Tuesday, February 24, 2004
February 24, 2004 | Washington Post | Bush Assertion on Tax Cuts Is at Odds With IRS Data:
President Bush defended his tax cuts yesterday as economic fuel for the small-business sector in response to mounting criticism from Democratic presidential candidates that the cuts chiefly benefited the wealthiest Americans.
But the president's contention that upper-income tax cuts primarily benefit entrepreneurs conflicts with some of the government's own data.
Democratic Sens. John F. Kerry (Mass.) and John Edwards (N.C.) have pledged to restore the top two income tax rates to a maximum of 39.6 percent if elected president, but Bush and Republican allies say such a move would disproportionately punish small businesses, most of which pay individual income tax rates on their profits.
"If you're worried about job growth, it seems like it makes sense to give a little fuel to those who create jobs, the small-business sector," Bush told a gathering of the nation's governors at the White House. "So I'll vigorously defend the permanency of the tax cuts, not only for the sake of the economy, but for the sake of the entrepreneurial spirit."
Internal Revenue Service statistics cited by a Democratic senator this month show that the vast majority of small businesses do not earn nearly enough money to fall into the highest income tax bracket. According to IRS data from the 2001 tax year, 3.8 percent of the 18.2 million business tax returns filed that year reported taxable income of $200,000 or more. The top tax bracket last year kicked in at $311,950 of taxable income.
Monday, February 23, 2004
Monday, February 23, 2004; 1:09 PM | Washington Post | Nader Defends Candidacy as Democrats Criticize Decision to Run:
Consumer advocate Ralph Nader today defended his newly launched independent presidential candidacy from Democratic criticism, urging the party's contenders and its national chairman to "relax and rejoice" and to stop using him as a scapegoat.
"I think those who use the word 'spoiler' need to reexamine their otherwise steadfast commitment to civil liberties, to choice, to freedom," Nader said in response to a question. The term, which he has called "contemptuous," really means that he should not run, he said, but "should just sit on the sidelines and watch our country being taken down and taken apart by corporate politics . . . ."
Nader, who turns 70 on Friday, devoted much of his speech to what he called "the dreaded supremacy of corporatism" in American life and the need for "a pluralistic, not a duopolistic, [political] system." He denied that his candidacy would help President Bush's reelection campaign, saying he expected to draw more votes away from Republicans than from Democrats.
Saturday, February 21, 2004
February 19, 2004 | The Gallup Oraganization | Kerry, Edwards Lead Bush by Double Digits Among Likely Voters:
PRINCETON, NJ -- In a hypothetical presidential contest, Massachusetts Sen. John Kerry leads President George W. Bush by 12 percentage points among likely voters, 55% to 43%, while North Carolina Sen. John Edwards leads Bush by 10 points, 54% to 44%. According to the latest CNN/USA Today/Gallup poll, these figures represent a significant improvement in the Democratic candidates' strength from 10 days ago, when Bush had a one-point lead over Kerry and a four-point lead over Edwards. At the end of January, Kerry enjoyed a seven-point lead and Edwards a one-point lead.
PRINCETON, NJ -- In a hypothetical presidential contest, Massachusetts Sen. John Kerry leads President George W. Bush by 12 percentage points among likely voters, 55% to 43%, while North Carolina Sen. John Edwards leads Bush by 10 points, 54% to 44%. According to the latest CNN/USA Today/Gallup poll, these figures represent a significant improvement in the Democratic candidates' strength from 10 days ago, when Bush had a one-point lead over Kerry and a four-point lead over Edwards. At the end of January, Kerry enjoyed a seven-point lead and Edwards a one-point lead.
Friday, February 20, 2004
Fri February 20, 2004 03:53 PM ET | Reuters | Nader to Announce Sunday His Presidential Plans :
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Consumer advocate Ralph Nader, whose third party run in 2000 many Democrats say cost Al Gore the presidency, will announce on Sunday whether he will run again this year.
"He will be announcing his decision on 'Meet the Press,"' said Linda Schade, a spokeswoman for Nader's presidential exploratory committee.
She said only Nader knew what he was planning to do when he appears on NBC's Sunday morning talk show at 10:30 a.m. EST.
Many Democrats, still angry at Republican George W. Bush's narrow victory in 2000, blame Nader's liberal, consumer-oriented run as the Green Party's presidential nominee for taking away votes from their candidate, then-Vice President Gore.
Tuesday, February 17, 2004
February 14, 2004 New York Times | CBS Pulls Advertisement on Medicare Prepared by Administration :
WSHINGTON, Feb. 13 — CBS said on Friday that it had stopped running a television advertisement for the new Medicare prescription drug law while Congress investigates its accuracy.
The 30-second advertisement, prepared by the Bush administration, assures Medicare beneficiaries that the program is not changing in any way except to provide "more benefits." Democratic members of Congress and some liberal advocacy groups say the advertisement amounts to a taxpayer-subsidized political commercial for the administration.
Dana McClintock, a spokesman for CBS in New York, said: "The ad has been pulled. It violated our longstanding policy on advocacy advertising. We pulled it as soon as we became aware of the investigation."
The government is spending $9.5 million to run the advertisement on national network and cable programs in the next six weeks.
WSHINGTON, Feb. 13 — CBS said on Friday that it had stopped running a television advertisement for the new Medicare prescription drug law while Congress investigates its accuracy.
The 30-second advertisement, prepared by the Bush administration, assures Medicare beneficiaries that the program is not changing in any way except to provide "more benefits." Democratic members of Congress and some liberal advocacy groups say the advertisement amounts to a taxpayer-subsidized political commercial for the administration.
Dana McClintock, a spokesman for CBS in New York, said: "The ad has been pulled. It violated our longstanding policy on advocacy advertising. We pulled it as soon as we became aware of the investigation."
The government is spending $9.5 million to run the advertisement on national network and cable programs in the next six weeks.
Monday, February 16, 2004
January 12, 2004 | Business Week | Time for Safeway's Burd to Fly Away?:
The grocery chain's CEO has led the bitter battle with striking workers. Even if he wins the fight, the fallout could make him the ultimate loser.
For the last four months, three national supermarket chains -- Safeway (SWY ), Albertson's (ABS ), and Kroger (KR ) -- have been locked in a showdown with 71,000 unionized workers in Southern California. But as the strike that began on Oct. 11 drags on, it's beginning to look as if the industry's aggressive stance could backfire: It has prompted calls for the ouster of Safeway CEO Steven A. Burd, who has led the campaign on behalf of the three outfits.
The dispute already has inflicted heavy net-income losses on the grocers, including more than $100 million at Safeway, analysts say. Equally damaging, Burd's bold attack has enraged employees, prompting Wall Street concerns that morale woes could persist long past the dispute's resolution. "There are people on the Street who want a change" in management, says J.P. Morgan Securities analyst Stephen C. Chick, who on Feb. 2 downgraded Safeway shares to a sell.
The grocery chain's CEO has led the bitter battle with striking workers. Even if he wins the fight, the fallout could make him the ultimate loser.
For the last four months, three national supermarket chains -- Safeway (SWY ), Albertson's (ABS ), and Kroger (KR ) -- have been locked in a showdown with 71,000 unionized workers in Southern California. But as the strike that began on Oct. 11 drags on, it's beginning to look as if the industry's aggressive stance could backfire: It has prompted calls for the ouster of Safeway CEO Steven A. Burd, who has led the campaign on behalf of the three outfits.
The dispute already has inflicted heavy net-income losses on the grocers, including more than $100 million at Safeway, analysts say. Equally damaging, Burd's bold attack has enraged employees, prompting Wall Street concerns that morale woes could persist long past the dispute's resolution. "There are people on the Street who want a change" in management, says J.P. Morgan Securities analyst Stephen C. Chick, who on Feb. 2 downgraded Safeway shares to a sell.
Tuesday, February 10, 2004
Censure Bush for Misleading Us
President Bush told our nation that Iraq possessed weapons of mass destruction. Now that the chief weapons inspector has revealed that that simply is not true, President Bush seeks to avoid responsibility by creating an investigation that will focus on the CIA. That's why we believe:
"Congress must censure President Bush
for misleading the country
about Iraq's weapons of mass destruction."
President Bush told our nation that Iraq possessed weapons of mass destruction. Now that the chief weapons inspector has revealed that that simply is not true, President Bush seeks to avoid responsibility by creating an investigation that will focus on the CIA. That's why we believe:
for misleading the country
about Iraq's weapons of mass destruction."
Monday, February 02, 2004
woohoo! kerry is beating bush in two diff poles:
"Two polls Monday showed Kerry leading President Bush - 53 percent to 46 percent in a CNN-USA Today-Gallup poll and 51 percent to 43 percent in a Quinnipiac Institute survey. "
i think it is safe to say, that unless osama is caught before the presidential election, i think dubya will be another one term pres. just like his daddy!
"Two polls Monday showed Kerry leading President Bush - 53 percent to 46 percent in a CNN-USA Today-Gallup poll and 51 percent to 43 percent in a Quinnipiac Institute survey. "
i think it is safe to say, that unless osama is caught before the presidential election, i think dubya will be another one term pres. just like his daddy!
