Free Republic

Beleaguered Citigroup is upgrading its mile-high club with a brand-new $50 million corporate jet -- only this time, it's the taxpayers who are getting screwed. Even though the bank's stock is as cheap as a gallon of gas and it's burning through a $45 billion taxpayer-funded rescue, the Citigroup's execs pushed through the purchase of a new Dassault Falcon 7X, according to a source familiar with the deal. The French-made luxury jet seats up to 12 in a plush interior with leather seats, sofas and a customizable entertainment center, according to Dassault's sales literature. It can cruise 5,950 miles before...

Retired Master Sgt. James Copeland of the Alabama National Guard is the winner of the various 'Bush AWOL Reward' offers. Former Dannelly worker: Bush not AWOL - Excerpts: "Copeland, who lives in Hartselle, retired from the Air Force on Jan. 31, 1980. He was the disbursement accounting supervisor, a full-time position, for Dannelly Air National Guard Base in Montgomery from Oct. 28, 1971, to Oct. 27, 1975. His office was less than 100 yards from the hangar where Bush performed drills." "Rumors say Bush went AWOL while assisting Winton "Red" Blount in an unsuccessful campaign for U.S. Senate focus on...

June 29, 2004 -- Newsday whacked its editorial and operations staff by 46 people, making the cuts among the deepest absorbed yet by any in Tribune Co.'s relentless cost-cutting drive. Newsday Publisher Ray Jansen said that approximately 40 union and non-union employees in the operations and editorial departments had accepted the paper's voluntary buyout offers. But the paper apparently had to dig deeper than the 40 volunteers to satisfy the corporate cost cutting mandate from Chicago. "Unfortunately," said Jansen, "It was necessary to lay off six people in other departments and eliminate their jobs." The paper is wasting no time...