Obama Economic Plan

• End the Iraq War.
  
• Raise taxes a few points on the top 1%.
• Balance the budget.
  

Bush has been so reckless financially, he has made America look like the Roman Empire before its fall. All those who earned the Nobel Prize for Economics are on one side, Bush is on the other side. He has defied the basic wisdom. This is dumb and getting dumberer.

Bush has created such havoc on the country's finances the next President of the United States who might balance the budget just might qualify for the Nobel Prize for Economics. When the national budget goes as off the radar screen as has under Bush, interest rates go up on all sorts of things like student loans. What you get in ill-conceived tax cuts, you more than give away in raised interest rates.

Like Howard Dean famously asked in 2004: "What tax cuts?"

Besides balancing the budget, the most important thing to do is to prepare the country and the world for a full blown information age.

• Universal health. (Health Care As A Spectrum)
  
• Lifelong education.
  

Security issues are very important. The only real, long term security for America is to find a progressive way to spread democracy country after country after country. Do it like in Nepal not like in Iraq.

• Total spread of democracy by 2020.
  

And then there is the big ass issue of global warming. That issue is bigger than terrorism and nuclear proliferation put together.

• Global warming.
• Terrorism.
• Nuclear proliferation.
  

In The News

Obama organizing Iowans Chicago Tribune, USA A former community organizer on Chicago's South Side, Obama relayed his often-frustrating experiences of trying to get people to meetings and mobilized to make change. ........ Iowa Atty. Gen. Tom Miller, who endorsed Obama even before the state's former governor left the presidential race, said Obama is doing well in the state.

Barack Obama’s global warming plan Blogger News Network Obama’s plan is modeled after the one recently signed into law, through an executive order, by California governor Schwarzenegger. In January Schwarzenegger created a statewide low carbon fuel standard. Obama intends to take the California plan nationwide. .... My impression is that the Obama campaign, much like the Clinton campaign, is a bit short on ideas.
Clinton Would Make Husband Roving Ambassador New York Sun he remains a very popular figure in much of the world and is considered an effective diplomat. ...... That's precisely what America needs in the wake of a war in Iraq that's left America isolated and hated throughout much of the world, Mrs. Clinton said. ....... he remains immensely popular among Democrats. ...... She said that Mr. Bush and Vice President Cheney have done lasting damage. "I don't think we know all the damage that this president and vice president have done," Mrs. Clinton said. ....... She said nothing will affect the issue until leaders of countries, such as Mexico, improve the economic lives for millions living in poverty.
Romney, Giuliani the favorites at key SC Republican conventions Eyewitness News Romney has collected more money from Tennesseans for his 2008 presidential run than any other candidate so far. Tennesseans have donated more than 550-thousand dollars to the various candidates, almost 238-thousand of which went to Romney.
Dems Weigh Iraq Options Washington Post there is no denying that Democrats do not have the two-thirds majority needed to override Bush's veto. And soon enough, everyone will be asking what happens next.
In Detailed Speech, Bush Says Iraq Buildup Is Working "The nature of a strategy aimed at securing the population is that the most important gains are often the least dramatic," he said. "Day by day, block by block, Iraqi and American forces are making incremental gains in Baghdad."
Bush Rebuffs GOP Pressure For Gonzales to Step Down Nearly every committee Republican appeared skeptical of Gonzales's handling of the firings and their aftermath. Telephone calls yesterday to dozens of GOP lawmakers, lobbyists, and current and former Bush administration officials found almost no support for the attorney general. ....... Bush traditionally has bristled at pressure to dismiss advisers under fire, particularly those close to him, such as Gonzales, a longtime confidant from Texas. When he has eased out top officials, he has usually dictated the timing so as not to appear to be caving in to critics. Giving in, he has reasoned, would only embolden his foes to seek more scalps. ...... "Everybody at the White House . . . all think he needs to go, but the president doesn't" ....... After weeks of seclusion to prepare for Thursday's testimony, he tried to return to a normal routine, presiding over an afternoon awards ceremony for National Crime Victims' Rights Week.
French paradox: Voters adamant and undecided Chicago Tribune three weeks of rioting across France that some say marked the beginning of the end of Jacques Chirac's presidency. ...... Across France, an estimated 1.8 million new voters have registered ..... "It's the only thing politicians understand," said Samir Mihi, 29 ...... Nicolas Sarkozy remained the front-runner ...... the far-right's perennial favorite, Jean-Marie Le Pen. ...... Polls last week showed Sarkozy leading with 27 percent to 29 percent, followed by Royal with 21 percent to 26 percent. ..... The top two finishers face each other in a May 6 runoff. ...... Chirac, a deeply unpopular figure in France these days, is not seeking a third term
Barack Obama speaks in Manhattan 7Online.com "Oh, that's somebody's blackberry. That's Sharpton's blackberry," said presidential candidate Senator Barack Obama. "Is that Hillary calling?"

Nepal: Police arrest MJF cadres Telegraphnepal.com
Another Indian investor wants to quit Nepal India eNews.com
Romney, Giuliani the favorites at key SC Republican conventions Eyewitness News
Mauritius to observe Bihar Day Indian Muslims
Maoists storm Bihar station, trains stopped for six hours The Statesman Maoists displayed their “might” for the second time in a fortnight, capturing the Narganjo station in Bihar’s Jamui district early today, leading to the suspension of train services on the Howrah-Patna section of Eastern Railway for more than six hours. ..... about 200 Maoists raided the station at 2 am and held the areas captive
Law lets gays create legal partnerships Los Angeles Times
Fifth day of fighting and at least 200 dead in Somalia Monsters and Critics.com
Indians rush to rescue N-deal The Australian at the heart of the dispute is India's insistence it retain its right to test strategic nuclear weapons and reprocess spent nuclear fuel. ..... The pact would allow India access to US civilian nuclear technology, overturning a decades-old ban that resulted from India's refusal to sign the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty. ...... The 123 Agreement refers to parts of the US Atomic Energy Act which specifically require Washington, by law, to end nuclear co-operation with India should it conduct another nuclear test - something the country has vowed not to do since it imposed a moratorium on itself after conducting underground explosions in 1998. In the hothouse atmosphere of Indian politics, however, agreeing to such a condition would be suicide for the coalition Government headed by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh. ...... Powerful opponents of the deal - including a number of the country's top nuclear scientists - insist that a fundamental issue of national sovereignty is involved and that to agree to a US pledge that it will never in the future carry out another nuclear test is outrageous. ....... The US has bluntly said it is not prepared to change its laws and regard India as a nuclear weapons state that has the right to test strategic nuclear weapons and reprocess nuclear fuel despite never signing the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty. ....... The US fears reprocessed fuel could be used to produce weapons-grade plutonium for a new generation of nuclear weapons, undermining Mr Bush's argument that last year's unusual deal with India would aid non-proliferation. ........ Mr McCormack said: "Inasmuch as it bumps up against US law, we're not going to be able to change our law." ....... But Mr McCormack added: "When you're blazing a trail on an issue, and there's not a body of work or a history or a precedent to fall back on, every issue becomes important for one side or the other. But at the end of the day, I think we're going to get this done." .......... The intractable Indian position is that it has shown itself to be a responsible nuclear state but that it cannot be asked to compromise its right to test nuclear weapons in the future. ....... The deal with the US, approved last December, would allow civilian nuclear trade with India and is seen as the centrepiece of the developing relationship between New Delhi and Washington. There would be UN inspection of India's 14 civilian nuclear plants, but its eight military plants would be off limits. ........ The sense of anxiety, if not crisis, surrounding the future of the agreement and bilateral relations intensified last night when a bipartisan group of US senators asked India to cease its growing military co-operation with Iran.
US Congress set to defy Bush on Iraq war Reuters
Wolfowitz Scandal Takes Bank Hypocrisy to New Heights Foreign Policy In Focus
WiMax Gets Ready for Prime Time The Heartland Institute
Caterpillar, Google lift Dow to record Gulf Times The US stock market ended the week with a rally that sent the Dow Jones Industrial Average to a record after earnings from Caterpillar to Google topped estimates. .... The Standard & Poor’s 500 Index and the Nasdaq Composite Index rose to six-year highs. ..... Crude oil rose more than $1.50 a barrel in New York on concern that yesterday’s presidential election in Nigeria, Africa’s biggest oil producer, would result in a disruption of shipments. Militants in Nigeria’s delta region who have halted almost a quarter of the nation’s oil production say their campaign for control of local resources won’t be stopped by the election. Nigeria was the fifth-largest source of US oil imports last year. The country produces low-sulphur oil that is prized by US refiners.
Bollywood's Bachchan says sorry to Indian paparazzi Reuters.uk

Dow Jones closing in on 13000 points Taipei Times
• New York Sues Drexel Over Student Loans Consumer Affairs
Asian soccer can rival Europe, AFC chief says Guardian Unlimited
HP keeps worldwide PC market lead over Dell in 1Q SouthCoastToday.com
Dell Once Again Offers Windows XP Wyoming News
Dell does doubletake on Vista San Antonio Business Journal
Dell blinks on Windows Vista offering TECH.BLORGE.com
HP Extends Market Lead Over Dell DailyTech
Low-Salt Diet Shakes Off Heart Disease MedPage Today
Sarkozy all smiles as France goes to the polls Times Online
Red Sox 7, Yankees 5 Red Sox Pound Yankees’ Soft Spot New York Times Chien-Ming Wang threw 55 pitches on Saturday...... fastballs that still reached 98 miles an hour in the seventh inning ...... Matsuzaka is still a mystery to the Yankees, who bid $33 million for the right to negotiate with him but fell well short of Boston’s $51 million bid. The players will study tape of him on Sunday, but for now, their exposure has been limited to highlights. ....... Center fielder Johnny Damon, who rested a sore back and hamstring, said he would start Sunday. But Manager Joe Torre said Jorge Posada’s bruised left thumb was too swollen for him to return this weekend. ..... Carl Pavano, who is on the disabled list with a mild elbow strain, threw off flat ground on Saturday, but Torre said Pavano still felt discomfort.
Tainted food kills 30 South African dogs BusinessWeek
Cut Your Salt Use and Cut Your Risk of Heart Disease Forbes Reducing the amount of salt in your diet can lower your risk of developing heart disease by 25 percent and the risk of dying from heart disease by 20 percent ...... "Dietary intake of sodium among Americans is excessively high" ...... People in both trials reduced their salt intake by about 25 percent to 35 percent. .... "A prudent sodium intake is best achieved by avoiding salted, salt-cured and salt-smoked foods such as lunch meat, hot dogs, ham, olives, pickles and regular salted canned foods, and other prepared foods, which often use more salt than home-made equivalents" ...... The salt we shake onto our food contributes far less to most diets than salt processed into foods. Even foods we would never think of as salty, such as breakfast cereals, cookies, and even some soft drinks, often contain copious additions of sodium...... To see the benefits highlighted in this paper play out at the population level will require modification of the food supply, so that eating less salt requires a lot less work
Alec Baldwin apologises for daughter rant Digital Spy
Baldwin apologizes for angry voicemail to 11-year-old daughter CBC News