Friday, January 30, 2009

The two federal senators of Nebraska are not sure if they will be backing President Barack Obama’s $819 billion dollar stimulus plan, in spite of approval of the bill given by the House of Representatives on Wednesday. The bill will support Nebraska with around $378 million to help the state budget for the next two years, and will also give the state an extra $230 million to be spent on infrastructure construction and repair.

Nebraskan Sen. Ben Nelson (Democrat) said allotting $1.1 billion for medical research was troublesome. Nelson wants to see more jobs created for Nebraskans, and believes the bill is not truly stimulus, but rather constitutes additional spending. Republican Sen. Mike Johanns agreed mostly with Nelson, but also pointed out the stimulus money for the National Endowment for the Arts as a form of job creation.

Nelson stated that Nebraska will receive around $250 million dollars for highway construction from the stimulus plan, with no need for the state to match the funding. Around 27 billion dollars in highway funds are found in stimulus appropriations, which Nelson said he supported as a member of the Senate Appropriations Committee. The package is also said to set aside money to help build hospitals in rural areas, as well as community health centers. Money for the construction and repair of veterans medical facilities, and funding to help drinking and wastewater infrastructure are also included.

Sen. Johanns commented that he thinks none of it will be paid for, but instead will be funded by floating debt.

Thursday, October 4, 2007

Glenn Crowe is running for the NDP in the Ontario provincial election, in the Bramalea-Gore-Malton riding. Wikinews’ Nick Moreau interviewed him regarding his values, his experience, and his campaign.

Crowe did not reply to various questions asked.

Stay tuned for further interviews; every candidate from every party is eligible, and will be contacted. Expect interviews from Liberals, Progressive Conservatives, New Democratic Party members, Ontario Greens, as well as members from the Family Coalition, Freedom, Communist, Libertarian, and Confederation of Regions parties, as well as independents.

Thursday, March 5, 2009

US stock markets dropped to twelve-year lows on Thursday, amidst falling confidence in the financial sector and worries over whether the US automobile manufacturer General Motors will be able to keep operating.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped by 4.08%, or 280.52 points, at the closing bell, reaching a level of 6595.32, a new 12-year low. The Nasdaq Composite lost 54.15 points, or 4%, to 1299.59, while the Standard & Poor’s 500 plunged by 30.27 points, or 4.25%, closing at 682.60.

Every stock in the Dow Jones, other than Wal-Mart, either lost ground or remained even, and all stocks in the S&P 500 index lost ground.

General Motors’ shares lost 15.5% after the auto firm announced that its auditors had “substantial doubt” over whether it would be able to keep operating.

Shares of financial companies were lower by nine percent, with Bank of America losing 11.7% and Citigroup falling by 9.7%.

“What’s most worrisome is that we haven’t hit the crescendo yet,” said Bill Groeneveld, the head trader for vFinance Investments. “Asset-management divisions are getting calls to just liquidate everything, and we haven’t seen the big players come back in at all.”

“This is one of the worst bear markets in the last 100 years; it started out with the credit crisis and the subprime [loans], but it is like a forest fire that has raced across the clearing and ignited other parts: Autos, auto parts, the insurance companies have been hit very hard. The credit crisis is causing an unraveling of industry after industry because the banks don’t lend,” said David Dreman, the chief investment officer of Dreman Value Management.

European markets were also lower today, with the London’s FTSE index losing 3.2% and the DAX index of Germany falling by five percent.

Friday, February 19, 2010

A U.S. federal judge upheld the expulsion of former New York State Senator Hiram Monserrate from the New York State Senate in a ruling on Friday. Monserrate had been found guilty in October of misdemeanor assault, in the criminal trial involving an alleged attack on his girlfriend Karla Giraldo.

Monserrate was expelled from the New York State Senate last week by a majority vote of his fellow senators. The result of the vote was 53 to 8 in favor of expulsion.

Federal judge William H. Pauley III denied a request to temporarily block the expulsion. A lawsuit had been filed by Monserrate, which had asked for a reversal of the former Senator’s explusion and in addition sought a block on a March 16 special election for a replacement.

The New York Civil Liberties Union supported Monserrate in the case. The former Senator argued that the act of being expelled from the Senate was not appropriate, as he claimed it violated due process.

Judge Pauley ruled, “the question of who should represent the 13th Senatorial District is one for the voters, not for this court.” The judge explained that the voting rights of the citizens of the district formerly represented by Monserrate would not be significantly negatively impacted, due to the proximity of the upcoming special election. Monserrate has stated that he will run in the special election, and he is not prohibited from doing so.

The court’s ruling determined that the expulsion by the New York State Senate was not inappropriate, stating, “the power of a body to determine the fitness of its members is embedded in American democracy.” Judge Pauley noted, “Similar processes to discipline have long existed in deliberative bodies at all levels of government.”

New York State Attorney General Andrew Cuomo issued a statement in support of the judge’s ruling. “We are gratified that the Court has confirmed our position that the Senate had the authority to expel Mr. Monserrate,” said the Attorney General. According to The New York Times, Monserrate was expected to appeal the ruling of the court.

Monserrate’s misdemeanor assault conviction pertained to an incident where he dragged his girlfriend through the lobby while exiting his apartment building. He was acquitted by a judge of charges of felony assault. Felony conviction would have resulted in an immediate expulsion from the New York State Senate.

Monserrate is the first politician to be expelled from the New York State Senate in almost a century. He is a former New York City police officer. Prior to becoming a member of the New York State Senate, he was a city councilman. He became a member of the New York State Senate weeks after the alleged conflict with Giraldo, and was made chair of the committee overseeing consumer affairs. Along with Democrat Pedro Espada Jr., Monserrate started a shift in control of the Senate by aligning with the Republican Party.