Results tagged “bushadministration”

The report says, "The failure to finish the job represents a lost opportunity that forever altered the course of the conflict in Afghanistan and the future of international terrorism." According to the NY Times, "The committee report, prepared at the request of Senator John Kerry of Massachusetts, the committee’s Democratic chairman, concludes unequivocally that in mid-December 2001, Mr. bin Laden and his deputy, Ayman al-Zawahri, were at the cave complex, where Mr. bin Laden had operated previously during the fight against Soviet forces. The new report suggests that a larger troop commitment to Afghanistan might have resulted in the demise not only of Mr. bin Laden and his deputy but also of Mullah Muhammad Omar, the leader of the Afghan Taliban. Mullah Omar, who also fled to Pakistan in 2001, has overseen the resurgence of the Taliban."

Last night, the Federal Reserve announced that investment banks Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley will become bank holding companies. The move will put the two firms under greater regulation, which the NY Times says "fundamentally reshapes an era of high finance that defined the modern Gilded Age."

It was a blunt acknowledgment that their model of finance and investing had become too risky and that they needed the cushion of bank deposits that had kept big commercial banks like Bank of America and JPMorgan Chase relatively safe amid the recent turmoil.

Continue reading "Goldman, Morgan Stanley Become Bank Holding Companies as Government Tries to Pass Bailout"

Senators John McCain and Barack Obama better keep working on their economic policies: The White House released an estimate saying the deficit will grow to $482 billion next year, thanks in part, per the AP, to the "sagging economy and the stimulus payments being made to 130 million households in an effort to keep the country from falling into a deep recession." Keep in mind Bush inherited a $128 billion surplus in 2001. The budget office still says, "The nation's economy has continued to expand and remains fundamentally resilient," but let's cut to the Dow Jones Industrial slipping this afternoon.

Late Thursday, right before the long July 4th weekend, it was announced the Bush administration had declined to keep on the World Trade Center health czar. Dr. John Howard was the director of the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health within the Center for Disease Control and had much support--last Wednesday, Governor David Paterson asked President Bush to extend Howard's term, noting his "pivotal role" in 9/11 health efforts.

Yesterday, the Supreme Court voted 5-4 to uphold the Partial-Birth Abortion Ban Act. Immediately, politicians weighed in with their reactions, including two notable presidential wannabes from our area. Senator Hillary Clinton calling it a "dramatic departure from Supreme Court rulings that upheld a woman's right to choose" while former mayor Rudy Giuliani said the Supreme court came to the "correct conclusion." Which the Daily News points out is a reversal from his 2000 position, when he opposed a partial-birth abortion ban.

Could travelers out of LaGuardia Airport soon see some new airlines or increased service from smaller airlines? If the Bush Administration has its way, there may be some changes ahead for the airport in northern Queens. A law passed by Congress in 2000 attempted to change how landing (and departure) slots were allocated to airlines in airports around the country. Taking advantage of the rules passed in 2000, airlines added an additional 300 flights a day at LaGuardia, causing delays to double and delays across the nation. In an attempt to remedy the situation, the government placed some limits on flights into LGA and now wants to cap the flights into the airport and auction the landing rights to airlines.

Maybe it was the umpteenth “F Bush” tag that seen in the subway station. Or maybe it was President Bush’s interview on Sixty Minutes last night. But recent news about the war, troop deployments and civil rights has infused us with feeling like we're in the 21st Century version of the Wonder Years. This is not the Sixties, but it seems like today’s commemoration of Martin Luther King, Jr. has gotten some of us in that Sixties kind of mood.

ART OPENINGS: Ann Craven's latest ?

As the repaired levee helps water drain out of New Orleans, the finger pointing has only begun at political offices. The NY Times has an editorial about the government's attitude towards FEMA, the response to Hurricane Katrina, and possible investigations that raises a lot of good points. For instance, Senator Hillary Clinton's suggestion to raise FEMA to a cabinet-level position might be "premature," and that the problem needs to be investigated at all levels - local, state, and federal. It's also a compact yet still withering look at what the Bush Administration and Republican agendas have done to FEMA and the Department of Homeland Security.

If news of that proposal wasn't bad enough, the pork from Washington D.C. is headed to plenty of places, with little money to New York. The Daily News has a plentiful list of where the money went, including to some projects in New York City. To this, Congressman Jerrold Nadler says, "There's kosher pork, and then there's unkosher pork."

Bush Administration Raises Terror Alert Look at the Terror Alert chart to understand that "High," in this case, is not good. Read John Ashcroft's remarks. Buy some canned meats.