• A year ago, I found myself at the Gerald R. Ford presidential museum in Grand Rapids. Now, I probably didn’t agree with Ford’s politics, but something genuinely struck me about both him and his wife, Betty. They were both fairly likable figures perhaps not dealt the best hand in terms of timing (with Ford basically becoming president sort of as a best-of-bad-options situation) and result (with Ford’s presidency overshadowed by his pardon of Nixon, which ensured that he was a half-term president). But Betty Ford was a fairly progressive first lady no matter the party, and she proved it by presenting forward views on a national stage, and then following through with them after her time as president ended. Some highlights of this woman’s life:

• 1975 Boldly for the era, Betty Ford spoke openly on the topics of pre-marital sex, abortion and marijuana usage, most notably in a “60 Minutes” interview where she said she would be understanding if her daughter chose to have an affair.
• 1978 A year after leaving the White House, Ford entered the Long Beach Naval Hospital to treat addictions to painkillers and alcohol — a high-profile personal defeat. Afterwards, she became an advocate for helping others in her position.
• 1982 Ford turned her personal problems into something for the greater good of society by starting the Betty Ford Center, which has helped out nearly 50,000 patients over 30 years — and kept her name in the spotlight decades later. source

(photo of American History Museum portrait via dbking’s Flickr page)

• A couple of days ago, a man blatantly stole a Picasso drawing from a San Francisco gallery in broad daylight. Authorities didn’t expect to catch the thief, but yesterday, they got a break. Authorities spotted the suspect, Mark Lugo (shown left), with the help of surveillance cameras outside a restaurant he happened to walk by. He tried to mail the drawing, authorities say. However, before he could do so, authorities reached him first and recovered the drawing. The museum said they would tighten security as a result of the incident. (photos via ABC7News.com) source

• This is the best story ever. And it involves a guy in a gorilla costume getting tackled by another guy in a banana costume. And a 911 call. And a manager who looks like he’s phsyched about the free publicity the incident just gave his store. And a gorilla. And a banana. And this line: “The kid was in mid-air, flying. He just looked like a Spartan from that movie ‘300,’ except he was a banana.” (h/t ProducerMatthew) source

• 9.2%unemployment rate, which jumped last month unexpectedly
• 18,000number of jobs added, which is straight-up anemic source

• » Why this stinks for Obama: Early on in his administration, he said it wouldn’t go higher than 8.2%. While unemployment declined for a little while, it’s been steadily going up again. The Obama administration is trying to downplay the issue, but it’s proving difficult, and could prove his major flaw in the upcoming election. It’s an easy target for GOP candidates. Instead of talking about how he’s helped turn the economy around, Obama is going to have to fight back by saying how the Republicans will make it worse, and let’s face it: That doesn’t sound like such a great defense.

• 35% increased likelihood Medicaid users would go to a doctor
• 15% increased likelihood they would use prescription drugs
• 30% increased likelihood they would get admitted to the hospital source

• » A new study with broad ramifications: The results of the National Bureau of Economic Research’s study may seem obvious, but the debate on whether or not to cut funding for Medicaid has long rested on whether experts thought low-income people would actually use the public form of medical insurance. The new study proves this is the case, and does it in an interesting way — rather than comparing the insured to the uninsured (a common tactic used before), the study treated Medicaid the same way researchers might treat a drug. The result? Fellow researchers are hailing the study as “historic” and say it’ll shape national health care debates for years to come.