Bush Projections Show Sharp Drop in Budget Surplus Largely because of the tax cut passed by Congress this year and the economic slowdown, the surpluses outside Social Security will remain tiny for the next three or four years before beginning to grow again, the White House said. http://www.nytimes.com/2001/08/23/politics/23BUDG.html

Global Arms Sales Rise Again, and the U.S. Leads the Pack American manufacturers signed contracts for just under $18.6 billion, or about half of all weapons sold on the world market during 2000, with 68 percent of the American weapons bought by developing countries. http://www.nytimes.com/2001/08/20/international/20ARMS.html

For a fleeting moment, it seemed as if he might propose federal subsidies for garlic and holy water.

At Night, Bush-Speak Goes Into Overdrive Nighttime is when the vampires come out. They haunted Mr. Bush in Denver on Tuesday when he spoke at a fund- raising dinner for Colorado Republicans and suddenly, in the middle of his remarks, began talking about his interest in "vampire-busting devices." For a fleeting moment, it seemed as if he might propose federal subsidies for garlic and holy water. He was at it again the next evening in Albuquerque, N.M., where he talked, in slightly revised terms, about "vampire-defeating devices." Stakes? Crucifixes? Buffy? Alas, Mr. Bush was simply trying to prove how committed to energy conservation he was. And the vampires in question were cell-phone chargers that continue to drain electricity even when the phone is not in the cradle. Mr. Bush has ordered that federal agencies correct the problem with new energy-saving gadgets. But his slightly herky-jerky introduction and explanation of the topic demonstrated again something that was more apparent during his presidential campaign, when his days were longer and his evening events more frequent. Bush at night is entirely different from Bush in the day. Bush at night is more likely to indulge odd digressions and unleash twisty, stuttering, imprecise sentences. "A vampire is a � a � cell deal you can plug in the wall to charge your cell phone," he said in Denver. It was an inauspicious first step toward technological Transylvania. Bush at night hatches quizzical new phrases. In Denver and Albuquerque, he talked about the "so- called surplus," making it sound as if he doubted the existence of the very money he deemed so bountiful that a tax cut was necessary. http://www.nytimes.com/2001/08/19/national/19BUSH.html