The Best of the Political Resources

Let's make the right decision when voting for President of the United States

"I can do better!" "We work hard cause it's hard work working hard." Watch Archived Internet Presentation   Here:  C- Span  Transcript - First Debate  Transcript - VP Debate Transcript - 2nd. Debate  Transcript - 3rd. Debate  Where Do They Stand? Bush's Timber-Growing Company Bush got a laugh when he scoffed at Kerry's contention that he had received $84 from "a timber company."  Said Bush, "I own a timber company? That's news to me." In fact, according to his 2003 financial disclosure form, Bush does own part interest in "LSTF, LLC", a limited-liability company organized "for the purpose of the production of trees for commercial sales."  So Bush was wrong to suggest that he doesn't have ownership of a timber company. And Kerry was correct in saying that Bush's definition of "small business" is so broad that Bush himself would have qualified as a "small business" in 2001 by virtue of the $84 in business income.  Click Here New ad claims Bush inherited an economy "already in recession" and that 41 million seniors "now have access to lower cost prescriptions."  Wrong on both counts. 1st. Presidential Debate Analysis NPR - The Diane Rehm Show  Listen Here Real Player Vice Presidential Debate Analysis NPR - The Diane Rehm Show  Listen Here Real Player 2nd. Presidential Debate Analysis NPR - The Diane Rehm Show  Listen Here Real Player 3rd. Presidential Debate Analysis NPR - The Diane Rehm Show  Listen Here Real Player Last Debate Transcript 2000 - Gore vs Bush (from an Ohio Newspaper)

NC Republicans for Kerry  GET OUT and Vote Nov 2nd!

 

	National Public Radio   Morning Edition - Friday October 8, 2004
	Listen Here from the NPR Website  Campaign Security Screening Crowds for Doubters
Some would-be attendees at President Bush's campaign events say they're being asked to leave for wearing clothes or stickers that support the president's opponent. At Sen. Kerry's rallies, the presidential hopeful ruefully acknowledges the presence of the opposition. NPR's Nina Totenberg examines the rights of campaign event planners and attendees. The above starts to make sense once you've read "Bush on the Couch". Dr. Frank is the author of Bush on the Couch: Inside the Mind of the President (2004). He is a Washington, D.C.– based psychoanalyst and professor of psychiatry at George Washington University Medical School.

 

This would make a Great Gift !  Click Here: Type Josh Groban in Search Here to buy his music

Why this is important to your business -- especially if you have a website   - or - don't have a website and would like a   Business Page that acts like a mini-website and lists high in the search engines - even if your business is located outside WNC

	Helping the Handicapped    We will add products hand crafted by our  handicapped friends as soon as possible. All profits from sales of these items will go to the handicapped designer. Dream Catchers by CJ Please bookmark this link, check back often for new items added, and help support our handicapped friends. More Coming Soon!

Anti-Aging and Longevity --- Biotechnology News

Belarus Woman Celebrates 116th Birthday

The World's Oldest Person

Let's Talk Radio  -----	-- Listen on the Internet --
The Diane Rehm Show -   National Public Radio   Living on Earth is expensive,  but it does include a free trip  around the sun every year. You may be only one person in the world, but you may also be the world to one person. DEFINITIONS	Barlett & Steele: "Critical Condition"  How Health Care in America Became Big Business--And Bad Medicine Social Security Reform President Bush at the U.N. Sept. 22, 04 Health Care - Presidential Campaigns Economic Proposals -- Bush vs. Kerry Sept. 23, 04 Sen. Bob Graham: "Intelligence Matters" Maureen Dowd: "Bushworld" - Aug. 13, 2004 Stem Cell Research - Aug. 12, 2004 Peter Peterson: "Running on Empty" Aug 10, 2004 Sen. Robert Byrd: "Losing America" - Aug. 1, 2004 Treatment of Prisoners The Economy and Politics European & Arab Opinion on the U.S. in Iraq International Public Opinion - July 20, 2004 April - Iraq and 9/11 Update Medicare   Medicare Prescription Drug Discount Cards Medicare Bill Update - July 19, 2004 Congressional Ethics Pre-War Media Coverage Constitutional Amendment on Gay Marriage Hourly Wages  - July 21, 2004 Celebrating 25 Years of the Diane Rehm Show
Update --------> "Iraq Confidential"  Tuesday October 11, 2005	Click Here:  And Listen to This National Public Radio Show (one of the most important shows we've ever heard relating to why and how we ended up in Iraq. ) "Iraq Confidential" (Nation Books) A former UN weapons inspector talks on the Diane Rehm Show (10/11/05) about looking for WMDs in Iraq. He also explains how much of the intelligence used to justify the 2003 invasion of Iraq was discredited by work he and fellow inspectors conducted in the 1990s.
Charlotte Talks - Bush on the Couch Inside the Mind of the President by Justin A. Frank / Hardcover Retail Price: $24.95 Club Price: $15.72 You may purchase this book here -- BOOKSAMILLION.COM type Bush on the Couch in the search section. Average Rating:	with host Mike Collins - Browse Archives... Monday October 11, 2004  Listen We'll talk to the author of a book called, "Bush on the Couch: Inside the Mind of the President". Dr. Justin A. Franks has done a psychoanalysis on President Bush by watching president Bush's public appearances, and we'll talk about some of his alarming findings. We'll also talk with a psychologist with a different point of view about Franks' analysis and we'll talk about whether these analyses can be done from afar without having met the subject.  Also --- Thursday October 14, 2004  Listen It's a session of political Open Phones on this edition of Charlotte Talks with Mike Collins. We'll talk about the debates of the past week and find out where you stand on the issues that the Presidential and Vice-Presidential Candidates have been debating. What issues are more important to you? Who best represents your ideals?
	use your back browser button to return
NPR Audio -	Tenet: CIA Never Claimed Imminent Threat
	use your back browser button to return
US Department of State -	The 40th Anniversary of the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom  http://usinfo.state.gov/usa/civilrights/anniversary/
Let's See TV ------------	-- Watch on the Internet - C- Span  --
PBS -      Rumsfeld's War will be available for viewing online Friday, October 29th at 12pm et	With the United States Army deployed in a dozen hotspots around the world—on constant alert in Afghanistan and taking casualties almost every day in Iraq—some current and former officers now say the army is on the verge of being broken. The man responsible, according to those officers, is a secretary of defense who came into the Pentagon determined to transform the shape of the military. In "Rumsfeld's War," FRONTLINE and The Washington Post join forces for the first time to investigate Donald Rumsfeld's contentious battle with the Pentagon bureaucracy to assert civilian control of the military and remake the way America fights. http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/pentagon/
C-Span -	9/11 CitizensWatch Press
C-Span -	9/11 Report/ Terrorism 9/11 Commission Hearings
Let's Read Books  ---	-- Ordering Online - Big Savings --
Critical Condition You may purchase this book at BOOKSAMILLION.COM   Type Critical Condition  in the search section	by Donald L. Barlett; James B. Steele  Critical Condition  How Health Care in America Became Big Business--And Bad Medicine  Hardcover / Sept 2004 / ISBN 0385504543 In Stock: Usually ships within 24 hours. Retail Price: $24.95 / Our Price: 17.46
Intelligence Matters You may purchase this book at BOOKSAMILLION.COM   Type Intelligence Matters  in the search section	by Bob Graham; Jeffrey Nussbaum     Retail Price: $24.95 Our Price: $17.46   Club Price: $15.72  Members Save $9.23 ! (37%)   Average Rating:
The Exception to the Rulers Exposing Oily Politicians, War Profiteers, and the Media That Love Them	by Amy Goodman; David Goodman  Retail Price: $21.95 Club Price: $13.83 Average Rating:
A Pretext for War 9/11, Iraq, and the Abuse of America's Intelligence Agencies	by James Bamford Retail Price: $26.95 Our Price: $18.86  Millionaire's Club Price: $16.98  Members Save $9.97 ! (37%) Average Rating:
Plan of Attack You may purchase this book at BOOKSAMILLION.COM   Type Plan of Attack  in the search section	by Bob Woodward   Plan of Attack by Bob Woodward / Hardcover      Retail Price: $28.00 Our Price: $16.80  Millionaire's Club Price: $15.12  Members Save $12.88 ! (46%) Average Rating:
... more books	You may purchase these book at on line. Type Book Title  in the search section on  BOOKSAMILLION.COM
Against All Enemies	by Richard Clarke
The Price of Loyalty	by Ron Suskind
How Americans Can Buy American	by Roger Simmermaker
The Working Poor	by David K. Shipler
American Dynasty	by Kevin Phillips
No Backup A Female Agent's Life in the FBI	by Rosemary Dew; Patricia Pape; Pat Pape
Bushworld	by Maureen Dowd
Running on Empty	by Peter Peterson
Let's View  --------------	-- Special Papers and Articles --
Dwight D. Eisenhower	Military-Industrial Complex Speech, 1961
THE FATCAT SCAM:	Skull & Bones: The Secret Society That Unites John Kerry and President Bush
	use your back browser button to return
	The Space Quantum Theory
	Mathematical Formula for the Perfect Face
	Entering Chernobyl Area (See the photography of Elena as she rides through the Ghost Town )
	Check the facts of the politicians statements at:  http://factcheck.org
Let's View  --------------	-- Political Humor --
	JibJab's much talked about presentation - Cable or DSL needed
Let's View  --------------	-- Ongoing Political Views --
Charlotte Talks - Worry-Free Family Finances by Bill Staton; Mary Staton / Paperback In Stock: Usually ships within 24 hours. Retail Price: $14.95 Club Price: $10.02 You may purchase this book at BOOKSAMILLION.COM   Type Worry-Free Family Finances in the search section	with host Mike Collins - Browse Archives... Wednesday September 22, 2004  Listen to the archived show It's an encore presentation of Charlotte Talks with Mike Collins today. We'll revisit our discussion with Bill and Mary Staton, local financial experts and authors of "Worry-Free Family Finances: Three Steps to Building and Maintaining Your Family's Financial Well-Being". They'll discuss how any family can save and go after their financial aspirations, whatever they may be. (original broadcast 7/1/04)
Let's View  --------------	-- Other Stuff Data Lists --
	Music
	Top-Selling Record Albums of All Time
	Music Timeline
	Movies
	American Film Institute's 100 Greatest Movies
	Top 30 Domestic Gross All-Time Box-Office Hits
	Movie Timeline
	Check this out ------->  The "sixth sick sheik's sixth sheep's sick" is said to be the toughest tongue twister in the English language. And what's this all about? If the government has no knowledge of aliens, then why does Title 14, Section 1211 of the Code of Federal Regulations, implemented on July 16, 1969, make it illegal for U.S. citizens to have any contact with extraterrestrial or their vehicles?

<Pro-Bush Puffery on Economy, Medicare

10.12.2004

New ad claims Bush inherited an economy "already in recession" and that 41 million seniors "now have access to lower cost prescriptions." Wrong on both counts.

Summary

The ad by the pro-Bush group Progress for America Voter Fund claims the economy was already in a recession when Bush took office, but the National Bureau of Economic Research (which dates business cycles) says the recession actually began in March 2001, after Bush took office in January.

The facts also get stretched when the ad claims "41 million seniors now have access to lower cost prescriptions (emphasis added)." Bush's new prescription drug benefit will cover seniors on Medicare for an extra premium of about $35 a month, but not until 2006. Even the currently available drug discount cards have been used much less than expected. Current enrollment is less than 5 million.

Analysis

There is a grain of truth to the two claims. But the ad misstates facts to puff up Bush's record both on the economy and Medicare.

Already in Recession?

It's not quite true, as the ad claims, that Bush inherited "an economy already in recession (emphasis added)." It would have been accurate to say Bush inherited "an economy on the verge of recession."

The National Bureau of Economic Research, a non-partisan group of mostly academic economists, set  the start date of the recession as March 2001, weeks after Bush took office on Jan 20. The NBER defines a recession as "a significant decline in economic activity spread across the economy, lasting more than a few months, normally visible in real GDP, real income, employment, industrial production, and wholesale-retail sales."

To be sure, the rate of economic growth had slowed significantly at the time Bush took office, as the longest boom in US history drew to a close. Real Gross Domestic Product, a general indicator of economic performance, grew an an unimpressive annual rate of 2.1 percent in the final quarter of 2000, after actually contracting by half a percentage point in the previous quarter. But employment was still growing when Bush was sworn in, and the economy actually added 113,000 payroll jobs between January and March 2001, before starting to decline in April.

In fact, the NBER did not even make a determination that a recession had begun until 10 months after Bush was sworn in, and said that the downturn might not even have qualified as a recession until the attacks of September 11, 2001 exacerbated the nation's economic troubles. The NBER's Business Cycle Dating Committee said, "Before the attacks, it is possible that the decline in the economy would have been too mild to qualify as a recession. The attacks clearly deepened the contraction and may have been an important factor in turning the episode into a recession."

2 Million Jobs Created?

The ad also misleads when it says Bush's tax cuts "helped . . . create nearly 2 million jobs."  It is true that the economy has re-gained 1.9 million jobs since the very bottom of the job slump in August of 2003, as reported in www.factcheck.org  when Bush used this number during the second presidential debate.  But according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, that still leaves the Bush administration with a loss of 585,000 jobs. And that's giving Bush credit in advance for an annual "benchmark revision" that won't be published until next February, when the BLS expects to revise the 2004 employment numbers upward by an estimated 236,000.

The New Drug Benefits

Contrary to the ad's claim, it's not yet true that "41 million seniors now have access to lower cost prescriptions." It's true that Bush's 2003 Medicare Modernization Act (MMA) extends prescription drug coverage to seniors. But the new coverage does not fully go into effect until Jan. 2006.

The federally administered prescription drug discount cards were designed to fill the three-year gap, but as www.factcheck.org reported, total enrollment has only reached 4.4 million -- over half of whom were automatically enrolled by their health maintenance organizations. The total is more than 3 million short of the number the administration predicted would be enrolled by the end of 2004.

Sources

"The Business-Cycle Peak of March 2001," National Bureau of Economic Research, 26 Nov. 2001.

"The Facts about Upcoming New Benefits in Medicare," US Department of Health & Human Services, fact sheet, undated.

<     Wrong on Tax Cuts

Bush could hardly have been farther off base when he said most of his tax cuts "went to low- and middle-income Americans." That's just not true.

In fact, the nonpartisan Tax Policy Center recently calculated  that most of the tax cuts -- 53% to be exact -- went to the highest -earning 10% of US individuals and families.Those most affluent Americans got an average tax cut of $7,661.

And as for the "low- and middle-income Americans" Bush mentioned -- the bottom 60% of individuals and families got only 13.7% of the tax cuts, according to the Tax Policy Center, a far cry from "most" of the cuts as claimed by Bush.

The President came closer to the mark, but still got it wrong, when he said in the same breath that the top 20% of earners pay "about 80% of the taxes in America today." That's incorrect.

In fact, as we (www.factcheck.org) only that morning, the Congressional Budget Office calculates that the top 20% now pay 63.5% of the total federal tax burden, which includes income taxes, payroll taxes and other federal levies. It's true that the top 20% pays nearly 81% of all federal income taxes, but the president spoke more expansively of "taxes in America," not just income taxes.

<     Wrong on Osama

Bush stumbled when he denied making some remarks about Osama bin Laden that Kerry had accurately paraphrased. Bush accused Kerry of "one of those exaggerations."

In fact, Bush said almost exactly what Kerry quoted him as saying. It was in a news conference at the White House on March 13, 2002, after US forces had overturned the Taliban regime in Afghanistan:

Q (March 13, 2002): Mr. President, in your speeches now you rarely talk or mention Osama bin Laden.  Why is that? . . .

Bush: So I don't know where he is. You know, I just don't spend that much time on him , Kelly, to be honest with you. . . .

Q:  But don't you believe that the threat that bin Laden posed won't truly be eliminated until he is found either dead or alive?</