Optical illusions are more than just a bit of fun. Scientist Beau Lotto is finding out what tricking the brain reveals about how our minds work. Here he explains his findings.

Sight, hearing, taste, touch, smell. We believe what our senses tell us but most of all we trust our eyes.
But our brains are extraordinarily powerful organs.
Without us realising it, they are instantly processing the information they receive to make sense of the world around us.
And that has been crucial to our evolution.

Jungle scene

Take colour. Why do we need to see in colour? The next two images will show you why.
Here you see a black-and-white version of a jungle scene. Try to find the predator that's about to jump out at you. If it takes you more than a second, you are dead. Why is it so difficult to find? Because you are only seeing the surfaces according to the amount of light they reflect. Now click to the next image...

BACK 1 of 2 NEXT

 

... this time in colour. Now you'll probably see the panther immediately (in the lower right corner).

Why is it so easy this time? The reason is because the image shows the surfaces according to the quality of light they reflect (not just their intensity).
In other words, your brain has a lot more information to go on in making its decisions.
So colour enables us to see a greater number of similarities and differences between objects, which is necessary for survival.
What is amazing about what you have just done (finding the panther in the coloured image) is that it is so easy for you.
But while it seems so easy, our best computers are hopeless at doing what you have just done.
Understanding how we see is one of the main aims of brain science (called neuroscience). And illusions hold the key to answering this question.

Brightness illusion

Below we have two physically identical squares. Not surprisingly, they also look the same. Explaining vision would be easy if all we had to do is see the image that falls onto the back of the eye (called the retinal image). But we don't.
In fact we never see what our eyes see. That's because the eyes have very little to do with what we see. This is good news: an image of the world is very different from the world itself.
For instance, the retinal image has only two dimensions, whereas the world of course has three. The retinal image is upside-down, but we see the world right-side-up. So what happens if I change the context surrounding the squares, but not the two squares themselves?
 

BACK 1 of 2 NEXT

 

Toggle the image and the two identical squares now look different.

And yet all we've done is put them on different backgrounds. As a result, the small square on the dark background looks lighter than the one on the light background.
This is called the "brightness contrast illusion", which proves that context is everything when it comes to what we see, even when seeing the simplest qualities of the world, namely lightness.
But why is context everything?

Table and shadow illusion

Here we have two, smaller versions of an identical brightness contrast illusion - one on the right and the other on the left.
In both cases the tiles on the dark backgrounds look lighter than the tiles on the light backgrounds. So far so good. Now let's see if we can change the strength of these two illusions by changing the overall scene.
 

BACK 1 of 2 NEXT

 

Notice that the illusion on the left is now much stronger. In other words, the tile in shadow under the table looks much brighter because the brain thinks it is in shade. The tile to the right looks as if it is under bright light so the brain assumes it is darker and tells us so.

On the other hand the illusion on the right is now much weaker. In other words, the two tiles, one on a black stripe the other on a light stripe, look nearly identical because the brain is interpreting them as two similarly reflective tiles under a shared light source.
This shows that we see illusions because the brain doesn't actually want to see the image on your eye, but to see the meaning of that image and here it finds that in the context of the table and the light from the window. And that meaning - and this is really important - is created from experience.

Cube illusion

Here we have two tiles that are identical in their colour. But what happens if we change their context in a specific way? Now if we're right that what we see is the meaning of an image, then it we should be able to create a really strong illusion by making the meaning of the two tiles very different indeed.
 

BACK 1 of 2 NEXT

 

In their new context, the two physically identical tiles do indeed now look very different.

Why? The information in the image strongly suggests that the dark brown tile on the top now means a poorly reflective surface under bright light, whereas the bright orange one at the side means a highly reflective surface in shadow.
So you see them differently because your brain thinks they have a different meaning - given the rest of the information in the scene.

Table illusion

What's true for seeing colour is also true for seeing form and shape. In fact it's true about everything we see. When you look at this image, you are aware of two very differently sized tables.
The one of the left seems a lot longer and thinner than the one on the right. What if I tell you that the red table is simply the green table on its side, in other words that the dimensions of the two table tops is identical.
It is actually true. The only real difference between the tables is the angles at their corners (other than their colour, which is irrelevant in this case).
 

BACK 1 of 2 NEXT

 

The two red and green lines are the same length. The length of the red table is the same as the width of the green table and vice versa.

So why do they look so different? Because your brain takes the image on the retina and creates what it sees according to what the information would have meant in the brain's past experience of interacting with the world.
In this case the angles suggest depth and perspective and the brain believes the green table is longer than it is while the red table appears squarer.
The beautiful thing about illusions is they make us realise things are never what they seem, and that our experiences of the world shape our understanding of it.

I am truly amazed! 'Seeing is believing' is (or was) my foremost mantra. Now I am confused, not to say somewhat worried. Am I only seeing what my brain tells me is there - and not what is actually there?!

Chris Ferguson, Wisbech, England

I found the article very iintersting. About 50 years ago - I'm now 80 - I did an entire exibit on opital illussions at the library in Wilton, Connecticut inclcuding a wire cube that the viewer thougt was a square. There were also depth perception pieces which where flat but seen as 3-dimensianal. In all there were about 49 exhibits and lots of delighted visitors.

Prof Haji Rudin Salinger, Putrajaya, Malaysia

This suggests to me that a large part of the percieved world and therefore constructed from experience - I wonder what the world really looks like? I suppose we have all seen the world in this way when we were babies - but is it possible to recreate this? How do we achieve "real seeing" as adults?

David Nixon, Hebden Bridge

Very interesting and informative - if you are colour blind how much would this affect what you see

Barbara, Bamako, Mali

I actually Photoshopped the image of the cubes because I didn't believe it, but yeah, same colour!

Michael , Belfast

There's a painting on my wall. Even though I know it's a flat canvas splodged with pigment, it looks like a wonderful sea view with sand, water, birds and the rest of it. Is this an optical illusion? No, because I'm not misjudging anything! I'm correctly judging the image be a representation of the sea. I'm inclined to say exactly the same thing about the "optical illusions" in this article. For instance, we're not making a mistake when we judge the squares on the Rubik's cube to be differently coloured. We are correctly taking the flat image to represent a 3D cube on which the squares really are different colours.

Jonathan Birch, Cambridge, UK

A truly beautiful presentation, and lucidly explained. I admit that in a few cases I took measurements to check if the images in the sets weren't "enhanced" to magnify the illusions: they weren't.

Jaroslaw, Cairo, Egypt

Very interesting article but the last example with the two tables is a bad drawing which is why the brain gets the wrong idea rather than being due to the brains intrepretation of perspective. Assuming it's a table and therefore has right angles at the legs then using the legs and the square floor tiles as a measure, the green table is 5 tiles along it's longest side between the legs and the red table is less than 4. The same kind of difference applies to the widths. I agree that the table tops are the same width and length give or take a bit but the brains interpretation is confused by where we see the distance between the legs on the floor which are not drawn as they should be so it's a trick drawing rather than the brains interpretation of perspective.

Super Typhoon Megi hits northern Philippines

18 October 2010 Last updated at 03:15 ET



An intense "super typhoon" has made landfall in the northern Philippines, lashing the area with heavy rains and winds of more than 225km/h (140mph).

Thousands of people in the path of storm Megi have fled their homes. Emergency services are on high alert and schools are closed in many areas.

Megi is the strongest storm the Philippines has faced for four years.

In 2006, a storm with winds of 155km/h triggered mudslides, burying villages and killing about 1,000 people.

Tropical cyclones formed in the Pacific Ocean are called typhoons, but are classified on a scale of one to five in the same way as Atlantic Ocean hurricanes.

Category Five typhoons, with sustained winds of at least 155 knots (140mph; 250km/h), are commonly referred to as super typhoons.

Forecasters said Megi was a super typhoon as it made landfall, but was likely to weaken slightly as it made its way across the northern Philippines.

'Preparing for war'

The northern provinces of Cagayan and Isabela are on the highest storm alert, and were braced for heavy damage as Megi made landfall on Monday morning.

Analysis
Kate McGeown BBC News, Manila

Disaster management teams are on high alert - stockpiling food and medicines, and preparing boats and helicopters to rescue affected by the typhoon.

The authorities are under huge pressure to get their rescue effort right this time.

There was a lot of criticism over their handling of Typhoon Ketsana last year.

Many people who were trapped in the floodwaters said they were completely reliant on aid agencies or church organisations rather than the government.

There was further embarrassment in July this year when the weather bureau forecast that a typhoon would miss Manila.

It struck the capital, killing about 100 people. The head of the state weather bureau was sacked as a result.

Reuters news agency reported that Megi hit north-eastern Isabela at about 1125 (0325 GMT).

Details from the areas directly in the path of the storm have been slow to emerge, but the Associated Press reported huge waves and strong rains as well as powerful winds winds that brought down power lines.

One man in Cagayan was reported missing after he fell into the fast-flowing Buntun river. The man was named as Vicente Decena, a candidate in next week's local elections.

Officials have warned that the heavy rain and high winds could damage buildings, power supplies and agriculture.

Emergency services have been stocking up on food and medicines, says the BBC's Kate McGeown in the capital, Manila.

Government forecasters say waves off the east coast could be greater than 14m (46ft).

Sea travel has been banned. The coast guard has been instructed to forbid all fishing vessels from setting out to sea in the north, says AFP news agency.

Thousands of soldiers and officers are on standby to deliver aid and rescue people stranded by the floods.

Trucks, rescue boats and food packs have been pre-positioned near vulnerable areas, said Benito Ramos, a senior disaster-response official.

"This is like preparing for war," he told the Associated Press. "We know the past lessons and we're aiming for zero casualties."

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Emergency preparations began as the storm neared the Philippines

Schools in the north were closed on Monday.

Farmers were urged to harvest as many of their crops as possible before the typhoon hit, our correspondent says.

The area in the storm's path is one of the country's main rice-growing regions.

In July, President Benigno Aquino sacked the head of the weather bureau after he failed to predict a typhoon which unexpectedly changed course and hit Manila, killing more than 100 people.

The Joint Typhoon Warning Center of the US Navy says Megi is expected to weaken to typhoon intensity as it crosses the Cordillera mountain range.

However, it will then re-emerge into the South China Sea and re-intensify as it heads for southern China.

RASBOA :: Blog

Fox is trying to make money off a source there not suppose to make money off of

Fox is a money hungry whore. no syndicated television has ever asked a cable company to pay to use their services now they are telling the dish companies and cables companies that they have to pay to use there shows. if I were you guys I would stop watching fox there getting a bit too big for their britches. .

HOW FAT IS TO FAT

HUMAN REMAINS REMOVAL STORIES # 4

IT WAS A RUTIENE DAY NOTHING VERY INTERESESTING UNTILL THIS CALL CAME IN

FIRST OFF, I AM THE ONLY ONE IN THE EAST VALLEY THAT HAS A FERNO MAX 24

IIF YOU DO NOT KNOW WHAT THAT IS, IT IS A MAX WEIGHT COTT. THIS COTT HOLDS 1000 POUNDS

WELL I GOT TO THE HOUSE AND THERE WERE 5 COPS 4 MEDICAL EXAMINER S

AND THERE WAS FOUR OF US ON THIS REMOVAL TEAM

ANY WAY WE GET TO THE HOUSE AND ASSESED THE SITUATION AND WE ARIVED AT THE CONCLUSION THAT THE ONLY WAY TO GET THIS GUY OUT OF HIS ROOM WAS THROUGH THE BEDROOM WINDOW.

IT SEEMS AS IF THIS GUY HAS NOT LEFT HIS ROOM IN MANY YEARS.

AND THIS GUY TIPPED THE SCALES AT A WHOPPING 700 POUNDS PLUS

WELL WE MANAGED TO GET AN OVERSIZE SLIDER UNDER HIM AND THREE ON THE OUT SIDE AND TWO ON THE IN SIDE PUSHING AND PULLING AND WE FINALY GOT HIM OUT.

NOW RIDDLE ME THIS BATMAN HOW IN THE SAM HELL DO YOU GET SO BIG YOU HAVE TO URINATE AND DEFICATE IN A CAN AND HAVE YOUR WIFE DUMP THE MESS.

HOW FAT, IS TO FAT

JUST A LITTLE STORY FOR YOU.

IM NOT A SMALL GUY BY ANY MEANS.

IN FACT I TIP THE SCALES AT 300 POUNDS BUT AGAIN IM 6’ 2” TALL.

AND I FOUND IF YOU GET TO BIG IT BECOMES A PROBLEM SHOWERING PROPERLY.

SO IF YOU GET TO A POINT THAT IT BECOMES HARD TO REACH SERTIAN ERAS OF YOUR BODY TO CLEAN. THAT IS WHEN FAT IS TO FAT. I FIND MY SELF ON A DIET QUTIE FREQUENTLY I HAVE KEPT MY WEIGHT AT 280 TO 30 FOR OVER 10 YEARS.

DON’T GET ME WRONG I LOVE TO EAT. BUT I GO OUT AND WALK IT OFF EVERY NIGHT SO I DON’T BECOME TO FAT.

ALL IM SAYING IS IT ONLY TAKES 25 TO 30 MINUTES A DAY TO EXORSIXZE AND YOU WILL LOZZE THE WEIGHT.

PLEASE IF YOUR GOING TO DIE AND YOU WEIGHT 700 POUNDS DON’T DIE IN MY COUNTY.

ALTERNATIVELY, YOUR FAMILY WILL BE CHARGED 50 CENTS A POUND FOR EVERY POUND OVER 250 POUNDS.

IF YOU DO NOT KNOW HOW MUCH THAT IS, IT COMES TO $250 PLUS THE NORMAL REMOVAL FEE.

THEN YOU GET TO PAY EXTRA FOR YOUR CREMATION TOO. THAT IS ANOTHER 500 BUCKS ON TOP OF THE NORMAL RATE.

AT TIMES, I THINK THE FAT PEOPLE GET THE SHORT END OF THE STICK EVEN WHEN THERE DEAD.

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1.03.01

Social Security News

News & Announcements Updated: October 15, 2010 (En Español)

Under the Law No Social Security COLA for 2011 (October 2010)	Monthly Social Security and Supplemental Security Income benefits for more than 58 million Americans will not automatically increase in 2011, the Social Security Administration announced today.  The Social Security Act provides for an automatic increase in Social Security and Supplemental Security Income benefits if there is an increase in the Consumer Price Index for Urban Wage Earners and Clerical Workers (CPI-W) from the third quarter of the last year a cost-of-living adjustment (COLA) was determined to the third quarter of the current year.  As determined by the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), there is no increase in the CPI-W from the third quarter of 2008, the last year a COLA was determined, to the third quarter of 2010, therefore, under existing law, there can be no COLA in 2011. For more information, read our press release.
Social Security Fast-Track Disability Processes Get Even Faster (October 2010)	Michael J. Astrue, Commissioner of Social Security, today announced that the agency has published final rules that will further reduce the time it takes to decide applications for disability benefits from those persons with the most severe disabilities. For more information, read our press release.
Social Security Among the Best Places to Work in the Federal Government (September 2010)	Social Security employees rate their agency as one of the Best Places to Work in the Federal Government according to The Partnership for Public Service and American University’s Institute for the Study of Public Policy Implementation.  For more information, read our press release.
Social Security Board of Trustees: Long-Range Financing Outlook Remains Unchanged (August 2010)	The Social Security Board of Trustees today released its annual report on the financial health of the Social Security Trust Funds and the long-range outlook remains unchanged.  The combined assets of the Old-Age and Survivors Insurance, and Disability Insurance (OASDI) Trust Funds will be exhausted in 2037, the same as projected last year.  For more information, read our press release.
Social Security Opens New National Hearing Center in St. Louis (August 2010)	Michael J. Astrue, Commissioner of Social Security, today opened in St. Louis, Missouri the agency’s fifth National Hearing Center (NHC).  The St. Louis NHC is the largest in the nation and is co-located with two other new Social Security facilities -- the National Case Assistance Center (NCAC) and the Midwest Training Center.  Together these three facilities will bring over 200 new federal jobs to St. Louis.  For more information, read our press release.
Social Security Proposes Legislation to End Furloughs of Federally Paid State Disability Workers (July 2010)	Michael J. Astrue, Commissioner of Social Security, today announced that the agency is submitting legislation to Congress that would prohibit states, without the Commissioner's prior authorization, from reducing the number of state personnel who make disability determinations for Social Security or the hours they work below the amount the agency authorizes.  For more information, read our press release.
Isabella Reigns as New Queen of Baby Names - Takes Top Spot on Social Security's Most Popular Baby Names List (May 2010)	There’s a new queen of baby names.  Isabella took the crown from last year’s winner, Emma, to claim the top girl baby name of 2009.  Jacob continued his remarkable run by holding onto the top boy name for the 11th year in a row over a new number two for boys, Ethan.  New to the top 10 this year for boys are Jayden and Noah, and for girls, Mia. For more information, read our press release.
Social Security's Online Services Take Top Three Spots in Customer Satisfaction Survey (May 2010)	Michael J. Astrue, Commissioner of Social Security, today announced that the agency’s online services continue to be the best in government and exceed the top private sector sites in customer satisfaction.  In the latest results from the American Customer Satisfaction Index (ACSI), Social Security’s online Retirement Estimator and benefit application remain in the top spots, each with a score of 90, and the Help with Medicare Prescription Drug Plan Costs application placed third with a score of 87.  For more information, read our press release.
Social Security Releases Open Government Plan (April 2010)	Michael J. Astrue, Commissioner of Social Security, today announced that the agency has released its Open Government plan.  The plan, available at www.socialsecurity.gov/open, reflects the agency’s commitment to increase transparency, expand opportunities for citizen participation and collaboration, and make open government sustainable at Social Security.  For more information, read our press release.
The Cast of The Patty Duke Show Reunites to Tell Americans About New Online Medicare Application (March 2010)	Michael J. Astrue, Commissioner of Social Security, today joined award-winning actress Patty Duke and the cast of her hit 1960s sitcom, The Patty Duke Show, to unveil Social Security's newest online service – an application for Medicare benefits.  This new online application, which takes less than 10 minutes to complete, is for people reaching the Medicare eligibility age of 65 who want to delay filing for Social Security retirement benefits.  For more information, read our press release.
Social Security Helps States with Mounting Disability Claims (March 2010)	Michael J. Astrue, Commissioner of Social Security, today announced that the agency's first Extended Service Team (EST) is open for business in Little Rock, Arkansas. The Little Rock EST will make disability decisions for state Disability Determinations Services (DDSs) that are most adversely affected by the flood of new initial disability claims resulting from the economic downturn and from counterproductive furloughs of employees at the state level. Later this year, Social Security will open additional ESTs in Madison, Mississippi; Roanoke, Virginia; and Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. For more information, read our press release.
Social Security to Provide Helpful Health Care Information to Over 3 Million Disability Applicants Each Year (March 2010)	Michael J. Astrue, Commissioner of Social Security, today announced the agency is providing helpful health care information and website links to the more than three million individuals who apply each year for Social Security and Supplemental Security Income (SSI) disability benefits.  For more information, read our press release.
Social Security Hearings Backlog Falls to Lowest Level Since 2005 (March 2010)	Michael J. Astrue, Commissioner of Social Security, today announced that the number of disability hearings pending stands at 697,437 cases -- the lowest level since June 2005 and down more than 71,000 cases since December 2008, when the trend of month-by-month reductions began.  In addition, the average processing time for hearing decisions has decreased to 442 days, down from a high of 514 days at the end of fiscal year (FY) 2008. For more information, read our press release.
Social Security Adds 38 New Compassionate Allowance Conditions (February 2010)	Michael J. Astrue, Commissioner of Social Security, today announced that the agency is adding 38 more conditions to its list of Compassionate Allowances.  This is the first expansion since the original list of 50 conditions - 25 rare diseases and 25 cancers - was announced in October 2008.  For more information, read our press release.
Social Security Awards Nearly $20 Million in Recovery Act Contracts For Electronic Medical Records (February 2010)	Michael J. Astrue, Commissioner of Social Security, today announced that 15 healthcare providers and networks have received $17.4 million in contract awards to provide electronic medical records to the agency.  These electronic medical records, which will be sent through the Nationwide Health Information Network (NHIN), will significantly shorten the time it takes to make a disability decision and will improve the speed, accuracy, and efficiency of the disability program. For more information, read our press release.
Social Security Makes New Data Available to Public (January 2010)	Michael J. Astrue, Commissioner of Social Security, today announced that the agency is making new data about beneficiaries and the agency’s disability and hearing processes available to the public. The new data supports the President’s Transparency and Open Government initiative and is available at www.data.gov. For more information, read our press release.
Chubby Checker and Social Security Commissioner Astrue Announce a New "Twist" in the Law (January 2010)	Michael J. Astrue, Commissioner of Social Security, and Chubby Checker, Grammy Award winner and rock and roll legend, today launched a new campaign to inform millions of Americans about a new "twist" in the law that makes it easier to qualify for extra help with Medicare prescription drug costs. For more information, read our press release.
Social Security Holds Disability Hearing on Compassionate Allowances and Schizophrenia (November 2009)	Michael J. Astrue, Commissioner of Social Security, was joined by Philip Wang, M.D., Dr.P.H., National Institute of Mental Health, National Institutes of Health, and Social Security executives to hear testimony from some of the nation's leading experts on schizophrenia about possible methods of identifying and implementing Compassionate Allowances for young adults with schizophrenia.  For more information, read our press release.
Social Security's Fiscal Year 2009 Performance and Accountability Report (November 2009)	SSA's Fiscal Year (FY) 2009 Performance and Accountability Report (PAR) is now available. Our FY 2009 PAR combines our annual performance report with our audited financial statements to provide full disclosure of our financial and programmatic operations. FY 2009 marks the twenty-third year that we have published audited financial statements and the sixteenth year that we have received an unqualified opinion on our financial statements.
Social Security Announces New Enhancements to Online Retirement Estimator (November 2009)	Michael J. Astrue, Commissioner of Social Security, today announced that the online Retirement Estimator, available at www.socialsecurity.gov/estimator, now can provide immediate and personalized benefit estimates to people who have enrolled in Medicare but have not yet filed for Social Security benefits. Read our press release
Patty Duke and Dr. David Kessler Team with Social Security in Flu Prevention Public Service Campaign (October 2009)	Michael J. Astrue, Commissioner of Social Security, today announced that Academy Award winner Patty Duke and David Kessler, M.D., former head of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, have teamed with Social Security to launch a flu prevention public service campaign. Read our press release.
Prompt Passage of Economic Recovery Act Payment for 2010 Needed (October 2009)	Law Does Not Provide for a Social Security Cost-of-Living Adjustment for 2010 With consumer prices down over the past year, monthly Social Security and Supplemental Security Income benefits for more than 57 million Americans will not automatically increase in 2010. Read our press release
Social Security Hearings Backlog Down for First Time in Decade (September 2009)	Michael J. Astrue, Commissioner of Social Security, today announced that for the first time since 1999, the agency has ended the year with fewer disability hearings pending than in the prior year. Social Security ended fiscal year (FY) 2009 with 722,822 hearings pending compared to 760,813 hearings pending at the start of the year, a reduction of more than 37,000 cases. Read our press release.
Social Security Establishes Financial Literacy Research Consortium (September 2009)	Michael J. Astrue, Commissioner of Social Security, today announced the establishment of a new Financial Literacy Research Consortium (FLRC), made up of research centers at Boston College, the RAND Corporation, and the University of Wisconsin. Read our press release.
Settlement in the Martinez Court Case (September 2009)	On September 24, 2009, Judge Claudia Wilken, United States District Court, Northern District of California, ordered final approval of the settlement between SSA and plaintiffs of the Martinez class action. Judge Wilken also directed entry of a final judgment in the case. The settlement concerns the Social Security Act directive not to pay Supplemental Security Income (SSI), Special Veterans Benefits (SVB), or Old Age, Survivors, and Disability Insurance (OASDI) benefits to individuals who are determined to be “fleeing to avoid prosecution or custody or confinement after conviction” for a felony. It also concerns the Act's directive not to select persons to serve as representative payees for such reasons. The settlement explains the revised policy on interpreting these statutory directives and the retroactive relief available to class members. For more information, read the details about the court-approved settlement agreement.
Social Security to Test Use of Microsoft’s HealthVault in Disability Process (August 2009)	Michael J. Astrue, Commissioner of Social Security, announced today that the agency has entered into an agreement with Microsoft to test the use of Microsoft’s HealthVault application in the disability process. HealthVault is a free online service that enables people to gather, store and manage their families’ health information, and share that information with their physicians and healthcare providers. Read our press release.
Social Security Holds Compassionate Allowances Hearing on Early-Onset Alzheimer's Disease (July 2009)	Michael J. Astrue, Commissioner of Social Security was joined by Marie A. Bernard, M.D., Deputy Director of the National Institute on Aging, National Institutes of Health, and other Social Security officials, to hear testimony from some of the nation's leading experts on early-onset Alzheimer's disease and related dementias about possible methods for identifying and implementing Compassionate Allowances for people with early-onset Alzheimer's. For more information, read our press release.
Social Security to Open New Teleservice Center in Jackson, Tennessee (June 2009)	Michael J. Astrue, Commissioner of Social Security, today announced that the agency plans to open a new teleservice center in Jackson, Tennessee, which will be the first new call center opened by Social Security in more than a decade. Read our press release.
Social Security Continues to Rank as One of the "Best Places to Work in the Federal Government" (May 2009)	The Social Security Administration once again ranks as one of the "Best Places to Work in the Federal Government," according to The Partnership for Public Service and American University's Institute for the Study of Public Policy Implementation. Read our press release.
Social Security Trustees: Economic Downturn Leads to Worsening of Long-Range Financing Outlook (May 2009)	The Social Security Board of Trustees today released its annual report on the financial health of the Social Security Trust Funds. The Trustees project that program costs will exceed tax revenues in 2016, one year sooner than projected in last year’s report. The combined assets of the Old-Age and Survivors, and Disability Insurance (OASDI) Trust Funds will be exhausted in 2037, four years sooner than projected last year. The report is available in both text and portable document format.
America's Parents Vote for Change on Social Security's Most Popular Baby Names List (May 2009)	In 2008, American parents voted for change in naming their children. After a 12-year reign as the most popular baby name, Emily has slipped to third on the list. Emma is now the nation's most popular name for girls. The most popular boy's name, Jacob, remained the same for the 10th year in a row. Read our press release.
Commissioner Astrue and Senator Bingaman Tour New National Hearing Center in Albuquerque (April 2009)	Michael J. Astrue, Commissioner of Social Security, today joined U.S. Senator Jeff Bingaman (D-NM) for a tour of the agency's new National Hearing Center (NHC) in Albuquerque, New Mexico.  Commissioner Astrue and Senator Bingaman also announced that Social Security plans to hire approximately 80 people for positions throughout New Mexico before the fiscal year ends in October and open an additional field office in the Albuquerque area in 2010.  For more information, read our press release.
Vice President Biden Announces $250 Recovery Payments to Go Out in May (March 2009)	Vice President Joe Biden and Michael J. Astrue, Commissioner of Social Security, announced today that the federal government will send out $250 economic recovery payments to people who receive Social Security and Supplemental Security Income (SSI) benefits beginning in early May 2009 and continuing throughout the month. For more information, read our press release.
Social Security Administration Receives Top Marks from Employees (February 2009)	The Social Security Administration has been named the top Government Employer by readers of Equal Opportunity Magazine and also has received Top Ten Ranking in the 2008 Federal Human Capital Survey. For more information, read our press release.
Commissioner Astrue Signs President's Ethics Pledge (February 2009)	Michael J. Astrue, Commissioner of Social Security, announced that he has voluntarily signed President Obama's Ethics Pledge, an action required only of new political appointees in this Administration. For more information, read our press release.
Social Security's Online Services Continue to Win Accolades (February 2009)	The Social Security Administration's online services have earned the highest overall score in the most recent e-Government Satisfaction Index.  The Index, which is administered by ForeSee Results in conjunction with the University of Michigan's American Customer Satisfaction Index (ACSI), also gave three of SSA's applications the highest scores in government.  In a separate survey, Nextgov, a website devoted to technology and the federal government, listed www.socialsecurity.gov as one of the top five federal websites in its review of best online practices. For more information, read our press release.
Social Security Releases Annual Report on Hearing Backlog (February 2009)	Social Security has released the Fiscal Year 2008 Annual Report on the agency's efforts to eliminate the hearing backlog. You can read the full report here. (1.4MB) .
Social Security Expands Fast-Track Disability Processes (January 2009)	Michael J. Astrue, Commissioner of Social Security, announced today that improvements to the agency's computer modeling system have increased the number of claimants receiving expedited approvals for disability benefits. For more information, read our press release.
The Cousins are Back and They’re Filing Online for Social Security Benefits (January 2009)	Michael J. Astrue, Commissioner of Social Security, and Patty Duke, Academy Award, Golden Globe and Emmy winning actress, today unveiled Social Security's new online retirement application and launched the agency's Retire Online campaign.  Featuring cousins Patty and Cathy Lane from the hit 1960's sitcom, "The Patty Duke Show," the campaign will let Americans know that it's now easier than ever to retire online at www.socialsecurity.gov.  For more information, read our press release.
Notice of Settlement Agreement in Kaplan Court Case (April 2008)	All non-United States citizens who are receiving or have received Supplemental Security Income ("SSI") and are or will be subject to the seven-year limit on receiving SSI pursuant to 8 U.S.C. § 1612(a)(2)(A) (such as refugees and asylees), prior to becoming a naturalized United States citizen. You are hereby notified that a Stipulation and Agreement of Settlement and Release has been signed by the parties, resolving the claims that have been brought on your behalf in this law suit. Details about settlement agreement are accessible below. Notice of settlement agreement in class action for non-citizens who have received or are receiving Supplemental Security Income.