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Politics : PRESIDENT GEORGE W. BUSH -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Kenneth E. Phillipps who wrote (683879)	5/27/2005 12:01:25 PM
From: DuckTapeSunroof	Respond to of 769670

... Among others. :) Santorum's Weather-Related Bill Criticized By KIMBERLY HEFLING, Associated Press Writer news.yahoo.com Two days before Sen. Rick Santorum introduced a bill that critics say would restrict the National Weather Service, his political action committee received a $2,000 donation from the chief executive of AccuWeather Inc., a leading provider of weather data. The disclosure has renewed criticism of the measure, which Santorum, R-Pa., maintains would allow the weather service to better focus on its core mission of getting threatening weather info out in a "timely and speedy basis." Opponents say the bill would endanger the public by preventing the dissemination of certain weather data, and force taxpayers to pay for the data twice. The bill would prevent the weather service from competing for certain services offered by the private sector. AccuWeather, based in State College, Pa., provides weather data to a variety of outlets, including media organizations such as The Associated Press. "I think the timing of it is what makes it so suspect," said Melanie Sloan, executive director of the Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Government, a Democratic-leaning watchdog group. "It's like here's the money and you're going to do what I want." Santorum said the $2,000 contribution, received from AccuWeather CEO Joel Myers on April 12, came during a fundraiser in State College that happened to be two days before the bill was filed. He said he has worked on the issue for three years. The donation was disclosed in the April filing to the FEC by Santorum's PAC, America's Foundation. "I don't think there's any coincidence between the two," Santorum said. "It's just that I happened to have a fundraiser in the town he was in." Combined, Joel Myers and his brother, Barry Myers, AccuWeather's executive vice president, have donated more than $11,000 to Santorum and the Republican Party since 2003, according to FEC filings compiled by PoliticalMoneyLine, a campaign finance tracking group. Barry Myers said it was ridiculous to think there was a correlation between the "modest" donations and the filing of the bill. Santorum said his campaign could likely raise and spend $25 million for the 2006 election. "We have no connection to how bills are filed, or how they are drafted or dropped at any given point in time," Myers said. Dan McLaughlin, press secretary for Democratic Sen. Bill Nelson of Florida, which is home to the weather service's National Hurricane Center, said the April 12 donation is suspect. Nelson has written to President Bush in opposition to the bill. "It certainly raises questions about motivation as to why someone would push a policy that is so obviously crummy," McLaughlin said. Under the proposed legislation, the weather service would be allowed to offer particular types of services only if the private sector does not offer them, a provision similar to rules the agency was guided by for 14 years until last year. When the rule changed, the weather service and National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration expanded into areas already served by the commercial weather industry, according to Santorum's office. In his letter, Nelson said Santorum's bill would bar weather service forecasters from giving one-on-one interviews to media. He also said it could inhibit pilots' access to data the weather service provides to the Federal Aviation Administration online. When four hurricanes struck Florida last year, the weather service Web site received 9 billion hits, Nelson said. He urged Bush to "publicly oppose this legislative attempt to push the weather service back to a pre-Internet era and restrict the public's right to access government information." Trent Duffy, deputy White House spokesman, said the administration typically does not comment on legislation that has not reached the floor of the House or Senate. The bill has been referred to the Senate Commerce Committee, but no hearing has been scheduled. Santorum said critics have misinterpreted the bill's purpose. He said severe weather information would still be released, and it would restore the old rules that were changed last year. "The National Weather Service is not focused on it's core mission of protecting the nation's lives and property," Myers said. "There have been numerous examples in the last year, situations where they have not devoted the resources to that." ___ On the Net: AccuWeather: wwwa.accuweather.com Sen. Rick Santorum: santorum.senate.gov Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Government: citizensforethics.org National Weather Service: nws.noaa.gov

To: Kenneth E. Phillipps who wrote (683879)	5/27/2005 12:02:32 PM
From: TideGlider	Respond to of 769670

Kenneth, you haven't been shocked since the last time you had an erection!

To: Kenneth E. Phillipps who wrote (683879)	5/27/2005 12:13:08 PM
From: Hope Praytochange	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 769670

Personal Income Up 0.7 Percent in April By MARTIN CRUTSINGER The Associated Press Friday, May 27, 2005; 8:39 AM WASHINGTON -- Personal income rose in April at the fastest pace this year while people's spending slowed after a big jump in March, the government reported Friday. The Commerce Department reported that incomes rose by 0.7 percent last month, reflecting a big jump in hiring by private sector businesses. The increase followed two 0.5 percent gains in February and March and was the strongest showing since a 4 percent jump in December that had been fueled by a big dividend payment from computer software giant Microsoft. Consumer spending rose 0.6 percent in April, down from a big 0.9 percent jump in March. Analysts expect the economy to keep moving ahead at a good clip this year in part because they believe that rising employment will provide support for consumer spending. The new report showed that inflation pressures remained contained with an inflation gauge preferred by the Federal Reserve showing that prices outside of food and energy rose by 1.6 percent in April, compared to the same month a year ago. That was down from a 1.7 percent increase for the 12 months ending in March. The government reported on Thursday that the overall economy grew at a 3.5 percent rate in the first three months of this year, a significant upward revision from the initial estimate a month ago that the economy was growing at a 3.1 percent growth rate. This upward revision in the gross domestic product and a string of better-than-expected reports in April have eased concerns that were raised by a series of sub-par reports on March activity. Economists had worried that this year's oil shock, which saw crude oil prices hit new record highs, could trigger a period of prolonged economic weakness. Disposable incomes, the amount that people have left to spend after paying taxes, rose by 0.5 percent in April, up slightly from two months of 0.4 percent gains. Even with that increase, the personal savings rate dipped 0.4 percent in April, the lowest level in more than three years. It was the first time that the savings rate fell into negative territory since it came in at minus 0.2 percent in October 2001 during the country's last recession.