http://www.freerepublic.com/tag/programs/ en-us Thu, 20 Nov 2008 17:08:24 GMT Focus Forum 15 http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2135356/posts As the Legislature’s lame-duck session sputters to a close this week without much action expected, California budget watchers remain in limbo, hoping federal assistance will help alleviate the state’s financial burden. The state is preparing a new round of mid-year budget cuts to close an $11 billion shortfall. But even as budget stakeholders play defense, some are quietly talking about new proposals that could re-channel pots of existing money into new programs, such as an expansion of health care coverage for uninsured children. Part of the lethargy of the lame-duck session, according to Capitol leadership sources, is the remaining uncertainty... Capitol Weekly http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2135356/posts#comment Thu, 20 Nov 2008 17:08:24 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2075756/posts WASHINGTON, Sept. 5, 2008 – Newman’s Own awarded a combined $75,000 in grants to 15 nonprofit organizations for their innovative volunteer efforts to improve military quality of life during the company’s ninth annual awards ceremony, held at the Pentagon here today. Marine Gen. James E. Cartwright, Vice Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, helped present the awards alongside executives from contest sponsors Newman’s Own, Fisher House and the Military Times Media Group. “The clever ideas, the way the ideas were brought forth, the things that were meaningful to people who had family and knew they would be meaningful... American Forces Press Service http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2075756/posts#comment Sat, 6 Sep 2008 01:33:28 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1962757/posts WASHINGTON - President Bush's 2009 budget will virtually freeze most domestic programs and seek nearly $200 billion in savings from federal health care programs, a senior administration official said Thursday. The Bush budget also will likely exceed $3 trillion, this official said. Bush on Monday will likely present his proposed budget for the new fiscal year to Congress, where it's unlikely to gain much traction in the midst of a presidential campaign. AP on Yahoo http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1962757/posts#comment Thu, 31 Jan 2008 20:14:18 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1941286/posts KANSAS CITY, Mo. - Before Bob Jansen can teach English to the adult immigrants in his lowest-level class, he has to show about a quarter of them how to hold a pencil. Adult education teachers like Jansen are finding themselves starting from scratch as uneducated immigrants and refugees from conflict regions of Africa and rural areas of Mexico and Central America flock to the United States. An estimated 400,000 legal and 350,000 illegal immigrants are unable to read or write even in their native language, according to a July 2007 report from the Migration Policy Institute, an independent Washington think... AP on Yahoo http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1941286/posts#comment Tue, 18 Dec 2007 18:23:43 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1934328/posts As another World AIDS Day dawns this morning, prepare for the usual media blitz of stories designed to promote more spending on failed approaches to HIV/AIDS, and more bashing of the Bush Administration despite increases in spending by the billions each year.  Here are some of the questions that the media probably won’t ask the professional HIV/AIDS lobby, which grows ever fatter while the human tragedy rises: • What have American taxpayers gotten for the $20 billion per year (and rising) government spending on HIV/AIDS? • What has happened to the more than half a billion condoms that the... townhall http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1934328/posts#comment Tue, 4 Dec 2007 05:30:21 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1917559/posts But what about farmers and ranchers who plant grain where unfavorable weather is the norm rather than an exception? Not much rain falls on Oklahoma, the Dakotas or the Texas panhandle. That's just the way it is. Between 1985 and 2005, more than 12,000 purportedly drought-stricken agricultural producers in those states claimed federal disaster payments at least every other year. This group collected $1.4 billion in all, about 60 percent of total federal farm disaster relief aid during those two decades, according to a database compiled by the Environmental Working Group. You'd think that Congress would have concluded that there... Washington Post http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1917559/posts#comment Sun, 28 Oct 2007 15:35:18 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1757198/posts There may be no better sign of the changing debate over the nation's farm subsidies: A Midwestern governor running for president calls for cuts in a system that has steered hundreds of millions of dollars a year to his state. "I didn't get much of a reaction from farmers," said Iowa Gov. Tom Vilsack (D), "because deep down most of them know the system needs to be changed." Politicians such as Vilsack have joined a host of interest groups from across the political spectrum that are pressing for changes in government assistance to agriculture. They want the money moved from... Washington Post http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1757198/posts#comment Fri, 22 Dec 2006 12:03:55 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1739213/posts Kent Conrad's Web site proclaims that the North Dakota Democrat "has been a leading voice for fiscal responsibility" in Washington... ...$4.9 billion, which is the amount of emergency drought relief the parsimonious Mr. Conrad is attempting to shovel into a Senate military construction bill in this week's lame duck session. If this is the sort of "fiscal discipline" we can expect from the new Democratic majority, K Street ought to be popping the champagne corks. Farm-state Senators have been pushing for this handout for months, and the only good news is that they've modestly scaled back their demands. Nebraska Democrat... Wall Street Journal http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1739213/posts#comment Wed, 15 Nov 2006 21:46:34 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1696790/posts WASHINGTON, Sept. 6, 2006 -- Nearly five years after America “awoke to a nightmare attack” on Sept. 11, 2001, the nation is thankful that terrorists haven’t succeeded in launching another attack on U.S. soil, but recognizes that it’s not for the terrorists’ lack of trying, President Bush said at the White House today. “Nineteen men, armed with box cutters, took control of airplanes and turned them into missiles,” Bush said of the Sept. 11 attacks. “They used them to kill nearly 3,000 innocent people. We watched the Twin Towers collapse before our eyes -- and it became instantly clear that... American Forces Press Service http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1696790/posts#comment Thu, 7 Sep 2006 01:50:31 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1691613/posts MARINE CORPS BASE CAMP PENDLETON, Calif., Aug. 28, 2006 -- As members of the 15th Marine Expeditionary Unit here make last-minute preparations for their upcoming deployment, Staff Sgt. Danny Sava and his family are getting their own affairs in order so they’re ready for another long separation. Marine Staff Sgt. Danny Sava, his wife, Julia, son, Anthony, and daughter, Alyssa, stroll past a sign at the top of a stairwell in the 15th Marine Expeditionary Unit’s command headquarters that marks the days until Sava’s upcoming deployment. “E-22” marks “Embarkation minus 22,” or 22 days until Sava and 2,300 fellow... American Forces Press Service http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1691613/posts#comment Tue, 29 Aug 2006 01:10:38 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1645223/posts HEIDELBERG, Germany (Army News Service, June 6, 2006) – An increase in locally focused contributions from Soldiers and Department of Defense civilians to the Combined Federal Campaign Overseas will bring nearly $100,000 to family and youth programs in U.S. Army, Europe. Brig. Gen. Rusty Frutiger, USAREUR deputy chief of staff for personnel, and Peter F. Sun, IMA-EURO chief of staff, received the $98,895 check, symbolizing the donations designated for Family Support and Youth Programs, from Renee Acosta, worldwide CFC campaign manager. “The FSYP is unique to the CFC-O and is the only way to donate locally while overseas,” said Constance... ARNEWS http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1645223/posts#comment Wed, 7 Jun 2006 23:13:06 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1629469/posts WASHINGTON, May 9, 2006 – Spouses of the military's senior enlisted leaders gathered here today to learn about each service's program for wounded troops and to share ideas for the future. Marine Gunnery Sgt. J.A. Burks, a representative for the Marine for Life program, speaks to the spouses of senior enlisted leaders during a conference at the Pentagon, May 9. Photo by Sgt. Sara Wood, USA  (Click photo for screen-resolution image);high-resolution image available. The wives of the senior enlisted leaders from the combatant commands and the service senior enlisted advisors met at the Pentagon in conjunction with their husbands' conference,... American Forces Press Service http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1629469/posts#comment Tue, 9 May 2006 23:29:58 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1622310/posts AL ASAD, Iraq (April 25, 2006) -- Combat stress can consist of many more things than just combat, and when times get tough, while deployed during Operation Iraqi Freedom, service members turn to the chaplain's office for help. "Our services are critical for those service members who wish to participate," said Navy Cmdr. Craig G. Muehler, chaplain, Marine Wing Headquarters Squadron 3, 3rd Marine Aircraft Wing. "We offer services for all religions and denominations." By just touching the 'tip of the iceberg,' deployed service members go through problems such as marital difficulties, depression and overall loneliness which can take their... Marine Corps News http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1622310/posts#comment Thu, 27 Apr 2006 05:57:58 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1605173/posts WASHINGTON - The nation's largest labor organization on Tuesday criticized plans to expand guest worker programs for immigrants seeking to come to the United States, parting company with longtime Senate Democratic allies who pushed successfully to include them in broad-based immigration legislation. "Guest worker programs are a bad idea and harm all workers," AFL-CIO President John Sweeney said in a statement released the day after the Senate Judiciary Committee cleared an immigration bill. "They cast workers into a perennial second-class status, and unfairly put their fates into their employers' hands." Sweeney's statement praised numerous provisions of the overall immigration legislation,... AP on Yahoo http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1605173/posts#comment Wed, 29 Mar 2006 06:01:59 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1588820/posts WASHINGTON, March 1, 2006 – Cadets representing 11 National Guard Youth ChalleNGe programs from 10 states were on hand here today to accept awards for excellence in the their programs. Cadets from 11 National Guard Youth ChalleNGe programs from 10 states attended the 2006 National Guard ChalleNGe Program Award Luncheon. The awards program, presented by the United Service Organizations of Metropolitan Washington, recognized excellence in several key components of the ChalleNGe program. Photo by Samantha L. Quigley  (Click photo for screen-resolution image);high-resolution image available. Although the programs were being honored, Army Lt. Gen. H Steven Blum, chief of the National... American Forces Press Service http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1588820/posts#comment Thu, 2 Mar 2006 23:08:34 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1574772/posts WASHINGTON, Feb. 8, 2006 – In the old Star Wars movie "The Empire Strikes Back," Luke Skywalker gets a new, fully functional right hand after Darth Vader chops his off with a light saber. Today, thanks to work under way through the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency, servicemembers who have lost limbs in the line of duty could experience something almost as revolutionary in the years ahead. Among the cutting-edge technology DARPA is developing is a highly advanced, mechanical arm that works and looks just like a human one, Jan Walker, a DARPA spokesperson, told the American Forces Press Service.... American Forces Press Service http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1574772/posts#comment Thu, 9 Feb 2006 01:09:02 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1557908/posts WASHINGTON (AP) - A $40 billion budget-cutting bill nearing final House passage would badly hurt welfare and children's services programs in California, according to an analysis Friday by a group that advocates for low-income people. Among the bill's costs to California, according to the Center for Law and Social Policy in Washington: -$2 billion over the next five years to comply with new welfare rules requiring many more recipients to participate in work training and other programs. -$1 billion in child support payments that would go uncollected over the next five years because of cuts in funding for child support... ap on Bakersfield Californian http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1557908/posts#comment Sat, 14 Jan 2006 04:45:20 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1533089/posts Following up on his Wall Street Journal article Tuesday defending the Iraq war, Sen. Joseph Lieberman is reminding Bush administration critics that it's wrong to claim that Saddam Hussein had no weapons of mass destruction when the U.S. attacked in 2003. "The so-called Duelfer Report, which a lot of people read to say there were no weapons of mass destruction - concluded that Saddam continued to have very low level of chemical and biological programs," Lieberman told ABC Radio host Sean Hannity on Wednesday. "[Saddam] was trying to break out of the U.N. sanctions by going back into rapid redevelopment... NewsMax.com http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1533089/posts#comment Sat, 3 Dec 2005 01:28:34 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1531566/posts OAKLAND, Calif. (AP) - An advocacy group on Wednesday gave the state mostly C and D grades - and no A's - for health, economic and education programs affecting children. Children Now said many California children live in poverty and lack adequate education and health care. The Oakland-based group issued a report card covering nine subjects: health insurance, dental insurance, childhood obesity, adolescent health, infant health, family economic security, early education, K-12 education and after-school programs. The group gave the state three B's, three C's and three D's. The state received a B-minus for children's health insurance programs, although the... ap on Bakersfield Californian http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1531566/posts#comment Wed, 30 Nov 2005 23:31:11 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1493226/posts WASHINGTON -- In recent weeks, Air Force chapels raised thousands of dollars to provide comfort for those affected by Hurricane Katrina. Chapel communities contributed more than $376,000 for Hurricane Katrina survivors since the storm hit three weeks ago, according to the Air Force Chief of Chaplains Office here. “The Air Force chapel communities are being very generous and making sure our fellow Airmen and families are being taken care of,” said Chaplain (Lt. Col.) Brett Oxman, who works budgeting issues for the chaplains office at the Pentagon. The donations came from around the world, ranging from Edwards Air Force Base,... Air Force Links http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1493226/posts#comment Thu, 29 Sep 2005 01:14:28 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1458412/posts The achievement gap between minority and white students has long been a stain on the bright mosaic of culturally and racially diverse school districts.From North Jersey to Cleveland to San Diego, whites as a group generally score considerably better on standardized tests than their minority peers. Whites also tend to enroll in more honors classes, while minorities are more prevalent in remedial courses.Now, one Bergen County district is introducing a sweeping concept that it hopes will bridge its gap by addressing a wide range of possible roadblocks to academic success.The initiative includes dozens of ideas. Some are in the talking... North Jersey Newspapers http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1458412/posts#comment Sun, 7 Aug 2005 00:11:55 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1405749/posts More than a third of the software installed on PCs worldwide during 2004 was pirated, with losses from unauthorized software increasing by $4 billion from 2003, according to a study released this week by the software trade group Business Software Alliance. Thirty-five percent of all software installed on PCs was pirated, down from 36 percent in 2003, according to the study, conducted by research firm IDC. Estimated losses from software piracy climbed, however, from $29 billion to $33 billion, as both the legal and unauthorized software markets grew from 2003 to 2004. IDC estimated that $90 billion worth of software... Yahoo News - IDG News Service http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1405749/posts#comment Wed, 18 May 2005 17:30:09 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1401331/posts SACRAMENTO (AP) - After years of neglect, scores of transportation projects statewide would receive a badly needed infusion of $1.3 billion under a plan outlined Wednesday by Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger. The proposal is a key part of Schwarzenegger's revised 2005-2006 state budget that is due out on Friday. Facing a shortfall estimated at $8.6 billion, Schwarzenegger proposed in January a $111.7 billion spending plan that included more than $4 billion in borrowing and the transfer of $1.3 billion in sales tax money from transportation programs to other uses. The governor told an audience of mayors and city council members from... Bakersfield Californian http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1401331/posts#comment Thu, 12 May 2005 00:21:42 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1390257/posts It is my belief that about half of the Americans who call themselves liberal do not hold the great majority of positions held by mainstream liberal institutions such as the New York Times editorial page, People for the American Way, and the liberal wing of the Democratic Party. So here is a test of this thesis to be given to anyone who believes he or she is a liberal. If you feel I have omitted a liberal position or have unfairly characterized any of them here, please email me. This is still a work in progress. Thank you, Dennis Pragerdennisprager@dennisprager.com... DENNIS PRAGER.COM http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1390257/posts#comment Sun, 24 Apr 2005 20:36:24 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1378779/posts - Citizens Against Government Waste (CAGW) today released the 2005 Congressional Pig Book, a sweeping compendium of the pork-barrel projects in the federal budget. Congress spent more tax dollars on pork this year than in any other year in history. For fiscal 2005, appropriators stuffed 13,997 projects into the 13 appropriations bills, an increase of 31 percent over last year’s total of 10,656. In the last two years, the total number of projects has increased by 49.5 percent. The cost of these projects in fiscal 2005 was $27.3 billion, or 19 percent more than last year’s total of $22.9 billion.... CITIZENS AGAINST GOVERNMENT WASTE.ORG http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1378779/posts#comment Wed, 6 Apr 2005 23:27:44 GMT