The Guild 10-26-2002 President Bush Saves The Day!

President Takes Action to Protect Pensions and Retirement Security for All Americans

President Bush believes that economic freedom is essential to individual success and prosperity. The President's economic agenda invests in individuals by creating jobs, expanding opportunities to save and invest, providing a good education, and helping each American own part of the American dream.

An important component of the President's economic security agenda is providing American workers and retirees new tools to protect their pensions, investments, and retirement security.

In his radio address, the President will announce the implementation of rules that require workers to receive a 30-day notification before any "blackout" restrictions are placed on their 401(k) plans.

On October 21, 2002, the Department of Labor will issue regulations implementing the new notice provisions, providing important protections to workers and retirees with investments in 401(k) plans. The regulations provide both interim-final rules and a model notice to assist plans in carrying out their responsibilities. Under the new rules:

Workers will receive notice 30 days before any restrictions are placed on their ability to direct investments, take loans, or obtain distributions from their 401(k) plans.

Companies with employer stock in their 401(k) plan will receive the same notice so corporate insiders will know they cannot sell stock in the company or exercise stock options when the workers in the 401(k) plan are restricted from doing so.

The notice to employees must include the reasons for the blackout period; its beginning and ending date; and, if the ability to direct investments is suspended, a statement that participants should evaluate their current investments in light of their inability to direct or diversify assets during the blackout period.

Failure or refusal to provide the required notice will result in a civil penalty.

The rule will be effective on the earliest possible date under the statute, January 26, 2003 (180 days after enactment of the Sarbanes-Oxley legislation). The Securities and Exchange Commission is also working on a new rule scheduled to take effect early next year that will bar corporate executives from trading their stock when their rank and file workers are prevented from selling theirs.

The President has proposed other important, commonsense proposals to help protect the retirement savings of American workers:

Allowing workers to diversify their investments in employer stock after three years.

Providing workers quarterly benefit statements that explain the value of diversified investments.

Giving workers better access to much-needed investment advice from professional advisers acting in the workers' best interest. These remaining provisions passed the House of Representatives on April 11, 2002. Unfortunately, the Senate has failed to act on these important initiatives.

To learn more about the President's comprehensive economic security and corporate accountability agenda please visit www.whitehouse.gov

I need to get some work done too. I've been trying to think who's leaving the Senate and or Congress but I only know about the republicans who are leaving. Surely non of them would be stupid enough.... anyhoo, I'll look for a list of leaving dims and post it later.

Thought you all might enjoy this piece of news since hilly, billy and McAwful are so bent (pardon the pun) on ousting Gov. Bush from the gov.'s mansion.

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With just over one week until Election Day, Gov. Jeb Bush has secured the endorsement of three of the state's biggest newspapers.

Bush was endorsed by the Orlando Sentinel (aka the Slantnel, more on that below), Miami Herald, and Tampa Tribune (I believe this is McBride's home town paper), WESH NewsChannel 2 reported.

Just one week ago, McBride got the nod from the St. Petersburg Times, Daytona Beach News-Journal and Tallahassee Democrat.

Bush is also scoring points at the polls. The Herald said Bush is ahead by eight points, 51 to 43 percent for McBride, a slightly larger lead than before the debate.

McBride said he's optimistic that the governor's race is still too close to call, and the recent newspaper endorsements reflect how close the vote will be.

"They're all balancing out. The best I can tell, it's sort of reflective of where the campaign is right now. It's a close campaign, and it will be decided on turnout," McBride said.

A University of Central Florida political scientist said Bush's endorsements in the Sentinel and Tribune show McBride is failing to sway undecided voters in the critical I-4 corridor.

Bush spent Sunday stumping for votes in South Florida. After a church service, Bush credited the positive poll numbers to McBride's showing in last week's debate and recent ads painting McBride as a tax-and-spend liberal.

Link

The Slantnel's endorsement was pretty back handed. After I read it my thought was, with endorsements like this who needs McBride attack ads. Here are a few excerpts, there's no link because the Slantnel has not put it on their website yet.

Both candidates certainly have noble aspirations. And if the governor's race were about likability, Mr. McBride would win hands down. Mr. Bush's four years in the governor's mansion have resembled an imperial reign, with Mr. Bush managing state affairs like an overbearing, arrogant potentate impervious to critcism and public input. [snip]

Many Floridians, clearly are not happy with the governor's track record. And for good reason.

In four years as governor, for example, Mr. Bush consistently has supported bills to keep public business hidden from taxpayer scrutiny. He has squandered billions of dollars on questionable tax cut to support his affluent cronies. He has refused to even consider a wholesale review of special-interest tax exemptions routinely granted by the Legislature. The state angency assigned to protect abused and neglected children - a top priority during his 1998 campaign - is in shambles. And the state's financial outlook remains tipsy.

If Mr. Bush has any hope of a future legacy, he must shed the aristocratic airs of his first term and invite all Floridians to participate in the government that they finance. As this newspaper opined in 1998, Mr. Bush has trememdous potential. He has the vision and he has the skills to be a man of true compassion. The governor's challenge is to put those skills to good use.

In the Nov. 5 gubernatioral election, the Sentinel endorses Jeb Bush.

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They just gush over McBride while admitting he's just not up to the job. Sheesh!

This is McBride's signature hand gesture. It drove me batty watching it through all three debates. I wonder who he subconsciously wants to strangle?
JL, not even a coat and tie could help this turd.

Florida Democratic gubernatorial candidate Bill McBride addresses a luncheon gathering at the Queen Bee's restaurant in Orlando, Fla. Sunday, Oct. 27, 2002. A 'Boo Bush' sign is part of the Halloween decorations at the restaurant. (AP Photo/Peter Cosgrove)

Florida gubernatorial candidate, incumbent Republican Jeb Bush, arrives for his debate with Democratic challenger Bill McBride in Jacksonville, Florida, September 27, 2002. A recent poll showed the gap narrowing between the candidates. REUTERS/Charles W Luzier

In my best sarcastic tone: Good thing this race isn't about good looks, Jeb would win hands down.

Too many people put off something that brings
them joy just because they haven't thought
about it, don't have it on their schedule, didn't know
it was coming or are too rigid to depart from
their routine.

I got to thinking one day about all those
women on the Titanic who passed up dessert at dinner
that fateful night in an effort to cut back. From
then on, I've tried to be a little more flexible.

How many women out there will eat at home because
their husband didn't suggest going out to dinner until
after something had been thawed? Does
the word refrigeration" mean nothing to you?

How often have your kids dropped in to talk and
sat in silence while you watched 'Jeopardy' on
television?

I cannot count the times I called my sister
and said, "How about going to lunch in a half
hour?" She would gasp and stammer, "I can't. I have
clothes on the line. My hair is dirty. I wish
I had known yesterday, I had a late breakfast,
It looks like rain." And my personal favorite:
"It's Monday." ...She died a few years ago. We
never did have lunch together.

Because Americans cram so much into their
lives, we tend to schedule our headaches. We live on
a sparse diet of promises we make to ourselves when
all the conditions are perfect!

We'll go back and visit the grandparents when
we get Stevie toilet-trained.

We'll entertain when we replace the
living-room carpet.

We'll go on a second honeymoon when we get two
more kids out of college.

Life has a way of accelerating as we get older.

The days get shorter, and the list of promises
to ourselves gets longer. One morning, we
awaken, and all we have to show for our lives is a litany
of "I'm going to", "I plan on", and "Someday, when
things are settled down a bit."

When anyone calls my 'seize the moment'
friend, she is open to adventure and available for
trips. She keeps an open mind on new ideas. Her
enthusiasm for life is contagious. You talk with her for five
minutes, and you're ready to trade your bad feet for a
pair of Rollerblades and skip an elevator for a bungee cord.

My lips have not touched ice cream in 10
years. I love ice cream. It's just that I might as well
apply it directly to my stomach with a spatula
and eliminate the digestive process. The other
day, I stopped the car and bought a triple-decker.

If my car had hit an iceberg on the way home, I
would have died happy.

Now...go on and have a nice day. Do something
you WANT to......not something on your SHOULD DO list.

If you were going to die soon and had only one
phone call you could make, who would you call
and what would you say? And why are you waiting?

Make sure you read this to the end; you will
understand why I sent this to you.

Have you ever watched kids playing on a merry
go round or listened to the rain lapping on the
ground? Ever followed a butterfly's erratic flight or
gazed at the sun into the fading night?
Do you run through each day on the fly? When you ask
"How are you?" Do you hear the reply?

When the day is done, do you lie in your bed
with the next hundred chores running through your head?

Ever told your child, "We'll do it tomorrow."
And in your haste, not see his sorrow?

Ever lost touch? Let a good friendship die?
Just call to say "Hi"?

When you worry and hurry through your day, it
is like an unopened gift....Thrown away... Life
is not a race. Take it slower. Hear the music before
the song is over.

It's National Friendship Week. Show your
friends how much you care. Send this to everyone you
consider a FRIEND.

Certianly!

I'm planning to write about my experiance at my first "freep" in a comentary like I did with the 9/11 commentary.

But I'll tell you some of it.

I rode with Sauropod and KLT to DC. We were on the grounds of the Washington monument. It was a nice day not too cold and not too hot. It started out cloudy bur the sun did come out at one point.

I really didn't know what to expect as this was the first time I was at a rally like this, It was a counter protest to those who were opposing war with Iraq.

Kristinn was the one who set everything up, he is the head of the DC chapter, I beleave, him and Angelwood.

Congressman BillyBob was one of the speakers. They were great. The highlight in my opinion was the arrival of the Iraqi exiles that came to Washington to protest against Saddam Hussein. Dave Dilegge invited them to join us. C-span was taping this but we were on tape delay so we were'nt shown on tv till 1AM! (IDIOTS)

If there is anything that decided me about being for a war with Iraq, it was those brave Iraqi men and women who, I'm sure still had family members in Iraq. I am pro-life and I found it strange that I was also calling for Saddam's death!

When the rally was over some of us planned to go to Luigi's in DC for a bite to eat. We were supposed to meet there at 4:00 but those idiot libs had other plans! They had decided to march down the same street that we were parked on, so, the park police had to close the street so we could not leave for about two hours.

Dave Dilegge also had his pickup parked not far from our car so 'POD, KLT and I went over and stayed in the back of the pickup just watching the creeps go by!

we christened the truck "Dave's Deck"

It was an experiance!

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