Do you want substance or DJ Craig?

 GAZETTE READER'S COMMENT 

[Gazette Blog Editor's comment: The following is a comment from a reader about the Milky Way story below.]

This is the kind of informational reporting of significant stories that sets this publication above and beyond the Roundup. They have DJ Craig and the local yokel aspects of the community that bores you to tears; fluff and no substance. Thank you Jim for having the intellectual capacity to bring these things to this hamlet of ignorance.

Republicans choose vacation over governing

By Dave Johnson
Campaign for America's Future
ourfuture.org

This week was put up or shut up time for Republicans. After decades demanding unspecified budget cuts they finally had to put their vote where their budget outline was. So what did they do? They are taking a 40th vote on repealing Obamacare and then heading home for five weeks vacation. This is who they are.

This week the House Republican leadership withdrew its own transportation and housing appropriations bill. (Transportation, Housing and Urban Development is also known in DC as “THUD.”) The bill lined up with the Republican “Paul Ryan” budget outline Republicans have already passed. But even though Republicans completely control the House, they couldn’t pass THUD because the cuts in the bill were just too much for members to stomach. They understand that the public, having been promised for decades that cuts in “waste” will be painless, will not like it when the things that make their lives better are what gets cut, and will likely vote accordingly.

For decades Republicans have talked of the need to cut government, without ever specifying what, specifically, they would cut. So here they are, having to put actual numbers on their eternal promises to cut cut cut, and they can’t even stomach it themselves. This bill was 9% below even sequester-level cuts. The worst cuts were to public works projects (construction jobs), Amtrak and community planning and development block grants. Note that while some Republicans couldn’t vote for it because it cut too much, others objected because they wanted even more cuts! (Note that they did pass large increases in military spending in exchange for large contributions from military contracting corporations.)

When they return in the fall it looks like they will try to divert attention from their failure to come up with specific cuts by passing something that Democrats cannot accept and the President will veto, then shut the government down and try to blame Democrats. Senate Republicans moved that ball down the road by filibustering the Senate version of the THUD bill. The country is left without a budget and the Congress goes home

The rubber has hit the road, the Republicans have been fighting for power, they have it, and this is what they are doing with it. They are obstructing and deflecting, not governing. This is who they are.

UA project reveals how Milky Way was formed

By University Communications, July 31, 2013

New data released by the Sloan Digital Sky Survey's APOGEE project, which uses technology UA scientists helped develop, enables astronomers to better understand how the Milky Way formed.

An infrared map of the whole Galaxy showing the plane and
bulge of the Galaxy full of stars and dust. APOGEE uses new
IR instrumentation to study stars within the disk and is
less affected by the extinction from interstellar dust.

A photo of four SDSS-III scientists working on the APOGEE spectrograph. (Photo: Dan Long/Apache Point Observatory

Astronomers with the Sloan Digital Sky Survey III, or SDSS-III, have released a new online public dataset featuring 60,000 stars that are helping to tell the story of how our Milky Way galaxy formed.

The highlight of Data Release 10 is a new set of high resolution stellar spectra – measurements of the amount of light given off by a star at each wavelength – using infrared light, invisible to human eyes but able to penetrate the veil of dust that obscures the center of the galaxy.

The new dataset includes the first public release of data from the SDSS-III APOGEE project, which will map the motion and chemical pattern of stars in the Milky Way and reveal the assembly history of our own galaxy.

The current phase of the Sloan Digital Sky Survey, SDSS-III, is under direction of former University of Arizona astronomer Daniel Eisenstein, who started it during his tenure as a professor at the UA's Steward Observatory, one of the survey's partner institutions. SDSS-III is a six-year survey of nearby stars, the Milky Way galaxy, and the distant cosmos.

The Sloan Foundation 2.5-meter telescope at Apache Point Observatory in New Mexico conducts observations every night that feed either the Baryon Oscillation Spectroscopic Survey or APOGEE infrared spectrograph.

The APOGEE project, which stands for Apache Point Galactic Evolution Experiment, was made possible by a new multiobject infrared spectrograph that UA scientists helped develop. The highly sensitive detectors used on the spectrograph are the same type that are being used in the near-infrared camera on NASA's James Webb Space Telescope, a project led by UA Regents' Professor Marcia Rieke. Rieke and her group provided the detectors and electronic systems for the new spectrograph.

The question of how the Milky Way formed has been the subject of scientific speculation and debate for hundreds of years. APOGEE's three-dimensional map will provide key information for resolving central questions about how our galaxy formed over many billions of years.

"APOGEE will accurately measure both the motion and chemical makeup of tens of thousands of stars in different parts of the Milky Way Galaxy," said Xiaohui Fan, a professor of astronomy at the UA's Steward Observatory and a member of the SDSS-III advisory committee. "All elements heavier than hydrogen and helium are made as a result of stellar evolution and death. So the chemical patterns of stars in different parts of the galaxy reveal how stars formed and evolved over the last thirteen billion years of its history, and how these different components, disk, halo and bulge of the galaxy, were assembled during this time."

"This is the most comprehensive collection of infrared stellar spectra ever made," said Steven Majewski of the University of Virginia, the lead scientist for the APOGEE project. "Sixty thousand stars is almost ten times more high-resolution infrared stellar spectra than have ever been measured before, by all the world's telescopes. Selected from all the different parts of our galaxy, from the nearly-empty outskirts to the dust-enshrouded center, these spectra are allowing us to peel back the curtain on the hidden Milky Way."

"A star's spectrum is a powerful tool for learning about the star – it tells us key details about the star's temperature and size, and what elements are in its atmosphere," said Jon Holtzman of New Mexico State University, who led the effort to prepare the APOGEE data for Data Release 10. "It's one of the best tools we have for learning about stars, like getting someone's fingerprints instead of just knowing their height and weight."

The Milky Way currently has three main parts: a high-density oblong bulge in the center, the flat disk where we live, and a low-density spherical component called the "halo" extending out hundreds of thousands of light years.

"Stars in these different regions have different ages and compositions, which means they formed at different times and under different conditions throughout the history of our galaxy," said Gail Zasowski, an NSF Postdoctoral Fellow at The Ohio State University who led the critical effort to maximize APOGEE's scientific potential by selecting the best possible sample of stars.

If you look up at the sky from a dark site, far away from the overwhelming glow of city lights, the Milky Way galaxy appears as a luminous band across the sky, overlaid with dark curtains. This band is the disk and bulge of our galaxy, and the curtains are the dust that blocks visible light from more distant parts of the Milky Way.

Because of this dust, previous studies of stars in the Milky Way have been limited in their ability to consistently measure stars toward the center of our galaxy. APOGEE's solution is to look in infrared light, which can pass through the dust. This ability to explore previously hidden regions of the galaxy allows APOGEE to conduct the first comprehensive study of the Milky Way, from center to halo.

Observing tens of thousands of stars is a daunting, time-consuming task. To accomplish its goal of observing 100,000 stars in just three years, the APOGEE instrument observes up to 300 different stars at a time, using fiber-optic cables plugged into a large aluminum plate with holes drilled to line up with each star. Light passes through each fiber into the APOGEE spectrograph, where a prism-like grating distributes the light by wavelength.

"The grating is the first and largest of its kind deployed in an astronomy instrument," said John Wilson of the University of Virginia, who led APOGEE's instrument design team. "That technology is critical to APOGEE's success."

APOGEE's spectra of stars will help unlock the history of our galaxy, and the key is learning the compositions and motions of stars in each region. Because elements heavier than hydrogen and helium were produced in stars and spread through the galaxy by exploding stars and stellar winds, astronomers know that stars with more of these heavy elements must have formed more recently, after previous generations of stars had time to create those heavy elements.

"By finding which parts of the galaxy contain older versus newer stars, and by putting this together with how the stars are moving, we can write a detailed history of how the galaxy formed, and how it evolved into what we see today," said Peter Frinchaboy of Texas Christian University, who coordinated all of the APOGEE observations.

APOGEE data also provide a rich context for investigating a wide range of questions about the stars themselves. Because APOGEE observes each target star several times, it can identify changes in each star's spectrum over time. This feature has enabled the APOGEE team to discover unusual types of rapidly variable stars, to pinpoint how many stars are actually binary stars with unseen companions, and even to detect the subtle stellar motions caused by orbiting planets.

Data Release 10 also publishes another 685,000 spectra from the SDSS-III Baryon Oscillation Spectroscopic Survey, or BOSS. These new spectra come from galaxies and quasars as seen when our universe was much younger, just as the mysterious force of "dark energy" was beginning to influence the universe's expansion. The new BOSS spectra, and the additional spectra that the SDSS-III will continue to obtain in the final years of the survey, will help scientists in their quest to understand what dark energy might be.

"We've been putting out data releases since 2001, and we're not slowing down yet," said SDSS-III spokesperson Michael Wood-Vasey of the University of Pittsburgh. "Public access to data has always been a key goal of our project, and we're proud to continue that tradition today with this new release rich with information about our own galaxy."

All of the data gathered through the survey is available to the public, free of charge, at the Sloan Digitial Sky Survey website. Funding for SDSS-III has been provided by the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation, the participating institutions, the National Science Foundation and the U.S. Department of Energy Office of Science.

Seniors: Beware of medical alert scams

Scams Promising Free Medical Alert Systems are on the Rise Across the Country

Phoenix, AZ (Thursday, August 1, 2013) – The Arizona Attorney General's office is warning people, especially senior citizens, about an increase in medical alert scams. Across the country, seniors have been reporting phone calls that offer “free” medical alert systems.

Here’s how it works:  Scammers scare seniors by convincing them to disclose their private information and then use it to commit identity theft or drain bank accounts. In some situations, consumers receive a recorded message telling them a family member has ordered a medical alert system but more information is required before the product can be shipped. In other instances, consumers receive a phone message that states the company wants to deliver the product but needs to confirm an address. In each instance, it is a scam to get personal identifying information from the consumer, including credit card numbers, bank account information or Medicare card numbers. 

"While medical alert systems do save lives, this scam does nothing more than harm unsuspecting consumers, especially seniors," the office said. "It is a constant battle to stay one step ahead of these schemes, especially when scam artists often operate outside the country, out of reach of law enforcement. Consumer education is the best defense we have against these types of scams." 

Arizona consumers are not the only target of this latest scam; attorneys general from across the country are reporting similar scams in their states as well.

They offer these tips with respect to calls offering free medical alert services or calls looking for payment information on medical alert systems you did not purchase:

• When in doubt, don't give personal information out. Regardless of what they say, no legitimate organization, including Medicare, will call to ask for your bank account number or Social Security number.
• Keep your financial information to yourself. Do not give out credit card, checking or savings account information to anyone who calls you, as it is not difficult for someone with this data to draft money from your account.
• Don't rely on caller ID. Some seniors report that their caller ID system indicated a local number when they received one of these scam calls. Remember, criminals often scramble the number appearing on your caller ID with "spoofing" technology that tricks your caller ID system into displaying a fake number.
• Report suspicious activity. Check out an unknown company before you sign up, especially if they do business over the phone. If a caller seems suspicious, hang up and report the matter to the Attorney General's Office.
• Ask the sales agent to send you information about their product or services. Legitimate companies are often happy to mail you a pamphlet or brochure about what they sell.
• Place your name on the Do Not Call List – you can do this by visiting the National Do Not Call Registry.
• Remember, if it sounds too good to be true, it probably is.

For more information, or if you believe you have been a victim of fraud, please contact the Attorney General’s Office in Phoenix, at (602) 542-5763; Tucson at (520) 628-6504; or outside the Phoenix and Tucson metro areas at (800) 352-8431. Consumers can also file complaints online by visiting the Attorney General’s Website at www.azag.gov.

Medicaid foes threaten will of AZ voters

By David Mitchell

AARP Arizona State Director

Special to the Gazette Blog

It shouldn’t be hard to forget why so many worked so hard to see that Arizona’s Medicaid program, AHCCCS, was restored.  After all, the historic legislation that was recently signed into law by Governor Brewer means that now over 300,000 struggling Arizonans can get the health care coverage they need. 

This hard-fought legislation received bipartisan support from the state legislature, and was endorsed personally by the Governor, yet there are efforts to try and undo what has been done to help so many.

Medicaid opponents are at work collecting signatures for a ballot initiative to overturn all the good that has been accomplished.  Even though, we as a state, we voters, have twice already approved at the ballot box, AHCCCS coverage for vulnerable and struggling fellow Arizonans. 

If once again faced with this issue, voters will likely be asking these important questions.

Why shouldn’t we, as a state, want to see that previously uninsured Arizonans get access to health care?  Why shouldn’t we, as a state, want to make sure our hospitals, especially those in rural areas remain open?  Why shouldn’t we, as a state, want to reduce uncompensated health care, the cost of which hurts all of us as taxpayers?

Recent surveys have shown that Arizona voters support Medicaid restoration.  Recent polling finds that we, as a state, don’t want to see this coverage taken away from so many that need it. 

Restoring AHCCCS, when it comes down to it, is about people.  Hundreds of thousands of fellow Arizonans are being helped by this legislation.  Our rural hospitals will remain open, protecting jobs and our state’s economy.  Overcrowded emergency rooms will be eased.

Restoring AHCCCS is a win-win for all of us.

Yes, it was indeed historic legislation that was passed by our Legislature and signed by our Governor.  But we, as a state, as voters, may be called upon again to reaffirm the Governor and the Legislature’s action, as well as reaffirm our own belief that this law was a good work done for hundreds of thousands of struggling Arizonans.

Painted Elk party during First Friday

Painted Elk Party First Friday Aug. 2

at Down the Street Art Gallery

Down the Street Art Gallery invites you to the unveiling party for its Painted Elk Sculpture. This  bright art-covered, life-size Elk is the talk of the town and ready for his debut, plus he has his own 2014 calendar to celebrate it. 

First Friday takes place from 5-8 p.m. on Aug. 2.

Come meet the elk, color elk images on the patio and  join the rest of the Down the Street  Gallery artists for some cool treats. You can help us name the elk by entering your suggestion. If your suggested name is the one chosen, you will receive a prize.     

An Elk covered coloring -book style  2014 calendar  with monthly selections of local art is available for purchase, proceeds going to support local Payson art. 703 W. Main Street, Payson.

Prescott vet recalls 'Forgotten War'

Top: Bill Cheek, who lives in Prescott, was just 20 years old when he first saw fighting in the Korean War. Now 83, Cheek was in Washington with veterans from around the country Saturday to mark the 60th anniversary of the armistice that ended fighting in that war. (Cronkite News Service photo by Emilie Eaton)
Bottom: President Barack Obama arrives for a wreath-laying ceremony at the Korean War Veterans Memorial on the 60th anniversary of the July 27, 1953, Korean armistice. With Obama are, from left, Gen. Jung Seung-jo and Special Envoy Kim Jung Hun, both from the Republic of Korea. (Photo by Lawrence Jackson/White House)

By EMILIE EATON
Cronkite News Service 

WASHINGTON – Bill Cheek was 20 when he shipped out to Korea in 1950, with no clue that he would soon spend nights camped out in subfreezing temperatures or see one of his friend killed in the Korean War.

But Cheek, now 83, did know that he was going to live through the Korean War – simply because he was determined to.

“It was my job to do,” the Prescott resident said Friday as he thought back on the war.
The retired Marine joined hundreds of other veterans at a Korean War Veterans Association convention in Washington last week, one of several events to mark the 60th anniversary of the armistice that ended fighting.

They included remarks by the president and – the highlight for Cheek – the evening parade Thursday at the Marine Barracks, where the Silent Drill Team and the U.S. Marine Band performed.

President Barack Obama laid a wreath at the Korean War Veterans Memorial on Saturday, the actual anniversary of the cease-fire, and commended Korean War veterans for their service in what is often called the “Forgotten War.”

“Listen closely and hear the story of a generation,” Obama said of those soldiers. “Veterans of World War II recalled to duty, husbands kissing their wives goodbye yet again, young men – some just boys, 18, 19, 20 years old – leaving behind everyone they loved to defend a country they never knew and a people they never met.”

One of those young men was Cheek, who headed to Korea in September 1950. He saw action shortly after landing and spent his 21st birthday that October in a boat heading to North Korea, he recalls.

Cheek said war is “self-motivating” – the last thing you want is the enemy behind you with a gun.

That motivation, and an obligation to protect their buddies, is what led Cheek and a fellow soldier to take on enemy tanks that were approaching their company of around 200 men on Sept. 20, just five days after Cheek and his company arrived on the Korean peninsula.

The two headed out and watched as several tanks approached in the dark night. Cheek’s comrade, a gunner, hit the first two tanks before a third was abandoned. The mission was successful, but not without some loss, Cheek said. The gunner was killed when the enemy returned gunfire.

Cheek received a Bronze Star with a Combat V, for acts of heroism, for his participation in the mission. After a year in North Korea, he would have six battle stars, one for every engagement he was involved in.

After he returned home in 1951, Cheek became a Marine drill instructor at a base in San Diego, even though he was never a fan of his own drill instructor during his training years earlier.

“Little did I know that three-and-a-half years later I would be one of them,” he said, laughing.

Cheek left the service and attended the University of Oregon, and went on to get a law degree from the University of New Mexico, where he practiced law for several years.
After his time in New Mexico, he spent the next 20 years working for Alaska Airlines in Seattle. He finally ended up in Prescott, teaching aviation law, business law and airline economics at Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University.

Cheek said he retired three years ago, and he began serving at the Department of Arizona Marine Corps League and the Veterans of Foreign Wars Post in Prescott.

He returned to Korea three years ago to mark the beginning of the war. He brought the commemoration full circle with last week’s visit to Washington.

Most of his reflections last week about the war in Korea centered on the strategies used by top commanders that he said led to many victories. His personal stories are delivered sparingly. When Cheek does talk about the year he spent fighting in the Forgotten War, he speaks briefly and with humility.

“War is hell,” he said simply.

  Remembering the ‘Forgotten War’  

The Defense Casualty Analysis System said that 247 Arizonans were killed or presumed dead in the Korean War.

Total numbers of U.S. military who served, and the numbers who were killed, injured or went missing during the Korean War, according to DCAS:
- 33,739 were killed or declared dead in battle
- 2,835 deaths were listed as “non-hostile”
- 103,284 were wounded
- 7,983 were unaccounted for but declared or presumed dead
- 1,789,000 served in the Korean theater
- 5,720,000 served worldwide