"The market flipped over in March of 2000. I was there. The NASDAQ lost half its value during the Clinton administration, in my opinion and the opinion of many others, partly due to the attacks on Microsoft. The dot.com balloon bursting and the 9-11 attacks did the rest, which had nothing to do with any administration's fiscal policies."

On January 20 of 2001 the stock market was way up, now it's down. Microsoft has been a predatory monopoly. "Free enterprise" worships those. (One could purchase another operating system, it just wouldn't work with most of 'em.)

T. B. - "Huh?? Clinton was increasing spending on terrorism? Must have missed that, kind of like Clinton missed busting bin Laden."

(Now, I think it was GWB, the little monkey, who promised us OBL. Not Clinton. Write the White House about that one.)

The emphasis on combatting terrorism before 9-11 is easy to establish.

Inhis budget request for the Department of Justice—dated Sept. 10, 2001—Ashcroft focused on violent crime, drug enforcement, immigration and child pornography, among other issues, but barely mentioned terrorism. This was a striking contrast to the efforts of his predecessor, Janet Reno, to move counterterrorism to near the top of the department’s agenda.

Yet on September 10, 2001 (yes, that's the right date), Attorney General John Ashcroft submitted the final budget request for the Justice Department for fiscal 2003 to Budget Director Mitchell Daniels. Ashcroft dismissed FBI requests for $58 million for 149 new counterterrorism field agents, 200 intelligence analysts, and 54 additional translators. Instead, he proposed reductions in 14 such programs; one was a $65 million cut for state and local governments for counterterrorism equipment, including radios and decontamination suits and training for preparedness.

B. - We had a 10 point Bill of Rights, now we have nine. (And Ashcroft says don't you dare run gun purchase record checks on suspected terrorists.)

T. B. - "Still waiting for the massive takeover of the Galaxy by Darth Ashcroft, Dark Lord of the Right. Not holding my breath."

Now, conservatives think everything is fair as long as it doesn't affect them. Taxes, jail, anything, everything. However, the Bill of Rights is for every citizen. Sorry, Charlie, when it goes for one it goes for all. And Ashcroft refuses to allow gun record checks on suspected terrorists. What's more important, the NRA or the country? One guess, and it isn't the country.

As selfish as raw greed, actually.

Bowser - We will not call American citizens "enemy combatants", now we will.

T. B. - "If they take up arms against American soldiers or citizens on behalf of a foreign power, damn straight."

(No one has accused Padilla of taking up arms against anyone, that I've seen. Where is that one? And "foreign power". Would that have to be a government?)

The point was that when they suspended the Bill or Rights they said it wouldn't apply to citizens. A month later it did. There's a lesson there.

Sort of like the claim that first there were tax cuts, then there isn't, now there are. Moving target. And as to whether you were better off two years ago, you say you were about the same.

Then the country is safe. The people who wanted to retire and spend time with grandkids who now can't, well, the hell with 'em.

Arf (do you think the Rs will run GWB in 2004?)