[poochee]

PBS chief welcomes public TV funding under Obama
LYNN ELBER | August 2, 2009 07:48 PM EST | AP

Kerger said that the Corporation for Public Broadcasting's $430 million budget for this year was left intact by President Barack Obama, in contrast to the Bush administration's repeated bids to reduce or eliminate the federal subsidy. Kerger says Congress countered Bush's actions..Too educational?

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/huff-w...s-pbs-funding/

[xico]

Originally Posted by LANMaster

Nixon was one of the most socially Liberal Presidents we've had.

I nwould have thought that he was just your type of guy, xico .... had it not been for Watergate.



I remember getting M16s pointed at me for surfing at Cotton's State Beach in San Clemente (right in front of the Nixon Estate) I was 10 years old in 1972, and already surfing large waves .... dude.
When the surf is big, it is one of the best waves along the coast. There's a coral reef a ways out that makes a really nice wave, but only when there is high surf.

The Secret Service was overly paranoid of frogmen coming ashore to waste Nixon.

So we would surf there until the megaphones were blasted in our ears that we would be shot if we didn't leave the area. Then we would paddle in toward that crappy surf at Church's then Tressles about a mile away. There were fairly good waves there too, but nothing like Cottons.

Yes, he was quite socially liberal, but he was also another mass murderer. What he did to the American troops and the Vietnamese is shameful--and like Raygun some of his election dances were illegal.

Those are nice stories, Lan! Nixon is definitely an interesting character. He's a model of how to reach the top, then self destruct! Amazing. He took a lot of hard bumps, social rejections--but like a pit bull, came back smiling, looking for more. But with his enemies list, he was dangerous, constitutionally.

[poochee]

Posted on Sunday, August 2, 2009
On Africa visit, Clinton won't shy away from thorny issues
By Shashank Bengali | McClatchy Newspapers

NAIROBI, Kenya — Secretary of State Hillary Clinton this week visits Africa, where she's expected to show support for the government of Somalia, renew political pressure on Zimbabwe and raise awareness of sexual violence in Congo.

Clinton's 11-day, seven-country tour reflects the range of U.S. strategic interests in Africa — from humanitarian relief to trade agreements — and follows President Barack Obama's brief visit to Ghana last month, when he urged Africans to take greater responsibility for lifting themselves up from poverty, conflict and corruption.

Starting Tuesday, Clinton will visit Kenya, South Africa, Congo, Angola, Nigeria, Liberia and Cape Verde on a tour aimed at "supporting strong and sustainable democratic governments," State Department officials said. Obama's message of promoting African self-sufficiency will face challenges, however, as Clinton confronts some of the continent's most intractable problems.

http://www.mcclatchydc.com/226/story/72926.html

[poochee]

Ford to report July sales jump, company official says
updated 10:22 p.m. EDT, Sun August 2, 2009
CNN Radio's Barbara Hall contributed to this report.

Story Highlights
•Ford's U.S. retail and vehicle sales increased this July over last, Ford official says
•Company will release its official U.S. sales figures on Monday
•"Cash for clunkers" program helped, Ford official says

(CNN) -- Ford Motor Co. saw an increase in domestic sales this July over last, a Ford official told CNN Radio on Sunday. It was the first monthly sales gain claimed by a major automaker since the financial crisis began last year.

While Ford will be in the spotlight Monday with the release of its July sales figures, other automakers and dealerships are also enjoying benefits from the "cash for clunkers" program, according to John McEleney, president of the National Automobile Dealers Association.

Excerpts from: http://www.cnn.com/2009/US/08/02/ford.gain/index.html

[wacor]

there are going to be some bankrupt dealers. Because the cash for clunkers was so poorly implemented.

[poochee]

Two Sides Take Health Care Debate Outside Washington
By SHERYL GAY STOLBERG and DAVID M. HERSZENHORN
Published: August 2, 2009

WASHINGTON — With Republicans mobilizing against the proposed health care overhaul, President Obama, Congressional Democrats and leading advocacy groups are laying the groundwork for an August offensive against the insurance industry as part of a coordinated campaign to sell the public on the need for reform.

The effort will feature town-hall-style meetings by lawmakers and the president, including a swing through Western states by Mr. Obama, grass-roots lobbying efforts and a blitz of expensive television advertising. It is intended to drive home the message that revamping the health care system will protect consumers by ending unpopular insurance industry practices, like refusing patients with pre-existing conditions.

“I think what we want to communicate is that this is going to give people who have insurance a degree of security and stability, the protection that they don’t have today against the sort of mercurial judgments of insurance bureaucrats,” said David Axelrod, a senior adviser to Mr. Obama, adding, “Our job is to help folks understand how this will help them.”

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/08/03/he...er=rss&emc=rss

[Wino]

Originally Posted by wacor

there are going to be some bankrupt dealers. Because the cash for clunkers was so poorly implemented.

Another dire prediction from the seer of all things. I'll bet you all my GM stock you are incorrect, again, as usual. You can bet the program was so successful, that the One will get the funds to the dealers if the program falls short and I'll also bet your fellow wingers in congress will vote for it. Even the ignorant republican party of NO isn't that stupid.

[poochee]

Originally Posted by Wino

Another dire prediction from the seer of all things. I'll bet you all my GM stock you are incorrect, again, as usual. You can bet the program was so successful, that the One will get the funds to the dealers if the program falls short and I'll also bet your fellow wingers in congress will vote for it. Even the ignorant republican party of NO isn't that stupid.

Yep!

[poochee]

Stimulus cash lifts states, localities
Updated 13h 34m ago
By Dennis Cauchon, USA TODAY

A huge influx of federal stimulus money to state and local governments more than offset a sharp drop in tax collections, helping to put the brakes on the nation's economic decline, new government data show.

The stimulus funds helped reverse six months of spending declines, pushing state and local government expenditures up 4.8% in the second quarter, reports the Bureau of Economic Analysis.

"The money has caused a very sharp change in the path of the economy, which had been in steep decline," said Chad Stone, chief economist at the liberal Center on Budget and Policy Priorities in Washington, D.C.

MORE AT: http://www.usatoday.com/news/nation/...stimulus_N.htm

[LANMaster]

Originally Posted by wacor

there are going to be some bankrupt dealers. Because the cash for clunkers was so poorly implemented.

Liberal looneys are spinning cash for clunkers as an unmitigated triumph.

[LANMaster]

[LANMaster]

[wacor]

Originally Posted by LANMaster

Liberal looneys are spinning cash for clunkers as an unmitigated triumph.

It was a huge success for the buyers and auto companies. I think a lot of dealers are gonna get burned by the feds though. Tis their own fault. If I ran a dealership there is no way I would release a new car until the clunker was approved and money sent.

[poochee]

Huffpost - Foreclosures Stabilize In California, Florida And Arizona: AP
First Posted: 08- 3-09 08:30 AM | Updated: 08- 3-09 08:35 AM

Even as Americans suffer rising unemployment, foreclosure rates in three states hit hardest by the housing bust -- California, Arizona and Florida -- stabilized in June, offering hope that the worst of the real estate crisis is over, according to The Associated Press' monthly analysis of economic stress in more than 3,100 U.S. counties.


http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/0..._n_249784.html

[poochee]

Construction spending rises unexpectedly
CHRISTOPHER S. RUGABER | August 3, 2009 12:31 PM EST | AP

WASHINGTON — Construction spending rose for the second time in three months in June as residential building increased and government-funded infrastructure projects jumped.

The report provides fresh evidence the housing sector may be recovering, while the rise in government spending was partly due to the Obama administration's $787 billion stimulus package, economists said.

The Commerce Department said Monday that construction spending increased by a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 0.3 percent in June, defying analysts' estimates of a 0.5 percent drop. May construction spending was revised up slightly to a 0.8 percent decline. Still, June's $965.7 billion in spending was 10.2 percent below the year-ago level.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/huff-w...tion-spending/