$2.1 million for the Center for Grape Genetics in New York.
This is important: we grow wine in NYS and after CA is forced to secede or gets hit with “the big one,” where you gonna get your wine … but from NYS?! Cornell, Alfred … schools with solid AG programs.

“we should give Obama props for keeping his campaign promise to raise taxes on those making over $250,000″
… to let expire the bush tax cuts for the rich and for giving tax cuts to the middle class, yes we should give him props.
to the issue of earmarks, again i say, clean your own house first.

in fact, i know how to cut earmarks by 40%. call on your republican brethren in congress and tell them to stop. tell them that you don’t want for them to bring your tax dollars back home. i urge you.

It would do no good for Obama to veto the appropriations bill since Congress can override him. McCain already tried to get a bill through Congress to stop earmarks, but it failed.
See my comments under, “Let’s play spot the stimulus stamp”
Harry Truman Jr. – Senator Claire McCaskill Give Senate Republicans Hell over “Earmarks”
Don’t Take Anyone Seriously that says one thing but does another.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SGL-DfHdn5E

“Did a conservative highjack Dowd’s column yesterday?”
A misconception by Michele, moderate/liberals can think for themselves and will criticize when they think it is appropriate.
As in my previous comment. Sen. McCaskill is one of Obama’s biggest supporters.
Senator Bayh (D-In) “The Senate should reject this bill. If we do not, President Barack Obama should veto it.”
Politifact had not included a promise to veto earmarks in their tracking of Obama’s promises.
Obama’s words: “Obama replied, “John, nobody is denying that $18 billion is important. And, absolutely, we need earmark reform . And when I’m president, I will go line by line to make sure that we are not spending money unwisely.”
“On the economic stimulus, Obama took a strong and vocal stand against them and showed what he could do with the power of the bully pulpit. The bill was not earmark-free as he claimed, but it was close.
The Omnibus, however, is loaded with earmarks. Obama and the White House could have used the bully pulpit to criticize them. But they have not been very critical, nor have they indicated any attempt to go “line by line” through the bill to look for wasteful programs, as Obama pledged during the campaign.
Administration budget chief Peter Orszag said, “We want to just move on. Let’s get this bill done, get it into law and move forward.”
For now, with those sharply different results, we find this promise deserves a Compromise. But we’ll be watching this one and will revisit it later.”
Gallup 3/1-3/09 1500 A Approval 61% Disapproval 28%

Michele said, “I guess we should give Obama props for keeping his campaign promise to raise taxes on those making over $250,000, don’t you think?”
Obama is not king. Congress has to approve tax changes
Promises Obama Has Kept
No. 15: Create a foreclosure prevention fund for homeowners
Create a $10 billion fund to help homeowners refinance or sell their homes. “The Fund will not help speculators, people who bought vacation homes or people who falsely represented their incomes.”
No. 40: Extend and index the 2007 Alternative Minimum Tax patch
Extend and index the temporary fix to the Alternative Minimum Tax that was passed in 2007
No. 58: Expand eligibility for State Children’s Health Insurance Fund (SCHIP)
“Expand eligibility for the Medicaid and SCHIP programs and ensure that these programs continue to serve their critical safety net function.”
No. 125: Direct military leaders to end war in Iraq
On “my first day in office, I would give the military a new mission: ending this war”.
No. 134: Send two additional brigades to Afghanistan
“As Obama removes our combat brigades from Iraq, he will send at least two additional brigades to Afghanistan, where the Taliban is resurgent. He will also provide our armed forces with the reset capability that they need. He will replace essential equipment, and he will ensure that our men and women in uniform get the care and support they have earned.”
No. 239: Release presidential records
“Will nullify the Bush attempts to make the timely release of presidential records more difficult.”
No. 241: Require new hires to sign a form affirming their hiring was not due to political affiliation or contributions.
“Will issue an executive order asking all new hires at the agencies to sign a form affirming that no political appointee offered them the job solely on the basis of political affiliation or contribution.”
No. 278: Remove more brush, small trees and vegetation that fuel wildfires
“Will place a high priority on implementing cooperative projects to remove brush, small trees and other overgrown vegetation that serve as fuel for wildfires. Barack Obama will focus the Forest Service and Bureau of Land Management’s efforts on working with local communities on hazardous fuels projects to make communities safer and forests healthier.”
No. 307: Create a White House Office on Urban Policy
“Will create a White House Office of Urban Policy to develop a strategy for metropolitan America and to ensure that all federal dollars targeted to urban areas are effectively spent on the highest-impact programs. The Director of Urban Policy will report directly to the president and coordinate all federal urban programs.”
No. 327: Support increased funding for the NEA
Will “support increased funding for the National Endowment for the Arts, the support of which enriches schools and neighborhoods all across the nation and helps to promote the economic development of countless communities.”
No. 411: Work to overturn Ledbetter vs. Goodyear
“Obama will work to overturn the Supreme Court’s recent ruling that curtails racial minorities’ and women’s ability to challenge pay discrimination.”
No. 427: Ban lobbyist gifts to executive employees
“Barack Obama will issue an executive order banning registered lobbyists or lobbying firms from giving gifts in any amount or any form to executive branch employees.”
No. 452: Weatherize 1 million homes per year
“Will make a national commitment to weatherize at least 1 million low-income homes each year for the next decade, which can reduce energy usage across the economy and help moderate energy prices for all.”
No. 458: Invest in all types of alternative energy
“We’ll invest in research in every form of alternative energy – solar, wind, biofuels.”
No. 503: Appoint at least one Republican to the cabinet
Interview with Steve Kroft of “60 Minutes”: Question: “Will there be Republicans in the Cabinet?” Obama: “Yes.” Question: “More than one?” Obama: “You’re not getting any more out of me.”
No. 507: Extend unemployment insurance benefits and temporarily suspend taxes on these benefits
“Obama and Biden believe Congress should immediately extend unemployment insurance for an additional 13 weeks to help families that are being hit hardest by this downturn. In addition, they believe we should temporarily suspend taxes on unemployment insurance benefits as a way of giving more relief to families

I find it scary that people refuse to see obama as he is a far left socialist. and all actions have a reaction such as taking away tax deductions for charitable giving so that more people who need it and will get less than the administation will have an excuse to expand even more to help those who are lacking.Or complaining about banks etc. rewarding empoleey”s so that they cancel trips and retreats not worrying about the effect of the people whose jobs depened on people taking such trips or having people be intimadated into joining unions by open vote instead of secret ballot.Ironic the 1st black president surpressing votes and taking away the secrecy of the ballat

Oh, and those of you who think only “evil rich” people who make over 250K can pay for this? If you taxed them all 100%, they could not pay for this bill.
Just wait, next couple of years, anybody who pays any taxes at all is going to get it in the shorts.

ZZ,
We are already “all” getting it in the shorts. The current crisis has been building for years. Just a few weeks before Bush’s people sounded the emergency bell that the sky was falling, they said the economy was fine.
Where was the alarm when Bush lowered the taxes on the wealthy when we were fighting two wars?
McCain sounded the alarm, which was before he sold his soul to the Republican party.

Oh, and those of you who think only “evil rich” people who make over 250K can pay for this? If you taxed them all 100%, they could not pay for this bill.
They will just lower the amount needed to be considered “rich”.

Useful Facts on Who Pays the Nation’s Taxes – 2006
The website has two charts that provide a clearer picture of the percent of taxes paid by income.
http://www.taxfoundation.org/blog/

Julie, when you commit to civil discourse without making accusations, I’ll be glad to interact with you.

The Rise and Fall of the Great Powers
U.S. has about 30-40% of the world’s wealth and about 5% of the world’s population
The U.S. economy is about 28% of global GDP. But the U.S. accounts for only about 8% of global exports; 16% of manufacturing value-added output.
Consumption accounts for about 72% of US GDP, which is a record for any large economy in modern history. The consumption has been built on a mountain of consumer and household debt, which now totals some $13 trillion–approximately the size of the entire U.S. economy.
much of U.S. debt is owed to other countries
We consume a quarter of the world’s fossil fuels;
29% of “materials” (including minerals, metals and synthetics);
19% of forestry products; and
14% of its water.
2006 Richest 2 Percent Own Half the World’s Wealth
The average American’s wealth amounted to $144,000 in the year 2000, more than 100 times higher than the average Indian or Indonesian, whose assets totaled $1,100 and $1,400, respectively.
The study defined wealth as physical and financial assets–like personal savings and home, land, and stock ownership–less debts.
Besides the United States, only Canada, Western Europe, Japan, and Israel showed average personal wealth of more than $50,000.
Pakistan, Vietnam, Cambodia, many former Soviet Republics, and most of sub-Saharan Africa showed average personal wealth of under $2,000
20-year credit binge. We stopped making money by making “stuff” and started making money from money — consumers making money out of rising home prices and using the profits to buy flat-screen TVs from China on their credit cards, and bankers making money by creating complex securities and leverage(high risk gambling) so more and more consumers could get in on the credit game.
This huge bubble has exploded.
For years, I have wondered who was buying the huge expensive houses in the area where I live. Taking the specific salaries earned and percent of salaries for each salary range, it seemed impossible that people could afford all the houses.
Businesses were also living on credit and gambling with money they did not have – credit default swap (CDS) – and unregulated to ensure that AIG, had the trillions to back the CDSs.-
there are only 5 major CDS brokers amongst the US banks who hold 87% of the outstanding credit exposure $157 trillion - JPMorgan & Co., Citigroup Inc., Bank of America, Wachovia, HSBC
You can thank the primary people that pushed for no regulation for CDSs: Alan Greenspan, Robert Rubin, Larry Summers, Phil Gramm, and more.
Letting the banks fail means that outstanding credit exposure $157 trillion that is owed to businesses, pension funds, and individuals. AIG’s has counterparties numbered in the “millions” and were spread all over the globe, including pension funds and U.S. households.
Get Even More Angry
Goldman Sachs and Morgan-Stanley are making out like a bandit because AIG guarantees their CDSs. Goldman Sachs and Morgan-Stanley will recover 100% of their high-risk speculative positions of intrinsically flawed CDS derivatives
http://tinyurl.com/a9x6va
Goldman 2008 2007 2006
Net Income 2,322,000 11,599,000 9,537,000
The above income is in thousands. Most of Goldman’s income in 2007 was from subprime loan gambling with CDSs. One trader made 3 or 4 billion in 2007.
Now we are in a vicious circle with dominoes falling everywhere.
We started saving instead of spending, but that hurts businesses. The government spends to stimulate the economy, but increases the deficit.
Timothy Geithner Wanted to Regulate CDS in 2006
Today, Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner warned the U.S. recession is worsening, and the Federal Reserve said there’s little hope of an improvement in coming months.
Almost all U.S. industries saw deterioration in their business in January and February, with food and drug necessities among the few exceptions, the Fed’s Beige Book survey showed yesterday. Geithner said at a Senate hearing that “this is still a deepening recession and a deepening credit crunch.”
Extremely complicated – I do not think anyone has an answer. It is my opinion that there is not a “fix” for the many complex issues. People that made money on the CDSs have pocketed the money – it is not there anymore.
Financial Services Committee chairman Barney Frank (D-Mass.) wants state and federal authorities to seek criminal and civil penalties on financial actors that helped cause the current crisis.

In relationship to my last comment:
Matthew 19
23 Then Jesus said to his disciples, “I tell you the truth, it is hard for a rich man to enter the kingdom of heaven.
24 Again I tell you, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God.”
Is God angry because Americans have more money than any other country, but too many people cannot control their creed and desire for more for themselves?
Is God angry about American’s whining about socialism while the people of Pakistan, Vietnam, Cambodia, many former Soviet Republics, and most of sub-Saharan Africa having average personal wealth of under $2,000?
Is God angry because most Americans have way more house than anyone needs and throw away more food than many people will ever have?
God has been very good to us, but maybe he wants to bring us to our knees for a reason.
Is It Something About The Way We Live Our Life?
Lenten Sacrifice – Sunday after Bush started the Iraq war (part of a sermon)
We give up something for lent that we think is not so healthy for us, like chocolate, candy, or coke, then we for lust it until Easter, that we want Easter to come, not for the resurrection, but we want to go back to the way were before Easter, so that we can go back to eating the chocolate, candy, or coke, and make the purchases because we want to be consumers of the world rather than giving it up forever.
If it is something we give up for lent, maybe it is something we need to give up forever, but that is too tough for us, if we want to draw close to God, it has to mean changing who we are, all the time, we just give it up for Lent and go on being who we were. We are not being transformed.
The war is something we have watched as a movie. We have not been called on to sacrifice ourselves. The war is not one that we are fighting, because we want to just make our offering, and let someone else fight the battle.
Is it our own desires for oil for our SUVs that caused the war to happen?
Is it something about the way we live our life – that we haven’t made our own life clean and pure yet that is somehow allowing a tyrant to be in control of people in Iraq because of the natural resources that are there?
Tough questions for us, questions that are hard to get a handle on because we want to think we are doing things the right way, because we always want to think we are the good people.
If we really want to win the battle on terrorism, injustice, and oppression, we have to be some of the ones willing to fight the battle. We have to learn to live in relationships that are equal in power in the world.
We have to listen to God’s call to be filled with compassion to feed the hungry, to see to it that others are not in need. We must tie together our wealth and someone else’s poverty.
It is not enough to pay our taxes so that others can do the battle, it is much more complicated, it is giving up the live that is unfulfilling, unhealthy, and be reconciled with God

I believe it may helpful to remember “Neither shall you favor a poor man.”

Julie, when you commit to civil discourse without making accusations, I’ll be glad to interact with you. I am beginning to believe you have no desire for conversation that is civil.

Robert, I believe that it is our responsibility to take care of those who cannot take care of themselves. When poverty is created by the unwillingness to work, I feel no responsibility to feed who will not work.
I have worked for an inner city neighborhood association and I’ve worked in several inner city schools, from pre-school up through high school. When the prevailing attitude (by the time a student gets to high school) is that working hard and getting good grades is a reason to be mocked by peers, not praised, it is difficult for me to “favor a poor man” who put himself (or a woman who put herself) in that situation.
Poverty should not be something that makes a person helpless. We should be focusing on giving the person the tools to become rich (yes – encouraging the creation of wealth, not making it an evil to be avoided) and we should be giving people the incentive to want to NOT be poor.
this is very similar to the notes that were given to us at a workshop at the high school I worked at.
We listened to the difference between “situational” poverty and “generational” poverty. It seems that parents of students in generational poverty will many times sabotage their student because their relationship with the child is more important than the student’s success.
If we make “rich” an evil, if we punish great success, and reward great poverty, we have it upside down. That is the curse of generational poverty.
And no, we should not favor a poor man.

Robert said, “I believe it may helpful to remember “Neither shall you favor a poor man.” ”
Your reference was regarding laws of justice in a court. Your quoted verse is followed by not denying a poor man justice. It has nothing to do with helping people in horrid situations, such as not having needed medicine or food. I was not talking about people unwilling to take actions to improve their situation.
lifesaving medicine and other supplies for Zimbabwe; starvation in Kenya; genocide in Darfur, and the many other people that need help. Matthew 25 and contains Jesus’s word – It is not an option for a Christian.
44 “They also will answer, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or needing clothes or sick or in prison, and did not help you?’
45 “He will reply, ‘I tell you the truth, whatever you did not do for one of the least of these, you did not do for me.’
46 “Then they will go away to eternal punishment, but the righteous to eternal life.”
Exodus 23
Laws of Justice and Mercy
1 “Do not spread false reports. Do not help a wicked man by being a malicious witness.
2 “Do not follow the crowd in doing wrong. When you give testimony in a lawsuit, do not pervert justice by siding with the crowd, 3 and do not show favoritism to a poor man in his lawsuit.
4 “If you come across your enemy’s ox or donkey wandering off, be sure to take it back to him. 5 If you see the donkey of someone who hates you fallen down under its load, do not leave it there; be sure you help him with it.
6 “Do not deny justice to your poor people in their lawsuits. 7 Have nothing to do with a false charge and do not put an innocent or honest person to death, for I will not acquit the guilty.
Anyone that has read Obama’s book, “Dreams of My Father” would know he is very much into people being accountable and not blaming others as an excuse for not taking action to improve their situation.

Robert, how much money do you think we should give an able-bodied poor person before they should no longer be considered “poor”?
Proverbs is an interesting read with an eye toward those who choose not to work.

“Proverbs is an interesting read with an eye toward those who choose not to work.”
ellen recently declared, “my kids have both been out of work for over a year.”
just because one is out of work doesn’t mean they choose not to.