Not-so-good-and-old "How do you feel" thread
- Thread starter Naku ist krig
- Start date
- Status
Tranquillian
Svartmetallist
NF: Tired, got out of bed at 11 PM last night.
Just got invited to a new job interview
at Westinghouse electric.
Just got invited to a new job interview
at Westinghouse electric.
Caelestia
rawr
Rusty
A-HAHAHA!
NF: Stressed, but glad (in a way) that my neice has gone home, since she probably came at the worst time for me personally. And my parents have gone to take her back and won't be back for a couple of hours and Keith isn't home yet, so at least I can feel comfortable here for a short while. Ahhh.
wildfyr
unus spiritus est
NF: extrememly agitated and PISSED OFFFFFFFF
i shouldn't be though, i'm getting tax $$ back from the federales. but i'd give it all back if it would end the Bullshit in the Middle East and straighten out our pathetic government. those fucking asswipes. i hope they die! dammit, i'd strap some C4 to my own ass and blow them away like lint if i thought it would help. i'm THAT PISSSSED OFF right now.
Read today's CAP Progress Report and see why
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April 15, 2004
EDITOR'S NOTE: While the sentiment was not reflected in his strategic plans (http://www.americanprogress.org/atf/cf/%7bE9245FE4-9A2B-43C7-A521-5D6FF2E06E03%7d/FBI03REQUEST.PDF) or budget requests (http://www.americanprogress.org/atf/cf/%7bE9245FE4-9A2B-43C7-A521-5D6FF2E06E03%7d/FY03ASHCROFT.PDF) , yesterday's Progress Report overlooked the portion of Ashcroft's 8/9/01 testimony to Congress where he said "the Department of Justice has no higher priority" than preventing terrorist attacks. We regret the error.
TAKE OUR POLL
The President Still Needs Your Help
He was asked at his press conference (http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/politics/20040413-1907-bush-text.html) Tuesday night, but President Bush still hasn't figured out what his biggest national security mistake has been. Take our poll and help us help the President (http://www.americanprogress.org/site/apps/fc/form.asp?c=biJRJ8OVF&b=45639) . We'll release the results in tomorrow's Progress Report and forward them on to President Bush.
TAXES
The Bush Tax Cut Myth
Having personally pocketed more than $30,000 (http://www.redlandsdailyfacts.com/Stories/0,1413,209~27211~2082027,00.html) in new tax breaks, President Bush today will celebrate April 15 by touting his tax policy's effect on the economy. Bush will visit Des Moines, Iowa -- a city that has seen its unemployed population double since the President took office (ftp://ftp.bls.gov/pub/news.release/History/metro.03182004.news) . His speech will most likely ignore the fact that his latest tax cut gave less than $100 to 87% of Iowans (http://www.ctj.org/pdf/gwbia.pdf) , excluded more than 125,000 Iowa kids from the child tax credit, while doing nothing to deal with the fact that Iowa has seen 27,000 more workers added to its unemployment roster. While the White House continues to claim that " every American who pays taxes has benefited from the president's tax relief (http://www.miami.com/mld/miamiherald/business/national/8435298.htm) ," two new polls show that Americans are not fooled by this deceptive rhetoric, and understand that most of the tax benefits went to a small wealthy sliver of the population. A new Money Magazine poll shows " 60% of Americans said the Bush tax cut did not personally help them (http://money.cnn.com/2004/04/15/news/economy/election_moneypoll/) " while an AP poll shows that " 49% of Americans (http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&cid=519&e=5&u=/ap/20040414/ap_on_re_us/taxes_ap_poll) said their overall tax burden ? including federal, state and local taxes ? had gone up" since President Bush took office. Just 13% said their taxes had gone down. Of course, there was a select group of people who did benefit: a new Public Campaign study shows how Bush campaign donors are reaping a windfall (http://www.campaignmoney.org/spotlight/sis04_15_04.htm) .
POLL NUMBERS REFLECT TAX REALITY: The new poll numbers are not surprising: USA Today reports the tiny tax cuts middle-class families received from Bush's tax bills are even smaller than promised (http://www.usatoday.com/money/perfi/taxes/2004-04-14-tax-refunds_x.htm) . Additionally, the White House has left out more than 20 million children (including more than 250,000 children of U.S. service men/women (http://www.usatoday.com/news/washington/2003-06-04-taxes-usat_x.htm) ) from the full child tax credit, and has refused to push Congress to expand it. Meanwhile, middle-class families are now being forced to deal with increased state/local taxes and higher fees (http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&cid=519&e=5&u=/ap/20040414/ap_on_re_us/taxes_ap_poll) needed to make up for the deficits the Bush tax cuts created. And while President Bush continues to parrot the "tax cuts create jobs" line -- the Gadflyer's Paul Waldman points out just how inefficient the White House's tax cuts have been as a job creator: even if the economy added 300,000 jobs a month for the rest of the year, each job created would have cost U.S. taxpayers $871,046 in tax cuts (http://gadflyer.com/articles/?ArticleID=70) . For more on the tax cut debate, see American Progress's new Tax Day report (http://www.americanprogress.org/site/pp.asp?c=biJRJ8OVF&b=45634) .
CORPORATE SHILLS COMPLAIN, WHILE MIDDLE-CLASS GETS STIFFED: Recent studies (http://www.gao.gov/new.items/d04358.pdf) have confirmed that the corporate tax rate has declined sharply (http://www.mlive.com/newsflash/business/index.ssf?/newsflash/get_story.ssf?/cgi-free/getstory_ssf.cgi?f0074_BC_WSJ--CorporateTaxes&&news&newsflash-financial) , with more than 60% of U.S. companies paying no taxes at all. These companies' taxes went down at the same time their profits expanded (http://www.americanprogress.org/site/pp.asp?c=biJRJ8OVF&b=45149) . But that hasn't stopped corporations from perpetuating a myth that they are overtaxed: Forbes Magazine today published an article complaining (http://www.forbes.com/personalfinance/taxes/2004/04/15/cx_aw_0415bigpay.html) about how U.S. corporations are supposedly being ravaged by high tax rates. While the official numbers at first glance appear shocking, a tax consultant admits the truth: "Corporations usually pay a smaller amount than they report on the balance sheet" because of other loopholes. And while the IRS has increased its auditing of ordinary citizens, corporate tax audits have plummeted (http://www.latimes.com/business/la-041204audit_lat,1,5826944.story?coll=la-home-headlines) . And as the St. Petersburg Times editorial board notes, "for most corporations, April 15 is just another day they don't have to worry about paying taxes...The message is clear: Corporations have been allowed, even encouraged, to dodge their tax responsibility (http://www.sptimes.com/2004/04/15/Opinion/Another_corporate_tax.shtml) ." Read this American Progress report (http://www.americanprogress.org/site/pp.asp?c=biJRJ8OVF&b=45149) on the corporate tax void.
WHITE HOUSE ENCOURAGES CORPORATE TAX EVASION: The Christian Science Monitor notes one reason for falling corporate tax revenues is so-called "corporate inversions" -- the euphemism for a U.S. company acquiring a mailing address in a tax haven country like Bermuda to avoid all U.S. taxes (http://www.csmonitor.com/2004/0414/p02s02-uspo.html) . ABC News reported on 7/12/02 that while President Bush "says the Bermuda loophole should be closed, he has yet to support any of the bills that would do so." In fact, in 2002 the White House worked to strip out House-passed provisions barring federal contracts from going to the scores of U.S. companies that have used the scheme to avoid paying their fair share. The Monitor sums up the situation by noting that the growing "burden on middle-income people and dearth of corporate receipts raise issues of fairness."
COUNTRY CLUB MILLIONAIRES COMPLAIN ABOUT HARDSHIPS: The data is clear: the top 1% of Americans -- people who make an average of $1 million a year -- will receive more than $1 trillion in total tax breaks from the Bush tax cuts (http://www.ctj.org/pdf/gwbdata.pdf) . Every year, each of these millionaires will get more than $50,000 in new tax cuts. But that hasn't stopped these super-wealthy individuals from complaining: In Denver this evening, "some of the city's wealthiest residents will celebrate by gathering at the Denver Country Club and singing songs about how poor they are (http://www.rockymountainnews.com/drmn/business/article/0,1299,DRMN_4_2809269,00.html) now that they've paid the IRS."
9/11
Administration Tales Unravel
The Administration has repeatedly cited President Bush's daily meetings with CIA Director George Tenet as proof that he was engaged in the terrorism issue prior to 9/11. Appearing on Sean Hannity's radio program National Security Advisor Condoleezza Rice said " George Tenet met with the president every morning (http://www.newsmax.com/archives/ic/2004/3/28/131128.shtml) . And so if he needed any more authority from us he would have been right there to ask the president." But, testifying before the 9/11 Commission yesterday, Tenet told the commission that while Bush was vacationing at his ranch in August 2001 -- the critical weeks leading up to the attack -- he never once talked to the President (http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A12951-2004Apr14.html) , either in person or on the phone. Later in the day, Tenet's spokesman said that the CIA director "momentarily forgot" that he met with the President once on August 17. Rice has also testified that she was not in Crawford (http://www.washingtonpost.com/ac2/wp-dyn/A61252-2004Apr8?language=printer) during the month of August. This directly contradicted Tenet's March 19 testimony to the committee -- which has since been retracted (http://www.nytimes.com/2004/04/14/politics/14TEXT-PANEL.html?pagewanted=print&position=) -- that the August 6 Presidential Daily Brief was presented to the President with Rice present. In any event, the notion that the President was engaged on a daily basis with his top national security and intelligence personnel in the weeks prior to 9/11 has proven to be completely false.
PRESIDENT BUSH ON VACATION FROM NATIONAL SECURITY ISSUES: In fact, according to Slate, the President spent 96 days prior to 9/11 (http://slate.msn.com/id/2098861/) on his ranch, at Camp David or at the Bush compound in Kennebunkport -- about 40% of his presidency to that point. Over his entire term Bush has spent 500 days (http://slate.msn.com/id/2098861/) at vacation spots. Meanwhile, the average American worker takes 2 weeks of vacation (http://msnbc.msn.com/id/3081147/) per year. We know the President met with Tenet no more than once while on vacation in August 2001. If the Administration is to be believed, and the President's meetings with Tenet were critical to his understanding of terrorism issues, then a fair question for the Administration is, did the President's absenteeism have an adverse impact on the nation's ability to combat terrorism?
ASHCROFT PLAYING POLITICS WITH 9/11 COMMISSION: Rep. James Sensenbrenner (R-WI) "called on former deputy attorney general Jamie S. Gorelick to resign from the commission investigating the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks... because she wrote a memo nine years ago (http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A13198-2004Apr14.html) setting out the procedures for FBI information sharing." Sensenbrenner's actions were spurred by Attorney General John Ashcroft's decision to declassify the 1995 memo in an attempt to discredit Gorelick. But under questioning by the committee Ashcroft later admitted "that his own deputy attorney general, Larry Thompson, had renewed the terms of the Gorelick memo in August 2001." Further, Ashcroft attempted to blame Gorelick for creating restrictions on interagency information sharing -- what he refers to as "the Wall." But, as Gorelick noted, such restrictions were not created by her but by judicial interpretations of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (http://www.eff.org/Censorship/Terrorism_militias/fisa_faq.html) that occurred in the mid-80s. A senior member of the commission staff called the memo Ashcroft declassified "a red herring." Ashcroft's attempt to smear Gorelick was also rejected by the Chairman of the Commission, former Republican Governor of New Jersey Thomas Kean, who said "We don't want to get in a fight with the attorney general, and I hope he doesn't want to get in a fight with us...[but] people ought to stay out of it."
IRAQ
Broken Promises
Breaking a Pentagon commitment from last fall to limit troop assignments in Iraq to 12 months, defense officials yesterday said "about 20,000 U.S. soldiers (http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A13123-2004Apr14.html) due to return from Iraq to their home bases this month and next will have their tours extended at least three months in a plan the Pentagon finalized yesterday." The plan, details of which will be released today, allows few soldiers to escape the extension. The original plan "was to bring troops home as a fresh contingent of about 110,000 moved into Iraq over the past few months. Most of the 20,000 being retained were winding up year-long tours."
MORE BROKEN PROMISES: Army official Lt. Gen. Richard A. Cody also announced yesterday that Gen. John Abizaid, head of U.S. forces in Iraq, will "decide by July whether to keep the troop level elevated by drawing more fresh forces from home bases." Doing that "would require the Army to break its plan to ensure that some troops get a full 12 months at home (http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A13123-2004Apr14.html) after a deployment before being sent out again."
MILITARY FAMILIES SPEAK OUT: Frustrated with an ongoing war, military families and veterans urged President Bush (http://www.usatoday.com/news/washington/2004-04-14-war-protest_x.htm) yesterday to end the war in Iraq. "After a news conference, the families and veterans joined about 40 supporters in a march to the White House a few blocks away where they laid pink, white and yellow carnations in memory of the more than 670 American troops killed since the war began last year." According to Michael Hoffman, a Marine who spent two months in Iraq fighting a war he opposed, the country has deteriorated into chaos. He said "We are not making a better world for the Iraqis."
INSECURITY: U.N. envoy to Iraq Lakhdar Brahimi (http://news.ft.com/servlet/ContentServer?pagename=FT.com/StoryFT/FullStory&c=StoryFT&cid=1079420356137) announced plans yesterday for an interim government to take over Iraq between the transfer of power on July 1 and subsequent elections. "Differing sharply from the Bush administration's assessment," Brahimi said there must be "considerable" improvement in security (http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/world/la-fg-iraq15apr15,1,1816930.story?coll=la-headlines-world) if the promised national elections will be held as scheduled in January. Brahimi also condemned the strategies of collective punishment and besieging civilian populations, which have been employed by the U.S. coalition in the town of Fallujah. "The collective punishments are not acceptable, cannot be acceptable, and to cordon off and besiege a city is not acceptable," he said. "There is no military solution to the problems and ... the use of force, especially of excessive use of force, makes matters worse (http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/world/la-fg-iraq15apr15,1,1816930.story?coll=la-headlines-world) ." American Progress national security expert P.J. Crowley says we need better answers from the Administration on Iraq. (http://www.americanprogress.org/site/pp.asp?c=biJRJ8OVF&b=45636)
UNDER THE RADAR
GOVERNMENT SECRECY -- AMERICA'S MOST WANTED DOCUMENTS: Opengovernment.org has released the " Ten Most Wanted Documents (http://openthegovernment.org/filemanager/download/13/TenMostWanted.pdf) for 2004, a list of documents that the government should disclose to the public but does not." Topping the list: the 28 pages of the congressional joint inquiry into 9/11 that the Bush Administration has refused to release. In a statement about the most wanted list released today, American Progress CEO John Podesta said "President Bush has led the most secretive administration in modern memory, blocking open debate over issues of critical importance to all Americans. Now more than ever, we need an engaged and alert public, ready to confront the challenges before us."
LEGAL -- JUSTICE DEPARTMENT UNDER THE MICROSCOPE: The Open Society Institute has teamed up with dozens of other public interest organizations to create watchingjustice.org (http://www.watchingjustice.org/index.php) . The site will "keep a vigilant and long-term eye on Americans' fundamental rights and liberties by providing a forum for analysis, praise, and criticism of the department's actions." Check out their latest article on the Justice Department's subpoena of women's private abortion records (http://www.watchingjustice.org/reports/brief.php?docId=177) .
HEALTH CARE -- THE FINANCIAL TIES THAT BIND: The WP reports, "Although the event was billed as the public's only chance to testify before a federal task force studying the increasingly common practice of drug importation, many of the speakers at yesterday's hearing turned out to have financial ties to the pharmaceutical industry (http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A12981-2004Apr14.html) , which has vehemently opposed efforts to legalize buying prescription drugs from Canada or elsewhere." The session at the National Institutes of Health "featured criticism of drug importation by a former New York City police commissioner, a former administration attorney and a self-professed patient advocate who all had one thing in common: They receive money from drug makers. Pharmaceutical executives, a representative of the industry's lobbying arm, and consumer groups that receive some industry funding were also given speaking slots."
MEDIA -- BILLIONAIRE BELITTLES STANDARDS: When it comes to Australian billionaire Rupert Murdoch, right-wing ideology trumps journalistic ethics every time. Take the current edition of the Murdoch-owned New York Post (http://www.nypost.com/seven/04142004/index.shtml) . Instead of putting objective, bona fide news on his front page, Murdoch put a partisan editorial on the front page of his tabloid bashing the 9/11 Commission -- an entity set up to investigate the devastating attacks on the same city Murdoch's paper purports to serve.
WMD -- BUSH'S TROUBLE WITH THE TRUTH: Once again, President Bush "misspoke" on a weapons issue, "telling the nation that 50 tons of mustard gas were found in Libya ? twice the amount actually uncovered (http://www.11alive.com/news/usnews_article.aspx?storyid=45627) ." In his address to the nation this week, Bush used the 50-ton figure not once, but twice. In reality, 23.6 tons of mustard gas were found. The president inflated the number in his attempt "to suggest that weapons of mass destruction could still turn up in Iraq. Though Bush's prewar allegations of Saddam's alleged weapons were his main rationale for going to war, none has yet been found."
AFGHANISTAN -- TALIBAN STILL A FORCE: As the insurgency boils over in Iraq and distracts attention, Afghanistan is careening out of control. Yesterday, a bomb exploded near a U.S. military base (http://remotus.americanprogress.org/exchange/charvey/Inbox/for%20PR-2.EML?Cmd=open) in southern Afghanistan, wounding a policeman. The Taliban also claimed responsibility for killing two Afghan civilians Tuesday night for allegedly spying for U.S. forces. On top of that, the Taliban yesterday ambushed and shot dead government officials as well as executed seven citizens for their support of the current government. The citizens, including two children, were "stopped by five men in military uniforms pretending to be pro-government forces." According to the one survivor, "They were asked if they are supporting Karzai and the government. People in the vehicle said 'yes,' and they were killed on the spot." Since August of last year, about 650 people have been killed in violence blamed mainly on the resurgent Taliban. Meanwhile, the White House continues to tout Afghanistan as one of its success stories (http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2004/04/20040413.html) .
Don't Miss
DAILY TALKING POINTS: (http://www.americanprogress.org/site/lookup.asp?c=biJRJ8OVF&b=45747) Tax Day: Corporations and Wealthy Paying Less
HEALTH CARE: (http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A12981-2004Apr14.html) Drug industry infiltrates federal government's public forum on allowing importation of medicines from Canada.
SECRECY: (http://openthegovernment.org/filemanager/download/13/TenMostWanted.pdf) New report on the "Ten Most Wanted" government documents that the Bush Administration is keeping secret.
WMD: (http://www.11alive.com/news/usnews_article.aspx?storyid=45627) AP reports, "Once again, President Bush misspoke on a weapons issue" distorting how much WMD were found in Libya.
TAXES: (http://www.campaignmoney.org/spotlight/sis04_15_04.htm) New Public Campaign study shows how Bush campaign donors are reaping a windfall from the Bush tax cuts.
Contact The Progress Report:
pr@americanprogress.org (mailtor@americanprogress.org) .
Daily Grill
"George Tenet met with the president every morning" before 9/11.
- National Security Adviser Condoleezza Rice, 3/28/04 (http://www.newsmax.com/archives/ic/2004/3/28/131128.shtml)
VERSUS
CIA records show that despite increased threat warnings, Tenet briefed the president only twice in August - once in Crawford, Tex., on Aug. 17, and once in Washington, on Aug. 31. Tenet added that "I don't have a recollection of being called" by telephone by the White House to do any more briefings, either.
- WP, 4/14/04 (http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A12951-2004Apr14.html)
Daily Outrage
While a majority of Americans say they have felt no tax relief (http://money.cnn.com/2004/04/15/news/economy/election_moneypoll/) , the President has refused to extend the full child tax credit (http://www.usatoday.com/news/washington/2003-06-04-taxes-usat_x.htm) to all families while allowing corporations to continue evading taxes by moving their headquarters offshore.
ARRRRRRRRRGGGGGGGGGGGGGHHHHHHHHHHH
These pricks gotta go. Na na na na Na na na na Hey hey hey GOOOODBYE.
i shouldn't be though, i'm getting tax $$ back from the federales. but i'd give it all back if it would end the Bullshit in the Middle East and straighten out our pathetic government. those fucking asswipes. i hope they die! dammit, i'd strap some C4 to my own ass and blow them away like lint if i thought it would help. i'm THAT PISSSSED OFF right now.
Read today's CAP Progress Report and see why
THE PROGRESS REPORT
http://www.progressreport.org
by David Sirota, Christy Harvey and Judd Legum
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April 15, 2004
EDITOR'S NOTE: While the sentiment was not reflected in his strategic plans (http://www.americanprogress.org/atf/cf/%7bE9245FE4-9A2B-43C7-A521-5D6FF2E06E03%7d/FBI03REQUEST.PDF) or budget requests (http://www.americanprogress.org/atf/cf/%7bE9245FE4-9A2B-43C7-A521-5D6FF2E06E03%7d/FY03ASHCROFT.PDF) , yesterday's Progress Report overlooked the portion of Ashcroft's 8/9/01 testimony to Congress where he said "the Department of Justice has no higher priority" than preventing terrorist attacks. We regret the error.
TAKE OUR POLL
The President Still Needs Your Help
He was asked at his press conference (http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/politics/20040413-1907-bush-text.html) Tuesday night, but President Bush still hasn't figured out what his biggest national security mistake has been. Take our poll and help us help the President (http://www.americanprogress.org/site/apps/fc/form.asp?c=biJRJ8OVF&b=45639) . We'll release the results in tomorrow's Progress Report and forward them on to President Bush.
TAXES
The Bush Tax Cut Myth
Having personally pocketed more than $30,000 (http://www.redlandsdailyfacts.com/Stories/0,1413,209~27211~2082027,00.html) in new tax breaks, President Bush today will celebrate April 15 by touting his tax policy's effect on the economy. Bush will visit Des Moines, Iowa -- a city that has seen its unemployed population double since the President took office (ftp://ftp.bls.gov/pub/news.release/History/metro.03182004.news) . His speech will most likely ignore the fact that his latest tax cut gave less than $100 to 87% of Iowans (http://www.ctj.org/pdf/gwbia.pdf) , excluded more than 125,000 Iowa kids from the child tax credit, while doing nothing to deal with the fact that Iowa has seen 27,000 more workers added to its unemployment roster. While the White House continues to claim that " every American who pays taxes has benefited from the president's tax relief (http://www.miami.com/mld/miamiherald/business/national/8435298.htm) ," two new polls show that Americans are not fooled by this deceptive rhetoric, and understand that most of the tax benefits went to a small wealthy sliver of the population. A new Money Magazine poll shows " 60% of Americans said the Bush tax cut did not personally help them (http://money.cnn.com/2004/04/15/news/economy/election_moneypoll/) " while an AP poll shows that " 49% of Americans (http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&cid=519&e=5&u=/ap/20040414/ap_on_re_us/taxes_ap_poll) said their overall tax burden ? including federal, state and local taxes ? had gone up" since President Bush took office. Just 13% said their taxes had gone down. Of course, there was a select group of people who did benefit: a new Public Campaign study shows how Bush campaign donors are reaping a windfall (http://www.campaignmoney.org/spotlight/sis04_15_04.htm) .
POLL NUMBERS REFLECT TAX REALITY: The new poll numbers are not surprising: USA Today reports the tiny tax cuts middle-class families received from Bush's tax bills are even smaller than promised (http://www.usatoday.com/money/perfi/taxes/2004-04-14-tax-refunds_x.htm) . Additionally, the White House has left out more than 20 million children (including more than 250,000 children of U.S. service men/women (http://www.usatoday.com/news/washington/2003-06-04-taxes-usat_x.htm) ) from the full child tax credit, and has refused to push Congress to expand it. Meanwhile, middle-class families are now being forced to deal with increased state/local taxes and higher fees (http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&cid=519&e=5&u=/ap/20040414/ap_on_re_us/taxes_ap_poll) needed to make up for the deficits the Bush tax cuts created. And while President Bush continues to parrot the "tax cuts create jobs" line -- the Gadflyer's Paul Waldman points out just how inefficient the White House's tax cuts have been as a job creator: even if the economy added 300,000 jobs a month for the rest of the year, each job created would have cost U.S. taxpayers $871,046 in tax cuts (http://gadflyer.com/articles/?ArticleID=70) . For more on the tax cut debate, see American Progress's new Tax Day report (http://www.americanprogress.org/site/pp.asp?c=biJRJ8OVF&b=45634) .
CORPORATE SHILLS COMPLAIN, WHILE MIDDLE-CLASS GETS STIFFED: Recent studies (http://www.gao.gov/new.items/d04358.pdf) have confirmed that the corporate tax rate has declined sharply (http://www.mlive.com/newsflash/business/index.ssf?/newsflash/get_story.ssf?/cgi-free/getstory_ssf.cgi?f0074_BC_WSJ--CorporateTaxes&&news&newsflash-financial) , with more than 60% of U.S. companies paying no taxes at all. These companies' taxes went down at the same time their profits expanded (http://www.americanprogress.org/site/pp.asp?c=biJRJ8OVF&b=45149) . But that hasn't stopped corporations from perpetuating a myth that they are overtaxed: Forbes Magazine today published an article complaining (http://www.forbes.com/personalfinance/taxes/2004/04/15/cx_aw_0415bigpay.html) about how U.S. corporations are supposedly being ravaged by high tax rates. While the official numbers at first glance appear shocking, a tax consultant admits the truth: "Corporations usually pay a smaller amount than they report on the balance sheet" because of other loopholes. And while the IRS has increased its auditing of ordinary citizens, corporate tax audits have plummeted (http://www.latimes.com/business/la-041204audit_lat,1,5826944.story?coll=la-home-headlines) . And as the St. Petersburg Times editorial board notes, "for most corporations, April 15 is just another day they don't have to worry about paying taxes...The message is clear: Corporations have been allowed, even encouraged, to dodge their tax responsibility (http://www.sptimes.com/2004/04/15/Opinion/Another_corporate_tax.shtml) ." Read this American Progress report (http://www.americanprogress.org/site/pp.asp?c=biJRJ8OVF&b=45149) on the corporate tax void.
WHITE HOUSE ENCOURAGES CORPORATE TAX EVASION: The Christian Science Monitor notes one reason for falling corporate tax revenues is so-called "corporate inversions" -- the euphemism for a U.S. company acquiring a mailing address in a tax haven country like Bermuda to avoid all U.S. taxes (http://www.csmonitor.com/2004/0414/p02s02-uspo.html) . ABC News reported on 7/12/02 that while President Bush "says the Bermuda loophole should be closed, he has yet to support any of the bills that would do so." In fact, in 2002 the White House worked to strip out House-passed provisions barring federal contracts from going to the scores of U.S. companies that have used the scheme to avoid paying their fair share. The Monitor sums up the situation by noting that the growing "burden on middle-income people and dearth of corporate receipts raise issues of fairness."
COUNTRY CLUB MILLIONAIRES COMPLAIN ABOUT HARDSHIPS: The data is clear: the top 1% of Americans -- people who make an average of $1 million a year -- will receive more than $1 trillion in total tax breaks from the Bush tax cuts (http://www.ctj.org/pdf/gwbdata.pdf) . Every year, each of these millionaires will get more than $50,000 in new tax cuts. But that hasn't stopped these super-wealthy individuals from complaining: In Denver this evening, "some of the city's wealthiest residents will celebrate by gathering at the Denver Country Club and singing songs about how poor they are (http://www.rockymountainnews.com/drmn/business/article/0,1299,DRMN_4_2809269,00.html) now that they've paid the IRS."
9/11
Administration Tales Unravel
The Administration has repeatedly cited President Bush's daily meetings with CIA Director George Tenet as proof that he was engaged in the terrorism issue prior to 9/11. Appearing on Sean Hannity's radio program National Security Advisor Condoleezza Rice said " George Tenet met with the president every morning (http://www.newsmax.com/archives/ic/2004/3/28/131128.shtml) . And so if he needed any more authority from us he would have been right there to ask the president." But, testifying before the 9/11 Commission yesterday, Tenet told the commission that while Bush was vacationing at his ranch in August 2001 -- the critical weeks leading up to the attack -- he never once talked to the President (http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A12951-2004Apr14.html) , either in person or on the phone. Later in the day, Tenet's spokesman said that the CIA director "momentarily forgot" that he met with the President once on August 17. Rice has also testified that she was not in Crawford (http://www.washingtonpost.com/ac2/wp-dyn/A61252-2004Apr8?language=printer) during the month of August. This directly contradicted Tenet's March 19 testimony to the committee -- which has since been retracted (http://www.nytimes.com/2004/04/14/politics/14TEXT-PANEL.html?pagewanted=print&position=) -- that the August 6 Presidential Daily Brief was presented to the President with Rice present. In any event, the notion that the President was engaged on a daily basis with his top national security and intelligence personnel in the weeks prior to 9/11 has proven to be completely false.
PRESIDENT BUSH ON VACATION FROM NATIONAL SECURITY ISSUES: In fact, according to Slate, the President spent 96 days prior to 9/11 (http://slate.msn.com/id/2098861/) on his ranch, at Camp David or at the Bush compound in Kennebunkport -- about 40% of his presidency to that point. Over his entire term Bush has spent 500 days (http://slate.msn.com/id/2098861/) at vacation spots. Meanwhile, the average American worker takes 2 weeks of vacation (http://msnbc.msn.com/id/3081147/) per year. We know the President met with Tenet no more than once while on vacation in August 2001. If the Administration is to be believed, and the President's meetings with Tenet were critical to his understanding of terrorism issues, then a fair question for the Administration is, did the President's absenteeism have an adverse impact on the nation's ability to combat terrorism?
ASHCROFT PLAYING POLITICS WITH 9/11 COMMISSION: Rep. James Sensenbrenner (R-WI) "called on former deputy attorney general Jamie S. Gorelick to resign from the commission investigating the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks... because she wrote a memo nine years ago (http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A13198-2004Apr14.html) setting out the procedures for FBI information sharing." Sensenbrenner's actions were spurred by Attorney General John Ashcroft's decision to declassify the 1995 memo in an attempt to discredit Gorelick. But under questioning by the committee Ashcroft later admitted "that his own deputy attorney general, Larry Thompson, had renewed the terms of the Gorelick memo in August 2001." Further, Ashcroft attempted to blame Gorelick for creating restrictions on interagency information sharing -- what he refers to as "the Wall." But, as Gorelick noted, such restrictions were not created by her but by judicial interpretations of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (http://www.eff.org/Censorship/Terrorism_militias/fisa_faq.html) that occurred in the mid-80s. A senior member of the commission staff called the memo Ashcroft declassified "a red herring." Ashcroft's attempt to smear Gorelick was also rejected by the Chairman of the Commission, former Republican Governor of New Jersey Thomas Kean, who said "We don't want to get in a fight with the attorney general, and I hope he doesn't want to get in a fight with us...[but] people ought to stay out of it."
IRAQ
Broken Promises
Breaking a Pentagon commitment from last fall to limit troop assignments in Iraq to 12 months, defense officials yesterday said "about 20,000 U.S. soldiers (http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A13123-2004Apr14.html) due to return from Iraq to their home bases this month and next will have their tours extended at least three months in a plan the Pentagon finalized yesterday." The plan, details of which will be released today, allows few soldiers to escape the extension. The original plan "was to bring troops home as a fresh contingent of about 110,000 moved into Iraq over the past few months. Most of the 20,000 being retained were winding up year-long tours."
MORE BROKEN PROMISES: Army official Lt. Gen. Richard A. Cody also announced yesterday that Gen. John Abizaid, head of U.S. forces in Iraq, will "decide by July whether to keep the troop level elevated by drawing more fresh forces from home bases." Doing that "would require the Army to break its plan to ensure that some troops get a full 12 months at home (http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A13123-2004Apr14.html) after a deployment before being sent out again."
MILITARY FAMILIES SPEAK OUT: Frustrated with an ongoing war, military families and veterans urged President Bush (http://www.usatoday.com/news/washington/2004-04-14-war-protest_x.htm) yesterday to end the war in Iraq. "After a news conference, the families and veterans joined about 40 supporters in a march to the White House a few blocks away where they laid pink, white and yellow carnations in memory of the more than 670 American troops killed since the war began last year." According to Michael Hoffman, a Marine who spent two months in Iraq fighting a war he opposed, the country has deteriorated into chaos. He said "We are not making a better world for the Iraqis."
INSECURITY: U.N. envoy to Iraq Lakhdar Brahimi (http://news.ft.com/servlet/ContentServer?pagename=FT.com/StoryFT/FullStory&c=StoryFT&cid=1079420356137) announced plans yesterday for an interim government to take over Iraq between the transfer of power on July 1 and subsequent elections. "Differing sharply from the Bush administration's assessment," Brahimi said there must be "considerable" improvement in security (http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/world/la-fg-iraq15apr15,1,1816930.story?coll=la-headlines-world) if the promised national elections will be held as scheduled in January. Brahimi also condemned the strategies of collective punishment and besieging civilian populations, which have been employed by the U.S. coalition in the town of Fallujah. "The collective punishments are not acceptable, cannot be acceptable, and to cordon off and besiege a city is not acceptable," he said. "There is no military solution to the problems and ... the use of force, especially of excessive use of force, makes matters worse (http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/world/la-fg-iraq15apr15,1,1816930.story?coll=la-headlines-world) ." American Progress national security expert P.J. Crowley says we need better answers from the Administration on Iraq. (http://www.americanprogress.org/site/pp.asp?c=biJRJ8OVF&b=45636)
UNDER THE RADAR
GOVERNMENT SECRECY -- AMERICA'S MOST WANTED DOCUMENTS: Opengovernment.org has released the " Ten Most Wanted Documents (http://openthegovernment.org/filemanager/download/13/TenMostWanted.pdf) for 2004, a list of documents that the government should disclose to the public but does not." Topping the list: the 28 pages of the congressional joint inquiry into 9/11 that the Bush Administration has refused to release. In a statement about the most wanted list released today, American Progress CEO John Podesta said "President Bush has led the most secretive administration in modern memory, blocking open debate over issues of critical importance to all Americans. Now more than ever, we need an engaged and alert public, ready to confront the challenges before us."
LEGAL -- JUSTICE DEPARTMENT UNDER THE MICROSCOPE: The Open Society Institute has teamed up with dozens of other public interest organizations to create watchingjustice.org (http://www.watchingjustice.org/index.php) . The site will "keep a vigilant and long-term eye on Americans' fundamental rights and liberties by providing a forum for analysis, praise, and criticism of the department's actions." Check out their latest article on the Justice Department's subpoena of women's private abortion records (http://www.watchingjustice.org/reports/brief.php?docId=177) .
HEALTH CARE -- THE FINANCIAL TIES THAT BIND: The WP reports, "Although the event was billed as the public's only chance to testify before a federal task force studying the increasingly common practice of drug importation, many of the speakers at yesterday's hearing turned out to have financial ties to the pharmaceutical industry (http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A12981-2004Apr14.html) , which has vehemently opposed efforts to legalize buying prescription drugs from Canada or elsewhere." The session at the National Institutes of Health "featured criticism of drug importation by a former New York City police commissioner, a former administration attorney and a self-professed patient advocate who all had one thing in common: They receive money from drug makers. Pharmaceutical executives, a representative of the industry's lobbying arm, and consumer groups that receive some industry funding were also given speaking slots."
MEDIA -- BILLIONAIRE BELITTLES STANDARDS: When it comes to Australian billionaire Rupert Murdoch, right-wing ideology trumps journalistic ethics every time. Take the current edition of the Murdoch-owned New York Post (http://www.nypost.com/seven/04142004/index.shtml) . Instead of putting objective, bona fide news on his front page, Murdoch put a partisan editorial on the front page of his tabloid bashing the 9/11 Commission -- an entity set up to investigate the devastating attacks on the same city Murdoch's paper purports to serve.
WMD -- BUSH'S TROUBLE WITH THE TRUTH: Once again, President Bush "misspoke" on a weapons issue, "telling the nation that 50 tons of mustard gas were found in Libya ? twice the amount actually uncovered (http://www.11alive.com/news/usnews_article.aspx?storyid=45627) ." In his address to the nation this week, Bush used the 50-ton figure not once, but twice. In reality, 23.6 tons of mustard gas were found. The president inflated the number in his attempt "to suggest that weapons of mass destruction could still turn up in Iraq. Though Bush's prewar allegations of Saddam's alleged weapons were his main rationale for going to war, none has yet been found."
AFGHANISTAN -- TALIBAN STILL A FORCE: As the insurgency boils over in Iraq and distracts attention, Afghanistan is careening out of control. Yesterday, a bomb exploded near a U.S. military base (http://remotus.americanprogress.org/exchange/charvey/Inbox/for%20PR-2.EML?Cmd=open) in southern Afghanistan, wounding a policeman. The Taliban also claimed responsibility for killing two Afghan civilians Tuesday night for allegedly spying for U.S. forces. On top of that, the Taliban yesterday ambushed and shot dead government officials as well as executed seven citizens for their support of the current government. The citizens, including two children, were "stopped by five men in military uniforms pretending to be pro-government forces." According to the one survivor, "They were asked if they are supporting Karzai and the government. People in the vehicle said 'yes,' and they were killed on the spot." Since August of last year, about 650 people have been killed in violence blamed mainly on the resurgent Taliban. Meanwhile, the White House continues to tout Afghanistan as one of its success stories (http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2004/04/20040413.html) .
Don't Miss
DAILY TALKING POINTS: (http://www.americanprogress.org/site/lookup.asp?c=biJRJ8OVF&b=45747) Tax Day: Corporations and Wealthy Paying Less
HEALTH CARE: (http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A12981-2004Apr14.html) Drug industry infiltrates federal government's public forum on allowing importation of medicines from Canada.
SECRECY: (http://openthegovernment.org/filemanager/download/13/TenMostWanted.pdf) New report on the "Ten Most Wanted" government documents that the Bush Administration is keeping secret.
WMD: (http://www.11alive.com/news/usnews_article.aspx?storyid=45627) AP reports, "Once again, President Bush misspoke on a weapons issue" distorting how much WMD were found in Libya.
TAXES: (http://www.campaignmoney.org/spotlight/sis04_15_04.htm) New Public Campaign study shows how Bush campaign donors are reaping a windfall from the Bush tax cuts.
Contact The Progress Report:
pr@americanprogress.org (mailto
r@americanprogress.org) .Daily Grill
"George Tenet met with the president every morning" before 9/11.
- National Security Adviser Condoleezza Rice, 3/28/04 (http://www.newsmax.com/archives/ic/2004/3/28/131128.shtml)
VERSUS
CIA records show that despite increased threat warnings, Tenet briefed the president only twice in August - once in Crawford, Tex., on Aug. 17, and once in Washington, on Aug. 31. Tenet added that "I don't have a recollection of being called" by telephone by the White House to do any more briefings, either.
- WP, 4/14/04 (http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A12951-2004Apr14.html)
Daily Outrage
While a majority of Americans say they have felt no tax relief (http://money.cnn.com/2004/04/15/news/economy/election_moneypoll/) , the President has refused to extend the full child tax credit (http://www.usatoday.com/news/washington/2003-06-04-taxes-usat_x.htm) to all families while allowing corporations to continue evading taxes by moving their headquarters offshore.
ARRRRRRRRRGGGGGGGGGGGGGHHHHHHHHHHH
These pricks gotta go. Na na na na Na na na na Hey hey hey GOOOODBYE.
rahvin
keeper of the flame
Sunjammer
Eternal Sorrow Inside
Whoa! That's so... blue.
NF: Somewhat confused. I can't make heads nor tails out of a certain lady friend's behaviour. Otherwise? Well, I'm alive...
NF: Somewhat confused. I can't make heads nor tails out of a certain lady friend's behaviour. Otherwise? Well, I'm alive...
lumitalvi
IkiHorros Hypocrazy
Blue!! aaahyess
NF: tired again, I wished this week would end already but still tomorrow to go. From the injured blood vains from my left eye you can count the hours of my lack of sleep.
It hurts.
And itches. IRKH!
NF: tired again, I wished this week would end already but still tomorrow to go. From the injured blood vains from my left eye you can count the hours of my lack of sleep.
It hurts.
And itches. IRKH!
rahvin
keeper of the flame
best way out of this (besides sleeping) is spending time in darker environments. less strain on the eye muscles = less exploded blood vessels the morning after.lumitalvi said:
lumitalvi
IkiHorros Hypocrazy
Mhmm.. well, since there´s no dark environment to spend time in (the sun is getting brighter and stuff) I just have to wait for Saturday night and then sleep this off.
I look pretty scary.
I look pretty scary.
rahvin
keeper of the flame
i thought you were at work or something, in a place where you could dim the lights... and if you look scary we want to see a pic.lumitalvi said:
lumitalvi
IkiHorros Hypocrazy
I am working but there´s no way to dim the lights here. All the ligths are on, this is like a hospital!!
Sorry.. no pics available. maybe I will sometime learn how to put pics in the net. And I have no camera with me either.
Just picture a messy girl with shitty hair tied in a ponytail, tired look, red eyes and a Opeth-shirt. Life is greatttt.
Sorry.. no pics available.
maybe I will sometime learn how to put pics in the net. And I have no camera with me either.Just picture a messy girl with shitty hair tied in a ponytail, tired look, red eyes and a Opeth-shirt. Life is greatttt.
The Grand Wazoo
Saeva Indignatio
NF: Day off from school..
..and I looked at so many cookies pictures by now
that I really have to make some ccc this afternoon
And take them to the Finntroll/Ensiferum/The Wake-gig tonight!! :hotjump:
Grand day, this :'D
I'll make some pics of the cookies too :'D
Edit:
I just made this 'site'(/profile) too :
www.cu2.nl/koekje
Day off from school....and I looked at so many cookies pictures by now
that I really have to make some ccc this afternoon
And take them to the Finntroll/Ensiferum/The Wake-gig tonight!! :hotjump:
Grand day, this :'D
I'll make some pics of the cookies too :'D
Edit:
I just made this 'site'(/profile) too
:www.cu2.nl/koekje
MagSec4
.:..::.: :.::..:.
wildfyr: ..I say you need a drink and to stop letting that stuff get to you. It IS hopeless you know
Good morning Luis
Did ya sleep well? Did ya? ..knowing you pirated my graphic for your personal exploits, you rat basta'd
Good morning Luis
Did ya sleep well? Did ya? ..knowing you pirated my graphic for your personal exploits, you rat basta'd
MagSec4
.:..::.: :.::..:.
Caelestia
rawr
Human Desert
Pirun Morsian
Rusty
A-HAHAHA!
- Status
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