Apparently there's a lot of cash to go around at insurance company AIG, which makes a lot of sense considering the US government cut the failing giant an $85 billion bailout check. In fact, since Sept. 16, AIG has received $123 billion in loans from the Federal Reserve.

This week, news broke that top executives expensed $86,000 for an English hunting trip, explaining later that it was an "annual event . . . planned months before" the federal bailout. In September, AIG spent $440,000 for a week-long retreat for top-performing agents at a lavish California resort, only days after the first $85 billion loan was announced.

Cutting back on the over-the-top perks seems respectful to the taxpayer, but some politicians want the bailed-out institutions to go further. To see how, read more

Dear Sugar,

My boyfriend is about to own a bar, but we have different views about what that entails. He thinks it's just a place to hang out and de-stress, and he is spending a lot of time trying to plan events. I think owning a bar is providing people with alcohol and taking their money without giving them something good in return. We almost broke up over it and he said that he can't be with someone who doesn't support his career. Everything else with us is great except his job situation so we decided to wait and see how things go. Do you have any advice as to where to go from here?

— Bar Blues Betsey

To see DearSugar's answer, read more

After signing two bills into law this week, President Bush said that he could bypass numerous parts of the laws. In a signing statement Bush said a military authorization act and a measure giving inspectors general greater independence from the White House unlawfully constrained the president's constitutional powers.

So which parts will Bush ignore?

• A section forbidding money from being used "to exercise United States control of the oil resources of Iraq."
• A section requiring negotiations for an agreement by which Iraq would share some of the costs of the American military operation.
• Two sections strengthening legal protections against political interference with internal watchdog officials at executive agencies.

The past 42 presidents have issued 600 signing statements combined while Bush himself has put out 1,100. Legal scholars assert that Bush's disobedience contradicts the rule of law, and the separations of power between Congress and the president. Do you think the next president will follow Bush's signing statements, or go even further by following his example of issuing many more signing statements?

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Starting November 1, doctors in Oklahoma will have to perform ultrasounds and describe what they see to women about to get abortions, within an hour before the procedures. Oklahoma's ultrasound law, which also exists in some form in Alabama, Louisiana, and Mississippi, does not make an exception for victims of rape or incest. One abortion clinic has now filed a lawsuit asking Oklahoma state court to throw the law out.

Multiple concerns add to the complexity of this law. First, many argue that making a woman meet her would-be baby before she terminates the pregnancy is cruel and a violation of her privacy. Also, the high expense of ultrasound machines means clinics unable to afford them will not be able to provide low-income women access to abortions. Finally, some see the law as the legislature replacing doctors because it prohibits a doctor from deciding what is best for the patient.

Do you think it's necessary to legislate extra considerations for a woman about to have an abortion, or should the performance of an ultrasound be left up to the doctor and the woman? Should the state try to get women to change their minds?

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