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Politics : Formerly About Advanced Micro Devices -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: i-node who wrote (395973)	7/3/2008 4:24:48 PM
From: tejek	Read Replies (5) \| Respond to of 1573922

I feel a little sorry for the guy. You have to wonder why some fellow neo has landed him a job yet. It also makes you wonder whose going to ask Bush to speak.....and how much they will pay him. Maybe Gonzales is available for weddings and birthday parties, too Posted June 3rd, 2008 at 10:00 am It wasn’t too long ago when former U.S. Attorney General Alberto Gonzales — the nation’s chief law-enforcement officer, former White House counsel, and rumored to be a possible Supreme Court justice — was charging $40,000 for each public appearance. Now he’s stuck doing commencement addresses. That, in and of itself, wouldn’t be especially embarrassing. After all, for a former AG to speak at, say, Harvard Law School’s commencement is a pretty prestigious gig. But Alberto Gonzales isn’t speaking at elite law schools’ graduations. Or non-elite law school. Or university. Reader JRD alerted me to Gonzales’ latest appearance. Former U.S. Attorney General Alberto Gonzales, who served in the Bush Administration until his resignation in September 2007, gave the commencement address at Free Will Baptist School’s graduation ceremony Friday night, delivering a personal story of how his persistent pursuit of education brought him the American dream. Yes, Gonzales gave the commencement address at a high school in the Virgin Islands. It’s not even an especially big high school — the graduating class has six students. Stephen Beck, Free Will Baptist’s principal said Gonzales is “a friend of a friend.” One assumes Beck did not pay Gonzales $40,000. David Lat added, “Does he do children’s birthday parties too?” And all of this comes not long after we learned that Gonzales has not exactly been sought out by law-firm recruiters. Alberto R. Gonzales, like many others recently unemployed, has discovered how difficult it can be to find a new job. Mr. Gonzales, the former attorney general, who was forced to resign last year, has been unable to interest law firms in adding his name to their roster, Washington lawyers and his associates said in recent interviews. He has, through friends, put out inquiries, they said, and has not found any takers. What makes Mr. Gonzales’s case extraordinary is that former attorneys general, the government’s chief lawyer, are typically highly sought. Well, sure they’re “typically” sought after. Most law firms would love to have a former Attorney General on their roster. When a firm is approaching a potential client, and anxious to emphasize the prestige and influence of the firm, a partner takes pride in saying, “Yes, we even have a former Attorney General on staff.” When that AG was rumored to have been considered for the Supreme Court, the cachet is even more impressive still. But that’s the problem for ol’ Fredo. Everyone knows him, everyone saw his performance as arguably the worst Attorney General in history, and everyone knows the disdain with which he regards the rule of law. He’s not the guy you hire; he’s the guy whose phone messages you ignore.

To: i-node who wrote (395973)	7/4/2008 1:34:44 PM
From: tejek	Respond to of 1573922

Ahhh.....the Bush veto.........and then you all wonder why Congress can't get anything done. Meanwhile Bush continues to try and strangle Amtrak. Why? Mass transit and trains just ain't Republican enough. Amtrak funding Thursday, June 19, 2008 On the right track Congress has demonstrated that it won't be sidetracked by a threatened veto to fund the nation's passenger railroad service. The House last week approved a nearly $15 billion Am trak bill. The bipartisan legislation, which passed by a veto- proof margin of 311 to 104, allows funding for the national passenger railroad over the next five years. Part of the money would be used as matching grants to help set up or expand local rail service, a boon for NJ Transit. The Senate has already approved its own version of an Amtrak bill, thanks in large measure to New Jersey's Sen. Frank Lautenberg, who has long been a champion of the 37-year-old passenger rail system. Differences in both bills will have to be resolved, particularly the House's requirement that private companies be solicited to create and operate a high-speed service between Washington and New York, but the likelihood is that Congress will reach a compromise that will withstand a veto threat by President George W. Bush. The president has long been a critic of Amtrak, which, he and others argue, should be self-sufficient. But that is an unrealistic expectation. The government spends billions of dollars to keep a national highway system operating and it should do no less for the nation's passenger railroad. President Bush's stance on Amtrak has always been shortsighted, perhaps a reflection of his roots in Texas, where Amtrak plays a smaller role than it does in the busy Northeast Corridor. What he fails to understand is the im portant role passenger rail roads play in mass transportation. Trains use less energy than cars or planes, so they pollute less; they are more reliable in bad weather; they are business-and tourist-friendly, and today, they offer an alternative to drivers who now have to shell out more than $4 for a gal lon of gasoline. It's no wonder that Amtrak reported a record 25.8 million passengers last fiscal year and is on track to exceed that figure this year. The increase in Am trak ridership is mirrored on the local level. The River Line light-rail system between Tren ton and Camden, for example, has seen a 4.8 percent increase in weekday ridership during its second quarter, according to NJ Transit. The glory days and mystique of passenger rail service of the last two centuries may be gone, but that does not mean rail travel should play a lesser role in the nation's mass transit strategy. Thankfully, Congress realizes that. And recent legislation sponsored by Rep. Rush Holt, D-Hopewell Township, also recognizes the importance of passenger rail service. He wants to study the possibility of increasing service and reducing commuter ticket prices between Princeton Junction and New York City. Passenger rail service, like its freight counterpart, is an im portant component of the nation's economic infrastructure. Now more than ever, it needs to play a bigger role in our mass transit planning. nj.com

To: i-node who wrote (395973)	7/4/2008 1:43:06 PM
From: tejek	Read Replies (4) \| Respond to of 1573922

Stockholm has a metro population less than Stockholm but has three subway lines, 3 light rail, and three commuter trains. Sacramento which is slightly bigger is just now building its first light rail. Subway? LOL. Commuter rail? They are starting to treat their Amtrak service in that fashion. Even LA, which is 5-6 times bigger than Stockholm has only one subway line, 4 light rail and two commuter trains.......all built in the last 15 years. Europeans, when it comes to mass transit, are so much further ahead of the US, and yet, your fellow Republicans refuse to see the progress they have made. Why? Below is a map of Stockholm's transit lines......its a thing of beauty: