181 February 1998
POVERTY GUIDELNES ANNUAL UPDATE These guidelines are not new paths to poverty. Poverty figures as found in sources such as Facts on File, the Statistical Abstract of the United States, almanacs, and other sources, when compared, may vary from one source to another. If you check and compare poverty figures given within different programs such as found in the Hill-Burton Uncompensated Services no-fee or reduced-fee health care services, the Job Training Partnership Programs, or the Older Americans "greatest economic need" programs, you may find different figures. Secondary sources may cite different federal sources. Every (calendar) year, the first place the primary poverty guidelines appear is the Federal Register (AE 2.106:). The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), issues the basic poverty (figures which are called) guidelines. These guidelines are the basis from which all other federal and non-federal poverty figures are derived. Poverty guidelines are a set of figures/guidelines given for a family of one through a family of nine or more. Geographically based, one set of poverty figures/guidelines is given for the 48 contiguous States and D.C.; a second set for Alaska, and a third set for Hawaii. Then the Census Bureau, the Bureau of Labor Statistics, and other federal agencies use these figures/guidelines to make use of these figures to administer their programs and update their concept of poverty and standards for poverty benefits. Then poverty data issued by each Federal agency and office is picked-up by all the companies and publishers which published federal poverty information. For 1998 poverty guidelines are found in February 24, 1998 issue of the Federal Register, v. 63, no. 36, February 24, 1998 pages 9235-9238. These figures/guidelines appear as a Notice with an explanatory text and names and phone numbers of whom to contact in each agency which makes use of these primary poverty figures.
JAZZ (IN) HISTORY The drum music of the American Indians, which greeted Columbus' party around 1492, may be the first purely American musical form in American history. The music historians can rely on the materials found in the Smithsonian Institution and the National Museum of the American Indian located both in Washington, D. C. and New York City to research this concept. According to the Encyclopedia Britannica's Micropaedia, v. 24, page 641, jazz as a form of music would have not developed as it has if the (African) slaves did not come to America. "Jazz is the expression in music of the African native who is isolated both socially and geographically from his natural environment." Jazz music was brought to the United States in the 1600's. Jazz is a special "American" kind of music that has African origins and was developed primarily by Scott Joplin and many other African-Americans. Is jazz music the closest we can get to purely American music other than the Native American's of 1492? That may be debatable, but Congress thought jazz is a rare and national treasure to be acknowledged and studied in its American birthplace. Jazz music has shorter history (than the Native American Music) and less developed historical database. With Public Law 101-499 passed in 1990; we have the New Orleans Jazz National Historical Park and the New Orleans Jazz Commission. All of the Park's events, programs, publications, exhibits, etc you will find through the New Orleans Jazz National Historical Park Newsletter. The Jazz Park has a Newsletter mailing list kept in Suite 2400 of the Canal Street Building at 365 Canal Street, New Orleans, LA 70310-1136. The first four semiannual issues of volume are dated June and December 1996 and 1997. If you read the (earlier) New Orleans Jazz Study Newsletter (No. 1, August 1991, No. 2, November 1991, and No. 3, May 1992 (I29.131:), you will find some of the historical facts and factors behind the Jazz Park's creation. Check the Jazz Park's homepage at http://www.nps.gov/neor/.
NO LEGAL KILLING WITH FEDERAL MONEY In Section 2 of the "Assisted Suicide Funding Restriction Act of 1997" (Public Law 105-12, April 30, 1997, United States Statutes at Large v. 111, pages 23-30) (AE 2.110:105-12) the congress has shown concern that there may state laws which permit assisted suicide, euthanasia, or mercy killing. Insofar as these legalized services may occur in health care programs which are federally funded, Congress wants to insure that federal funds will not be used by (federally funded) health care programs to provide any service which includes assisted suicide, euthanasia, or mercy killing. This law also requires the existence of federal regulations that were realized as a final rule on December 30, 1997. "Legal Services Corporation, 45 CFR Part 1643, Restriction on Assisted Suicide, Euthanasia, and Mercy Killing, Final Rule" is found in the Federal Register v.62, no. 249 December 30, 1997 pages 67746-67749 (AE 2.106:62/249). This rule that is effective January 29, 1998 is four pages of background and summary of this regulation. Also included are discussions of related case law and a section-by-section analysis of what is the latest reinforcement of the current federal policy that there is no (federal) legal killing with federal health care money.
OLD MADE IN USA STANDARD RETAINED In 1994, there were two court cases which called into question the current use and meaning of the term MADE IN USA. This problem caused the Federal Trade Commission to undertake a comprehensive review of MADE IN USA and other U.S. origin claims in product advertising and labeling. To quote the Federal Register, "Federal Trade Commission, 'Made in USA' and Other U.S. Origin Claims, Enforcement Policy Statement on U.S. Origin of Claims, Notice..." (v. 62, no. 321 December 2, 1997 pages 63756-63771, AE 2.106:62/321): the Commission decided not to adopt the Proposed Guidelines. Instead, the Commission will continue to enforce the Commission's current "all or virtually all" standard. The Enforcement Policy Statement on U.S. Origin Claims that appears at the end of this notice outlines the Commission's enforcement policy in this area and provides additional guidance to marketers wishing to make an unqualified "Made in USA" claim under the "all or virtually all" standard. Though these sixteen pages may appear on the proposed reading list of very few people, this text provides a ready source for the FTC Enforcement Policy Statement on U.S. Origin Claims.
VALUE OF MONEY Once upon a time circa 1200s to 1500s, in England and France, the knights were bold and their coins were made of (silver and) gold. There were gold and silver coins that were so named because they were made of gold and silver. The coins were a medium of exchange but had an intrinsic value as gold and silver. However, the Kings/Queens of this medieval era removed the gold and silver. ("The Debasement Puzzle: An Essay on Medieval Monetary History, by Arthur J. Rolnick, et al, Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis Quarterly, v. 21, no. 4, Fall 1997 pages 8-20) http://research.mpls.frb.fed.us/research/qr/qr2142.html. Though the reasons for this medieval monetary debasement were many and complex, they set some precedents for us today. In the 19th Century United States, we had silver dollar and gold coins made of silver and gold. The 20th century debasement picked up speed starting in 1961 when Congress withdrew the silver certificate (bills), eliminated silver from the half-dollar, the quarter, and the dime. Even the metal content of the nickel and penny was modified. As "Coins and Currency" issued in January 1981 by the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, presents the facts, the United States government has it own history of monetary debasement. The 1997 monetary plan is for new silver and gold content for United States coinage to be 90 percent for ten-dollar gold coins and 90 percent for silver dollars. Have you had a fifty cent piece (a.k.a.) half-dollar lately? Know what one looks like? The new law authorizes the production and issuance of half-dollar coins, but these will not contain either silver or gold. "50 STATES COMMEMORATIVE COIN PROGRAM ACT" (Public Law 105-124, December 1, 1997), U.S. Statutes at Large v. 111, pages 2534-2539 (Slip Law: AE 2.110:105-124) is where you will also find the "United States $1 Coin Act of 1997" (as Section 4: UNITED STATES DOLLAR COINS) pages 2536-2537. It looks like that pure gold and silver coins are as extinct as the bold knights are.
FREEZING/SWELTERING IN A SUNNY BLUE SKY: SIMPLE ANSWERS On March 10, 1998 there was a sunny clear blue sky and the air temperature was about 10 degrees (F) outside, it is winter in Kentucky. Sometime in June 1998, Kentucky may have a sunny clear blue sky and the air temperature is about 90 degrees (F), it will be a hot summer day. Why? Why is the sky blue? How can the sky be blue, sunny, and clear on both days yet one day is 10 degrees and another day is 90 degrees? The sky is blue due to the way the sun's light is "scattered" by the particulates present in the Earth's atmosphere. Page 19 of "Nature's Scorekeepers" published by The National Environmental Satellite, Data, and Information Service in 1985 (C 55.202:N21/3) is where the blue-sky answer is found. A better explanation in rather simple terms is found in "Earth's Energy Balance" issued by NASA in 1997 (NAS 1.83:1997 (01)-003-GSFC. This tri-fold publication is a very good pictorial and narrative explanation of what happens (and why it happens) that, of all (i.e. 100% of) the light rays emitted by the sun, only 50% hit the Earth. On the "flip side" of this foldout, there is an equally good explanation of the green house effect.
VISIBLE MAN MEETS VISIBLE WOMAN Actually, this man and woman would not be visible to the human eye. They are made up of 45 gigabytes of information or should we say digitized data. This man and women were the first two entries in the Visible Human Project of the National Library of Medicine that was first planned in 1988 and has now developed to include the first two people. If you downloaded the available data from the Internet you would need three weeks of uninterrupted computer processing. A brief article in the September/October 1996 issue of Public Health Reports, page 385 announcing the "Visible Woman Meets Visible Man" (HE 20.30:111/5) will lead to a "The Visible Human, Fact Sheet" http://www.nlm.nih.gov/pubs/factsheets/visible_human.html. Further searching the NLM site will yield details about the database sources and some of the current projects using this data http://www.nlm.nih.gov/research/visible/visible_human.html. If you are interested in getting information from the Database check: http://www.nlm.nih.gov/research/visible/getting_data.html. The NLM administrator in charge of this project also tells us why currently only the male data set is available even though the Visible Woman has now entered this digital picture http://www.dlib.org/dlib/october95/10ackerman.html. Isn't it appropriate that so much information about the digitized man and yet to be digitized woman is in a digitized format!
TOBACCO SETTLEMENT DOCUMENTS (TSD) The TSD are now at your fingertips! Place you fingers on your computer's keyboard a complete set of documents is on U.S. Congress Commerce Committee website at http://www.house.gov/commerce/TobaccoDocs/documents.html>. There is an electronic index within this website that will be found at http://www.house.gov/commerce/TobaccoDocs/, but before starting check the prefatory "readme" text at http://www.house.gov/commerce/TobaccoDocs/readme.htm. For anyone without a computer access to the Internet, you will find a paper index: "Index to documents relating to the committee's hearing on the proposed tobacco settlement November 13, 1997: To Accompany the Documents in Electronic Format", a 21 page publication, Committee Print 105-P, which has the SuDoc Number Y 4.C73/8:105-P. This paper index should work with the Internet version of the TSD was issued to accompany the CD-ROM version of the TSD which was also sent to some depository libraries: "Documents relating to the committee's hearing on the proposed tobacco settlement, November 13, 1997". This compact disk version has the SuDoc number Y 4.C73/8:105-P/CD. This CD-ROM will be most useful as an alternative to Internet access to TSD. I'll bet you didn't know access to the TSD was this easy, now we both do (know).
March 25, 1998
http://www.edu.nku/~yannarella/news9802.html