The Talk Show American

THE TALK SHOW AMERICAN: 04/24/2005 - 05/01/2005

Friday, April 29, 2005

Study Shows TV News Reporting Stacked Against Bush Plan

A new study indicates that by a margin of two to one, network television news reports about Social Security reform are biased against President Bush's proposal. The president elaborated on his reform plans in a nationally televised news conference Thursday night. The Media Research Center's Free Market Project looked at 125 different Social Security stories reported by CNN's "Inside Politics," "CBS Evening News," "NBC Nightly News," ABC's "World News Tonight" and Fox News' "Special Report with Brit Hume" between Nov. 15, 2004 and March 15, 2005. Among the excerpts pointed out in the Free Market Project study was this one from ABC newsman Terry Moran on March 3: "Democrats argue that the time is running out for the president to make [the] case. They have started a countdown to what they call the death of a sales pitch. But this president is nothing if not stubborn." Forty-four percent of the 125 stories studied were liberally slanted, according to the study, authored by Free Market Project Assistant Editor/Senior Analyst Amy Menefee, compared with only 22 percent that were stacked toward the conservative or Bush administration viewpoint. In addition, Menefee wrote, "Four of the five (news reports) gave more air time to the liberal position than to explaining economic realities." The Media Research Center is also the parent organization of Cybercast News Service

Less for the Rich, More for the Poor

At his Thursday night press conference, President Bush said the nation has a responsibility to reform Social Security -- "by directing extra help to those most in need and by making it a better deal for young workers."

He stressed three goals: (1) Future generations must receive benefits that are equal to or greater than the benefits seniors are getting today; (2) the system "should protect those who depend on Social Security the most"; and (3) any reform plan must provide younger workers with "real assets, real money" -- personal accounts, in other words.

President Bush did not give details about his more-for-the-needy plan, but the White House later said the plan is modeled after one proposed by a Boston investment manager.

Sliding scale

Robert Pozen, chairman of MFS Investment Management, told the Boston Globe that his plan would leave Social Security benefits intact for people earning an average of $25,000 a year over their entire working careers.

Based on a "sliding scale," benefits would be progressively less for higher earners. Pozen told the Globe that people earning an average of $113,000 a year over their working careers would see the deepest cut in Social Security retirement benefits.

"By providing more generous benefits for low-income retirees, we'll make this commitment: If you work hard and pay into Social Security your entire life, you will not retire in poverty," President Bush said Thursday night.

At the same time, the president said younger workers must have the option of investing some of their payroll taxes in "voluntary personal retirement accounts."

President Bush said he knows some Americans are concerned about stock market fluctuations -- "so I propose that one investment option consist entirely of treasury bonds, which are backed by the full faith and credit of the United States government.

"Options like this will make voluntary personal retirement accounts a safer investment that will allow an American to build a nest egg that he or she can pass on to whomever he or she chooses," he said.

Politics

The president expressed eagerness to work with both the House and Senate "as they take the next steps in the legislative process." He said he's willing to listen to good ideas from either party, but so far, the only response is "no."

In a statement released after President Bush's speech, Democrats rejected his call for bipartisanship:

"All the president did tonight was confirm that he will pay for his risky privatization scheme by cutting the benefits of middle-class seniors," Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid and House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi said in a joint statement.

"'President Bush cannot escape the fact that privatization will weaken Social Security at a time we should be strengthening it."

President Bush apparently anticipated such a response.

In his Thursday night remarks, he said, "Too often the temptation in Washington is to look at a major issue only in terms of whether it gives one political party an advantage over the other. Social Security is too important for politics as usual.

"We have a shared responsibility to fix Social Security and make the system better, to keep seniors out of poverty and expand ownership for people of every background."

Obstructionism

Republican National Committee Chairman Ken Mehlman issued a statement Thursday night, telling Democrats the time for "obstructionism" is over.

"Progressive indexing will make Social Security a better deal for all Americans, and it is now time for Democrats to propose their own strategies if they disagree with President Bush's common sense ideas. It's no longer acceptable for Democrats to play politics with the retirements of American workers by refusing to show up at the negotiating table," Mehlman said.

House Speaker Dennis Hastert (R-Ill.) said President Bush is "showing strong leadership" by tackling a problem that Democrats can use against him.

"Our country is getting older," Hastert said. "And the reality is, in a pay-as-you-go system like Social Security, we just don't have enough people in the workforce to sustain the current benefit structure."

Hastert said he's committed to working with President Bush and the Senate to make Social Security a "financially sound program" for future generations.

"It amazes me that Leader Pelosi and the Democrats continue to criticize the President's proposals when they've offered no plan or ideas of their own.

Just yesterday, Hastert noted, Pelosi refused to let members of her party attend a bipartisan meeting with Republicans and the AARP to discuss reforming Social Security.

"The last time I checked, partisan games and rhetoric won't save Social Security and it won't secure the future for our children and grandchildren," Hastert said

Incomes Growing at Fast Pace

Americans' incomes rose by 0.5 percent in March, the best showing in three months, and they used the extra money to boost consumer spending by 0.6 percent, the government reported Friday.

The Commerce Department said that the March income gain followed a 0.4 percent rise in February and was the best since a 3.7 percent surge in December, a month when the income figure soared because of a special dividend payment made by computer software giant Microsoft. The 0.6 percent increase in consumer spending was down only slightly from a 0.7 percent gain in February and no increase at all in January. Both the rise in incomes and spending came in better than economists had expected, bucking a recent trend in which other March statistics showed economic activity slowed significantly during the month.
In a second report, the Labor Department said that Americans' wages and job benefits rose by just 0.7 percent in the first three months of this year, following an increase of 0.8 percent in the fourth quarter of 2004.

The 0.7 percent increase in the Employment Cost Index represented the smallest rise for wages and benefits in six years and was likely to ease concerns that inflation pressures are mounting.

The 0.6 percent increase in consumer spending during the month was led by a 2.2 percent jump in outlays for durable goods, such as autos and other items expected to last at least three years. Spending on non-durable goods was essentially flat during the month while spending on service, the biggest category of spending, rose by 0.6 percent.

When inflation was taken into account, spending in March rose a more modest 0.1 percent following a 0.4 percent increase in February. That sharp difference was explained in part by the fact that energy prices surged during the month, forcing consumers to spend more at the gasoline pump and leaving them with less to spend elsewhere.

While incomes were up 0.5 percent, disposable incomes, the amount left after paying taxes, also showed a 0.5 percent gain in March. However, that increase was wiped out when inflation was taken into account to show no gain in inflation-adjusted disposable incomes in March following a small 0.1 percent increase in February.

Personal savings, represented as a percentage of disposable income, dropped to 0.4 percent in March, the lowest level for savings since a negative 0.2 percent savings rate in October 2001.

The government reported on Thursday that overall economic growth slowed to 3.1 percent in the first three months of this year, the weakest showing in two years, as consumers and businesses were jolted by higher energy costs.

Economists don't believe the surge in energy prices this year will be enough to push the country into a recession but they expect the country to have to endure a repeat of what Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan termed last year a "soft patch."

Rep. Nancy Pelosi Blocking Social Security Reform

Democrats talk about a bipartisan solution to Social Security, but they don't really want one, the National Republican Congressional Committee said on Thursday.

The NRCC points to an Associated Press report saying that House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, on Wednesday, forbade members of her caucus from attending a bipartisan meeting to discuss ways of strengthening Social Security. This comes after Pelosi's repeated statements that Democrats are "willing to work in a bipartisan fashion" to find ways of strengthening Social Security.
"We should go to the table in a bipartisan way ... and consider all the options available to us," Market News International quoted Pelosi as saying on Jan. 28, 2005.

"To be sustainable, any solution must be bipartisan, and the president has no more willing partner than Democrats," she said in an op-ed in The Hill on March 1, 2005.

Roll Call noted on March 8 that Chris Wallace, on Fox News Sunday, "tried, in vain, to get House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) to offer up even one Democrat idea for fixing Social Security. Six times he posed the question and got nothing but platitudes about former President Ronald Reagan and former Speaker Tip O'Neill (D-Mass.) and promises 'to come together in a bipartisan way at the table.'"

Pelosi, in a March 16 press release, said "Democrats want to work with Republicans in a bipartisan way to make any adjustments to keep Social Security solvent after the year 2050."

"Nancy Pelosi doesn't want a bipartisan solution to Social Security," said NRCC Communications Director Carl Forti in a press release issued on Thursday.

"While Republicans, and a few sensible Democrats, work toward advancing a positive, successful solution for the American people, Democrat leaders will be looking for ways to use this issue for political gain."

Forti said Democrats continue to be the "Party of No." That means "No ideas, no solutions, no agenda - and no majority," he concluded.

President Bush is expected to discuss his Social Security reform plan - which is open to suggestions, he insists - at his prime time press conference Thursday night.

Gen. Franks: Evidence Showed WMD Transfer

Retired Gen. Tommy Franks, who commanded the successful U.S. invasion of Iraq in 2003, said Thursday that he saw persuasive evidence that Saddam Hussein had transferred his weapons of mass destruction to Syria.

"We saw all kinds of suspicious activity which, all of us could have speculated, meant for certain that weapons were being moved into Syria," the top military man told WWRL Radio's Steve Malzberg and Karen Hunter. Gen. Franks added that while he "never saw anything that was absolutely convincing, the possibility remains" that Saddam's WMDs were removed.

Franks was responding to claims by his second in command, retired Gen. Michael DeLong, who told Malzberg last year:

"Two days before the war, on March 17 [2003], we saw through multiple intelligence channels - both human intelligence and technical intelligence - large caravans of people and things, including some of the top 55 [most wanted] Iraqis, going to Syria."

Asked about repeated claims by Democrats that President Bush "lied" about Iraq's WMD's, Franks told Malzberg:

"There was no one misleading anybody, except that Saddam Hussein took credit with his Arab brothers for having weapons of mass destruction."

The ex-CENTCOM commander was referring to his own conversations with Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak and Jordan's King Abdullah, each of whom told him that Saddam had apprised them of his WMD capacity and was crazy enough to use it.

'Miracle' needed to win back Senate

Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid raised a few eyebrows yesterday on the Senate floor when he said it would take a "miracle" for Democrats to win enough races next year to take back the Senate.
"I would like to think a miracle would happen and we would pick up five seats this time," he said during a floor debate over the filibusters of President Bush's judicial nominees. "I guess miracles never cease."
Republicans were delighted by what they called an "admission" from the highest-ranking elected Democrat in the country.
"After listening to Senator Reid's political spin about judicial nominees for the last several weeks, it is good to hear him come back to reality -- if even for a brief moment," said Brian Nick, spokesman for the National Republican Senatorial Committee. "Senator Reid can do the math: A Democratic Party, plus no ideas, plus obstruction, plus over-the-top partisan rhetoric equals continued minority."
Partisans on both sides of the aisle privately acknowledged that it was a fairly stunning remark.
But Democrats pointed out that Mr. Reid was making a larger point about the so-called "nuclear option" that Republicans have threatened to use to unclog the filibusters -- that Republicans might one day regret abolishing the filibuster for judicial nominees.
"If the Republicans keep abusing their power, it won't take such a miracle," said Phil Singer, spokesman for the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee.
Jim Manley, spokesman for Mr. Reid, noted that his boss "also said he believes in miracles."
"As a small-town boy from Searchlight, Nevada, who rose to become Democratic leader of the U.S. Senate, Senator Reid has shown that we can overcome the odds and is certain that we can win back the Senate," Mr. Manley said.

Oil ends below $50 on ample supply

NEW YORK, April 29 (Reuters) - NYMEX crude for June delivery ended below $50 a barrel on Friday amid signs of a slowing U.S. economy and with ample supplies of oil available for gasoline refining ahead of the summer driving season.

June crude dropped last traded down $2.27 at $49.50 a barrel.

Thursday, April 28, 2005

Most Are 'Pro-Choice' On Social Security;

As President George W. Bush�s 60-day Social Security tour comes to an end, the latest FOX News poll finds that a large minority of the public is unclear on the voluntary nature of his personal investment proposal. In addition, the poll shows most Americans favor giving individuals the "right to choose" between keeping their Social Security contributions in the current system and putting a portion in an investment account, and just over half say they personally would want the choice to invest some of their contributions.

Though President Bush has talked about voluntary accounts, the new poll finds that while 57 percent of Americans understand the accounts would be voluntary, 27 percent believe they would be mandatory, and the remaining 17 percent are unsure.

Overall, fully 79 percent of the public think people under age 55 should have the right to choose between keeping all of their Social Security contributions in the current system and investing a portion of their funds. That support goes up to 84 percent among respondents under age 55.

On the personal level, 53 percent say they want the choice to invest a portion of their contributions, up from 48 percent in early February � soon after President Bush spoke in his State of the Union address about offering investment accounts. Among those under age 55, almost two-thirds (64 percent) want the option to invest.

More generally, when Social Security is not mentioned, most Americans say they trust themselves (77 percent) over the government (15 percent) when it comes to making retirement investment decisions.

Opinion Dynamics Corporation conducted the national telephone poll of 900 registered voters for FOX News on April 25-26.

Tuesday, April 26, 2005

It Didn't Start With Tom DeLay

A new study shows that members of Congress have taken more than $16 million in privately financed trips over the past five years, with many of the trips sponsored by non-profit groups that are not obligated to disclose who paid the bills.

The results of the study by PoliticalMoneyLine, an Internet site that compiles campaign finance information, were first reported by USA Today.

The problems of House Majority Leader Tom DeLay, R-Texas, have placed a spotlight on congressional travel. DeLay has been accused of a spate of alleged ethical lapses, including travel that may have been paid for by a lobbyist.

Congressional rules permit privately financed travel, provided the money doesn't come from a lobbyist or the representative of a foreign interest.

But the study shows that more than half the private money spent on congressional travel since 2000 - $8.8 million - came from non-profit organizations who are not obligated to identify who may be actually paying the bills.

Widespread interest in DeLay's woes have spread bipartisan jitters through the halls of Congress. The Washington Post reports that members are racing to put their travel and campaign finance records in order in case their own activities come under scrutiny.

The newspaper also said that some members are restricting privately financed travel or even halting it altogether because of affaire DeLay.

The PoliticalMoneyLine study reviewed 5,410 trips taken by 605 members of the House and Senate. Democratic lawmakers had the edge, taking 3,025 trips, to 2,375 trips for GOP members.

The No. 1 trip-taker in dollar terms was Rep. James Sensenbrenner, R-Wis., chairman of the House Judiciary Committee. Sensenbrenner took 19 trips valued at $168,000.

In contrast, DeLay finished 28th by taking 14 trips valued at $94,568.

Among those higher on the list than DeLay were 2008 presidential wannabes Joseph Biden, D-Del., and Evan Bayh, D-Ind., and two members of the Foreign Relations Committee, Richard Lugar, R-Indiana, and outgoing Marylander Paul Sarbanes (D).

Rep. Harold Ford Jr., D-Tenn., took the most trips - 63. But Ford's less expensive domestic jaunts only totaled $61,000.

Top travel destinations, besides the U.S., were Mexico and Israel.

Texas House Says OK to Gay Marriage Ban

House members who approved a constitutional amendment banning same-sex marriage got a cool reception from one constituent - 10-year-old Kimberly Norman.
"I don't think that they're opening their eyes to look at the world to see everything," the fifth-grader, who is being raised by two women she calls mom, said Monday at the Capitol.


The measure aims to stem possible court challenges to an existing Texas law making same-sex marriages illegal. It passed with a vote of 101-29, more than the 100 needed for approval of a constitutional amendment in the House.

"I think marriage is important enough to the people of this state that it deserves the highest level of protection," said Republican Rep. Warren Chisum, who sponsored the bill.

The measure still must win approval in the Senate and from Texas voters to become part of the state constitution. Chisum said no senator has agreed to sponsor the bill in the upper chamber.

The smattering of Democrats who opposed the measure said it would constitutionalize discrimination. "This amendment is blowing smoke to fuel the hell fire flames of bigotry," said Rep. Senfronia Thompson.

The debate comes less than a week after House members approved a measure that would ban same-sex couples from becoming foster parents.

Gay and lesbian rights advocates criticized both measures, saying the Legislature needs to prioritize building up Texas families with public education and social services, rather than discriminating against the state's 43,000 gay couples.

"What they're doing really flies in face of family values," said Heath Riddles, Lesbian Gay Rights Lobby of Texas spokesman.

The marriage ban, Riddles said, would also hurt unmarried heterosexual couples, making it difficult for them to enter into end-of-life contractual agreements or give a partner power of attorney.

Chisum added a measure he said is meant to give gay and straight Texans the same contractual rights they currently have. It allows private contracts for guardianship, hospital visitation rights, insurance benefits and property ownership.

If the amendment is approved by voters, Texas would join 14 states, including Oklahoma, Montana and Louisiana, that statutorily and constitutionally ban same-sex marriage.

Nationally, President Bush supports conservative advocacy groups pushing for congressional approval of a federal constitutional amendment banning gay marriage. The measure, which would need ratification by 38 states, last year failed to win the necessary two-thirds support in the U.S. House and Senate.

Pantano Hearing Set for Today

former Wall Street trader who rejoined the Marines after the Sept. 11 attacks is now faced with the consequences of another choice - the split-second decision he made in a combat zone.


Defense attorneys for 2nd Lt. Ilario Pantano and military prosecutors agree that the Marine shot and killed two Iraqis last year in a search for a terrorist hideout. But they do not agree on circumstances surrounding the shootings.


Defense attorneys say Pantano was doing his job. Prosecutors say it was murder, and were expected to present their evidence at a preliminary hearing set to begin Tuesday at Camp Lejeune.

The case has stirred debate on whether troops should be second-guessed for decisions made in fleeting seconds of combat. A North Carolina congressman has urged President Bush to intervene and dismiss charges against the 33-year-old New Yorker.

Pantano also has become a popular subject for conservative radio hosts, and his mother, Mary, has started a Web site in his defense.

"This Web site has raised awareness, which is what we has hoped it would do," Mary Pantano said Tuesday on ABC's "Good Morning America." She said supporters "do not understand how a warrior in combat can be charged with premeditated murder for self defense for defending his men."

Rep. Walter Jones, a Republican, has said Pantano was doing nothing more than "defending the cause of freedom, democracy and liberty in his actions."

The Article 32 hearing, similar to a civilian grand jury hearing, is held to determine whether to recommend a court-martial or other punishment. An investigating officer will then make a recommendation to the commanding general of the 2nd Marine Division, who determines whether to proceed to trial or modify the charges.

If convicted of murder at a court-martial, Pantano could be sentenced to death. He has asked to waive the investigatory hearing and proceed straight to a court-martial.

A call to military defense attorney Maj. Phillip Stackhouse was not returned Monday afternoon. Base spokesman 2nd Lt. Barry Edwards declined to comment Monday.

The case stems from an April 15, 2004, incident in which Pantano's unit was ordered to search a house in Mahmudiyah, Iraq. Marines stopped Hamaady Kareem and Tahah Ahmead Hanjil as they tried to drive away.

According to charges, Pantano ordered other troops to remove the suspects' handcuffs and look away, then shot the pair in the back, vandalized their vehicle and hung a sign over their corpses bearing a Marine slogan: "No better friend, no worse enemy."

In a statement, Pantano told investigators the two men had their backs to him and continued talking to each other despite warnings to be quiet.

"After another time of telling them to be quiet, they quickly pivoted their bodies toward each other. They did this simultaneously, while speaking in muffled Arabic. I thought they were attacking me and I decided to fire my M-16A4 service rifle in self-defense," the statement said.

Pantano was investigated and cleared at the field level last year and continued combat operations. But civilian defense lawyer Charles Gittins said that a disgruntled enlisted man complained after Pantano's unit returned to Camp Lejeune. A new probe led to the charge.

Pantano was raised in a rough New York City neighborhood but got a scholarship to an expensive prep school. After a stint in the Marines, he became a Wall Street energy trader and then an executive in a film company, earning a six-figure salary.

Final Iraq WMD Report: Nothing Found

In his final word, the CIA's top weapons inspector in Iraq said Monday that the hunt for weapons of mass destruction has "gone as far as feasible" and has found nothing, closing an investigation into the purported programs of Saddam Hussein that were used to justify the 2003 invasion.

"After more than 18 months, the WMD investigation and debriefing of the WMD-related detainees has been exhausted," wrote Charles Duelfer, head of the Iraq Survey Group, in an addendum to the final report he issued last fall. "As matters now stand, the WMD investigation has gone as far as feasible."
In 92 pages posted online Monday evening, Duelfer provides a final look at an investigation that occupied over 1,000 military and civilian translators, weapons specialists and other experts at its peak. His latest addenda conclude a roughly 1,500-page report released last fall.

On Monday, Duelfer said there is no purpose in keeping many of the detainees who are in custody because of their knowledge on Iraq's weapons, although he did not provide any details about the current number. A U.S. official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said the ultimate decision on their release will be made by the Iraqi authorities.

The survey group also provided warnings.

The addenda conclude that Saddam's programs created a pool of experts now available to develop and produce weapons and many will be seeking work. While most will probably turn to the "benign civil sector," the danger remains that "hostile foreign governments, terrorists or insurgents may seek Iraqi expertise."

"Because a single individual can advance certain WMD activities, it remains an important concern," one addendum said.

Another addendum also noted that military forces in Iraq may continue to find small numbers of degraded chemical weapons most likely misplaced or improperly destroyed before the 1991 Gulf War. In an insurgent's hands, "the use of a single even ineffectual chemical weapon would likely cause more terror than deadlier conventional explosives," another addendum said.

And still another said the survey group found some potential nuclear-related equipment was "missing from heavily damaged and looted sites." Yet, because of the deteriorating security situation in Iraq, the survey group was unable to determine what happened to the equipment, which also had alternate civilian uses.

"Some of it probably has been sold for its scrap value. Other pieces might have been disassembled" and converted into motors or condensers, an addendum said. "Still others could have been taken intact to preserve their function."

Leaving the door to the investigation open just a crack, the U.S. official said a small team still operates under the U.S.-led multinational force in Iraq, although the survey group officially disbanded earlier this month. Those staying on continue to examine documents and follow up on any reports of weapons of mass destruction.

In a statement accompanying the final installment, Duelfer said a surprise discovery would most likely be in the biological weapons area because clues, such as the size of the facilities used to develop them, would be comparatively small.

Among unanswered questions, Duelfer said a group formed to investigate whether WMD-related material was shipped out of Iraq before the invasion wasn't able to reach firm conclusions because the security situation limited and later halted their work. Investigators were focusing on transfers from Iraq to Syria.

No information gleaned from questioning Iraqis supported the possibility, one addendum said. The Iraq Survey Group believes "it was unlikely that an official transfer of WMD material from Iraq to Syria took place. However, ISG was unable to rule out unofficial movement of limited WMD-related materials."