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Wednesday, March 09, 2005 Onto Iran? Maybe not. A presidential commission due to report to President George W. Bush this month will describe American intelligence on Iran as inadequate and not complete enough to allow firm judgments about that country's illicit weapons programs, according to people who have been briefed on the panel's work. The commission's sharp indictment of U.S. judgments on Iran follows a secretive 14-month review by the panel. Bush ordered it last year to assess the quality of overall U.S. intelligence about the proliferation of nuclear, chemical and biological weapons. The expected criticism will come while increasingly sharp warnings from the Bush administration about what it says are Iran's efforts to build nuclear weapons are being met with firm denials in Tehran. It says that its nuclear program is intended purely for civilian purposes. posted by chris at 5:00 PM   GAO: personal accounts will make things worse The nation's chief financial accountability officer today backed President Bush's call to reform the Social Security system sooner rather than later but said Bush's proposal for personal retirement accounts was likely to exacerbate deficits and warned more broadly that the country's current fiscal path is unsustainable. In testimony before the House Ways and Means Committee, David M. Walker, the U.S. comptroller general and head of the Government Accountability Office, also cautioned that Medicare presents a much bigger, tougher and more urgent problem than Social Security. Story. posted by chris at 4:48 PM   ------------------ Monday, March 07, 2005 Stop the bankrupcy bill Voting on this bill (see below) begins on Tuesday - call your Congresspeople NOW or write them here and urge them not to support it. posted by chris at 11:38 AM   ------------------ Sunday, March 06, 2005 Helping out the credit card companies The bankruptcy measure now being debated in Congress has been sought for nearly eight years by the credit card industry. Twice in that time, versions of it have passed both the House and Senate. Once, President Bill Clinton refused to sign it, saying it was unfair, and once the House reversed its vote after Democrats attached an amendment that would prevent individuals such as anti-abortion protesters from using bankruptcy as a shield against court-imposed fines. Credit card companies and most congressional Republicans say current law needs to be changed to prevent abuse and make more people repay at least part of their debt. Consumer-advocacy groups and many Democrats say people who seek bankruptcy protection do so mostly because they have fallen on hard times through illness, divorce or job loss. They also argue that current law has strong provisions that judges can use to weed out those who abuse the system. Opponents also argue that the legislation is unfair because it ignores loopholes that would allow rich debtors to shield millions of dollars during bankruptcy through expensive homes and complex trusts, while ignoring the need for more disclosure to cardholders about rates and fees and curbs on what they say is irresponsible behavior by the credit card industry. The Republican majority, along with a few Democrats, has voted down dozens of proposed amendments to the bill, including one that would make it easier for the elderly to protect their homes in bankruptcy and another that would require credit card companies to tell customers how much extra interest they would pay over time by making only minimum payments. More here. Contact your Senators and Representatives and tell them not to support this bill. UPDATE: The Center for American Progress tallies up the losses on amendments offered by Democrats to protect us from the worst of this bill. Every amendment was voted down. Disgraceful. posted by chris at 10:56 AM   ------------------

    

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