To the Point

Bush Tax Cut - Political Capital Well Spent?

The House passed the first piece of President Bush's tax cut plan yesterday in a vote mostly along party lines. The bill would cut and compress income tax rates by a trillion dollars over the next decade and take 6 million families off the tax rolls. Senate Democrats are expected to demand compromises and a trigger mechanism in case projected surpluses don't materialize. We look at rhetoric and reality, competing priorities, and solutions for an anemic economy with Congressman David Dreier, the head of the Democratic Leadership Council, CNN political analyst William Schneider and others. (Matt Miller guest hosts.) Newsmaker: Fire at China School Prompts Questions about Forced Labor - The Chinese government contradicted eyewitness accounts of what caused a fireworks blast that killed several school children in a small rural town this week. Bama Athreya, of the International Labor Rights Fund, explains what happened and the government's motivation for trying to conceal this "ugly side of globalization." Reporter's Notebook: Astronomers Look to the Stars to Date van Gogh Canvas - We don't think of astronomy as a way to illuminate art, but two Texas stargazers have done just that. They've mapped the skies to show exactly when and where Vincent van Gogh was when he painted one of his finest works. Russell Doescher, a lecturer in physics at Southwest Texas State University, took up the challenge ten years ago.