I have quiet the proble I am hoping that someone on here can help me. I work full time Tuesday – Saturday 630am-330pm and I babysit part time M-Friday 445pm-7pm. I want to attend college, but there are not many courses offered when I am available. I work two jobs because I have to help my parents out. What should I do? Should I take a few courses online ( even though I **** online courses) at the community college I applied to? I live in Massachusetts, and there are not many that offer weekend college for the degree I want.

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Flu vaccine may not provide enough protection
Officials question influenza shot as number of U.S. flu cases increase
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Feb. 8: Despite a mild flu season January, the recent spate of flu cases has forced schools to shut down and put nursing homes in lockdown. NBC’s Robert Bazelll reports.
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updated 6:34 p.m. CT, Fri., Feb. 8, 2008
WASHINGTON – The influenza vaccine given to Americans may not protect as well as expected, U.S. health officials said on Friday as the number of flu cases increased nationwide.

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said slightly more than half of the influenza virus strains reported to its surveillance system are not good matches against the strains included in this flu season’s vaccine.

The number of states reporting widespread flu activity jumped to 31 this week compared with 11 a week ago, the CDC said. But Dr. Joe Bresee of the CDC’s influenza division said there are no indications this flu season is worse than usual.

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“Seasonal flu activity was slow to start this year but has increased sharply in recent weeks,” Bresee told reporters.

One measure officials use to gauge the severity of the season is the number of flu-related child deaths. Bresee said the CDC has heard of six U.S. children who have died from the flu, a relatively low number compared with recent years.

Flu viruses mutate and change all the time, so every year a different vaccine is created as officials predict which particular strains will circulate.

The vaccine is designed to protect against three influenza strains — two from Type A, an H1N1 and an H3N2 version, and one for Type B.

Bresee said about 30 percent of the overall strains of influenza in the United States may be a Type A strain that emerged in Australia called H3N2 A/Brisbane. It emerged too late to be included in the flu vaccine offered in the United States beginning in September and October.

The Type B strain chosen for this year’s vaccine also was not a good match for most of the B virus strains seen in the United States this flu season, Bresee said.

“While a less-than-ideal virus match between the viruses in the vaccine and those circulating viruses can reduce vaccine effectiveness, we know from past influenza studies that the vaccine can still protect enough to make illness milder or prevent flu-related complications,” Bresee said.

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Flu season in full swing
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Under-the-tongue vaccine could help lick the flu

Bresee noted that decisions on the composition of the annual vaccine are made about nine months before it is made available to the public in the fall, and it is sometimes hard to know that far in advance which strains will circulate.

Flu vaccines take months to make.

Bresee also said some resistance is being reported to the antiviral drug Tamiflu, made by Switzerland’s Roche Holding AG and Gilead Sciences Inc of the United States. Of the viruses tested in CDC flu labs, 4.5 percent are resistant to the drug, Bresee said.

Influenza kills an estimated 36,000 Americans in an average year, and puts 200,000 into the hospital, the CDC said.

Copyright 2008 Reuters. Click for restrictions.
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I HAVE A RED SOX 2008 GAME SCHEDULE.IT INCLUDES TIMES AND CABLE CHANNELS TO WATCH GAMES INCLUDING SPRING TRAINING GAMES.WHEN I TRY TO WATCH THEM ON ESPN OR NESN THEY ARE NOT ON LIKE THE SCHEDULE SAYS. PAID PROGRAMMING IS ON AT 1:05.PM. INSTEAD. WHY? I NEED HELP. LIVE IN MASSACHUSETTS ZIP CODE 01013

URGENT!! THIS IS LONG BUT READ IF YOU CAN GIVE ME ADVICE: HOW TO DEAL WITH DEPRESSION AND BOYFRIENDS PARENTS WHO WONT ACKNOWLEDGE IT…

My boyfriend and I have dated for the last four year, He is 25 now and I am 24. We bought a house in Massachusetts together and have lived together for about 2 1/2 years now. We have 2 dogs and are planning on getting married. We are extremely healthy and practical young adults and we are doing out best to make it independently in this world without having to fail or move back in with our parents. The stress is heavy but our bills are still getting paid and food is always on our table. After over a year of being efficient in living on our own, The past four months my boyfriend has dropped into a stage of being overwhelmed and depressed. He has begun going to see a therapist because he started to lash out on me personally and have these breakdowns where he got really angry and unreasonable. With winter coming he has gotten to the lowest point I have ever seen him. His attitudes are unpredictable and he says some pretty rotten things to me I never thought he’d say. Very manic, very uneven.
His mother is very depressed, his parents have been wanting to divorce for years but his siblings are still teenagers and so they stay together. His family are in no way emotionally efficient. They don’t talk about problems, they bottle them all up. He has been going home after work to do odd jobs for his parents every day after work and not coming straight home from work like he used to. He always “stops in” to check on them or to pick something up or drop something off. I understand his need for seeing his family regularly but they don’t help him with his serious depression. He has expressed to me he has suicidal thoughts and they pretend everything is just the same. His dad won’t even acknowledge he is in therapy. HIS FAMILY DOES NOTHING TO HELP HIM.

I have to deal with the manic attitudes, and the depression, and the complaining about the shadows cast over life, while his family gets to not have to face it. I have to bear the brunt of his depression. This has caused a divide divide between his family and I. I feel they aren’t trying to help him out of this rough period. They pretend he isn’t sad and depressed and everything is okay, they pretend not to hear when he comments about therapy or depression.

How do I act around his family. Can I express to his parents how disappointed I am with them at their lack of support for their suffering son, what do I do about being so angry and resentful that I am the only one who has to deal with this depressed man? Where are the boundaries?

Since his family tends to clam up when faced with real issues of importance or of heavy emotion how should I approach this. Is writing a letter to them rude And cold or is is appropriate and discrete? I don’t want to cause more stree for bf by creating and argument between me and them.
I want to make a big note that I lived with his family, in his families inlaw apt. with him for one year so we are close to them.

Also, he has not tried suicide, he has not told me directly wants to kill himself, he just speaks about it like it’s a feeling of hopelessness and sadness that he has and he feels close to the line of just depression and suicidal… thank god. But then again look at what he comes from, he could be withholding from me a lot.

I qualify for cavalry scout but my recruiter said it didnt come up in list of jobs for me.It happend to me with regular army, but now its happing to me with the National Guard.I know theirs CAV units here i got a friend in the scouts and its the Massachusetts guard if that makes a differance.So whats going on?

I plan to move to Charleston, SC From Massachusetts but i need to know that i can get a quick job there first to move.
I’m search for a job in Certified Nursing Assistant.
In Massachusetts i just finish my technician college and i took the state test for CNA and i passed { I have my license for CNA but no experience yet } Basically is there any place that will hire me in these conditions, i plan to move to Charleston by July..If so please state them n please feel free to offer advice. Please&Thank you..God Bless

Illegal work force can generate taxes but also has costs
Opponents: Cheap labor is no bargain

http://www.telegram.com/article/20090705/NEWS/907050397/1052

By Paula J. Owen CORRESPONDENT
LEOMINSTER — It seems incongruous to some that immigrants living illegally in this country can get work permits, find jobs and even pay taxes without being deported.

Bob Dane, spokesman for the Washington, D.C.-based Federation for American Immigration Reform, said the problem is unscrupulous employers who provide illegal immigrants with jobs.

“Cheap labor isn’t a bargain,” he said. “Employers’ costs are transferred to Americans. In Massachusetts, $580 million is spent annually to subsidize immigration.”

FAIR estimates there are 11.6 million illegal immigrants in the United States. The organization doesn’t align itself with the camp that contends mass deportation of 12 million illegal immigrants is the answer, but it doesn’t believe mass amnesty makes much sense, either. More border patrol agents and interior enforcement are needed, Mr. Dane said, along with increasing document verification — “so we know who is who.”

“For all we know, 20 people could be using your Social Security number right now,” he said.

Even when an immigrant pays taxes, it costs Americans more than the immigrant contributes into the system, according to Mr. Dane.

“We’re not soft-hearted on illegals if they pay taxes,” he said. “It’s a down payment on the enormous cost they have on the U.S.”

The largest cost of illegals is K-12 education, totaling $28.6 billion annually, Mr. Dane said. Of that, $12 billion is spent annually to educate illegal alien students and the remainder is to educate U.S.-born children of illegal aliens, who are considered U.S. citizens.

Alicia J. Alvez of Leominster came to the United States illegally 20 years ago. Like many illegal immigrants, she pays taxes with a tax identification number that she obtained from the Internal Revenue Service.

Many illegal immigrants work two or three jobs to survive, Ms. Alvez said. “You have to work double because they pay you less.”

She, like many others, contends that the United States needs illegal immigrants. “We are a large part of the work force.”

But according to a report compiled by the Center for Immigration Studies, the number of unemployed Americans with a high school education or less — those who compete for employment with illegal immigrants — has increased significantly over the past 10 years.

Kirk A. Carter, an immigration lawyer at Fletcher, Tilton & Whipple in Worcester, said obtaining a TIN through the IRS is relatively easy for an illegal immigrant.

“Immigrants have been doing it for years,” he said. “They use a TIN number like a Social Security number. They pay millions, if not billions, of dollars that is taken from them and put into the Social Security retirement fund that they will never see any money from.”

Peggy Riley, an IRS media relations specialist, said TINs are not valid as IDs outside the tax system because they are strictly for tax processing. Strict standards for identification are not applied when issuing a TIN, she said, and a TIN does not change a person’s immigration status or right to work.

Mr. Dane criticized the IRS policy of not checking a person’s immigration status when issuing a TIN. “The IRS is a collection agency and they just want their money,” he said.

While resources are available for enforcing immigration work laws, he added, only employers are targeted and the illegal population remains largely untouched. “It sends the message it is OK to come and work as long as you don’t get caught,” he said. “Enforcement should target both supply and demand.”

FIrst off, how risky is it to be a music therapist financially? Would it be a secure and safe job? I know they don’t have a doctorate degree to offer yet, but I think they will in a few years. Secondly, what part of America would be a better place to live to get alot of patients for music therapy? My sister told me the north would be good– like Massachusetts, New Hamshire, etc. I live in North Carolina and not many people even know what music therapy is.

Here is what I have so far… Please read and tell me if there is anything i should add…

The state of Vermont recently became the fourth state to allow same-sex marriage. Along with Iowa, Massachusetts, and Connecticut, Vermont allows *** couples to engage in holy matrimony. Many people are upset about this; they say marriage should only be between a man and a woman. This is the case for some people, but many other people do not think this at all. *** rights activists all around America fight every day so that homosexuals can have equality too. I’m not one of those people that get angry if people in Vermont are happy with the one they love; I am one of those people who hopes that someday, homosexuals in America will have the same rights as heterosexuals. ********** men and women should be allowed to marry in all states of the United States of America.
If you ask just about anyone, they’ll probably tell you that they believe in equal rights for homosexuals. They’ll probably say that gays deserve the same rights in housing, jobs, public accommodations, and should have the same access to government benefits, equal protection of the law, etc. But if then asked about *** marriage, all this talk about equality for gays stops dead in its tracks. Why is it that these people who are in favor of equal rights for gays are opposed to *** marriage? The reason is that there are many misunderstandings about homosexuality. First of all, people think it isn’t natural; however, this is not the truth. ********** behavior has been described in about 450 species of animals. This applies to humans too; we are technically animals! Homosexuals also cannot help who they love. There have been many extensive studies over the past years about whether homosexuality is hereditary or not, and many answers have been given. Some say it is a choice, some say it depends on the type of environment one grows up in, and others say it “runs through the family.” Well, about 15 years ago, a geneticist named Dean Hamer discovered that it is partially (if not fully) hereditary and runs through the mother’s side on the “X” chromosome. Basically, the majority of ********** people in America are being prevented of rights because of something they can’t control. There are also stereotypes about *** relationships. The stereotype is that gays are promiscuous, unfaithful, and unable to form lasting relationships. And this does happen in some *** marriages. It does, however, happen in heterosexual marriages too, and the percentage in both is very small. As gays grow older, just as straight people do, they learn to find a way into long-term relationships. These stereotypes are not fair, whatsoever; they are just what people assume.
Many Americans despise *** marriage, not to mention the fact that there are even homosexuals in the world. They say that *** marriage is wrong because marriage is sacred and should be between and man and a woman, they say it is pointless because there is no reproduction happening, they say it is against religion, etc. My favorite quote from a married *** couple I know is, “How does my marriage affect the sanctity of yours?” Why does this ********** couple’s happiness make their straight neighbors angry? Why do the neighbors even care? Many people say that the sanctity of marriage needs to be preserved, and that marriage is only meant to be between a man and a woman. The divorce rate in the US right now is hovering around 60%. How’s that for sanctity? Others say that it shouldn’t be allowed because God wants us to repopulate the Earth, and gays can’t do this. These people are thinking illogically, however. If anything, *** marriage would help the earth. The world is completely overpopulated, and if the roughly 10% of gays on Earth were to refrain from reproduction, this world would most likely be better off. Why are gays prevented from marrying because they are infertile? Infertile heterosexual couples get married all the time! Is a couple with a post-menopausal woman or an impotent man prevented from marrying? No, they aren’t. This is completely unfair. Homosexuals having the ability to marry could also help the economy in the US. If there were more people getting married, more marriage licenses would have to be purchased, giving the states more money. Another reason that people oppose *** marriage is religion. People believe that gays should not be allowed to marry because God says so. Many passages in the Bible, such as Leviticus 20:13, say that homosexuality and ****** will send you straight to Hell. In Leviticus is says, “If a man lies with a male, as with a woman, both of them have committed an abomination: they shall surely be put to death; their blood shall be upon them. This makes no sense! God makes everyone in his image, and since homosexuality is not a choice, this is not true. God did not write the Bible. Humans did, and they wrote what they had heard and what they believed. The Bible also says that God loves
sorry it didnt all fit:
everyone and “though shalt not judge.” It’s basically contradicting itself. Also, according to the First Amendment of the Constitution of the United States, the Bible has no standing in American law, and what God says isn’t so.
The Declaration of Independence says that all people have the right to life, liberty, and pursuit of happiness. Do gays not count as “all people?” We are all born the same way. We all spend the first nine months of our life crammed into out mother’s womb. We all take the same first breath when we are born. Why is it, then, that homosexuals do not have the same rights as heterosexuals? They too are living, breathing human beings, so wouldn’t it make sense for them to have equal rights? Gays are people too, and they can’t help who they love. They don’t have a choice. Asking a ********** to become heterosexual is just like asking a heterosexual to become **********. It isn’t possible! Gays in Belgium, Canada, the Netherlands, South Afri
Africa, Spain and Norway have the right to marriage, but gays in America don’t. The United States of America is supposed to be the greatest nation in the world. We are supposed to be setting good examples for other countries to follow us, and here we are, not allowing gays to marry. It really is a shame if you think about it. Another reason that gays should be allowed to marry is that Civil Union is simply not enough. There are many rights that come with marriage but do not come with Civil Union. The following are the rights that do not come with Civil Union: automatic inheritance, burial determination, child custody, crime victim’s recovery benefits, divorce protections, domestic violence protection, exemption from property tax on partner’s death, joint parenting, medical decisions on behalf of partner, property rights, visitation of partner’s children,
visitation of partner in hospital or prison, child benefits in the event of a divorce, and many more. Also, the federal government
does not recognize Civil Unions given by states. America has tried to make “separate but equal” laws for gays, but these laws are hardly equal. The only difference between a heterosexual and a ********** is a prefix. They are people too, and they need to be treated like them.
Gays and straights that believe in equal, not separate but equal, rights for all ********** people work long and hard in hopes of someday gaining these rights. It is sad that many people just stand by and observe while others speak out against them. More people need to get involved in helping these people gain rights. Many schools have gay-straight alliance, and students can get together, support each other, talk about issues related to sexuality, and work to end homophobia. Joining these alliances can help students grow up and work for *** rights. There are also many *** pride marches. Showing up to a *** pride march shows your support for the *** community. Here are some other ideas to show appreciation for ga
Here are some other ideas to show appreciation for gays: vote for politicians who back *** rights, write to your politicians and tell them what you think, stick up for a *** friend, help spread tolerance, participate in the day of silence, donate to organizations that are for *** rights, and volunteer for organizations that support *** rights. By doing these things, you can help the people in America realize that gays are people too, and they deserve just the same rights as we do.
BTW: im *** but this is for school and im not out so im acting as if im straight

It is a possibility that I will be relocating to Maryland. My boyfriend will be completing his rotations for medical school in Baltimore. I was wondering what areas are affordable to live in? What areas should I stay away from? What is the cost of living like? I am originally from Massachusetts and have no clue as to what things cost in MD.

I am a licensed special education teacher and I will be looking for teaching jobs. Anyone know how the education system is?

Any information would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks!
-Lauren