Official title U.S. Troop Readiness, Veterans Health and Iraq Accountability passed with vote of Republicans 2 Yea and 195 Nay and Democrats 216 Yea and 13 Nay. Other pork fat included as follows: Assistence for Eastern Europe and Baltic States, 2,953,000,000 (thats billion). Immigration and refugee assistance, 111,500,000. Livestock farm assistence, no limit. Peanut storage (for Jimmy Carter?), $74,000,000. Losses due to Aphis emergency, $5,000,000. Payment to spinach growers, $25,000,000. Milk income loss, $283,000,000. That's a good start, you can take it from there.

I report and U decide.
alanrph2@msn.com

For the year 2005 I paid tax on 55% of my social security benefits amounting to $1620. I expected to pay that tax and also expected the money to be directed to the social security trust fund. That's not the case as my money went instead to the general fund. Can we do something about that? How about AARP or Senior Federation.

I report and U decide
alanrph2@msn.com

The union trying to organize lawyers in the Attorney General's office called on Attorney General Lori Swanson to keep promises that she made when the union endorsed her in October. Surely, she was endorsed by all unions in Minnesota as is the case with unions giving more than 90% of political donations to the Democratic party. See this at www.opensecrets.org/pacs/topacs.asp.

This, and the return of former Attorney General Miks Hatch, have caused the departure of more than 30 employees, including seversl top deputies.

In one case Swanson abruptly fired assistent Attorney General Kari Jo Ferguson for collecting union membership cards. Several top lawyers from the office linked the wave of departures to Swanson's decision to put Mike Hatch back on the payroll.

This is probably more serious than than the accusations made against US Attorney General Gonzales.

I report and U decide.
alanrph2@msn.com

"Our commitment to Iraq is long-term, but it is not a commitment to have our young men and women patrolling Iraq's streets open-endedly". I am not well enough informed to take a firm position on this subject, but Robert Gates seems to make sense.

Also along the same line of thought are Kennethh Pollack and Daniel Byman, foreign policy analysts who served in the Clinton administration. They do not contend that U.S. defeat in Iraq has become inevitable and that it's too soon to know whether the new counterinsurgency strategy will succeed.

"Should the U.S. withdraw from Iraq leaving behind a government not competent to defend itself, policy makers will have to choose between terrible options and worse ones. Most of the country would be overrun by Sunni groups tied to Al-Quaida and Shiite groups tied to Iran. It must be expected that hundreds of thousands of Iraqis will be killed in battles and acts of terrorism and millions more would flee. The flow of Iraqui oil almost certainly would be disrupted. Planning for the economic impact on the U.S and the rest of the world would be impertative."
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alanrph2@msn.com

Federal privacy and antidiscrimination laws restrict how universities can deal with students who have mental health problems. Universities cannot tell parents about their children's problems without the students consent and they cannot release any information on a student's medical record without consent. They cannot put students on involuntary medical leave, just because they develop a serious mental illness.

Universities can find themselves in a double bind. On one hand, they may be found liable if they fail to prevent a suicide or murder and in one instance administration was sued for $27.7 million, thanks to the trial lawyers. On the other hand they often are held liable for violation of antidiscrimination laws if they do take action to remove a potentially suicidal student, thanks to ACLU.

With all that was known about Cho Seung-Hui at Virginia Tech University, nothing could be done within the present law structure and that is what led to the massacre. We are far too concerned about "discrimination" and "rights", words that are championed by the far left.

I report and U decide.
alanrph2@msn.com