Beyond the Farm

For the week preceding this Saturday, December 2nd, 1995, here's what happened Beyond the Farm:

Congresspeople seem to be dropping like flies. Rep. Patricia Schroeder (D-CO) announced her retirement Nov 29th, making the number of retiring House members fifteen. Then, on Dec 1st, Sen. Mark Hatfield (R-OR) announced his retirement, and he was followed by Sen. Alan Simpson (R-WY) on Dec 2nd. Twelve sitting senators have now announced they will not run for re-election in 1996, the most in 100 years. All have either cited professional burnout or discontent with the growing partisanship in Washington D.C.

The strike in France keeps growing. Railroads in that nation have now been virtually stationary for over a week as a result of union walkouts over prime minister Alain Juppe's plan to reform welfare. The strike has already spread throughout most public employees, and union leaders plan to start private-sector walkouts on Dec 4th. The government feels it needs to restructure welfare in order to meet guidelines which will allow France to join the European currency regime in 1999.

They're Talking About It:

In Shorts:

• Russian member of parliament Sergei Markidonov was killed Nov 26th.

• Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich (R-GA) announced Nov 27th that he will not run for President in 1996, leaving Sen. Bob Dole (KS) the Republican front-runner. In an Iowa poll Dec 2nd, businessman Steve Forbes placed a surprising but distant second to Dole.

• Federal Express pilots started a work slowdown Nov 27th as part of a contract dispute, though only minor delays in package deliveries were noted.

• The so-called "Secret Seven" group of moderates (Paul Tsongas, Bill Bradley, Gary Hart, Dick Lamar, Tim Penny, Lowell Weicker, and Angus King) held a meeting Nov 27th to discuss the 1996 Presidential race.

• The New York Republican Party changed the rules for getting on its presidential primary ballot Nov 27th. Previously, an astronomical amount of signatures had to be obtained from each precinct, and only Bob Dole had been expected to reach the threshold.

• Subway token salesman Harry Kaufman was attacked in Long Island, NY Nov 27th in an incident reminiscent of the movie "Money Train."

• Formal budget talks between the White House and Congress opened Nov 28th, with a target agreement date of Dec 15th.

• President Clinton signed a transportation bill Nov 28th which allows states to raise their speed limits effective Dec 10th; many states will drop the 55 mph limit in favor of 70 or 75; Montana will drop speed limits during the day entirely.

• Capping six straight record closes, the Dow Jones Industrial Average surpassed 5100 for the first time Nov 29th, closing at 5104.

• The House of Representatives passed a bill requiring lobbyists to fully disclose their activities and funding Nov 29th.

• Nicholas Leeson, the former Barings Bank trader, pleaded guilty of 2 of 11 counts of criminal financing in Singapore Nov 30th. He was sentenced to 6 1/2 years in prison Dec 1st.

• President Clinton signed a military spending bill he didn't like Nov 30th, citing funding for the Bosnian deployment in the bill.

• Miami of Florida was placed under NCAA sanctions Dec 1st as a result of rules violations in four sports, meaning that the Hurricanes will not play in a bowl game this year.

• The House of Representatives passed an Amtrak appropriations bill Dec 1st which would phase out the rail carrier's subsidy by 2002.

Finally:

And that's what happened Beyond the Farm.

Beyond the Farm is designed to provide a reasonably short summary of a week's events for people who would otherwise have no chance to keep up with current events. It may be distributed/forwarded/posted anywhere. Comments, criticisms, and requests for e-mail subscription additions or deletions should be e-mailed to "lance.gleich@leland.stanford.edu." "http://www.stanford.edu/~lglitch/btf/btf.html" on the World Wide Web for back issues. Congratulations on keeping up with the world around you!