| Latest Commentary: | Volume VI, Number 148 |
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Federal Budget Deal Negotiations Collapse -- The game of “pass the federal budget” has gone into overtime again, and the latest efforts to fund Uncle Sam for another year have collapsed in acrimony and charges of “bad faith.” On Saturday, President Bush vowed to veto any bill that exceeded his spending requests. A compromise bill in the House Appropriations Committee topped that figure by $18 billion. Now, Chairman David Obey (D-WI) has decided to rip up the agreement, pass a budget and meet the president’s budget cap by axing projects in Republican districts.
New Aussie Government Drops “Pacific Solution” for Refugees -- The new Australian government of Kevin Rudd has started winding down the “Pacific Solution” policy on refugees that John Howard’s center-right government adopted six years ago. Essentially, asylum-seekers were dropped behind razor wire on Pacific Islands for months, and for years, while the Australian government slowly decided that, yes, these people were really refugees needing protection. The end of this policy makes Australia a better country than before. Fed Cuts Rate by 25 Basis Points Again -- Yesterday at the customary time of 2:15 Eastern, the Federal Reserve announced it was cutting the Fed Funds rate by 25 basis points (that’s 0.25%) and the discount rate by a similar margin. Then, things got a bit silly and violated what the text books all said should happen. Stocks fell, and the dollar rallied. This is what happens when the Fed doesn’t meet market expectations. Led Zeppelin Reunites at London’s O2 Arena -- Cards on the table time. Led Zeppelin was never all that damn great. Black Sabbath had a better rhythm section, Deep Purple had better guitar riffs, and Alice Cooper had a better stage show. However, Zep did get the media and the corporate power behind them (ever wonder why “Stairway to Heaven” was on American radio in 1979 radio but Elvis Costello wasn’t?). They reunited for their first serious concert in 19 years on Monday, and by all accounts, it was a credible result. © Copyright 2007 by The Kensington Review, Jeff Myhre, PhD, Editor. No part of this publication may be reproduced without written consent. Produced using Fedora Linux. |
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