Thursday, September 18, 2003

Recovery in Peril From the Money section of USA Today: "The job market seems to be listing again, and without job growth, the recent rebound in the economy isn't sustainable," says Mark Zandi, chief economist at Economy.com. While more precise September job layoff statistics won't be known for weeks, more job cuts loom, reversing a four-month string of shrinking layoffs. Historically, job cuts are the largest in the fourth quarter as financially strapped companies scramble to meet full-year projections, says John Challenger, CEO of outplacement specialist Challenger Gray & Christmas. And the cuts aren't over. SBC has already announced cuts later this year, and the Big Three automakers are expected to cut thousands of jobs as well. You all can breath easy for a few days, at least. The very next person to get fired in this country is likely to be me, and I've got a job until both big ugly industrial site is done and the really big ugly 500 acre project is finished. 10:09:38 PM    comment []trackback []

Lies and the Lying Liars. . . I know I'm in the minority here, but I'm concerned about Wesley Clark and the false accusation that the White House pressured him to lie about the threat Iraq posed to the US. Oh, wait . . . never mind. (Videotape March 16, 2003) Mr. Cheney: . . . And we believe he has, in fact, reconstituted nuclear weapons. I think Mr. ElBaradei, frankly, is wrong. And I think if you look at the track record of the International Atomic Energy Agency and this kind of issue, especially where Iraq is concerned, they have consistently underestimated or missed what it was Saddam Hussein was doing. I don[base ']t have any reason to believe they[base ']re any more valid this time than they[base ']ve been in the past.        (End videotape)        MR. RUSSERT: Reconstituted nuclear weapons. You misspoke.        VICE PRES. CHENEY: Yeah. I did misspeak. 7:01:27 PM    comment []trackback []