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In the news this week, Congress and President Bush are dancing to that old mugger's melody, "Your Money or Your Life?" as they grappled with budgetary and legislative negotiations before the August recess.   On the front with the most deadly potential, Senate Minority Leader "Chester" Lott signaled his intent to whittle down the already-meager increase in defense spending requested by Mr. Bush's team. "If we don't have $18 billion, we won't do $18 billion," Lott announced this week, referring to the increase, over the 2002 planned level of $310 billion, which would be reserved for improved readiness and ...

The Flat Tax and the FairTax Federal Consumption Tax — A Comparison Both the Flat Tax and the Federal Consumption Tax Are Neutral Toward Savings and Investment The flat tax and the consumption tax both remove the income tax bias against savings and investment. The flat tax accomplishes this result by expensing capital costs and exempting the return on savings. The consumption tax accomplishes this same result by only taxing final consumption sales. Each would result in higher levels of savings and investment, higher rates of capital formation, higher productivity, and higher real incomes. Both the Flat Tax and the ...

I'm curious if any fellow Freepers have used online travel sites for booking air travel. I hear Rush is advertising one (which I forgeot the name) and have heard of Priceline.com and Travelocity. Any recommendations, comments, feedback, suggestions, warnings?

Tulsa schools suspend blacks more frequently 2001-08-03 The Associated Press TULSA -- The superintendent of Tulsa Public Schools has released a report that shows black students make up a disproportionate percentage of suspended students in the state's largest school district. "All levels of schooling suspended more black students as a percentage of those suspended than the respective percentage representation of these students within the school's population," Superintendent David Sawyer said in his 2000-01 suspension report. He said that while the data in the report supports the concern that black students are suspended at higher rates, he has found no ...

'What is to be done?' When Israel imposed closures on the West Bank and Gaza, withheld taxes owed to the Palestinian Authority and applied other economic sanctions in an attempt to protect its own citizens and coerce the PA into ending the violence, it was charged with subjecting the Palestinian population to "collective punishment." The accusation was perfectly valid - most of the Palestinians who suffered and suffer the consequences of Israel's actions had and have no hand in killing or wounding Israelis. But however justified the charge may have been, concern about "collective punishment" did not prevent many ...

NEW YORK (AP) -- A suspect in three execution-style murders in an apartment above the Carnegie Deli was indicted Thursday on a second-degree murder charge. Sean Salley, 29, of New York City, recently gave up an extradition battle after his capture last month in Florida. He arrived in New York Thursday and was to appear in court Friday. Police said Salley and another man planned May 10 to rob Jennifer Stahl, a sometime actress who was dealing marijuana from her apartment above the famed restaurant. In the end, five people were shot and three, including Stahl, died. Stahl, 39, ...

New test scores back Bush tack on school reform /> Home News Inside Opinion Editorial home Columnists Editorial cartoons Government guide Talk Today Money Sports Life Tech Weather 08/02/2001 - Updated 08:28 PM ET New test scores back Bush tack on school reform Some good news is buried in that stack of mediocre national math test scores released Thursday, but you have to look hard to find it. Although only about a quarter of fourth- and eighth-graders rank as proficient in math, those in two states — Texas and North Carolina — are making real gains.That's important because the White House is about ...

AP International More Okinawa Anger Vs. U.S. Troops by SCOTT STODDARD Associated Press Writer TOKYO (AP) -- Anger at crimes committed by U.S. military personnel is ''on the verge of eruption,'' Okinawa's governor said Friday, reiterating his call for a reduction of U.S. military bases on the southern Japanese island. Opposition to the heavy American military presence on Okinawa flared in late June after a U.S. Air Force sergeant allegedly raped a Japanese woman in a parking lot outside a row of bars. The alleged rape came on the heels of a series of crimes by servicemen that have heightened ...

Palestinians Urged To Calm Down by MARK LAVIE Associated Press Writer JERUSALEM (AP) -- The official Palestinian news agency called for an end to armed attacks against Israel in a statement published Friday, an unprecedented appeal for restraint in the 10 months of Mideast violence. The Wafa news agency, which is controlled by Yasser Arafat's Palestinian Authority and reflects official Palestinian positions, said Palestinians could achieve their goals ''only by political means'' and ''not (by attacks) inside Israel, and not using firearms.'' The statement, printed Friday in the Palestinian newspaper Al-Hayyat al-Jadida, said symbolic acts of resistance, such as throwing ...

Our daily post of "word for the day" in order that we might all raise the level of discourse and expand our language abilities. Rules: Everyone must leave a post using the "word of the day" in a sentence. The sentence must, in some way, relate to the news of the day. The Review thread link will be posted for your edification. ;-) Practice makes perfect.....post on.... Bacchic (BAK-ik) adjectiveBacchusBacchanalian; adjective or nounBacchanalia; plural – adjective or noun 1. Of or relating to Bacchus (Dionysus). 2. Drunken and carousing; bacchanalian.3. a Roman festival of Bacchus celebrated with dancing, song, and ...

LIMA, Peru - The Central Intelligence Agency paid the Peruvian intelligence organization run by fallen spymaster Vladimiro Montesinos $1 million a year for 10 years to fight drug trafficking, despite evidence that Montesinos was also in business with Colombia's big drug cartels, Knight Ridder has learned. Montesinos, 56 and in jail near Lima on corruption charges, is now dragging the CIA into his legal battles, asking Peruvian court officials to interrogate two CIA officers as part of his defense against charges that he helped smuggle guns to guerrillas who allegedly provide protection to big drug cartels. Despite attempts by ...

Joking use of Mother Teresa, President Bush pictures in job guide annoys court workers By Associated Press, 8/3/2001 12:26 SEATTLE (AP) An insert included in a job evaluation guide in an attempt at humor with Superman pictured as a person who ''Exceeds Job Requirements'' and Mother Teresa as one who ''Meets Job Requirements'' upset some employees of a county court office. They didn't like seeing President Bush and a chimp as examples of unsatisfactory performance, either. ''I really don't think it's humorous,'' said Rob Legge, a juvenile probation counselor for 31 years at the King County Juvenile Court. ''What ...

DALLAS; Northrop Grumman Corporation’s X-47A Pegasus, a company-funded demonstrator unmanned air vehicle, rolled out today in Mojave, Calif., at a ceremony for employees. The experimental aircraft will be used to demonstrate aerodynamic qualities of an unmanned air vehicle suitable for autonomous operation from an aircraft carrier as part of risk-reduction work for a Naval Unmanned Combat Air Vehicle being conducted by Northrop Grumman’s Integrated Systems Sector (ISS). First flight of Pegasus is expected by the end of this year. Northrop Grumman Corporation's Integrated Systems Sector (ISS), headquartered here, announced today that it has completed production of the X-47A Pegasus, a ...

Out of the mouth of children, as they say, comes some heartbreaking truths. This time it was high school students, but never mind. The concept still holds. Also, apparently all American Government classes are not taught by socialist leaning teachers. There was a class of forty students. The students were broken down into four groups of ten. Each group was to have a few days to work on a “special” project and not to consult with anyone in any other group until the results were presented in class. What the four groups did not know is that each group ...

Law enforcement sources are still looking at Congressman Gary Condit's alibi in the Chandra Levy case: that he was meeting with Vice President Cheney on the day Levy disappeared. Cheney has confirmed that he met with the California Democrat on April 30, but he said the meeting lasted only half an hour. The vice president also discussed other aspects of the Chandra case in an interview with Fox News' Tony Snow — specifically the proposed rule that would make it unethical for a member of Congress to have an affair with an intern. "Well, I think generally that's a very bad idea — to have affairs ...

I think I posted this in the right place. I'm sortof new to the site, so excuse me if I didn't. Anyway, I'm wondering if there are any freepers here that are heavily into Pearl Jam. The band itself is pretty far left (huge Nader supporters) but has a rather devoted and loyal finatic fanbase (including the likes of John Kasich) that go to multiple shows per tour, buy all albums, bootlegs, collect things, and try to get friends to become into them. I happen to be one of these hardcore fans...wondering if anyone else is out there?

President Bush is coming to NYC next month for a few days to catch the sites and address the UN general assembly. Our president is a man of few, but well chosen words, so I thought that we might be able to assist his speechwriters in hitting the perfect tone for this address. Accordingly, freepers are invited to subit their OPENING paragraph for W.'s talk.....

Bank: Tuesday US Data Could Spark Selloff LONDON (Reuters) - U.S. productivity data due out on Tuesday could shatter the belief in a ``new paradigm'' economy of high growth and low inflation, triggering a stock market crash, a leading investmen bank has predicted. Dresdner Kleinwort Wasserstein said in a note to clients that revisions included with second quarter productivity numbers will revise away the ``productivity miracle'' of recent years, cited has a major factor in the bull market of the 1990's. ``Investing in the U.S. miracle will in retrospect be seen as a sick joke. The markets will be forced ...

OHRID, Macedonia, Aug 3 (Reuters) - Macedonia's government and ethnic Albanian rebels accused each other of stepping up violations of a ceasefire on Friday as political parties gathered for more talks on averting a new Balkan war. The Defence Ministry accused rebels of "serious assaults" around the northwestern city of Tetovo while a rebel commander, codenamed Leka, said Macedonian forces had shelled a village in the region. There were no reports of injuries in the attacks, which added to the strain on a ragged ceasefire agreed under NATO and European Union pressure last week. In Ohrid, a southwestern lakeside ...

Citing the sheer brutality of the attack, the acting Passaic County Prosecutor said Thursday that he will seek trials for murder in adult court for all 12 juveniles charged with the fatal beating of a Paterson homeless man last month. Acting prosecutor Boris Moczula said he also based his decision on the four other victims who were allegedly assaulted by some of the young men as they left the city's John F. Kennedy High School on the last day of classes June 20. During just about 16 minutes that morning, two students were assaulted inside the school and one ...