CLOSED!!Political Discussion - A Place to &quot;duke it out&quot; (7400+)

Top 944. Aug 3, 2003 3:32 PM

» La_la - Re: Re: The clowns

In response to message posted by Fred2000:

R_... This proves that I was right. Republicans are making a mockery of democracy and the democratic process.

Fred, as R Lewis said..Larry Flynt is running as a DEMOCRAT.

Perfect, isn't he?

-- posted by La_la

Top 945. Aug 3, 2003 5:42 PM

» Fred2000 - Re: The clowns

In response to message posted by La_la:

"Fred, as R Lewis said..Larry Flynt is running as a DEMOCRAT."

La_la... Yes, I read that. Do you think that negates my statement? A republican proactive action that brings the worms to the surface. Don't you agree?

-- posted by Fred2000

Top 946. Aug 3, 2003 5:51 PM

» Fred2000 - ABC News

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Cities fight budget battle with tax increases, user fees, job layoffs

Sun Aug 3, 7:19 AM ET

By BRAD COOPER and RUSS PULLEY, The Kansas City Star

Battling what is called the most brutal budget crunch in 10 years, cities across the metropolitan area are cutting services, laying off employees, charging new fees and raising taxes.

Leaders are confronting a down economy marked by climbing job losses, declining or stagnant sales taxes and reduced state revenues. Also, shoppers are dodging local sales taxes by making more purchases on the Internet.

Experts say it's one of the tightest years for cities, especially for municipalities that depend heavily on sales taxes, income taxes and money from states.

-- posted by Fred2000

Top 947. Aug 3, 2003 5:55 PM

» Fred2000 - City reports

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City plans more layoffs in '04
Fri Aug 1, 9:40 AM ET Add Local - Chicago Tribune to My Yahoo!

By Sabrina L. Miller

The Daley administration announced Thursday that it projects a nearly $116 million budget deficit in 2004 and must decrease the city workforce to bridge the revenue shortfall.

-- posted by Fred2000

Top 948. Aug 3, 2003 5:58 PM

» Fred2000 - Layoffs Deal Blow to N.C. Economy

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Pillowtex Ch. 11 Filing, Layoffs Deal Blow to N.C. Economy
Wed Jul 30, 7:09 PM ET

By Mary Ellen Lloyd

CHARLOTTE, N.C. -- Local, state and federal officials scrambled Wednesday to respond to the largest mass layoff in North Carolina history after Pillowtex Corp. filed for bankruptcy protection for the second time since late 2000.

-- posted by Fred2000

Top 949. Aug 3, 2003 6:04 PM

» Fred2000 - The Return of Smog

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L.A. in Smog Alert for First Time in Five Years, More Cities May Follow

ABC News
By Brian Rooney

July 20— After years of being held at bay, smog is making a comeback in Los Angeles. And for the first time in five years, authorities have issued a first stage smog alert warning people in some areas of unhealthy levels of ozone in the air.

-- posted by Fred2000

Top 950. Aug 3, 2003 6:36 PM

» Fred2000 - Who gets charged?

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By Thomas B. Edsall
Washington Post Staff Writer
Saturday, July 12, 2003; Page A04

President Bush has billed the Department of Health and Human Services to help finance trips tied to political events far more than his predecessor, Bill Clinton, according to a General Accounting Office report.

The GAO, acting at the request of Rep. Charles B. Rangel (N.Y.), the ranking Democrat on the Ways and Means Committee, found that the White House and HHS have agreements calling on the HHS to pay $523,000 toward the cost of 15 events between January 2001 and January 2003. Fourteen of the trips were before the 2002 congressional election, and Bush attended campaign events on at least nine of the trips.

Often HHS officials accompanied Bush for separate, technically non-political events to discuss such issues as welfare reform and prescription drug legislation. Spreading the costs of presidential trips to federal agencies effectively reduced the burden on the Republican Party and White House travel budgets.

The GAO inquiry was prompted by a Washington Post report last October that disclosed the White House had billed the federal Office of Family Assistance in HHS $210,000 to help pay for five trips in which President Bush promoted welfare reform at official events and made separate fundraising appearances for Republican candidates.

The GAO examined all divisions within HHS. The inquiry was limited to that department because it is the only Cabinet department that falls under the jurisdiction of Rangel's Ways and Means Committee.

HHS and White House officials have sought to justify the billings by pointing out that President Clinton did the same thing.

The GAO report said information supplied by HHS for the period from April 21, 1997, to September 29, 2000, showed that the Clinton White House billed HHS for a total of $101,000 in connection with 37 trips.

Bill Pierce, HHS spokesman, said the political and policy events on the same trip "are two separate things." The policy-related events, he said, "are high priority for the administration. We think it's important to get outside the Beltway and talk to real folks about those issues."

The money spent by HHS, he said, "mostly went for things like tables and chairs and rentals of halls, and all the trappings that went with the policy event."

-- posted by Fred2000

http://www.washingtonpost.com/ac2/wp-dyn...

Top 951. Aug 4, 2003 9:59 AM

» Fred2000 - Powell, Armitage to step down

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By Glenn Kessler
Washington Post Staff Writer
Monday, August 4, 2003; Page A01

Secretary of State Colin L. Powell and his deputy, Richard L. Armitage, have signaled to the White House that they intend to step down even if President Bush is reelected, setting the stage for a substantial reshaping of the administration's national security team that has remained unchanged through the September 2001 terrorist attacks, two wars and numerous other crises.

Armitage recently told national security adviser Condoleezza Rice that he and Powell will leave on Jan. 21, 2005, the day after the next presidential inauguration, sources familiar with the conversation said. Powell has indicated to associates that a commitment made to his wife, rather than any dismay at the administration's foreign policy, is a key factor in his desire to limit his tenure to one presidential term.

Rice and Deputy Defense Secretary Paul D. Wolfowitz are the leading candidates to replace Powell, according to sources inside and outside the administration. Rice appears to have an edge because of her closeness to the president, though it is unclear whether she would be interested in running the State Department's vast bureaucracy.

With 18 months left in Bush's current term, many officials said talk of a new foreign policy team is highly premature -- particularly because Bush's reelection is not assured. No one inside or outside the administration agreed to be quoted by name or affiliation in discussing possible Cabinet choices. But on the eve of the country's first post-Sept. 11, 2001, presidential campaign, in which foreign affairs will play a prominent role, the national security lineup for a second Bush term is already a major topic of conversation, at least among those who make and analyze U.S. foreign policy.

Indeed, Director of Central Intelligence George J. Tenet is already the third longest serving CIA chief and is expected to depart, perhaps before the current term ends. Tenet's role in the Iraq weapons controversy has led to calls on Capitol Hill for his dismissal, fueling speculation he will quit soon.

The current administration has been characterized by fierce policy disputes, often between Powell and more hawkish members, and a reshuffling likely would significantly change the tenor and character of the foreign policy team.

Although Bush appears to value the range of opinions he has received from his chief national security advisers, he may feel free if he wins a second term to realign his foreign policy more closely to the harder-edged, conservative view exemplified by Vice President Cheney and Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld....

-- posted by Fred2000