Saturday, September 11, 2004 :::
 

Never Forget

::: posted by Curtis aka exeter_acres at 9/11/2004 09:07:00 AM

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Kerry's Dubious Economics
He says new jobs are paying $9,000 less than the old ones. That's not a fact.

Summary



In his acceptance speech at the Democratic National Convention July 29 Kerry repeated a claim that the economy is creating jobs that pay $9,000 a year less than those they replace. He bases that on disputed analysis from a liberal think tank.

In fact, economists disagree about whether jobs are getting worse or better. As we said before, there's evidence both ways. Even some Democratic economists say the economic numbers are simply too rough and contradictory to allow any conclusion about the direction of change, let alone about how much less or more the new jobs pay.

Kerry also said "wages are falling" when in fact they are increasing. It's true wages haven't kept up with inflation for the past several months. But even after adjusting for inflation they're still higher than when Bush took office.

And when Kerry said the "middle class is shrinking," he was referring to what happened in the recession of 2001 and the initially slow recovery of 2002. But the economy has picked up considerably in the 19 months since, so what was true then may be untrue when phrased in present tense.

Thank you, Factcheck.org

::: posted by Curtis aka exeter_acres at 9/11/2004 08:19:00 AM

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Bush Nails Kerry's Poor Attendance at Intelligence Committee Hearings
Bush says Kerry missed 76% of public hearings. He could have missed even more.

Summary



A Bush-Cheney '04 ad released Aug. 13 accuses Kerry of being absent for 76% of the Senate Intelligence Committee's public hearings during the time he served there. The Kerry campaign calls the ad "misleading," so we checked, and Bush is right.

Official records show Kerry not present for at least 76% of public hearings held during his eight years on the panel, and possibly 78% (the record of one hearing is ambiguous).

Kerry points out that most meetings of the Intelligence Committee are closed and attendance records of those meetings aren't public, hinting that his attendance might have been better at the non-public proceedings. But Kerry could ask that his attendance records be made public, and hasn't.

Aides also claimed repeatedly that Kerry had been vice chairman of the intelligence committee, but that was Bob Kerrey of Nebraska, not John Kerry.


Analysis



Kerry often touts his eight years on the Senate Intelligence Committee as a prime qualification for office. The Bush ad takes that on, describing Kerry as a no-show for most of the committee's public meetings. If anything, the ad understates Kerry's lack of attendance.


Source:Factcheck.org

What is Factcheck.org?
"We are a nonpartisan, nonprofit, "consumer advocate" for voters that aims to reduce the level of deception and confusion in U.S. politics. We monitor the factual accuracy of what is said by major U.S. political players in the form of TV ads, debates, speeches, interviews, and news releases. Our goal is to apply the best practices of both journalism and scholarship, and to increase public knowledge and understanding."

::: posted by Curtis aka exeter_acres at 9/11/2004 08:18:00 AM

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Friday, September 10, 2004 :::
 

No sign yet of ‘millions’ of workers allegedly losing overtime

By Bill Leonard

For months, opponents of the new U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) rules on white-collar exemptions to the overtime provisions of the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) have been claiming that millions of Americans would lose overtime pay when the rules took effect Aug. 23. That was a key reason for the Sept. 9 vote in the House designed to prevent DOL from enforcing most of the new rules. (See related article.)

And on Aug. 23, when Democrats, union officials and others gathered in front of the DOL headquarters building in Washington to denounce the rules, Sen. Tom Harkin, D-Iowa, pointed to an article in a Midwestern newspaper reporting that more than 2,000 workers with Sears, Roebuck and Co. would no longer be eligible for time-and-a-half pay for hours worked beyond 40 in a week.

This was “just the beginning” of a disaster that could only be described as “an assault on the wages of working Americans,” Harkin said.

Problem is, that article turned out to be wrong. Apparently, someone got the terms “exempt” and “non-exempt” crossed, according to a source who has followed the debate closely. Sears officials have attempted to clear the air by announcing that not a single Sears associate will lose overtime protections as a result of the DOL’s changes.

Said a company statement: “Sen. Tom Harkin incorrectly reported the impact new overtime rules would have on the employees of Sears, Roebuck and Co. As a result of the new overtime pay rules, less than 1 percent of Sears’ 190,000 employees now classified as exempt will be reclassified as non-exempt and now will be eligible for overtime pay.”

In fact, no example of significant loss of overtime eligibility at any company has surfaced to date, say proponents of the new rules, including, of course, officials in the DOL. They say that based on media reports that they have seen—assuming, of course, that others in the media have correctly interpreted the complicated regulations—some people are gaining overtime pay.

So if the DOL initiative amounts to “the biggest pay cut in American history,” as Rep. George Miller, D-Calif., recently called it, workers are certainly taking it in stride.

While the newspaper published a correction, Harkin and other opponents of the rule changes have not backed off their claims. But with each passing day without concrete evidence that millions of Americans have lost overtime pay, DOL officials are becoming more confident in their predictions that the rules—which were altered substantially earlier this year to address some issues raised by critics—will not be a huge burden for workers.

“This sort of dispels some of the critics’ doom and gloom” predictions and tactics, Alfred B. Robinson, acting head of DOL’s Wage and Hour Division, told HR News. “Anecdotally, the information we’ve received based on press reports is that people are gaining overtime protection” rather than losing it in substantial numbers.

A letter distributed Sept. 8 by Reps. John Boehner, R-Ohio, and Charlie Norwood, R-Ga., cited more than two dozen articles reporting that employers are re-classifying their workers from exempt to non-exempt status, making them eligible for the extra pay.

Robinson said his office would not be tracking overtime pay changes in the private sector scientifically, and he wouldn’t say if any complaints had been filed with DOL offices from employees unhappy about their new pay status.

He said that a task force that Secretary of Labor Elaine Chao created in April “has been monitoring information that comes in all across the country, in each region. They are meeting telephonically on a weekly basis. We’re monitoring it [in Washington] and making sure that we are answering questions as they come up.”

Bill Leonard is senior writer for HR News. Managing editor Steve Bates contributed to this report.

::: posted by Curtis aka exeter_acres at 9/10/2004 08:54:00 PM

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Flip Flop Alert!

In 1998, Kerry Voted To Allow States To Continue Taxing Internet Access After Moratorium Took Effect. Kerry voted against tabling an amendment that would extend the moratorium from two years to three years and allow states that currently impose taxes on Internet access to continue doing so after the moratorium takes effect. (S. 442, CQ Vote #306: Motion Rejected 28-69: R 27-27; D 1-42, 10/7/98, Kerry Voted Nay)

In 2001, Kerry Voted To Extend Internet Tax Moratorium Until 2005 And Allow States To Form Uniform Internet Tax System With Approval Of Congress. (H.R. 1552, CQ Vote #341: Motion Agreed To 57-43: R 35-14; D 22-28; I 0-1, 11/15/01, Kerry Voted Nay)

Kerry Said “We Do Not Support Any Tax On The Internet Itself.” “We do not support any tax on the Internet itself. We don’t support access taxes. We don’t support content taxes. We don’t support discriminatory taxes. Many of us would like to see a permanent moratorium on all of those kinds of taxes. At the same time, a lot of us were caught in a place where we thought it important to send the message that we have to get back to the table in order to come to a consensus as to how we equalize the economic playing field in the United States in a way that is fair.” (Sen. John Kerry, Congressional Record, 11/15/01, p. S11902)

::: posted by Curtis aka exeter_acres at 9/10/2004 01:38:00 PM

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Flip Flop alert!

In 1991, Kerry Supported Most-Favored Trade Status For China. “Sen. John Kerry said yesterday that he is breaking party ranks to support most-favored-nation trade status for China … ‘I think the president has some strong arguments about some of the assets of most-favored-nation status for China,’ Kerry said.” (John Aloysius Farrell, “Kerry Breaks Party Ranks To Back China Trade Status,” The Boston Globe, 6/15/91)

In 2000, Kerry Voted In Favor Of Permanent Normal Trade Relations With China. (H.R. 4444, CQ Vote #251: Passed 83-15: R 46-8; D 37-7, 9/19/00, Kerry Voted Yea)

Now Kerry Criticizes The Bush Administration For Trading With China. “Democratic presidential candidate John Kerry said on Monday Americans workers were paying the price for President Bush's weak stance on trade with China and other countries. … On the bus tour, Kerry singled out the Bush administration's handling of trade with China and said that country was manipulating its currency.” (Caren Bohan, "Kerry Pledges Aggressive Trade Stance," Reuters, 4/26/04)

::: posted by Curtis aka exeter_acres at 9/10/2004 01:33:00 PM

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Flip Flop alert!


Kerry Says America Is Spending Too Much On Iraq. "'$200 billion for Iraq, but they tell us we can't afford after-school programs for our children; $200 billion in Iraq, but they tell us we can't afford health care for our veterans; $200 billion for Iraq, but they tell us we can't afford to keep the 100,000 police officers we put on the street,' Kerry said."
(Mary Dalrymple, "Kerry Says Bush Broke Promises, Set Wrong Course In Iraq," The Associated Press, 9/8/04)


But wait!

Kerry: We Should Increase Funding To Iraq "By Whatever Number Of Billions Of Dollars It Takes To Win." MR. RUSSERT: "Do you believe that we should reduce funding that we are now providing for the operation in Iraq?" SEN. KERRY: "No. I think we should increase it." MR. RUSSERT: "Increase funding?" SEN. KERRY: "Yes." MR. RUSSERT: "By how much?" SEN. KERRY: "By whatever number of billions of dollars it takes to win. It is critical that the United States of America be successful in Iraq, Tim...."
(NBC's "Meet The Press," 8/31/03)

::: posted by Curtis aka exeter_acres at 9/10/2004 10:44:00 AM

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Thursday, September 09, 2004 :::
 

I had such faith in friends...until they start citing Mike Moore as a source of information...

Sad...very sad...


but we still love you guys!

::: posted by Curtis aka exeter_acres at 9/09/2004 10:26:00 PM

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Bushmaster, Bull's Eye settle for $2.5 million in D.C. sniper shootings lawsuit


Another example of the incredible stupidity that is in our legal system......

::: posted by Curtis aka exeter_acres at 9/09/2004 08:28:00 AM

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Monday, September 06, 2004 :::
 

Found this little ditty....

Now...
the funding of the film notwithstanding....

just listen...

I let the candidates speak for themselves... I follow voting records (wow, I should get out more! )

here is a video clip letting Sen. John Kerry speak for himself

3 flavors

http://media1.streamtoyou.com/rnc/RNC082304.wmv
rtsp://real.stream2you.com/rnc/RNC082304.rm
http://real.stream2you.com/rnc/RNC082304.mov


is about 12 minutes long, but I enjoyed it


--------------------

::: posted by Curtis aka exeter_acres at 9/06/2004 09:03:00 PM

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Blog of Note

::: posted by Curtis aka exeter_acres at 9/06/2004 09:02:00 PM

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Kerry Debates Himself

Kerry on Iraq, today:

"It's the wrong war, in the wrong place and the wrong time."


Kerry on Iraq, on August 9, asked if, knowing what we know now, he still would have voted for war:

"Yes, I would have voted for the authority. I believe it was the right authority for a president to have."


Glad he cleared that one up. Check out the Kerry on Iraq Documentary for more -- much more -- of exactly this sort of thing
http://www.kerryoniraq.com/

::: posted by Curtis aka exeter_acres at 9/06/2004 08:40:00 PM

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::: posted by Curtis aka exeter_acres at 9/06/2004 07:04:00 PM

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Fort Dodge to Comply with FDA's Request to Recall ProHeart 6 Injectable Heartworm Product from the Market Due to Serious Health Concerns

Fort Dodge Animal Health, of Overland Park, Kansas, at FDA's request, has agreed to immediately cease production and recall its heartworm medication ProHeart®6 from the market until the FDA's concerns about adverse reaction reports associated with the product can be resolved. FDA is requesting that the firm continue to conduct research to determine the cause of related adverse reactions and develop a strategy to help prevent such problems in the future before the product is marketed again. The FDA will convene an independent scientific advisory committee to thoroughly evaluate all available data.

ProHeart®6 is an approved injectable sustained-release heartworm prevention product for dogs. Heartworm disease is a serious and potentially fatal condition of dogs, cats, and other species of mammals. The parasite that causes heartworm disease is transmitted through the bite of a mosquito.

FDA is also advising veterinarians to avoid administering this product to dogs until further notice. Pet owners should consult their veterinarians regarding their pet's health care needs.

Since the product was approved in June 2001, Fort Dodge Animal Health has cooperated with FDA to investigate numerous adverse event reports. As a result, Fort Dodge has voluntarily changed the label to include post approval safety information including rare reports of death and a caution to practitioners that dogs should have a negative test for heartworm before administration.

Despite these label changes, FDA is still receiving unexplained adverse event reports, some of them severe. FDA's concern is based on voluntary self-reporting to FDA by veterinarians and owners whose dogs have suffered adverse drug experiences (ADEs) to ProHeart®6 (which contains the drug moxidectin) as well as the mandatory reporting of adverse events by Fort Dodge Animal Health.

Fort Dodge Animal Health has agreed to recall any product that has already been distributed to veterinarians.

As of August 4, 2004, FDA's Center for Veterinary Medicine (CVM) had received 5,552 adverse event reports for ProHeart®6. The actual number of adverse events is likely even higher because studies show that only a fraction of actual ADEs are reported.

The Agency has observed an increase in the number of cases associated with liver and bleeding abnormalities followed in some cases by death.

::: posted by Curtis aka exeter_acres at 9/06/2004 08:57:00 AM

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