Archive through June 01, 2001
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Archive through June 01, 2001
Grod | Friday, May 11, 2001 - 11:49 am  Max, i also heard his press conference...and he also aid pass those tax reforms by Memorial Day. I am curious about his urgency. His solution regarding the oil companies? Build more refineries. I think the main problem he needs to overcome is how he articulates himself to people and the media. |
Bijoux | Friday, May 11, 2001 - 12:06 pm  He needs a legislative success to demonstrate to his fellow americans his leadership abilities? I don't know. Using a large tax cut to spur the economy is not the most effective policy. Tried under Reagan. In the long-run we ended up with hugh budget deficents and economic problems. No wait and see issue there. As you know, income tax cuts also have nothing to do with a long-run viable energy policy. Good news though on the Africa aids issue. The Washington Post has been covering the problem extensively and it's just heartbreaking. Today though they reported on some progress that researchers have had in developing a vaccine. For almost 15 years now a group of prostitutes in Nairobi have shown immunity to contracting the HIV virus, even though they are exposed repeatedly to the disease. Researchers in Great Britain are developing vaccines based on the prostitutes immune reactions when exposed to the virus. It was very interesting and a different approach in vaccine development. |
Highlander | Friday, May 11, 2001 - 07:07 pm  The problem with the tax cut is there is an assumption that these surplus revenues will continue. Reading the news every day we see thousands being laid off, well that is thousands of people who will no longer be paying money to the federal govt in taxes. So to decide to give away revenues over ten years that probably will never be realized is a dangerous thing. This is not the time to give away money. |
Max | Tuesday, May 15, 2001 - 08:30 am  Cheney Wants Renewal of Nuclear Plant Liability Act May 15, 2001 WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Vice President Dick Cheney (news - web sites) on Tuesday said the Bush administration would seek a renewal of legislation that exempts nuclear companies from unlimited liability for accidents, as part of a push to encourage nuclear power. In an interview with Reuters on President Bush (news - web sites)'s energy task force, which he heads, Cheney also said the panel's report due on Thursday would order a review of the possibility of raising fuel economy standards for vehicles, and a review of environmental regulations governing improvements on power plants and refineries. In addition, Cheney said reducing federal gasoline taxes could provide short-term relief for high gasoline prices but could also have adverse consequences over the long term, such as decline in federal highway money funded from the taxes. |
Max | Wednesday, May 16, 2001 - 09:12 am  Energy report may lead to new battle on drilling along California's coast BY PAUL ROGERS AND JIM PUZZANGHERA Mercury News WASHINGTON -- California battles over offshore oil drilling that raged through the 1980s may be heating up again. Environmental groups and members of Congress from coastal areas scrambled Tuesday amid two key events:- The Bush administration's scheduled release Thursday of a new national energy policy. Bush is expected to call for new drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge and along Montana's Rocky Mountain Front, but it is unclear whether he will support new ocean drilling.
- A report from a Department of Interior advisory group recommending that five ocean areas currently off limits to all drilling be opened up for natural-gas production.
Presidential protection The five areas were not spelled out in the report. But it noted that California, Oregon and Washington, along with the entire Atlantic seaboard, have large reserves of offshore natural gas that cannot be drilled because of bans put in place by former President George Bush in 1990, and then extended to 2012 by former President Clinton. Those bans, however, are executive orders and could be overturned by President Bush. ``Our concern is to get out in front of this right off the bat,'' said Rep. Lois Capps, D-Santa Barbara. ``We don't want any more oil and gas drilling off California's coastline.'' Capps said she and roughly a dozen other members of Congress would introduce a resolution Wednesday calling for the national moratorium to remain in place until 2012. Bush promised during the campaign to honor the existing moratorium. ``If he sticks with it, I'll be the first to salute,'' said Rep. Anna Eshoo, D-Palo Alto. ``But if he goes back on it he's got a battle royal on his hands.'' Most U.S. offshore oil drilling is in the Gulf of Mexico. In California, there are 27 offshore oil platforms, mainly off Long Beach and Santa Barbara. Most produce oil and natural gas. The draft report, written last month by the Department of Interior's Subcommittee on Natural Gas on the U.S. Outer Continental Shelf, notes that California, Oregon and Washington have roughly 19 trillion cubic feet of natural gas offshore -- a year's U.S. supply. It recommends the Bush administration come up with a list of ``five top geologic plays'' nationwide for a pilot drilling project. The committee's final recommendations are due May 23. ``This is an advisory committee looking at options. Nothing has been decided,'' said Dian Lawhon, a representative of the Department of the Interior's Minerals Management Service, which manages offshore oil and gas drilling. But critics sounded alarms. New drilling feared ``They are trying to get a foot in the door,'' said Warner Chabot, Pacific director of the Center for Marine Conservation, an environmental group in San Francisco. ``It is laying the groundwork for new offshore drilling.'' Rep. Sam Farr, D-Salinas, said the administration should be focusing on inland gas and oil production, energy efficiency and renewable fuels. ``The ghost of James Watt seems to be lurking in the halls of power again,'' said Farr. ``That scares people.'' The oil industry, however, said more oil and gas is needed to meet growing demand. ``We are currently in an electricity crisis,'' said Jeff Wilson, a representative of the Western States Petroleum Association. ``When is `not in my back yard' no longer an acceptable answer?'' |
Ocean_Islands | Thursday, May 17, 2001 - 05:08 am  Misinformation and Scare Tactics By Jimmy Carter Thursday, May 17, 2001 It has been more than 20 years since our country developed a comprehensive energy policy. It is important for President Bush and Congress to take another look at this important issue, but not based on misleading statements made lately by high administration officials. These comments have distorted history and future needs. I was governor of Georgia during the administration of Richard Nixon, when a combination of oil shortages and an OPEC boycott produced a real energy crisis in the United States. Five years later, the Iran-Iraq war shut off 4 million barrels of the world's daily oil supplies almost overnight, and the price of energy more than doubled in just 12 months. This caused a wave of inflation in all industrialized countries and created energy shortages. As before, there were long lines of vehicles at service stations, with drivers eager to pay even astronomical prices for available fuel. No energy crisis exists now that equates in any way with those we faced in 1973 and 1979. World supplies are adequate and reasonably stable, price fluctuations are cyclical, reserves are plentiful, and automobiles aren't waiting in line at service stations. Exaggerated claims seem designed to promote some long-frustrated ambitions of the oil industry at the expense of environmental quality. Also contrary to recent statements by top officials, a bipartisan Congress worked closely with me for four years to create a well-balanced approach to the problem. No influential person ever spoke "exclusively of conservation," and my administration never believed that "we could simply conserve or ration our way out of" any energy crisis. On the contrary, we emphasized both energy conservation and the increased production of oil, gas, coal and solar energy. Permanent laws were laboriously hammered out that brought an unprecedented commitment to efficient use of energy supplies. We mandated improved home insulation, energy savings in the design of industrial equipment and home appliances and a step-by-step increase in gas mileage of all automobiles manufactured in our country. When I was inaugurated, American vehicles were averaging only 12 miles per gallon. Today, new cars reach more than twice this gas mileage, which would be much higher except for the failure to maintain the efficiency standards, beginning in the Reagan years. (Gas mileage has actually gone down during the past five years.) Official statistics published by the departments of energy and labor reveal the facts: Since I signed the final energy bills in 1980, America's gross national product has increased by 90 percent, while total energy consumption went up only 26 percent. Our emphasis on coal and other sources of energy and improved efficiency has limited petroleum consumption to an increase of only 12 percent. During this time, non-energy prices have risen 2 1/2 times as much as energy prices, and gasoline prices have actually declined by 41 percent, in real terms and even including the temporary surge in the past two years. Although these energy conservation decisions have been criticized as "a sign of [my] personal virtue," it is clear that the benefits have resulted from a commitment to improved technology, with extremely beneficial results for American consumers, business and commerce. Top executives in the oil industry should acknowledge their tremendous freedom to explore, extract and market oil and gas products that resulted from the decisions made by Congress during my term in Washington. In fact, our most difficult legislative battle was over the deregulation of oil and gas prices, designed so that competitive prices would both discourage the waste of energy and promote exploration for new sources of petroleum products. At the end of 1980, every available drilling rig in the United States was being utilized at full capacity, and dependence on foreign imports was falling rapidly. Despite these facts, some officials are using misinformation and scare tactics to justify such environmental atrocities as drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. The Alaska National Interest Lands Conservation Act, which I signed in December 1980, approved 100 percent of the offshore areas and 95 percent of the potentially productive oil and mineral areas for exploration or for drilling. We excluded the wildlife refuge, confirming a decision first made by President Dwight Eisenhower, when Alaska became a state in 1959, to set aside this area as a precious natural heritage. Those who advocate drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge to meet current needs are careful to conceal the facts that almost none of the electricity in energy-troubled California is generated from oil. It is important for private citizens and organizations to know the facts and to join in the coming debates -- so we can continue the policies of the late 1970s: a careful balance between production and conservation. Former president Carter is chairman of the Carter Center in Atlanta. © 2001 The Washington Post Company |
Twiggyish | Thursday, May 17, 2001 - 05:47 am  OI, I am speechless!! It seems odd to me that some of the highest contributors to Bush's campaign (from Texas) are the oil companies. They now have free reign to gouge us. This is just my opinion. |
Ocean_Islands | Thursday, May 17, 2001 - 06:40 am  I don't think it's odd. It's corrupt politics as usual. At this point we have no choice but to speak out and make sure the media is not becoming complacent. |
Ocean_Islands | Thursday, May 17, 2001 - 08:49 am  Fired U.S. Mapmaker's Role in Bush Energy Plan By Deborah Zabarenko Reuters Thursday, May 17, 2001; 10:11 AM WASHINGTON—Ian Thomas, a soft-spoken researcher with an affinity for migratory birds, Asian tigers and the Colombian rain forest, has an unlikely role in the Bush administration's energy plan: he was fired for making a map. Thomas's map showed sites in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge in Alaska where caribou go to give birth to their calves. It is roughly the same place, known as Area 1002, that the Bush administration wants to open to oil drilling. The administration proposes to open up about 8 percent of the refuge to development. The White House said Wednesday this would open an area about one-fifth the size of Dulles International Airport to energy exploration, without saying just how big this would be. Thomas said it could amount to an area 100 miles long by 35 miles wide. "When (Vice President) Dick Cheney says we're only going to drill 8 percent of the reserve, it's the 8 percent that the caribou are using," Thomas said Wednesday in a Reuters interview. "That's where the oil is, unfortunately, and that's what my map showed." Survey spokeswoman Trudy Harlow confirmed that Thomas lost his job because of the caribou calving map, saying it was not peer-reviewed, went beyond the scope of his job and was riddled with "errors and inaccuracies." Harlow said in a telephone interview that Thomas was repeatedly counseled to stay within his job's limits; he was supposed to be looking at migratory birds of the U.S. East Coast. When Thomas posted his map to a government Web site March 7, it sparked an outcry at the U.S. Geological Survey, where he worked at the time. He was let go March 12, before he could explain his position, with nothing in writing from the agency. Thomas's timing was lousy: the map was put on the Web at almost the same time that Interior Secretary Gale Norton—who has come under fire from environmentalists—was being briefed in Washington on prospects for the refuge. "The fallout would not have been so great had the subject matter not been one of the ... super hot topics with the new administration and had we not been briefing the secretary at nearly the exact time your Web site went up," survey researcher Brad Griffiths wrote Thomas in an e-mail. "Everyone is nervous and ... consistency in presentation is paramount." Portrayed as a martyr by supporters, the 33-year-old British-born map maker is featured this week in the politically tuned-in "Doonesbury" comic strip. "Sir, the Post reporter is here to talk about Ian Thomas," a bland-looking government secretary warned a bland-looking government bureaucrat in Wednesday's strip. "He's the U.S. Geological Survey map maker we martyred last month." Thomas did not seem quite comfortable with the martyr tag. "I'm an accidental martyr, because if they had given me a chance to take down the map and save my job, I would have done it in five seconds," Thomas said. "I didn't want to lose my job." Thomas said no one complained about his work in the three years he was with the survey, a period in which he said he posted some 20,000 maps to the Web, using computer short cuts—macros—to add new data to maps already available to the public. As for peer review, Thomas said his Web postings were part of peer review, and he said he never was given any other way to have other professionals comment on his work. On his Web site, http://www.maptricks.com, Thomas said he believed he was fired "due to the political considerations ... with regard to caribou and development for oil within Area 1002." Working now as a map maker at the World Wildlife Fund office in Washington, in a room filled with maps and charts with titles like "Terrestrial Regions of Africa" and "Frogs and Toads of Kentucky," Thomas clearly landed on his feet. Asked what the fate of the caribou might be if oil drilling begins in the arctic refuge, Thomas said it would be difficult to say without specific knowledge of where drilling will occur. The advocacy group Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility, or PEER, which has supported Thomas, expressed concern that the firing sends a chilling message to other government scientists. As the group's Eric Wingerter wrote in a letter to Harlow in March: "Scientists within your agency who have contacted PEER express reluctance to post research findings that may run counter to the policy positions of Interior Secretary Norton." © 2001 Reuters |
Moondance | Thursday, May 17, 2001 - 12:38 pm  While the Bush Administration and the GOP prepare to unveil their new energy policy for Big Oil, the Democratic National Committee is launching a new website -- GrandOldPetroleum.com -- to highlight the faces of Big Oil within the Bush/Cheney Administration. http://www.GrandOldPetroleum.com The website exposes the special interests behind Bush's energy plan and includes a brief history of how Bush and Cheney have supported higher gas prices thoughout their careers. The website also features a message you can send to Bush and Cheney telling them that you are tired of spending your money on higher fuel bills while Big Oil is making record profits. "It's clear that Bush's tax cut is nothing more than a pipeline of profits from the White House to the special interests who put him in office. The $100 billion in economic stimulus Bush is proposing for next year could be swamped by as much as $130 billion in higher gas prices. So all the money you supposedly save with the tax cut goes right into the pockets of the oil companies," DNC Chair Terry McAuliffe said. Bush's tax plan is tilted toward special interests. His energy plan is tilted toward special interests. Meanwhile, Republicans have done nothing for people like you who are paying out the nose every time they fill up. Visit GrandOldPetroleum.com and let the Bush Administration know that you want lower energy prices now. http://www.GrandOldPetroleum.com It's important to get the truth out about Bush's energy plan. Please forward this email out to all your friends and let them know there is something they can do to help lower energy prices. ****************************** This is a read-only email; please do not reply. Information on how to contact the DNC can be found here: http://www.democrats.org/contact/index.html Not a subscriber? To receive DNC email alerts, please use this form: http://web.democrats.org/subscribe/demnews.php To stop receiving DNC email alerts, please use this form: http://web.democrats.org/unsubscribe/demnews.php Subscription requests are processed weekly. ****************************** Paid for and authorized by the Democratic National Committee. ****************************** Democratic National Committee 430 S. Capitol St. SE Washington, DC 20003 202-863-8000 http://www.democrats.org |
Highlander | Thursday, May 17, 2001 - 05:07 pm  You Go Moon!!! |
Moondance | Thursday, May 24, 2001 - 08:21 pm  George Bush is on a sinking boat. Who gets saved? The Nation
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Zeb | Thursday, May 24, 2001 - 08:22 pm  Yes, I confess. I'm George W. Bush. Thank goodness I brought a life preserver. |
Moondance | Friday, May 25, 2001 - 03:57 pm  QUOTE OF THE DAY "If you set aside Three Mile Island and Chernobyl, the safety record of nuclear is really very good." -- Treasury Secretary Paul O'Neill's strong defense of the nuclear power industry [Wall Street Journal, 5/25/01] For a week's worth of quotes visit: http://www.democrats.org/news/quotes/recent.html ****************************** LATEST NEWS BUSH WHITE HOUSE PLAYING BLAME GAME OVER CHENEY FUNDRAISER The Bush White House is busily trying to decide towards whom to point fingers over the spate of negative coverage surrounding the recent fundraiser at Dick Cheney's official mansion, according to today's Washington Post. Some are particularly upset because, they say, the fundraiser wasn't even Dick Cheney's idea. They claim that the event was put together by Karl Rove, Bush's top strategist, and Cheney just participated to "help them out." ... Others in the article dispute that claim. "Nicholas F. Brady, the former treasury secretary in the first Bush administration and a close of friend of Cheney's, said: 'The vice president, I understand, was asked to do it, and he was glad to do it. I don't think he's surprised about anything. He's been in Washington for an awfully long time.' To read more, visit: http://www.democrats.org/news/briefings/br052501.html STATEMENT FROM DEMOCRATIC NATIONAL COMMITTEE CHAIRMAN TERRY MCAULIFFE THE ANNOUNCEMENT BY SENATOR JAMES JEFFORDS Senator Jeffords' decision is an act of unique strength, courage and conviction. By becoming an Independent, Senator Jeffords is reaffirming his commitment to the people of Vermont. He is putting their interests and values above party politics. I commend him. DNC PROMOTES PROGRESSIVE SENIORS AGENDA McAuliffe attacks Bush's for failing to provide America's Seniors with affordable Medicare prescription drug coverage On the same day that Republicans passed a tax cut that turns its back on America's Seniors, Democratic National Committee Chairman Terry McAuliffe issued the following statement attacking President George Bush flawed tax plan and "Immediate Helping Hand" program that leaves millions of seniors scrambling for a strong Medicare prescription drug benefit. To read more, visit: http://www.democrats.org/news/releases/rel052301.html |
Highlander | Friday, May 25, 2001 - 07:29 pm  May 25, 2001 - NY Times Mr. Bush's Fumble The belated efforts to keep Senator James Jeffords of Vermont in the Republican Party were botched on two levels. His departure reflects a historic ideological shift in the G.O.P. resulting from President Bush's mistaken choice since taking office of trying to placate the conservatives to whom he feels he owes his nomination and election, at the risk of alienating party moderates who hold the balance of power in Washington. On another level is the torrent of tactical errors by the White House in ignoring and disrespecting Mr. Jeffords with snubs and oversights. On both levels, Mr. Jeffords's action sends a signal to Mr. Bush and Congressional Republicans to change their ways. In the days ahead we will have more to say about the legislative agenda that can be pursued by Mr. Bush and the newly constituted Congress, and the new responsibility of the Senate Democrats under the leadership of Tom Daschle. Today it seems worth dwelling on the anatomy of what the White House surely must acknowledge as the fiasco leading to Mr. Jeffords's decision to leave the G.O.P. On Capitol Hill yesterday, an early promise by some Republican operatives not to play the blame game unraveled quickly. Among those criticized were Senator Trent Lott, a partner with Mr. Jeffords in the "Singing Senators," but a leader who failed to understand and resolve the disharmony among Republicans in general. Much of the blame went also to Karl Rove, Mr. Bush's chief political tactician, who is credited with the president's successes but is now being described as insensitive to the prerogatives of Congress. Yesterday the White House was officially fatalistic and even unrepentant over losing Mr. Jeffords, casting the move as a disagreement over principles and noting the senator's statement that he had become alienated by Mr. Bush's agenda of tax cuts, education reform and more latitude on energy exploration. As for bipartisanship, Mr. Bush's team could indeed point to the large number of Democrats supporting a big tax cut and the education package on Capitol Hill. The president, his aides insisted, will continue to press his agenda and eke out majorities by wooing conservative Democrats to his side, even if that might alienate some moderate Republicans. These defiant White House officials pointed to Mr. Jeffords's voting record against the Reagan-era tax cuts, against a national missile defense and in favor of President Clinton's approach on health care. They seemed to be saying "good riddance." But their attitude surely misreads the depth of Mr. Jeffords's motives and the extent to which they are echoed quietly by many other Republicans. The most scathing criticism came from Senator John McCain, who was defeated for the G.O.P. nomination by Mr. Bush but who still has a wide following in the party and outside of it. Mr. Jeffords, said Mr. McCain, "was unfairly targeted for abuse, usually anonymously, by shortsighted party operatives from their comfortable perches in K Street offices, and by some Republican members of Congress and their staff." True, the tax cut has passed the Senate and seems certain to be enacted soon in a form nearly as large as the one proposed by Mr. Bush. But the number of Republicans who have voted for it against their better judgment, including Mr. McCain, is probably big enough to account for the margin of victory in the Senate. Even after Mr. Jeffords's decision yesterday, hard-right Republicans were trying to strip out of the tax bill the couple of provisions that drew the moderates in, including a child tax credit for working and poor families, and a provision to reduce a bit the distribution of money to the wealthiest taxpayers. The White House troika of Mr. Rove, Andrew Card, the chief of staff, and Karen Hughes, a counselor to the president, must take a major portion of the blame for the defection and must assume a major portion of the responsibility for getting Mr. Bush back to the center. Hubris is a word often heard in the first months of a new administration, and there were plenty of people in Washington, even many Republicans, happy to see these aides taken down a notch. Fundamentally, however, they have talked an excellent game in preaching unity, bipartisanship and inclusiveness but have handled Congress in a rough, even presumptuous manner. One could be admiring over the audacious way Mr. Bush declared he had a mandate to push his programs and still find fault with his determination to roll over moderates who stood in his way. As Mr. McCain said, the White House and the Republican leadership in Congress need to "respect honorable differences among us" and "learn to disagree without resorting to personal threats." If that lesson is followed, the Jeffords defection, like all setbacks, can serve as an opportunity for future successes. |
Highlander | Friday, May 25, 2001 - 07:34 pm  Time Magazine: Thursday, May. 24, 2001 George Bush could learn something from Tony Soprano — and it's not that he should have whacked Jim Jeffords before he got out of line. There's an old Mafia saying that goes like this: "Keep your friends close, but your enemies closer." If Tony suspected that someone was likely to be a Judas, what would he do? He'd have him over to the house for some baked ziti, treat him like a prince, get him tickets to a ballgame. The rat might then feel guilty and recant — or not, as the case may be, but at least Tony would have given him a chance to reconsider before getting out the baseball bat. You catch more flies with honey... As the head of a government that's balanced on a knife-edge, and as a president who has nothing like a mandate, George Bush should have been wooing and blowing kisses to Jim Jeffords, not keeping him out of the loop and the White House. The administration was wrong: the Republican party needed Jim Jeffords more than Jim Jeffords needed the party. The Republicans used to laugh at Bill Clinton because there were no consequences in the Clinton White House for Democrats who defected. Lyndon Johnson would have hammered those Benedict Arnolds, the Republicans would say. So that's how the Bush White House resolved to treat anyone who didn't adhere to the party line. But American politics is about favors, not fatwas. And it's simple human nature to know that if you try to repress independence you only breed revolution. As the poet said, to increase your hold, relax your grip. Didn't George W. learn anything in Kennebunkport? Perhaps if George Bush had not been so determined to erase his Yankee roots and to exchange his penny loafers for cowboy boots, he might have seen Jeffords' change coming. He could have looked mighty close to home: in his own family. His grandfather Senator Prescott Bush was a moderate and cranky New England Republican not unlike Jim Jeffords. Even Bush's father, with his early support for Head Start and abortion rights and his disdain for supply-side economics, was once in the maverick Jim Jeffords mold. We all have a bias in favor of thinking that small and sometimes seemingly trivial human events influence history in big ways. But, no, the White House's conspicuous snub of Jeffords by not inviting him to that event honoring a Vermont teacher did not trigger his bolting the party. But it did suggest that Bush's "compassionate conservativism" was just pollster-driven rhetoric, and that his talk about reaching across party lines was just talk. Heck, he couldn't even reach within his own party. So now Bush has indeed proved to be a "uniter, not a divider" — he's united the Democrats. So, George, say goodbye to drilling in Alaska, farewell to the missile shield, and hello to patients' rights — and, just maybe, to President Daschle. |
Zeb | Wednesday, May 30, 2001 - 12:37 pm  "A zebra can not change its spots." - Vice President Al Gore |
Moondance | Wednesday, May 30, 2001 - 02:13 pm  http://www.bushcartoon.com/index2.html |
Moondance | Wednesday, May 30, 2001 - 03:16 pm  Welcome to Democratic News! May 29, 2001 ****************************** QUOTE OF THE DAY "You can't totally screw them over -- especially if they can drag the rest of the country into a recession." -- An unnamed Bush adviser on Bush's policies towards California, as quoted in the NY Daily News, 5/28/01 For a week's worth of quotes, visit: http://www.democrats.org/news/quotes/recent.html ****************************** LATEST NEWS DEMOCRAT CABALLERO WINS EL PASO MAYOR RACE Democratic National Committee Chairman Terry McAuliffe congratulated new El Paso Mayor Ray Caballero on his victory over former Mayor Larry Francis. This is the fourth big-city contested mayor's race Democrats have won since George W. Bush assumed office. To read more, visit: http://www.democrats.org/news/releases/rel052901.html WASHINGTON POST: BUSH TAX CUT AND NEW SPENDING COULD "BUST BUDGET" Because of likely spending increases in defense and other areas, "Congress will have no choice but to bust its 2002 budget to meet those demands and help pay for President Bush's newly approved tax cut," according to yesterday's Washington Post. In addition, the Post says, many are warning that Bush's unrealistic budget projections are likely to cause bigger problems down the road. "The budget for the fiscal year that begins Oct. 1 would hold the growth of spending on annually funded programs to about 4 percent - half the rate of growth of the previous year - and require about $6 billion in savings," says the Post. "But the budget doesn't explain how Congress would cover the cost of an anticipated Defense Department buildup, one that is likely to cost an additional $20 billion next year alone, or to finance a costly education reform bill working its way through Congress." To read more, visit: http://www.democrats.org/news/briefings/br052901.html SENATOR THOMAS CARPER DELIVERS WEEKLY RADIO RESPONSE ON EDUCATION Carper: "In the rush to pass too large a tax cut, the President embraced a budget that abandons most real hope of closing the gaping achievement gap that exists in America." To read or listen to Senator Carper's radio response, visit: http://www.democrats.org/news/features/feature052601.html ****************************** GET INVOLVED Get involved with the Democratic Party at all levels. Visit our website and find out how you can get involved in your community online and offline to get Democrats elected and get information about registering in your state. Take a first look at the US House and Senate races in 2002 and the Governors' races in 2001 and 2002 and learn more about winning a Democratic House majority in 2002. http://web.democrats.org/getinvolved/ ****************************** CALENDAR OF EVENTS June 1-3 AFL-CIO Training Institute Nashville, TN contact: AFL-CIO (202) 639-6264 http://www.aflcio.org June 1-3 Union of American Hebrew Congregations Board of Trustees Meeting location tbd contact: Amy Hersch (212) 650-4221 http://www.uahc.org June 2 Young Democrats of America Region 6 (AR, LA, MO, OK, TX) Convention Oklahoma City, OK contact: okyoungdem@yahoo.com http://www.yda.org June 2 Arkansas Democratic Party Jefferson Jackson Dinner Little Rock, AR contact: AR DP (501) 374-2361 http://www.arkdems.org June 2 Massachusetts Democratic Party State Convention Springfield, MA contact: MA DP (617) 742-6770 http://www.massdems.org June 3-9 League of United Latino American Citizens 72nd Annual Convention Phoenix, AZ contact: LULAC (202) 833-6130 http://www.lulac.org ****************************** |
Highlander | Wednesday, May 30, 2001 - 06:30 pm  May 30, 2001 RECKONINGS Bad Heir Day By PAUL KRUGMAN here's a scene in the 1966 British comedy "The Wrong Box" in which the son of an irascible plutocrat pushes his father's wheelchair along the top of a cliff, responding with a dutiful "Yes, father" to each outpouring of verbal abuse. Then the old man waves his hand at the industrial landscape below, and declares, "When I'm gone, all this will be yours." "Yes, father," replies the son — and pushes him off the cliff. That scene came back to me as I delved further into the absurd piece of tax legislation that a House-Senate conference devised and that George W. Bush triumphantly signed last weekend. The Bush tax plan was always peculiar: in order to hide the true budget impact, its authors delayed many of the biggest tax cuts until late into the 10-year planning period; repeal of the estate tax, in particular, was put off to 2010. But even that left the books insufficiently cooked, so last week the conferees added a "sunset" clause, officially causing the whole bill to expire, and tax rates to bounce back to 2000 levels, at the beginning of 2011. So in the law as now written, heirs to great wealth face the following situation: If your ailing mother passes away on Dec. 30, 2010, you inherit her estate tax-free. But if she makes it to Jan. 1, 2011, half the estate will be taxed away. That creates some interesting incentives. Maybe they should have called it the Throw Momma From the Train Act of 2001. |
Grod | Friday, June 01, 2001 - 07:02 am  Does anyone think the Bush twins are looking for attention from mom and dad? With the family values that are espoused by the Bush government one would think at least mom or dad would fly down to Texas and have a talk with their childre. |
Ocean_Islands | Friday, June 01, 2001 - 09:28 am  They are alcoholics. |
Max | Friday, June 01, 2001 - 10:08 am  They're just following the nice example Dubya set for them a few years back.
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Zeb | Friday, June 01, 2001 - 10:22 am  They are spoiled, irresponsible party girls (bowheads)...a dime a dozen. |
Lancecrossfire | Friday, June 01, 2001 - 10:45 am  I'd like to keep in perspective. While Not a GW fan, he is not responsible for the actions of his greater than 18 year old daughters. Their actions and responsibility for those actions are theirs and theirs alone, IMHO. They have nothing to do with GW's actions as president, nor should be a point to judge him. (all IMHO of course) |
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