“Today, in an editorial, the Grand Forks Herald correctly pointed out that Senator Conrad's budget does not pass the smell test. His continued claims that his budget does not raise taxes are just not true. Liberal media outlets like the New York Times, The Washington Post and The Los Angeles Times report that Conrad’s budget lets some of President Bush’s tax cuts expire. That is a tax increase and no amount of spin, double talk or flip-flopping can disguise the fact that the Democrats voted to raise taxes. The Grand Forks Herald is correct. The voters of North Dakota deserve an explanation from Senator Conrad.”
Ken Karls, State Chairman North Dakota Republican Party.
Grand Forks Herald
OUR OPINION : A budget ‘big lie' or core truth?
- 06/06/2007
Our view:: The evidence leans against Sen. Kent Conrad's contention that the Congress' new budget doesn't raise taxes.
The New York Times says Congress' new budget lets some of President Bush's tax cuts expire. The Washington Post and the Los Angeles Times say the same thing. But Sen. Kent Conrad, D-N.D., insists that's not the case.
Who's right?
Conrad is the go-to guy on budget matters in the Senate. On this issue, however, the newspapers seem “more right” than he is. Rich Karlgaard, the North Dakotan who is publisher of Forbes magazine, actually wrote in his Web log that “Conrad is lying about the biggest-ever tax increase that is sure to come if the Dems sweep in 2008.” That's too strong, but Conrad at the very least either should explain his position more clearly or acknowledge that the other observers have a point.
Here's the issue. “Congress gave final approval on Thursday to a $2.9 trillion budget resolution for the 2008 fiscal year . . .,” The New York Times reported May 18.
“The plan assumes the expiration, at the end of 2010, of many of President Bush's tax cuts that have benefited mostly upper-bracket taxpayers, but it would extend popular middle-class tax breaks by two years.”
Conrad responded in a letter, saying that letting the tax breaks expire “is not our assumption. . . . (The budget) allows for new tax relief and the extension of other expiring provisions, as long as they are paid for.” But conservative columnist Bob Novak calls this “the big lie” because the bottom line is that the budget does let some tax cuts expire, and “that means higher taxes if Congress does nothing.”
Note Conrad's phrasing: The budget allows for the tax cuts' extension “as long as they are paid for.” If they're not - if Congress fails to take additional action to drum up the needed revenue - then, presumably, the tax cuts will expire, just as Novak, the Times and the others say.
Conrad's “as long as” qualifier in front of his “paid for” phrase suggests the tax cut are not currently paid for in the new budget.
Is there a flaw in this argument? If there is, then Conrad has every right to claim the new budget doesn't hike taxes. But if there is no flaw, then the critics are right to say the budget likely will let some taxes rise. The senator should clarify matters, and not just with the Herald.
- Tom Dennis for the Herald
If you would like to view the original story please click here
- END -
Wednesday, June 06, 2007
Tuesday, May 29, 2007
Prominent Democrat Praises Jaeger Run Elections
N.D. 2006 elections glitch-free
By Lloyd Omdahl
The Forum - 05/29/2007
The 2006 mid-term election turned up scores of problems in the new voting systems implemented by states and counties under the federal “Help America Vote Act” passed in 2002 following the disastrous presidential election in Florida. Seventeen states reported major glitches in their new voting systems.
Florida is now in the process of dumping its touch-screen system for paper ballots. The Denver election commissioner resigned following a complete breakdown in many precincts. In Florida, Texas and Ohio, the voting machines were casting votes for the wrong candidates. In Texas, the centralized voter records system has so many flaws that registration officials in 200 counties want to get out of the process.
These frequent reports of election foul-ups have made citizens skeptical of the entire process, even in states that have experienced no difficulties. An undercurrent of alarm is spreading as another crucial presidential election approaches.
In response to the widespread failures, Congress is proposing new legislation requiring that electronic voting systems include printers able to create a paper trail for validating election results. Validation has become a major concern since some machines have malfunctioned and vendors have refused to provide officials with adequate reliability checks.
While the rest of the country is mired in an electoral morass, North Dakota has been scandal free in its implementation of the federal legislation, due largely to the insightful leadership of Secretary of State Al Jaeger.
If you would like to read the original story please visit: http://www.in-forum.com/Opinion/articles/167002
- END -
By Lloyd Omdahl
The Forum - 05/29/2007
The 2006 mid-term election turned up scores of problems in the new voting systems implemented by states and counties under the federal “Help America Vote Act” passed in 2002 following the disastrous presidential election in Florida. Seventeen states reported major glitches in their new voting systems.
Florida is now in the process of dumping its touch-screen system for paper ballots. The Denver election commissioner resigned following a complete breakdown in many precincts. In Florida, Texas and Ohio, the voting machines were casting votes for the wrong candidates. In Texas, the centralized voter records system has so many flaws that registration officials in 200 counties want to get out of the process.
These frequent reports of election foul-ups have made citizens skeptical of the entire process, even in states that have experienced no difficulties. An undercurrent of alarm is spreading as another crucial presidential election approaches.
In response to the widespread failures, Congress is proposing new legislation requiring that electronic voting systems include printers able to create a paper trail for validating election results. Validation has become a major concern since some machines have malfunctioned and vendors have refused to provide officials with adequate reliability checks.
While the rest of the country is mired in an electoral morass, North Dakota has been scandal free in its implementation of the federal legislation, due largely to the insightful leadership of Secretary of State Al Jaeger.
If you would like to read the original story please visit: http://www.in-forum.com/Opinion/articles/167002
- END -
Tuesday, May 22, 2007
John Edwards War on Poverty - Edwards charges $55,000 to speak to UC Davis students about poverty
SF Gate.com Poltics Blog
Democratic presidential candidate John Edwards, who as a Democratic presidential candidate recently proposed an educational policy that urged "every financial barrier" be removed for American kids who want to go to college, has been going to college himself -- as a high paid speaker, his financial records show.
The candidate charged a whopping $55,000 to speak at to a crowd of 1,787 the taxpayer-funded University of California at Davis on Jan. 9, 2006 last year, Joe Martin, the public relations officer for the campus' Mondavi Center confirmed Monday.
That amount -- which comes to about $31 a person in the audience -- included Edwards' travel and airfare, and was the highest speaking fee in the nine appearances he made before colleges and universities last year, according to his financial records.
Clicker Here to read the rest of the story ...
Democratic presidential candidate John Edwards, who as a Democratic presidential candidate recently proposed an educational policy that urged "every financial barrier" be removed for American kids who want to go to college, has been going to college himself -- as a high paid speaker, his financial records show.
The candidate charged a whopping $55,000 to speak at to a crowd of 1,787 the taxpayer-funded University of California at Davis on Jan. 9, 2006 last year, Joe Martin, the public relations officer for the campus' Mondavi Center confirmed Monday.
That amount -- which comes to about $31 a person in the audience -- included Edwards' travel and airfare, and was the highest speaking fee in the nine appearances he made before colleges and universities last year, according to his financial records.
Clicker Here to read the rest of the story ...
Monday, May 21, 2007
John Edwards Puts Foot in Mouth Again
Former Sen. John Edwards (D-NC) On Service To Our Country
John Edwards: "One Of The Things We Ought To Be Thinking About Is Some Level Of Mandatory Service To Our Country, So That Everybody In America, Not Just The Poor Kids Who Get Sent To War, Are Serving This Country." (Philip Elliott, "Edwards Touts Plan To End War In Iraq," The Associated Press, 5/21/07)
John Edwards: "One Of The Things We Ought To Be Thinking About Is Some Level Of Mandatory Service To Our Country, So That Everybody In America, Not Just The Poor Kids Who Get Sent To War, Are Serving This Country." (Philip Elliott, "Edwards Touts Plan To End War In Iraq," The Associated Press, 5/21/07)
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