News Round-Up

Under Howard Dean's stewardship, The Democratic National Committee raised $3.4 million in three weeks — more than double the amount raised during the same time in 2001 after President Bush was first elected, the new Democratic chairman said Monday. The American people would like to significantly change next year's federal budget, reversing key proposals by the administration of President George W. Bush including redirecting a portion of defense spending to deficit reduction and social spending and look for savings by cutting spending on large-scale Cold War style capabilities, according to a new poll. Meanwhile, a GAO report says current deficit producing tax cut and spend policies may barely cover future interest on the national debt and personal accounts could hasten Social Security's downfall. And crowded schools, traffic-choked roads and transit cutbacks are eroding the quality of American life, according to an analysis by civil engineers.

And in the best news in awhile, President Bush's air pollution plan dubbed the "Clear Skies" initiative deadlocked in the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee today. This corporate-favoratism bill would have stopped the enforcement of the Clean Air Act, allowed the oldest, dirtiest power plants to increase pollution, and given power plants an extra 10 years to avoid reducing toxic mercury pollution. However, administration officials are preparing to make similar changes to air pollution rules for power plants, which are among the nation's biggest generators of smog, acid rain and mercury.

Finally, Joseph L. Galloway from Knight Ridder Newspapers remember all the pre-war arguments "1500 deaths ago."