Tag: Census Bureau

Hump Day Open Thread

Wed May 07, 2008 at 05:47:40 AM PDT

I went to bed as soon as Indiana was called for Sen. Hillary Clinton at around 11 p.m. west coast time. Here is a CNN roundup of election results from Indiana and North Carolina last night.

Update On Burma: The death toll in Burma after a cyclone hit the southeast Asian country this weekend has climbed to 22,000 people, according to CNN. The already devastated country is facing food shortages.

Census Bureau on Latino Growth: In case you missed it, one in four children younger than 5 in the United States, is Latino, according to U.S. Census Bureau information released by the Washington Post. Here is the breakdown according to state:

Hispanics account for more than half of children younger than 5 in New Mexico and California, where their share of the overall state population is 44 and 36 percent, respectively. In Texas, Arizona, Nevada and Colorado, about one-third or more of children younger than 5 are Hispanic.

The figures are less dramatic but still notable in Virginia and Maryland. In both states, Hispanics account for 11 percent of children younger than 5 -- and 7 and 6 percent of the overall population, respectively.

Peace Corps Boots HIV-Positive Man: The Washington Post ran an editorial condemning the Peace Corps' decision to oust a volunteer for being HIV positive. The American Civil Liberties Union has filed a lawsuit on behalf of the man, Jeremiah S. Johnson:

In his lawsuit, Mr. Johnson said the Ukraine country director for the Peace Corps told him that he had to return to Washington because Ukraine does not allow foreigners with HIV to work there. We will save our quarrel with Ukraine's policies for another day; no matter how misguided and discriminatory, they cannot excuse the U.S. government. After another medical examination in Washington in February, Mr. Johnson's Peace Corps volunteer career came to an end...

A more formal response to the ACLU letter is forthcoming. Peace Corps press director Amanda H. Beck told us yesterday that the agency does not have a policy of "automatically excluding people with HIV." Still, the fact remains that Mr. Johnson, now waiting tables back in Colorado, was booted from the Peace Corps because of his diagnosis. HIV should not be a barrier to public service. Making it so, as in Mr. Johnson's case, is a waste of talent and goodwill. With all of its work in dealing with HIV-AIDS around the world, the agency should know that.

What else is in the news? What's up with you?


::