Silicon Investor (SI) -- The First Internet Community

STOCKTALK

We've detected that you're using an ad content blocking browser plug-in or feature. Ads provide a critical source of revenue to the continued operation of Silicon Investor. We ask that you disable ad blocking while on Silicon Investor in the best interests of our community. If you are not using an ad blocker but are still receiving this message, make sure your browser's tracking protection is set to the 'standard' level.

Politics : Impeach George W. Bush -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: TigerPaw who wrote (1445)	1/26/2001 6:41:38 AM
From: Mephisto	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 93284

Tax breaks on inheritance will allow the dynasties to prevail unless they are prosecuted, and a prosecution would not necessarily destroy a family Speaking of tax breaks, I hope the "middle class" gets a tax break. I realize most of Bush's tax breaks target the wealthy. Since we face an increase in property tax, plus 100% increase in electricity rates because we haven't had any rain or snow in the mountains, plus the hefty increase in natural gas rates and the additional financing that our schools need, we would welcome a tax cut..

To: TigerPaw who wrote (1445)	1/26/2001 6:45:42 AM
From: Mephisto	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 93284

Post: Jobseeker Says Ashcroft Asked About Sexuality WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A health care expert seeking a top Cabinet post in Missouri's government contends then-Gov. John Ashcroft questioned him about his sexual orientation during a job interview, the Washington Post reported Thursday. Ashcroft is expected to win Senate confirmation as President Bush's attorney general, but Democrats have raised questions about Ashcroft's record on civil rights and his opposition to the nomination of a gay man as ambassador to Luxembourg, on the basis of his sexual orientation. Ashcroft assured Senate Democrats during his confirmation hearings last week that he would not consider sexual orientation in the hiring and firing of employees if approved as attorney general. The Post quoted Paul Offner, a Democrat and health care policy expert who applied in 1985 to be head of Missouri's Department of Social Services, as saying Ashcroft asked him directly about his sexual orientation, leading him to believe it was a condition for getting the job. Ashcroft spokeswoman Mindy Tucker told the Post the former Missouri senator and governor could not remember the meeting. ``The senator does not recall this meeting and cannot imagine starting a meeting with this question,'' the Post quoted Tucker as saying. ``He made it clear to the committee ... that sexual orientation has never been something that he has used in hiring in any of the offices he has held, and it will not be a consideration at the Department of Justice,'' she said. ``SAME SEXUAL PREFERENCE AS MOST MEN?'' Offner, who was single at the time of the interview, told the Post he was stunned by Ashcroft's query, which he said came with no introduction. ``Mr. Offner, do you have the same sexual preference as most men?'' Offner quoted Ashcroft as asking at the start of the interview, according to the Post article. ``Yes,'' Offner said he replied. ``Have you ever used an illegal controlled substance?'' Ashcroft asked next. ``I have not,'' Offner said. ``If his position is that this has never been an issue with him, then why did he say it?'' Offner asked in an interview with the Post. ``It is hard to believe it wasn't a job qualification.'' Offner, 58, who is now married, said Ashcroft crossed the line with his direct question about sexual orientation. He Ashcroft later told him he could not give him the job because ''his people would not understand.'' The Post noted that a question about sexual orientation would not violate Missouri law, which does not prohibit discrimination in hiring on the basis of sexual orientation. But it would appear to contradict Ashcroft's testimony to the Senate Judiciary Committee, in which he said ``sexual orientation has never been something that I've used in hiring in any of the jobs, in any of the offices, I've held. It will not be a consideration in hiring at the Department of Justice.'' The Post quoted Rich McClure, Ashcroft's chief of staff from late 1985 until late 1992, as saying he had never heard Ashcroft or any of his staff or legal counsel ask ``that kind of question'' during job interviews. Offner did not get the job. He went on to serve as senior health care adviser to the Senate Finance Committee and then tried to help the District of Columbia reform its health care reimbursement system before joining the faculty at Georgetown University, according to the Post. dailynews.yahoo.com