Friday 12-12-08

781, 381, 238, 075, 931, 184, 308, 644, 300

338, 037, 355, 034, 921, 710, 079, 974, 065

0407, 3952, 7801, 5239, 5995, 8584, 6664

3971, 0260, 1534, 1144, 1188, 1118

Thursday 12-11-08

317, 316, 976, 204, 825, 654, 178, 842, 704

381, 959 , 007, 489, 788, 631, 189, 051, 080

407, 229, 128, 719, 484, 616, 554, 000, 9784

8120, 6676, 0919, 3489, 0685

Firm used illegal workers at Chertoff home

WASHINGTON - Every few weeks for nearly four years, the Secret Service screened the IDs of employees for a Maryland cleaning company before they entered the house of Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff, the nation's top immigration official.

The company's owner says the workers sailed through the checks -- although some of them turned out to be illegal immigrants.

Now, owner James D. Reid finds himself in a predicament that he considers especially confounding. In October, he was fined $22,880 after U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement investigators said he failed to check identification and work documents and fill out required I-9 verification forms for employees, five of whom he said were part of crews sent to Chertoff's home and whom ICE told him to fire because they were undocumented.

"Our people need to know," said the Montgomery County businessman. "Our Homeland Security can't police their own home. How can they police our borders?"

Reid admits he made mistakes but called the fine so excessive that it may put him out of business. Several of his workers moved after ICE agents showed up at their homes, he said.

Raising a common objection among employers as ICE cracks down on illegal hirings across the country, Reid said it is unreasonable to expect businesspeople to distinguish between fake and real driver's licenses and Social Security cards.

Immigration laws are unevenly enforced, he added, allowing big companies to stay in business while crushing small-business owners and workers. He said the rules punish "scapegoats" such as him while inviting people at every level -- customers, subcontractors and contractors -- to look the other way while benefiting economically from cheaper labor.

"No one wants to put the blame on the head; they'd rather put the blame on the business owner," said Reid, who owns Consistent Cleaning Services. "Damned if I should be fined for employees that I took over to their house."

Chertoff declined to comment. "We're very constrained in what we can say about anybody who has any kind of issue with the department," he said.

Security vs. immigration checks
The Secret Service uses workers' ID information to conduct security checks, not immigration checks, much like most police departments do when they pull over people for traffic stops.

Eric Zahren, a spokesman for the service, which is part of Chertoff's department, declined to discuss specific screening practices. But he said agents protecting the secretary "would have run the appropriate checks, screened and escorted people as appropriate in order to maintain the security of the residence and our protectee's security."

Department of Homeland Security spokesman Russ Knocke said that in this type of investigation, ICE focuses on the employers, not where employees are dispatched. He said that contractors have the responsibility of ensuring that their workers are legal, and that the Chertoffs were assured by Reid that workers sent to their home were legal. Upon learning that Reid might have hired illegal immigrants, the Chertoffs fired him, and the secretary recused himself from the department's subsequent enforcement actions, Knocke said.

"This matter illustrates the need for comprehensive immigration reform and the importance of effective tools for companies to determine the lawful status of their workforce," he said.

The Bush administration has pushed to expand employers' use of E-Verify, for instance, an electronic system that can confirm new hires' work documents against federal databases.

High-profile homes
In addition to the Chertoffs' house, Reid said, his service once cleaned the Washington home of former president Bill Clinton and Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton (D-N.Y.), now secretary of state-designee, as well as homes of another Bush Cabinet member and Clinton Secretary of State Madeleine K. Albright. In those cases, he said, his company worked as a subcontractor and billing was done by a larger contractor firm.

ICE investigated Reid's company under a 1986 federal law barring employers from knowingly hiring illegal immigrants. It provides for civil and criminal penalties against employers who do not examine workers' documents and keep completed I-9 forms.

In February, ICE agents singled out Reid's company, and they subpoenaed two years of payroll and I-9 records this summer, a U.S. official said. Reid was fined $2,750 for hiring violations and $20,130 for not completing paperwork.

His offenses included failing to ask for IDs from or fill out I-9 forms for several workers who turned out to be in the country illegally. Reid said he also did not verify the eligibility of people he knew were native-born U.S. citizens, including himself, his stepbrother, his sister and his sister's friend.

Targeted under year-old initiative
ICE policy states that companies are not randomly selected for scrutiny and that all investigations are based on tips or intelligence. ICE spokeswoman Kelly Nantel said Reid was targeted under a year-old initiative called Project Safe Harbor, in which field offices pursue employers in the service, agriculture and fast-food industries.

Nantel declined to say when the Chertoffs learned of the investigation. She likened the couple to restaurant or hotel customers who take the owner's word that its workers are legal.

Reid said he was referred to the Chertoffs in 2005 and worked mainly with the secretary's wife, Meryl J. Chertoff, an adjunct professor and director of the Sandra Day O'Connor Project on the State of the Judiciary at Georgetown Law School. Reid's calendar shows that the Chertoffs paid $185 per visit for his company to clean their suburban Maryland home.

Reid said he routinely asked workers to give personal information to Secret Service agents and assumed the workers were authorized because they were cleared.

Chertoff's situation appeared to be different from a case announced last week in which federal prosecutors arrested Lorraine Henderson, the Boston port director for U.S. Customs and Border Protection, another part of Chertoff's department, on charges that she repeatedly hired illegal immigrants to clean her condominium.

The brains of children from low-income families process information differently to those of their wealthier counterparts, US research suggests.

Normal nine and 10-year-olds from rich and poor backgrounds had differing electrical activity in a part of the brain linked to problem solving.

The Journal of Cognitive Neuroscience study was described as a "wake-up call" about the impact of deprivation.

A UK researcher said it could shed light on early brain development.

"If the only prayer you said in your whole life was, 'thank you,' that would suffice."

                                                                                       - Meister Eckhart -

Midday 12-10-08 Midday

** until 12-13-08 **

017  018  024  027  028  037  042  058  071  072  073  078  081  082  085  087  204  207  208  213  215  217  231  234  235  238  239  240  243  247  248  249  251  253  257  258  259  270  271  274  275  279  280  283  284  285  289  293  294  295  297  298  307  312  321  324  325  328  329  342  347  348  352  357  358  370  374  375  378  379  382  384  385  387  389  392  397  398  402  418  420  423  427  428  429  432  437  438  457  472  473  475  478  479  481  482  483  487  492  497  508  512  517  518  521  523  527  528  529  532  537  538  547  571  572  573  574  578  580  581  582  583  587  592  602  607  608  612  617  618  620  621  625  627  628  637  648  652  657  658  670  671  672  673  675  680  681  682  684  685  701  702  703  708  710  712  715  718  720  721  724  725  729  730  734  735  738  739  742  743  745  748  749  751  752  753  754  758  780  781  783  784  785  792  793  794  801  802  805  807  810  814  815  817  819  820  823  824  825  829  832  834  835  837  839  841  842  843  847  850  851  852  853  857  870  871  873  874  875  891  892  893  918  923  924  925  927  928  932  937  938  942  947  952  972  973  974  981  982  983

or 

Reduced Straights

028  082  208  280  802  820  037  073  307  370  703  730  238  283  328  382  823  832  248  284  428  482  824  842  258  285  528  582  825  852  289  298  829  892  928  982  347  374  437  473  734  743  357  375  537  573  735  753  378  387  738  783  837  873  379  397  739  793  937  973  215  251  512  521  517  571  715  751  518  581  815  851  602  620  607  670  608  680  628  682  637  673 

"Insane people are always sure that they are fine. It is only the sane people who are willing to admit that they are crazy."

                                            - Nora Ephron - 

Wednesday 12-10-08

144, 319, 975, 233, 688, 334, 920, 376, 398

165, 627, 394, 621, 527, 308, 143, 415, 318

219, 695, 596, 526, 1644, 1986, 3118, 8308

000, 444, 555, 777

Evening 12-9-08 Evening

** until 12-13-08 **

013  023  124  134  235  245  346  356 

457  467  568  578  679  689  003  114 

225  033  336  144  447  255  558  366 

669  477  588  699 

Rapper Common: Obama will change hip-hop's attitude

• Story Highlights
• Barack Obama should inspire a "more positive" message in hip-hop, Common says
• Common sat down with CNN to discuss "Universal Mind Control," his movie career
• Producers Pharrell Williams, Kanye West pushed Common lyrically, he says
• Common concedes he didn't do enough to promote his music in his early years

(CNN) -- The rapper Common wants to take hip-hop in a new direction, he says, and he has an unsuspecting ally -- President-elect Barack Obama.

Obama "is going to change hip-hop for the better," predicted the rapper, whose eighth album, "Universal Mind Control" (G.O.O.D. Music/Geffen), hits shelves Tuesday.

"I really do believe we as hip-hop artists pick up what's going on in the world and try to reflect that," he told CNN, outlining his belief that mainstream as well as so-called "conscious" rappers -- the more socially aware -- will pick up on what he sees as the more optimistic prospects of an Obama presidency.

"I think hip-hop artists will have no choice but to talk about different things and more positive things, and try to bring a brighter side to that because, even before Barack, I think people had been tired of hearing the same thing," he said.

Likewise, "Universal Mind Control," with its hook-heavy, synthed-out tracks, represents a "broadening" of hip-hop's audience -- one that demands evolution rather than hackneyed revamps of old beats, rhythms and rhymes, Common said. Listen to clips from the album and Common's interview with CNN.com »

Not that Common, born Lonnie Rashid Lynn Jr., is altogether removed from the temptations of his hip-hop brethren.

He serves as a spokesman for Lincoln Navigator and purports on his new album to "rebel in YSL," a reference to designer Yves Saint Laurent. Money is also a weakness, as Common -- No. 14 on Forbes magazine's 2008 list of richest rappers -- regularly invokes the greenbacks he makes and spends.
iReport.com: Talk Grammy Awards and more showbiz with Todd

Still, Common has come at hip-hop from a different angle from many of his colleagues. He was generally considered "underground" until he linked up with Kanye West, who produced his albums "Be" (2005) and "Finding Forever" (2007).

Even now, while paying homage at mainstream hip-hop's altar, the Chicago-born lyricist also enters parishes where most rappers wouldn't be seen. He's helped front movements for HIV/AIDS awareness and vegetarianism, and he's written two children's books emphasizing the importance of self-esteem.

Lyrically, violence has never been his thing; soft-drug use has been mentioned but rarely glamorized; he removed homophobic references from his lyrics years ago; and while there have been hints of misogyny and the occasional N-word in his verses, neither has been a staple of his rhymes.

"I've always been conscious, honestly," he said. "I made a choice on this album, 'Universal Mind Control,' to really make some music that was bright, that would be a little more lighthearted, just because of what was going on in the world." Read more from the interview

With a few exceptions, his latest lyrics are consummate Common. In his beat poet's cadence, the 36-year-old rhymesmith aggressively courts the ladies, personifies hip-hop, aggrandizes himself and his hometown (lovingly, "the Chi"), and respectfully doles out props to hip-hop's forefathers -- most notably to Afrika Bambaataa on the album's title track. Hear the title track »

The album's sound, however, is atypical, moving -- sometimes jerkily -- from club-banger to anthem to ballad to Top 40. The latter even runs counter to the opening verse of "Everywhere": "No pop, no pop, no pop, no pop/We gonna do this thing till the sky just drop."

But the sound is part of "a whole new sound and a new movement" in hip-hop, something he explored out of disdain for repetition and predictability, he said. That might explain Kanye West's relative absence on "Universal Mind Control."

The Louis Vuitton don appears on only one track, the pop-drenched "Punch Drunk Love." But West has long been credited, even by Common, with bringing his fellow Chicagoan to the mainstream after "Be" and "Finding Forever" went gold and leapt up the Billboard 200.

Of course, it's not all Kanye, said Common.

"I'm a true believer that it all boils down to the music, because Kanye can endorse something, and if people don't like it they ain't gonna get with it -- regardless of whoever endorses it," he said.

He compared his working relationship with West to the collaboration he enjoyed with The Neptunes' Pharrell Williams on "Universal Mind Control." Williams, whom Common casually likened to Quincy Jones, pushed him lyrically, much like West did, he said.

Between Williams and Mr. DJ -- who composed backbeats for some of OutKast's biggest hits -- Common arrived at the evolution he sought, he added.

Common also is plotting a change, or at least a detour, in his career path. Though his past cinematic endeavors have been primarily gangster flicks, Common has landed a role in the upcoming "Terminator Salvation" and could play Green Lantern in "Justice League: Mortal" should the derailed movie get back on track.

"I would truly love to go increasingly in the acting direction," he said. "My goal is to be a movie star. I want to be at Will Smith's level. I want to be co-leading with Leonardo DiCaprio."

Fear not, Common fans. The aspiring thespian is confident he can pull off both, though hip-hop might ride sidecar to the silver screen. Acting, he said, seems to improve his music.

"I don't take as much time overthinking it. Actually, since 'Be' I've been working on films and each album has been expanding and increasing, so I feel like I would still make music, but it wouldn't be the main gig," he said.

Selling albums, Common said, is about more than good music, and though he stands proudly by the music he made pre-West, he concedes he didn't do enough to claw his way up from the underground.

"After you make good, quality music, then it's your job to go out there and promote it and to market it and to get it out there to the people. I feel like I wasn't doing that early on," he said. "Now I am, and I feel like I'm growing as a songwriter and working with producers that are very incredible, so I feel all that is contributing to me getting the recognition that I'm getting."

"We never live, but we hope to live; and, so we are always preparing to be happy, it is inevitable we should never be so."

                                                                - Blaise Pascal -

Midday & Evening

** Good for 4 draws **

 019  028  037  046  127  136  145  235 

289  379  469  478  568  001  118  226

334  244  055  559  667  577  388  199

Tuesday 12-9-08

851, 485, 688, 540, 605, 198, 580, 960, 045

467, 086, 713, 000, 333, 444, 666, 777, 999

7960, 3297, 8166, 9166, 4503, 3708, 1223

2529, 1937, 1986, 6616, 9949

Monday 12-8-08

960, 248, 078, 328, 287, 528, 198, 086, 045

467, 069, 713, 000, 333, 444, 777, 7960, 3297

8166, 9166, 4503, 3708, 1223, 2529, 1937, 1986