More on Alex Ovechkin and Michelle Obama

Like you and me, Karl Alzner follows Alex Ovechkin on Twitter, and so he saw the image Ovechkin posted of himself with the First Lady on Friday night.

“I don’t know how he did that,” Alzner said. “How the heck did that happen, is what I want to know. I thought they eat at home with their chef and stuff. I’ve got to find out about that.”

Well, I wanted to find out about it, too, so I asked Ovechkin after Monday’s practice.

“Me and [Jason] Arnott go to restaurant and she was there,” Ovechkin explained. “So I asked the manager can we take a picture with her. It was kind of cool, and she was very nice. Like, it’s unbelievable.”

This squares pretty well with the much longer account provided by a commenter at Japers Rink, who wrote that the encounter took place at BLT Steak DC. And indeed, the restaurant tweeted back at Ovechkin after he posted the photo, writing “Hope you both had a wonderful time!”

Ovechkin said Arnott snagged a photo with the First Lady, too, although he doesn’t have a Twitter account on which to share such things. And Ovi, of course, has had his picture taken with various Russian dignitaries, so he was not cowed by the moment. Obviously.

“Why I have to be nervous?” he asked me.

Teammates, as you’d guess, were mostly not surprised that there was a photo floating around of a goofily-smiling Ovechkin with his arm around the First Lady, because no one in that room seems to be surprised by much of anything that happens to their star.

“That’s just part of the way he is,” Matt Bradley said. “He’s just a happy-go-lucky guy, and he treats everyone the same, and that’s what makes him the kind of person he is .”

“Alex Ovechkin lives large and has fun,” Ted Leonsis wrote on his blog. “So does Nicklas Backstrom. As long as we are winning, I am good to go with it.”

Sunday night’s encounter with Lil Wayne was less of a surprise; a Caps PR person had let the appropriate people know in advance that a bunch of players would be around if Wayne and Drake had a moment to say hi. As usual, Ovechkin was the featured attraction.

“I think [Wayne] knew who Ovi was,”John Carlson told me. “I doubt that he would know who I was. He said, ‘Oh hey, what’s up, you guys are the Capitals, right?’ and he said something to Ovi. I don’t know, I was a little star struck.”

“He knew who Ovi was,” D.J. King confirmed. “He just said ‘Hey Ovi, what’s up.’ He recognized him, which we thought was really cool. Ovi didn’t really even notice that he recognized him — everyone was talking so quick and everything — but we picked up on it. It was cool.”

With Ovechkin now having posted photos of himself with the First Lady, Weezy, DJ Pauly D and Michael Vick in a three-week span, I figured maybe I should ask other members of the team whom their most famous celebrity photo was with. Mike Knuble has a picture of himself with Sly Stallone on his computer, which is tough to top. (Plus, Stallone is holding his fist by Knuble’s jaw.) Eric Fehr has one with Taylor Swift, from before she was famous. Alzner has one with DJ Tiesto, which he got with Ovechkin’s help. Bradley said his would be Pauly D, which means Ovechkin gets another assist. Brooks Laich had to stop and think when I asked him the question.

“Alex Ovechkin,” he said, adding “I’m not really infatuated with all that stuff. (For example, Laich was at the same memorabilia show when Ovechkin met Vick, but he declined a chance to meet the Eagles quarterback.)

I’m not sure if Ovechkin is infatuated, exactly, but it seems pretty clear he enjoys a bit of celebrity stalking. Though the celebrities seem to enjoy him back.

“I think that’s cool; he’s made a name for himself and people love watching him” Carlson said. “So that’s how that stuff happens.”

Source http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/dc-sports-bog/post/more-on-alex-ovechkin-and-michelle-obama/2011/04/04/AFuzxadC_blog.html

Chile President Pinera to ask Obama for Pinochet files

Chilean President Sebastian Pinera has said he will formally ask the US for classified intelligence documents on human rights violations during the rule of Gen Augusto Pinochet.

Mr Pinera was speaking a day after US President Barack Obama said he would consider any Chilean requests.

Mr Obama - who was visiting Chile - ducked a request that he apologise for US support for Gen Pinochet.

More than 3,000 Chileans were killed under military rule in 1973-90.

More than 1,000 human rights cases are still unresolved, and hundreds are being investigated by Chile's independent judiciary.

In an interview with the Associated Press, Mr Pinera said his government was "categorically committed to contribute to the search for truth so that justice is done in all of these human rights cases".

"If there is information that a friendly government such as the US can provide to us, that advances the speed and strength of Chilean justice, of course we're going to ask for it," he added.

'Rocky' relations

On Monday Chile's centre-left opposition coalition urged President Obama to apologise for the US role in the coup that brought Gen Pinochet to power.

It also asked him to share uncensored versions of thousands of CIA documents that might shed light on human rights abuses.

Answering questions from journalists, Mr Obama did not respond to the request for an apology, but said he would consider any formal request for information.

He acknowledged that US relations with Latin America had at times been "extremely rocky," but said he could not "speak for all the policies of the past".

"It is important for us to learn from our history, to understand our history, but not be trapped by it," Mr Obama added.

Human rights groups and the Chilean opposition allege the CIA was closely involved in the military coup that overthrew left-wing President Salvador Allende in 1973.

Mr Allende's death as troops attacked the presidential palace - long regarded as suicide - is among the cases currently being investigated.

Mr Pinera is Chile's first conservative president since the end of military rule in 1990.

Source http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-latin-america-12823979

Obama's health-care push began in Green Bay

The debate over health care kicked off in June when President Barack Obama used Green Bay Southwest High School as the backdrop to announce his vision for what he characterized as much-needed reform.

Congress took one step closer to a final bill on health care Christmas Eve when the Senate voted for an overhaul that would require most Americans to have insurance.

The Senate's bill must still be merged with legislation passed by the House before Obama could sign a final bill, and there are significant differences between the two measures.

The House bill has stricter limits on abortion than the Senate, and unlike the House, the Senate measure omits a government-run insurance option.

But both would expand coverage to millions of Americans who don't have insurance, a significant goal that Obama outlined in his speech in Green Bay.

Using Hobart resident Laura Klitzka's personal struggle with medical bills for her breast cancer treatment as an example, Obama spoke to a 1,500-person crowd in the gymnasium of Southwest High School of the need for insurance reform and expansion of health care to millions of uninsured through a federally regulated national exchange.

Those on both sides of the various bills introduced in Congress over the summer clashed at public venues across the country and here in Northeastern Wisconsin.

Specifically the inclusion of a public option in the insurance exchange concept — a provision later removed in the Senate versions of the legislation — drew criticism from those who portrayed it as leading to government-run health care.

U.S. Rep. Steve Kagen, D-Appleton, faced people upset about the proposed reforms at listening sessions and town halls throughout the 8th Congressional District during the August recess. Supporters countered those with pro-reform rallies and gatherings before Congress returned to session.

Source http://www.greenbaypressgazette.com/article/20091231/GPG0101/912310543/-1/archive/Obama-s-health-care-push-began-Green-Bay?odyssey=nav|head

Obama administration guts 'conscience clause' protection for health workers

The Obama administration has rolled back the "conscience clause" protections for health-care workers that were instituted during the Bush presidency.

The new federal regulations, released on February 18, still protect health-care workers who refuse to be involved in abortions. But the rules do not protect those who refuse to provide contraceptives.

The new regulations will create severe moral dilemmas for health-care workers who believe-- as the Catholic Church teaches-- that the use of contraceptives is gravely wrong. The conflict could be acute in some cases, since the regulations would force health-care workers to dispense contraceptives that function as abortifacients.

Rather than condemning the new rules, the US Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) issued a measured response. Speaking for the bishops' conference, Deirdre McQuade said that the administration's move was "a cause for disappointment, but also offers reasons for hope regarding an emerging consensus in Washington on the need for clear conscience protections for health-care providers." She said that the USCCB would work to expand the "conscience clause" protections.

Source http://www.catholicculture.org/news/headlines/index.cfm?storyid=9338

Obama's budget to target education Pell grants

President Obama's budget Monday will propose cutting $100 billion dollars from the Pell grant program and other higher education programs, but use those savings to ensure that eligible students would be able to receive the current maximum award of $5,500 per school year.

Jacob Lew, director of the Office of Management and Budget, said Sunday on State of the Union with Candy Crowley that the changes would affect two areas of the Pell grant program.

The proposal calls for the end to the policy where students could qualify for two grants in one year -- one for the regular academic year and a second for summer school. Only one Pell grant per year would be awarded.

According to an Obama administration source, the savings would be $8 billion dollars next year, and $60 billion dollars over 10 years.

Lew said the second change would affect graduate and professional school students, reducing loan subsidies for these students.

Currently the government pays the interest on loans for some graduate and professional school students as long as they remain in school. Under the proposal, interest would build up while students were in school, though students wouldn't have to start paying back loans until after graduation.

By ending this program, the government would save $2 billion next year and $29 billion dollars over 10 years, according to an administration source.

"In education, we invest very seriously to make sure that 9 million students can go to college using Pell grant, to make sure that K-12 education -- we have 100,000 new teachers who are trained and experienced in science, technology, engineering and math," Lew said on State of the Union. "But we also have cutbacks."

In a conference call Friday, Education Secretary Arne Duncan was asked about cuts in discretionary spending and how that could affect Pell grants. Duncan said the administration is "committed to maintain Pell."

Duncan said the budget would be "responsible" and "makes important investments in education reforms" including early learning, reforms in education and making college affordable.

When asked if more money for race to the top and new initiatives for early learning was realistic, he said he hoped it is. He continued: " The president is making very tough cuts, painful cuts. Pieces of our budget is being hit hard but we have to continue to invest" in education for this country's children.

Source http://money.cnn.com/2011/02/13/news/economy/obama_budget_pell_grants/

Taxes under Obama

A comparison of tax bills for 2010, which must be filed this spring, with bills from 2008, the last full year of George W. Bush’s presidency.

■ A married couple with two young children and a combined income of $25,000

Their refund grew by $385 because the Earned Income Tax Credit was made more generous. The credit is refundable, meaning tax filers can receive it even if they didn’t pay any federal taxes.

■ A married couple with two children, including one in college, and a combined income of $50,000

Refund shrank by $500 because in 2008, the family received a $1,500 economic stimulus payment, which was larger than the $800 Making Work Pay credit they received for 2010. Other deductions were more generous in 2010.

■ A single person making $50,000 who paid $2,500 in interest on a student loan

Tax bill was reduced by $63 because the standard deduction and personal exemption increased. They increase most years, based on inflation.

■ A married couple with two children, including one in college, with modest investments and a combined income of $200,000

Tax bill reduced by $780 because the family had $37,000 in itemized deductions for state and local income taxes, mortgage interest, and charitable donations. Limits on such deductions were phased out.

■ A married couple with two children in college, larger investments, and a combined income of $1 million

Tax bill reduced by $6,740 because the family had $110,000 in itemized deductions for state and local income taxes, mortgage interest, and charitable donations. Limits on such deductions were phased out.

Source  http://www.boston.com/news/nation/articles/2011/02/08/taxes_under_obama/?rss_id=Boston.com+--+Top+political+stories

Health bits: Tips for brushing your teeth

Most of us forget to brush the inner surfaces of our teeth -- the areas the tongue presses against.

But the plaque we can't see is just as important to remove as the plaque we see.

Dentists say the area most neglected is the inner surface of the front teeth.

Also remember the next time you brush your teeth you may actually put old bacteria back in your mouth.

So rinse the toothbrush after you brush to help remove any leftover toothpaste.

Source http://www.independent.ie/health/latest-news/health-bits-tips-for-brushing-your-teeth-2517489.html