Democratic Party slow death?

Stocks End a Strong Week Higher

Saturday , March 18, 2006

[-95980]

NEW YORK — Wall Street closed on Friday in an ebullient mood as the Dow Jones industrial average finished a strong week hitting a fresh five-year high.

All the major indexes finished the week with sturdy gains as traders showed optimism about recent economic data on inflation, housing and retail sales.

The Dow climbed 26.41, or 0.23 percent, to 11,279.65, its highest level since reaching 11,301.74 on May 21, 2001.

Broader stock indicators also gained ground. The S&P 500 index rose 1.92, or 0.12 percent, to 1,307.25 — its highest close since it reached 1,309.38 on May 22, 2001 — and the Nasdaq composite index added 6.92, or 0.3 percent, to 2,306.48.

Both the S&P 500 and Nasdaq registered their best weekly gains since January, while the Dow put in its best weekly performance in almost a month.

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A rebound in manufacturing activity and lower oil prices, combined with activity in home building, industrial and interest-rate sensitive stocks, drove the rally that pushed the market. Homebuilding stocks were up nearly 8 percent on the week.

Investors also pounced on shares of industrial companies like Boeing Co. (BA) and United Technologies Corp. (UTX) after a Federal Reserve report signaled strength in the industrial sector. Output from U.S. factories, mines and utilities rose 0.7 percent in February following a decline of 0.3 percent the month before.

The promising economic report overshadowed downbeat earnings news from General Motors Corp., which said its 2005 loss was $2 billion more than originally reported. Insurance firm American International Group Inc. (AIG) also posted a steep drop in profit from settling regulatory charges.

Earlier in the week, the market drew on the Fed's optimism about the momentum the economy is carrying into spring.

Adding to the positive mood was a prediction by The American Bankers Association, which said on Friday that the Fed is likely to wrap up its campaign to boost interest rates by midyear.

The U.S. central bank has raised benchmark rates in 14 straight small steps dating to June 2004 as it sought to bring them to more normal levels from an ultra-low 1 percent put in place amid the sluggish recovery from the 2001 recession.

Hiring gained ground in February with employers adding 243,000 jobs, the most in three months, according to a report released by the Labor Department. The report showed that job gains were fairly broad-based and suggested the jobs climate is gaining momentum.

Heavy equipment maker Caterpillar (CAT) shares rose 1.8 percent, or $1.33, to $76.23 on the New York Stock Exchange, while shares of aerospace and industrial conglomerate United Technologies (UTC) gained 1 percent, or 57 cents, to $58.80.

Caterpillar shares hit a record high of $76.30. Shares of fellow Dow component Boeing Co. (BA)rose 1.5 percent, or $1.12, to $77.85 after hitting a record high of $78.08.

GM (GM) shares slid 4.9 percent, or $1.09, to $21.13 after it reported its 2005 loss was $2 billion deeper than previously reported.

Shares of AIG, the world's largest insurer by market value, fell 0.6 percent, or 42 cents, to $68.82 after the company posted a 72 percent drop in fourth-quarter profit.

Among the day's gainers, shares of Genentech Inc. (DNA) rose 6.7 percent, or $5.55, to $88.14 after the biotech company raised its current year and five-year earnings growth forecasts.

On the Nasdaq, shares of Sirius Satellite Radio Inc. (SIRI) rose 8.4 percent, or 38 cents, to $4.89 after the company said it will be the exclusive provider of the pay-radio service to automaker Volkswagen AG's namesake brand and its premium Audi AG affiliate.

Trading was heavy on the NYSE, with about 2 billion shares changing hands, above last year's daily average of 1.61 billion, while on Nasdaq, about 2.56 billion shares traded, above last year's daily average of 1.80 billion.

Advancing stocks outnumbered declines by a ratio of 9 to 7 on the NYSE and by 8 to 7 on Nasdaq.

http://www.foxnews.com/printer_friendly_story/0,3566,188221,00.html

Right, but Bush knew about 9/11 before it happened.

-Kiamat Dusk

How are we better now than we were back then?

I think the person in charge has a LOT to do with how the economy works. It takes a rather smart business man to get things going, not some oil chump.

That's fine news for stockholders and the companies whose stock prices went higher. Not everyone boasts much of a stock portfolio. So, 243,000 jobs were added - what kind of jobs, minimum wage? Is that a net gain or are we still at a net loss of jobs?

Pssst AIG used to be run by George H. W. Bush, just throwing that out for giggles

The illegal alien kind of jobs were added.

I work in an Unemployment office, and I hate to tell him, this figure is FALSE, more and more I see people filing for unemployment every single day, I see absolutely nothing that supports these job added claims.

Typical. If you don't like the guy in office every positive accomplishment is immedialtely false and every negative suspicion is immediately true.

-Kiamat Dusk

How would that matter? It sounds like you're forgiving a Clinton lie just because it only resulted in non-American deaths.

Not that I think he lied....I dunno. (Honestly I've no idea what the context of that statement is...)



I'm not going to bitch about Clinton firing missiles at Iraq. (I'm not "Republican." Iraq was after all shooting at us anyway, so whatever. But please present the conclusive evidence that Bush "lied" about WMDs and that it was not a failure of intelligence. I'd like to see something so good that it's not possible to argue with it. It's too bad that such evidence doesn't exist...

I'm sure Bush has lied plenty of times, but I think our intelligence failures were more likely due to simple incompetence, bad culture in the intel community and honest mistakes, rather than outright deception. Although I would really like to know what was on all those truck convoys that were lead out of Iraq into Syria before the war started. I remember that on the news before the war but it never seems to come up anymore.

"Some pundits and recently retired military officers are convinced that Saddam moved his remaining weapons to Syria. They cite satellite photos of lines of trucks heading into the neighboring country before the invasion and the fact Saddam positioned his trusted Iraqi Intelligence Service agents at border crossings."

"Audiotapes of Saddam Hussein and his aides underscore the Bush administration's argument that Baghdad was determined to rebuild its arsenal of weapons of mass destruction once the international community had tired of inspections and left the Iraqi dictator alone.
In addition to the captured tapes, U.S. officials are analyzing thousands of pages of newly translated Iraqi documents that tell of Saddam seeking uranium from Africa in the mid-1990s.
The documents also speak of burying prohibited missiles, according to a government official familiar with the declassification process."

And recently released tapes and documents raise some new questions it seems. People need to keep an open mind, STOP being reactionary and emotional with their opinions, and start considering other theories. (Since that's all anything is nowadays anyway.)

http://www.washingtontimes.com/national/20060313-123146-7380r.htm

Hey I could be wrong, but I have yet to hear even a convincing theory on a motive strong enough to start a war. And if Bush is as religious as everyone says he is, I'd imagine that he'd be worried about burning for all eternity if he literally started a war for his own gain. Kinda would put a little damper on your after-life resume, if you ask me...if you believe in that sort of thing.

Often true, but Kiamat--don't you also do this to Clinton? If not, name a few positive things that Clinton did and prove me wrong.

1. Let gays in the military...sorta... "Don't ask don't tell" is a start-but falls well short of letting gays serve openly.

2. Sent troops to Somalia to make sure food and supplies were getting where they were most needed. But then he caved after Blackhawk Down. He lacked the resolve to see it through.

3. Sent troops to Kosovo to help stop the genocide.

4. Didn't sign on to the Kyoto treaty.

5. Signed NAFTA. Not sure what the big deal is-but it pisses Kendra off so it must be good!

-Kiamat Dusk

Those are the bad things.

THESE were the good things.

Longest economic expansion in American history
The President’s strategy of fiscal discipline, open foreign markets and investments in the American people helped create the conditions for a record 115 months of economic expansion. Our economy has grown at an average of 4 percent per year since 1993.


More than 22 million new jobs
More than 22 million jobs were created in less than eight years -- the most ever under a single administration, and more than were created in the previous twelve years.


Highest homeownership in American history
A strong economy and fiscal discipline kept interest rates low, making it possible for more families to buy homes. The homeownership rate increased from 64.2 percent in 1992 to 67. 7 percent, the highest rate ever.


Lowest unemployment in 30 years
Unemployment dropped from more than 7 percent in 1993 to just 4.0 percent in November 2000. Unemployment for African Americans and Hispanics fell to the lowest rates on record, and the rate for women is the lowest in more than 40 years.


Raised education standards, increased school choice, and doubled education and training investment
Since 1992, reading and math scores have increased for 4th, 8th, and 12th graders, math SAT scores are at a 30-year high, the number of charter schools has grown from 1 to more than 2,000, forty-nine states have put in place standards in core subjects and federal investment in education and training has doubled.


Largest expansion of college opportunity since the GI Bill
President Clinton and Vice President Gore have nearly doubled financial aid for students by increasing Pell Grants to the largest award ever, expanding Federal Work-Study to allow 1 million students to work their way through college, and by creating new tax credits and scholarships such as Lifetime Learning tax credits and the HOPE scholarship. At the same time, taxpayers have saved $18 billion due to the decline in student loan defaults, increased collections and savings from the direct student loan program.


Connected 95 percent of schools to the Internet
President Clinton and Vice President Gore’s new commitment to education technology, including the E-Rate and a 3,000 percent increase in educational technology funding, increased the percentage of schools connected to the Internet from 35 percent in 1994 to 95 percent in 1999.


Lowest crime rate in 26 years
Because of President Clinton’s comprehensive anti-crime strategy of tough penalties, more police, and smart prevention, as well as common sense gun safety laws, the overall crime rate declined for 8 consecutive years, the longest continuous drop on record, and is at the lowest level since 1973.


100,000 more police for our streets
As part of the 1994 Crime Bill, President Clinton enacted a new initiative to fund 100,000 community police officers. To date more than 11,000 law enforcement agencies have received COPS funding.


Enacted most sweeping gun safety legislation in a generation
Since the President signed the Brady bill in 1993, more than 600,000 felons, fugitives, and other prohibited persons have been stopped from buying guns. Gun crime has declined 40 percent since 1992.


Family and Medical Leave Act for 20 million Americans
To help parents succeed at work and at home, President Clinton signed the Family and Medical Leave Act in 1993. Over 20 million Americans have taken unpaid leave to care for a newborn child or sick family member.


Smallest welfare rolls in 32 years
The President pledged to end welfare as we know it and signed landmark bipartisan welfare reform legislation in 1996. Since then, caseloads have been cut in half, to the lowest level since 1968, and millions of parents have joined the workforce. People on welfare today are five times more likely to be working than in 1992.


Higher incomes at all levels
After falling by nearly $2,000 between 1988 and 1992, the median family’s income rose by $6,338, after adjusting for inflation, since 1993. African American family income increased even more, rising by nearly $7,000 since 1993. After years of stagnant income growth among average and lower income families, all income brackets experienced double-digit growth since 1993. The bottom 20 percent saw the largest income growth at 16.3 percent.


Lowest poverty rate in 20 years
Since Congress passed President Clinton’s Economic Plan in 1993, the poverty rate declined from 15.1 percent to 11.8 percent last year — the largest six-year drop in poverty in nearly 30 years. There are now 7 million fewer people in poverty than in 1993. The child poverty rate declined more than 25 percent, the poverty rates for single mothers, African Americans and the elderly have dropped to their lowest levels on record, and Hispanic poverty dropped to its lowest level since 1979.


Lowest teen birth rate in 60 years
In his 1995 State of the Union Address, President Clinton challenged Americans to join together in a national campaign against teen pregnancy. The birth rate for teens aged 15-19 declined every year of the Clinton Presidency, from 60.7 per 1,000 teens in 1992 to a record low of 49.6 in 1999.


Lowest infant mortality rate in American history
The Clinton Administration expanded efforts to provide mothers and newborn children with health care. Today, a record high 82 percent of all mothers receive prenatal care. The infant mortality rate has dropped from 8.5 deaths per 1,000 in 1992 to 7.2 deaths per 1,000 in 1998, the lowest rate ever recorded.


Deactivated more than 1,700 nuclear warheads from the former Soviet Union
Efforts of the Clinton-Gore Administration led to the dismantling of more than 1,700 nuclear warheads, 300 launchers and 425 land and submarine based missiles from the former Soviet Union.


Protected millions of acres of American land
President Clinton has protected more land in the lower 48 states than any other president. He has protected 5 new national parks, designated 11 new national monuments and expanded two others and proposed protections for 60 million acres of roadless areas in America’s national forests.


Paid off $360 billion of the national debt
Between 1998-2000, the national debt was reduced by $363 billion — the largest three-year debt pay-down in American history. We are now on track to pay off the entire debt by 2009.


Converted the largest budget deficit in American history to the largest surplus
Thanks in large part to the 1993 Deficit Reduction Act, the 1997 Balanced Budget Act, and President Clinton’s call to save the surplus for debt reduction, Social Security, and Medicare solvency, America has put its fiscal house in order. The deficit was $290 billion in 1993 and expected to grow to $455 billion by this year. Instead, we have a projected surplus of $237 billion.


Lowest government spending in three decades
Under President Clinton federal government spending as a share of the economy has decreased from 22.2 percent in 1992 to a projected 18.5 percent in 2000, the lowest since 1966.


Lowest federal income tax burden in 35 years
President Clinton enacted targeted tax cuts such as the Earned Income Tax Credit expansion, $500 child tax credit, and the HOPE Scholarship and Lifetime Learning Tax Credits. Federal income taxes as a percentage of income for the typical American family have dropped to their lowest level in 35 years.


More families own stock than ever before
The number of families owning stock in the United States increased by 40 percent since 1992.


Most diverse cabinet in American history
The President has appointed more African Americans, women and Hispanics to the Cabinet than any other President in history. He appointed the first female Attorney General, the first female Secretary of State and the first Asian American cabinet secretary ever.

"Fellow Americans, we must ask ourselves: Do we truly believe that ALL red-state residents are ignorant racist fascist knuckle-dragging NASCAR-obsessed cousin-marrying roadkill-eating tobacco-juice-dribbling gun-fondling religious fanatic rednecks; or that ALL Blue-state residents are godless unpatriotic pierced-nose Volvo-driving France-loving left-wing communist latte-sucking tofu-chomping holistic-wacko neurotic vegan weenie perverts? Yes. This is called "diversity," and it is why we are such a great nation--a nation that has given the world both nuclear weapons AND SpongeBob Squarepants." -- Dave Barry

Wait...letting gays in the military is a bad thing?

Most diverse cabinet? Whatever! Once again, giving credit to your beloved Democrat while trashing Condi Rice and Roberto Gonzalez any chance you get. Where were you when they were calling Colin Powell a house slave? Rolling in the aisles. And when they said that hispanics voting for Republicans was like cockroaches voting for Raid-where were you? Laughing along.

Something is only right for you when it's done by a Democrat. Oh, and you left out the highest taxes in history.

-Kiamat Dusk

A few problems:

-The content can possibly be interpreted in more than one way.

-There's no explicit confirmation of it's authenticity.

-This document was photocopied, and then later re-typed? So how do we know it wasn't tampered with, even if it is real?

-It showed up just before the British election, which makes it look like it was intended to influence the results.

-"Unknown" sources are always tougher to believe in general... Most would agree that intelligence gathered from "unknown" sources is considered very unreliable. So I don't feel compelled to consider this any more reliable.

Maybe it is real, and it's showing that the Bush administration intentionally lied, but I still have some doubts. Seems kinda like reading some random news article off the intarweb and buying into it without even a mention of source or reliability. I'd be pretty pissed off if it is real, maybe protesting outside the White House with a "Bush is criminal" sign would be a good idea then...

But factoring in a motive for misleading everyone like this....well, I don't see any convincing motives either.

He did sign it. The republican controlled house didn't. Essentially a sitting president can sign any treaty, but if the house does not agree to it, then it is not entered into as an agreement for the country. It was possibly one of the best examples of republicans putting their special interest groups over the welfare of the country and the world.

Would you like a better source than? How about Ambassador Wilson? Our government asked him to go and ascertain whether or not uranium yellowcake was being sold/given to Irag via Niger. He came back and made his report well before the war. In that report, he detailed that Niger was indeed not giving Iraq anything, much less radiative material.

Not good enough? How about the U.N Weapons Inspectors? They reported consistently and often that there were no WMDs in Iraq. Even when allowed full access right before the war, they still had not found anything. Their correct conclusion was that Iraq didn't have any WMDs.

So if there was a 'failure of intelligence' it was a failure in the intelligence of the thinkers and planners in the administration. If such occured, it makes them grossly incompetant for the job.

Further internal whitehouse memos (which would come out if there was ever a real investigation), reveal that they intended to needlessly invade Iraq early on in the administration and that they did indeed intend to use 9/11 as a launching platform for action in the middle east (including Iraq) after it had occured.

There are more serious charges than lying that can be stacked against Bush in case lying about wars is not enough.

No. Forcing them to serve closeted is a bad thing.

I left out highest taxes for a reason. It's not true.

As far as your garbage about Condi, Colin and Alberto --I don't give criminals a pass for being "minorities".

I'm fair like that.

suit yourself. I swear this administration could get away with shooting old men in the face and nobody would care.

First off, it's the US Senate that ratifies international treaties (thus making them effectively US law, under the Constitution), not the House of Representatives, or Congress as a whole.

Secondly, it never even got to a ratification vote, due to Senate Resolution 98, co-sponsored by Senator Richard Byrd (D-WV) and Senator Chuck Hagel (R-Neb), voted for on July 25, 1997. SRes 98, which passed 95-0 (last I checked, there's never been a time in the past century that either party had complete and utter control of the Senate) specifically said that, in its current form, the Kyoto treaty would not be ratified by the Senate, as being harmful to the entire country as a whole, not just to "special interest groups". The other countries that signed on had absolutely no intention of negotiating in good faith on a treaty that would significantly hurt the US economy while doing nothing about 3rd-world countries (including mainland China, which isn't exactly known for strict environmental protection laws/regulations) whose CO2 output would dwarf what emitions the US was and is putting out, without any real effort at technologies to control emissions. Clinton has never submitted the treaty for ratification, and Bush has stated publicly that, basically, the treaty was too fundimentally flawed to be ready for submission to the Senate.

Kyoto, plain and simple, was primarily a "get the US" treaty, it had rather little to do with actual concerns about the "greenouse effect".

Funny, nothing you said, in your previous reply regarding cabinet diversity, mentioned anything about behavior (regardless of my opinions regarding your use of "criminal", just that the cabinet members were minorities.

And what happened to MLK's "judged not by the color of their skin, but the content of their character", anyway?

I don't get your point. I AM judging by the content of their character.
I find Condi, Colin and Alberto's character woefully lacking.

Couldn't have Anything to do with the fact that
republicans outspend democrats 2/1 on advertising, or
malfunctioning voting equipment in florida, or
all the newspapers owned by big corporations, or
Americans don't get all the news about their nation's foreign affairs. or an
outdated electoral college

Taxes are like anything; sometimes money well spent is a good thing.
I love living in Canada now and getting great medical (compared to
what I got in the US). I love the fact that people have (still for a short
time longer, anyway) access to social programs they need when they have
been beaten or raped or choose to drop the fetters of addiction.

Scary thing, though: Harper is like looking at George Bush who had suddenly
taken pills to have intelligence and aplomb. It's like waking to find that the
cats of the planet have, over night, grown opposable thumbs and have gotten
into all the kitchen cabinets.



A man of some honour. Who quietly resigned from one of the most important jobs of his career (doubtless a damn well-paying one, too). Wonder why?

I seriously doubt people will go democratic, they will just make another party. I am not a democrat for a reason, they don't support anything I believe in, and I find them grossly racist on a far reaching level.

That is not the whole story. He got no justice.