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Politics : Stockman Scott's Political Debate Porch -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Jim Willie CB who wrote (44552)	5/2/2004 11:07:15 PM
From: crdesign	Respond to of 89467

RIGHT ON JIM!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! A perspective I never entertained. Now you've got me thinking... HAIKU Like sand in a vile.... You are the optometrist I am the glazier. figgur out the warped perspective on your own. It's poetry in alpha-motion. MMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMM..... justice. Back under my rock, TIM

To: Jim Willie CB who wrote (44552)	5/3/2004 12:19:24 AM
From: stockman_scott	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 89467

Kerry to Begin Wave of New Ads to Counter Steady Bush Attack __________________ By DAVID M. HALBFINGER and JIM RUTENBERG The New York Times May 3, 2004 nytimes.com BOSTON — Senator John Kerry is set to introduce a major television advertising push on Monday that will highlight his biography and service in Vietnam, which his advisers have always viewed as his strong suits, campaign aides said on Sunday. The new effort comes as many Democrats have expressed concern that Mr. Kerry is not moving quickly enough to answer President Bush's sustained advertising attack and has not done enough to convey an overarching message. Republicans and Democrats who monitor advertising purchases said the Kerry campaign had committed to spend up to $27 million for more than three weeks. Mr. Kerry's aides would not comment on the exact size of the buy, except to say it would most likely set records. The new campaign will not only run in the 17 or 18 battleground states where both candidates' ads have primarily been focused this year, but also in two states where Mr. Bush won comfortably in 2000: Louisiana and Colorado, people who monitor advertising purchases said. Campaign aides and other Democrats have argued for weeks that while Mr. Bush's heavy advertising barrage may have defined Mr. Kerry in a negative light for some voters, there is still plenty of time to change perceptions. The new campaign is to include two spots, aides said. They will tell his life story and lay out the major themes of his candidacy. Mr. Kerry's aides note that most polls show the race to be neck and neck despite the tens of millions of dollars that Mr. Bush has spent on advertising. "The only thing it's done is prevented Bush from having a freefall," said a senior Kerry aide who spoke on the condition of anonymity. "That, for an incumbent, is not a good place to be." On the eve of the rollout of the new commercials, Mr. Kerry flew home to Massachusetts on Sunday for a few hours of down time in his Beacon Hill townhouse, but wound up taking a tumble during a 20-mile bike ride and suffered a minor scrape on his arm. Mr. Kerry left his home in Boston wearing a helmet, a yellow T-shirt and bike shorts. Just before noon he passed a cluster of photographers who had been positioned by his campaign on Longfellow Bridge, over the Charles River. He was trailed by three Secret Service bodyguards on bicycles and others in a chase car. At about 1:30 p.m. in Concord — 20 miles northwest of Boston — Mr. Kerry "hit a patch of sand going very slowly, took a slight spill, got up and brushed it off," said Jim Loftus, a press aide. "He has a small scrape." Mr. Loftus said Mr. Kerry had been "chuckling" as he described the accident to him in a brief telephone conversation. An aide said a brake on the bicycle was bent in the spill. The senator caught a lift in the Secret Service chase vehicle to a nearby bike shop where he left the bike to be repaired.

To: Jim Willie CB who wrote (44552)	5/3/2004 12:45:48 AM
From: stockman_scott	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 89467

CEOs: Rush Of Confidence businessweek.com Chief execs are back in a betting mood, buoyed by rising sales and renewed pricing power All that good news has finally convinced reluctant CEOs that a major expansion is under way. Although a surge in inflation or a sharp rise in interest rates could eventually slow the party, for now they're jumping in with both feet. Newly emboldened, they have finally stepped up capital spending in a big way. Durable-goods orders in March, reported on Apr. 23, rose 3.4% -- nearly five times the expected increase. That came on top of February's 3.8% gain. Capital-goods shipments, at $59.1 billion in March, hit their highest level since early 2001. For the year, Economy.com Inc. expects capital spending to grow a robust 12%. "Customers are coming out of the foxholes," says James V. Gelly, CFO of Rockwell Automation Inc. (ROK ), a Milwaukee maker of computerized manufacturing gear. STRAIGHT TO TECH. Brisk corporate spending stretches from small to large companies and across industrial sectors. Indeed, despite capacity utilization rates that remain low, many companies that are keen to modernize are leapfrogging old technology to meet lively demand. Owens Corning, a Toledo maker of insulation products used in housing, is spending $30 million to expand capacity 25% at a 39-year-old Jackson (Tenn.) plant that makes fiberglass for roofing shingles. And even as older jets languish in mothballs, low-cost AirTran Airways Inc. (AAI ) is buying new Boeing 737s that are more efficient than its current 717s. As companies open their wallets, much of the cash is flowing straight to the tech sector. Tech shipments, which have been accelerating for three months, grew 16.5% in March from a year ago, according to Merrill Lynch & Co. (MER ). Meanwhile, inventories continue to decline, boding well for new orders in coming months. The uptick has bolstered the chip industry: Global sales in February jumped nearly 31% from a year ago, according to the latest data from the Semiconductor Industry Assn. -- the largest rise since October, 2000. And computers are gaining momentum, too: Hardware shipments have topped 20% growth in four of the past five months. While tech is key, this turnaround is about more than tech spending. It's broad and deep -- and that means more jobs across industries. Nowhere has the mood improved more than in the hard-pressed heartland. Cummins Inc. (CMI ), a Columbus (Ind.) engine maker, is churning out 340 a day for long-haul trucks at its Jamestown (N.Y.) plant. That's up from 240 just six months ago. To keep the line humming, the plant added a second shift on Apr. 25 and now employs some 1,090 workers, up 20% from the beginning of 2003. "We are seeing improved demand in almost all of our end markets," says CEO Theodore M. Solso.

To: Jim Willie CB who wrote (44552)	5/3/2004 8:22:00 AM
From: stockman_scott	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 89467

Buffett joins Kerry campaign as economic advisor reuters.com <<...OMAHA, Neb., May 2 (Reuters) - Warren Buffett, the world's second wealthiest person, said on Sunday he had joined Democratic presidential candidate John Kerry's economic advisory team. Buffett has long been a critic of the tax policies of the Bush administration, which he believes favor the wealthy and big corporations over the middle class. "I'm available if anyone wants to ask my view of anything," Buffett said of his involvement with Kerry at a news conference in Omaha, Nebraska, a day after the annual meeting of his Berkshire Hathaway Inc. (BRKa.N: Quote, Profile, Research) . Buffett said Kerry had asked him three weeks ago if he would be part of an economic advisory council that includes Robert Rubin, who was Treasury Secretary in the Clinton administration. Buffett said he had accepted. Buffett, whose net worth is estimated by Forbes at $42.9 billion, said he was not likely to have much contact with Kerry and expected to play a limited role. He said that he believed the election would be more about Bush than about Kerry. "I personally think our election will be a referendum on George W. Bush," Buffett said. "The Kerry campaign is much less important than how people feel about Bush." Buffett's support of Kerry is the second time in the past year he has entered the political fray. Though a Democrat, Buffett was an economic advisor to Arnold Schwarzenegger, a Republican, in his successful bid to become governor of California...>>