"When one door closes, another opens; but we often look so long and so regretfully upon the closed door that we do not see the one which has opened."
American inventor
In honor of Earth Day, show us something (literally or figuratively) green.
My momma's fields... :)
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/22782454?GT1=10755
Bush hails tax-rebate deal as ‘robust’
Rebates for families, business tax cuts to boost the economy
WASHINGTON - Congressional leaders announced a deal with the White House Thursday on an economic stimulus package that would give most tax filers refunds of $600 to $1,200, and more if they have children.
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said Congress would act on the agreement — hammered out in a week of intense negotiations with Republican Leader John A. Boehner and Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson — “at the earliest date, so that those rebate checks can be in the mail.”
President Bush is hailing the deal with congressional leaders on tax rebates and business tax cuts as "an effective, robust and temporary set of incentives" that will boost the U.S. economy.
The rebates, which would go to about 116 million families, had appeal for both Democrats and Republicans. Pelosi’s staff noted that they would include $28 billion in checks to 35 million working families who wouldn’t have been helped by Bush’s original proposal. Republicans, for their part, were pleased that the bulk of the rebates — more than 70 percent, according to an analysis by Congress’ Joint Tax Committee — would go to individuals who pay taxes.
Individuals who pay income taxes would get up to $600, working couples $1,200 and those with children an additional $300 per child under the agreement. Workers who make at least $3,000 but don’t pay taxes would get $300 rebates.
The first rebate payments could begin going out in May, and most people could have them by July, Paulson said, noting that the IRS will already be overwhelmed processing 2007 tax returns. The rebates were expected to cost about $100 billion, and the package also includes close to $50 billion in business tax cuts.
The package would allow businesses to immediately write off 50 percent of purchases of plants and other capital equipment and permit small businesses to write off additional purchases of equipment. A Republican-written provision to allow businesses suffering losses now to reclaim taxes previously paid was dropped.
Pelosi, D-Calif., agreed to drop increases in food stamp and unemployment benefits during a Wednesday meeting in exchange for gaining the rebates of at least $300 for almost everyone earning a paycheck, including those who make too little to pay income taxes.
“I can’t say that I’m totally pleased with the package, but I do know that it will help stimulate the economy. But if it does not, then there will be more to come,” Pelosi said.
Boehner said the agreement “was not easy for the two of us and our respective caucuses.”
“You know, many Americans believe that Washington is broken,” Boehner said. “But I think this agreement and I hope that this agreement will show the American people that we can fix it and will serve to move along other bipartisan agreements that we can have in the future.”
Paulson said he would work with the House and Senate to enact the package as soon as possible, because “speed is of the essence.”
The Treasury Department has already been talking to the IRS about getting the checks out “as quickly as possible, recognizing that the tax filing season is ongoing,” said Treasury spokesman Andrew DeSouza.
The rebates would phase out gradually for individuals whose income exceeds $75,000 and couples with incomes above $150,000, aides said. Individuals with incomes up to $87,000 and couples up to $174,000 would get partial rebates. The caps are higher for those with children.
The agreement left some lawmakers in both parties with a bitter taste, complaining that their leaders had sacrificed too much in the interest of striking a deal. Many senior Democrats were particularly upset that the package omitted the unemployment extension.
“I do not understand, and cannot accept, the resistance of President Bush and Republican leaders to including an extension of unemployment benefits for those who are without work through no fault of their own,” Rep. Charles B. Rangel, D-N.Y., the Ways and Means Committee chairman, said in a statement.
Sen. Max Baucus, D-Mont., the Finance Committee Chairman, said leaving out the unemployment extension was “a mistake,” as he announced plans to craft a separate stimulus package in the Senate starting next week.
Majority Leader Harry Reid said the goal is to send the package to the White House by Feb. 15 for President Bush’s signature, but he noted the Senate would likely try to add more spending to the package.
“I expect that the (Finance) Committee and other senators will work to improve the House package by adding funds for other initiatives that can boost the economy immediately, such as unemployment benefits, nutrition assistance, state relief and infrastructure investment,” Reid said in a statement.
Bush has supported larger rebates of $800-$1,600, but his plan would have left out 30 million working households who earn paychecks but don’t make enough to pay income tax, according to calculations by the Urban Institute-Brookings Institution Tax Policy Center. An additional 19 million households would receive only partial rebates under Bush’s initial proposal.
To address the mortgage crisis, the package also raises the limits on Federal Housing Administration loans and home mortgages that Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac can purchase to as high as $725,000 in high-cost areas. Those are considerable boosts over the current FHA limit of $362,000 and the $417,000 cap for Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac’s loan purchases.
After a key Wednesday night meeting in which the parameters of an agreement were reached, Pelosi and Boehner spoke again Thursday to cement the accord.
In the talks, Pelosi pressed to make sure tax relief would find its way into the hands of lower-income earners while Boehner pushed to include upper middle-class couples, according to congressional aides.
The package was drawing fire from liberal activists and labor unions upset that proposals to extend unemployment insurance and boost food stamps had been dropped. Many Democratic lawmakers had assumed those proposals would make it into the package, and critics of the deal said those ideas could pump money into the economy more quickly than tax rebate checks that won’t be delivered until June.
Democrats wanted to extend unemployment benefits for people whose 26 weeks of benefits have run out, but Republicans resisted.
Conservative Republicans, meanwhile, were likely to be restless over tax rebates going to those without income tax liability.
Democratic aides said greater GOP flexibility over giving relief to poor families with children — who would not have been eligible under Bush’s original tax rebate proposal — was the catalyst that moved the talks forward.
"The time is always right to do what is right."
Nobel Peace Prize recipient and civil rights activist
"If you don't like change, you're going to like irrelevance even less."
former Army Chief of Staff
I got this in an email today, and I couldn't resist sharing it. I wouldn't ever want to go anywhere that my babies wouldn't ultimately be able to go with me...
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A man and his dog were walking along a road. The man was enjoying the scenery, when it suddenly occurred to him that he was dead.
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Ahhh the joys of owning a dog in winter...
"When you cease to dream, you cease to live."
former publisher of Forbes magazine
World's Cutest Puppy! Ok - so i'm a little biased. :)
Jerky Treats that are manufactured in China are making dogs sick! DO NOT feed these to your dog!!
Found here: http://www.avma.org/press/media_alerts/070914_jerky_treats.asp
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The FDA is also warning about them
Found here: http://www.fda.gov/cvm/Chknjerky.htm
September 26, 2007
FDA Cautions Consumers about Chicken Jerky Products for Dogs
The Food and Drug Administration is cautioning consumers of a potential association between development of illness in dogs and the consumption of chicken jerky products also described as chicken tenders, strips or treats. FDA has received more than 70 complaints involving more than 95 dogs that experienced illness that their owners associated with consumption of chicken jerky products.
To date, FDA has not been able to determine a definitive cause for the reported illnesses. FDA has conducted extensive chemical and microbial testing but has not identified any contaminant. Many of the illnesses reported may be the result of causes other than eating chicken jerky.
FDA has also received preliminary information from Banfield, The Pet Hospital which suggests an association between exposure to the chicken jerky products and signs of gastrointestinal illness (vomiting, diarrhea and bloody diarrhea).
Dogs that have become ill, typically show the following signs: decreased food consumption, although some may continue to consume the treats to the exclusion of other foods; decreased activity or lethargy; vomiting; diarrhea, sometimes with blood; and increased water consumption and/or increased urination. Some or all of these signs may be present in any individual. Blood tests may indicate kidney failure (increased urea nitrogen and creatinine). Urine tests may indicate Fanconi syndrome (increased glucose). Although most dogs appear to recover, some reports to the FDA have involved dogs that have died.
FDA is advising consumers who choose to feed their dogs chicken jerky products to watch the dogs closely for any signs of decreased appetite, decreased activity, increased water consumption, increased urination, vomiting and/or diarrhea; and, if the dog shows any of these signs, to discontinue feeding the chicken jerky product. The signs of illness may occur within hours to days of feeding the product. Owners should consult their veterinarian if signs are severe or persist for more than 24 hours.
Chicken treat products should not be substituted for a balanced diet and are intended to be used occasionally in small quantities.
The FDA continues to actively investigate the problem. Consumers who wish to report animal illness, please see http://www.fda.gov/opacom/backgrounders/complain.html for contact information on the FDA complaint coordinator in their state.
Issued by:
FDA, Center for Veterinary Medicine,
Communications Staff, HFV-12
7519 Standish Place, Rockville, MD 20855
Telephone: (240) 276-9300 FAX: (240) 276-9115
Internet Web Site: http://www.fda.gov/cvm
To read the whole thing put together by Snopes, check it out here: http://www.snopes.com/critters/crusader/dogtreat.asp
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