Tax Relief

Alternative Minimum Tax Relief

On September 24, 2008,the House passed H.R. 7005 to provide critical tax relief to 25 million middle-class families by protecting them from the Alternative Minimum Tax. The bill will provide $62 billion in Alternative Minimum Tax (AMT) relief to ease the strain of rising gas and food prices, and is a critical part of our plan to strengthen the American economy. The AMT was put into place to ensure that the wealthiest families did not escape paying taxes altogether. It has grown to be such a problem that it now threatens teachers and firefighters – a far cry from its original intent.Since taking control of Congress, Democrats have fought for fiscal responsibility and this summer the House passed legislation to provide millions of middle-class families with tax cuts without increasing the national debt. That middle-class tax relief was fully paid for -- adhering to strict pay-as-you-go budget discipline to ensure long-term American economic growth.But the stubborn fiscal irresponsibility of Senate Republicans and President Bush has been a huge roadblock to a new direction of fiscal responsibility. On June 24, President Bush threatened to veto AMT relief that was paid for, and on Tuesday Senate Republicans rubberstamped that position voting against paying for an AMT bill, objecting to making oil companies pay their fair share for oil in the Gulf of Mexico and closing a tax loophole regarding CEO-deferred compensation paid by offshore companies.So to protect middle-income families from this tax increase, we have been forced to drop offsets closing some tax loopholes; we simply cannot hold millions of middle-class families hostage due to misplaced Republican priorities.Seven years of Republican policies have resulted in nearly $10 trillion of national debt. They have passed debt instead of prosperity onto our children and grandchildren. This has been bad for the economy: weakening the value of the dollar, raising the cost of oil and food for American families and businesses, and limiting our ability to meet the huge economic challenges we are facing today. Cut Taxes for Millions of FamiliesProtects more than 25 million middle-class families from being hit by the AMT. The bill would extend for one year AMT relief for nonrefundable personal credits and increases the AMT exemption amount to $69,950 for joint filers and $46,200 for individuals. Includes relief for AMT taxpayers who have exercised incentive stock options. In the past, taxpayers that exercised incentive stock options were unintentionally required by the AMT to pay tax on gains that never materialized. This provision will protect these taxpayers from this unintended tax.

Americans With Disabilities Act Of 08

Americans With Disabilities Act Amendments Act

On September 17, 2008, the House passed the final version of the Americans with Disabilities Act Amendments Act, S. 3406. This legislation overturns four erroneous Supreme Court decisions that have eroded the protections of people with disabilities under the ADA, restoring original Congressional intent. This legislation was signed into law on September 25, 2008.This legislation:
Overturns the erroneous Supreme Court decisions that have eroded the protections for people with disabilities under the ADA, restoring original Congressional intent.
Rejects strict interpretation of the definition of disability, and makes it absolutely clear that the ADA is intended to provide broad coverage to protect anyone who faces discrimination on the basis of disability.
Strikes a balance between employer and employee interests.
Prohibits the consideration of mitigating measures such as medication, prosthetics, and assistive technology, in determining whether an individual has a disability.
Covers people who experience discrimination based on a perception of impairment regardless of whether the individual experiences disability.
Provides that reasonable accommodations are only required for individuals who can demonstrate they have an impairment that substantially limits a major life activity, or a record of such impairment. Accommodations need not be provided to an individual who is only “regarded as” having an impairment.
Is supported by a broad coalition of civil rights groups, disability advocates, and employer trade organizations. Background:The Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 was intended to “provide a clear and comprehensive national mandate for the elimination of discrimination against individuals with disabilities.” Just as other civil rights laws prohibit entities from basing decisions on characteristics like race or sex, Congress wanted the ADA to stop employers from making decisions based on disability.Unfortunately, four U.S. Supreme Court decisions have narrowed the definition of disability so much that people with serious conditions such as epilepsy, muscular dystrophy, cancer, diabetes, and cerebral palsy have been determined to not meet the definition of disability under the ADA.The result: In 2004, plaintiffs lost 97% of ADA employment discrimination claims that went to trial, often due to the interpretation of definition of disability. People who are not hired or are fired because an employer mistakenly believes they cannot perform the job – or because the employer does not want “people like that” in the workplace – have been denied protection from employment discrimination due to these court decisions. This was not the intent of the ADA.

Emergency Supplemental Funding

Emergency Supplemental Funding for Iraq, Afghanistan, Veterans, Workers, and Midwest Disasters

On June 19, 2008, the House passed the fiscal year 2008 supplemental, providing funding for Iraq, Afghanistan, veterans, workers, and Midwest disasters. The bill was signed into law on June 30, 2008. Speaker Pelosi voted against Amendment #1 and in favor of Amendment #2>>
Details of the LegislationThe proposal will be taken up as two amendments. These amendments include provisions to meet the needs of our troops, fully restore GI Bill education benefits for Iraq and Afghanistan veterans, provide emergency assistance to Americans struggling in an economy on the brink of recession, provide urgently-needed disaster relief in the response to the floods and tornadoes in the Midwest, and block damaging Medicaid regulations. There will be two separate votes on: 1) an amendment that provides funding for the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan; and 2) an amendment funding certain key priorities. There will be no vote on final passage.Amendment #1 provides $165.4 billion, as passed by the Senate in May, for DOD funding in FY 2008 and FY 2009 for the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. (However, Amendment #2 reduces this funding to $161.8 billion.) Amendment #2 includes key domestic and humanitarian priorities, such as the new GI bill, extended unemployment benefits, domestic disaster relief, and international food assistance.For appropriated items, this bill is at the President’s request -- except for new disaster funding. Under consideration is $183.9 billion in outstanding appropriations requests from the President. This bill’s appropriations total is $186.5 billion – which stays within the requested level of appropriated dollars with the exception of $2.65 billion added for disaster relief in the aftermath of the devastating tornadoes and floods that have hit the Midwest. Other than the extra $2.65 billion for disaster relief, increases in the bill for such items as an addition of $500 million for international food aid are offset with reductions in other requested funding. Following are highlights of the provisions of these two amendments.Amendment #1: Funding for Wars in Iraq and AfghanistanAmendment #1 provides $165.4 billion for DOD funding of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, as passed by the Senate on May 22, 2008. This covers the costs of the wars through the summer of 2009. The total includes $99.5 billion for FY 2008 and $65.9 billion for FY 2009. However, Amendment #2 (see below) would reduce the funding by $3.6 billion for a new total of $161.8 billion for DOD funding of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. Amendment #2: Domestic and Humanitarian Priorities AmendmentProvides for the new GI Bill, which fully restores GI education benefits for Iraq and Afghanistan veterans to the level available after World War II.
The new GI bill restores full, four-year college scholarships to veterans of the Iraq and Afghanistan wars to help make them part of an economic recovery like the veterans of World War II.
It will give our returning troops the tools to succeed after military service and make military service more attractive as we work to rebuild our military, and strengthen our sagging economy.
Under the new GI bill, servicemembers returning from Iraq or Afghanistan, who have served 3 years on active duty, would receive benefits to cover the costs of a four-year education up to the level of the most expensive in-state public school.
Education benefits would be available to troops who have served at least 3 months of active duty since September 11, 2001, including members of the National Guard and Reserve.
The bill also allows service members with six years of service, coupled with an additional service agreement of four years, to transfer their educational benefits to their spouses and dependents.
The new GI bill is broadly supported by all major veterans’ organizations, including the American Legion, the Veterans of Foreign Wars, and Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America.Provides for extended unemployment benefits for those who have exhausted the 26 weeks of regular benefits.
The amendment would provide up to 13 weeks of extended unemployment benefits in every state to workers exhausting the 26 weeks of regular unemployment benefits.
For five consecutive months, the U.S. economy has lost jobs. In total, 324,000 jobs have disappeared.
1.6 million workers are long-term unemployed (jobless for more than 26 weeks), representing nearly one out of every five jobless workers.
The number of long-term unemployed Americans is higher now than when Congress last extended unemployment benefits in 2002.
Extending unemployment benefits will also help stimulate an economic recovery. CBO states that extending unemployment benefits is one of the most cost-effective and fastest-acting forms of economic stimulus because the money is spent quickly. Provides $2.65 billion for urgent disaster relief in response to Midwestern floods and tornadoes.
Over the last several weeks, disastrous floods and tornadoes have struck many states throughout the Midwest.
The amendment includes $2.65 billion in urgently-needed disaster relief in the aftermath of these floods and tornadoes, including additional funding for FEMA Disaster Relief accounts, SBA disaster loans, agriculture assistance, the Community Development Block Grant, the Economic Development Administration, and the Army Corps of Engineers.Places a moratorium until April 1, 2009 on six Administration-imposed Medicaid regulations, which would slash federal funding for vital programs and services.
If implemented, these regulations would reverse longstanding Medicaid policies and eliminate federal payments for a variety of critical Medicaid functions.
As a result, they would put in jeopardy needed services and protections for millions of vulnerable beneficiaries, as well as support for critical safety net institutions in states that are financially strapped.
These regulations would slash federal Medicaid funding to states for vital programs and services by billions of dollars over the next five years.
These regulations would particularly harm children and their access to health care – with 30 million children currently dependent on the Medicaid program. Provides a total of $10.1 billion for the State Department, USAID, and international food assistance, $670 million above the President’s request.
The amendment includes $1.9 billion, $745 million above the President’s request, for international food and disaster assistance. This includes $500 million above the President’s request for international food aid and $245 million above the President’s request for development assistance and disaster assistance programs meant to alleviate hunger.
The amendment includes $696 million, $475 million above the President’s request, for refugee assistance, to address the refugee crisis in Iraq and elsewhere.
The amendment provides $465 million, $85 million below the President’s request, for the Merida initiative to provide counter-narcotics and law enforcement assistance in Mexico ($400 million) and Central America ($65 million). Provides $2.2 billion over the President’s request to fully fund military quality of life initiatives – including funding for military child care centers, military hospitals and VA hospitals.
The amendment provides an additional $863 million over the President’s request to meet Base Realignment and Adjustment Commission (BRAC) requirements – funding improvements at military bases, benefiting our military families, as certain bases are realigned and closed.
It provides an additional $863 million over the President’s request for military hospitals, in order to prevent the types of problems that faced Walter Reed.
It provides an additional $396 million over the President’s request for VA hospitals and VA polytrauma centers.
In addition, it provides an additional $210 million for military child care centers. In his State of the Union, President Bush called for additional funding for military child care centers, but then neglected to include this funding in his budget. Requires that U.S. reconstruction aid for Iraq provided by the State Department and USAID be matched dollar-for-dollar by the Iraqi Government.
Over the last 5 years, the U.S. taxpayer has already paid about $48 billion for Iraqi reconstruction.
The Bush Administration continues to request funds for Iraqi reconstruction – seeking about $3 billion in its current request.
Meanwhile, Iraqi oil revenues are expected to total $70 billion this year, according to the U.S. inspector general for Iraq reconstruction – a windfall from the high price of oil.
Due to its oil revenues, the Iraqi government is projected to have a budget surplus of about $60 billion this year – at the same time that the United States is running large budget deficits.
With its large oil revenues, it is time for the Iraqis to be shouldering more of the costs of rebuilding their country.
Excluding the Congress from these types of long-term security agreements turns the Constitution on its head and undermines the validity of these agreements.Prohibits establishing permanent U.S. bases in Iraq.
The perception that the United States intends to have permanent bases in Iraq aids extremists and insurgent groups in Iraq in recruiting supporters and fuels violent activity.
Clearly stating that the United States will not have a permanent presence in Iraq sends a strong signal to the Middle East and the broader international community that the U.S. fully supports the efforts of the Iraqi people to exercise full national sovereignty.
In its final report, in December 2006, the bipartisan Iraq Study Group recommended that the U.S. clearly state that our nation does not seek permanent bases in Iraq. It did so to help shape “a positive climate for…diplomatic efforts,” which is essential for bringing greater stability to the Middle East. Provides additional funding for Gulf Coast Recovery.
The amendment includes $5.8 billion for much-needed efforts to strengthen New Orleans levees in FY 2009, as requested by the President.
The amendment also includes $73 million for Louisiana housing vouchers, for permanent supportive housing vouchers targeted to the extremely low-income, disabled and elderly left homeless as a result of Hurricane Katrina.Provides $400 million in additional funding for science.
Due to the President’s inadequate cap on FY 2008 appropriations, the FY 2008 Omnibus Appropriations bill included insufficient levels of funding for key appropriations accounts for scientific research and innovation.
The amendment includes $400 million in additional, needed FY 2008 funding for science and innovation, providing additional funding at NIH, National Science Foundation, NASA, and the Department of Energy. Provides $150 million in additional funding for food and medical product safety.
The inadequate funding at the Food and Drug Administration to ensure the safety of our food supply, both domestic and imported, and the safety of medical products has been well-documented.
The amendment includes $150 million in additional, needed FY 2008 funding for the Food and Drug Administration to beef up efforts to ensure food and medical product safety for the American consumer. Provides an amendment to the War Funding.
The amendment reduces the DOD funding for the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan provided in Amendment #1 by $3.6 billion – bringing the funding down to $161.8 billion – in order to fund other pressing needs.

Gulf Coast Recovery (The Money That They Claim We Got !)

PASSED LEGISLATIONSigned Into Law:

FY 2008 SupplementalProvides $5.8 billion for much-needed efforts to strengthen New Orleans levees in FY 2009, and includes $73 million for Louisiana housing vouchers, for permanent supportive housing vouchers targeted to the extremely low-income, disabled and elderly left homeless as a result of Hurricane Katrina. Learn more>>
FY 2007 SupplementalProvides $6.4 billion for Gulf Coast Recovery; the Democratic-led Congress added $3 billion to meet specific urgent needs of the Gulf Coast.Learn more>> Hurricanes Katrina and Rita Federal Match Relief ActWaives the local matching requirement for FEMA disaster relief projects, and provides $135 billion in Community Disaster loan forgivenessLearn more>>
Katrina Housing Tax Relief ActStrengthens tax incentives for building affordable rental housing in hurricane-affected areas of the Gulf Coast, and expands access to low-income financing for homeowners in the region.
Extending Access to Emergency Education AidExtends access to education emergency federal funding to pay teachers' salaries and operate schools for local school districts in areas impacted by Hurricanes Katrina and Rita.
RENEWAAL ActProvides $30 million to help public schools that were impacted by the hurricanes recruit and retain K-12 teachers and administrators, and $30 million to help higher education institutions in the Gulf Coast recruit and retain faculty and students. Extension of FEMA Utility Subsidy ProgramExtends for one more year FEMA's authority to reimburse local governments for the cost of paying the utility bills of essential local government employees still working and living in temporary housing.
Water Resources Development ActAuthorizes approximately $1.9 billion for the Corps of Engineers projects to restore the Louisiana Coastal Area and help prevent future hurricane damage. Learn more>>

To mark the three-year anniversary of Hurricanes Katrina and Rita, Speaker Nancy Pelosi and House Democrats recently took part in a congressional delegation to the Gulf Coast region, focusing on housing, health care, education, infrastructure, and public safety.
Democrats are delivering for the Gulf Coast region—including a recently-appropriated $5.8 billion for levees and coastal restoration, $73 million for public housing in New Orleans, $3 billion for the Road Home program, increased small business disaster loan assistance, and funding for higher education.
House Democrats have led three Congressional delegations to the Gulf Coast in the years following Hurricanes Katrina and Rita. In 2006, when the region was still reeling from the federal government’s incompetence and congressional inaction, House Democrats dispatched their first delegation to the Gulf Coast to assess the devastation and determine the needs. That trip was an important first step in an unwavering partnership House Democrats have established with the region—it informed the legislation that eventually became law in the first seven months of a new Democratic majority in the 110th Congress.
Last year, House Democrats provided effective results during their visit to the region—a waiver of the local matching requirement under the Stafford Act, saving the region $1.9 billion and triggering work on 20,000 stalled construction projects; $6.4 billion in assistance for levees, coastal restoration, teacher recruitment, school maintenance, health care, housing, small business, and law enforcement; and oversight from more than 30 congressional hearings on recovery.Congress is making dramatic progress in assisting residents of Louisiana and Mississippi in their recovery from the worst natural disaster in American history. Democratic leadership of the 110th Congress, which initiated much of the recovery aid now headed for the Gulf Coast, has led to a Partnership for the Future, to help ensure federal aid continues to flow to the region.
Hurricane Katrina resulted in more than 1,800 deaths, nearly 500,000 homes in Louisiana and Mississippi being destroyed or made uninhabitable, and about 1.5 million people being at least temporarily displaced from their homes. From housing to health care to education, the region remains in a state of crisis.Unfortunately, this natural disaster was made worse by a manmade disaster. The Bush Administration’s immediate disaster response to Katrina was marked by chaos, confusion, and incompetence. In addition, Katrina recovery and rebuilding contracts were marked by epic waste, fraud and abuse – with the American taxpayer paying the bill. Indeed, a disaster expert called FEMA’s Katrina housing effort “the largest disaster-response failure in the history of the country” – with the housing effort alone resulting in over $1 billion in waste and misspent funds. Furthermore, over the next year and a half, the Bush Administration and the GOP-led Congress failed to meet such critical needs as adequate levee protection, rebuilding funds, health care facilities, and resources for re-opening schools and universities.In 2006, the Democratic-led Congress acted immediately to meet the most critical needs of the region. The $6.4 billion Gulf Coast Recovery package was signed by the President in May, 2007, and includes:
Waiving the requirement that struggling local communities pay 10% of the costs of FEMA disaster recovery projects, thereby saving the Gulf Coast region $1.9 billion and allowing work on 20,000 stalled projects to begin;
$1.3 billion to repair and complete key levee protection and flood control projects in Louisiana and Mississippi;
$1.35 billion in Community Disaster Loan forgiveness;
$4.3 billion in FEMA disaster recovery grants, $1 billion over the President’s request;
Extending access to $550 million in Social Services Block Grant funding to meet the health care needs of the Gulf Coast region;
$30 million to recruit K-12 teachers and administrators and $30 million to recruit higher education faculty; and
Housing tax relief including extension of low-income housing tax credits.
Over the last three years, many resilient, hard-working Americans have returned to the Gulf Coast to attempt to rebuild their lives. This Congress will work with these committed individuals until the Gulf Coast is once again a thriving, vital part of the American family.
Gulf Coast Legislation Passed by the House:Gulf Coast Housing Recovery ActSpeeds the rebuilding of homes and affordable rental units, including by freeing up $1.2 billion for the Louisiana Road Home program; helps preserve the supply of affordable rental housing; helps families by extending the Disaster Voucher Program through January 1, 2008.Learn more>>RECOVER ActIncludes numerous provisions to overhaul the Small Business Administration's disaster assistance program in response to SBA's disastrous performance after the 2005 Gulf Coast hurricanes.Learn more>>Disadvantaged Business Disaster Eligibility ActEnsures that, for each small business that participates in the SBA 8(a) minority entrepreneur program and was affected by Hurricanes Katrina or Rita, the period in which it can participate in the 8(a) program is extended by 18 months.Learn more>>Accountability in Contracting ActIn response to the massive waste, fraud and abuse in Katrina-related contracts, requires federal agencies to minimize the use of "no-bid" contracts and promote the use of cost-effective fixed-price contracts.Learn more>>Federal Housing Finance Reform/Affordable Housing FundCreates a non-taxpayer financed Affordable Housing Fund, which during the first five years will go towards the construction of affordable housing in areas still recovering from Hurricane Katrina.Learn more>> Coverage of Hurricane Katrina in the Speaker’s blog, The Gavel>>

Finally Doing Something About Ending Homlessnes

On October 2, 2008, the House passed legislation that would expand the definition of homelessness by providing help to those who are in dire straits but are nonetheless ineligible for assistance under current law. The Community Partnership to End Homelessness Act, H.R. 7221, authored by Reps. Gwen Moore (WI) and Maxine Waters (CA), would give local governments the resources and flexibility needed to serve families and individuals in danger of ending up on the streets. Assistance for Those Fleeing from Domestic ViolenceThe measure ensures that those fleeing from domestic violence are counted as homeless and are eligible for aid. Those trying to escape from abuse should not be denied from shelters due to red-tape regulations. Improves Transition Assistance for Families Facing HomelessnessUnder current law, individuals and families are defined as homeless when they are within 7 days of losing their housing. In order to ease the disruption of the transition to a shelter or assisted housing, this legislation doubles the number of days to 14, so that families two weeks from losing their housing are eligible for aid. Gives Local Agencies Greater Resources to Directly Help Those at Risk of Becoming HomelessThis legislation would give localities additional flexibility to use federal homeless funds to prevent people with unstable housing situations from winding up on the street. Funds could be directed to help those doubled-up or “couch surfing” in others’ homes try to achieve a more stable housing situation.Learn more from Rep. Gwen Moore’s web site>>Watch Rep. Moore speak in support of the bill:
Watch Rep. Waters speak in support of the bill:
Speaker Pelosi on House Reauthorization of McKinney-Vento will Assist Homeless in San Francisco Washington, D.C. – Speaker Nancy Pelosi released the following statement on the Homeless Emergency Assistance and Rapid Transition to Housing (HEARTH) Act, which passed the House by a vote of 355 to 61. The legislation reauthorizes the McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act, the landmark homeless assistance legislation. “In San Francisco, there are more than 6,000 homeless men, women, and children. While the causes of homelessness are complex and challenging to resolve, the funding authorized by McKinney-Vento is critical to San Francisco and to cities and communities across the country. Reducing homelessness is the top priority for the City of San Francisco, and it is a priority for me in Congress. “Programs created by the McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act have helped hundreds of thousands of homeless men, women, and children regain stability in their lives since the legislation was first authorized in 1987. The reauthorization of McKinney-Vento is a significant accomplishment that will ensure that federal funds are available to states, cities and non-profits providing services to homelessness individuals and those on the verge of homelessness.“The HEARTH Act expands the definition of homelessness, allowing for individuals and families on the precipice of homelessness to be eligible for assistance. The legislation gives cities across the country the flexibility to use federal homeless funds to address the needs of individuals in unstable housing situations as well as the chronically homeless. The legislation also includes provisions to provide assistance for individuals fleeing from situations of domestic violence, so that they are not prevented from entering shelters because of bureaucratic red tape. “While the City of San Francisco has developed innovative and effective initiatives to address homelessness, the city relies on the continued financial support of the federal government to operate existing programs and fund new ones. The legislation will ensure that San Francisco has access to the federal funding to provide programs for the chronically homeless as well as those at risk of becoming homeless.”

Unemployment Compensation Extension Act

On October 3, 2008, the House passed H.R. 6867, Unemployment Compensation Extension Act. The bill provides an additional 7 weeks of extended unemployment benefits for workers who have exhausted their unemployment benefits (providing 20 total weeks of extended benefits when combined with the 13 weeks provided earlier this year). On November 21, the President signed the bill into law. The New Direction Congress is committed to providing much-needed relief to the millions unemployed workers to assist them with rapidly rising gas and food costs, while they continue to struggle to find work in this economic downturn. Earlier this year, we enacted a bipartisan compromise to provide extended unemployment benefits. But those benefits will start to run out in October unless Congress acts. With today’s news of another 159,000 American jobs lost in September – the worst job loss in five years -- this action is critical to providing relief as well as strengthening the American economy and creating jobs. Relief to America’s Workers, Effective Stimulus for the Economy
Provides an additional 7 weeks of extended unemployment benefits for workers who have exhausted regular unemployment compensation (20 total weeks when combined with the 13 weeks provided earlier this year).
Nearly 800,000 workers are projected to exhaust their current extended unemployment benefits in October unless Congress acts.
Earlier this year, Congress helped 3.5 million Americans looking for jobs -- providing up to 13 weeks of extended unemployment benefits in every state to workers exhausting the 26 weeks of regular unemployment benefits.
Under the measure, workers in high unemployment states are eligible for an additional 13 weeks of benefits (33 total weeks).
Extending these benefits is one of the most cost-effective and fast-acting ways to stimulate the economy because the money is spent quickly, according to the Congressional Budget Office. Every $1 spent on unemployment benefits generates $1.64 in new economic demand. [Mark Zandi, chief economist of Moody’s Economy.com, 1/22/08]
The $6 billion in benefits will be paid from the Federal unemployment trust fund, which has more than enough reserves to cover the cost.Need for Immediate Action is Real
America has suffered a ninth straight month of job losses totaling 760,000 this year. Job losses totaled 159,000 in September – the worst job loss in five years.
The number of Americans looking for work climbed to 9.5 million in September – the highest number since December 1992. Over the past 12 months, the number of unemployed persons has increased by 2.2 million and the unemployment rate has risen by 1.4 percentage points.
The unemployment rate continued at 6.1 percent -- the highest level in five years (September 2003).
One in five (2 million) of those looking for work have been jobless for more than six months.
Average wages have risen 3.4% in the past year, while prices have gone up nearly 6%.
The American people are working harder, but making less -- even in the face of rising costs of health care, energy, and education. Since 2000, worker productivity is up, but the purchasing power of the typical working age family’s income is down by more than $2,000. As a result, 5.7 million more Americans are living in poverty and 7.2 million more Americans are without health care than in 2000.
Food prices have risen at annual rate of 7.5 percent so far this year.
Retail gas prices are at $3.58 a gallon – more than double that of 2001 – after peaking at $4.11 in July. And heating costs are expected to reach record levels again this winter – with heating oil costs rising 30 percent and families pending an average of $2,500 this winter.

Credit Cardholders Bill of Rights

On September 23, 2008, the House passed the Credit Cardholders’ Bill of Rights, H.R. 5244, which provides crucial protections against unfair, but unfortunately common, credit card practices, including:
Ending unfair, arbitrary interest rate increases, by requiring ample notice before rate hikes and permitting lenders to raise rates on existing balances only if minimum payments are more than 30 days late (except for increases caused by changes in stated variable and introductory offers).
Ending penalties on cardholders who pay on time, like charging interest on already repaid debt.
Protecting consumers from due date gimmicks by requiring credit card companies to mail bills 25 days (instead of 14) before the due date.
Ending the credit card practice of applying consumer payments to lower interest debt first.Ends Unfair, Arbitrary Interest Rate Increases
Prevents card companies from unfairly increasing interest rates on existing card balances – retroactive increases are permitted only if a cardholder is more than 30 days late, if a pre-agreed promotional rate expires, or if the rate adjusts as part of a variable rate.
Requires card companies to give 45 days notice of all interest rate increases so consumers can pay off their balances and shop for a better deal.Lets Consumers Set Hard Credit Limits, Stops Excessive “Over-the-Limit” Fees
Requires companies to let consumers set their own fixed credit limit.
Prevents companies from charging “over-the-limit” fees when a cardholder has set a limit, or when a preauthorized credit “hold” pushes a consumer over their limit.
Limits (to 3) the number of over-the-limit fees companies can charge for the same transaction – some issuers now charge virtually unlimited fees for a single limit violation. Ends Unfair Penalties for Cardholders Who Pay on Time
Ends unfair “double cycle” billing – card companies couldn’t charge interest on debt consumers have already paid on time.
If a cardholder pays on time and in full, the bill prevents card companies from piling additional fees on balances consisting solely of left-over interest. Requires Fair Allocation of Consumer Payments
Many companies credit payments to a cardholder’s lowest interest rate balances first, making it impossible for the consumer to pay off high-rate debt. The bill bans this practice, generally requiring payments to be allocated proportionally to balances that have different rates.Protects Cardholders from Due Date Gimmicks
Among other measures, requires card companies to mail billing statements 25 calendar days before the due date (up from the current 14 days), and to credit as “on time” payments made before 5 p.m. local time on the due date.Prevents Companies from Using Misleading Terms and Damaging Consumers’ Credit Ratings
Establishes standard definitions of terms like “fixed rate” and “prime rate” so companies can’t mislead or deceive consumers in marketing and advertising.
Gives consumers who are pre-approved for a card the right to reject that card prior to activation without negatively affecting their credit scores. Protects Vulnerable Consumers From High-Fee Subprime Credit Cards
Prohibits issuers of subprime cards (where total yearly fixed fees exceed 25 percent of the credit limit) from charging those fees to the card itself. These cards are generally targeted to low-income consumers with weak credit histories.Bars Issuing Credit Cards to Vulnerable Minors
Prohibits card companies from knowingly issuing cards to individuals under 18 who are not emancipated minors.
Background
At a time when the Bush Administration has proposed a massive bailout of Wall Street, Congress is working to help protect the families on Main Street facing unfair practices from the credit card industry.Credit-card debt in the U.S. has reached a record high —nearly $1 trillion -- and the average American household’s debt from credit cards has risen from $2,966 in 1990 to $9,840 in 2007. And with the economy slowing, costs of daily living and unemployment rising, growing numbers of cardholders are unable to keep up with their payments.The debt crisis inundating so many Americans is partly the result of an industry with few regulations and little oversight. Consumers nationwide are facing excessive credit card fees, sky-high interest rates, and unfair, incomprehensible agreements that credit-card companies revise at will.In 2007, credit-card issuers imposed $18.1 billion in penalty fees on families carrying credit card balances—up more than 50% since 2003 and accounting for nearly half of the $40.7 billion in industry profits. This year, card companies will break all records for late fees, over-limit charges, and other penalties, pulling in more than $19 billion.The Credit Cardholders' Bill of Rights puts into law a number of regulations proposed by the Federal Reserve Board from earlier this year. The Fed has recognized that abusive credit practices distort the free market and competition. While protecting consumers, the measure allows credit card companies to take steps to account for the financial risk of the consumers to whom they are lending money.Because it is time to make sure that the market works for the American people with common sense regulations of the financial services industries, the bill is supported by consumer organizations (Consumers Union, Consumer Federation of America, Center for Responsible Lending, National Consumer Law Center, Consumer Action, National Community Reinvestment Coalition), civil rights groups (Leadership Conference on Civil Rights, National Council of La Raza, LULAC, NAACP, MALDEF, AAUW), public interest groups (Public Citizen, U.S. PIRG), and labor unions (AFL-CIO, SEIU, American Federation of Teachers, and UAW).

Some St. Tammany schools banned talk of Obama's election; many parents outraged

by Kia Hall Hayes, The Times-Picayune
Thursday November 20, 2008, 7:00 AM
Crowded into the multipurpose room at Mandeville Elementary School on the morning of Nov. 5, the student body of more than 500 boys and girls joined American citizens and people throughout the world in celebrating the election of Barack Obama, who will become the country's first black president.
That experience was not mirrored, however, at some other public schools in St. Tammany Parish. According to interviews with many students and school administrators in the past week, some teachers not only avoided talk of the election, but also banned students from discussing it or mentioning Obama's name.
The reports have many parents up in arms and black leaders on alert. Greater Covington NAACP President James "Gus" Davis and a coalition of local black ministers met with schools Superintendent Gayle Sloan on Wednesday morning to discuss the issue.
"It's racial, " Davis said afterward. "We have a person that's black that made president. This is the South, this is a completely Republican parish."
Sloan said that while many white students in district schools supported Obama, she understands why black leaders "would see this as a particular concern."
The administration is investigating the allegations, which Sloan said may have resulted from an attempt to prevent arguments between students on opposing sides of the political fence. "Teachers are human and they sometimes make mistakes, " she said.
While some students reported a clamp-down on political talk, many said other teachers at some of the same schools incorporated the election in their classrooms by holding mock elections and having students write papers about the candidates.
"It was never our intention that students not be able to say the president's name or comment on him having won the election, " Sloan said, who was named state Superintendent of the Year on Monday by the Louisiana Association of School Executives.
Tammany for McCain
But, according to interviews with pupils in the 35,890-student district, that was the impression many students received from school officials.
In the presidential election, St. Tammany Parish voted for Republican candidate John McCain over Obama 76 percent to 22 percent. African-Americans are 13 percent of the population, with white people making up 84 percent, according to a 2006 census update.
In some cases, students said they were threatened with punishment if they talked about the election.
"She said that if we did talk about (the election) she'd write us up, " 14 year-old Briana Seals, who is black, said of a teacher at Slidell Junior High School.
In Covington, parent Dominique Elzy, who is black, said she complained to the principal at E.E. Lyon Elementary School after her 7-year-old son told her that he was made to stand along the playground wall after he shouted, "Obama won!" during recess.
Lyon Principal Jeanine Barnes, who is white, said Wednesday that she investigated the complaint and found inconsistencies in the boy's story, adding, "Our school does not advocate prejudice."
Kasey Terrebonne, a senior at Slidell High School who is white, said Principal William Percy announced two days after the election that some students had received detention for discussing it.
Reached for comment, Percy, who is white, disputed that he banned political discussion and that students were punished.
'Pretty tense'
Many students said teachers displayed a clear political bias, and praised McCain in class while making disparaging remarks about the president-elect. Brandy Welch, a black eighth-grader at Slidell Junior High, said one of her teachers said that "Obama's not even from this country and that McCain is a war hero."
Rachel Weaver, a senior at Northshore High School in Slidell and a white Obama supporter, said teacher and peer bias made her reluctant to voice her opinions. Some students used racial slurs to refer to the president-elect and her American history teacher simply ignored the election, Weaver said.
"It was pretty tense most of the time, " she said.
Davis, with the NAACP, said he and ministers from churches in Mandeville, Covington, Madisonville and Folsom, as well as with the Southern Christian Leadership Conference in Atlanta, requested the meeting with Sloan after hearing complaints.
"I know they want to keep problems down, but they're going about it the wrong way, " said Davis. Students "have a right to be proud that a black man won."
Davis said the coalition was satisfied that Sloan intends to address the situation and said the group plans to monitor the school system's progress.
"Nobody was there to disrespect the school system or Ms. Sloan, " he said. "We just want to work with the school to get something done."
Letting passions die
Sloan, who began hearing reports from parents last week, said she has talked with principals and sent out an e-mail reminding them of the importance of letting students express their feelings about the election.
Principals were not told to prohibit election discussion, "but there were schools where principals and teachers made decisions that, because students were being acrimonious about it, to hold off on talking about it, and let passionate feelings die down, " she said.
Deeming the situation "a communication problem, " Sloan said she would hope that teachers would not broadcast their political affiliations in class and urged parents with concerns about teachers to contact the School Board to "let us know and we'll take appropriate action."
After Wednesday's meeting, Sloan said she spent the day calling principals, and said she might ask members of the black community to serve as advisers to schools.
Another possibility is incorporating the upcoming inauguration into the district's curriculum.
"These elections are usually hard-fought and people have a favorite candidate, but when the election's over it's time to come together and support the new president, " Sloan said.

Just 3 Days After Making History, We Still Have to Deal With Comments Like This Made by Jim Quinn

Posted Nov. 7, 2008 – A syndicated satellite radio show host is creating quite a stir after his Nov. 6 comparison of slavery and welfare.

On The War Room with Quinn & Rose, Jim Quinn said: "You know, if you were a slave in the old South, what did you get as a slave? You got free room and board; you got free money; and you got rewarded for having children because that was just, you know, tomorrow's slave. ... Can I ask a question? How's that different from welfare? You get a free house, you get free food, and you get rewarded for having children. Oh, wait a minute, hold on a second. There is a difference: The slave had to work for it."
The show then aired an audio clip of a buzzer sounding and a voice repeating, “Insensitivity!”
Quinn then stated: “Ah, the truth stings, does it not?” The context of the remarks are not clear.
Talkers Magazine lists Quinn & Rose on its “Heavy Hundred” list, which it describes as a list of the “100 most important radio talk show hosts in America.” According to the show's Web site, it airs on 18 radio stations and XM Satellite Radio.

Bogus Robocall Tells Floridians They Can Vote By Phone

By Sarah Lai Stirland October 31, 2008 6:37:34 PMCategories: Election '08


The residents of Broward County, Florida have recently received misleading robocalls telling them that they can vote by phone on Election Day, according to a report in the South Florida Sun-Sentinel on Friday.


The report didn't provide many details, other than the fact that the voice fallaciously identified itself as Elections Supervisor Brenda Snipes.
When asked whether she had heard about the calls, the supervisor's public service director said that she hadn't, and that of course voting by phone is not an option.
The call is just one of a number of dirty tricks being pulled off around the country just before record numbers of voters are expected to turn up at the polls on Election Day.
Another unknown group is distributing flyers (see the flyer after the jump) with official-looking letterhead around the area of Hampton Roads, Virgina that erroneously inform recipients that because of the crowds at the polls, the Virginia State Board of Elections is scheduling Republicans to vote on November 4th, and Democrats on the 5th.
Democratic congressmen Jerry Nadler of New York, John Conyers of Michigan and Bobby Scott of Virginia on Thursday asked the Justice Department to launch an investigation into the matter and to bring criminal charges against the originators of the flyers.
Meanwhile, the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review reports that people in the area have been receiving robocalls with the same message. This particular trick is an old one: In 2004, the New York Times reported the same message going out in the Pittsburgh area via flyers.

It ain't over until it's over.Watch out for more dirty election tricks brought to you by the real "axis of evil" (a.k.a repugnant party).

Palin takes prank call from fake French president

By CHARMAINE NORONH

AAssociated Press Writer TORONTO (AP) -

Sarah Palin unwittingly took a prank call Saturday from a Canadian comedian posing as French President Nicolas Sarkozy and telling her she would make a good president someday."Maybe in eight years," replies a laughing Palin.The Republican vice presidential nominee discusses politics, the perils of hunting with Vice President Dick Cheney, and Sarkozy's "beautiful wife," in a recording of the six-minute call released Saturday and set to air Monday on a Quebec radio station.Palin campaign spokeswoman Tracey Schmitt confirmed she had received the prank call."Governor Palin was mildly amused to learn that she had joined the ranks of heads of state, including President Sarkozy and other celebrities, in being targeted by these pranksters. C'est la vie," she said.The call was made by a well-known Montreal comedy duo Marc-Antoine Audette and Sebastien Trudel. Known as the Masked Avengers, the two are notorious for prank calls to celebrities and heads of state.Audette, posing as Sarkozy, speaks in an exaggerated French accent and drops ample hints that the conversation is a joke. But Palin seemingly does not pick up on them.He tells Palin one of his favorite pastimes is hunting, also a passion of the 44-year-old Alaska governor."I just love killing those animals. Mmm, mmm, take away life, that is so fun," the fake Sarkozy says.He proposes they go hunting together by helicopter, something he says he has never done."Well, I think we could have a lot of fun together while we're getting work done," Palin counters. "We can kill two birds with one stone that way."The comedian jokes that they shouldn't bring Cheney along on the hunt, referring to the 2006 incident in which the vice-president shot and injured a friend while hunting quail."I'll be a careful shot," responds Palin.Playing off the governor's much-mocked comment in an early television interview that she had insights into foreign policy because "you can actually see Russia from land here in Alaska," the caller tells her: "You know we have a lot in common also, because ... from my house I can see Belgium."She replies: "Well, see, we're right next door to different countries that we all need to be working with, yes."When Audette refers to Canadian singer Steph Carse as Canada's prime minister, Palin replies: "Well, he's doing fine and yeah, when you come into a position underestimated it gives you an opportunity to prove the pundits and the critics wrong. You work that much harder." Canada's prime minister is Stephen Harper.Palin praises Sarkozy throughout the call and also mentions his wife Carla Bruni, a model-turned-songwriter."You know, I look forward to working with you and getting to meet you personally and your beautiful wife," Palin says. "Oh my goodness, you've added a lot of energy to your country with that beautiful family of yours."The Sarkozy impersonator tells Palin his wife is "so hot in bed" and then informs her that Bruni has written a song for her about Joe the Plumber entitled "Du rouge a levres sur une cochonne" - which translates as "Lipstick on a Pig."Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama derided his Republican challenger John McCain's call for change in Washington as "lipstick on a pig," days after Palin made a lipstick joke at the Republican convention. The McCain-Palin campaign then released an ad implying Obama was calling Palin a pig with that remark.The caller asks Palin if Joe the Plumber is her husband and adds: "We have the equivalent of Joe the Plumber in France. It's called Marcel, the guy with bread under his armpit."He also tells the Alaska governor that he loved the "documentary" made about her and referred to a pornographic film with a Palin look-alike made by Hustler founder Larry Flynt.She answers tentatively, "Ohh, good, thank you, yes."The callers then reveal the prank and identify themselves and their radio station."Ohhh, have we been pranked?" Palin asks before handing the phone to an aide who ends the call.Obama's campaign spokesman Robert Gibbs, commenting on the prank, said: "I'm glad we check out our calls before we hand the phone to Barack Obama."

Bush Admin. Outs Obama Auntie ' Nov.1,08

As Dave has informed us in an earlier post, Barack Obama has an aunt (a half-sister of his father), Zeituni Onyango, an illegal alien living in a public housing complex in Boston. This aunt also illegally contributed $260 to Obama's campaign.This story, that the Associated Press picked up and confirmed from Rupert Murdoch's Times of London and trumpeted on Murdoch-owned Fox News and of course Drudge, has some interesting twists not readily apparent in the original story. It looks like Bush administration may have helped the right-leaning media, and hence the McCain campaign, with some helpful information on Onyango's immigration status.Highlighted by Talking Points Memo, is a portion of the AP story that missed some scrutiny:
Information about the deportation case was disclosed and confirmed by two separate sources, one a federal law enforcement official. The information they made available is known to officials in the federal government, but the AP could not establish whether anyone at a political level in the Bush administration or in the McCain campaign had been involved in its release.Onyango's case - coming to light just days before the presidential election - led to an unusual nationwide directive within Immigrations and Customs Enforcement requiring that any deportations before Tuesday's election be approved at least at the level of the agency's regional directors, the U.S. law enforcement official told the AP.The directive suggests that the administration is sensitive to the political implications of Onyango's case coming to light so close to the election.This wouldn't be the first time information was leaked to the media by helpful administration operatives. Just last month it was disclosed that the FBI leaked information, also to the AP, about the ongoing investigation of ACORN.A Bush administration scandal-weary Rep. John Conyers (D-MI) has requested that Department of Homeland Security chief Michael Chertoff take a look at this:
Dear Mr. Chertoff:I was startled to read in today's Associated Press that a "federal law enforcement official" has leaked information about an immigration case involving a relative of Senator Obama. Even more troubling, the AP reports that it could not "could not establish whether anyone at a political level in the Bush administration or in the McCain campaign had been involved," a very disturbing suggesting indeed. This leak is deplorable and I urge you to take immediate action to investigate and discipline those responsible.I note that this is not the first leak of law enforcement information apparently designed to influence the coming Presidential election -- in recent weeks law enforcement sources leaked information about an alleged investigation of a community services organization, a leak that the Department of Justice informs me is now under investigation by the Department's Office of the Inspector General and Professional Responsibility.Such leaks are deeply harmful to the political process, and the American people expect and deserve better from their government and its law enforcement agencies.Sincerely,John Conyers, Jr.It's now being reported that the Obama campaign will give back the money that his aunt donated.

Alaska`s Blacks lash out against V.P. Palin Alaska's Blacks lash out against Palin

Alaska's Blacks lash out against Palin

The Last Frontier's powerful African-American community is speaking out against Republican V.P. nominee Sarah Palin. The relationship between Palin and Black leaders have been tense at times ever since becoming Alaska's Governor in 2006, according to news reports. For instance, the governor riled Black leaders when she opposed a Juneteenth proclamation that would have endorsed a festival that celebrates the freeing of Black slaves. While 29 states officially celebrate the holiday, Palin deliberately refused to recognize it in 2007. Black leaders say that is not the only example of her insensitivity Alaska's Blacks lash out against Palin

The Last Frontier's powerful African-American community is speaking out against Republican V.P. nominee Sarah Palin. The relationship between Palin and Black leaders have been tense at times ever since becoming Alaska's Governor in 2006, according to news reports. For instance, the governor riled Black leaders when she opposed a Juneteenth proclamation that would have endorsed a festival that celebrates the freeing of Black slaves. While 29 states officially celebrate the holiday, Palin deliberately refused to recognize it in 2007. Black leaders say that is not the only example of her insensitivity

INVESTIGATION: Alaska funded Palin kids' travel

Republican vice presidential candidate Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin waves as she steps on stage to talk before …

ANCHORAGE, Alaska – Gov. Sarah Palin charged the state for her children to travel with her, including to events where they were not invited, and later amended expense reports to specify that they were on official business.

The charges included costs for hotel and commercial flights for three daughters to join Palin to watch their father in a snowmobile race, and a trip to New York, where the governor attended a five-hour conference and stayed with 17-year-old Bristol for five days and four nights in a luxury hotel.

In all, Palin has charged the state $21,012 for her three daughters' 64 one-way and 12 round-trip commercial flights since she took office in December 2006. In some other cases, she has charged the state for hotel rooms for the girls.

Alaska law does not specifically address expenses for a governor's children. The law allows for payment of expenses for anyone conducting official state business.

As governor, Palin justified having the state pay for the travel of her daughters — Bristol, 17; Willow, 14; and Piper, 7 — by noting on travel forms that the girls had been invited to attend or participate in events on the governor's schedule.

But some organizers of these events said they were surprised when the Palin children showed up uninvited, or said they agreed to a request by the governor to allow the children to attend.

Several other organizers said the children merely accompanied their mother and did not participate. The trips enabled Palin, whose main state office is in the capital of Juneau, to spend more time with her children.

"She said any event she can take her kids to is an event she tries to attend," said Jennifer McCarthy, who helped organize the June 2007 Family Day Celebration picnic in Ketchikan that Piper attended with her parents.

State Finance Director Kim Garnero told The Associated Press she has not reviewed the Palins' travel expense forms, so she could not say whether the daughters' travel with their mother would meet the definition of official business.

On Aug. 6, three weeks before Republican presidential nominee Sen. John McCain chose Palin his running mate, and after Alaska reporters asked for the records, Palin ordered changes to previously filed expense reports for her daughters' travel.

In the amended reports, Palin added phrases such as "First Family attending" and "First Family invited" to explain the girls' attendance.

"The governor said, 'I want the purpose and the reason for this travel to be clear,'" said Linda Perez, state director of administrative services.

When Palin released her family's tax records as part of her vice presidential campaign, some tax experts questioned why she did not report the children's state travel reimbursements as income.

The Palins released a review by a Washington attorney who said state law allows the children's travel expenses to be reimbursed and not taxed when they conduct official state business.

Taylor Griffin, a McCain-Palin campaign spokesman, said Palin followed state policy allowing governors to charge for their children's travel. He said the governor's office has invitations requesting the family to attend some events, but he said he did not have them to provide.

In October 2007, Palin brought daughter Bristol along on a trip to New York for a women's leadership conference. Plane tickets from Anchorage to La Guardia Airport for $1,385.11 were billed to the state, records show, and mother and daughter shared a room for four nights at the $707.29-per-night Essex House hotel, which overlooks Central Park.

The event's organizers said Palin asked if she could bring her daughter.

Alexis Gelber, who organized Newsweek's Third Annual Women & Leadership Conference, said she does not know how Bristol ended up attending. Gelber said invitees usually attend alone, but some ask if they can bring a relative or friend.

Griffin, the campaign spokesman, said he believes someone with the event personally sent an e-mail to Bristol inviting her, but he did not have it to provide. Records show Palin also met with Mayor Michael Bloomberg and Goldman Sachs representatives and visited the New York Stock Exchange.

In January, the governor, Willow and Piper showed up at the Alaska Symphony of Seafood Buffet, an Anchorage gala to announce winners of an earlier seafood competition.

"She was just there," said James Browning, executive director of Alaska Fisheries Development Foundation, which runs the event. Griffin said the governor's office received an invitation that was not specifically addressed to anyone.

When Palin amended her children's expense reports, she listed a role for the two girls at the function — "to draw two separate raffle tickets."

In the original travel form, Palin listed a number of events that her children attended and said they were there "in official capacity helping." She did not identify any specific roles for the girls.

In July, the governor charged the state $2,741.26 to take Bristol and Piper to Philadelphia for a meeting of the National Governors Association. The girls had their own room for five nights at the Ritz-Carlton Hotel for $215.46 a night, expense records show.

Expense forms describe the girls' official purpose as "NGA Governor's Youth Programs and family activities." But those programs were activities designed to keep children busy, a service provided by the NGA to accommodate governors and their families, NGA spokeswoman Jodi Omear said.

In addition to the commercial flights, the children have traveled dozens of times with Palin on a state plane. For these flights, the total cost of operating the plane, at $971 an hour, was about $55,000, according to state flight logs. The cost of operating the state plane does not increase when the children join their mother.

The organizer of an American Heart Association luncheon on Feb. 15 in Fairbanks said Palin asked to bring daughter Piper to the event, and the organizer said she was surprised when Palin showed up with daughters Willow and Bristol as well.

The three Palin daughters shared a room separate from their mother at the Princess Lodge in Fairbanks for two nights, at a cost to the state of $129 per night.

The luncheon took place before Palin's husband, Todd, finished fourth in the 2,000-mile Iron Dog snowmobile race, also in Fairbanks. The family greeted him at the finish line.

When Palin showed up at the luncheon with not just Piper but also Willow and Bristol, organizers had to scramble to make room at the main table, said Janet Bartels, who set up the event.

"When it's the governor, you just make it happen," she said.

The state is already reviewing nearly $17,000 in per diem payments to Palin for more than 300 nights she slept at her own home, 40 miles from her satellite office in Anchorage.

Tony Knowles, a Democratic former governor of Alaska who lost to Palin in a 2006 bid to reclaim the job, said he never charged the state for his three children's commercial flights or claimed their travel as official state business.

Knowles, who was governor from 1994 to 2002, is the only other recent Alaska governor who had school-age children while in office.

"There was no valid reason for the children to be along on state business," said Knowles, a supporter of Democratic presidential nominee Barack Obama. "I cannot recall any instance during my eight years as governor where it would have been appropriate to claim they performed state business."

Knowles said he brought his children to one NGA event while in office but didn't charge the state for their trip.

In February 2007, the three girls flew from Juneau to Anchorage on Alaska Airlines. Palin charged the state for the $519.30 round-trip ticket for each girl, and noted on the expense form that the daughters accompanied her to "open the start of the Iron Dog race."

The children and their mother then watched as Todd Palin and other racers started the competition, which Todd won that year. Palin later had the relevant expense forms changed to describe the girls' business as "First Family official starter for the start of the Iron Dog race."

The Palins began charging the state for commercial flights after the governor kept a 2006 campaign promise to sell a jet bought by her predecessor.

Palin put the jet up for sale on eBay, a move she later trumpeted in her star-making speech at the Republican National Convention, and it was ultimately sold by the state at a loss.

That left only one high-performance aircraft deemed safe enough for her to use — a 1980 twin-engine King Air assigned to the public safety agency but, according to flight logs, out of service for maintenance and repairs about a third of the time Palin has been governor.

Do you really want more of the same

A vote for Sen. John McCain is like a vote for a high price call girl sure she will make you feel good or even great at the moment but after the high is gone you are left with nothing but the same oh bullsh*t as always do you really want be left with that oh bull check the fact out at www.factcheck.org were the true live.

This what JOHN Mccain friend think we should do to the federal agents

The words of one G.Gordon Liddy

August 26, 1994 - Now if the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms comes to disarm you and they are bearing arms, resist them with arms. Go for a head shot; they're going to be wearing bulletproof vests." ... "They've got a big target on there, ATF. Don't shoot at that, because they've got a vest on underneath that. Head shots, head shots.... Kill the sons of bitches.
September 15, 1994 - If the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms insists upon a firefight, give them a firefight. Just remember, they're wearing flak jackets and you're better off shooting for the head.

The Audacity of Sen.John MCcain to not tell us about his TERRORIST BESTFRIEND G.Gordon Liddy

Does John McCain "pal around with terrorists?"

Certainly McCain's continuing "association" and relationship with the convicted Watergate burglar and domestic terrorist G. Gordon Liddy might suggest that is the case, if we are to apply the standards drawn by the McCain campaign.
In 1998, Liddy gave a fundraiser in his Scottsdale, Arizona home for McCain's senatorial re-election campaign -- the two posed for photographs together; and as recently as May, 2007, as a presidential candidate, McCain was a guest on Liddy's syndicated radio show. Inexplicably, McCain heaped praise on his host's values. During the segment, McCain said he was "proud" of Liddy, and praised Liddy's "adherence to the principles and philosophies that keep our nation great." From the program:
LIDDY: Your experience in the Hanoi Hilton is remarkable. I mean, I put in five years in a prison [for masterminding the Watergate burglary, and associated crimes], but it was here in the United States, and they didn't torture - the only torture that I had was being forced to listen to rap music from time to time.
McCAIN: Well, you know, I'm proud of you. I'm proud of your family. I'm proud to know your son, Tom, who's a great and wonderful guy. And it's always a pleasure for me to come on your program, Gordon. And congratulations on your continued success and adherence to the principles and philosophies that keep our nation great.
Which of Liddy's "principles and philosophies" was McCain referring to? Liddy's advocacy of break-ins? Firebombings? Assassinations? Kidnappings? Taking target practice with figures nicknamed Bill and Hillary?
During the same period that Bill Ayers was a member of the Weather Underground, Gordon Liddy was making plans to firebomb a Washington think tank, assassinate a prominent journalist, undertake the Watergate burglary, break into the office of Daniel Ellsberg's psychiatrist, and kidnap anti-war protesters at the 1972 Republican convention.
Re: Liddy's "continued success and adherence to the principles and philosophies that keep our nation great:" Did McCain mean to include Liddy's instructions to listeners of his radio show in 1994 (around the time Ayres and Obama were on a board together discussing education programs and other plots) on how to shoot Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms agents (aim for the head)?
If ATF agents attempt to curtail a citizen's gun ownership, Liddy counseled, "Well, if the Bureau of Alcohol Tobacco and Firearms comes to disarm you and they are bearing arms, resist them with arms. Go for a head shot; they're going to be wearing bulletproof vests."
More recently, Liddy explained making the Clintons objects of shooting practice: "I did relate that on the 4th of July of last year, when I and my family and some friends were out firing away at a properly-constructed rifle range and we ran out of targets, and so we - I drew some stick figure targets and I thought we ought to give them names. So I named them Bill and Hillary, thought it might improve my aim. It didn't. My aim is good anyway. Now, having said that, I accept no responsibility for somebody shooting up the White House."
The Liddy-McCain symbiosis has been mentioned in a number of posts on the Internet - mostly by bloggers and sites identified with The Left. But the documentation of their interaction (Liddy has also contributed financially to McCain's presidential campaign) is not a matter of Left or Right: It is astonishing that, given the prominence of the Ayers matter accorded by virtually every "mainstream" news outlet in America, there has been virtually nothing on the subject in the major newspapers and broadcast networks. This is a real journalistic failure and abrogation of responsibility.
Is Liddy any less a domestic terrorist than Bill Ayers? It is a zero-sum argument, for sure. I do not believe, incidentally, that John McCain shares the most abhorrent of Liddy's values, as expressed in Liddy's actions during the same period that Ayers was a Weatherman - and which Liddy continues to express, unapologetically, to this day.
But McCain has now become so unmoored from the principles he once espoused, so shameless in his courtship not only of the Republican "base" but in his eagerness to unleash a poisonous arsenal of character assassination and guilt-by-association - and plain-and-simple incitement of people's fears and prejudices - that, now, inevitably his and Sara Palin's rallies and campaign events have taken on the aura of mobs at times.
"Kill him," a man in the crowd responded last week, when Palin declared -yet again - "He's palling around with terrorists who would target their own country." In Virginia, the State Republican chairman announced a set of talking points to campaign volunteers - stressing the incendiary connection, reported Time magazine, between Barack Obama and Osama bin Laden: "Both have friends that bombed the Pentagon. That is scary," the Republican chairman said.
The most recent McCain ad on the subject shouts, "Obama worked with terrorist William Ayers when it was convenient" - perhaps suggesting, indeed, even that the candidate was there planting bombs.
The intended message of the McCain campaign is, of course, that Obama is less than patriotic - enunciated even by the candidate's wife, Cindy: "The day that Senator Obama decided to cast a vote to not fund my son when he was serving sent a cold chill through my body," she recently told a crowd of several thousand, which also heard her husband and Palin sound similar notes. (The chairman of the Lehigh, Pa., County Republican Party, William Platt, "implored the crowd to work hard to elect McCain or wake up November 5 to see 'Barack Obama, Barack Hussein Obama,' as the president," reported The Washington Post.)
Like Cindy McCain, the campaign's "Ad Facts" also trumpet - misleadingly - the only troop-funding bill that Obama voted against, in 2007 - without noting that Obama first voted for the bill, in a version that included a timetable for withdrawal. Nor did Cindy McCain mention that her husband, too, voted against the troop-funding bill - in the version that contained withdrawal language.
Thus has John McCain embarked on a scorched-earth death struggle for the presidency - cultural warfare that knows no bounds, exceeding perhaps even the mendacity and ferocity of the campaign waged against him by George Bush in 2000, and of which McCain once said there was "a special place in hell" for the Bush operatives who smeared him. (McCain also said of the Swift-boat attacks against John Kerry by Republicans in 2004: "I deplore this kind of politics. I think the ad is dishonest and dishonorable.")
The lethal weapon of the McCain campaign's dreams is the explosive allegation that, in Palin's words - Obama "pals around with terrorists." McCain, wisely, did not raise the matter himself in the last presidential debate. Why?
At the time, much of the commentariat attributed the omission to McCain's purported concerns that Obama would respond by reciting the history of McCain's "association" with the S&L swindler Charles Keating, for which McCain was cited by the Senate Ethics Committee early in his career, for exercising "poor judgment" for intervening improperly with federal regulators on behalf of Keating, as part of the infamous Keating Five scandal.
But the more likely explanation of why McCain avoided a debate confrontation about "palling around with terrorists" is McCain's very real - and recent - symbiotic association and praise for another (not Ayers) domestic terrorist emblematic of the Vietnam era: G. Gordon Liddy.

Before you VOTE READ THIS PLEASE

Sarah Palin's 9 Most Disturbing Beliefs
By AlterNet Staff, AlterNet. Posted September 8, 2008. It's time to shift the discussion about Palin to what really matters: her far-right views on the issues. http://www.alternet.org/election08/97907/?page=entire Let's forget for a moment that Sarah Palin likes to kill moose, has lots of children and was once voted the second-prettiest lady in Alaska; that's all part of the gusher of sensationalist, but not particularly substantive, news that has dominated coverage of the Alaska governor's addition to the Republican ticket.
Before the next news cycle brings the shocking information that Palin was actually impregnated by Bigfoot, we need to shift the discussion to what really matters about her in the context of the White House: her dangerous views.
AlterNet has compiled a list of Palin's most shocking beliefs, ranging from her positions on the economy to her views on reproductive rights. This list has nothing to do with her personal life, her looks or her gender. It's the stuff that voters need to know: what Sarah Palin really believes.
1. Despite problems at home, Sarah Palin does not believe in giving teenagers information about sex.
The McCain campaign is spinning Bristol Palin's pregnancy as a neat, shiny example of the unbreakable bonds of family. But while Bristol's actions and choices should not be attacked, teen pregnancy is no cause for celebration, either. To state the very obvious, it is not a good thing when teenagers have unprotected sex. And U.S. teens appear to have unprotected sex a lot: The United States has some of the highest rates of teen pregnancy in the industrialized world, and 1 in 4 American teen girls has an STI.
Like John McCain, Palin's approach to the problems of teen pregnancy and STI transmission is abstinence-only education. In a 2006 questionnaire by the conservative group Eagle Forum, Palin stated: "Explicit sex-ed programs will not find my support." Presumably the programs that do find Palin's support are ones that focus on abstinence and only mention contraceptives to talk about their supposed shortcomings.
But someone already tried that. For eight years the Bush administration has thrown its heft behind Title V, a federal program that provides states with funding for abstinence-based sex education. In 2007 an expansive study proved abstinence-until-marriage education does not delay teen sexual activity.
If Palin is elected, she will continue to throw money at a policy that does little besides ensure that a larger number of sexually active teens lack information about how to avoid pregnancy and STIs.
2. Sarah Palin believes the U.S. Army is on a mission from God.
In June, Palin gave a speech at the Wasilla Assembly of God, her former church, in which she exhorted ministry students to pray for American soldiers in Iraq. "Our national leaders are sending them out on a task that is from God," she told them. "That's what we have to make sure that we're praying for, that there is a plan and that plan is God's plan."
Palin talked about her son, Track, an infantryman in the U.S. Army:
When he turned 18 right before he enlisted, he had to get his first tattoo. And I'm like -- I don't think that's real cool, son. Until he showed me what it was and I thought, oh he did something right, 'cause on his calf, he has a big ol' Jesus fish!
Holy war, holy warriors.
3. Sarah Palin believes in punishing rape victims.
Palin thinks that rape victims should be forced to bear the child of their rapist. She believes this so strongly that she would oppose abortion even if her own daughter were raped.
The Huffington Post reports: "Granting exceptions only if the mother's life was in danger, Palin said that when it came to her daughter, 'I would choose life.'
At the time, her daughter was 14 years old. Moreover, Alaska's rape rate was an abysmal 2.2 times above the national average, and 25 percent of all rapes resulted in unwanted pregnancies.
If Palin's own daughter was only 14 when she made that statement, does she think any girl of reproductive age is old enough to have a child? Girls are hitting puberty earlier and earlier. What if the rape victim were only 10? 9? 8?
Palin also opposes abortion in cases of incest and would grant an exception only if childbirth would result in the mother's death. She has not made any statements yet about whether she believes a 10-year-old who was raped by her father would be able to actually raise the child once it was born. Perhaps Palin doesn't care.
4. Who's really not in favor of clean water? Sarah Palin.
As The Hill reports, "Governor Palin has ... opposed a crucial clean water initiative."
Alaska's KTUU explains: "It is against the law for the governor to officially advocate for or against a ballot measure; however, Palin took what she calls 'personal privilege' to discuss one of this year's most contentious initiatives."
Palin said, "Let me take my governor's hat off just for a minute here and tell you, personally, Prop. 4 -- I vote no on that." And what is that? A state initiative that would have banned metal mines from discharging pollution into salmon streams.
She also approved legislation that let oil and gas companies nearly triple the amount of toxic waste they can dump into Cook Inlet, an important fishery. It looks like being an avid outdoorsperson doesn't mean Palin really has the health of watersheds, natural resources or our environment at heart.
5. Sarah Palin calls herself a reformer, but on earmarks and the "Bridge to Nowhere," she is a hypocrite.
Palin says she's a "conservative Republican" who is "a firm believer in free market capitalism." She's running as an anti-tax crusader, and she did make deep cuts to Alaska's budget.
So, one would assume she is no borrow-and-spend conservative like George W., right?
Well, there was the time when she served as the mayor of the tiny town of Wasilla, Alaska. According to the Associated Press, "Palin hired a lobbyist and traveled to Washington annually to support earmarks for the town totaling $27 million." You'd think that $27 mil in taxpayers' funds would be enough scratch for a town with a population of 8,000, but you'd be wrong. According to Politico, Palin then "racked up nearly $20 million in long-term debt as mayor of the tiny town of Wasilla -- that amounts to $3,000 per resident."
Then there's her current stint as Alaska governor, during which her appetite for federal pork spending has been on clear display. The Associated Press reported, "In her two years as governor, Alaska has requested nearly $750 million in special federal spending, by far the largest per-capita request in the nation." While Palin notes she rejected plans to build a $398 million bridge from Ketchikan to an island with 50 residents and an airport, that opposition came only after the plan was ridiculed nationally as a "Bridge to Nowhere."
6. Sarah Palin believes creationism should be taught in schools.
Until somebody digs up the remnants of a T. rex with an ill-fated caveman dangling from its jaws, the scientific community, along with most of the American public, will be at peace with the theory of evolution. But this isn't true of everyone. More than 80 years after the Scopes "Monkey" trial, there are people -- and politicians -- who do not believe in evolution and lobby for creationism to be taught in schools.
Palin is one of those politicians. When Palin ran for governor, part of her platform called for teaching schoolchildren creationism alongside evolution. Although she did not push hard for this position after she was elected governor, Palin has let her views on evolution be known on many occasions. According to the Anchorage Daily News, Palin stated, "Teach both. You know, don't be afraid of information. Healthy debate is so important, and it's so valuable in our schools. I am a proponent of teaching both."
Palin further argued, "It's OK to let kids know that there are theories out there. They gain information just by being in a discussion."
Not when those "theories" are being presented as valid alternatives to a set of principles that most scientists have ascribed to for more than a century.
7. Sarah Palin supports offshore drilling everywhere, even if it doesn't solve our energy problems.
If McCain was hoping to salvage any part of his credibility with environmentalists, he threw that chance out the window by adding Palin to his ticket. Palin is in favor of offshore drilling and drilling in the ecologically sensitive Arctic National Wildlife Refuge.
The Miami Herald reported:
The Alaska governor has said that she has tried to persuade McCain to agree with her on drilling in the wildlife refuge. She also has said that she was happy that he changed his position over the summer and now supports offshore oil drilling.
As if that weren't bad enough, in her speech this week at the Republican National Convention, she said, "Our opponents say, again and again, that drilling will not solve all of America's energy problems -- as if we all didn't know that already." Huh. I guess drilling even when it won't help is better than working on renewable energy sources, as Palin also vetoed money for a wind energy project.
8. Sarah Palin loves oil and nuclear power.
Aside from her "drill here, drill there, drill everywhere" approach to our energy crisis, the only other things we know about Palin's energy policy, especially given her Bush-like love of avoiding the press, comes from her acceptance speech:
Starting in January, in a McCain-Palin administration, we're going to lay more pipelines, build more nuclear plants, create jobs with clean coal and move forward on solar, wind, geothermal and other alternative sources.
Nuclear power plants. Interesting. As folks look for alternative fuel sources (and again, Palin loves oil first and foremost so her commitment to any alternative energy source is suspect at best), nuclear power is enjoying a return to vogue. But here's the problem: Even the U.S. government's own nuclear agency, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, thinks an atomic renaissance is a bad idea:
Delivered by one of America's most notoriously docile agencies, the NRC's warning essentially says: that all cost estimates for new nuclear reactors -- and all licensing and construction schedules -- are completely up for grabs and have no reliable basis in fact. Thus any comparisons between future atomic reactors and renewable technologies are moot at best.
Not to mention all the other problems with nuclear energy, such as how to dispose of nuclear waste and the possibility of a catastrophic meltdown, to name a couple. Palin has no background with nuclear energy and shows no evidence of having looked into the science behind it or the dangers that come with it.
Also, it's time for Palin to drop another Bush-like tendency: Governor, the word is pronounced "new-clear."
9. Sarah Palin doesn't think much of community activism; she'd much rather play insider political games.
In her Republican convention speech, Palin slammed Barack Obama's early political work, saying, "I guess a small-town mayor is sort of like a community organizer, except you have actual responsibilities." Palin's put-down of grassroots workers, often unpaid or low-paid, demeaned an American tradition of neighbors helping neighbors, according to Deepak Bhargava, executive director of the Center for Community Change. But more revealing is Palin's apparent lack of experience in community change and local volunteer efforts, during her years in Alaska before becoming governor.
Scores of press accounts of her early years as mayor of Wasilla omit any mention of