Morning Coffee 4/17/07 – Tax Day

Bush, Democrats at loggerheads on Iraq timeline

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid said Democrats would stand their ground. “We’re going to send the president a bill that has timetables in it,” Mr. Reid, Nevada Democrat, said at a press conference with two retired Army generals, shortly after the president’s speech. “Congress is committed to fully funding the troops, changing the course in Iraq and responsibly ending the conflict in far-away Iraq. We are committed to pressing these goals to the administration until they do change course.”

Reid should be so proud since their timelines are exactly what the bad guys want. Shoot, even those following al Sadr want a timeline, a guy that should have been taken out a long time ago. And just where is he by the way?

Iraq Group: We Make Own Rockets

A top insurgent leader boasted that his al-Qaida-linked group was now making its own rockets, posting the claim in an audiotape online Tuesday, while Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Malaki said his government was talking with militant groups to try to stop the violence.

The time for talk is long past, but hey, give it a shot then when chatting fails, go after them!

County Board reorganization nearly ready

The County Board formed the committee following passage by voters last fall of a referendum that called for a reduction in the size of the board.

So, when does it actually go into effect? Do they have to wait for a certain date? Just wondering. Way to go Sam, ya got it done! 🙂

State seeks share of ‘Net sales

State revenue officials want you to know that you do owe a “use tax.” This is a counterpart to the sales tax and equals what you would pay in state and local sales tax on purchases from businesses in your community.

Criminy, I thought we were leaving all the obsessive taxing behind when we decided to move to Tennessee. sigh….

Bonds pursues Aaron’s record

A one-time supporter of Bonds, home run king Hank Aaron has said in multiple interviews that he will not be there when Bonds breaks his record. Commissioner Bud Selig has explained that the achievement will be treated just like any other record being broken. He has not committed to attending.

Will the record breaking be legitimate? I don’t think so. Hank Aaron wasn’t on steroids, so his record will stand, as far as I’m concerned.

Mugabe delists aid agencies ‘over pro-imperialist bias’

Announcing today’s move, Sikhanyiso Ndlovu, the Zimbabwean minister for information, was quoted as saying by the country’s state radio station: “Pro-opposition and Western organisations masquerading as relief agencies continue to mushroom, and the Government has annulled the registration of all NGOs in order to screen out agents of imperialism from organisations working to uplift the wellbeing of the poor.”

If the situation wasn’t so desperate, perhaps there wouldn’t be a need for Western organizations.

Aggies plan memorial for shooting victims

Students at Texas A&M University are sending condolences and holding a memorial for the more than 30 people shot and killed on the Virginia Tech University campus on Monday.

I’m sure there will be many such memorials on campuses all over the country.

Audit blames poor planning for IT problems

The Department of Administration never demonstrated the need to consolidate its computer servers and IT directors in other state agencies routinely said the savings it would generate were overstated. In fact, those IT directors say the project – which was supposed to save money by allowing the state to cut IT jobs – may actually require more workers because of the complexity of the new servers.

In the past, Gov. Jim Doyle cited the project as an example of how his administration was saving taxpayer money. The project is almost a year behind schedule and may take another five years to complete.

Gosh! Gov. Dopey is full of it. Who knew!