Free Republic

WASHINGTON - Orders to U.S. factories for big-ticket manufactured goods rose in March at the fastest clip in three months, helped by the biggest jump in orders by businesses to expand and modernize in 2 1/2 years. The Commerce Department reported Wednesday that demand for durable goods rose 3.4 percent last month compared with February. That was significantly better than the 2.5 percent increase that had been expected. Much of the strength last month came from a 37.6 percent surge in demand for commercial aircraft. However, orders for business capital goods excluding aircraft also posted a strong gain of 4.7...

SACRAMENTO — For $100,000, you can sit at the head table with Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, hobnob at a reception beforehand and pose for pictures with the Republican governor. --snip-- Billed as "An Evening with Governor Schwarzenegger," invitations to four upcoming events were handed out Tuesday to lobbyists and business interests in Sacramento. They showed that proximity to the Republican governor comes in four varieties: $10,000, $25,000, $50,000 and $100,000. --snip-- "What's so frightening about it is this is Gray Davis revisited," said state Sen. Jackie Speier (D-Hillsborough). Davis, whom Schwarzenegger ousted in the 2003 recall election, was derided for his...

<p>Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger will appear at a New York City fund-raiser this month asking political heavy hitters in the nation's banking and finance capital to donate as much as a whopping $500,000 each to his campaign to sell Californians on a $15 billion bond proposal.</p>