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Wednesday, April 9, 2003
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Sen. John McCain, R-Arizona has compiled a list of more than two dozen provisions he calls objectionable because they were not requested by the Bush administration nor authorized by a congressional committee.
I like John McCain. Now as in 2000 he would get my vote for president.
 12:43:23 PM Google It! comment
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Sunday, April 6, 2003
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Fort Lauderdale Sun Sentinel - Seizing on news that the nation lost 108000 jobs last month, Treasury Secretary John Snow said Friday during a visit to Fort Lauderdale that the data provided fresh evidence for the need to pass President ...
West Wing Airing: Dividend-Tax Cut a Good Thing TheStreet.com
Bush official rallies business troops Miami Herald
WRONG! There is no connection between the two. Tax cuts during a time of deficit spending is bad policy and irresponsible leadership. Any politician who supports tax cuts when the US is in economic crisis at home is a financial terrorist against the Republic of the United States.
10:45:02 AM Google It! comment
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Friday, March 14, 2003
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It's reprehensible that our government officials are acting in such a petty manner. But then, you always get exactly what you voted for in a democracy.
2:28:41 AM Google It! comment
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Sunday, March 2, 2003
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We are all getting older, but some of us are getting older faster than others. Three news items last week highlighted the impact of changing demography on the world economy: the latest United Nations estimates of population change; some testimony from Alan Greenspan, chairman of the Federal Reserve Board, to the US Senate on the implications of aging.
Psssst, Greenspan Is Not God, Pass It On Forbes
US is graying, Greenspan warns Taipei Times
Toronto Star - Boston.com
Mr. Greenspan is not a god, right. But I think he is a man with a pragmatic view of the world and the platform to express his view. If you follow his public statements you'll see he speaks his mind with consideration to the politics of the then current administration. Lately though his public comments appear to be increasingly at odds with the Bush administration. His remarks seem to be warning signals to the US about current domestic fiscal problems, a bleak economic future if changes are not made, and what those changes should be. I think Mr. Greenspan is in his endgame and will not be back for another term and this is his way of giving us a path to return to financial growth and fiscal responsibility.
Or perhaps Mr. Greenspan has recognized this administrations "politics is war and winning is everything" motto combined with their discompassionate approach to managing the assets of the United States for now and into the future and he disagrees and has spoken up. I believe Mr. Greenspan when he says "large deficits matter". The right answer, as everyone knows, is to not have deficit spending at all! Paying back every deficit dollar spent includes interest which is real money that's taken out of our economy. When that happens It hurts everyone except the rich. The poor and the retired on fixed income are hurt the most and that simply is not the action of a compassionate or responsible government.
1:21:25 PM Google It! comment
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While Bush claims the plan will provide an average tax reduction of $1,000, "what he doesn't say is that half of all taxpayers would get less than a hundred dollars," she said. "Our economy is in a hole, but rather than looking for a ladder, the president is reaching for a bigger shovel."
11:09:05 AM Google It! comment
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Glenn Hubbard has resigned as chairman of the Council of Economic Advisers -- to spend more time with his family, of course. (Pay no attention to the knife handles protruding from his back.) Gregory Mankiw, his successor, is a very good economist, but never mind: When the political apparatchiks who make all decisions in this administration want Mankiw's opinion, they'll tell Mankiw what it is.
10:59:58 AM Google It! comment
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"It is a war of indirection and disinformation, of ambush and frontal assault, all designed to weaken unions, reduce their membership, sap their resources and energy, and limit their ability to oppose the administration and its corporate allies. "
3:28:36 AM Google It! comment
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Monday, February 17, 2003
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Large deficits matter. Those three words sum up Alan Greenspan's testimony before Congress last week, testimony that will make it more difficult for the White House to get its proposed tax cuts enacted. That such an incontrovertible statement of basic economic thought could roil Washington and create problems for the Bush administration is an indication of how surreal, and cynical, budgetary politics have become.
3:38:40 PM Google It! comment
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A former Santa Fe public defender who said he was handcuffed Thursday at the St. John's College library and interrogated by Secret Service agents for several hours said Saturday that he plans to sue the government for violating his rights.
He said a lawsuit is the best way to make the point that he was mistreated.
"I'm going to sue the Secret Service, Santa Fe Police, St. John's and everybody involved in this whole thing," he said. "The way our country is now, the only way people apologize anymore is with money. So I'm going to sue."
3:34:13 PM Google It! comment
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Tuesday, February 11, 2003
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This American Life: Secret Government (RealAudio stream).
It's a spine-tingling episode of This American Life, a wonderfully-engaging and entertaining radio program that mixes comedy with serious discussion of serious issues, which covers our new secret government by calling up the Justice Department and the victims and letting them tell their stories.
Act One covers the story of Jose Padilla, the man who was whisked away from his average criminal trial, declared an enemy combatant, placed on a military brig and not allowed to see a lawyer or a court until "the end of the war". The Justice Department says it was because he had serious discussions about a "dirty bomb" and they need all the information they can get from him. This American Life suggests it was to distract people from the FBI's misbehavior.
Act Two covers the everyday people who woke up one morning to find 25 FBI officers outside their door, were taken to solitary confinement for months without their family being told where they were, and then were flown back to their home countries.
Act Three covers the secret FISA court, which meets in secret to issue secret decisions about who the government can secretly wiretap. They'd never said no until the Government asked for broad new powers to override the the safeguards that were in place to prevent abuse of the court. That time they said no, and, at the request of some senators, told the public of their decision. The government appealed, to a secret court which had never met before. The ACLU, finding out about this, tried to fight it.
[found via GreaterDemocracy] [Aaron Swartz]
8:28:37 AM Google It! comment
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Sunday, January 26, 2003
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Sen. Chuck Grassley of Iowa is lending his voice to criticism of a Pentagon data-mining project that could result in detailed electronic dossiers compiled on Americans. [CNET News.com]
11:50:08 PM Google It! comment
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