Mood:  cheeky

Economy adds 51,000 jobs in September; unemployment rate dips

WASHINGTON -- Employers added just 51,000 jobs in September, far below expectations, although the unemployment rate slipped to 4.6%, according to a government report Friday.

The jobs report, which showed weakness in construction, manufacturing and retail, could keep the Fed on the sidelines when policymakers meet Oct. 24 and 25 to discuss interest rate policy. At their September meeting, Fed officials left their target for short-term interest rates unchanged for a second time, saying the economy is slowing enough to keep inflation contained.

Friday's closely watched report on non-farm payrolls from the Labor Department also showed the unemployment rate dipped from 4.7% in August. The unemployment rate and the payroll report are derived from two different surveys.

The 51,000-job gain in September was the weakest since October 2005, when only 37,000 jobs were added after the Gulf Coast hurricanes.

Economists had forecast non-farm payrolls to grow by 125,000 last month, according to a Reuters poll last week.

But August payrolls were revised up to a gain of 188,000 from an originally reported 128,000, while July was revised to a gain of 123,000 from 121,000.

The report showed average hourly earnings rose a lower-than-expected 0.2%, or 4 cents, last month, after an upwardly revised 0.2% gain in August. Analysts had expected a 0.3% rise in September.

In both September and August, average hourly earnings rose 4.0% from a year earlier, highest since a 4.1% gain in March 2001. The August figure was revised up from a 3.9% year-on-year gain.

In addition, the length of the average workweek was unchanged at a seasonally adjusted 33.8 hours in September. The manufacturing workweek fell 0.2 hour to 41.1 hours.

USA Today ~ Reuters ** Economy adds just 51,000 jobs in September; unemployment rate dips

Posted by yaahoo_06iest at 4:46 PM EDT

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Mood:  silly

N.O. Mayor Ray Nagin Supports Rep. William Jefferson

Mayor Ray Nagin says he's enthusiastically supporting eight-term U.S. Rep. William Jefferson, who is the target of a federal bribery investigation and faces his first real opposition since his first campaign.

"I've told the congressman that since he supported me during the mayor's race, that I would reciprocate," Nagin said Thursday.

Nagin said Jefferson, who faces 12 challengers in the Nov. 7 primary, was one of the few local elected officials to stand by him during his tough re-election campaign last spring.

The congressman denies the bribery allegations and has not been charged, but a former Jefferson aide and a Kentucky businessman have pleaded guilty in an alleged scheme to get kickbacks for helping the businessman get contracts in Africa.

Nagin often talks about his efforts to clean corruption out of City Hall. He said he's not worried about how his endorsement will play nationally.

"Unless he is indicted prior to the election date, I do not believe my reciprocated support will generate a story with any type of legs," Nagin said. "His experience and relationships in Washington - even in its current subdued form - should be helpful for our city and state going forward."

Nagin has often praised Jefferson's help in steering billions of dollars in federal hurricane recovery aid to the flood-ravaged region, and invited Jefferson to speak at his June 1 inaugural.

The mayor said he will help Jefferson any way he can in the weeks ahead.

During the mayor's race, Jefferson agreed to be used in a campaign mailer and recorded a radio spot and an automated phone message on Nagin's behalf.

"We'll do the same thing," Nagin said. "You should see that soon."

The 18-month federal investigation became public with separate raids on Jefferson's homes in New Orleans and Washington during the summer of 2005. In May, the FBI made an unprecedented raid on his Capitol Hill office.

According to government affidavits, Jefferson is allegedly took bribes to help promote a cable television and Internet business in Nigeria and Ghana. An FBI affidavit said he was videotaped accepting a briefcase with $100,000 in $100 bills on July 30, 2005, and all but $10,000 of the cash was found four days later in the freezer of his Washington home.

In June, he was ousted from the powerful House Ways and Means Committee.

"I am thrilled to have the mayor's support for my re-election," Jefferson said in a written statement. "We have worked well together and will continue to work as a team for our city's recovery."

Ed Renwick, director of Loyola University's Institute of Politics, said he wasn't surprised by the endorsement.

"The controversy swirling around people doesn't seem to bother Ray Nagin," Renwick said. "He's made so many controversial statements and decisions himself."

He noted that Nagin was the only prominent black Democrat in Louisiana to endorse Republican Bobby Jindal in the 2003 runoff for governor against Democrat Kathleen Blanco.

Renwick said the political risk for the term-limited Nagin, who has no stated plans to run for another office, is negligible.

"He's already engaged in so many strange political machinations," he said. "What's one more?"

News Max.com ~ Associated Press **
N.O. Mayor Ray Nagin Supports Rep. William Jefferson

Posted by yaahoo_06iest at 4:18 PM EDT

Updated: Friday, 6 October 2006 4:24 PM EDT

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Mood:  caffeinated

Budget Deficit Drops to $250 Billion

WASHINGTON -- The federal budget estimate for the fiscal year just completed dropped to $250 billion, congressional estimators said Friday, as the economy continues to fuel impressive tax revenues.

The Congressional Budget Office's latest estimate is $10 billion below CBO predictions issued in August and well below a July White House prediction of $296 billion.

The improving deficit picture -- Bush predicted a $423 billion deficit in his February budget -- has been driven by better-than-expected tax receipts, especially from corporate profits, CBO said.

Breitbart.com ~ Associated Press - Andrew Taylor ** Budget Deficit Drops to $250 Billion

Posted by yaahoo_06iest at 3:56 PM EDT

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Mood:  chatty

$1,500 Check Haunts Illinois Governor

For months, Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich, a Democrat, has been fending off accusations he bungled government programs and awarded jobs and contracts to contributors and cronies. But suddenly, one issue has cut through the clutter: a $1,500 gift to one of his daughters.

The check came from a lifelong Blagojevich friend, and it arrived soon after the friend's wife got a state job.

The governor has said he is unsure whether it was a birthday gift for one daughter or a christening gift for another, but he insisted it had no connection to the job. At the same time, he acknowledged asking his chief of staff to help the woman.

With just weeks to go before Election Day, the $1,500 check has gotten voters' attention in a way some of the other allegations - involving audits, contracts and bureaucratic procedure - haven't.

"People think, 'My kid never got $1,500; there must be something wrong here,'" said Cindi Canary, executive director of the Illinois Campaign for Political Reform.

Blagojevich, a Democrat running for a second term, got elected four years ago as a reformer promising to clean up state government, but his administration has been mired in controversy for doling out jobs and contracts to the politically connected.

The race is playing out against a backdrop of political corruption, with convictions at Chicago's City Hall, an FBI raid on Cook County's government offices and the recent sentencing of Blagojevich's predecessor, Republican Gov. George Ryan, to more than six years in prison for graft.

Blagojevich's GOP opponent, Judy Baar Topinka, is using the $1,500 check to paint him as corrupt. She is running an ad that shows Blagojevich fumbling to answer questions about the money. And at a recent debate, her supporters held up huge, fake checks and shouted, "Hooray for birthdays!"

While it is not illegal in itself for Blagojevich's family to accept a gift from a friend, it would be if the money was a thank-you for the new job.

The governor's office initially said the check was a gift for his older daughter, Amy, on her seventh birthday in 2003. Blagojevich later told reporters it might have been a gift for his younger daughter, Annie, who was christened about the same time.

Blagojevich said there is nothing odd about his close friend Michael Ascaridis giving such a large gift. At the same time, pleading a faulty memory, he would not say whether Ascaridis has given similar gifts in the past.

Ascaridis has told the Chicago Tribune, which first reported the gift Sept. 10, that the money had no connection to his wife's new state job.

Still, the notion of a $1,500 check for a child seems fishy to some voters.

"You can go buy her something, or a gift card or whatever," said Matthew Sardo, owner of a Chicago comic book shop.

Chicagoan Robert Douglas said he doesn't believe Blagojevich, especially given Illinois' tawdry history of political corruption.

"Every time I look around, another politician is doing something," the 48-year-old customer service representative said. "Look at George Ryan - they finally caught up with him."

Blagojevich has not been charged with any crime, but U.S. Attorney Patrick Fitzgerald said this summer that he is investigating "very serious allegations of endemic hiring fraud" in the Blagojevich administration.

Also, the state auditor has issued report after report alleging mismanagement by Blagojevich - including spending $1 million on a prescription-drug program that violates federal law and agreeing to import foreign flu vaccine even after being told the vaccine would not be allowed into the country.

The Blagojevich administration has denied any wrongdoing, saying any management problems were minor flaws in ambitious attempts to improve the lives of Illinoisans. Blagojevich's defenders also note that he helped pass some of the most important ethics legislation in Illinois history.

Pollster Del Ali said the check furor might sway voters in a tight race. But this one isn't close, with the polls sometimes showing Blagojevich with a double-digit lead. "I don't think this thing is going to stick at all," Ali said.

R. O'Donnell, who owns a Chicago media public relations company, said the gift doesn't matter to him, and he plans to vote for Blagojevich.

"His record speaks," O'Donnell said.

News Max.com ~ Associated Press ** $1,500 Check Haunts Illinois Governor

Posted by yaahoo_06iest at 3:41 PM EDT

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Mood:  d'oh

Gloria Wise Executives Indicted, Air America Radio

BUSTED

Two Former Nonprofit Execs Arrested Over $$$ Diversions

Finally, some accountability in the Bronx.

After over a year of damning revelations regarding the fishy 2004 transfer of $875,000 in taxpayer funds from the former Gloria Wise Boys & Girls Club to the liberal Air America Radio Network, the New York City Department of Investigation has announced the first two indictments in this case.

According to news reports tonight, two former club executives, Charles Rosen and Jeffrey Aulenbach, have been busted for allegedly misappropriating $1.2m in public funds, with the lion's share related to the Air America scam.

To see the DOI's very lengthy findings in PDF form, click here and here.

From CBS News:

Charge: Charity Funds Diverted To Air America

Authorities Say Money Meant For Boys And Girls Club Went To Liberal Radio Network 'Air America'

(CBS/AP/DOI) NEW YORK -- Two former executives at a government-funded youth organization whose finances were scrutinized after it diverted money to the liberal radio network Air America were charged Thursday with misappropriating $1.2 million of the non-profit's funds.

Charles Rosen, a former executive director at the Gloria Wise Comm- unity Center, and his former assistant director, Jeffrey Aulenbach, face charges of grand larceny and obstructing governmental administration. Rosen was also charged with forgery.

New York City's Department of Investigation, which investigated the nonprofit for two years, said the men improperly took more than $290,000 from the organization for their personal use, on top of their already unusually large salaries.

The money -- described in the non-profit's books as business expenses -- went to pay for home renovations and furnishings and new cars, among other things, according to a Department of Investigation report released Thursday.

City investigators said the pair also improperly transferred $875,000 to Air America, which was co-founded by one of Gloria Wise's executives.

At the time, the Gloria Wise center ran a school and youth programs in the Bronx, and was affiliated with the Boys & Girls Clubs of America, but most of its money came from government grants and contracts.

The public disclosure of the club's "loan" to Air America prompted heavy criticism and charges of hypocrisy from conservativecommentators in 2005.

Air America blamed the transaction on its former chairman, Evan Montvel-Cohen, who was ousted in 2004 amid questions over the validity of his investments in the network.

Funny, that CBS headline makes it appear that these allegations are new, doesn't it? Here's a trip down memory lane for our MSM friends.

And here's a fresh story from the New York Times:

A city investigation has uncovered wide-spread fraud and mis-management by a 21-year-old Bronx charity that received $9 million a year in city contracts to help children and elderly people.

The charity’s top employees misused $290,000 for personal expenses, like home renovations, furniture and the purchase of a Volvo and a BMW, and its longtime executive director created off- the- books bank accounts, under the guise of supporting youth athletic programs, to give himself and others tens of thousands of dollars in bonuses, according to the city’s Department of Investigation.

Charles Rosen, 63, the former executive director, and Jeffrey Aulenbach, 46, the former deputy director for operations, were arrested and charged today with grand larceny and obstruction of governmental administration. Mr. Rosen, a fixture of Co-op City and a former chairman of the company that manages the giant housing cooperative, was also charged with forgery.

Both men, who resigned last year from the charity, the Gloria Wise Boys and Girls Club, were expected to plead guilty this afternoon, in State Supreme Court in the Bronx, under an agreement with the state attorney general’s office, which is prosecuting the case.

The investigation, which began with an anonymous tip in 2004, gained momentum last year when it was revealed that the charity had improperly lent $875,000 to Air America Radio, a network known for its liberal programming and its most prominent host, Al Franken, the comedian, actor and writer.

The city immediately cut off payments to the charity and its affiliates, which relied on public money for nearly 80 percent of their budgets.

Two officials at Gloria Wise were directly involved in the radio network, according to the investigation, One of them, Sinohe Terrero, resigned as the charity’s fiscal director in 2003 to join Air America, while the other, Evan Montvel-Cohen, a former fund-raiser for the charity, was instrumental in securing the loans to the network.

Why haven't any past or present Air America executives been indicted, you might ask? Remember, this case is now in the hands of the Criminal Division of the New York State Attorney General's office, so further news developments on this front are a certainty. Given the sheer volume of evidence that the DOI has collected, it's quite curious that former Air America exec Evan Cohen wasn't yet among those indicted, for example.

NOTE TO UNHINGED MOONBATS: we have never accused Al Franken of being involved in the loan swindle itself, what we did prove was that Franken knew about it before he claimed on the air and that he pushed for a huge raise while the company was trying to figure out how to handle the mess, before it became public.

FOR THE LATEST on key Massachusetts races, visit Bay State Showdown, our other site.
ELSEWHERE: at the Media Blog, George Soros flips out.
Images: David A Lunde, Pete at IHillary, Darleen Click
Technorati tags: air america radio bronx new york city doi department of investigation gloria wise scandal al franken radio equalizer cbs mainstream media bay state showdown

The Radio Equalizer ~ Brian Maloney ** Busted

Posted by yaahoo_06iest at 12:01 AM EDT

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Mood:  irritated

New Mexican Republican Spokesperson Attacked

The spokeswoman for Republican gubernatorial candidate John Dendahl’s campaign in New Mexico was severely beaten in a roadside incident and was hospitalized in critical condition.

Paige McKenzie was driving to her home north of Albuquerque around 9 p.m. Wednesday night when she got a flat tire and pulled into a bank parking lot in Bernalillo to change her tire, according to Dendahl, who faces Democratic Gov. Bill Richardson in the Nov. 7 election.

She was attacked with a tire iron in the parking lot while changing the tire. Her jaw was shattered and her teeth were splintered.

Paramedics who were across the street from the bank heard her scream, and rushed her to the University of New Mexico Hospital, where a breathing tube was placed in her throat to help her breathe.

Paige’s brother Patrick McKenzie told NewsMax that the flat tire had "apparently been slashed.”

And Dendahl said McKenzie told doctors she thought she recognized her assailant, according to the Albuquerque Tribune.

Bernalillo police are investigating the attack, and Gov. Richardson has offered state police resources to help.

County Sheriff Darren White described the attack as "really horrible.  She’s lucky to be alive.”

Paige McKenzie worked for NewsMax beginning in November 2003, writing book reviews and serving in the marketing department, before departing in October 2004.

News Max.com ** New Mexican Republican Spokesperson Attacked
Also at: KRQE News 13 Albuquerque, NM ** Dendahl aide beaten severely

This brutal beating of an innocent cutie is too infuriating for me to comment.

Posted by yaahoo_06iest at 5:34 PM EDT

Updated: Thursday, 5 October 2006 6:08 PM EDT

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Mood:  chatty

Full Image: The National Security Agency (NSA) logo is shown on a computer screen inside the Threat Operations Center at the NSA in Fort Meade, Maryland, January 25, 2006. The U.S. government can continue to use its warrantless domestic wiretap program pending the Justice Department's appeal of a federal judge's ruling outlawing the program, a U.S. Appeals Court in Cincinnati ruled on Wednesday.

Court says eavesdropping program can continue

CHICAGO -- The government can continue to use its warrantless domestic wiretap program pending the Justice Department's appeal of a federal judge's ruling outlawing the program, an Appeals Court in Cincinnati ruled on Wednesday.

The ruling overturned District Judge Anna Diggs Taylor's decision last week to deny a lengthy stay in the case, which is expected to end up with the Supreme Court.

In August, Taylor ruled that the National Security Agency's five-year-old surveillance program, implemented as part of the government's war on terrorism, violates the civil rights of Americans.

The American Civil Liberties Union filed the suit in March on behalf of scholars, attorneys, journalists and non-profit groups that regularly communicate with people in the Middle East.

Reuters ** Court says eavesdropping program can continue

Well, it seems that Judge Diggs-Taylor has been overturned, as it should have been. The ACLU's judge-shopping efforts came to naught.

Poor Judge Diggs-Taylor, it looks like her work for her friends at the ACLU may possibly be undone. I wonder if her upcomming lawsuit with yet another organization that she has financial ties to will console her any.

Posted by yaahoo_06iest at 4:29 PM EDT

Updated: Thursday, 5 October 2006 4:34 PM EDT

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Mood:  chatty

FILTHY FOLEY ONLINE MESSAGES

WERE PAGE PRANK GONE AWRY

**World Exclusive**
**Must Credit the DRUDGE REPORT**

According to two people close to former congressional page Jordan Edmund, the now famous lurid AOL Instant Message exchanges that led to the resignation of Mark Foley were part of an online prank that by mistake got into the hands of enemy political operatives, the DRUDGE REPORT can reveal.

According to one Oklahoma source who knows the former page very well, Edmund, a conservative Republican, goaded Foley to type embarrassing comments that were then shared with a small group of young Hill politicos. The prank went awry when the saved IM sessions got into the hands of political operatives favorable to Democrats. This source, an ally of Edmund, also adamantly proclaims that the former page is not a homosexual. The prank scenario was confirmed by a second associate of Edmund.

The news come on the heels that Edmund has hired former Timothy McVeigh attorney, Stephen Jones, and that former FBI chief Louis Freeh has been named to investigate the entire mess.

Developing...
Drudge Report Exclusive ** Filthy Foley Online Messages Were Page Prank Gone Awry
Related:
ABC Online Glitch Leads to Identity of Foley Accuser, Sex Chat Was With 18 Year Old

Posted by yaahoo_06iest at 3:42 PM EDT

Updated: Thursday, 5 October 2006 4:43 PM EDT

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Mood:  loud

Evening News on All Three Nets Ignore View That Tax Cuts Have Helped Stocks, Economy

By Ken Shepherd

All three broadcast networks last night reported on the Dow record high, pointing to falling oil prices as a reason for the latest market rally.

But the market's been heading on an upward trend for years, throughout climbing oil prices and the media's persistent pessimism on the economy.

Of the three networks, I found CBS had the most negatively-slanted coverage, and NONE of the big three gave any thought to the Bush tax cuts being a catalyst for economic growth.

For my full story, check out the MRC's BusinessandMedia.org.

Here's an excerpt:

While CBS’s Anthony Mason offered qualified praise for the market’s recent rally, he sowed seeds of doubt about the market’s strength. Mason highlighted a retiree who “doesn’t trust this new rally” and then warned that “some Wall Street analysts see another bubble in the economy” with real estate.

The business reporter opened his story with the good news. “It took nearly seven years for the closing bell to ring in a new high for the Dow, but Wall Street was hardly going wild,” he told viewers. Then he aired a market analyst who downplayed the new record and compared it to a tied baseball game.

Mason helped him out, further undercutting the good news. "But while the Dow’s finally recovered, the tech-heavy Nasdaq is still worth less than half what it was six years ago," he added.

That wasn’t all. Mason made it clear that some were "suspicious" about the market. "She’s not alone," he said of one retiree who was still worried about the economy. "With existing home prices falling for the first time in more than a decade, and a new study showing homeowners spending more and more of their incomes on housing costs, some Wall Street analysts see another bubble in the economy."

News Busters ~ Ken Shepherd ** Evening News on All Three Nets Ignore View That Tax Cuts Have Helped Stocks, Economy
Ken Shepherd's blog | login or register to post comments
Categories: CBS | CBS Evening News | Economy | NBC | NBC Nightly News | Oil & Gas Prices | Taxes

Posted by yaahoo_06iest at 1:38 AM EDT

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Mood:  chatty

ABC ONLINE GLITCH LEADS TO IDENTITY OF FOLEY ACCUSER

FEATURED IM EXCHANGE WAS WITH 18 YEAR OLD

A posting on ABCNEWS.COM of an unredacted instant message sessions between Rep. Mark Foley and a former congressional page has exposed the identity of the now 21 year-old accuser.

The websites Passionate America and Ms. Underestimated detailed the startling exposure late Wednesday.

ABCNEWS said in a statement: "We go to great lengths to prevent the names of alleged sex crime victims from being revealed. On Friday there was a very brief technical glitch on our site which was overridden immediately. It is possible that during that very brief interval a screen name could have been captured. Reviews of the site since then show no unredacted screen names."

SEX CHAT WAS WITH 18 YEAR OLD

On Tuesday ABC news released a high-impact instant message exchange between Foley and, as ABC explained, a young man "under the age of 18."

ABC headlined the story: "New Foley Instant Messages; Had Internet Sex While Awaiting House Vote"

But upon reviewing the records, the DRUDGE REPORT has learned, the young man was in fact over the age of 18 at the time of the exchange.

A network source explains, messages with the young man and disgraced former Congressman Foley took place before and after the 18th birthday.

Developing... Drudge Report Exclusive **
ABC Online Glitch Leads to Identity of Foley Accuser, Sex Chat Was With 18 Year Old
Also at:
News Busters ~ Terry Trippany ** Identity of Foley IM Individual Revealed Due to ABC News Error

Posted by yaahoo_06iest at 12:25 AM EDT

Updated: Thursday, 5 October 2006 1:21 AM EDT

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