Private College Student Loan

what schools in ohio participates in the Federal Family Education Loan Program? I wanna know is Kent State, Toledo, or Akron do for sure.

Is there somewere I can find all of my FFELP loans? I'm trying to consolidate all of my ffelp (Federal Family Education Loan Program) Loans, but I can't find if I have just one, or a few more. I have gone to three different colleges and I was kind of dumb, and didn't keep track of all my loans. Does anyone know where I can find out what I owe for school loans? (Maybe not even including just ffelp?) I have run a credit report, but it doesn't seem to have all the information. Thanks! :)

End of FFEL Student Loans? Hi guys, So at the risk of sound ignorant, I don't at all understand financial aid or loans and the terms for that financial aid and loans. I'm most likely in need of a small loan in order to pay for college, however, upon inquiring of banks in my city, I find that the Federal Family Education Loan Program has ended. I don't know what this means, exactly. Am I no longer able to get student loans? If not student loans, am I able to get ANY kind of loan? This is what I have read thus far: "Following the passage of the Health Care and Education Reconciliation Act of 2010 on March 26, 2010 the program was eliminated, and no subsequent loans were permitted to be made under the program after June 30, 2010." and "Legislation recently signed by President Obama eliminates the Family Federal Loan Program (Stafford/Plus) effective July 1, 2010. This legislation prevents all private lenders from making new Stafford and PLUS loans with first disbursements on or after July 1, 2010." While this should be a pretty straight forward explanation, I don't quite get it. If anyone can explain this in simple terms, and break it down for a economics-illiterate person. Thank you so much for your time and help!

Meaning of Obama's New Federal Gun Laws: MENTAL HEALTH ASSESSMENT PLAN FOR INSTITUTIONS OF HIGHER EDUCATION? Can somebody please tell what all this mean in this part of Obama's New Law? SEC. 124. MENTAL HEALTH ASSESSMENT PLAN FOR INSTITUTIONS OF HIGHER EDUCATION. `(a) Restriction on Eligibility- Each college, university, or post secondary institution that receives Federal funds under this Act or any form of financial assistance under any Federal program, including participation in any federally funded or guaranteed student loan program, shall develop and implement, not later than 1 year from the date of enactment of this section, a mental health assessment plan that, at a minimum, includes-- `(1) a framework through which such college, university, or post secondary institution will address the risks posed by students, including full-time students and part-time students, who, as a result of apparent mental illness or incompetency, pose a safety risk to themselves or others; `(2) the establishment of a team that will assess the mental health needs of, and safety risks posed by, any such student, consisting of-- `(A) educators; `(B) administrators; `(C) counselors; or `(D) other qualified members of the educational community; `(3) a procedure for reporting such students to the team described in paragraph (2); `(4) a procedure for making voluntary referrals for such students to on- and off-campus mental health resources; `(5) a procedure for making involuntary referrals for such students to State or local mental health authorities for mandatory evaluation, which shall include reporting such referrals to a State agency responsible for identifying persons described in section 922(g)(4) of title 18, United States Code; and `(6) a procedure for informing and educating the families of students who have been identified as posing safety risks to themselves or others. `(b) Information Availability- Each college, university, or postsecondary institution that provides the plan described in subsection (a) shall make available to the students, faculty, and staff at such college, university, or postsecondary institution, a copy of the mental health assessment plan required under subsection (a).'.

Have you seen this passed (H.R) Bill of "American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009"? http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/bdquery/z?d111:HR00001:@@@L&summ2=m& Makes supplemental appropriations for FY2009 to: (1) the Department of Homeland Security (DHS); (2) the Department of the Interior; (3) the Environmental Protection Agency; (4) the Department of Agriculture; (5) the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS); (6) the Smithsonian Institution; (7) the National Foundation on the Arts and the Humanities; (8) the National Endowment for the Arts; (9) the Department of Labor (DOL), Employment and Training Administration; and (10) the Department of Health and Human Services. Amends the Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act of 1996 to extend employment eligibility confirmation pilot programs (including the E-Verify basic pilot program). Directs the Commissioner of Social Security and the Secretary of Homeland Security to enter into a fiscal year agreement to provide funds to the Commissioner for the full costs of such programs in quarterly advances. Requires that the Government Accountability Office (GAO) to conduct studies regarding: (1) erroneous tentative nonconfirmations under the E-Verify program; and (2) the effects of such program on small entities. Amends the Longshore and Harbor Workers' Compensation Act to revise the exclusion from the meaning of "employee in the recreational marine industry" of any individuals employed to repair a recreational vessel or to dismantle any part of it in connection with its repair. Establishes a Federal Coordinating Council for Comparative Effectiveness Research. Directs the Secretary of Health and Human Services to invest in the infrastructure necessary to allow for and promote the electronic exchange and use of health information for each individual in the United States, consistent with the goals outlined in the Strategic Plan developed by the Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology. Makes supplemental appropriations available to the Department of Education for: (1) education of the disadvantaged; (2) impact aid; (3) school improvement programs; (4) innovation and improvement activities; (5) special education; (6) rehabilitation services and disability research; (7) certain student financial assistance programs, as well as federal administrative expenses for such programs; (8) teacher quality partnership grants; (9) the Institute of Education Sciences; and (10) school modernization, renovation, and repair. Sets the maximum individual Pell Grant amount at $4,860 for award year 2009-2010. Establishes grant programs for the modernization, renovation, and repair of: (1) public elementary and secondary school facilities; and (2) higher education facilities that are primarily used for instruction, research, or student housing. Amends the Higher Education Act of 1965 to increase the amount authorized and appropriated for Pell Grants for FY2009-FY2010. Increases annual and aggregate student loan limits under the Federal Family Education Loan (FFEL) program. Alters, on a temporary basis, the formula for calculating special allowance payments made to FFEL lenders to compensate them for the difference between FFEL interest rates and market rates. Makes supplemental appropriations for FY2009 to: (1) the Corporation for National and Community Service; (2) the National Service Trust; (3) the Social Security Administration (SSA); (4) the DOD; (5) the Department of Veterans Affairs; (6) the Department of State; (7) the Department of Transportation; and (8) the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD).

Can America afford an Education Crisis ? A byproduct of the credit Crunch has been a substantial cutback in student lending from Private banks and Credit Unions. Further complicating the issue is a restructured federal loan program that has narrowed it's opportunity's and in some cases cut others outright. The congress and the Fed were very active in the media reassuring American students, what they left out was the gauntlet now facing Middle class families. Now today here on yahoo we've got a 123 punch revolving around public schools going through various stages of ..? one about a 4 day school week http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080818/ap_on_re_us/schools_hard_times One about teachers being allowed to carry guns into their class rooms http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20080815/us_nm/texas_guns_dc And yet another where the poor part of town is going to Skip the first day of school in protest of inequities in spending... http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080729/ap_on_re_us/school_funding_protest http://www.insidehighered.com/news/2008/04/10/loans who loses when we let our schools go? when higher education becomes something only a certain sector of the population gets to experience? Is the education situation yet another example of the Class war ? Check out "Drew Blood" .. wow that was a pearl of wisdom...from somewhere ?

Does anyone know how I can get a personal loan to be used for education when you have VERY poor credit? I am signed up to go to nursing school. Classes start next week. The total cost for the program is like 42K. (Books and some uniforms are included in the tuition). I have gotten Financial aid and Federal student loans for the first 26K. Because of the type of school I am going to attend that is the most I can get in federal student loans and financial aid during the 23 month program. I need to get a personal loan to cover the rest, but my credit is REALLY DAMAGED. There is a loan I can get through the school if I have a co-signer. I was considering asking a few of my family members to see if one of them would be willing to co-sign for me. I have been trying with the school to get this paid. I was wondering if anyone knows of a company that would give a person in my credit situation a personal loan to pay for my education. I have waited over 4 years to get into a nursing program and I don't want to lose my opportunity. Any help would be great. Thanks in advance for any answers I get.

Students are you happy now that your voted for Obama? Do you like his cuts to your future education funds? Starting in October of 2011 Obama has cut the Pell Grant fund (100 Billion). This means college students will only get one Pell Grant per year. Starting in July the most money from the grant you could get would be $845. In addition the requirements to get Pell Grants for professional students were tightened/reduced. This means that if you’re planning on going to med school, law school, or those training to be nurses are professional you better get ready to finance that yourself or pay with loans. On top of this in 2014 (Election Year) the Federal Perkins Loan Program will expire. July 1, 2011 The SEOG and LEAP grants (supplemental money for “high-need” students, High-need students are students whose expected family contribution (EFC) is “0") will be eliminated.

Are there benefits to a dual MSW/JD degree? Is it worth the time and cost? I am 23 with a Bachelors in Psychology. I can't get a job in an field that I am remotely interested in without some sort of masters degree or PhD. I was accepted to NYU and Hunter for their MSW programs about a year and a half ago but talked myself out of going because I would have to take out so much more in loans to fund the education and in the end you don't make very much in social work and I would be struggling to pay them off. I recently learned about a federal loan forgiveness program in which your federal student loan debt is forgiven after working in public service for 10 years. So I'm re-opening the door and considering going back to school for social work but I'd like to give myself a competitive edge and also be more versatile so if I get burned out in one area of social work I can transition into something else. I'm considering a dual MSW/JD program but the time commitment and amount of debt I would take on is scary. By the time I finished the program I would be 29 years old (because I still have to take the LSAT and apply to these law schools which will take time and then the programs are 4 years long). I'm interested in the possibility working within the family court system, specifically acting as a Law Guardian for children. Is there anyone out there that can comment on the practicality of a dual MSW/JD or what types of jobs I would qualify for with that type of degree. I feel like having both degrees would open more doors because I would have perspective on both sides of the spectrum.

i juss got my fasfa report back and im confused on what it means and what i should do now! somone please help!? okay this is what they sent me after i applied: Based on the information we have on record for you, your EFC is 0 . You may be eligible to receive a Federal Pell Grant and other federal student aid. Your school will use your EFC to determine your financial aid eligibility for federal grants, loans, and work study, and possible funding from your state and school. Your FAFSA has been selected for a review process called verification. Your school has the authority to request copies of certain financial documents from you and your parent(s). If you need to make corrections to your information, select the 'Make Corrections' button at the bottom of the page. You must use your Federal Student Aid PIN to access your record online. If you need additional help with your SAR, contact your school's financial aid office or the Federal Student Aid Information Center at 1-800-4-FED-AID (1-800-433-3243). If your mailing address or e-mail address changes, you can make the correction online or call 1-800-4-FED-AID and ask a customer service representative to make the change for you. You reported that you completed a rigorous high school program or state scholars program that may qualify you for an Academic Competitiveness Grant (ACG). You reported that you took and passed a series of high school courses that may qualify you for an Academic Competitiveness Grant (ACG). The Financial Aid Administrator at your college will determine if you are eligible for an ACG. All follow-up information about your grant eligibility will come from the financial aid office at your college. You were issued a Federal Student Aid PIN to sign your 2010-2011 FAFSA. Your information has been verified and your PIN has been confirmed. Do not share your PIN with anyone. Remember that your PIN stays the same from year to year and that you can use your PIN to make corrections, add school codes, view your federal student loan history, and electronically sign your Federal Direct or Federal Family Education Loan (FFEL) Master Promissory Note. For more information on the PIN, visit www.pin.ed.gov.

FAFSA - 2 Questions for Financial Aid Officers? I completed my FAFSA at the F.A office at my school. The FA person asked for my "pin" to sign the application electronically. I qualified for roughly $20k in federal loans. I have now found that there is roughly $9,000 that will not be covered under Federal Student Loans (subsidized & unsubsidized) and was told I would need to get a private loan to fill the gap sorta speak. Due to the Banking woes etc - the 3 places I contacted said you have to have a debt to income ratio of under 10% or under 15%. Mine is 26% with a FICOH of low 700's. So I was denied Sallie Mae, Wells Fargo Education loan & my personal bank due to debt to income ratio. Fine, I dont have a problem with that. My main concern at this point - is since my FAFSA was signed (by the FA person at school using my PIN) will that $20k automatically be released to the school? I signed the application to the school, and when going to the FAFSA site, I cannot delete the school. What should I do to make sure $20k does not get dispursed to the school since I cannot attend due to I cant get loan for the gap between cost of tution & federal loans. Im just worried that since I signed the app to school & FAFSA it will automatically be dispursed, and I'll end up owing 20k for a program I never attended. My 2nd question - just for future knowledge - On my FAFSA report it says my Estimated Family Contribution (EFC) is 39698. What does this mean in layman's terms? Is that a code for the % my contribution would be no matter what school I attend? Or can I find a similar program at a cheaper school and get everything covered under Federal Aid. Just curious. Thanks! I already know what EFC means - Im curious how the 36968 breaks down to % and how do you figure it. So what you are saying - is even if you do NOT attend a school - you still owe 20,000 dollars for it - never attending? You said checks would be dispursed regardless if you attend or not.

What do U think Calif City backs bill to help illegal-alien students (as country goes broke)? SANTA ANA – Leaders in this city – one of the most Latino big cities in America – are urging federal lawmakers to support a bill that would give illegal-immigrant students a path to legal residency. The City Council voted 5-0 this week to support the federal D.R.E.A.M. Act, which would also clear the way for undocumented students to get federal loans for their education. The name of the act stands for "Development, Relief and Education for Alien Minors." The city's resolution is symbolic; the real debate over the proposed act will take place in the halls of Congress, not in Santa Ana's City Hall. But council members said it was important to send a message not just to lawmakers, but also to the young people of Santa Ana. "We believe in you," Councilman David Benavides said. "We stand with you." The DREAM Act would allow students who are here illegally to apply for legal permanent resident status, protect them from deportation and make them eligible for student loans and federal work study programs. Most of Orange County's Congress members have said they would vote against the measure if it comes to the floor for a vote. Only Rep. Loretta Sanchez, D-Santa Ana, has said she would vote for it; but she has not put her name behind the bill as a co-sponsor. The bill was sent to committees in both the U.S. Senate and the House of Representatives; no votes are currently scheduled. Santa Ana's resolution may carry added weight because the city has more residents of Hispanic heritage, as a percent of its population, than any other city with at least 300,000 people except El Paso, Texas. About 78.5 percent of Santa Ana residents are Hispanic or Latino, according to the latest Census estimates. About a dozen people – many of them students – came to the City Council meeting on Monday evening to urge support for the DREAM Act. Several invoked one of the city's mottoes: "Education First." Nobody spoke against the city’s resolution, although a recent poll by the Orange County Register found strong opposition to the DREAM Act. More than three-quarters of readers who participated in the poll said they do not think college students who are in the country illegally should be given a path to residency, be protected from deportation or be eligible for student loans. Only about 21 percent of the 1,631 readers who participated in the poll said they support the idea. "This is what the DREAM Act is about, education," said Councilwoman Michele Martinez, who put the city's resolution in support of the bill on the agenda. "When we talk about the American Dream, we talk about having a great time, having a family," she said. "But the foundation of that American Dream is education." http://www.ocregister.com/articles/city-act-santa-2501789-dream-education Why is it evolving that only hispanic illegals are indicated and no other race is ever included ? And do supporters of illegals think money just falls from the sky and with Caif broke how do they intend to pay for all this ?

Hi, I'm Jeffrey. As an American, aren't you glad we have a president as great as Obama? Obama has: 1. Extended your medical coverage to age 26 under your parents plan. 2. Cut payroll taxes on average of $1500/yr. per family - your family included. 3. Prevented GM and Chrysler from bankruptcy, avoiding much deeper recession. 4. Helped bail out the financial sector preventing a global meltdown. Our safety nets are still intact. 5. Passed regulations on the banking industry to prevent future disasters. Your savings are safer. 6. Passed a stimulus package which stopped the hemorrhage of unemployed Americans. 7. Restored respect for American foreign policy, especially with our allies. 8. Withdrew American troops from Iraq. Your less likely to be drafted, blown up, or shot at. 9. Gave moral support to the Arab Spring movements promoting democracy. (see #7) 9. Kept ground forces out of Libya, Syria, Egypt, and Yemen. (see #7) The following are just some other accomplishments of this president: Commerce, Trade and Technology: 1. Promoted internet freedom as part of U.S. foreign policy. 2. Passed Webcaster Settlement Act of 2009. 3. Passed Satellite Television Extension Act of 2010. 4. Expanded loan programs for small businesses. 5. Passed Small Business Investment Act. 6. Proposed tougher meat industry antitrust rules. 7. Denied federal contracts to tax delinquents. 8. Appointed the nation’s first Chief Technology Officer. 9. Established Federal IT Dashboard. ref 10. Modernized the USA.gov portal to connect people to the services they require. 11. Launched the National Export Initiative, with the goal of doubling US exports by 2015. 12. Launched piracy crackdown. Economy: 1. Passed The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA): a $789 billion economic stimulus plan. 2. Created US auto industry rescue plan saving GM and Chrysler and their employees. 3. Passed Worker, Homeownership, and Business Assistance Act of 2009. 4. Passed temporary extension of programs under the Small Business Act and the Small Business Investment Act of 1958. 5. Provided $26 billion aid to states package (Aug 2010) 6. Raised the small business investment limit to $250,000 through the end of 2009. ref 7. Created an Advanced Manufacturing Fund to invest in peer-reviewed manufacturing processes. 8. Passed Improper Payments Elimination and Recovery Act – establishes a Federal “Do Not Pay” list. 9. Extended and indexed the 2007 Alternative Minimum Tax patch. 10. Adopted Economic Substance tax doctrine. 11. Extended unemployment insurance benefits and temporarily suspend taxes on these benefits. Education: College 1. Enacted largest reform of student aid in 40 years. 2. Passed Health Care and Education Affordability Reconciliation Act of 2010. 3. Established President’s Advisory Council on Financial Capability to assist in financial education for all Americans. 4. Increased funding for land-grant college. 5. Provided means for students struggling to make college loan payments to refinance. 6. Expanded Pell grants for low-income students. ref 7. Expanded Pell grant pool by eliminating private lender subsidies for student loans. Education: Health of Children 1. Created the Race to the Top Fund ($4.35 billion) to reward States that create comprehensive education reform plans. 2. Passed Children’s Health Insurance Program Reauthorization Act of 2009. 3. Provided funding for high-speed, broadband Internet access to K-12 schools. 4. Established State Equalization Fund; new funds for school construction (ARRA). 5. Provided $77 Billion for reforms to to strengthen Elementary and Secondary education. 6. Fully funded the Community Development Block Grant (CDBG). 7. Provided $12.2 billion in new funding for the Individuals with Disabilities Act through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. 8. The $26 billion state aid package saved 160,000 teacher jobs (Aug 2010) ref 9. Provided over $2.3 billion in additional funding to Head Start and Early Head Start programs in 2009. 10. Provided $5 billion dollars for Early Learning Programs under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. 11. Roughly doubled the amount available in Federal Child Care Block Grants. 12. Established “Promise Neighborhood” Grants (modeled after the Harlem Children’s Zone). 13. Eliminated abstinence-only funding in budget. 14. Helped rebuild schools in New Orleans. 15. Established school programs to highlight space and science achievements. 16. Provided recruitment of math and science degree graduates to the teaching profession. Obama has lived up to everything he said he would do. Obama is the one. Obama 2012. We said Yes We Can in 08, now we can say Yes We Did!

Hi, I'm Jeffrey. I am supporting Obama for 2012, are you? Obama has done great things even though many people try to downplay him and make him seem like a bad president. Nice try. Obama has: 1. Extended your medical coverage to age 26 under your parents plan. 2. Cut payroll taxes on average of $1500/yr. per family - your family included. 3. Prevented GM and Chrysler from bankruptcy, avoiding much deeper recession. 4. Helped bail out the financial sector preventing a global meltdown. Our safety nets are still intact. 5. Passed regulations on the banking industry to prevent future disasters. Your savings are safer. 6. Passed a stimulus package which stopped the hemorrhage of unemployed Americans. 7. Restored respect for American foreign policy, especially with our allies. 8. Withdrew American troops from Iraq. Your less likely to be drafted, blown up, or shot at. 9. Gave moral support to the Arab Spring movements promoting democracy. (see #7) 9. Kept ground forces out of Libya, Syria, Egypt, and Yemen. (see #7) The following are just some other accomplishments of this president: Commerce, Trade and Technology: 1. Promoted internet freedom as part of U.S. foreign policy. 2. Passed Webcaster Settlement Act of 2009. 3. Passed Satellite Television Extension Act of 2010. 4. Expanded loan programs for small businesses. 5. Passed Small Business Investment Act. 6. Proposed tougher meat industry antitrust rules. 7. Denied federal contracts to tax delinquents. 8. Appointed the nation’s first Chief Technology Officer. 9. Established Federal IT Dashboard. ref 10. Modernized the USA.gov portal to connect people to the services they require. 11. Launched the National Export Initiative, with the goal of doubling US exports by 2015. 12. Launched piracy crackdown. Economy: 1. Passed The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA): a $789 billion economic stimulus plan. 2. Created US auto industry rescue plan saving GM and Chrysler and their employees. 3. Passed Worker, Homeownership, and Business Assistance Act of 2009. 4. Passed temporary extension of programs under the Small Business Act and the Small Business Investment Act of 1958. 5. Provided $26 billion aid to states package (Aug 2010) 6. Raised the small business investment limit to $250,000 through the end of 2009. ref 7. Created an Advanced Manufacturing Fund to invest in peer-reviewed manufacturing processes. 8. Passed Improper Payments Elimination and Recovery Act – establishes a Federal “Do Not Pay” list. 9. Extended and indexed the 2007 Alternative Minimum Tax patch. 10. Adopted Economic Substance tax doctrine. 11. Extended unemployment insurance benefits and temporarily suspend taxes on these benefits. Education: College 1. Enacted largest reform of student aid in 40 years. 2. Passed Health Care and Education Affordability Reconciliation Act of 2010. 3. Established President’s Advisory Council on Financial Capability to assist in financial education for all Americans. 4. Increased funding for land-grant college. 5. Provided means for students struggling to make college loan payments to refinance. 6. Expanded Pell grants for low-income students. ref 7. Expanded Pell grant pool by eliminating private lender subsidies for student loans. Education: Health of Children 1. Created the Race to the Top Fund ($4.35 billion) to reward States that create comprehensive education reform plans. 2. Passed Children’s Health Insurance Program Reauthorization Act of 2009. 3. Provided funding for high-speed, broadband Internet access to K-12 schools. 4. Established State Equalization Fund; new funds for school construction (ARRA). 5. Provided $77 Billion for reforms to to strengthen Elementary and Secondary education. 6. Fully funded the Community Development Block Grant (CDBG). 7. Provided $12.2 billion in new funding for the Individuals with Disabilities Act through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. 8. The $26 billion state aid package saved 160,000 teacher jobs (Aug 2010) ref 9. Provided over $2.3 billion in additional funding to Head Start and Early Head Start programs in 2009. 10. Provided $5 billion dollars for Early Learning Programs under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. 11. Roughly doubled the amount available in Federal Child Care Block Grants. 12. Established “Promise Neighborhood” Grants (modeled after the Harlem Children’s Zone). 13. Eliminated abstinence-only funding in budget. 14. Helped rebuild schools in New Orleans. 15. Established school programs to highlight space and science achievements. 16. Provided recruitment of math and science degree graduates to the teaching profession.

Has this ALP federal government "Moved Australia Forward" in any way? Their recent catch phrase is, "Let's move Australia forward". The Gillard government has a comprehensive agenda to take Australia forward. The following is a list of some of their policies & achievements;;;;;; FACT NOT SPIN Top 50 Labor Lemons 1.. Carbon Tax – “There will be no carbon tax under the Government I lead.” 2.. NBN – $50 billion but no cost-benefit analysis 3.. Building the Education Revolution – The school halls fiasco 4.. Home Insulation Plan (Pink Batts) – Dumped 5. Citizens Assembly – Dumped 6.. Cash for Clunkers – Dumped 7.. Hospital Reform – Nothing 8.. Digital set-top boxes – Cheaper at Harvey Norman 9.. Emissions Trading Scheme – Abandoned 10. Mining Tax – Continuing uncertainty for our miners 11. Livestock export ban to Indonesia – Over-reaction 12. Detention Centres – Riots & cost blow-outs 13. East Timor ‘solution’ – Announced before agreed 14. Malaysia ‘solution’ – Still not agreed 15. Manus Island ‘solution’ – On the backburner 16. Computers in Schools – $1.4 billion blow out; less than half delivered 17. Cutting Red Tape – 12,835 new regulations, only 58 repealed 18. Asia Pacific Community – Another expensive Rudd frolic. Going nowhere 19. Green Loans Program – Abandoned. Only 3.5% of promised loans delivered 20. Solar Homes & Communities plan – Shut down after $534 million blow out 21. Green Car Innovation Fund – Abandoned 22. Solar Credits Scheme – Scaled back 23. Green Start Program – Scrapped 24. Retooling for Climate Change Program – Abolished 25. Childcare Centres – Abandoned. 260 promised, only 38 delivered 26. Take a “meat axe”’ to the Public Service – 24,000 more public servants 27. Murray Darling Basin Plan – back to the drawing board 28. 2020 Summit – Meaningless talkfest 29. Tax Summit – Deferred and downgraded 30. Population Policy – Sets no targets 31. Fuel Watch – Abandoned 32. Grocery Choice – Abandoned 33. $900 Stimulus cheques – Sent to dead people and overseas residents 34. Foreign Policy – In turmoil with Rudd running riot 35. National Schools Solar Program – Closing two years early 36. Solar Hot Water Rebate – Abandoned 37. Oceanic Viking – Caved in 38. GP Super Clinics – 64 promised, only 11 operational 39. Defence Family Healthcare Clinics – 12 promised, none delivered 40. Trade Training Centres – 2650 promised, 70 operational 41. Bid for UN Security Council seat – An expensive Rudd frolic 42. MySchool Website – Revamped but problems continue 43. National Curriculum – States in uproar 44. Small Business Superannuation Clearing House – 99% of small businesses reject it 45. Indigenous Housing Program – way behind schedule 46. Rudd Bank – Went nowhere 47. Using cheap Chinese fabrics for ADF uniforms – Ditched 48. Innovation Ambassadors Program – junked 49. Six Submarines – none operational 50. Debt limit to be increased to $250 billion – to pay for all of this and much more “Top 50 Labor Lemons”

What do you think of my approach to solving the education crisis? The U.S. education system should be federally owned under one administration that has one branch in every state. The federal administration should be led by 3 appointed individuals by the president. Every state branch should have one representative which will go to the annual summit and ask for whatever their state needs (ex. Funding). The 3 appointed leaders should approve each petition unanimously. •Families should have to pay $100 a month per child if they attend a public school. Parents earning under $15,000 should be covered by a voucher. •Only legal U.S. citizens, residents, or those with student visas should be allowed to attend public school. •40 federally funded colleges/universities should be built in the next 20 years. These schools should have advanced technology, best research centers, medical schools, law schools, and hands on training etc with the best professors possible. Any student is eligible to receive a loan of $10,000 which will cover all of their college education. •An incentive program should be created where after having received a college a degree, depending on the level of their degree; each alumni of a federal school can receive a tax rebate for the first 5 years of their employed career. •At the local level there should be afterschool workshops set up where students of any college/university, government or not, can work by helping high school students with tutoring and mentoring. A college student studying math can work there by teaching math. These tutors/mentorers will receive a monthly government stipend of $400. At home parents need to encourage and help their children attain good habits like playing video games instead of homework.etc. and whats your political party? The federal administration should make the requirements to get into each school...depending on the level of difficulty of the school,the students past grades,high school diploma...

Has Presidential candidate ever made this many promises? How does Barack plan to pull this off? Improve options for displaced workers Help community and small business development agencies Improve rural schools and availability of doctors Help organic farmers and promote regional food systems Give new farmers tax incentives Provide farmers capital and help rural small businesses Create rural revitalization program Improve high school graduation rates Double the number of high school students taking college level courses Double charter school funding Include more technology in public schools Provide tuition assistance to students who perform community service Recruit teachers and principals Recruit science and technology teachers Provide pay raises for teachers and principals Pay tuition for students going into teaching Increase Head Start and Early Start Create Classroom Corps Double funding for after-school programs Improve No Child Left Behind Lower dropout rate Provide incentives for rural teachers Increase assistance to land-grant colleges End American dependence on foreign oil in ten years Increase number of plug-in hybrid cars Double renewable energy within four years Reduce electricity demand by 15 percent in ten years Cap carbon emissions Create new green-collar jobs Help U.S. automaker adapt Reduce oil consumption Help manufacturers go green Double clean-energy funding Create Green Jobs Corps Invest $10 billion per year in clean technologies fund Increase money for low-carbon coal technologies Push cellulosic ethanol Create energy-efficiency grant program Provide universal health care Spend $10 billion a year on implementing electronic health system Expand nurse-family partnership program Help individuals purchase private health insurance Expand eligibility for Medicaid and SCHIP Address women's health issues Establish loan forgiveness program for rural doctors and nurses Help homeowners Create an affordable-housing trust Protect New Orleans Invest $60 billion in infrastructure Invest in rural infrastructure Invest $1 billion in transitional jobs programs Provide every American broadband access Expand high-speed Internet access in rural area Support a global education fund Increase funding to train police to gather intelligence Expand Army and Marine Corps Provide soldiers with necessary equipment Target every source of fear in the Americas Create information declassification center Ensure military has enough training Strengthen civilian agencies Give National Guard appropriate equipment, rest Create international anti-terrorism network Make cyber-security a federal priority Update Veterans Affairs hospital system Ensure all veterans are covered Ensure adequate number of VA clinics Increase housing assistance Fully fund VA Improve military's mental health screening and care Improve care for various injuries and women's health through VA Reverse 2003 ban on enrolling low-income veterans http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2008/12/04/obamas-long-list-of-promi_n_148598.html Yeah, I know I'm not going to bother correcting it. It gives libs something to attack instead of answering question.

Can someone check my practice SAT Essay? Even though the world's economy is gradually decreasing, private college costs are off the roof and the college dropout rate is increasing at a disappointing rate, a students needs should be considered before his/her merits. Not every student chooses to go into the medicine field, or the engineering field, but he/she chooses to go towards his/her dream. Even the smallest of change can have a huge impact. The current world's economy is at a staggering development. The rich are getting richer, and the poorer are getting no where. Bright and intelligent students may take birth into a rich, poor or a middle class family. No one controls the circle of birth and death. Some children, who are born in the slums of a detoriating enviornment, seem to be the brightest minds present in our world. An average student should not be turned down for scholarships just because of his/her academic standing, they should be given a chance to show their change. Because of the global economy problems, attending college is only getting much more expensive. Students who choose to pursue their dreams are getting held back by not being able to afford college. Not only because of the high student interest loans, but also because of the government not investing enough money in the education department causes the students to pursue a "$7/hour" job, and wind themselves working in that "part-time job" for over two decades. Students who come from middle or poor class homes finish high school hoping to make a difference in the world, but their dreams are crushed when they find out they won't be able to afford the tuition. When students are rewarded on something they worked hard for, the reward, no matter how big or small, encourages them to pursue on further. They want to gain their status, earn more rewards, and work hard. A great man also once said, "If its not worth fighting for, its not worth gaining". Students push themselves to a whole new level. College dropout rates are high, not because of the work, but because of the weak effort inputed by the student itself. Students who want to succeed can and will succeed, but students who find themselves in situations where they aren't happy, dropout. Having support is what students all over the world need, they understand the bad economy, and this is exactly why they should be given an oppurtunity, to make a difference. Federal Loans can allow the students to pursue their dreams, and to improve the world. Excerpt: With the rising cost of education in the form of college tuition, training courses and vocational programs, the competition for scholarships and financial aid is rapidly increasing. Many college financial aid offices are assisting students from historically high income brackets. Furthermore, scholarship programs are seeing unprecedented levels of interested applicants. The challenge facing these institutions is whether to award aid based on how accomplished the applicant is or how difficult it will be for the student to afford the education. Assignment: Is it better to financially reward individuals like students and employees based on how much merit the individual demonstrates instead of how much need the individual has? Plan and write an essay in which you develop your point of view on this issue. Support your position with reasoning and examples taken from your reading, studies, experience, or observations.

Question to conservatives? Do you think gay couples should be denied these? Right to benefits while married: employment assistance and transitional services for spouses of members being separated from military service; continued commissary privileges per diem payment to spouse for federal civil service employees when relocating Indian Health Service care for spouses of Native Americans (in some circumstances) sponsor husband/wife for immigration benefits Larger benefits under some programs if married, including: veteran's disability Supplemental Security Income disability payments for federal employees medicaid property tax exemption for homes of totally disabled veterans income tax deductions, credits, rates exemption, and estimates wages of an employee working for one's spouse are exempt from federal unemployment tax[3] Joint and family-related rights: joint filing of bankruptcy permitted joint parenting rights, such as access to children's school records family visitation rights for the spouse and non-biological children, such as to visit a spouse in a hospital or prison next-of-kin status for emergency medical decisions or filing wrongful death claims custodial rights to children, shared property, child support, and alimony after divorce domestic violence intervention access to "family only" services, such as reduced rate memberships to clubs & organizations or residency in certain neighborhoods Preferential hiring for spouses of veterans in government jobs Tax-free transfer of property between spouses (including on death) and exemption from "due-on-sale" clauses. Special consideration to spouses of citizens and resident aliens Threats against spouses of various federal employees is a federal crime Right to continue living on land purchased from spouse by National Park Service when easement granted to spouse Court notice of probate proceedings Domestic violence protection orders Existing homestead lease continuation of rights Regulation of condominium sales to owner-occupants exemption Funeral and bereavement leave Joint adoption and foster care Joint tax filing Insurance licenses, coverage, eligibility, and benefits organization of mutual benefits society Legal status with stepchildren Making spousal medical decisions Spousal non-resident tuition deferential waiver Permission to make funeral arrangements for a deceased spouse, including burial or cremation Right of survivorship of custodial trust Right to change surname upon marriage Right to enter into prenuptial agreement Right to inheritance of property Spousal privilege in court cases (the marital confidences privilege and the spousal testimonial privilege) For those divorced or widowed, the right to many of ex- or late spouse's benefits, including: Social Security pension veteran's pensions, indemnity compensation for service-connected deaths, medical care, and nursing home care, right to burial in veterans' cemeteries, educational assistance, and housing survivor benefits for federal employees survivor benefits for spouses of longshoremen, harbor workers, railroad workers additional benefits to spouses of coal miners who die of black lung disease $100,000 to spouse of any public safety officer killed in the line of duty continuation of employer-sponsored health benefits renewal and termination rights to spouse's copyrights on death of spouse continued water rights of spouse in some circumstances payment of wages and workers compensation benefits after worker death making, revoking, and objecting to post-mortem anatomical gifts Responsibilities Spousal income and assets are counted in determining need in many forms of government assistance, including: veteran's medical and home care benefits housing assistance housing loans for veterans child's education loans educational loan repayment schedule agricultural price supports and loans eligibility for federal matching campaign funds Ineligible for National Affordable Housing program if spouse ever purchased a home: Subject to conflict-of-interest rules for many government and government-related jobs Ineligible to receive various survivor benefits upon remarriage

A better proposal for student loans? Tell me what you think -- would this be a fairer way to handle student loans? Federal government provides $15,000 a year student loans to each citizen, and permanent residents, in exchange for their lifetime commitment to pay an additional 1% income tax. A student who takes the loans for four years would then pay an added 4 percent income tax for life, and someone who goes to law school, taking three added years, would pay 3 percent on top of his/her repayment obligation for undergradaute school. Same eligibility rules for schools as we presently have. "Need" by student does not have to be proven, just proper enrollment and citizenship. Student loans would not be affected by bankruptcy. If you get married, the average student loan tax rate then applies to the total income of the family. In addition, student loan tax rate applies to your estate [on top of regular estate taxes, if any are due]. {and yes, persons who later leave the US are still liable for this added tax -- they agreed, after all.} Program to be entirely funded by the Treasury, which issues the usual bonds to provide funding. All required paperwork to be handled by the college financial aid officers, the IRS, and the Dep't. of Education. *** I submit that this program would be cheap to operate, self-funding in the long run, and completely non-discriminatory. Any improvements or thoughts? Maxwell -- the higher tax is for life. In effect, this requires the student who is extraordinarily lucky [the one who becomes a CEO] to subsidize the education of his employees who didn't become CEO. There is no individual account as such, so it can't be "paid off". Lots less record keeping that way, too.

Would you vote for me if I ran for president? * I promise to end the war on drugs. * I promise to abolish the Department of Energy. * I promise to abolish all anti-trust laws. * I promise to abolish the Federal Housing Administration. * I promise to abolish the Federal National Mortgage Association (Fannie Mae). * I promise to abolish the Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corporation (Freddy Mac). * I promise to abolish the Government National Mortgage Association (Ginnie Mae). * I promise to repeal the Fair Housing Act. * I promise to abolish the Department of Housing and Urban Development. * I promise to abolish the Federal Trade Commission. * I promise to abolish the EPA. * I promise to abolish the Corporation for Public Broadcasting. * I promise to abolish the Department of Education. * I promise to end federal funding and control of education. * I promise to cease funding Head Start. * I promise to cease funding the National School Lunch Program. * I promise to repeal the federal minimum wage. * I promise to repeal the National Labor Relations Act. * I promise to repeal the PATRIOT ACT. * I promise to abolish the Department of Homeland Security. * I promise to abolish the TSA and return airport security to airports and airlines. * I promise to repeal all federal gun regulations. * I promise to abolish NASA. * I promise to abolish the National Endowment for the Arts. * I promise to abolish the National Endowment for the Humanities. * I promise to end the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. * I promise to cease all drone attacks and covert activities. * I promise to bring all U.S. troops home from foreign soil. * I promise to close all foreign military bases. * I promise to stop meddling in the affairs of other countries. * I promise to limit the Department of Defense to actual defense. * I promise to end all federal bailouts. * I promise to stop funding the UN, World Bank, and IMF. * I promise to end all foreign aid. * I promise to end all farm subsidies. * I promise to repeal all trade restrictions, import quotas, anti-dumping laws, and trade agreements. * I promise to abolish the Equal Employment Opportunities Commission. * I promise to repeal the Americans with Disabilities Act. * I promise to repeal all Affirmative Action, minority set-asides, and public accommodations laws. * I promise to repeal the Family and Medical Leave Act. * I promise to cease funding Planned Parenthood. * I promise to abolish the Department of Health and Human Services. * I promise to repeal the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act. * I promise to end Medicare and Medicaid. * I promise to end all federal funding and control of medicine and medical research. * I promise to abolish the FDA. * I promise to abolish NPR. * I promise to abolish the Department of Labor. * I promise to cease funding any scientific research on climate change. * I promise to end the FED. There's a lot more to do, so what is listed are just the basics.

Can Liberals tell me which promise they bought into while drinking Obama's koolaid? Improve options for displaced workers Help community and small business development agencies Improve rural schools and availability of doctors Help organic farmers and promote regional food systems Give new farmers tax incentives Provide farmers capital and help rural small businesses Create rural revitalization program Improve high school graduation rates Double the number of high school students taking college level courses Double charter school funding Include more technology in public schools Provide tuition assistance to students who perform community service Recruit teachers and principals Recruit science and technology teachers Provide pay raises for teachers and principals Pay tuition for students going into teaching Increase Head Start and Early Start Create Classroom Corps Double funding for after-school programs Improve No Child Left Behind Lower dropout rate Provide incentives for rural teachers Increase assistance to land-grant colleges End American dependence on foreign oil in ten years Increase number of plug-in hybrid cars Double renewable energy within four years Reduce electricity demand by 15 percent in ten years Cap carbon emissions Create new green-collar jobs Help U.S. automaker adapt Reduce oil consumption Help manufacturers go green Double clean-energy funding Create Green Jobs Corps Invest $10 billion per year in clean technologies fund Increase money for low-carbon coal technologies Push cellulosic ethanol Create energy-efficiency grant program Provide universal health care Spend $10 billion a year on implementing electronic health system Expand nurse-family partnership program Help individuals purchase private health insurance Expand eligibility for Medicaid and SCHIP Address women's health issues Establish loan forgiveness program for rural doctors and nurses Help homeowners Create an affordable-housing trust Protect New Orleans Invest $60 billion in infrastructure Invest in rural infrastructure Invest $1 billion in transitional jobs programs Provide every American broadband access Expand high-speed Internet access in rural area Support a global education fund Increase funding to train police to gather intelligence Expand Army and Marine Corps Provide soldiers with necessary equipment Target every source of fear in the Americas Create information declassification center Ensure military has enough training Strengthen civilian agencies Give National Guard appropriate equipment, rest Create international anti-terrorism network Make cyber-security a federal priority Update Veterans Affairs hospital system Ensure all veterans are covered Ensure adequate number of VA clinics Increase housing assistance Fully fund VA Improve military's mental health screening and care Improve care for various injuries and women's health through VA Reverse 2003 ban on enrolling low-income veterans http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2008/12/04/obamas-long-list-of-promi_n_148598.html

US Federal Budget: What should make the cut? What shouldn't? I've listed below 20 discretionary budget items which receive some federal funding. Which are your top five spending priorities and your top five spending cuts? Explain why that program should be a priority for the government or why it should be cut (in whole or in part). -Weapons Development -Foreign aid (technical, military, & humanitarian) -Social Security Increases -Housing assistance for low-income families -Farm subsidies -Homeland security -Space research & exploration -Highway construction & repair -Medicare prescription drug benefits -Aid to K-12 education -Urban mass transportaton -Border patrol & immigration regulation -Alternative fuels research -Veterans benefits -Drug enforcement & control -Pollution control & clean-up -Student loans for higher education -Health & disease research -Extended unemployment benefits -Aid to state & local law enforcement

why does my mom baby me yet she plays hard ball with me a lot? I am 19 two months from 20 and a college junior (accelerated education for say) and I make all my own decisions/set everything up (pretty much take care of all my own problems besides paying the bills (I live at home)). I am a scholarship winner, and continue to pay for my education/taken advantage of free programs in my US state. My dad is a doctor, but my parents divorced so its just my mom, a nurse. My dad contributes no money to our family. Given the bad economy, my older brother is trying to start his own business after being laid off from a really good job. He is nearly 26 (it's hard for him to be at home, but he does it). And my 14 year old brother. All under the same roof. My mom could be tired, but she is very blunt and doesn't seem to take interest in what I study (she does tell people I am a biochemistry BS major) nor ask me directly what I want to do with my degree/how much compensation I will get. Her view of me is stagnant. I am grown up. She treats me like I'm 16. Whether or not I pay the bills, I need recognition. AND DO NOT tell me to grow up/lecture me. I am always learning about things (life, finances and all) but am fully capable. When I was 18, she threatened to not sign my federal loan paperwork because I went to work in the dark on my bicycle (she wanted to drive me - she is afraid I might get mugged). Word. When will it hit home - when I'm 21?? I am not trying to be a "big little man" just being real with you, folks Look, I don't deny being really really young and inexperienced. Look how far I've come. Imagine how far I will go. I believe 18 is too young to be called an adult (which is why 21 is the real age I guess) and live alone. It's all about my mental health and surviving after high school A lot of people I know can relate to me - they feel like their parents had them and then just felt disowned after birth basically. Why - idk. A child is a product of love. I appreciate the long written work by both of you. And yes - I do do chores w/o asking. Often my brothers need to help me more. Geese, why do I ask all this. I am trying very hard. But I've just had a hard time understanding growing up and need to cope better. Thank you both!

Which of these so few election promises will Obama keep? Improve options for displaced workers Help community and small business development agencies Improve rural schools and availability of doctors Help organic farmers and promote regional food systems Give new farmers tax incentives Provide farmers capital and help rural small businesses Create rural revitalization program Improve high school graduation rates Double the number of high school students taking college level courses Double charter school funding Include more technology in public schools Provide tuition assistance to students who perform community service Recruit teachers and principals Recruit science and technology teachers Provide pay raises for teachers and principals Pay tuition for students going into teaching Increase Head Start and Early Start Create Classroom Corps Double funding for after-school programs Improve No Child Left Behind Lower dropout rate Provide incentives for rural teachers Increase assistance to land-grant colleges End American dependence on foreign oil in ten years Increase number of plug-in hybrid cars Double renewable energy within four years Reduce electricity demand by 15 percent in ten years Cap carbon emissions Create new green-collar jobs Help U.S. automaker adapt Reduce oil consumption Help manufacturers go green Double clean-energy funding Create Green Jobs Corps Invest $10 billion per year in clean technologies fund Increase money for low-carbon coal technologies Push cellulosic ethanol Create energy-efficiency grant program Provide universal health care Spend $10 billion a year on implementing electronic health system Expand nurse-family partnership program Help individuals purchase private health insurance Expand eligibility for Medicaid and SCHIP Address women's health issues Establish loan forgiveness program for rural doctors and nurses Help homeowners Create an affordable-housing trust Protect New Orleans Invest $60 billion in infrastructure Invest in rural infrastructure Invest $1 billion in transitional jobs programs Provide every American broadband access Expand high-speed Internet access in rural area Support a global education fund Increase funding to train police to gather intelligence Expand Army and Marine Corps Provide soldiers with necessary equipment Target every source of fear in the Americas Create information declassification center Ensure military has enough training Strengthen civilian agencies Give National Guard appropriate equipment, rest Create international anti-terrorism network Make cyber-security a federal priority Update Veterans Affairs hospital system Ensure all veterans are covered Ensure adequate number of VA clinics Increase housing assistance Fully fund VA Improve military's mental health screening and care Improve care for various injuries and women's health through VA Reverse 2003 ban on enrolling low-income veterans http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2008/12/04/obamas-long-list-of-promi_n_148598.html for added details of each promise see the link

Did Obama promise far more than he can deliver? Look at this list of promises? Improve options for displaced workers Help community and small business development agencies Improve rural schools and availability of doctors Help organic farmers and promote regional food systems Give new farmers tax incentives Provide farmers capital and help rural small businesses Create rural revitalization program Improve high school graduation rates Double the number of high school students taking college level courses Double charter school funding Include more technology in public schools Provide tuition assistance to students who perform community service Recruit teachers and principals Recruit science and technology teachers Provide pay raises for teachers and principals Pay tuition for students going into teaching Increase Head Start and Early Start Create Classroom Corps Double funding for after-school programs Improve No Child Left Behind Lower dropout rate Provide incentives for rural teachers Increase assistance to land-grant colleges End American dependence on foreign oil in ten years Increase number of plug-in hybrid cars Double renewable energy within four years Reduce electricity demand by 15 percent in ten years Cap carbon emissions Create new green-collar jobs Help U.S. automaker adapt Reduce oil consumption Help manufacturers go green Double clean-energy funding Create Green Jobs Corps Invest $10 billion per year in clean technologies fund Increase money for low-carbon coal technologies Push cellulosic ethanol Create energy-efficiency grant program Provide universal health care Spend $10 billion a year on implementing electronic health system Expand nurse-family partnership program Help individuals purchase private health insurance Expand eligibility for Medicaid and SCHIP Address women's health issues Establish loan forgiveness program for rural doctors and nurses Help homeowners Create an affordable-housing trust Protect New Orleans Invest $60 billion in infrastructure Invest in rural infrastructure Invest $1 billion in transitional jobs programs Provide every American broadband access Expand high-speed Internet access in rural area Support a global education fund Increase funding to train police to gather intelligence Expand Army and Marine Corps Provide soldiers with necessary equipment Target every source of fear in the Americas Create information declassification center Ensure military has enough training Strengthen civilian agencies Give National Guard appropriate equipment, rest Create international anti-terrorism network Make cyber-security a federal priority Update Veterans Affairs hospital system Ensure all veterans are covered Ensure adequate number of VA clinics Increase housing assistance Fully fund VA Improve military's mental health screening and care Improve care for various injuries and women's health through VA Reverse 2003 ban on enrolling low-income veterans http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2008/12/04/obamas-long-list-of-promi_n_148598.html

How does one file suit under the new federal "Fraud Enforcement and Recovery Act (FERA)"? I witnessed deliberate fraud against the US Govt. (the taxpayers really) by NYS officials and employees, fraud which could easily amount into the millions of dollars, AND I suffered (and continue to suffer) retribution for refusing to participate in that fraud (whistle-blowing?) - citing my religious beliefs AND the criminal nature of the fraud. I recently read President Obama had instituted a new law to strengthen the 'Federal False Claims Act' titled the '"Fraud Enforcement and Recovery Act (FERA)'. I had previously attempted to right this wrong via the Govt. legal channels of the NYS Attorney General (Cuomo), his Commission on Human Rights, and two separate offices of the US Attorney - all refusing to even interview me let alone prosecute the criminals who were (and likely still are) committing the crime. I also attempted to secure legal assistance through the NYCLU, ACLU and several ‘Civil Rights’ law firms only to be denied. From the treatment I've received from the above mention law enforcement authorities AND staff at the US Dept Of Education (Student Aid Div.) it appears many American university/college students are being defrauded out of thousands of dollars in (otherwise) unnecessary loans they will be forced to repay - due to their schools' officials coercing them into enrolling in academic courses having absolutely no relation to the mandatory courses cited for their desired degree studies. 'Elective' courses are NOT the issue here. Many students are being forced to switch their degree programs for periods of time (often a year or more) rather than being allowed to 'take time off' when their school administrators deny them the courses mandatory for their desired degree programs. The administrators decree the students MUST remain 'enrolled' in SOME degree program during the period of time they are denied positions (in their desired programs) in-order to remain ‘eligible’ to regain a position IN their desired degree programs whenever the administrators allow them - but to do so requires additional funding. By re-enrolling in ‘alternate’ degree programs the students can remain officially ‘enrolled’ and 'eligible' for positions in their desired degree programs AND ‘eligible’ for further Govt. funding (grants and low interest loans). Once the administrators decide to permit the students to re-enter their desired degree programs these students end their enrollment in these ‘alternate’ degree programs and re-enter their desired ones. The FRAUD against the Govt. (ie: the taxpayers) lies in the fact these students are receiving grants of public funds just to remain ‘enrolled’ (so they can later regain a position in their desired degree programs) with absolutely no intent or desire to continue their studies toward graduation in these ‘alternate’ programs. The thousands of taxpayer dollars granted them to finance their attendance are therefore wasted and unavailable to OTHER students who have a genuine desire to study and graduate from THEIR desired degree programs. The FRAUD against the students (and their families) lies in the fact they are coerced into an illegal scheme through which they incur additional debt which they must begin repayment of upon leaving school – whether they attain gainful employment or not. I find it reprehensible that university/college degreed education professionals are bilking both the taxpayers AND individual students to feather their own nests - especially in light of the present dire economic conditions millions of Americans are struggling through. Many of these education ‘professionals’ pull down yearly salaries in-excess of $100,000 while many students and prospective students are scraping by on 1/5th that amount – and choosing NOT to violate the laws. Any helpful advice is appreciated. In answer to WhiteFang - how about these criminal statutes? A: Mail Fraud and Wire Fraud 18 U.S.C. 1341 and 1343 B: Presenting False, Fictitious or Fraudulent Claims 18 U.S.C. 287 C: Conspiracy to Defraud the Government 18 U.S.C. 286 D: Making False Statements to the Government 18 U.S.C. 1001 Re: WhiteFan - "but I can't even begin to see how the actions you describe violate those statutes." The college administrators are coercing students to submit 'False or Fraudulent Claims for Payment' (felony violation of the FFCA and FERA) through a federal program (FAFSA) which is a "Conspiracy to Defraud" - itself a felony. The students receive not only 'loans' (which they have to repay) but 'grants' of taxpayer funds. (see http://www.ed.gov/about/offices/list/oig/invtreports/ny112009.html ) Having signed documentation wherein the suspect states the scheme (the scheme to defraud) is grounds for 'conspiracy' charges - criminal charges which may also include 'wire and/or mail fraud'. Threatening students with denial of access to education for refusing to take part in this scheme is 'extortion' - another felony charge. (see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Extortion ) Re: Poor Richard - " am unfamiliar with any sort of religious objection that would make one not cooperate with authorities" My religious objection was against participating in the fraud - NOT against reporting it to the authorities. When this scheme was first proposed to me by one of the college VPs I refused AND advised her of the FFCA having knowledge of it from my work on the Hubble Space Telescope project (testing the Primary Mirror in 1985) and my attempts to get NASA and DOJ to prosecute. Unfortunately Janet Reno made a 'deal' with the contractor which gained Clinton (Bill) a $600k 'contribution' from the PLA (People's Liberation ARMY - Red Chinese ARMY) and also allowed the contractor to give the PLA the guidance technology used in our US Air Force ICBMs. I've spent a great deal of time in my efforts to report this to the proper authorities - with the only action on THEIR part being similar to WhiteFan's - either lack of understanding or condoning the illegal actions. Re: Pennylee - Correct me if I'm wong but isn't a conviction for a felony grounds for denial to practice medicine (and other medical field occupations) in the USA? "Helping"? Only so long as the graduated student isn't eventually caught. "Happens all the time"? Seems to ME teaching this kind of behaviour in US schools is what got this country in the sorry condition it is today. I can't help but recall one of Clinton's State of the Union speeches in-which he disputed the claims of some who related the Rise and Fall of the Roman Empire to the path the USA is on. Then HE gets caught with his pants down - ethics - riiight. "Those who do not learn from history are destined to repeat it.” Re: Poor Richard - "As I stated earlier, it would be hove you to cooperate" Again - I was NOT suggesting I did not want to cooperate with the authorities. I have repeatedly tried to get them to do their jobs - but, it seems, the law enforcement community has no interest (aka: politically IN-correct?) in enforcing laws which might expose a nation-wide problem. Judging by one of PennyLee's comments this is the 'norm' in the US higher education system and who knows how many college degreed 'professionals' got where they are through schemes such as this? Recently I saw a TV report exposing high-school and college students plagurizing and getting caught through some website which instructors can use. One of these instructors flunked some students citing the violations but was overuled by the school board. This fits right-in with the 'Social Promotions' of the 1980s where US college students graduated without actually earning their grades. Known as the 'herd mentality'.

Fafsa and MBA question concerning funding of education? (posted on higher education as well) As an undergraduate although my family is dirt poor and we live in government housing I had to take subsidized loans in order to pay for school. I graduate in May with a degree in marketing and after 4 years of college coupled with 16gs in loans I find out that the reason I didn't receive more grant money was because my high school failed to submit an official transcript and they accepted me with an unofficial one. Unfortunately looks like I can't do anything about this or can I? It is upsetting because I know people who are rich and by knowing loopholes in the system (fafsa application) get a good size of federal grants and use it for boob jobs or weekend in Las Vegas but they won't share how. I am thinking about going for my MBA and now need a way to find a way to pay for it. What programs are out there? I really don't want to take anymore loans. I know 16 thousand doesn't seem like much but its a big weight on my shoulders that seems so unnecessary. I have 3.2 gpa and the job market is tough right now. Any thoughts would be appreciated.

Do people who oppose the DREAM Act do so because of misinformation? The DREAM Act—a popular proposal to provide legal status to undocumented youth who entered the U.S. as children, graduated from U.S. high schools, and attend college or enter the military—is the target of a smear campaign from anti-immigration hardliners. According to them, passage of the DREAM Act would cheat native-born students out of opportunities. This tired effort to pit immigrants and native-born—whether they are workers or students—against one another is not only destructive, but has no basis in fact. Moreover, it ignores the economic benefits that come from legalizing a group of talented, hard-working individuals who want nothing more than to contribute to America and repay the country for the opportunities they’ve been given. Research has shown that providing a legal status for young people who have a proven record of success in the United States would be a boon to the economy and the U.S. workforce. University presidents and educational associations, as well as military recruiters, business and religious leaders, have added their voice to those calling for passage of the bill. The DREAM Act will help boost the number of high-skilled American-raised workers. A 2010 study by the UCLA North American Integration and Development Center estimates that the total earnings of DREAM Act beneficiaries over the course of their working lives would be between $1.4 trillion and $3.6 trillion. Removing the uncertainty of undocumented status allows legalized immigrants to earn higher wages and move into higher-paying occupations, and also encourages them to invest more in their own education, open bank accounts, buy homes, and start businesses. Myth: The DREAM Act uses taxpayer dollars for scholarships and grants to undocumented students. Fact: The DREAM Act states that undocumented youth adjusting to lawful permanent resident status are only eligible for federal student loans (which must be paid back), and federal work-study programs, where they must work for any benefit they receive. They are not eligible for federal grants, such as Pell Grants. Myth: The DREAM Act legalizes criminals and gang members and lets people who have already been ordered deported avoid the law. Fact: Immigrants convicted of serious crimes are ineligible for DREAM Act status; the DREAM Act excludes from eligibility most immigrants applying for benefits who have been under an order of deportation. Specifically, the DREAM Act states that an applicant may not have already been ordered deported unless they received the order before they were 16 years old. Myth: The DREAM Act gives undocumented students and their families access to public benefits. Fact: DREAM Act students receive no special benefits and are subject to the same public benefits eligibility requirements as other legal immigrants. This means that DREAM Act students and families are NOT immediately eligible for Supplemental Security Income, food stamps, Temporary Assistance for Needy Families, Medicaid (other than emergency care), and numerous other federal benefit programs. In general, a person must be here as a lawful permanent resident for five years before they receive non-emergency federal assistance. Myth: The DREAM Act isn’t just for students, but will benefit people of all ages. Fact: Because the U.S. has failed to address the question of illegal immigration for more than a decade, an entire generation of young people’s skills and contributions could easily be lost. The young people who inspired the DREAM Act ten years ago may now be in their early 30s and should be eligible to benefit when it becomes law. Consequently, the DREAM Act encourages immigrants 35 or younger to attend college or join the military, but they must still have entered the U.S. before they were 16 AND have been here for five years immediately preceding the date of enactment. http://www.immigrationpolicy.org/just-facts/dispelling-dream-act-myths

Did you know that Obama seized 4 mosques last year? November 2009 - Obama Moves to Seize Four Mosques, Claiming Secret Iranian Control http://obamboozled.blogspot.com/2009/11/obama-moves-to-seize-four-mosques.html In a move being touted as “a sharp blow against Iran,” the United States government is attempted to seize four Shi’ite mosques across the United States, calling it the largest ‘anti-terror’ seizure ever and claiming the non-profit which operates them is secretly a front for the Iranian government. The four mosques are located across the United States, in New York City, Houston, Carmichael California, and Potomac, Maryland. The non-profit Alavi Foundation faces formal charges of violating 1995 sanctions signed by President Clinton. The group is funded principally through rent collected at a New York City skyscraper it owns, which the government also intends to seize. They provide funds to a myriad of Shi’ite religious institutions in the US and Canada and support for Farsi language education programs in US schools. They also provide interest free loans for Iranian-Americans to attend college in the US. The seizure of the mosques by the federal government will be a serious hardship for worshipers, of course, but the capture of the 35-year old foundation’s assets and its dissolution will be devastating for America’s tiny Shi’ite community, which amounts to only about one tenth of one percent of all Americans. I find it strange though...why a president seize Iranian mosques AND shield the Saudi Royal family that funded Al Qaeda from 9/11 family lawsuits? June 2009 - Obama Administration Shuts Down 9/11 Families Lawsuit http://www.infowars.com/obama-administration-shuts-down-911-families-lawsuit/ The Obama administration has effectively ended the efforts of families of victims of the September 11th attacks to bring lawsuits against members of the Saudi Royal family for financial links to the conspiracy. The Supreme Court today ruled that it will not allow any lawsuits to go ahead, just a few weeks after the government filed a court brief asking that the case be quashed. The court, in an order Monday, is leaving in place the ruling of a federal appeals court that the country and the princes are protected by sovereign immunity, which generally means that foreign countries can't be sued in American courts, reports the Associated Press. In late May, the Justice Department had sided in court with the Saudi monarchy in seeking to halt further legal action to hold it liable for the attacks.The move came less than a week before Obama was scheduled to meet Saudi King Abdullah as part of his "rebuilding" trip to the Middle East.More than 6000 family members denounced the move as an "apparent effort to appease a sometime ally" in a public statement. The lawsuits claimed that Saudi Arabia and four of its princes actively aided in financing the plot through front groups posing as charities. Last week, the New York Times ran a report highlighting how documents uncovered by lawyers for the 9/11 families “provide new evidence of extensive financial support for Al Qaeda and other extremist groups by members of the Saudi royal family.” The documents consist of “several hundred thousand pages of investigative material” assembled by the 9/11 families, according to the report. The families also point to a 28-page, classified section of the 2003 joint congressional inquiry into 9/11 that deals with the Saudi role in the attacks. Senator Bob Graham, who sat on the 9/11 Commission, has also charged that Saudi involvement in the attacks has been covered up. Smells like a empty suit, corporate puppet to me. .

I'm completely stupid about college, HEEEELLPPPP?????!!!!? Okay, I'm a junior in high school and my school is an extremely small, church-run (Protestant Christian, not Catholic) and we don't have a course that preps us for college. Most students from our school don't even go on to higher education; if we decide to, we have to do it on our own. I'm from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and I'm looking into colleges in my area, particularly Temple University. I want to get a degree in special education, but my financial situation is not so good. I come from a big family - 8 kids, I'm the second oldest and neither my parents, my older sister, or pretty much anyone in my extended family has ever gone to college - and my dad is the sole supporter, but his job isn't extremely high-paying. All that is to say, I won't be getting any financial help from my parents. Like, at all. So I have a few questions about college that I would really appreciate you guys answering - and don't be afraid to talk to me like a 3-year-old, like I said, I'm clueless. I want to be a special ed teacher sooooooo badly, as I have two younger brothers who are autistic and would do anything to help them and kids like them. I'm really smart - I have a 4.0 GPA and have been consistently on the honor roll since middle school. Here goes: Do I apply for a scholarship before or after I apply for a college? Do I have to get accepted into college before I can get a scholarship? I may put off college until I'm 20+ so I can save up as much money as possible. Can I still get a scholarship? Can I get a scholarship and federal financial aid? What's the difference between a loan and a grant? Do you still have to pay a grant back? Over what period of time do you usually have to pay a loan back? And what about interest? http://www.temple.edu/bursar/about/tuitionrates.htm This page confuses the heck out of me. What are credits or credit hours? I know it depends on a lot of things, but what's my estimated tuition? Do you have to pay tuition up front? And are the numbers they have here for just one semester, or more? http://www.temple.edu/education/teach/programs/specialed.html What does this page mean? I know, I know, there's a TON of stuff here, but I'd be ETERNALLY grateful to anyone who can answer most/all of them. Thanks so much Yahoo community!

need help what does this letter mean? the city university of new york (cuny) is pleased to inform you that you have been awarded the financial aid listed below for the 2008-2009 academic year. the college listed on top of this letter is the first cuny college listed on your fafsa unless you have been admitted to a cuny college and confirmed your intent to enroll. this financial aid reward letter in not guarantee of admission to that college. most finanical aid programs including subsidized federal direct stafford loans are available based on financial need. your financial aid award is based on the following information cost of education$20,032 - estimated family contribution$1,036 = need$18,996 federal pell -- fall 1840.50 summer 1840.50 yearly 3681.00 tap fall 2000.00 summer 2000.00 yearly 2000.00 rederal work study yearly 2000.00

Economic questions, please help !!!!? 1.)Labor movement refers to the a)increasing number of jobs available to Americans in the nineteenth century b)movement of workers from farms to the industrial cities c)efforts of workers to improve their economic position d)building of the railroads 2.)The labor movement resulted in a)competition for jobs in the cities, making it hard for people to find work b)a large population of unskilled workers in the cities c)outlawing of child labor, in eight-hour work days, and in safer working conditions d)the elimination of labor unions 3.)A labor union is a)an organization of workers who seek better treatment for workers b)an organization that takes part in collective bargaining with employers c)an organization that may resort to going on strike if its demands are not met d)all of the above 4.)The War Industries Board a)converted businesses to the war effort during World War I b)did not have any power during World War I c)converted businesses to produce needed products during the Great Depression d)helped produce a United States depression during World War I 5.)One of the most important economic results of World War I for the United States was a)the Great Depression b)a recession c)the United States moving from being a creditor nation to being a debtor nation d)the United States moving from being a debtor nation to being a creditor nation 6.)New technology and consumer spending created a)the economic prosperity of the 1920s b)the Great Depression c)the New Deal d)the labor movement 7.)During the Great Depression, the major reason for farmers receiving low prices for their crops was a)underproduction b)corruption c)overproduction d)poor farming methods 8.)The three Rs of the Great Depression were a)relief, recession, and reform b)reform, relief, and recovery c)research, read, and reform d)reform, recession, and research 9.)During the Hundred Days a)Roosevelt awaited his inauguration and prepared a strategy b)Congress passed many major bills to help relieve the Great Depression c)Roosevelt developed a clear idea of how to solve the nation’s economic problems d)Congress delayed action on Roosevelt’s legislation 10.)The Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation a)insured bank depositors’ savings b)replaced Hoover’s Reconstruction Finance Corporation c)regulated the stock and bond markets d)regulated the savings and loan industry 11.)The Social Security Act sought to help a)the unemployed b)the unemployable c)the elderly d)all of the above 12.)The Civilian Conservation Corps a)provided work to single young men, requiring them to send most of the money home to their families b)provided work to Americans in order to generate electrical power and control floods around the Tennessee River c)promoted fair competition in all industries d)all of the above 13.)The Agriculture Adjustment Act brought much criticism because a)it drove the price of food lower than it had ever been b)it offered farmers money to destroy crops and leave land uncultivated c)it decreased employment of farmers d)it increased the number of farms in the United States 14.)The most significant legacy of the New Deal is a)a decrease in federal programs and in the size of the federal government b)an increase in the size of the federal government and expansion of government programs c)separation of church and state d)The New Deal did not leave any lasting impact on the United States. 15.)What actually brought the United States completely out of the Great Depression? a)the New Deal b)the Second New Deal c)World War II d)World War I 16.)The purpose of the Montgomery GI Bill was to a)help all families recover after World War II b)help all disabled veterans receive medical care c)expand the military during the Cold War d)provide economic assistance, including education and housing assistance, to all veterans 17.)The state of hostility that existed between the two world powers from World War II through the 1980s was called a)the Cold War b)World War II c)tension d)immigration 18.)During the Cold War, the United States government spent large amounts of money a)on defense, including atomic warfare b)on the space program c)in order to outspend the Soviet Union and end the Cold War d)all of the above 19.)Which of the following was a cause of the recession of the 1980s? a)insufficient production in the United States b)overproduction c)large government deficits and increased consumer spending d)increasing employment 20.)President Ronald Reagan’s new economic strategy, Reaganomics, included a)raising taxes and increasing spending b)cutting taxes and decreasing government spending c)cutting taxes and increasing government spending on domestic programs d)raising taxes 21.)The economic prosperity of t

Would you vote for me for president? I do not want to run as a republican or democrat i want to create my own party, the peopl'es populist party (PPP) Economics: •The PPP advocates for a flat income tax of 20% because it is proportional and fair. A flat tax is simple and transparent and would raise more revenue than what is collected now. •PPP holds true that the majority of products used in the US must be made within our borders to foster employment. The outsourcing of jobs must be stopped immediately, countries like China and India should instead build their own industries to compete in the global economy, not depend on our private sector to enjoy economic growth. The PPP wants measures enacted that would begin a gradual increase of tariffs and restrictions on imports from products of US companies who manufacture more than 30% of their products in foreign nations. American people using American products is our ideal. •Replacing NAFTA and DR-CAFTA with one agreement called AFTA (American Free Trade Agreement), which would include all current countries and those who wish to enter. All countries would follow set provisions. •Creating an enormous diverse workforce is the top priority, no one should be unemployed. •Sale taxes and state taxes should be strictly regulated by states. Healthcare •Create a plan to work with main hospitals in all 50 US states. We would pay a determined amount of money (1 million-2 billion annually depending on the population of their area, size of the facility and amount of physicians) to those hospitals and clinics that go under the plan to provide services to those families whose net income is under 65,000 and do not have private insurance through their employer. The plan would exclude care for illegal aliens. •All children under the age of 18 will be covered fully, including prescription medicines; children of illegal aliens will be excluded. •Create a plan to work with prescription companies to subsidize prescription formulas to create generics of all medicine on the market. •Prescription medicines to treat an illness should be covered in full for all people over the age of 65, are retired and who do not have a wage of more than 65,000. •Support state programs with federal funding which provide aid to families that can not afford prescription medicines. Education •Work with the secretary of education to create a team to devise a database where schools that NEED federal funding are specifically targeted. •Recognize the importance of reform at a local level, such as legislation to prohibit cell phone use in school. As well as legislation to make contracts with broadband companies. •Increase funding for states that limit public education students who are born only to legal aliens/citizens. •Increase funding for states that have a voucher system in place. Voucher systems force public schools to compete and improve the way they operate. •Create a program where high school students who qualify can receive a loan at a very low interest rate. Immigration •The PPP supports immigrants who abide by US immigration laws. We also recognize that the system should be less strenuous for those applying for visas and residency. I also support a lottery system, where screened applicants can participate. •Build a tall technologically advanced border with barbwire all along the border. •Detonate tunnels known for drug trafficking. •Place more border patrol agents and troops in certain dangerous points of the border. •Double the size of ICE and increase the amounts of raids by 95% in all US States. •Place enormous fines on employers of illegal aliens; force them to verify the status of applicants. •Pass a law that limits US citizenship to children born to legal residents/citizens. •Deport all prisoners that are illegal aliens to their country of origin. Pass a law that will force the deportation of illegal aliens and their families no more than 72 hours after their capture.

Why did Bush ask/order fannie mae to make 440 BILLION in home loans to minorities in 2002? I keep seeing the same lies being posted by republicans. The govt can not force a bank to make a risky loan. Republicans controlled congress 12 years from Jan 1995 to Jan 2007. They write or change the laws that banks have to follow. Republicans controlled the entire government 6 years from Jan 2001 to Jan 2007 when all the sub-prime loans were made. Dems had nothing to do with it...even bush's own banking experts have said this. Bush appoints the management of freddie mac and fannie mae and "asked" his appointees to make 440 BILLION in loans to poor minorities. He also asked for 2.4 billion in tax credits (corporate welfare) for homebuilders who build low income housing. And he asked for 200 million per year to pay the mortgage closing costs. (If the president appoints you to your job and asks you to do something, that is pretty much an order if you want to keep your job) http://georgewbush-whitehouse.archives.gov/news/releases/2002/06/20020617.html This is what Bush's official press release states on June 17, 2002: "Today, President Bush announced a new goal to help increase the number of minority homeowners by at least 5.5 million before the end of the decade. The President's aggressive housing agenda will help dismantle the barriers to homeownership by providing down payment assistance, increasing the supply of affordable homes, increasing support for self-help homeownership programs, and simplifying the home buying process & increasing education. The President is issuing "America's Homeownership Challenge" to the real estate and mortgage finance industries to join in his effort to increase the number of minority homeowners by 5.5 million families by the end of the decade. Many organizations have already responded to the President's challenge by committing to: "Substantially increase by at least $440 billion, the financial commitment made by the government sponsored enterprises involved in the secondary mortgage market, specifically targeted toward the minority market"... "The President wants to dramatically increase the supply of homes available to low and moderate income families. The President has proposed the Single-Family Affordable Housing Tax Credit, which will provide approximately $2.4 billion to encourage the production of 200,000 affordable homes for sale to low and moderate income families." Did you know that bush's top donors were subprime mortgage lenders, real estate developers, and his campagin finance chairman is one of the biggest homebuilders in america...his name is dwight scharr and he lives in a 70 million mansion in palm beach. Did you know that Bush's cousin, Herbert Walker, was vice president of the Goldman Sachs department that placed TRILLIONS in bets that these people would not repay their loans. In 2003 the fbi warned of widespread mortgage fraud...ny attorney general spitzer started to sue predatory lenders but was stopped by the bush administration's Office of Comptroller of Currency who said banking regulation was soley a job of the federal government. All 50 state attorney generals, including many republicans, filed a lawsuit against the bush administration and they lost! Bush used the fed govt to stop ALL 50 states from investigating and prosecuting illegal mortgage fraud.

married and cannot sleep in the same bed with my spouse -- anyone else? In a nutshell ---- I am a light sleeper, he is restless. For two years --- I have tried everything....earplugs (different kinds), getting a better mattress, sleep hygiene, you name it --- I CANNOT sleep in the same bed with my husband and sleep even somewhat well --without being on prescription drugs. Period. I;ve tried every over the counter --- and I don't want to be on drugs forever. Once in a while is fine -- -but not every night. He is so fed up with the situation that he just wants to sleep on the couch until we can either move to a bigger place, afford a second bed in the bedroom or something. I feel bad - but I agree that we have to take turns. He will sleep fine (although I cannot imagine he actually does?!) and I will wake up feeling more tired and frustrated then before I went to sleep.... I need rest --- I am in a grad medical program --- its not a time in my life when I can just "suck it up." If I go to school this tired all the time -- I will be wasting a lot of student loan money, compromising my health and my education. I guess I just need reassurance from someone older/wiser/more experienced that its not a big deal...We have a good relationship - and we communicate well, my husband doesn't think its a big deal -- but I feel crappy about it.....I don't have family that I can talk to about stuff like this....... Thanks. I think the couch is more comfortable than the bed! Thanks for the reassuring words everyone! Unomike -- he has been to a sleep lab --- they said he is restless but its not treatable ---- and I am the problem, actually, as I have a history of anxiety.

help please???!!!!!!? 14. What happens to the money that your employer withholds from your paycheck? (1 point) Your employer holds it until you leave your job and then returns it to you. Your employer returns to you at the end of the year so that you can pay your federal taxes. You employer holds it in case you damage his property. Your employer sends it to the federal government to help pay your income tax bill. 15. Which of the following is NOT tax exempt? (1 point) the federal military base near your home your family's church the homeless shelter in your neighborhood the convenience store on the corner 16. Which of the following is an example of state spending? (1 point) the state police who stopped to assist you when you had a flat tire the state campground where your family vacations state water quality inspections all of the above 17. The federal budget is put together (1 point) every other year. by Congress and the White House. to report to Congress on the preceeding year's expenditures. in order to reimburse state governments for costs of federally funded programs. 18. When revenues exceed expenditures, (1 point) there is a budget surplus. there is a budget deficit. the government must create more money. the government is forced to issue more bonds to raise money. 19. When you buy a United States Savings Bond, you (1 point) loan money to the government. borrow money from a savings and loan association. donate money for special government projects. pay for your child's college education. 20. An accurate statement about achieving a balanced budget would be that (1 point) in 1995, Congress passed a constiutional amendment that requires a balanced budget. most states require a balanced budget for state spending. by the end of the twntieth century, the federal government had paid off most of its debts and had achieved a balanced budget. classical economist believe that a balanced budget is not in the best interest of the economy. 21. Why does the Federal Reserve alter monetary policy? (1 point) to regulate the banking industry to provide services to member banks to enable banks to clear checks to lessen the effect of natural business cycles 22. What was one reason the U.S. government started a Federal Reserve system? (1 point) to keep the banking power of the United States spread out among various districts to make sure that the U.S. banks were obeying laws regarding banking to have a place for banks to deposit their excess deposits to provide consumers with access to funds for business expansion 23. How many Federal Reserve Districts are there? (1 point) 6 9 12 20 24. Which of these situations is most likely to cause the Fed to introduce a tight money supply? (1 point) A recession has reduced aggregate demand and increased unemployment. The federal government passes a new budget with a large deficit. The economy is prosperous with relatively low inflation and low unemployment. The economy is expanding quickly and inflation is a concern. 25. What is the relationship between interest rates and demand for money? (1 point) As interest rates decrease, demand for money increases. As interest rates increase, demand for money increases. Interest rates are determined by demand for money. Interest rates and demand for money are unrelated. Answer the following questions. 26. Analyzing Information Explain how government spending can trigger a chain of events that helps to improve the economy. (5 points) 27. Recognizing Ideologies Explain the four characteristics of a good tax.

Are you happy with the stimulus? Here are some interesting details on the "stimulus" package. If you would not mind forwarding this along to your friends, family, and contacts, it would be greatly appreciated. The more info Americans have on this bill, the only thing stimulated will be anger and outrage, because none of this stimulates the economy or creates Jobs. * The interest payments alone on the stimulus would cost $350 billion over the next ten years, which means the next generation will have to pay the bills. * The bill contains nothing in it that would stimulate the economy, but its only a down-payment on big government spending. In reality, it's a welfare proposal. Wasteful Spending Provisions * $2 billion earmark to re-start FutureGen, a near-zero emissions coal power plant in Illinois that the Dept. of Energy defunded last year because the project was inefficient * $650 million for the digital television (DTV) converter box coupon program * $88 million for the Coast Guard to design a new polar icebreaker (arctic ship) * $448 million for constructing the Dept. of Homeland Security headquarters * $248 million for furniture at the new Dept. of Homeland Security headquarters * $600 million to buy hybrid vehicles for federal employees * $400 million for the CDC to screen and prevent STD's * $1.4 billion for a rural waste disposal programs * $125 million for the Washington , D.C. sewer system * $150 million for Smithsonian museum facilities * $1 billion for the 2010 Census, which has a projected cost overrun of $3 billion * $75 million for "smoking cessation activities" * $200 million for public computer centers at community colleges * $75 million for salaries of employees at the FBI * $25 million for tribal alcohol and substance abuse reduction * $500 million for flood reduction projects on the Mississippi River * $10 million to inspect canals in urban areas * $6 billion to turn federal buildings into "green" buildings * $500 million for state and local fire stations * $650 million for wildland fire management on Forest Service lands * $1.2 billion for "youth activities," including youth summer job programs * $88 million for renovating the headquarters of the Public Health Service * $412 million for CDC buildings and property * $500 million for building and repairing NIH facilities in Bethesda, MD * $160 million for "paid volunteers" at the Corporation for National and Community Service * $5.5 million for "energy efficiency initiatives" at the VA " National Cemetery Administration" * $60 million for Arlington National Cemetery * $850 million for Amtrak * $100 million for reducing the hazard of lead-based paint * $75M to construct a new "security training" facility for State Dept Security officers when they can be trained at existing facilities of other agencies. * $110 million to the Farm Service Agency to upgrade computer systems * $200 million in funding for the lease of alternative energy vehicles for use on military installations. * $275 million for "watershed and flood prevention operations" * Eliminates fees on loans from the Small Business Administration, thus pushing private capital toward unproductive businesses and away from productive businesses. * Increases the definition of "youth" for certain summer job programs from age 21 to age 24. * $160 million to the Job Corps program at the Dept. of Labor, but not for job programs - rather, to construct, alter or repair buildings. * Requires a government study on the impact of minimum wage laws on the Northern Mariana Islands and American Samoa . * A $246 million tax break for Hollywood movie producers to buy motion picture film. * $79 billion State Fiscal Stabilization (slush) Fund to bailout the States by providing billions of dollars for "education" costs of any kind. * $47.843 billion is appropriated for a variety of energy programs that are primarily focused on renewable energy development and energy conservation/efficiency. Not one dollar is appropriated to make fossil fuels more affordable in the near future. More than $6 billion of these funds go to environmental clean ups. * Increases eligibility for "weatherization" assistance to households 200 percent above the poverty level. * The "Making Work Pay" credit of $500 to every individual making less than $75,000 (or $1000 to couples making $150,000 or less) would pay people whether they are productive or not - akin to welfare. * The Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP- food stamps) would temporarily suspend the 3-month limit for non-working adults to receive SNAP benefits, thus giving incentives not to find a job. * Installs government as the creator of broadband deployment regardless of whether the speci

Poll results: reducing the deficit/debt. Your thoughts? The entire debt debate has raised this question: What do you do to reduce the nation's deficit? Republicans want to strictly cut government spending, while preserving all tax cuts and tax breaks. President Obama, by contrast, favors a balanced approach -- some spending cuts, plus revenue increases and tax hikes. But what about the American public? Back in February, at the very outset of this deficit/debt debate, our NBC/WSJ poll measured 26 different ways to reduce the deficit or to cut spending. The list runs from most acceptable to least acceptable. -- Placing a surtax on federal income taxes for people earning over $1 million a year: 81% acceptable -- Eliminating spending on so-called earmarks for special projects and specific areas of the country: 78% acceptable -- Eliminating funding for weapons systems the Defense Department says are not necessary: 76% acceptable -- Eliminating tax credits for the oil and gas industries: 74% acceptable -- Phasing out the Bush tax cuts for families earning $250,000 or more per year: 68% acceptable -- Freezing annual domestic spending at its current level for the next five years: 67% acceptable -- Reducing Medicare and Social Security benefits for wealthier retirees: 62% acceptable -- Gradually raising the Social Security retirement age to 69 by 2075: 56% acceptable -- Cutting funding for the new health-care law so that parts of it will not be put into effect or enforced: 51% acceptable -- Reducing agriculture subsidies or support to farmers and ranchers: 45% acceptable -- Eliminating funding to Planned Parenthood for family planning and preventive health services: 45% acceptable -- Gradually turning Medicare from a system in which the government pays for most beneficiaries' medical bills into a program in which seniors would receive government-assisted vouchers to purchase private insurance: 44% acceptable Among the budget cuts: Subsidies to build new nuclear power plants: 57% acceptable Federal assistance to state governments: 52% acceptable The Environmental Protection Agency: 51% Transportation and infrastructure projects: 51% Scientific and medical research: 48% National defense: 46% Unemployment insurance: 43% Head Start: 41% College student loans: 39% Heating assistance to low-income families: 34% Medicaid: 32% Medicare: 23% K-12 education: 22% Social Security: 22% .

Do you know what Obama has done so far? This is what he has done. Why do cons deny his accomplishments? 1) Appointed more openly gay officials than any other president in US history (150 in his first two years) 2) Extended benefits to gay partners of federal employees 3) Added 4.6 billion USD to the Veterans Administration budget to recruit and retain more mental health professionals 4) Significantly increased funding for the Violence Against Women Act 5) Lifted restrictions granting Cuban Americans unrestricted rights to visit family and send remittances to the island 6) Eliminated subsidies to private lender middlemen of student loans and protect student borrowers 7) Increased average fuel economy standards from 27.5mpg to 35.5mpg, starting in 2016 8) Increased funding for national parks and forests by 10% 9) Significantly expanded Pell grants, which help low-income students pay for college 10) Expanded hate crime law in the US to include orientation through the Matthew Shepard and James Byrd Jr. Hate Crimes Prevention Act 11) Provided stimulus funding to boost private sector spaceflight programs 12) Appointed nation's first Chief Technology Officer 13) Signed financial reform law establishing a Consumer Financial Protection Bureau to look out for the interests of everyday Americans 14) Signed financial reform law requiring lenders to verify applicants' credit history, income, and employment status 15) Signed financial reform law prohibiting banks from engaging in proprietary trading (trading the bank's own money to turn a profit, often in conflict with their customers' interests) 16) Signed financial reform law allowing shareholders of publicly traded companies to vote on 17) Cut prescription drug cost for medicare recipients by 50% 18) Provided $12.2 Billion in new funding for Individuals With Disabilities Education Act 19) The American Recovery & Reinvestment Act of 2009: a $789 billion economic stimulus plan 20) Created more private sector jobs in 2010 than during entire Bush years 21) Appointed first Latina to the US Supreme Court

Why did Bush order his appointees at freddie mac to make 440 BILLION in subprime loans to minorities? Here is a link to george bush's official website/press releases at the national archives. http://georgewbush-whitehouse.archives.gov/news/releases/2002/06/20020617.html On june 18, 2002 bush gave a speech in atlanta and in his words "pledges to use the mighty muscle of the federal government to increase minority home ownership by 5.5 million homes." He then requests his appointees at freddie mac to make 440 BILLION in sub prime loans to minorities, or 20 times the amount that democrat presidents had requested" Here is from bush's official press release in the link: Today, President Bush announced a new goal to help increase the number of minority homeowners by at least 5.5 million before the end of the decade. The President's aggressive housing agenda will help dismantle the barriers to homeownership by providing down payment assistance, increasing the supply of affordable homes, increasing support for self-help homeownership programs, and simplifying the home buying process & increasing education. The President also issued "America's Homeownership Challenge" to the real estate and mortgage finance industries to join in his effort to increase the number of minority homeowners by taking concrete steps to tear down the barriers to homeownership that face minority families. Why did bush order 440 billion in loans to high risk people? Did you know his campagin finance chairman owns the biggest homebuilder - ryland homes - and another top donar owns the largest subprime mortgate broker in the usa. And don't forget his cousin, herbert walker, ran the credit default insurance scams at goldman sachs. Looks like all of bush's buddies got filthy rich from the 440 billion he ordered. Do you agree?

Meaning of Obama's New Federal Gun Laws: MENTAL HEALTH ASSESSMENT PLAN FOR INSTITUTIONS OF HIGHER EDUCATION? Can somebody please tell what all this mean in this part of Obama's New Law? SEC. 124. MENTAL HEALTH ASSESSMENT PLAN FOR INSTITUTIONS OF HIGHER EDUCATION. `(a) Restriction on Eligibility- Each college, university, or post secondary institution that receives Federal funds under this Act or any form of financial assistance under any Federal program, including participation in any federally funded or guaranteed student loan program, shall develop and implement, not later than 1 year from the date of enactment of this section, a mental health assessment plan that, at a minimum, includes-- `(1) a framework through which such college, university, or post secondary institution will address the risks posed by students, including full-time students and part-time students, who, as a result of apparent mental illness or incompetency, pose a safety risk to themselves or others; `(2) the establishment of a team that will assess the mental health needs of, and safety risks posed by, any such student, consisting of-- `(A) educators; `(B) administrators; `(C) counselors; or `(D) other qualified members of the educational community; `(3) a procedure for reporting such students to the team described in paragraph (2); `(4) a procedure for making voluntary referrals for such students to on- and off-campus mental health resources; `(5) a procedure for making involuntary referrals for such students to State or local mental health authorities for mandatory evaluation, which shall include reporting such referrals to a State agency responsible for identifying persons described in section 922(g)(4) of title 18, United States Code; and `(6) a procedure for informing and educating the families of students who have been identified as posing safety risks to themselves or others. `(b) Information Availability- Each college, university, or postsecondary institution that provides the plan described in subsection (a) shall make available to the students, faculty, and staff at such college, university, or postsecondary institution, a copy of the mental health assessment plan required under subsection (a).'.

Fafsa and MBA question concerning funding of education? As an undergraduate although my family is dirt poor and we live in government housing I had to take subsidized loans in order to pay for school. I graduate in May with a degree in marketing and after 4 years of college coupled with 16gs in loans I find out that the reason I didn't receive more grant money was because my high school failed to submit an official transcript and they accepted me with an unofficial one. Unfortunately looks like I can't do anything about this or can I? It is upsetting because I know people who are rich and by knowing loopholes in the system (fafsa application) get a good size of federal grants and use it for boob jobs or weekend in Las Vegas but they won't share how. I am thinking about going for my MBA and now need a way to find a way to pay for it. What programs are out there? I really don't want to take anymore loans. I know 16 thousand doesn't seem like much but its a big weight on my shoulders that seems so unnecessary. I have 3.2 gpa and the job market is tough right now. Any thoughts would be appreciated.

Do SallieMae student loans fall under a Federal Family Education Loan program?

Liberals are followers and Bush is a leader. Its better to be right than popular? President Bush's Accomplishments Abortion & Traditional Values 1. Banned Partial Birth Abortion — by far the most significant roll-back of abortion on demand since Roe v. Wade. 2. Reversed Clinton's move to strike Reagan's anti-abortion Mexico Policy. 3. By Executive Order (EO), reversed Clinton's policy of not requiring parental consent for abortions under the Medical Privacy Act. 4. By EO, prohibited federal funds for international family planning groups that provide abortions and related services. 5. Upheld the ban on abortions at military hospitals. 6. Made $33 million available for abstinence education programs in 2004. 7. Supports the Defense of Marriage Act — and a Constitutional amendment saying marriage is between one man and one woman. 8. Requires states to conduct criminal background checks on prospective foster and adoptive parents. 9. Requires districts to let students transfer out of dangerous schools. 10. Requires schools to have a zero-tolerance policy for classroom disruption (reintroducing discipline into classrooms). 11. Signed the Teacher Protection Act, which protects teachers from lawsuits related to student discipline. 12. Expanded the role of faith-based and community organizations in after-school programs. Budget, Taxes & Economy 1. Signed two income tax cuts, one of which was the largest dollar-value tax cut in world history. 2. Supports permanent elimination of the death tax. 3. Turned around an inherited economy that was in recession, and deeply shocked as a result of the 9/11 attacks. 4. Is seeking legislation to amend the Constitution to give the president line-item veto authority. 5. In process of permanently eliminating IRS marriage penalty. 6. Increased small business incentives to expand and to hire new people. 7. Initiated discussion on privatizing Social Security and individual investment accounts. 8. Killed Clinton's "ergonomic" rules that OSHA was about to implement; rules would have shut down every home business in America. 9. Passed tough new laws to hold corporate criminals to account as a result of corporate scandals. 10. Reduced taxes on dividends and capital gains. 11. Signed trade promotion authority. 12. Reduced and is working to ultimately eliminate the estate tax for family farms and ranches. 13. Fight Europe's ban on importing biotech crops from the United States. 14. Exempt food from unilateral trade sanctions and embargoes. 15. Provided $20 million to states to help people with disabilities work from home. 16. Created a fund to encourage technologies that help the disabled. 17. Increased the annual contribution limit on Education IRA's from $500 to $2,000 per child. 18. Make permanent the $5,000 adoption tax credit and provide $1 billion over five years to increase the credit to $10,000. 19. Grant a complete tax exemption for prepaid or college tuition savings plans. 20. Reduced H1B visas from a high of 195,000 per year to 66,000 per year. Character & Conduct as President 1. Changed the tone in the White House, restoring HONOR and DIGNITY to the presidency. 2. Has reintroduced the mention of God and faith into public discourse. 3. Handled himself with enormous courage, dignity, grace, determination, and leadership in the aftermath of the September 11, 2001 hijackings and anthrax attacks. He almost single-handedly held this country together during those searing days: Just three days after the attacks, in his address at the National Cathedral, the President reassured the nation when he said: "War has been waged against us by stealth and deceit and murder. This nation is peaceful, but fierce when stirred to anger. This conflict was begun on the timing and terms of others. It will end in a way, and at an hour, of our choosing." On Friday, September 14, 2001, President Bush visited Ground Zero. Standing on a crushed and burned fire engine atop the smoldering pile at Ground Zero, he put his arm around a retired firefighter who had volunteered to help, and began speaking to the crowd. Rescue workers shouted that they could not hear him. Someone handed him a small American flag and bullhorn. The President spontaneously shouted: "I can hear you. The rest of the world hears you. And the people who knocked these buildings down will hear all of us soon." The crowd roared with cheers and chants of "USA! USA! USA!" Then he raised that American flag and rallied a nation. Education & Employment Training 1. Signed the No Child Left Behind Act, delivering the most dramatic education reforms in a generation (challenging the soft bigotry of low expectations). The very liberal California Teachers union is currently running radio ads against the accountability provisions of this Act. 2. Announced "Jobs for the 21st Century," a comprehensive plan to better prepare workers for jobs in the new millennium by strengthening post-secondary education and job training, and by improving high school education. 3. Is working to provide vouchers to low-income students in persistently failing schools to help with costs of attending private schools. (Blocked in the Senate.) 4. Requires annual reading and math tests in grades three through eight. 5. Requires states to participate in the National Assessment of Education Progress, or an equivalent program, to establish a national benchmark for academic performance. 6. Requires school-by-school accountability report cards. 7. Established a $2.4 billion fund to help states implement teacher accountability systems. 8. Increased funding for the Troops-to-Teachers program, which recruits former military personnel to become teachers. Environment & Energy 1. Killed the Kyoto Global Warming Treaty. 2. Submitted a comprehensive Energy Plan (awaits Congressional action). The plan works to develop cleaner technology, produce more natural gas here at home, make America less dependent on foreign sources of energy, improve national grid, etc. 3. Established a $10 million grant program to promote private conservation initiatives. 4. Significantly eased field-testing controls of genetically engineered crops. 5. Changed parts of the Forestry Management Act to allow necessary cleanup of the national forests in order to reduce fire danger. 6. Part of national forests cleanup: Restricted judicial challenges (based on the Endangered Species Act and other challenges), and removed the need for an Environmental Impact Statement before removing fuels/logging to reduce fire danger. 7. Killed Clinton's CO2 rules that were choking off all of the electricity surplus to California. 8. Provided matching grants for state programs that help private landowners protect rare species. Defense & Foreign Policy 1. Successfully executed two wars in the aftermath of 9/11/01: Afghanistan and Iraq. 50 million people who had lived under tyrannical regimes now live in freedom. 2. Saddam Hussein is now in prison. His two murderous sons are dead. All but a handful of the regime's senior members were killed or captured. 3. Leader by leader and member by member, al Maida is being hunted down in dozens of countries around the world. Of the senior al Qaeda leaders, operational managers, and key facilitators the U.S. Government has been tracking, nearly two-thirds have been taken into custody or killed. The detentions or deaths of senior al Qaeda leaders, including Khalid Shaykh Muhammad, the mastermind of 9/11, and Muhammad Atef, Osama bin Laden's second-in-command until his death in late 2001, have been important in the War on Terror. 4. Disarmed Libya of its chemical, nuclear and biological WMD's without bribes or bloodshed. 5. Continues to execute the War On Terror, getting worldwide cooperation to track funds/terrorists. Has cut off much of the terrorists' funding, and captured or killed many key leaders of the al Qaeda network. 6. Initiated a comprehensive review of our military, which was completed just prior to 9/11/01, and which accurately reported that ASYMMETRICAL WARFARE capabilities were critical in the 21st Century. 7. Killed the old US/Soviet Union ABM Treaty that was preventing the U.S. from deploying our ABM defenses. 8. Has been one of the strongest, if not THE strongest friend Israel has ever hand in the U.S. presidency. 9. Part of the coalition for an Israeli/Palestinian "Roadmap to Peace," along with Great Britain, Russia and the EU. 10. Pushed through THREE raises for our military. Increased military pay by more than $1 billion a year. 11. Signed the LARGEST nuclear arms reduction in world history with Russia. 12. Started withdrawing our troops from Bosnia, and has announced withdrawal of our troops from Germany and the Korean DMZ. 13. Prohibited putting U.S. troops under U.N. command. 14. Paid back UN dues only in return for reforms and reduction of U.S. share of the costs. 15. Earmarked at least 20 percent of the Defense procurement budget for next-generation weaponry. 16. Increased defense research and development spending by at least $20 billion from fiscal 2002 to 2006. 17. Ordered a comprehensive review of military weapons and strategy. 18. Ordered a review of overseas deployments. 19. Ordered renovation of military housing. The military has already upgraded about 10 percent of its inventory and expects to modernize 76,000 additional homes this year. 20. Is working to tighten restrictions on military-technology exports. 21. Brought back our EP-3 intel plane and crew from China without any bribes or bloodshed. Globalization & Internationalism 1. Challenged the United Nations to live up to their responsibilities and not become another League of Nations (in other words, showed the UN to be completely irrelevant). 2. Killed U.S. involvement in the International Criminal Court. 3. Told the United Nations we weren't interested in their plans for gun control (i.e., the International Ban on Small Arms Trafficking Treaty).* 4. The only President since the founding of the UN to essentially tell that organization it is irrelevant. He said: "The conduct of the Iraqi regime is a threat to the authority of the United Nations, and a threat to peace. Iraq has answered a decade of UN demands with a decade of defiance. All the world now faces a test, and the United Nations a difficult and defining moment. Are Security Council resolutions to be honored and enforced, or cast aside without consequence? Will the United Nations serve the purpose of its founding, or will it be irrelevant?" We all know the outcome and the answer. 5. Told the Congress and the world, "America will never seek a permission slip to defend the security of our country." Government Reform 1. Improved government efficiency by putting hundreds of thousands of jobs put up for bid. This weakens public-sector unions and cuts undeserved pay raises. 2. Initiated review of all federal agencies with the goal of eliminating federal jobs (completed September 2003) in an effort to reduce the size of the federal government while increasing private sector jobs. 3. Led the most extensive reorganization the Federal bureaucracy in over 50 years: After 9/11, condensed 20+ overlapping agencies and their intelligence sectors into one agency, the Department of Homeland Security.* 4. Ordered each agency to draft a five-year plan to restructure itself, with fewer managers. 5. Converted federal service contracts to performance-based contracts wherever possible so that the contractor has measurable performance goals. Health 1. Strengthen the National Health Service Corps to put more physicians in the neediest areas, and make its scholarship funds tax-free. 2. Double the research budget of the National Institutes of Health. 3. Signed Medicare Reform, which includes: A 10-year privatization option. Prescription drug benefits: Prior to this reform, Medicare paid for extended hospital stays for ulcer surgery, for example, at a cost of about $28,000 per patient. Yet Medicare would not pay for the drugs that eliminate the cause of most ulcers, drugs that cost about $500 a year. Now, drug coverage under Medicare will allow seniors to replace more expensive surgeries and hospitalizations with less expensive prescription medicine. More health care choices: As President Bush stated, "…when seniors have the ability to make choices, health care plans within Medicare will have to compete for their business by offering higher quality service [at lower cost]. For the seniors of America, more choices and more control will mean better health care. These are the kinds of health care options we give to the members of Congress and federal employees. What's good for members of Congress is also good for seniors. New Health Savings Accounts: Effective January 1, 2004, Americans can set aside up to $4,500 every year, tax free, to save for medical expenses. Depending on your tax bracket, that means you'll save between 10 to 35 percent on any costs covered by money in your account. Every year, the money not spent would stay in the account and gain interest tax-free, just like an IRA. These accounts will be good for small business owners, and employees. More businesses can focus on covering workers for major medical problems, such as hospitalization for an injury or illness. At the same time, employees and their families will use these accounts to cover doctors visits, or lab tests, or other smaller costs. Some employers will contribute to employee health accounts. This will help more American families get the health care they need at the price they can afford. Homeland Security, Border Enforcement & Immigration 1. *See Government Reform above. Under President Bush's leadership, America has made an unprecedented commitment to homeland security. 2. Has CONSTRUCTION in process on the first 10 ABM silos in Alaska so that America will have a defense against North Korean nukes. Has ordered national and theater ballistic missile defenses to be deployed by 2004. 3. Announced a 9.7% increase in government-wide homeland security funding in his FY 2005 budget, nearly tripling the FY 2001 levels (excluding the Department of Defense and Project BioShield). 4. Before DHS was created, there were inspectors from three different agencies of the Federal Government and Border Patrol officers protecting our borders. Through DHS, U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) now consolidates all border activities into a single agency to create "one face at the border." This not only better secures the borders of the United States, but it also eliminates many of the inefficiencies that occurred under the old system. With over 18,000 CBP inspectors and 11,000 Border Patrol agents, CBP has 29,000 uniformed officers on our borders. 5. The Border Patrol is continuing installation of monitoring devices along the borders to detect illegal activity. 6. Launched Operation Tarmac to investigate businesses and workers in the secure areas of domestic airports and ensure immigration law compliance. Since 9/11, DHS has audited 3,640 businesses, examined 259,037 employee records, arrested 1,030 unauthorized workers, and participated in the criminal indictment of 774 individuals. 7. Since September 11, 2001, the Coast Guard has conducted more than 124,000 port security patrols, 13,000 air patrols, boarded more than 92,000 vessels, interdicted over 14,000 individuals attempting to enter the United States illegally, and created and maintained more than 90 Maritime Security Zones. 8. Announced the Student and Exchange Visitor Information System (SEVIS), an internet-based system that is improving America's ability to track and monitor foreign students and exchange visitors. Over 870,000 students are registered in SEVIS. Of 285 completed field investigations, 71 aliens were arrested. 9. This week, the US-VISIT program began to digitally collect biometric identifiers to record the entry and exit of aliens who travel into the U.S on a visa. Together with the standard information, this new program will confirm compliance with visa and immigration policies. 10. Eliminated INS bureaucratic redundancies and lack of accountability. 11. Split the Immigration and Naturalization Service into two agencies: one to protect the border and interior, the other to deal with naturalization. 12. Signed the workplace verification bill to prevent hiring of illegal aliens. 13. Established a six-month deadline for processing immigration applications. 14. Information regarding nearly 100% of all containerized cargo is carefully screened by DHS before it arrives in the United States. Higher risk shipments are physically inspected for terrorist weapons and contraband prior to being released from the port of entry. Advanced technologies are being deployed to identify warning signs of chemical, biological, or radiological attacks. Since September 11, 2001, hundreds of thousands of first responders across America have been trained to recognize and respond to the effects of a WMD attack. Judiciary & Tort Reform 1. Is urging federal liability reform to eliminate frivolous lawsuits. 2. Killed the liberal ABA's unconstitutional role in vetting federal judges. The Senate is supposed to advise and consent, not the ABA. 3. Is nominating strong, conservative judges to the judiciary. 4. Supports class action reform bill which limits lawyer fees so that more settlement money goes to victims. Politics 1. His leadership resulted in Republican gains in the House and Senate, solidifying Republican control of both houses of Congress and the presidency. 2. Signed an EO enforcing the Supreme Court's Beck decision regarding union dues being used for political campaigns against individual's wishes. Second Amendment 1. Ordered Attorney General Ashcroft to formally notify the Supreme Court that the OFFICIAL U.S. government position on the 2nd Amendment is that it supports INDIVIDUAL rights to own firearms, and is NOT a Leftist-imagined "collective" right. 2. Signed TWO bills into law that arm our pilots with handguns in the cockpit. 3. Currently pushing for full immunity from lawsuits for our national gun manufacturers. 4. *See Globalization & Internationalism. Traditional Values, Compassion & Volunteerism 1. Endorses and promotes "The Responsibility Era." President Bush often speaks of the necessity of personal responsibility and civic volunteerism. He said, "In a compassionate society, people respect one another and take responsibility for the decisions they make in life. My hope is to change the culture from one that has said, if it feels good, do it; if you've got a problem, blame somebody else — to one in which every single American understands that he or she is responsible for the decisions that you make; you're responsible for loving your children with all your heart and all your soul; you're responsible for being involved with the quality of the education of your children; you're responsible for making sure the community in which you live is safe; you're responsible for loving your neighbor, just like you would like to be loved yourself." 2. Started the USA Freedom Corps, the most comprehensive clearinghouse of volunteer opportunities ever offered. For the first time in history, Americans can enter geographic information about where they want to get involved, such as state or zip code, as well as areas of interest ranging from education to the environment, and they can access volunteer opportunities offered by more than 50,000 organizations across the country and around the world. 3. Established the The White House Office and the Centers for the Faith-Based and Community Initiative — located in seven Federal agencies. The faith-based initiative supports the essential work of these important organizations. The goal is to make sure that grassroots leaders can compete on an equal footing for federal dollars, receive greater private support, and face fewer bureaucratic barriers. Work focuses on at-risk youth, ex-offenders, the homeless and hungry, substance abusers, those with HIV/AIDS, and welfare-to-work families. 4. The White House released a guidebook fully describing the Administration's belief that faith-based groups have a Constitutionally-protected right to maintain their religious identity through hiring — even when Federal funds are involved. 5. Issued an EO implementing the Supreme Court's Olmstead ruling, which requires moving disabled people from institutions to community-based facilities when possible. 6. Increased funding for low-interest loan programs to help people with disabilities purchase devices to assist them. 7. Revised the Department of Housing and Urban Development's Section 8 rent subsidies to disabled people, permitting them to use up to a year's worth of vouchers to finance down payments on homes. HUD has started pilot programs in 11 states. 8. Committed US funds to purchase medicine for millions of men, women and children now suffering with AIDS in Africa. 9. Heeding the words of our own Declaration of Independence, the president laid out the non-negotiable demands of human dignity for all people everywhere. On January 29, 2002, he said, "No nation owns these aspirations, and no nation is exempt from them. We have no intention of imposing our culture. But America will always stand firm for the non-negotiable demands of human dignity." As stated by the President, they are a virtual manifesto of conservative principles: Equal Justice Freedom of Speech Limited Government Power Private Property Rights Religious Tolerance Respect for Women Rule of Law

Why do libs avoid President Bush's Accomplishments? President Bush's Accomplishments Spotted at Rightnation.us and GOPUSA.com reprinted here for your pleasure. I encourage people who support Bush to learn how effective our President has been, and liberals ought to browse this too. Just remember, the liberal media can't cover up the truth of his accomplishments. The Bush Administration 2001-2004 Abortion & Traditional Values 1. Banned Partial Birth Abortion — by far the most significant roll-back of abortion on demand since Roe v. Wade. 2. Reversed Clinton's move to strike Reagan's anti-abortion Mexico Policy. 3. By Executive Order (EO), reversed Clinton's policy of not requiring parental consent for abortions under the Medical Privacy Act. 4. By EO, prohibited federal funds for international family planning groups that provide abortions and related services. 5. Upheld the ban on abortions at military hospitals. 6. Made $33 million available for abstinence education programs in 2004. 7. Supports the Defense of Marriage Act — and a Constitutional amendment saying marriage is between one man and one woman. 8. Requires states to conduct criminal background checks on prospective foster and adoptive parents. 9. Requires districts to let students transfer out of dangerous schools. 10. Requires schools to have a zero-tolerance policy for classroom disruption (reintroducing discipline into classrooms). 11. Signed the Teacher Protection Act, which protects teachers from lawsuits related to student discipline. 12. Expanded the role of faith-based and community organizations in after-school programs. Budget, Taxes & Economy 1. Signed two income tax cuts, one of which was the largest dollar-value tax cut in world history. 2. Supports permanent elimination of the death tax. 3. Turned around an inherited economy that was in recession, and deeply shocked as a result of the 9/11 attacks. 4. Is seeking legislation to amend the Constitution to give the president line-item veto authority. 5. In process of permanently eliminating IRS marriage penalty. 6. Increased small business incentives to expand and to hire new people. 7. Initiated discussion on privatizing Social Security and individual investment accounts. 8. Killed Clinton's "ergonomic" rules that OSHA was about to implement; rules would have shut down every home business in America. 9. Passed tough new laws to hold corporate criminals to account as a result of corporate scandals. 10. Reduced taxes on dividends and capital gains. 11. Signed trade promotion authority. 12. Reduced and is working to ultimately eliminate the estate tax for family farms and ranches. 13. Fight Europe's ban on importing biotech crops from the United States. 14. Exempt food from unilateral trade sanctions and embargoes. 15. Provided $20 million to states to help people with disabilities work from home. 16. Created a fund to encourage technologies that help the disabled. 17. Increased the annual contribution limit on Education IRA's from $500 to $2,000 per child. 18. Make permanent the $5,000 adoption tax credit and provide $1 billion over five years to increase the credit to $10,000. 19. Grant a complete tax exemption for prepaid or college tuition savings plans. 20. Reduced H1B visas from a high of 195,000 per year to 66,000 per year. Character & Conduct as President 1. Changed the tone in the White House, restoring HONOR and DIGNITY to the presidency. 2. Has reintroduced the mention of God and faith into public discourse. 3. Handled himself with enormous courage, dignity, grace, determination, and leadership in the aftermath of the September 11, 2001 hijackings and anthrax attacks. He almost single-handedly held this country together during those searing days: Just three days after the attacks, in his address at the National Cathedral, the President reassured the nation when he said: "War has been waged against us by stealth and deceit and murder. This nation is peaceful, but fierce when stirred to anger. This conflict was begun on the timing and terms of others. It will end in a way, and at an hour, of our choosing." On Friday, September 14, 2001, President Bush visited Ground Zero. Standing on a crushed and burned fire engine atop the smoldering pile at Ground Zero, he put his arm around a retired firefighter who had volunteered to help, and began speaking to the crowd. Rescue workers shouted that they could not hear him. Someone handed him a small American flag and bullhorn. The President spontaneously shouted: "I can hear you. The rest of the world hears you. And the people who knocked these buildings down will hear all of us soon." The crowd roared with cheers and chants of "USA! USA! USA!" Then he raised that American flag and rallied a nation. Education & Employment Training 1. Signed the No Child Left Behind Act, delivering the most dramatic education reforms in a generation (challenging the soft bigotry of low expectations). The very liberal California Teachers union is currently running radio ads against the accountability provisions of this Act. 2. Announced "Jobs for the 21st Century," a comprehensive plan to better prepare workers for jobs in the new millennium by strengthening post-secondary education and job training, and by improving high school education. 3. Is working to provide vouchers to low-income students in persistently failing schools to help with costs of attending private schools. (Blocked in the Senate.) 4. Requires annual reading and math tests in grades three through eight. 5. Requires states to participate in the National Assessment of Education Progress, or an equivalent program, to establish a national benchmark for academic performance. 6. Requires school-by-school accountability report cards. 7. Established a $2.4 billion fund to help states implement teacher accountability systems. 8. Increased funding for the Troops-to-Teachers program, which recruits former military personnel to become teachers. Environment & Energy 1. Killed the Kyoto Global Warming Treaty. 2. Submitted a comprehensive Energy Plan (awaits Congressional action). The plan works to develop cleaner technology, produce more natural gas here at home, make America less dependent on foreign sources of energy, improve national grid, etc. 3. Established a $10 million grant program to promote private conservation initiatives. 4. Significantly eased field-testing controls of genetically engineered crops. 5. Changed parts of the Forestry Management Act to allow necessary cleanup of the national forests in order to reduce fire danger. 6. Part of national forests cleanup: Restricted judicial challenges (based on the Endangered Species Act and other challenges), and removed the need for an Environmental Impact Statement before removing fuels/logging to reduce fire danger. 7. Killed Clinton's CO2 rules that were choking off all of the electricity surplus to California. 8. Provided matching grants for state programs that help private landowners protect rare species. Defense & Foreign Policy 1. Successfully executed two wars in the aftermath of 9/11/01: Afghanistan and Iraq. 50 million people who had lived under tyrannical regimes now live in freedom. 2. Saddam Hussein is now in prison. His two murderous sons are dead. All but a handful of the regime's senior members were killed or captured. 3. Leader by leader and member by member, al Maida is being hunted down in dozens of countries around the world. Of the senior al Qaeda leaders, operational managers, and key facilitators the U.S. Government has been tracking, nearly two-thirds have been taken into custody or killed. The detentions or deaths of senior al Qaeda leaders, including Khalid Shaykh Muhammad, the mastermind of 9/11, and Muhammad Atef, Osama bin Laden's second-in-command until his death in late 2001, have been important in the War on Terror. 4. Disarmed Libya of its chemical, nuclear and biological WMD's without bribes or bloodshed. 5. Continues to execute the War On Terror, getting worldwide cooperation to track funds/terrorists. Has cut off much of the terrorists' funding, and captured or killed many key leaders of the al Qaeda network. 6. Initiated a comprehensive review of our military, which was completed just prior to 9/11/01, and which accurately reported that ASYMMETRICAL WARFARE capabilities were critical in the 21st Century. 7. Killed the old US/Soviet Union ABM Treaty that was preventing the U.S. from deploying our ABM defenses. 8. Has been one of the strongest, if not THE strongest friend Israel has ever hand in the U.S. presidency. 9. Part of the coalition for an Israeli/Palestinian "Roadmap to Peace," along with Great Britain, Russia and the EU. 10. Pushed through THREE raises for our military. Increased military pay by more than $1 billion a year. 11. Signed the LARGEST nuclear arms reduction in world history with Russia. 12. Started withdrawing our troops from Bosnia, and has announced withdrawal of our troops from Germany and the Korean DMZ. 13. Prohibited putting U.S. troops under U.N. command. 14. Paid back UN dues only in return for reforms and reduction of U.S. share of the costs. 15. Earmarked at least 20 percent of the Defense procurement budget for next-generation weaponry. 16. Increased defense research and development spending by at least $20 billion from fiscal 2002 to 2006. 17. Ordered a comprehensive review of military weapons and strategy. 18. Ordered a review of overseas deployments. 19. Ordered renovation of military housing. The military has already upgraded about 10 percent of its inventory and expects to modernize 76,000 additional homes this year. 20. Is working to tighten restrictions on military-technology exports. 21. Brought back our EP-3 intel plane and crew from China without any bribes or bloodshed. Globalization & Internationalism 1. Challenged the United Nations to live up to their responsibilities and not become another League of Nations (in other words, showed the UN to be completely irrelevant). 2. Killed U.S. involvement in the International Criminal Court. 3. Told the United Nations we weren't interested in their plans for gun control (i.e., the International Ban on Small Arms Trafficking Treaty).* 4. The only President since the founding of the UN to essentially tell that organization it is irrelevant. He said: "The conduct of the Iraqi regime is a threat to the authority of the United Nations, and a threat to peace. Iraq has answered a decade of UN demands with a decade of defiance. All the world now faces a test, and the United Nations a difficult and defining moment. Are Security Council resolutions to be honored and enforced, or cast aside without consequence? Will the United Nations serve the purpose of its founding, or will it be irrelevant?" We all know the outcome and the answer. 5. Told the Congress and the world, "America will never seek a permission slip to defend the security of our country." Government Reform 1. Improved government efficiency by putting hundreds of thousands of jobs put up for bid. This weakens public-sector unions and cuts undeserved pay raises. 2. Initiated review of all federal agencies with the goal of eliminating federal jobs (completed September 2003) in an effort to reduce the size of the federal government while increasing private sector jobs. 3. Led the most extensive reorganization the Federal bureaucracy in over 50 years: After 9/11, condensed 20+ overlapping agencies and their intelligence sectors into one agency, the Department of Homeland Security.* 4. Ordered each agency to draft a five-year plan to restructure itself, with fewer managers. 5. Converted federal service contracts to performance-based contracts wherever possible so that the contractor has measurable performance goals. Health 1. Strengthen the National Health Service Corps to put more physicians in the neediest areas, and make its scholarship funds tax-free. 2. Double the research budget of the National Institutes of Health. 3. Signed Medicare Reform, which includes: A 10-year privatization option. Prescription drug benefits: Prior to this reform, Medicare paid for extended hospital stays for ulcer surgery, for example, at a cost of about $28,000 per patient. Yet Medicare would not pay for the drugs that eliminate the cause of most ulcers, drugs that cost about $500 a year. Now, drug coverage under Medicare will allow seniors to replace more expensive surgeries and hospitalizations with less expensive prescription medicine. More health care choices: As President Bush stated, "…when seniors have the ability to make choices, health care plans within Medicare will have to compete for their business by offering higher quality service [at lower cost]. For the seniors of America, more choices and more control will mean better health care. These are the kinds of health care options we give to the members of Congress and federal employees. What's good for members of Congress is also good for seniors. New Health Savings Accounts: Effective January 1, 2004, Americans can set aside up to $4,500 every year, tax free, to save for medical expenses. Depending on your tax bracket, that means you'll save between 10 to 35 percent on any costs covered by money in your account. Every year, the money not spent would stay in the account and gain interest tax-free, just like an IRA. These accounts will be good for small business owners, and employees. More businesses can focus on covering workers for major medical problems, such as hospitalization for an injury or illness. At the same time, employees and their families will use these accounts to cover doctors visits, or lab tests, or other smaller costs. Some employers will contribute to employee health accounts. This will help more American families get the health care they need at the price they can afford. Homeland Security, Border Enforcement & Immigration 1. *See Government Reform above. Under President Bush's leadership, America has made an unprecedented commitment to homeland security. 2. Has CONSTRUCTION in process on the first 10 ABM silos in Alaska so that America will have a defense against North Korean nukes. Has ordered national and theater ballistic missile defenses to be deployed by 2004. 3. Announced a 9.7% increase in government-wide homeland security funding in his FY 2005 budget, nearly tripling the FY 2001 levels (excluding the Department of Defense and Project BioShield). 4. Before DHS was created, there were inspectors from three different agencies of the Federal Government and Border Patrol officers protecting our borders. Through DHS, U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) now consolidates all border activities into a single agency to create "one face at the border." This not only better secures the borders of the United States, but it also eliminates many of the inefficiencies that occurred under the old system. With over 18,000 CBP inspectors and 11,000 Border Patrol agents, CBP has 29,000 uniformed officers on our borders. 5. The Border Patrol is continuing installation of monitoring devices along the borders to detect illegal activity. 6. Launched Operation Tarmac to investigate businesses and workers in the secure areas of domestic airports and ensure immigration law compliance. Since 9/11, DHS has audited 3,640 businesses, examined 259,037 employee records, arrested 1,030 unauthorized workers, and participated in the criminal indictment of 774 individuals. 7. Since September 11, 2001, the Coast Guard has conducted more than 124,000 port security patrols, 13,000 air patrols, boarded more than 92,000 vessels, interdicted over 14,000 individuals attempting to enter the United States illegally, and created and maintained more than 90 Maritime Security Zones. 8. Announced the Student and Exchange Visitor Information System (SEVIS), an internet-based system that is improving America's ability to track and monitor foreign students and exchange visitors. Over 870,000 students are registered in SEVIS. Of 285 completed field investigations, 71 aliens were arrested. 9. This week, the US-VISIT program began to digitally collect biometric identifiers to record the entry and exit of aliens who travel into the U.S on a visa. Together with the standard information, this new program will confirm compliance with visa and immigration policies. 10. Eliminated INS bureaucratic redundancies and lack of accountability. 11. Split the Immigration and Naturalization Service into two agencies: one to protect the border and interior, the other to deal with naturalization. 12. Signed the workplace verification bill to prevent hiring of illegal aliens. 13. Established a six-month deadline for processing immigration applications. 14. Information regarding nearly 100% of all containerized cargo is carefully screened by DHS before it arrives in the United States. Higher risk shipments are physically inspected for terrorist weapons and contraband prior to being released from the port of entry. Advanced technologies are being deployed to identify warning signs of chemical, biological, or radiological attacks. Since September 11, 2001, hundreds of thousands of first responders across America have been trained to recognize and respond to the effects of a WMD attack. Judiciary & Tort Reform 1. Is urging federal liability reform to eliminate frivolous lawsuits. 2. Killed the liberal ABA's unconstitutional role in vetting federal judges. The Senate is supposed to advise and consent, not the ABA. 3. Is nominating strong, conservative judges to the judiciary. 4. Supports class action reform bill which limits lawyer fees so that more settlement money goes to victims. Politics 1. His leadership resulted in Republican gains in the House and Senate, solidifying Republican control of both houses of Congress and the presidency. 2. Signed an EO enforcing the Supreme Court's Beck decision regarding union dues being used for political campaigns against individual's wishes. Second Amendment 1. Ordered Attorney General Ashcroft to formally notify the Supreme Court that the OFFICIAL U.S. government position on the 2nd Amendment is that it supports INDIVIDUAL rights to own firearms, and is NOT a Leftist-imagined "collective" right. 2. Signed TWO bills into law that arm our pilots with handguns in the cockpit. 3. Currently pushing for full immunity from lawsuits for our national gun manufacturers. 4. *See Globalization & Internationalism. Traditional Values, Compassion & Volunteerism 1. Endorses and promotes "The Responsibility Era." President Bush often speaks of the necessity of personal responsibility and civic volunteerism. He said, "In a compassionate society, people respect one another and take responsibility for the decisions they make in life. My hope is to change the culture from one that has said, if it feels good, do it; if you've got a problem, blame somebody else — to one in which every single American understands that he or she is responsible for the decisions that you make; you're responsible for loving your children with all your heart and all your soul; you're responsible for being involved with the quality of the education of your children; you're responsible for making sure the community in which you live is safe; you're responsible for loving your neighbor, just like you would like to be loved yourself." 2. Started the USA Freedom Corps, the most comprehensive clearinghouse of volunteer opportunities ever offered. For the first time in history, Americans can enter geographic information about where they want to get involved, such as state or zip code, as well as areas of interest ranging from education to the environment, and they can access volunteer opportunities offered by more than 50,000 organizations across the country and around the world. 3. Established the The White House Office and the Centers for the Faith-Based and Community Initiative — located in seven Federal agencies. The faith-based initiative supports the essential work of these important organizations. The goal is to make sure that grassroots leaders can compete on an equal footing for federal dollars, receive greater private support, and face fewer bureaucratic barriers. Work focuses on at-risk youth, ex-offenders, the homeless and hungry, substance abusers, those with HIV/AIDS, and welfare-to-work families. 4. The White House released a guidebook fully describing the Administration's belief that faith-based groups have a Constitutionally-protected right to maintain their religious identity through hiring — even when Federal funds are involved. 5. Issued an EO implementing the Supreme Court's Olmstead ruling, which requires moving disabled people from institutions to community-based facilities when possible. 6. Increased funding for low-interest loan programs to help people with disabilities purchase devices to assist them. 7. Revised the Department of Housing and Urban Development's Section 8 rent subsidies to disabled people, permitting them to use up to a year's worth of vouchers to finance down payments on homes. HUD has started pilot programs in 11 states. 8. Committed US funds to purchase medicine for millions of men, women and children now suffering with AIDS in Africa. 9. Heeding the words of our own Declaration of Independence, the president laid out the non-negotiable demands of human dignity for all people everywhere. On January 29, 2002, he said, "No nation owns these aspirations, and no nation is exempt from them. We have no intention of imposing our culture. But America will always stand firm for the non-negotiable demands of human dignity." As stated by the President, they are a virtual manifesto of conservative principles: Equal Justice Freedom of Speech Limited Government Power Private Property Rights Religious Tolerance Respect for Women Rule of Law

Is this why the libs hate BUSH? President Bush's Accomplishments Spotted at Rightnation.us and GOPUSA.com reprinted here for your pleasure. I encourage people who support Bush to learn how effective our President has been, and liberals ought to browse this too. Just remember, the liberal media can't cover up the truth of his accomplishments. The Bush Administration 2001-2004 Abortion & Traditional Values 1. Banned Partial Birth Abortion — by far the most significant roll-back of abortion on demand since Roe v. Wade. 2. Reversed Clinton's move to strike Reagan's anti-abortion Mexico Policy. 3. By Executive Order (EO), reversed Clinton's policy of not requiring parental consent for abortions under the Medical Privacy Act. 4. By EO, prohibited federal funds for international family planning groups that provide abortions and related services. 5. Upheld the ban on abortions at military hospitals. 6. Made $33 million available for abstinence education programs in 2004. 7. Supports the Defense of Marriage Act — and a Constitutional amendment saying marriage is between one man and one woman. 8. Requires states to conduct criminal background checks on prospective foster and adoptive parents. 9. Requires districts to let students transfer out of dangerous schools. 10. Requires schools to have a zero-tolerance policy for classroom disruption (reintroducing discipline into classrooms). 11. Signed the Teacher Protection Act, which protects teachers from lawsuits related to student discipline. 12. Expanded the role of faith-based and community organizations in after-school programs. Budget, Taxes & Economy 1. Signed two income tax cuts, one of which was the largest dollar-value tax cut in world history. 2. Supports permanent elimination of the death tax. 3. Turned around an inherited economy that was in recession, and deeply shocked as a result of the 9/11 attacks. 4. Is seeking legislation to amend the Constitution to give the president line-item veto authority. 5. In process of permanently eliminating IRS marriage penalty. 6. Increased small business incentives to expand and to hire new people. 7. Initiated discussion on privatizing Social Security and individual investment accounts. 8. Killed Clinton's "ergonomic" rules that OSHA was about to implement; rules would have shut down every home business in America. 9. Passed tough new laws to hold corporate criminals to account as a result of corporate scandals. 10. Reduced taxes on dividends and capital gains. 11. Signed trade promotion authority. 12. Reduced and is working to ultimately eliminate the estate tax for family farms and ranches. 13. Fight Europe's ban on importing biotech crops from the United States. 14. Exempt food from unilateral trade sanctions and embargoes. 15. Provided $20 million to states to help people with disabilities work from home. 16. Created a fund to encourage technologies that help the disabled. 17. Increased the annual contribution limit on Education IRA's from $500 to $2,000 per child. 18. Make permanent the $5,000 adoption tax credit and provide $1 billion over five years to increase the credit to $10,000. 19. Grant a complete tax exemption for prepaid or college tuition savings plans. 20. Reduced H1B visas from a high of 195,000 per year to 66,000 per year. Character & Conduct as President 1. Changed the tone in the White House, restoring HONOR and DIGNITY to the presidency. 2. Has reintroduced the mention of God and faith into public discourse. 3. Handled himself with enormous courage, dignity, grace, determination, and leadership in the aftermath of the September 11, 2001 hijackings and anthrax attacks. He almost single-handedly held this country together during those searing days: Just three days after the attacks, in his address at the National Cathedral, the President reassured the nation when he said: "War has been waged against us by stealth and deceit and murder. This nation is peaceful, but fierce when stirred to anger. This conflict was begun on the timing and terms of others. It will end in a way, and at an hour, of our choosing." On Friday, September 14, 2001, President Bush visited Ground Zero. Standing on a crushed and burned fire engine atop the smoldering pile at Ground Zero, he put his arm around a retired firefighter who had volunteered to help, and began speaking to the crowd. Rescue workers shouted that they could not hear him. Someone handed him a small American flag and bullhorn. The President spontaneously shouted: "I can hear you. The rest of the world hears you. And the people who knocked these buildings down will hear all of us soon." The crowd roared with cheers and chants of "USA! USA! USA!" Then he raised that American flag and rallied a nation. Education & Employment Training 1. Signed the No Child Left Behind Act, delivering the most dramatic education reforms in a generation (challenging the soft bigotry of low expectations). The very liberal California Teachers union is currently running radio ads against the accountability provisions of this Act. 2. Announced "Jobs for the 21st Century," a comprehensive plan to better prepare workers for jobs in the new millennium by strengthening post-secondary education and job training, and by improving high school education. 3. Is working to provide vouchers to low-income students in persistently failing schools to help with costs of attending private schools. (Blocked in the Senate.) 4. Requires annual reading and math tests in grades three through eight. 5. Requires states to participate in the National Assessment of Education Progress, or an equivalent program, to establish a national benchmark for academic performance. 6. Requires school-by-school accountability report cards. 7. Established a $2.4 billion fund to help states implement teacher accountability systems. 8. Increased funding for the Troops-to-Teachers program, which recruits former military personnel to become teachers. Environment & Energy 1. Killed the Kyoto Global Warming Treaty. 2. Submitted a comprehensive Energy Plan (awaits Congressional action). The plan works to develop cleaner technology, produce more natural gas here at home, make America less dependent on foreign sources of energy, improve national grid, etc. 3. Established a $10 million grant program to promote private conservation initiatives. 4. Significantly eased field-testing controls of genetically engineered crops. 5. Changed parts of the Forestry Management Act to allow necessary cleanup of the national forests in order to reduce fire danger. 6. Part of national forests cleanup: Restricted judicial challenges (based on the Endangered Species Act and other challenges), and removed the need for an Environmental Impact Statement before removing fuels/logging to reduce fire danger. 7. Killed Clinton's CO2 rules that were choking off all of the electricity surplus to California. 8. Provided matching grants for state programs that help private landowners protect rare species. Defense & Foreign Policy 1. Successfully executed two wars in the aftermath of 9/11/01: Afghanistan and Iraq. 50 million people who had lived under tyrannical regimes now live in freedom. 2. Saddam Hussein is now in prison. His two murderous sons are dead. All but a handful of the regime's senior members were killed or captured. 3. Leader by leader and member by member, al Maida is being hunted down in dozens of countries around the world. Of the senior al Qaeda leaders, operational managers, and key facilitators the U.S. Government has been tracking, nearly two-thirds have been taken into custody or killed. The detentions or deaths of senior al Qaeda leaders, including Khalid Shaykh Muhammad, the mastermind of 9/11, and Muhammad Atef, Osama bin Laden's second-in-command until his death in late 2001, have been important in the War on Terror. 4. Disarmed Libya of its chemical, nuclear and biological WMD's without bribes or bloodshed. 5. Continues to execute the War On Terror, getting worldwide cooperation to track funds/terrorists. Has cut off much of the terrorists' funding, and captured or killed many key leaders of the al Qaeda network. 6. Initiated a comprehensive review of our military, which was completed just prior to 9/11/01, and which accurately reported that ASYMMETRICAL WARFARE capabilities were critical in the 21st Century. 7. Killed the old US/Soviet Union ABM Treaty that was preventing the U.S. from deploying our ABM defenses. 8. Has been one of the strongest, if not THE strongest friend Israel has ever hand in the U.S. presidency. 9. Part of the coalition for an Israeli/Palestinian "Roadmap to Peace," along with Great Britain, Russia and the EU. 10. Pushed through THREE raises for our military. Increased military pay by more than $1 billion a year. 11. Signed the LARGEST nuclear arms reduction in world history with Russia. 12. Started withdrawing our troops from Bosnia, and has announced withdrawal of our troops from Germany and the Korean DMZ. 13. Prohibited putting U.S. troops under U.N. command. 14. Paid back UN dues only in return for reforms and reduction of U.S. share of the costs. 15. Earmarked at least 20 percent of the Defense procurement budget for next-generation weaponry. 16. Increased defense research and development spending by at least $20 billion from fiscal 2002 to 2006. 17. Ordered a comprehensive review of military weapons and strategy. 18. Ordered a review of overseas deployments. 19. Ordered renovation of military housing. The military has already upgraded about 10 percent of its inventory and expects to modernize 76,000 additional homes this year. 20. Is working to tighten restrictions on military-technology exports. 21. Brought back our EP-3 intel plane and crew from China without any bribes or bloodshed. Globalization & Internationalism 1. Challenged the United Nations to live up to their responsibilities and not become another League of Nations (in other words, showed the UN to be completely irrelevant). 2. Killed U.S. involvement in the International Criminal Court. 3. Told the United Nations we weren't interested in their plans for gun control (i.e., the International Ban on Small Arms Trafficking Treaty).* 4. The only President since the founding of the UN to essentially tell that organization it is irrelevant. He said: "The conduct of the Iraqi regime is a threat to the authority of the United Nations, and a threat to peace. Iraq has answered a decade of UN demands with a decade of defiance. All the world now faces a test, and the United Nations a difficult and defining moment. Are Security Council resolutions to be honored and enforced, or cast aside without consequence? Will the United Nations serve the purpose of its founding, or will it be irrelevant?" We all know the outcome and the answer. 5. Told the Congress and the world, "America will never seek a permission slip to defend the security of our country." Government Reform 1. Improved government efficiency by putting hundreds of thousands of jobs put up for bid. This weakens public-sector unions and cuts undeserved pay raises. 2. Initiated review of all federal agencies with the goal of eliminating federal jobs (completed September 2003) in an effort to reduce the size of the federal government while increasing private sector jobs. 3. Led the most extensive reorganization the Federal bureaucracy in over 50 years: After 9/11, condensed 20+ overlapping agencies and their intelligence sectors into one agency, the Department of Homeland Security.* 4. Ordered each agency to draft a five-year plan to restructure itself, with fewer managers. 5. Converted federal service contracts to performance-based contracts wherever possible so that the contractor has measurable performance goals. Health 1. Strengthen the National Health Service Corps to put more physicians in the neediest areas, and make its scholarship funds tax-free. 2. Double the research budget of the National Institutes of Health. 3. Signed Medicare Reform, which includes: A 10-year privatization option. Prescription drug benefits: Prior to this reform, Medicare paid for extended hospital stays for ulcer surgery, for example, at a cost of about $28,000 per patient. Yet Medicare would not pay for the drugs that eliminate the cause of most ulcers, drugs that cost about $500 a year. Now, drug coverage under Medicare will allow seniors to replace more expensive surgeries and hospitalizations with less expensive prescription medicine. More health care choices: As President Bush stated, "…when seniors have the ability to make choices, health care plans within Medicare will have to compete for their business by offering higher quality service [at lower cost]. For the seniors of America, more choices and more control will mean better health care. These are the kinds of health care options we give to the members of Congress and federal employees. What's good for members of Congress is also good for seniors. New Health Savings Accounts: Effective January 1, 2004, Americans can set aside up to $4,500 every year, tax free, to save for medical expenses. Depending on your tax bracket, that means you'll save between 10 to 35 percent on any costs covered by money in your account. Every year, the money not spent would stay in the account and gain interest tax-free, just like an IRA. These accounts will be good for small business owners, and employees. More businesses can focus on covering workers for major medical problems, such as hospitalization for an injury or illness. At the same time, employees and their families will use these accounts to cover doctors visits, or lab tests, or other smaller costs. Some employers will contribute to employee health accounts. This will help more American families get the health care they need at the price they can afford. Homeland Security, Border Enforcement & Immigration 1. *See Government Reform above. Under President Bush's leadership, America has made an unprecedented commitment to homeland security. 2. Has CONSTRUCTION in process on the first 10 ABM silos in Alaska so that America will have a defense against North Korean nukes. Has ordered national and theater ballistic missile defenses to be deployed by 2004. 3. Announced a 9.7% increase in government-wide homeland security funding in his FY 2005 budget, nearly tripling the FY 2001 levels (excluding the Department of Defense and Project BioShield). 4. Before DHS was created, there were inspectors from three different agencies of the Federal Government and Border Patrol officers protecting our borders. Through DHS, U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) now consolidates all border activities into a single agency to create "one face at the border." This not only better secures the borders of the United States, but it also eliminates many of the inefficiencies that occurred under the old system. With over 18,000 CBP inspectors and 11,000 Border Patrol agents, CBP has 29,000 uniformed officers on our borders. 5. The Border Patrol is continuing installation of monitoring devices along the borders to detect illegal activity. 6. Launched Operation Tarmac to investigate businesses and workers in the secure areas of domestic airports and ensure immigration law compliance. Since 9/11, DHS has audited 3,640 businesses, examined 259,037 employee records, arrested 1,030 unauthorized workers, and participated in the criminal indictment of 774 individuals. 7. Since September 11, 2001, the Coast Guard has conducted more than 124,000 port security patrols, 13,000 air patrols, boarded more than 92,000 vessels, interdicted over 14,000 individuals attempting to enter the United States illegally, and created and maintained more than 90 Maritime Security Zones. 8. Announced the Student and Exchange Visitor Information System (SEVIS), an internet-based system that is improving America's ability to track and monitor foreign students and exchange visitors. Over 870,000 students are registered in SEVIS. Of 285 completed field investigations, 71 aliens were arrested. 9. This week, the US-VISIT program began to digitally collect biometric identifiers to record the entry and exit of aliens who travel into the U.S on a visa. Together with the standard information, this new program will confirm compliance with visa and immigration policies. 10. Eliminated INS bureaucratic redundancies and lack of accountability. 11. Split the Immigration and Naturalization Service into two agencies: one to protect the border and interior, the other to deal with naturalization. 12. Signed the workplace verification bill to prevent hiring of illegal aliens. 13. Established a six-month deadline for processing immigration applications. 14. Information regarding nearly 100% of all containerized cargo is carefully screened by DHS before it arrives in the United States. Higher risk shipments are physically inspected for terrorist weapons and contraband prior to being released from the port of entry. Advanced technologies are being deployed to identify warning signs of chemical, biological, or radiological attacks. Since September 11, 2001, hundreds of thousands of first responders across America have been trained to recognize and respond to the effects of a WMD attack. Judiciary & Tort Reform 1. Is urging federal liability reform to eliminate frivolous lawsuits. 2. Killed the liberal ABA's unconstitutional role in vetting federal judges. The Senate is supposed to advise and consent, not the ABA. 3. Is nominating strong, conservative judges to the judiciary. 4. Supports class action reform bill which limits lawyer fees so that more settlement money goes to victims. Politics 1. His leadership resulted in Republican gains in the House and Senate, solidifying Republican control of both houses of Congress and the presidency. 2. Signed an EO enforcing the Supreme Court's Beck decision regarding union dues being used for political campaigns against individual's wishes. Second Amendment 1. Ordered Attorney General Ashcroft to formally notify the Supreme Court that the OFFICIAL U.S. government position on the 2nd Amendment is that it supports INDIVIDUAL rights to own firearms, and is NOT a Leftist-imagined "collective" right. 2. Signed TWO bills into law that arm our pilots with handguns in the cockpit. 3. Currently pushing for full immunity from lawsuits for our national gun manufacturers. 4. *See Globalization & Internationalism. Traditional Values, Compassion & Volunteerism 1. Endorses and promotes "The Responsibility Era." President Bush often speaks of the necessity of personal responsibility and civic volunteerism. He said, "In a compassionate society, people respect one another and take responsibility for the decisions they make in life. My hope is to change the culture from one that has said, if it feels good, do it; if you've got a problem, blame somebody else — to one in which every single American understands that he or she is responsible for the decisions that you make; you're responsible for loving your children with all your heart and all your soul; you're responsible for being involved with the quality of the education of your children; you're responsible for making sure the community in which you live is safe; you're responsible for loving your neighbor, just like you would like to be loved yourself." 2. Started the USA Freedom Corps, the most comprehensive clearinghouse of volunteer opportunities ever offered. For the first time in history, Americans can enter geographic information about where they want to get involved, such as state or zip code, as well as areas of interest ranging from education to the environment, and they can access volunteer opportunities offered by more than 50,000 organizations across the country and around the world. 3. Established the The White House Office and the Centers for the Faith-Based and Community Initiative — located in seven Federal agencies. The faith-based initiative supports the essential work of these important organizations. The goal is to make sure that grassroots leaders can compete on an equal footing for federal dollars, receive greater private support, and face fewer bureaucratic barriers. Work focuses on at-risk youth, ex-offenders, the homeless and hungry, substance abusers, those with HIV/AIDS, and welfare-to-work families. 4. The White House released a guidebook fully describing the Administration's belief that faith-based groups have a Constitutionally-protected right to maintain their religious identity through hiring — even when Federal funds are involved. 5. Issued an EO implementing the Supreme Court's Olmstead ruling, which requires moving disabled people from institutions to community-based facilities when possible. 6. Increased funding for low-interest loan programs to help people with disabilities purchase devices to assist them. 7. Revised the Department of Housing and Urban Development's Section 8 rent subsidies to disabled people, permitting them to use up to a year's worth of vouchers to finance down payments on homes. HUD has started pilot programs in 11 states. 8. Committed US funds to purchase medicine for millions of men, women and children now suffering with AIDS in Africa. 9. Heeding the words of our own Declaration of Independence, the president laid out the non-negotiable demands of human dignity for all people everywhere. On January 29, 2002, he said, "No nation owns these aspirations, and no nation is exempt from them. We have no intention of imposing our culture. But America will always stand firm for the non-negotiable demands of human dignity." As stated by the President, they are a virtual manifesto of conservative principles: Equal Justice Freedom of Speech Limited Government Power Private Property Rights Religious Tolerance Respect for Women Rule of Law ________________________________________ TOPICS: Business/Economy; Constitution/Conservatism; Crime/Corruption; Culture/Society; Editorial; Foreign Affairs; Government; Miscellaneous; News/Current Events; Politics/Elections; War on Terror KEYWORDS: bushlegacy; bushrecord; georgewbush; gwb2004 ________________________________________ 1 posted on 03/12/2004 4:23:27 AM PST by Cincinatus' Wife [ Post Reply | Private Reply | View Replies ] ________________________________________ To: Cincinatus' Wife Bush is our President. He fixed our country. He brought back family values. He made us strong in the face of danger. He is looing out for my childrens education. He has reduced my income tax. That's why he gets my vote. 2 posted on 03/12/2004 4:43:46 AM PST by EQAndyBuzz (60 Senate seats changes the world!! Bury Kerry in 04!) [ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies ] ________________________________________ To: Cincinatus' Wife someone one point to the Medicare section and the savings accounts, someone scream at the conservatives who cry about drugs and point out $28,000 for ulcer surgery vs $500 for medicine; Medical Savings Accounts as a way to have larger deductibles and more patient responsibility. THESE ARE CONSERVATIVE PROGRAMS!! Newt was all over TV praising this program one week after they passed it but RUSH who is a headline reader has gotten it wrong and cost Bush 10 points in the polls. 3 posted on 03/12/2004 4:53:54 AM PST by q_an_a [ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies ] ________________________________________ To: Cincinatus' Wife Bookmark for future reference 4 posted on 03/12/2004 5:05:46 AM PST by Semper Vigilantis (1 democrat + 1 democrat = 5 opinions, 6 tax increases, 2 more welfare programs & 0 solutions.) [ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies ] ________________________________________ To: Cincinatus' Wife wide open borders that allow narco terrorists al qaeda and chi coms open easy access to CONUS? 5 posted on 03/12/2004 5:26:59 AM PST by joesnuffy (Moderate Islam Is For Dilettantes) [ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies ] ________________________________________ To: Cincinatus' Wife Abortion & Traditional Values 1. Banned Partial Birth Abortion — by far the most significant roll-back of abortion on demand since Roe v. Wade. 2. Reversed Clinton's move to strike Reagan's anti-abortion Mexico Policy. 3. By Executive Order (EO), reversed Clinton's policy of not requiring parental consent for abortions under the Medical Privacy Act. 4. By EO, prohibited federal funds for international family planning groups that provide abortions and related services. 5. Upheld the ban on abortions at military hospitals. 6. Made $33 million available for abstinence education programs in 2004. 7. Supports the Defense of Marriage Act — and a Constitutional amendment saying marriage is between one man and one woman. 8. Requires states to conduct criminal background checks on prospective foster and adoptive parents. 9. Requires districts to let students transfer out of dangerous schools. 10. Requires schools to have a zero-tolerance policy for classroom disruption (reintroducing discipline into classrooms). 11. Signed the Teacher Protection Act, which protects teachers from lawsuits related to student discipline. 12. Expanded the role of faith-based and community organizations in after-school programs. Budget, Taxes & Economy 1. Signed two income tax cuts, one of which was the largest dollar-value tax cut in world history. 2. Supports permanent elimination of the death tax. 3. Turned around an inherited economy that was in recession, and deeply shocked as a result of the 9/11 attacks. 4. Is seeking legislation to amend the Constitution to give the president line-item veto authority. 5. In process of permanently eliminating IRS marriage penalty. 6. Increased small business incentives to expand and to hire new people. 7. Initiated discussion on privatizing Social Security and individual investment accounts. 8. Killed Clinton's "ergonomic" rules that OSHA was about to implement; rules would have shut down every home business in America. 9. Passed tough new laws to hold corporate criminals to account as a result of corporate scandals. 10. Reduced taxes on dividends and capital gains. 11. Signed trade promotion authority. 12. Reduced and is working to ultimately eliminate the estate tax for family farms and ranches. 13. Fight Europe's ban on importing biotech crops from the United States. 14. Exempt food from unilateral trade sanctions and embargoes. 15. Provided $20 million to states to help people with disabilities work from home. 16. Created a fund to encourage technologies that help the disabled. 17. Increased the annual contribution limit on Education IRA's from $500 to $2,000 per child. 18. Make permanent the $5,000 adoption tax credit and provide $1 billion over five years to increase the credit to $10,000. 19. Grant a complete tax exemption for prepaid or college tuition savings plans. 20. Reduced H1B visas from a high of 195,000 per year to 66,000 per year. Character & Conduct as President 1. Changed the tone in the White House, restoring HONOR and DIGNITY to the presidency. 2. Has reintroduced the mention of God and faith into public discourse. 3. Handled himself with enormous courage, dignity, grace, determination, and leadership in the aftermath of the September 11, 2001 hijackings and anthrax attacks. He almost single-handedly held this country together during those searing days: Just three days after the attacks, in his address at the National Cathedral, the President reassured the nation when he said: "War has been waged against us by stealth and deceit and murder. This nation is peaceful, but fierce when stirred to anger. This conflict was begun on the timing and terms of others. It will end in a way, and at an hour, of our choosing." On Friday, September 14, 2001, President Bush visited Ground Zero. Standing on a crushed and burned fire engine atop the smoldering pile at Ground Zero, he put his arm around a retired firefighter who had volunteered to help, and began speaking to the crowd. Rescue workers shouted that they could not hear him. Someone handed him a small American flag and bullhorn. The President spontaneously shouted: "I can hear you. The rest of the world hears you. And the people who knocked these buildings down will hear all of us soon." The crowd roared with cheers and chants of "USA! USA! USA!" Then he raised that American flag and rallied a nation. Education & Employment Training 1. Signed the No Child Left Behind Act, delivering the most dramatic education reforms in a generation (challenging the soft bigotry of low expectations). The very liberal California Teachers union is currently running radio ads against the accountability provisions of this Act. 2. Announced "Jobs for the 21st Century," a comprehensive plan to better prepare workers for jobs in the new millennium by strengthening post-secondary education and job training, and by improving high school education. 3. Is working to provide vouchers to low-income students in persistently failing schools to help with costs of attending private schools. (Blocked in the Senate.) 4. Requires annual reading and math tests in grades three through eight. 5. Requires states to participate in the National Assessment of Education Progress, or an equivalent program, to establish a national benchmark for academic performance. 6. Requires school-by-school accountability report cards. 7. Established a $2.4 billion fund to help states implement teacher accountability systems. 8. Increased funding for the Troops-to-Teachers program, which recruits former military personnel to become teachers. Environment & Energy 1. Killed the Kyoto Global Warming Treaty. 2. Submitted a comprehensive Energy Plan (awaits Congressional action). The plan works to develop cleaner technology, produce more natural gas here at home, make America less dependent on foreign sources of energy, improve national grid, etc. 3. Established a $10 million grant program to promote private conservation initiatives. 4. Significantly eased field-testing controls of genetically engineered crops. 5. Changed parts of the Forestry Management Act to allow necessary cleanup of the national forests in order to reduce fire danger. 6. Part of national forests cleanup: Restricted judicial challenges (based on the Endangered Species Act and other challenges), and removed the need for an Environmental Impact Statement before removing fuels/logging to reduce fire danger. 7. Killed Clinton's CO2 rules that were choking off all of the electricity surplus to California. 8. Provided matching grants for state programs that help private landowners protect rare species. Defense & Foreign Policy 1. Successfully executed two wars in the aftermath of 9/11/01: Afghanistan and Iraq. 50 million people who had lived under tyrannical regimes now live in freedom. 2. Saddam Hussein is now in prison. His two murderous sons are dead. All but a handful of the regime's senior members were killed or captured. 3. Leader by leader and member by member, al Maida is being hunted down in dozens of countries around the world. Of the senior al Qaeda leaders, operational managers, and key facilitators the U.S. Government has been tracking, nearly two-thirds have been taken into custody or killed. The detentions or deaths of senior al Qaeda leaders, including Khalid Shaykh Muhammad, the mastermind of 9/11, and Muhammad Atef, Osama bin Laden's second-in-command until his death in late 2001, have been important in the War on Terror. 4. Disarmed Libya of its chemical, nuclear and biological WMD's without bribes or bloodshed. 5. Continues to execute the War On Terror, getting worldwide cooperation to track funds/terrorists. Has cut off much of the terrorists' funding, and captured or killed many key leaders of the al Qaeda network. 6. Initiated a comprehensive review of our military, which was completed just prior to 9/11/01, and which accurately reported that ASYMMETRICAL WARFARE capabilities were critical in the 21st Century. 7. Killed the old US/Soviet Union ABM Treaty that was preventing the U.S. from deploying our ABM defenses. 8. Has been one of the strongest, if not THE strongest friend Israel has ever hand in the U.S. presidency. 9. Part of the coalition for an Israeli/Palestinian "Roadmap to Peace," along with Great Britain, Russia and the EU. 10. Pushed through THREE raises for our military. Increased military pay by more than $1 billion a year. 11. Signed the LARGEST nuclear arms reduction in world history with Russia. 12. Started withdrawing our troops from Bosnia, and has announced withdrawal of our troops from Germany and the Korean DMZ. 13. Prohibited putting U.S. troops under U.N. command. 14. Paid back UN dues only in return for reforms and reduction of U.S. share of the costs. 15. Earmarked at least 20 percent of the Defense procurement budget for next-generation weaponry. 16. Increased defense research and development spending by at least $20 billion from fiscal 2002 to 2006. 17. Ordered a comprehensive review of military weapons and strategy. 18. Ordered a review of overseas deployments. 19. Ordered renovation of military housing. The military has already upgraded about 10 percent of its inventory and expects to modernize 76,000 additional homes this year. 20. Is working to tighten restrictions on military-technology exports. 21. Brought back our EP-3 intel plane and crew from China without any bribes or bloodshed. Globalization & Internationalism 1. Challenged the United Nations to live up to their responsibilities and not become another League of Nations (in other words, showed the UN to be completely irrelevant). 2. Killed U.S. involvement in the International Criminal Court. 3. Told the United Nations we weren't interested in their plans for gun control (i.e., the International Ban on Small Arms Trafficking Treaty). 4. The only President since the founding of the UN to essentially tell that organization it is irrelevant. He said: "The conduct of the Iraqi regime is a threat to the authority of the United Nations, and a threat to peace. Iraq has answered a decade of UN demands with a decade of defiance. All the world now faces a test, and the United Nations a difficult and defining moment. Are Security Council resolutions to be honored and enforced, or cast aside without consequence? Will the United Nations serve the purpose of its founding, or will it be irrelevant?" We all know the outcome and the answer. 5. Told the Congress and the world, "America will never seek a permission slip to defend the security of our country." Government Reform 1. Improved government efficiency by putting hundreds of thousands of jobs put up for bid. This weakens public-sector unions and cuts undeserved pay raises. 2. Initiated review of all federal agencies with the goal of eliminating federal jobs (completed September 2003) in an effort to reduce the size of the federal government while increasing private sector jobs. 3. Led the most extensive reorganization the Federal bureaucracy in over 50 years: After 9/11, condensed 20+ overlapping agencies and their intelligence sectors into one agency, the Department of Homeland Security. 4. Ordered each agency to draft a five-year plan to restructure itself, with fewer managers. 5. Converted federal service contracts to performance-based contracts wherever possible so that the contractor has measurable performance goals. Health< 1. Strengthen the National Health Service Corps to put more physicians in the neediest areas, and make its scholarship funds tax-free. 2. Double the research budget of the National Institutes of Health. 3. Signed Medicare Reform, which includes: A 10-year privatization option. Prescription drug benefits: Prior to this reform, Medicare paid for extended hospital stays for ulcer surgery, for example, at a cost of about $28,000 per patient. Yet Medicare would not pay for the drugs that eliminate the cause of most ulcers, drugs that cost about $500 a year. Now, drug coverage under Medicare will allow seniors to replace more expensive surgeries and hospitalizations with less expensive prescription medicine. More health care choices: As President Bush stated, "…when seniors have the ability to make choices, health care plans within Medicare will have to compete for their business by offering higher quality service [at lower cost]. For the seniors of America, more choices and more control will mean better health care. These are the kinds of health care options we give to the members of Congress and federal employees. What's good for members of Congress is also good for seniors. New Health Savings Accounts: Effective January 1, 2004, Americans can set aside up to $4,500 every year, tax free, to save for medical expenses. Depending on your tax bracket, that means you'll save between 10 to 35 percent on any costs covered by money in your account. Every year, the money not spent would stay in the account and gain interest tax-free, just like an IRA. These accounts will be good for small business owners, and employees. More businesses can focus on covering workers for major medical problems, such as hospitalization for an injury or illness. At the same time, employees and their families will use these accounts to cover doctors visits, or lab tests, or other smaller costs. Some employers will contribute to employee health accounts. This will help more American families get the health care they need at the price they can afford. Homeland Security, Border Enforcement & Immigration 1. *See Government Reform above. Under President Bush's leadership, America has made an unprecedented commitment to homeland security. 2. Has CONSTRUCTION in process on the first 10 ABM silos in Alaska so that America will have a defense against North Korean nukes. Has ordered national and theater ballistic missile defenses to be deployed by 2004. 3. Announced a 9.7% increase in government-wide homeland security funding in his FY 2005 budget, nearly tripling the FY 2001 levels (excluding the Department of Defense and Project BioShield). 4. Before DHS was created, there were inspectors from three different agencies of the Federal Government and Border Patrol officers protecting our borders. Through DHS, U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) now consolidates all border activities into a single agency to create "one face at the border." This not only better secures the borders of the United States, but it also eliminates many of the inefficiencies that occurred under the old system. With over 18,000 CBP inspectors and 11,000 Border Patrol agents, CBP has 29,000 uniformed officers on our borders. 5. The Border Patrol is continuing installation of monitoring devices along the borders to detect illegal activity. 6. Launched Operation Tarmac to investigate businesses and workers in the secure areas of domestic airports and ensure immigration law compliance. Since 9/11, DHS has audited 3,640 businesses, examined 259,037 employee records, arrested 1,030 unauthorized workers, and participated in the criminal indictment of 774 individuals. 7. Since September 11, 2001, the Coast Guard has conducted more than 124,000 port security patrols, 13,000 air patrols, boarded more than 92,000 vessels, interdicted over 14,000 individuals attempting to enter the United States illegally, and created and maintained more than 90 Maritime Security Zones. 8. Announced the Student and Exchange Visitor Information System (SEVIS), an internet-based system that is improving America's ability to track and monitor foreign students and exchange visitors. Over 870,000 students are registered in SEVIS. Of 285 completed field investigations, 71 aliens were arrested. 9. This week, the US-VISIT program began to digitally collect biometric identifiers to record the entry and exit of aliens who travel into the U.S on a visa. Together with the standard information, this new program will confirm compliance with visa and immigration policies. 10. Eliminated INS bureaucratic redundancies and lack of accountability. 11. Split the Immigration and Naturalization Service into two agencies: one to protect the border and interior, the other to deal with naturalization. 12. Signed the workplace verification bill to prevent hiring of illegal aliens. 13. Established a six-month deadline for processing immigration applications. 14. Information regarding nearly 100% of all containerized cargo is carefully screened by DHS before it arrives in the United States. Higher risk shipments are physically inspected for terrorist weapons and contraband prior to being released from the port of entry. Advanced technologies are being deployed to identify warning signs of chemical, biological, or radiological attacks. Since September 11, 2001, hundreds of thousands of first responders across America have been trained to recognize and respond to the effects of a WMD attack. Judiciary & Tort Reform 1. Is urging federal liability reform to eliminate frivolous lawsuits. 2. Killed the liberal ABA's unconstitutional role in vetting federal judges. The Senate is supposed to advise and consent, not the ABA. 3. Is nominating strong, conservative judges to the judiciary. 4. Supports class action reform bill which limits lawyer fees so that more settlement money goes to victims. Politics 1. His leadership resulted in Republican gains in the House and Senate, solidifying Republican control of both houses of Congress and the presidency. 2. Signed an EO enforcing the Supreme Court's Beck decision regarding union dues being used for political campaigns against individual's wishes. Second Amendment 1. Ordered Attorney General Ashcroft to formally notify the Supreme Court that the OFFICIAL U.S. government position on the 2nd Amendment is that it supports INDIVIDUAL rights to own firearms, and is NOT a Leftist-imagined "collective" right. 2. Signed TWO bills into law that arm our pilots with handguns in the cockpit. 3. Currently pushing for full immunity from lawsuits for our national gun manufacturers. 4. *See Globalization & Internationalism. Traditional Values, Compassion & Volunteerism 1. Endorses and promotes "The Responsibility Era." President Bush often speaks of the necessity of personal responsibility and civic volunteerism. He said, "In a compassionate society, people respect one another and take responsibility for the decisions they make in life. My hope is to change the culture from one that has said, if it feels good, do it; if you've got a problem, blame somebody else — to one in which every single American understands that he or she is responsible for the decisions that you make; you're responsible for loving your children with all your heart and all your soul; you're responsible for being involved with the quality of the education of your children; you're responsible for making sure the community in which you live is safe; you're responsible for loving your neighbor, just like you would like to be loved yourself." 2. Started the USA Freedom Corps, the most comprehensive clearinghouse of volunteer opportunities ever offered. For the first time in history, Americans can enter geographic information about where they want to get involved, such as state or zip code, as well as areas of interest ranging from education to the environment, and they can access volunteer opportunities offered by more than 50,000 organizations across the country and around the world. 3. Established the The White House Office and the Centers for the Faith-Based and Community Initiative — located in seven Federal agencies. The faith-based initiative supports the essential work of these important organizations. The goal is to make sure that grassroots leaders can compete on an equal footing for federal dollars, receive greater private support, and face fewer bureaucratic barriers. Work focuses on at-risk youth, ex-offenders, the homeless and hungry, substance abusers, those with HIV/AIDS, and welfare-to-work families. 4. The White House released a guidebook fully describing the Administration's belief that faith-based groups have a Constitutionally-protected right to maintain their religious identity through hiring — even when Federal funds are involved. 5. Issued an EO implementing the Supreme Court's Olmstead ruling, which requires moving disabled people from institutions to community-based facilities when possible. 6.Increased funding for low-interest loan programs to help people with disabilities purchase devices to assist them. 7. Revised the Department of Housing and Urban Development's Section 8 rent subsidies to disabled people, permitting them to use up to a year's worth of vouchers to finance down payments on homes. HUD has started pilot programs in 11 states. 8. Committed US funds to purchase medicine for millions of men, women and children now suffering with AIDS in Africa. 9. Heeding the words of our own Declaration of Independence, the president laid out the non-negotiable demands of human dignity for all people everywhere. On January 29, 2002, he said, "No nation owns these aspirations, and no nation is exempt from them. We have no intention of imposing our culture. But America will always stand firm for the non-negotiable demands of human dignity." As stated by the President, they are a virtual manifesto of conservative principles: Equal Justice Freedom of Speech Limited Government Power Private Property Rights Religious Tolerance Respect for Women Rule of Law

poll i wanna see if somebody can get these all right i got 4 out of 20 good luck!? 1 . How does the law relate to families? A. Laws have no impact on families. B. Laws influence families in many different ways. C. Laws clearly define family relationships. D. Laws relate only to parents' responsibilities toward their children. 2 . What must a couple do to make their marriage legal? A. follow a fairly standard set of procedures B. be married by a judge C. declare to relatives that they are married D. live together as if they were married 3 . Jason gets Janet drunk, takes her to a Las Vegas wedding chapel, and marries her. Janet, who does not remember any of this, had never intended to marry Jason. Which is true? A. Because Janet was of legal age, the marriage is binding. B. The court would issue an immediate divorce decree. C. The court would order an annulment. D. Janet and Jason would have to see a marriage counselor. 4 . What is property called when it is acquired during a marriage? A. separate property B. joint property C. spousal property D. community property 5 . Which of the following is true? A. Some state courts recognize cohabitation agreements, even between same-sex couples. B. No state recognizes same-sex civil unions as legal unions. C. Same-sex couples are not allowed to adopt children in any state. D. Common-law marriages are not recognized as legal marriages in any state. 6 . What is paternity? A. proof of motherhood B. proof of fatherhood C. child support D. spousal support 7 . What happens when a child is emancipated? A. The child is placed in foster care. B. The child is adopted by another family. C. Parents are no longer legally responsible for the child. D. Parents' responsibilities to the child begin. 8 . Who is responsible for a child's attendance at public school? A. the state B. the parents C. the local school board D. the city government 9 . Which represents child neglect? A. failure to provide necessities, such as food or shelter B. frequent, severe physical beatings C. inappropriate sexual touching D. causing mental anguish 10 . What is it called when a family acts as temporary parents of a child? A. adoption B. kinship care C. parental rights D. foster care 11 . What is the legal process of becoming the parent of another person? A. adoption B. kinship care C. parental rights D. foster care 12 . What is the legal term for when a married couple agrees to live apart for a while? A. divorce B. counseling C. separation D. annulment 13 . What is the term for a legal dissolution of a marriage? A. separation B. annulment C. decree D. divorce 14 . What is no-fault divorce? A. when one spouse leaves the other spouse B. when both spouses agree that a marriage cannot be repaired C. when one spouse physically abuses the other D. when one spouse commits adultery 15 . Which is true about a joint custody arrangement? A. The child lives with only one of the parents. B. One parent has total financial responsibility, while the other has total custody. C. Both parents have equal responsibility for child care. D. One parent makes the decisions, while the other pays the bills. 16 . What is money paid to provide for the care of a child? A. child care B. alimony C. marital payments D. child support 17 . Which individual would not be eligible for Social Security benefits? A. a sixty-five-year-old man who recently retired and moved to Florida B. a thirty-five-year-old typist who recently suffered an illness C. a twelve-year-old child whose parents work in low-income jobs D. the widow of a former construction worker 18 . Which program provides health insurance for the elderly? A. Medicare B. Medicaid C. Food Stamp Program D. Temporary Assistance to Needy Families 19 . Which program provides health care to the poor and disabled? A. Medicare B. Medicaid C. Temporary Assistance to Needy Families D. welfare 20 . How does the federal government support education? A. through low-cost college loans and child development programs B. through grants and salaries for public high school teachers C. through work-study programs and school construction D. through state standards and free kindergarten

30 days Plan to resemble a command economy in 30 days: free market and progress for all? Rockwell's Thirty-Day Plan By Llewellyn H. Rockwell, Jr. When Eastern Europe broke free in 1989, we all realized just how little thought had been given to the transition from socialism to capitalism. Mises had told us the collapse was coming, and we should have been prepared. As America comes to resemble a command economy, we need a transition plan here too. Yuri Maltsev proposed a "One-Day Plan" for the U. S. S. R. We're not in that bad a shape (yet), so we could do it in 30 days. DAY ONE: The federal income tax is abolished and April 15th is declared a national holiday. The 40% reduction in federal revenues is matched by a 40% cut in spending. The budget is still almost twice as big as Jimmy Carter's. DAY TWO: All other federal taxes are abolished, including the corporate income tax, the capital gains tax, the gasoline tax, "sin" taxes, excise taxes, etc. Businesses boom, and the few legitimate federal functions are funded with an inexpensive head tax. People who choose not to vote need not pay it. (Note: this was a mainstream view in the 19th century.) DAY THREE: The federal government sells all its land, freeing up tens of millions of acres for development, mining, farming, forestry, oil drilling, private parks, etc. The government uses the revenue to pay off the national debt and other liabilities. DAY FOUR: The minimum wage is reduced to zero, creating jobs for ex-federal bureaucrats at their market wage. All pro-union laws and regulations are scrapped. The jobless rate falls dramatically. DAY FIVE: The Bureau of Labor Statistics, like the rest of the Labor Department, is sent to that big hiring hall in the sky. Without detailed economic statistics, future economic planners will be blind and deaf. DAY SIX: The Department of Commerce is abolished. Big business has to make its own way in the world, without subsidies and privileges at the expense of its competitors and customers. DAY SEVEN: The plug is pulled on the Department of Energy. Oil and gas prices plummet. DAY EIGHT: All regulatory agencies, from the Interstate Commerce Commission to the Federal Trade Commission, are deep-sixed. Competition is legalized. DAY NINE: HUD is squashed like a bug. There's a buiding boom in cheap, private, apartments. DAY TEN: The interstate highways reopen as private businesses. Road entrepreneurs price travel according to consumer demand. Using modern technology, drivers get bills once a month. Credit risks-and drunks and dangerous drivers- aren't allowed on the road. Non-drivers no longer subsidize car owners. DAY ELEVEN: Government welfare is wiped out. Bums work or starve. The deserving poor find a cornucopia of private services designed to make them independent. Private charity explodes, as the American people, already the most generous in the world, find their incomes almost doubled, thanks to the tax cuts. DAY TWELVE: The Federal Reserve closes its open-market operations and stops protecting the banking industry from competition. But banks can now engage in all the non-bank financial activities previously forbidden to them. The business cycle, which is caused by monetary expansion through the credit markets, is liquidated. DAY THIRTEEN: Federal deposit insurance is scrapped. All insured deposits are redeemed from federal assets, which include the personal assets of high-level government employees. The threat of bank runs forces banks to keep 100% reserves for their demand deposits, and prudent reserves on all other accounts. There are no more inherently bankrupt banks propped up by the government, at taxpayer expense, and no more bail outs. DAY FOURTEEN: The shaky fiat dollar is defined in terms of gold, with the ratio determined by dividing the government's gold stock by all existing dollars on that day. DAY FIFTEEN: The federal government sells National and Dulles airports to the highest bidder, and stops all subsidies to other socialist airports around the country. All constraints on airline prices and service cease. It costs more to fly during peak hours than off-peak, but overall, air travel drops in price. DAY SIXTEEN: All government regulations that create and sustain cartels are abolished, including those for the post office, telephones, television, radio, and cable TV Prices plummet, and a host of new and unforeseen services becomes available. DAY SEVENTEEN: Centrally planned agriculture, as imposed by Hoover and Roosevelt, is repealed: there are no more subsidies, payments-in-kind, marketing orders, low-interest loans, etc. Farm prices drop. Entrepreneurial farmers get rich. Welfare farmers go into another line of work. The poor eat like kings. DAY EIGHTEEN: The Justice Department shutters its anti-trust division. Companies, big and small, are free to merge – up, down, or sideways. Stockholders can buy any other company, or sell their stock to anyone else. Marginal producers can no longer battle their competitors with bureaucratic weapons. DAY NINETEEN: The Department of Education flunks the constitutionality test, and is kicked out. Private charities set up remedial reading and writing programs for the former bureaucrats. Federally subsidized sex education and other anti-family programs go out of business. Local school districts become responsive to parents or close, pressured by a fast-growing private school sector (which many more parents can now afford). DAY TWENTY: All federal monuments are sold, in some cases to non-profit groups based on the Mt. Vernon Ladies Association, which owns and runs George Washington's home. The VFW buys the Vietnam memorial. There is much bidding for the Jefferson and Washington monuments. Nobody wants FDR's, so it's torn down and the land sold to a farmer. (With the federal government cut back to its constitutional size, much of Washington reverts to productive uses like agriculture, as in late 18th century.) DAY TWENTY-ONE: The computerized financial and political dossier maintained by the government on every American is erased. The public wanders through the federal offices to make sure, in a reprise of the East Berliners' visits to Stasi headquarters. DAY TWENTY-TWO: Equal rights are granted to all Americans, even members of non-victim groups. There is no affirmative action, no quotas, no set-asides, no public accommodations laws. Private property and freedom of association are fully restored. DAY TWENTY-THREE: The EPA is cleaned out, with all "clean air" and similar big-government laws repealed. Ten thousand lawyers leap from their balconies. Private property is established in air and water. Americans harmed by pollution are free to sue the polluters, who are no longer protected by the federal government. DAY TWENTY-FOUR: Americans are given complete freedom of contract, restoring rationality to malpractice and product liability law. DAY TWENTY-FIVE: Government scrambles for more assets to sell (i.e., the National Zoo, also known as Washington, D.C.) to pay off the liabilities of the privatized Social Security system. DAY TWENTY-SIX: Porno artists have to earn their own livings, as the National Endowment for the Arts tries to raise its budget through sidewalk painting sales. DAY TWENTY-SEVEN: Foreign aid is outlawed as unconstitutional, unjust, and un-economic. Foreign politicians have to steal their own money. The World Bank, IMF, and United Nations close their super- luxurious doors. DAY TWENTY-EIGHT: The American people are given the unrestricted right to keep and bear arms. DAY TWENTY-NINE: The Defense Department is reoriented towards defense. American troops come home from all around the world. We adopt a policy of armed neutrality, remembering the Founding Fathers' teaching that we could not have an empire abroad and a constitutional republic at home. DAY THIRTY: All tariffs, quotas, and trade agreements are put through the shredder. Americans can trade with anyone in the world, without barriers or subsidies. Japanese car prices drop an immediate 25%. In just 30 exhilarating days, we have established the outlines of free market. Radical? Maybe so. Me, I can't wait until Month Two. __________ Llewellyn H. Rockwell, Jr., is president of the Mises Institute and editor of LewRockwell.com. rockwell@mises.org. This article appeared in The Free Market, March 1991. Please Read This : http://www.mises.org/story/2685

Do you think its funny when McCain supporters still say they dont know what Obama's change is? Here comes all the "empty suit" references from the rightwing mouthbreathing, knuckledragging squad. John McCain/Bush stands for a third term of the disasterous Bush administration, the guy should be stuffed and mounted and put in a museum somewhere in South Carolina. Here are some of Senator Barack Obama's positions: Opposed the Iraq war from the start. Voted to end the war in Iraq. Supports capturing and killing Osama Bin Laden. Favors a $1000 tax cut for every working American family. Will implement tax form simplification to reduce filing time. Provide tax credit for all middle class homeowners. Provide a tax cut for all families making less than $75,000 a year. Amend NAFTA to protect American workers. Amend NAFTA to strengthen environmental protections. Providing Flex Ed training accounts for workers. Extending Trade Adjustment assistance to service workers. Supported Patriot Employer Act of 2007 that gives tax credits to large companies that keep workers here in America. Double funds for basic federal research. Implement a long term research and development tax credit. Invest in green technologies. Reduce carbon emission gases. Tackle the challenges of global warming. Create an energy focused youth jobs program. Create Federal Renewable Portfolio Standard. Extend the Production Tax Credit. Expand Broadband into every community. Keep the Internet tax free. Expand high speed internet access in rural areas. Fight for passage of Employee Free Choice Act. Ensure freedom to unionize. Would overturn "Kentucky River" classifications of Bush's NLRB Protect rights of striking workers. Increase the mininum wage to index it to inflation. Crack down on predatory lenders. Provide a universal mortgage tax credit for homeowners who don't itemize. Sign the Stop Fraud Act to prevent lending fraud. Mandate accurate loan disclosure. Create a fund to protect people from foreclosures. Close the bankruptcy loophole for mortgage companies. Establish a credit card rating to improve disclosure. Ban utilateral credit card charges. Apply interest rate only to future debt. Prohibit credit card interest on fees. Prohibit Universal defaults. Require prompt and fair crediting of cardholder payments. Protect working people from unfair bankruptcy laws. Ban executive bonuses for bankruptcy companies. REquire disclosure of pension investments. Cap outlandandish interest rates on payday loans. Implement legislation to drive unscrupulous lenders out of business Create a bankruptcy exemption for people that went broke because of medical bills. Double funding for after school programs. Extend Family and Medical Leave Act. Encourage states to adopt Paid leave. Expand the Child Care Tax Credit Supports ratification of UN Convention Rights of Persons With Disabilities. Supports independent, community based living for people with disabilities. Expand educational opportunites for people with disabilities. Expand job opportunities for people with disabilities. Strengthen civil rights enforcement. Sign into law the Fair Pay Act. Sign law reversing recent SCOTUS rulings that permitted discrimination against women. Sign law reversing recent SCOTUS rulings that permitted discrimination against racial minorities. Strengthen federal hate crimes legislation. Eliminate the sentence disparities regarding crack cocaines. Establish drug courts for first time, non violent offenders. Create a prison to work incentive for those transitioning back into society. Passed a law to prohibit the practice of racial profiling. Supported reauthorizing the Voting Rights Act. Opposes all discriminatory barriers to voting. Helped reform death penalty system in Illinois to protect innocent people on death row. Voted to ban cluster bombs. Provide high quality affordable child care to families. Will quadrulple Early Head Start funding. Will increase Head Start funding. Creates early learning challenge grants. Abolish overly rigid teach to the test curriculum in schools. Improve accountability in public schools. Invest in intervention strategies to reduce dropout rates in schools. Increase funding for afterschool programs. Supports Step Up program to increase summer learning opportunities. Support English language learner programs. Expand college outreach programs. Create teacher service scholarships. Requires all public schools to be accredited. Create teacher residency programs. Create the American Opportunity Tax Credit for higher education. Streamline financial aid application. Introduced legislation to increase Pell Grant to $5,100. Reduce carbon emissions by 80% by 2050. Confront deforestation. Promote carbon sequestration. Accelerate commercialization of plug in hybrids. Promote development of commercial scale renewable energy. Invest in low emission coal plants. Transition to new electric digit grid. Double science funding for clean energy products. Create Green Jobs Cor

Are you happy with the stimulus? Here are some interesting details on the "stimulus" package. If you would not mind forwarding this along to your friends, family, and contacts, it would be greatly appreciated. The more info Americans have on this bill, the only thing stimulated will be anger and outrage, because none of this stimulates the economy or creates Jobs. * The interest payments alone on the stimulus would cost $350 billion over the next ten years, which means the next generation will have to pay the bills. * The bill contains nothing in it that would stimulate the economy, but its only a down-payment on big government spending. In reality, it's a welfare proposal. Wasteful Spending Provisions * $2 billion earmark to re-start FutureGen, a near-zero emissions coal power plant in Illinois that the Dept. of Energy defunded last year because the project was inefficient * $650 million for the digital television (DTV) converter box coupon program * $88 million for the Coast Guard to design a new polar icebreaker (arctic ship) * $448 million for constructing the Dept. of Homeland Security headquarters * $248 million for furniture at the new Dept. of Homeland Security headquarters * $600 million to buy hybrid vehicles for federal employees * $400 million for the CDC to screen and prevent STD's * $1.4 billion for a rural waste disposal programs * $125 million for the Washington , D.C. sewer system * $150 million for Smithsonian museum facilities * $1 billion for the 2010 Census, which has a projected cost overrun of $3 billion * $75 million for "smoking cessation activities" * $200 million for public computer centers at community colleges * $75 million for salaries of employees at the FBI * $25 million for tribal alcohol and substance abuse reduction * $500 million for flood reduction projects on the Mississippi River * $10 million to inspect canals in urban areas * $6 billion to turn federal buildings into "green" buildings * $500 million for state and local fire stations * $650 million for wildland fire management on Forest Service lands * $1.2 billion for "youth activities," including youth summer job programs * $88 million for renovating the headquarters of the Public Health Service * $412 million for CDC buildings and property * $500 million for building and repairing NIH facilities in Bethesda, MD * $160 million for "paid volunteers" at the Corporation for National and Community Service * $5.5 million for "energy efficiency initiatives" at the VA " National Cemetery Administration" * $60 million for Arlington National Cemetery * $850 million for Amtrak * $100 million for reducing the hazard of lead-based paint * $75M to construct a new "security training" facility for State Dept Security officers when they can be trained at existing facilities of other agencies. * $110 million to the Farm Service Agency to upgrade computer systems * $200 million in funding for the lease of alternative energy vehicles for use on military installations. * $275 million for "watershed and flood prevention operations" * Eliminates fees on loans from the Small Business Administration, thus pushing private capital toward unproductive businesses and away from productive businesses. * Increases the definition of "youth" for certain summer job programs from age 21 to age 24. * $160 million to the Job Corps program at the Dept. of Labor, but not for job programs - rather, to construct, alter or repair buildings. * Requires a government study on the impact of minimum wage laws on the Northern Mariana Islands and American Samoa . * A $246 million tax break for Hollywood movie producers to buy motion picture film. * $79 billion State Fiscal Stabilization (slush) Fund to bailout the States by providing billions of dollars for "education" costs of any kind. * $47.843 billion is appropriated for a variety of energy programs that are primarily focused on renewable energy development and energy conservation/efficiency. Not one dollar is appropriated to make fossil fuels more affordable in the near future. More than $6 billion of these funds go to environmental clean ups. * Increases eligibility for "weatherization" assistance to households 200 percent above the poverty level. * The "Making Work Pay" credit of $500 to every individual making less than $75,000 (or $1000 to couples making $150,000 or less) would pay people whether they are productive or not - akin to welfare. * The Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP- food stamps) would temporarily suspend the 3-month limit for non-working adults to receive SNAP benefits, thus giving incentives not to find a job. * Installs government as the creator of broadband deployment regardless of whether the speci

Would someone plz post an Accomplishments BIO of OBama as I am of Hillary? This is only a short list of the good she has done, starting back in her early life. You can pull it up by bringing her history BIO up online. There is much much more. Early life Raised in a politically conservative household,[11] at age thirteen she helped canvass South Side Chicago following the very close 1960 U.S. presidential election, finding evidence of electoral fraud against Republican candidate Richard Nixon,[12] and volunteered for Republican candidate Barry Goldwater in the U.S. presidential election of 1964.[13] Her early political development was shaped most strongly by her energizing high school history teacher, who got her to read Goldwater's classic The Conscience of a Conservative[14] and who was, like her father, a fervent anti-communist, and by her Methodist youth minister, like her mother concerned with issues of social justice; with the minister she saw and met civil rights leader Martin Luther King, Jr. in Chicago in 1962. Rodham attended the 1968 Republican National Convention in Miami, where she decided to leave the Republican Party for good; she was upset over how Richard Nixon's campaign had portrayed Rockefeller and what Rodham perceived as the "veiled" racist messages of the convention That summer, she worked her way across Alaska, washing dishes in Mount McKinley National Park and sliming salmon in a fish processing cannery in Valdez (which fired her and shut down overnight when she complained about unhealthy conditions). Law school During her second year, she worked at the Yale Child Study Center,[34] learning about new research on early childhood brain development and working as a research assistant on the seminal work, Beyond the Best Interests of the Child (1973).[35][36] She also took on cases of child abuse at Yale-New Haven Hospital,[35] and volunteered at New Haven Legal Services to provide free advice for the poor.[ and volunteered at New Haven Legal Services to provide free advice for the poor.[34] In the summer of 1970, she was awarded a grant to work at Marian Wright Edelman's Washington Research Project, where she was assigned to Senator Walter Mondale's Subcommittee on Migratory Labor, researching migrant workers' problems in housing, sanitation, health and education;[37][38] Edelman would become a significant mentor to her.[38] In the late spring of 1971, she began dating Bill Clinton, who was also a law student at Yale. Early Arkansas years Rodham co-founded the Arkansas Advocates for Children and Families, a state-level alliance with the Children's Defense Fund, in 1977. For much of that time[81] she served as the chair of that board, the first woman to do so.[82] During her time as chair, funding for the Corporation was expanded from $90 million to $300 million,[70] and she successfully battled against President Ronald Reagan's initial attempts to reduce the funding and change the nature of the organization. Clinton appointed her chair of the Rural Health Advisory Committee the same year,[83] where she successfully obtained federal funds to expand medical facilities in Arkansas' poorest areas without affecting doctors' fees. In one of the most important initiatives of the entire Clinton governorship,[92] she fought a prolonged but ultimately successful battle against the Arkansas Education Association[92] to put mandatory teacher testing as well as state standards for curriculum and classroom size in place.[92] She introduced Arkansas' Home Instruction Program for Preschool Youth in 1985, a program that helps parents work with their children in preschool preparedness and literacy.[94] She was named Arkansas Woman of the Year in 1983 and Arkansas Mother of the Year in 1984. First Lady of the United States When Bill Clinton took office as president in January 1993, Hillary Rodham Clinton became the First Lady of the United States, and announced that she would be using that form of her name.[116] She was the first First Lady to hold a post-graduate degree[117] and to have her own professional career up to the time of entering the White House.[118] She was also the first to take up an office in the West Wing of the White House:[48] the First Lady usually stays in the East Wing. She is regarded as the most openly empowered presidential wife in American history, save for Eleanor Roosevelt.[119] Along with Senator Ted Kennedy, she was the major force behind the State Children's Health Insurance Program in 1997, a federal effort that provided state support for children whose parents were unable to provide them with health coverage. She promoted nationwide immunization against childhood illnesses and encouraged older women to seek a mammogram to detect breast cancer, with coverage provided by Medicare.[140] She successfully sought to increase research funding for prostate cancer and childhood asthma at the National Institutes of Health. The First Lady worked to investigate reports of an illness that affected veterans of the Gulf War, which became known as the Gulf War syndrome.[48] Together with Attorney General Janet Reno, Clinton helped create the Office on Violence Against Women at the Department of Justice. In 1997, she initiated and shepherded the Adoption and Safe Families Act, which she regarded as her greatest accomplishment as First Lady.[48] As First Lady, Clinton hosted numerous White House Conferences, including ones on Child Care (1997),[141] Early Childhood Development and Learning (1997),[142] and Children and Adolescents (2000),[143] and the first-ever White House Conferences on Teenagers (2000)[144] and Philanthropy (1999). Hillary Clinton traveled to 79 countries during this time,[146] breaking the mark for most-travelled First Lady held by Pat Nixon.[147] In a September 1995 speech before the Fourth World Conference on Women in Beijing, Clinton argued very forcefully against practices that abused women around the world and in China itself,[148] declaring "that it is no longer acceptable to discuss women's rights as separate from human rights"[148] and resisting Chinese pressure to soften her remarks.[146] She was one of the most prominent international figures at the time to speak out against the treatment of Afghan women by the Islamist fundamentalist Taliban that had seized control of Afghanistan.[149][150] She helped create Vital Voices, an international initiative sponsored by the United States to promote the participation of women in the political processes of their countries. Traditional duties Clinton initiated and was Founding Chair of the Save America's Treasures program, a national effort that matched federal funds to private donations for the purpose of preserving and restoring historic items and sites,[184] including the flag that inspired the Star Spangled Banner and the First Ladies Historic Site in Canton, Ohio.[48] She was head of the White House Millennium Council,[185] and initiated the Millennium Project with monthly lectures that discuss futures studies, one of which became the first live simultaneous webcast from the White House. Clinton also created the first Sculpture Garden there, which displayed large contemporary American works of art loaned from museums in the Jacqueline Kennedy Garden.[186] Senate election of 2000 Clinton has served on five Senate committees: Committee on Budget (2001–2002),[203] Committee on Armed Services (since 2003),[204] Committee on Environment and Public Works (since 2001),[203] Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (since 2001)[203] and Special Committee on Aging.[205] She is also a Commissioner of the Commission on Security and Cooperation in Europe[206] (since 2001).[207] Following the September 11, 2001 attacks, Clinton sought to obtain funding for the recovery efforts in New York City and security improvements in her state. Working with New York's senior senator, Charles Schumer, she was instrumental in quickly securing $21 billion in funding for the World Trade Center site's redevelopment. She subsequently took a leading role in investigating the health issues faced by 9/11 first responders.[211] Clinton voted for the USA Patriot Act in October 2001, as did all but one senator. In 2005, when the act was up for renewal, she worked to address some of the civil liberties concerns with it,[212] before voting in favor of a compromise renewed act in March 2006 that gained large majority support.[213] As a member of the Senate Committee on Armed Services, Clinton strongly supported military action in Afghanistan, saying it was a chance to combat terrorism while improving the lives of Afghan women who suffered under the Taliban government. TAKE NOTE: "should such action be required" Now those who go on about her vote can eat crow!!.... Clinton voted in favor of the October 2002 Iraq War Resolution, which authorized United States President George W. Bush to use military force against Iraq, should such action be required to enforce a United Nations Security Council Resolution after pursuing with diplomatic efforts. In late 2005, Clinton said that while immediate withdrawal from Iraq would be a mistake, Bush's pledge to stay "until the job is done" is also misguided, as it gives Iraqis "an open-ended invitation not to take care of themselves. Clinton voted in 2005 against the confirmation of John Roberts as Chief Justice of the United States,[220] and in 2006 against the nomination of Samuel Alito to the United States Supreme Court;[221] both were confirmed. In 2005, Clinton called for the Federal Trade Commission to investigate how hidden sex scenes showed up in the controversial video game Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas.[222] Along with Senators Joe Lieberman and Evan Bayh, she introduced the Family Entertainment Protection Act, intended to protect children from inappropriate content found in video games. In March 2007 she voted in favor of a war spending bill that required President Bush to begin withdrawing troops from Iraq within a certain deadline; it passed almost completely along party lines[234] but was subsequently vetoed by President Bush. In May 2007 a compromise war funding bill that removed withdrawal deadlines but tied funding to progress benchmarks for the Iraqi government passed the Senate by a vote of 80-14 and would be signed by Bush; Clinton was one of those who voted against it. Clinton has enjoyed high approval ratings for her job as senator within New York, reaching an all-time high of 72 to 74 percent approving (including half of Republicans).

Hows my essay citation? How should I end it? The Most Fit Choice Introduction/Overview of Institutions The act of choosing an appropriate college that suits the needs of an individual is a very ambiguous yet tremendously important process that those striving ahead must go through. As times go by more and more options are becoming available for the public making it more difficult for one to settle quickly and smoothly at an institution but also presenting further opportunities to narrow down one’s choices and figure out the most ideal institution to attend. Among the myriad of post secondary academic establishments across the world, Stanford University and University of California, Davis caught my attention in a much exalted manner. Both of these institutions are very well known for their medical programs and specific criteria of admission along with many other important aspects. And although each university differs greatly from the other in areas such as tuition and enrollment, they still have many things in common such as their campus environment and extracurricular activities. Yet with all their superb aspects and minor personal flaws, both candidates turn out to be an excellent institution with many wonderful benefits across the path for any student looking into them. In the following passages Stanford University and UC Davis will be evaluated and compared against each other in various fields of interest ranging from location to tuition and financial aid. The Information and Findings Location and campus environment are very important factors that should be considered when deciphering through different college choices. For the residents of California, Stanford University and UC Davis are both fine choices to consider attending, for they are both located in California with not much more than a few hours drive in between and to cities all across California. According to their website, “Stanford is located between San Francisco and San Jose in the heart of the Silicon Valley…with an 8,180 acres reach from the rural foothills of the Santa Cruz Mountains to the bustling Stanford shopping center in Palo Alto,” a description deserving much approval as far as beauty and natural scenery go. In contrast, UC Davis settles within the core of the Central Valley and is close to the San Francisco bay area as well as downtown Sacramento which holds the State Capital and many other eventful state businesses (“UC Davis”). And regarding one’s personal interests, this is important to consider since some may be more in favor of nature than industry. The institutions are alike however in the fact that their actual campuses are both in small town suburban areas, an aspect that presents a question of transportation (“College Board”). Stanford is a campus in which the most popular manner of commuting lies in biking (“Stanford”). There is even a mile long, palm tree lined entrance to the enormous campus that branches off into seventy eight diverse residential factories, over thirty libraries and a countless amount of even more beautiful campus buildings (“Stanford”). In addition to biking, and the campus’ exceeding of 12,000 bicycle parking spaces, Stanford also offers a shuttle system and Zipcar (“Stanford”). These are very beneficial characteristics when considering such a large campus. But on the smaller side, UC Davis is also an institution in which biking is of the highest popularity when it comes to commuting around campus to the many noted establishments such as an arboretum and an equestrian center (“UC Davis”). On the subject of housing, while Stanford offers a profuse amount of options ranging from coed dorms to language and ethnic themed houses, UC Davis, justifiably doesn’t have as many choices being merely a 5,200 acre campus (The Princeton Review). Stanford however, being the highly prestigious private university that it is, understandably comes with more and better options for its students, whereas UC Davis, although still highly respected, doesn’t offer the same quality or amount of housing or campus benefits as Stanford. These are essentials to one’s vital consideration of institutions regarding campus environment and location. In addition to geography and campus climate, admissions and requirements are also very ponderable concepts for a student to look into. As far as competition goes, there is no question as to the fact that Stanford exceeds a myriad of institutions across the nation in the area of acceptance. The average GPA of the most recent year’s statistics of acceptance was 3.75 and higher, not to mention that 91% of the admitted students were in the top 10% of their class and achieved very high honorable scores in a range of 660-760 on sections of standardized testing (“College Board”). Such students deserve the utmost accreditation when it comes to approval, and being more or less of the minority, are accepted by Stanford on very strict terms. These requisites that Stanford looks into range from personal qualities to the rigor of one’s secondary school record (The Princeton Review). But on a more compassionate level, Stanford cares more about a student’s success in a rigorous course rather than the amount of them that they took (“Stanford”). In contrast, UC Davis doesn’t demand the same level of success among students and their process of admission is much more simpler seeing as to the fact that students merely have to meet one out of three sets of eligibility requirements (“UC Davis”). In fact, out of the 22,333 students who applied to Stanford last year, only 11% were admitted and 67% were enrolled (The Princeton Review). And in comparison to UC Davis, these statistics immensely differ in quantity. In 2007 UC Davis admitted 68% of their 32,635 applicants and enrolled a mere 25% of them (The Princeton Review). The percentages of acceptance and enrollment between the two schools depict the very fact that those who qualify for a more prestigious and difficult institution to get into are much more determined and driven to ultimately attend the specific college of their desires and needs, whereas those who apply to a more broad amount of colleges simply to widen their options and are less qualified for prominent universities act more leniently and not as ambitious in their decision to attend a particular school. Each individual contemplating their college needs is relatively obligated to pay close attention to the degrees and academic programs offered by their institutions. And while almost all known institutions offer the basic Bachelors, Doctoral, Masters and other degrees, Stanford and UC Davis have many special study options. Both universities offer selections like double major programs, honors programs, and independent study internships, aspects important to look into considering the fact that both schools are very prestigious in their medical programs (The Princeton Review). According to their website, Stanford is very determined to fostering skilled and successful medical practitioners, for “candidates who have demonstrated to the satisfaction of their department or school substantial scholarship [and have a] high attainment in a particular field of knowledge and ability to do independent research and present the results…” are granted highly esteemed degrees in a vast range of medical programs. Not far behind lays UC Davis with four honorable colleges of study ranging from biological sciences to engineering, and five different professional schools to choose from (“UC Davis”). Among Stanford’s seven distinct and highly impressive schools lies their School of Medicine which offers over 29 diverse areas of specific medical study ranging anywhere from psychiatry to neurosurgery (“Stanford”). And UC Davis, also being a predominant institution of medicine offers over 26 distinct areas of medical study (“UC Davis”). This displays the fact that both schools attain many options of education in the medical field all of which are highly respected and rigorously taken out. However while UC Davis is one of the most major medical institutions noted across the nation like Stanford, Stanford holds the honor of having a much more ample amount of prestigious study in many different fields as well. These characteristics are very important for a student to look into when considering what school to attend based on their academic needs. On the subject of extracurricular activities, one may not consider them to be very crucial to their ultimate selection if they don’t happen to be an athlete or very active in clubs, however, sports and student organizations truly do play a rather important role. Brandon Barrette, a graduate currently attending UC Davis suggests the fact that it is a good idea to “get involved [in activities] when you are an undergrad. It’s a great way to make friends and great stress relief!” And while one may not believe this to be entirely important or true upon college consideration, it is undeniably beneficial to know that one has so many options for extracurricular activities. UC Davis offers 26 different men’s and women’s sports teams including a vast variety of intramural traditional team sports along with many nontraditional activities as well (“UC Davis”). In comparison, Stanford offers over 21 different sports teams ranging from football to water polo (“Stanford”). And while both schools are closely related in sports, Stanford offers many different summer sport camps and recreational summer clubs and programs in which some are conveniently, not exclusive to Stanford students (“Stanford”). Having sports offered at a school is important even if one knows that they definitely won’t be participating as an athlete, for knowing that there are all these games to be played and competitions to be fought in gives a student the comfortable assurance that there will be something major to rally around campus, something to keep them excited for their years to come. And besides sports, both schools offer a plethora of clubs and student organizations. Stanford offers 28 esteemed sororities and fraternities along with a diverse range of creative art programs and academic clubs (“Stanford”). Similarly, UC Davis has over 364 registered organizations and 49 sororities and fraternities along with 50 religious organizations and an honor society (The Princeton Review). This suggests that both schools believe that extracurricular activities are rather important and necessary enough to include as a major field of activity among their institutions in harmony with their output of education, an aspect worthy of consideration when it comes to personal interests regarding one’s level of rigorous academic focus. As all the mentioned aspects of college features are to a certain extent, equally important, one of the most predominant factors that students look into when choosing their post secondary school is tuition and financial aid. In all probability, not every family can support their child financially when it comes to college. And not to mention, inevitably, prices and difficulties are simply rising as time goes on. But due to such fate, more help is becoming available for students all over the nation through means of scholarships, grants and loans and whatnot. Last year Stanford’s total price for tuition and other fees such as room and board and books and supplies was at a high $51,430 per year (“Stanford”). UC Davis on the other hand, peaked at nearly less than half of Stanford, at a total of $25,754 (“UC Davis”). At first glace, this suggests that Stanford has a lot more to offer through its institution than UC Davis, however from what has been mentioned, both schools are very close in the things they present. Yet there are many ways that a student can financially support themselves as well. Stanford in fact, has special programs that provide tuition grant awards to students based on their financial need and high school status (“Stanford”). Its process of granting financial aid becomes ultimately very beneficial for, students can are fairly judged on their household income and can usually receive the majority of what they are expected to pay through academic yearly earnings, federal and state grants, and university scholarships, things of which are gifted aid and do not need to be paid back (“Stanford”). And UC Davis, although not coming with nearly the same price tag as Stanford, has many financial aid options as well. UC Davis offers campus wide scholarships in which students apply for with simple high school qualifications and are very likely to receive; the school is even very personal and offers specific scholarships such as the Iranian Alumni Association Scholarship that supports students needing financial and of Iranian descent (“UC Davis”). Based on Peterson’s website of colleges and universities, the average indebtedness a student has upon graduation at Stanford is about $16,728 and at UC Davis is $14,372. And with the knowledge that Stanford has a much heftier charge, the fact that those figures don’t differ much suggests that Stanford is a lot more efficient in granting students with enough aid to support them more proficiently throughout their years than UC Davis. In fact Stanford’s average percent of financial need met among students was at 100%, while UC Davis’ was at 77% (“Colleges and Universities”). This concept carries much importance in the long run, knowing that a student could receive a relatively better and far more prestigious education at one institution than another, while still reasonably spending the same amount of money. The Significance of the Findings/Conclusion The facts and analysis discussed above have come to be really compelling in my opinion in relation to how important it is to know what I want out of academics. It opened my eyes to realizing against the stereotype that all colleges merely want profit from their consumers. I became a lot more open minded after performing my research, realizing that an institution with a lot less prestige can and usually is almost or just as beneficial, as in I can still receive a wonderful education anchored towards my goals from a place that may not be as large or as prominent. My confidence level also rose up quite a bit, resting assured that so far I have undeniably exceeded college expectations and met most standards. This suggests that all I have to do is keep going on the same track to success to achieve my goals regarding attending college. All in all however, I still believe that Stanford University is a better institution as far as my options go. I feel that in attending Stanford I will be placing myself on a much higher level of success and subsequently furthering and improving my chances of becoming all that I can be career wise. The details of admission and competition among both schools that I found, made me realize how important it was to peak myself in a well balanced schedule in high school and to thrive in everything I do. Before conducting my research, I didn’t fully comprehend the fact that it wouldn’t always matter what my GPA was for a certain semester or how many difficult classes I took, but rather how well I did in everything that I executed in my life. I know I will irrefutably have the need to perform more research like this in the future, and upon such occurrence I would most likely make sure I fully understood and knew about all my options before I came to any conclusions about them. I would also ensure that I’d have enough time to fully execute such a project to its fullest potential. In general however, this project and the information I found due to it in the end was very beneficial and helpful in furthering my knowledge of two universities that I was highly interested in.

If I had to choose between democrat and republican, which would i fit in best? -I support tariffs on goods produced by US companies whose outsourced labor force exceeds 50%, to coerce in returning to the US. -Providing tax cuts and other incentives to US and international companies to settle or resettle in the US. -My ideal is to have US exports once again surpass imports. -Cutting all unnecessary, wasteful, and inefficient programs, and placing time caps on welfare and switching some welfare programs to workfare and jobs in the private sector. -I want 100% pure American energy. NO MORE FOREIGN ENERGY! I support coal, oil, nuclear, biofuels, wind, solar, geothermal...i want it done now, and immediately. No more waiting. -I support more government contracts with private american companies to develop new technologies and to work on large infrastructure projects. (example: working with verizon to work on universal wifi access for nominal fee to families)...or with car companies to develop new, more advanced fuel-efficient automobiles. -I oppose bailouts to any private company, especially when they are one-sided blank checks that dont work. -i support second amendment rights to own a firearm for protecting property and for sport but i also support background checks. -i support same sex marriage -i oppose federal funding for elective abortions, but I do not oppose abortions paid with a woman's private funds. -i oppose the wars in iraq and afghanistan but i support dramatically increased bombings with predator drones to disrupt terrorist networks and kill terrorist leaders. -i support the death penalty. -i support subsidized universal access to college education. If you get accepted in any school, you just need to worry about attending, you shouldn't be punished with loans for doing the right thing and working to be a productive citizen. -i support compulsory 3 month military training for all US Citizens, female or male, anytime before they turn 24. -A veteran contract for all members of the armed forces who serve more than 5 years which include lifetime health insurance, money to purchase a home, and lifetime decreased taxes. - I am very much against illegal immigration. I support dramatically increased raids, heavy financial penalties on any businesses that employs illegal aliens in the US, i support shortening the amount it takes to deport illegals, a large secure border that spans all the US/Mexico border, increased border patrol and technology, military presence/predator drones to combat narcotics/human trafficking networks. from what i've given you. which of the two parties would i fit best in? dont tell me independent or libertarian because that is not what i asked I support one large medicare that would provide coverage to every US citizen, permanent resident, and person with non expired visa.