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but that's too straight forward.
I talked to a local contractor recently and he went on and on about all the illegals and how the neighborhoods have gone to hell etc., and then went on and on about he likes to hire them and treats them "fairly"... translation... he likes how he can get cheap labor, but doesn't want them living here. Kind of psycho if you ask me.
[edit] p.s. he was a raving Rush fan
ahhh.... must be the special project Karl Rove is working on
it's hard to imagine they would have been worse
an old bumper sticker I saw yesterday:
vote for Bush, why wait so long for armagedon
They are hard working and dedicated people who appreciate opportunities given.
I agree. I noticed a lot of signs yesterday that said "we are not criminals". It's really a shame that some are trying to criminalize them.
I whole heartedly agree. I just don't see what people see in him or Rush or any of those drama queens.
is Stern really worth that much? I wouldn't pay 1 cent
so much for fiscal conservatism
"exotic"?... that's a nice way to put it... frankly, I think alot of it was borderline fraud.
I hope they boot him. His track record as a Bush apologist is catching up with him.
I like it!!!
lowest level since invasion...
and to cover up another boost in oil industry profits...
Please drop what you're doing because here we go again. Senate leaders are again exploiting rising gas prices to rush a bill to the floor that would destroy the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge and boost oil industry profits. The vote could come as early as Tuesday.
The Senate front men for Big Oil are doing their damnedest to convince Americans that sacrificing the Arctic and sending each of us a $100 rebate check will solve all our problems at the pump.
There's only one way to expose these lies and prevent the sacrifice of America's greatest wildlife refuge: Help light up the Senate switchboard today!
Please call your two Senators right now:
Senator Dianne Feinstein: (202) 224-3841 Senator Barbara Boxer: (202) 224-3553
Tell them to vote NO on the Gas Price Relief and Rebate Act. Tell them you will not trade the Arctic Refuge for $100 or be fooled by policies that do nothing to solve the real problem of America's dangerous dependence on oil. Urge them to get to work on cutting oil consumption by improving the mileage of our cars and promoting clean and renewable energy.
Here are the facts: the Energy Department says that drilling in the Arctic Refuge would save consumers only one penny per gallon at the pump in 20 years!
Meanwhile, anyone who drives will be forced to take the Senate's $100 rebate check -- paid for with our tax dollars -- and sign it over to ExxonMobil for their next two tanks of gas.
Only an oil company could love a bill that picks the taxpayers' wallets for $12 billion in gas money. The Gas Price Relief and Rebate Act should really be called the "Guaranteed Profits for Big Oil Act!"
Remember: these are the same Senators who passed a pro-polluter energy bill last summer that refused to make America's gas-guzzlers more fuel-efficient, but instead doled out billions of tax dollars to oil and coal companies. This latest bill is just more of the same corporate welfare.
Call your Senators right now and tell them you will not surrender the Arctic Refuge or line the pockets of the oil companies with your tax dollars.
And if you want to do even more to expose and defeat this shameless bill, go to https://www.nrdcactionfund.org/arctic/donate.asp
right now and make a donation so we can escalate this campaign in defense of the Arctic Refuge over the next critical days. Thank you!
Sincerely,
Robert Redford
NRDC Action Fund
(from an email)
way too late to the party... no guts when it might have counted
The warrant was for fraud...
how fitting! LOL
Senate Panel Demands Oil Co. Tax Records
<< doubt anything will come of this... just makes them look like the might do something lol >>
By H. JOSEF HEBERT, Associated Press Writer
37 minutes ago
WASHINGTON - Responding to an election-year spike in gasoline prices, Senate Republicans on Wednesday drafted legislation providing $100 rebates for taxpayers as key lawmakers sought access to Big Oil's income tax returns.
The rebate legislation also calls for oil drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, an intensely controversial proposal that will probably contribute to the defeat of the overall measure.
Other elements of the package would provide additional tax rebates for manufacturers of hybrid vehicles and urge President Bush not to add oil to the nation's strategic petroleum reserve for six months. No cost estimates were available.
A vote was possible by week's end.
Republicans filed their bill several hours after the Senate Finance Committee announced an investigation into the taxes paid by major oil companies, which reported record profits last year. The committee asked the Internal Revenue Service for the firms' tax returns.
Sen. Charles Grassley (news, bio, voting record), R-Iowa, the committee's chairman, said the panel was concerned about high company profits and executive compensation.
"I want to make sure the oil companies aren't taking a speed pass by the tax man," he said in a statement.
"It's relevant to know what the real financial picture is for this industry," said Montana Sen. Max Baucus (news, bio, voting record), the ranking Democrat on the committee.
Bush earlier this week halted filling of the nation's emergency oil reserve, urged the waiver of clean air rules to ease local gas shortages and called for the repeal of $2 billion in tax breaks for profit-heavy oil companies.
He also urged lawmakers to expand tax breaks for the purchase of fuel-efficient hybrid automobiles, a politically popular measure that's also supported by environmentalists.
Democrats, too, have called for measures to ease the impact of higher prices, and accused Republicans of long having done the bidding of oil companies.
Sen. Bob Menendez, D-N.J., has called for a 60-day suspension in the federal gasoline tax, a holiday that he says will cut the cost of gasoline by more than 18 cents a gallon and reduce the price of diesel fuel by more than 24 cents a gallon.
Officials said the GOP proposal envisions a rebate of $100 per taxpayer, payable by government check.
In a letter to IRS Commissioner Mark Everson, Grassley and Baucus said, "As pressure mounts to address extraordinarily high gas prices that consumers are facing at the pump, we feel we should better understand the federal tax posture of the industry."
The senators noted not only the industry profits, but "an extremely lucrative retirement plan by one oil and gas industry executive, benefits which may have been subsidized in part by the taxpayers."
The retirement compensation package given by Exxon Mobil Corp. to outgoing Chairman Lee Raymond is said to total $400 million when all pension payoffs and stock options are included.
A House-Senate conference, negotiating a large tax bill, is considering a provision that would change accounting rules for oil inventories and require the five biggest oil companies to pay $4.3 billion more in taxes.
The measure passed the Senate but was viewed as essentially dead this week because of opposition from House GOP lawmakers. The White House opposed the idea when it surfaced in November and threatened to veto the entire bill because of it.
Grassley said Wednesday that high fuel prices revived the inventory tax plan and it "is still being negotiated."
His House counterpart in the negotiations, Ways and Means Committee Chairman Bill Thomas, R-Calif., said the issue has not been decided.
Additionally, there is broad bipartisan support for scuttling other breaks given to oil companies only eight months ago when Bush signed an energy bill.
Bush on Wednesday urged Congress to remove those tax provisions, worth $2 billion over 10 years. He said people should not pay for such subsidies when the industry is wallowing in cash.
Sen. Pete Domenici (news, bio, voting record), R-N.M., chairman of the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee, said he cannot support tax breaks for oil companies "while some American families are searching their budgets for the extra cash they need to fill their gas tanks."
Sen. John Kerry, D-Mass., said he intended to offer legislation repealing the tax breaks. They included subsidies for exploration in deep waters of the Gulf of Mexico and in geologically or politically difficult regions of the world, as well as royalty relief for certain oil and gas exploration.
Executives of the major oil companies said at a recent hearing they do not need those tax breaks.
"We are not involved in trying to hold them in place," Red Cavaney, president of the American Petroleum Institute, said Wednesday at a news conference.
Cavaney criticized the proposed changes on oil inventory accounting, calling them "equivalent to a windfall profits tax" for the five largest U.S. oil companies.
The Senate-passed plan would change accounting rules for oil kept in inventory. The changes would raise $4.3 billion in additional taxes from the companies over five years, according to a congressional analysis.
Cavaney said it was unfair to single out the five companies — Exxon Mobil Corp., Chevron, BP, Shell and ConocoPhillips — for an accounting practice widely used both in and outside the oil industry.
Congressional Democrats see the uproar over the surge in gasoline costs as a chance to renew their push for a windfall profits tax.
A few Republicans, including Sen. Arlen Specter (news, bio, voting record) of Pennsylvania, have said a windfall profits tax ought to be examined, but most GOP lawmakers — and Bush — strongly oppose it.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20060427/ap_on_go_co/oil_taxes
LOL
food safety...
<< whatever happened to letting states make their own decisions? states rights... oh yeah, when profits of big business is on the line, it all goes out the window >>
Dear Friend:
I recently joined United States Senator Dianne Feinstein at an event to highlight our opposition to H.R. 4167, the National Uniformity for Foods Act, which poses a direct threat to California’s food safety and consumer right-to-know protections, including Proposition 65. H.R. 4167 would roll back essential food safety laws and preempt state and local authorities from enacting food safety regulations stronger than those required by the federal government.
Californians passed Prop 65 in 1986 with 63 percent of the vote because they wanted to know if dangerous contaminants were in their food and drinking water, and they knew that such a law would encourage food manufacturers to provide a safer product
-- because who wants to buy bottled water with an arsenic warning label?
For the past 20 years, this simple combination of consumer education and market forces has reduced exposure to dangerous substances in food throughout California. But now, California’s Prop 65 and other state food safety laws are under attack from special interests and their allies in Congress, who would rather keep consumers in the dark about dangerous contaminants in their food and water.
To help better inform the public and the press about the potential impact of this terrible bill, my staff has prepared a report detailing the impact of HR 4167 on California’s food safety regulations. This report provides information on California’s successful efforts over the past 20 years to address lead, arsenic, mercury, PCBs and other threats to the health and safety of Californians, including children. You can find the report on my Senate website at http://www.boxer.senate.gov/
There is widespread opposition to H.R. 4167, including numerous state, public health, scientific, labor, environmental and other public interest groups. Senator Feinstein and I are working hard to ensure that this legislation is defeated if it reaches the floor of the United States Senate.
Sincerely,
Barbara Boxer
United States Senator
from an email
that first paragraph could have easily been written today.
sometimes I wonder if we ever learn.
ROFL!
I'm going to have to go back and take a second look at that guy at Starbucks! LOL
very interesting... seemed to be quite a few items talking about migrating from California east...
another great quote and so appropriate for these times.
I was thinking of the Ohlone... inhabited the area here around the SF bay area since around 500 A.D.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ohlone
what about the native americans?
here too... that's why the long lines for the good deal
LOL... you're really on a roll with those cartoons... although Bush & Co are making it easy for the comedians to come up with material
There is a local gas station selling gas for 2.71 and there were long lines of people waiting to get it at that price... sign of things to come.
it needs some slight modifications though...
From his position of inherited privilege, George W. Bush demonstrated that through an american dynasty a very incompetant and uninspiring man could buy the American dream.
ROFL!
Leading Economic Indicators Down 0.1 Pct.
By EILEEN ALT POWELL, AP Business Writer
25 minutes ago
NEW YORK - A closely watched gauge of future economic activity dipped 0.1 percent in March following a revised drop of 0.5 percent the previous month, suggesting that the nation's economy could weaken later in the year.
The Conference Board, a private research group, said Thursday that its Index of Leading Economic Indicators dropped to 138.4 in March from 138.5 the previous month.
The declines followed four consecutive months of rising readings and came as soaring crude oil prices and higher interest rates are expected to begin cutting into consumer spending, which is the engine for two-thirds of the nation's economic growth.
The March reading was slightly below analysts' projections; they had expected the index to show no change in March from February.
The index is closely watched because it predicts economic activity three months to six months in the future.
Ken Goldstein, labor economist at the New York-based Conference Board, said the latest index readings appeared to be signaling weaker economic growth ahead.
"With the price of a barrel of oil rising above $70 and with interest rates slowly increasing, the global economy isn't likely to be picking up steam soon," he said in a statement. Higher oil prices, he said, would boost business costs and, likely, prices to consumers, dampening spending.
"The latest leading indicator readings suggest some slowing in the pace of economic activity through this summer," Goldstein concluded.
Few economists, however, are predicting a recession. Most believe the U.S. economy grew at an annual rate of about 5 percent in the January-March quarter but that growth currently is slowing to a rate closer to 3 percent.
The report was released as oil prices soared to new intraday trading records overseas.
In London, oil prices briefly hit a record high above $72 a barrel. The spike came a day after data showed a drop in U.S. gasoline stocks raised worries that refiners don't have an adequate inventory cushion ahead of the peak summer season.
Traders also are anxious that U.S.-led efforts to stop Iran, OPEC's second-largest member, from pursuing a suspected nuclear weapons program could lead to a disruption in Persian Gulf oil supplies.
Oil futures contracts through November 2009 are now trading above $70 a barrel, indicating traders believe high prices could be here to stay.
The Conference Board report said that five of the 10 components of the leading index increased in March: vendor performance, stock prices, consumer expectations, manufacturers' new orders for consumer goods and the interest rate spread. Negative contributors were building permits, average weekly claims for unemployment insurance, manufacturers' new orders for nondefense capital goods and the money supply. Average weekly manufacturing hours were unchanged.
The index of coincident indicators, which measures current economic activity, rose 0.2 percent in March to 122.4 after rising 0.2 percent in February to 122.1. The index of lagging indicators, reflecting past performance, advanced 0.3 percent in March to 122.9 after rising 0.1 percent in February to 122.5.
___
On the Net:
http://www.conference-board.org
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20060420/ap_on_bi_ge/leading_indicators
ROFL!
I think it's great that Bush is still backing Dummy... just outting himself to more and more people.
And the "decider" continues to "miss-estimate"
what a joke this administration is... it's an embarrassment
The debate is very interesting and not without it merits. There are some things about it that appeal to me... this being a main one for me:
Secession may not be the only answer or even the best answer, but citizens on the West Coast are finding themselves increasingly disenfranchised from the conservative cultural domination of the large middle and southern sections of the country
And in conjunction with that is that funds flow from CA to the fed while many of the reds states the funds flow from the fed to the red. That's particularly aggravating when you keep hearing the accusation about "entitlement mentality" in regard to the blue states. Frankly, IMO CA would economically healthier minus the wild spending in Washington and the drain of the red states.
The Decider Sticks With the Derider
by Maureen Dowd
hits the nail on the head again...
Just as with Vietnam, when L.B.J. and Robert McNamara were running the war, or later, when Richard Nixon and Henry Kissinger took over, we now have leaders obsessed with not seeming weak, or losing face. Their egos are feeding their delusions.
http://select.nytimes.com/2006/04/19/opinion/19dowd.html?th&emc=th
They could conceivably vote for California to secede from the union.
I find that highly unlikely.
I think so too. Although, fortunately sometimes they are determined not to make the same mistakes we've made :)
there was a book by Grisham... The Bretheren? something like that... was about a Reichtstag type thing right along the same lines.