Articles of Interest 3-6-06
Again, I just want to apologize for the inconvenience this weekend of not getting my morning Articles of Interest out to you over the weekend. As we moved from the old office to the new Secchia-Weiser Michigan Republican Center, we obviously had to move our computer and data services over, the server needed to be reset and the building reconfigured etc.
The move went great. The House Campaign Committee moved their stuff on Friday and the State Party did it’s main move Saturday. By Friday afternoon we were moving boxes to the new building, organizing all the little things and getting ready for the movers to come in with the “big stuff”. Saturday morning three trucks arrived at the old headquarters, packed our desk ect. and came over the the new offices. Most of our staff was already there, excited to get out of the halls and into “normal” offices.
Folks worked on getting settled in over the weekend. We’ll be showing up this morning in the new offices, ready to go. Next time your near the state Capitol, drop by and say hi. We’ll be having a formal opening sometime in the spring, but for now, we’re up and running!
Pizza and Politics continues it road trip around the state. March 21,21,and 23rd we’ll have events in Grand Rapids, Gaylord and Royal Oak respectively. For more information please contact: Anthony Lewis - (517) 487-5413 - anthony@migop.org .
http://www.lsj.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060306/NEWS04/603060330/1005/news04
Michigan's income tax still hits poor
State among few without credits for low earnings
In Michigan, a family of three making as little as $12,000 a year still is on the hook for nearly $200 in state income taxes.
Sharon Parks of the Michigan League for Human Services, a Lansing-based advocacy group, says that's wrong. She'd like to see Michigan follow the lead of many other states and put a state earned income tax credit in place that would significantly decrease the taxes the working poor are asked to pay.
http://www.mlive.com/newsflash/michigan/index.ssf?/base/news-32/114161411299240.xml&storylist=newsmichigan
Up to 1,000 people line up for jobs at Meijer store
3/5/2006, 5:58 p.m. ET The Associated Press |
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FRUITPORT TOWNSHIP, Mich. (AP) — As many as 1,000 people lined up at a new Meijer Inc. store during the two days it was accepting job applications.
Some said they had no interest in working retail, but they had lost jobs and needed work. They lined up on Friday and Saturday for the positions, which pay as little as $6 per hour.
http://www.townhall.com/opinion/columns/larryelder/2006/03/02/188299.html
Bush lied, people died?
by Larry Elder
I recently interviewed General Georges Sada, who served as the second-highest ranked general in the Iraqi Air Force. A two-star general, he wrote a recently published book called "Saddam's Secrets: How an Iraqi General Defied and Survived Saddam Hussein." Here are some sound bites from that interview:
http://www.townhall.com/opinion/columns/ToddManzi/2006/03/02/188064.html
Pro-military mom silenced by mainstream media
by Todd Manzi
A grieving mother of a soldier killed in Iraq wants to voice her opinion. She has a message about the war in Iraq and feels the American people need to hear what she has to say.
Her name is Merrilee Carlson and her story is compelling and newsworthy. Unlike another mother of a fallen soldier, Carlson is not a household name. Her message is exactly opposite of the over-exposed message of the well-known protesting mom.
http://cbs4denver.com/local/local_story_061125200.html
CBS4 Investigates 'English Speaking' Sign Flap
DENVER Arapahoe County is threatening to fire a veteran Public Works employee for promoting the fact that he is an English speaking American.
"They claim it's offensive and I've been accused of discrimination and harassment, believe it or not, because of this," said Mike Gray, a heavy equipment operator with the Arapahoe County Road and Bridge Department for 16 years.
http://www.freep.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060306/NEWS06/603060315/1008
POLITICALLY SPEAKING: Patterson gets a joke in while moving on
When Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick got back from a congressional junket to Africa last week, his first request seemed easy enough. He just wanted the Detroit City Council and Oakland County Executive L. Brooks Patterson, right, to stop talking smack about the Detroit Zoo.
http://www.nytimes.com/2006/03/06/politics/06cong.html?_r=1&oref=slogin
For Democrats, Many Verses, but No Chorus
WASHINGTON, March 5 — From Arizona to Pennsylvania, from Colorado to Connecticut, Democratic candidates for Congress are reading from a stack of different scripts these days.
http://www.nytimes.com/2006/03/06/politics/06delay.html
Primary for DeLay's Seat Is Shaping Up as Referendum on the Incumbent
SUGAR LAND, Tex., March 5 — "I am not a hammer," Tom Campbell has been telling voters in this old plantation-turned-boomtown, where his long-shot Republican bid for Congress is closely tied to who he is not: Representative Tom DeLay.
http://www.freep.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060305/NEWS12/603050368/-1/BUSINESS07
Senate prepares for its turn at high school graduation standards
LANSING, Mich. (AP) -- A state Senate committee this week will continue its road show to discuss proposed high school graduation requirements in Michigan.
http://www.detnews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060306/OPINION01/603060310/1008
Senate must move swiftly on curriculum
Give Michigan House credit for passing a workable bill
The House has done its job, and now the Senate must act, and swiftly, to approve the more rigorous curriculum for Michigan high school students.
http://www.detnews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060306/OPINION03/603060309/1003
Glimmer of hope: Medicaid waiver for family planning
I wish I understood why so many young unmarried women rush into motherhood. It's hardly a glamour job: Babies whine and puke, cereal and milk carry fat price tags, and it's tough to push a stroller onto a bus.
No wonder state officials are celebrating the federal government's approval last week of a Medicaid waiver that extends family planning services to 200,000 Michigan women without health insurance.
http://www.wlns.com/Global/story.asp?S=4586865&nav=0RbQ
Governor Vetoes Student Worker Bill
Teenagers in Michigan will not be able to work more than eighteen hours a week during the school year. Governor Jennifer Granholm vetoed a bill that would have allowed teenage workers to work 20 hours a week. Right now, requirements limit teens to 48 hours of school and work combined each week. That leaves the typical teen with about 18 hours for part-time jobs, which Granholm says is plenty.
http://toledoblade.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060305/NEWS34/60305022/-1/NEWS
Ann Arbor law firm fights to dethrone Darwin
ANN ARBOR — Visitors to this law office are greeted by a life-size portrait of a saint. Beside the saint is a head-and-shoulders statue of Jesus carrying the cross up Golgotha. As the visitor walks down the hall, he may be tempted to dip a finger in the holy water fountain he encounters there.
http://www.mlive.com/business/kzgazette/index.ssf?/base/business-3/1141558336148500.xml&coll=7
State's future may depend on excelling at alternative energy
Gov. Jennifer Granholm and President George W. Bush are like oil and water when it comes to federal trade policy, which Granholm says hurts domestic automakers.
But the two leaders are united in their view that America must become less dependent on foreign oil and develop alternatives that do less harm to our water and other environmental jewels.
http://www.mlive.com/business/muchronicle/index.ssf?/base/business-0/1141557353119910.xml&coll=8
Local center has alternatives for 21st Century Jobs Fund
When Gov. Jennifer Granholm took office she championed a "life science corridor" for jobs growth potential.
Then it was homeland security technologies. And after that advanced manufacturing.
But now the darling of the growth technologies is alternative energy. And that policy shift has Grand Valley State University's Michigan Alternative and Renewable Energy Center in Muskegon running in high gear.
http://www.mlive.com/news/grpress/index.ssf?/base/news-1/1141557820119930.xml&coll=6
Broader view of Michigan road?
If a new day is dawning in state transportation leadership, West Michigan will hope that a broader view of state needs comes with it.
Kirk T. Steudle begins work tomorrow as director of the Michigan Department of Transportation following his appointment by Gov. Jennifer Granholm. He replaces Gloria J. Jeff, whose resignation took effect last week.
http://www.mlive.com/news/grpress/index.ssf?/base/news-1/1141557321119930.xml&coll=6
Michigan's business
Friday's closing of the Electrolux AB plant in Greenville adds to questions about the Michigan job-hemorrhaging economy that beg to be asked. What is this state doing wrong, and right, in the competition for employers and jobs? If radical reforms are in order, what would they be?
The same points are raised in a national study group's conclusion last week that Michigan's employer tax is one of the worst in the nation. The Tax Foundation, a non-partisan organization that for 69 years has monitored state taxes, ranked Michigan's business tax system -- essentially the Single Business Tax (SBT) -- as the nation's second-most burdensome, ahead only of New Jersey's. Michigan employers have long sounded the same note, complaining of the SBT's complexity and the fact that it applies whether a company is turning a profit or not. Since no other state has such a tax, explaining it is part of persuading a company to locate in Michigan.
http://www.detnews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060305/OPINION03/603050357/1348
Political opposites unite against 'civil rights' initiative
N ow that it's March, November can't be far behind. In that spirit, five prominent Michigan business leaders are taking a giant step: They're enlisting corporate heft to support a political effort of the most tricky kind.
http://www.detnews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060305/OPINION01/603050328/1008
Birth control plan will cut welfare costs
Governor's program will try to prevent unplanned pregnancies
G ov. Jennifer Granholm's plan to spend $183 million to prevent unwanted pregnancies among low-income women is a good investment in reducing Michigan's burgeoning welfare burden.
http://www.detnews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060305/OPINION01/603050355/1008
Take more time to examine state advertising contract
Questions raised about political ties of winning firm
The dustup over the awarding of a $20 million advertising contract to tout Michigan's business climate illustrates problems with government-sponsored economic development funds.
The mere possibility of such money being turned toward political uses makes everyone suspicious.
http://www.sturgisjournal.com/main.asp?SectionID=2&SubSectionID=65&ArticleID=20720&TM=39867.97
Brown tries again
Senator reintroduces job development legislation, hopes this time it will become law
LANSING — Following an announcement that Michigan has lost another opportunity to become home to a major food distribution center, Sen. Cameron S. Brown, R-Fawn River Township, reintroduced legislation Thursday to help Michigan communities compete with neighboring states.
http://www.thetimesherald.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060304/NEWS01/603040302/1002
Bars not uncorking extended hours
State's new late-closing law gets few takers
Gov. Jennifer Granholm signed a bill to keep the party going a few hours more.
The new law allows Michigan bars to apply for a permit to stay open past the legal 2:30 a.m. closing time.
http://www.detnews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060304/POLITICS/603040309/1022
Bill vetoed that would have expanded hours for teen workers
LANSING -- Gov. Jennifer Granholm on Friday vetoed a bill that would have let some teenage employees work a couple more hours each school week.
The bill would have allowed 16- and 17-year-olds to work 20 hours a week when school is in session.
http://www.detnews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060304/BIZ/603040335/1001
Production ends at Greenville refrigerator plant
Electrolux plant which once employed 3,000 rolls out its last Frigidaire
GREENVILLE, Mich. -- Appliance maker Electrolux AB ceased production Friday at one of the nation's largest refrigerator plants, a sprawling complex that has given this small, western Michigan city much of its identity for decades.
http://www.miningjournal.net/stories/articles.asp?articleID=2049
Legislature mulls MI Forests bills
MARQUETTE — The state Legislature continues to work out the details of the MI Forests package, legislation which was approved by the House last month and is now headed to the Senate.
The legislation package aims to restructure state forest management practices and could affect a wide range of issues —from the Commercial Forest Act to what guidelines the Michigan Department of Natural Resources uses to manage timber sales.
http://www.lsj.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060306/OPINION01/603060320/1086/opinion
Patriot Act: Senate, Stabenow ignore the issue
The U.S. Senate has renewed the Patriot Act. Most senators - including Michigan's Debbie Stabenow, D-Lansing - voted to keep the act, with some changes. Stabenow said last Friday the bill "wasn't perfect," but had "major improvements."
We'll disagree. It's far from perfect, and the improvements are far from sufficient.
http://www.woodtv.com/Global/story.asp?S=4587573&nav=menu44_2
Stabenow, Levin reach different conclusions on Patriot Act
WASHINGTON Debbie Stabenow and Carl Levin had different views on a proposal in the Senate to renew the U-S-A Patriot Act.
The Senate voted 89-to-10 last week to renew the act, which Republicans say would give the Bush administration the tools it needs to hunt down terrorists.
http://www.lsj.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060304/OPINION01/603040313/1086/opinion
To The Point
For many candidates, the campaign trail is best traveled by bus or plane. Then there's Jerry Zandstra. He's taking his message to Michiganders on a snowmobile.
http://www.detnews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060305/OPINION01/603050330/1008
Claims that the 'dead' voted were wrong
R ecent articles ("In Mich., even dead vote," Feb. 26) may have caused some readers concern by implying that the election system allows dead people to vote. The News relied on statistics provided by a partisan vendor who specializes in selling lists for political purposes. As a political consultant, he is not familiar with how local election officials use Michigan's Qualified Voter File.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/03/05/AR2006030500493.html?sub=AR
GOP Lawmakers Pledge to Change Ports Review Process
WASHINGTON (AP) -- The U.S. must overhaul the way it reviews foreign acquisitions of companies involving U.S. ports, two key GOP lawmakers said Sunday, calling the Bush administration's handling of the Dubai deal flawed.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/03/05/AR2006030500816.html
Rise in Online Fundraising Changed Face of Campaign Donors
Small Contributors Found to Be Polarized but More Representative of Middle Class
Washington Post Staff Writer
Monday, March 6, 2006; Page A03
The surging number of campaign contributors in 2004, especially the small donors who gave online, changed the character of one of the most important constituencies in U.S. politics, the people who finance presidential elections. This key group has become more reflective of the middle class, has a higher percentage of women and is far more willing to contribute without being directly solicited.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/03/04/AR2006030400998.html
Democratic Leaders Question Whether Dean's Right on the Money
By Dan Balz and Chris Cillizza
Sunday, March 5, 2006; Page A04
Democratic congressional leaders aren't happy with the way Democratic National Committee Chairman Howard Dean is spending money. At a private meeting last month, they let him know.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/03/03/AR2006030301753.html
The GOP's Order on The Court
Sunday, March 5, 2006; Page B07
Ken Mehlman has not had an easy time of it in his first year as chairman of the Republican National Committee. As point man for the White House's political team, he experienced defeats at the hands of the Democrats in last November's two big gubernatorial races -- and growing criticism from within GOP ranks about President Bush's policy stumbles. From Social Security to Hurricane Katrina to the Dubai Ports World deal, Mehlman has been on the receiving end of brickbats.
But last week he could watch as two politically important victories became likely in an arena where Republicans still hold sway -- the Supreme Court.
http://www.opinionjournal.com/diary/?id=110008051
Taliban Man at Yale
University officials are embarrassed--but not embarrassed enough.
Are there no limits to how arrogant and out-of-touch America's Ivy League schools can get? Last week it emerged that Sayed Rahmatullah Hashemi, former deputy foreign secretary of the Taliban, is now a student at Yale while at the same time the school continues to block ROTC training from its campus and argues for the right of its law school to exclude military recruiters. King George's troops played the music to "The World Turned Upside Down" as they surrendered at Yorktown. Perhaps the Ivy League should adopt that tune as they surrender all vestiges of common sense.
http://www.opinionjournal.com/weekend/hottopic/?id=110008048
Passage to Freedom
The Bush visit to India heralds a new democratic alliance
Critics of the Bush Administration often lament that its policies have alienated America's traditional allies and embittered just about everyone else. Everyone except, apparently, a billion or so Indians.
http://www.humaneventsonline.com/blog-detail.php?id=12949
Liberal Schoolteachers Watch Out! Your Students Are Taping You
Wire service and other news reports are saying that Jay Bennish, a high school geography teacher in Aurora, Colo., is planning to file a lawsuit in hopes of getting reinstated after some comments he made about President Bush during a class lecture.
http://www.detnews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060306/LIFESTYLE03/603060369
Metro layoffs trigger crisis in health care
More families lose benefits, forcing them to skip care or head to hospitals that end up footing the bill.
A young Warren couple won't have kids this year because they suddenly lack good health care.
In Dearborn, a family doctor can't fill his appointment book -- a first in 15 years.
And throughout southeast Michigan, patients who once had top-notch health insurance are shopping at discount stores for cheap drugs, splitting prescriptions with friends or simply going without.
http://www.detnews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060305/AUTO01/603050391/1148
GM, UAW talk buyouts for 20,000
Massive downsizing plan would impact idled GM workers, help Delphi recover from bankruptcy.
General Motors Corp. and the United Auto Workers are in advanced talks on buyout offers for up to 20,000 hourly employees, setting the stage for the biggest exodus of union workers in recent memory.
http://www.detnews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060305/OPINION03/603050305/1267
How President Hillary might see Mideast unrest
A s Hillary Clinton took the oath of office -- her husband beaming in the background, though he won't pick the menus for state dinners -- she felt mixed emotions.
On the one hand, she was America's first female president. On the other hand, she now had Responsibility, with a capital R.
http://www.detnews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060305/OPINION03/603050331/1322
Daniel Howes: Ross, bankruptcies prove brutal change coming fast, furious
Things are getting grim if growing chunks of the auto supplier world are turning Wilbur Ross' way -- and they are.
Gongwer
REPORT NO. 42 VOLUME 45 FRIDAY, MARCH 3, 2006
NEWSMAKER FRIDAY: HUIZENGA, DILLON REFLECT ON 21ST CENTURY FUND PROGRESS
When Rep. Bill Huizenga (R-Zeeland) and Rep. Andy Dillon (D-Redford) embarked on the creation of what became the 21st Century Jobs Fund, the state’s tool for using securitized tobacco settlement money to invest in high-tech jobs, the issue wasn’t political. But since the legislation was crafted, negotiated and signed into law in 2005, the topic’s politics have been inescapable.
That’s what happens when the state decides to launch the biggest tobacco settlement bonding offer in the nation, said Mr. Huizenga in an interview with Gongwer News Service on Friday. “Everybody’s going to be watching this.”
In contrast, Mr. Dillon may have been watching, but his hands-on approach didn’t kick in until a few weeks ago, when talks around the Capitol centered on who was being selected to serve as financial advisor and bond counsel on the deal. “Do you spend your time being a legislator or (do) you spend your time making sure your legislation rolls out?” he told Gongwer. “I was trying not to meddle.”
But that was a few weeks ago before things started hitting the proverbial fan. Now, both men find themselves sorting out how the process should be progressing – and at what pace.
While no money at this point is slated to actually be in the hands of any of the 791 grant applicants until after the election, both parties are sure to use its potential or problems during the campaign year.
To be clear, the decisions being made on how the $400 million gets sold and then invested isn’t in the vote control of Mr. Huizenga or Mr. Dillon at this point – it’s in the hands of the members of the Strategic Economic Investment and Commercialization Board, the Strategic Fund Board and the Tobacco Settlement Finance Authority. But an oversight committee formed in January, which consists of Mr. Huizenga as co-chair and Mr. Dillon as the sole House Democratic member, is bending the ear of those invested in the projects future.
“People can’t be afraid of sunshine,” Mr. Huizenga said, reiterating his call that the state only has one chance to get this project right.
The people in authority have already selected a financial adviser, bond counsel and underwriters for the project in hopes of getting the money out for sale by May. Mr. Huizenga said he has concerns for the fast-paced review and selection of those firms because that lays out how the project will be successful. “We haven’t been laying the groundwork properly,” he said.
These are concerns that have traveled to Republican leaders of the House and Senate as they reacted this week to a Detroit Free Press article highlighting the choosing of Farmington Hills-based Duffy Petroskey & Company to handle the state’s multi-million tourism campaign. The story divulged that the company has little experience in a statewide campaign such as this but has campaign contribution ties to Governor Jennifer Granholm’s campaign.
In a joint press release this week, House Speaker Craig DeRoche (R-Novi) and Senate Majority Leader Ken Sikkema (R-Wyoming) said the contract “is confirming initial fears that the fund was going to be used for political gain instead of economic diversification.”
A spokesperson for Ms. Granholm called the allegation “rubbish,” and added that the procedures for awarding the contract were established by the Michigan Economic Development Corporation whose directors include individuals first appointed by former Governor John Engler.
Mr. DeRoche is still in the process of appointing his selected members to two of the oversight boards.
There is also still a question of over what period of years the tourism campaign contract was to be awarded. Sources who did not want to be identified also have said that the article may have come up because a Detroit advertising firm was not selected.
Mr. Dillon said he has no problems with who has been selected for the tourism campaign, adding that the issue surfaced publicly due to a miscommunication between interested parties.
Mr. Huizenga said that he does have some concerns over the selection of Lewis & Monday as co-bond counsels for the project, because he has heard from some people in the bonding community that they aren’t the strongest firm.
Republicans are still reviewing the firm’s qualifications. At the last joint oversight committee hearing Mr. Huizenga and co-chair Sen. Valde Garcia (R-Howell) had questioned whether the Department of Treasury’s Bureau of Bond Finance asked the former clients what they thought of the firm’s performance.
Now former Treasurer Jay Rising said that the division works with the same groups all the time and the staff knows the background of each. Firms were selected based on price of service and experience in the end, he said during the meeting.
Total fees for all the panels’ consultants will amount to an estimated $50 million, Mr. Huizenga said.
Mr. Dillon said he has no qualms over the other adviser vendors chosen. “In my view, some of those were routine matters.”
However, he did acknowledge that protocols need to be followed, as the project will only get more complicated as time goes on. “I think it’s a little bit of growing pains,” Mr. Dillon said of the political tug and war.
It seems the issue of how fast-paced the process is going has been resolved by the administration and concerned members in the Legislature, as Mr. Huizenga said the attention to how that could impact the overall purpose of the project has finally been recognized.
But that doesn’t mean that progress is at a halt, he said. “No one wants to throw the boat anchor down.”
The Legislature and administration are still figuring out the gray area of whether a chief compliance officer needs to be hired, as stipulated in SB 906, which passed the Senate and is awaiting any action in the House Commerce Committee, which Mr. Huizenga chairs.
A chief compliance officer was referred to in concept by the legislation signed into law by the governor, but some in the Legislature feel the Senate vehicle bill is needed since an officer has yet to be hired. Mr. Huizenga said the Senate bill does not need to be passed because of the reference already in the law, but Mr. Dillon said an officer should be hired.
“I don’t think there is a dispute out there that can’t be resolved,” Mr. Dillon said
In terms of having an oversight committee, Mr. Dillon and Mr. Huizenga both complemented its creation.
Mr. Dillon said at first, he didn’t see the need for another panel to oversee the fund, but has since seen it as a helpful tool for MEDC CEO Jim Epolito and others due to the complexity and scope of the issue.
Mr. Huizenga said Mr. Epolito has been good to work with and that the committee is going to be used as a tool to further conversation on the project. “It’s given us a venue and an opportunity to ask questions publicly. It gets everybody on the record both with our concerns and with their responses.”
GRANHOLM/PATTERSON SPLIT ON S.B.T. PETITION
Governor Jennifer Granholm said Friday she could not support a petition driver to accelerate the end of Michigan’s Single Business Tax without knowing where the replacement for the tax’s $1.8 billion would come from. In response, Oakland County Executive L. Brooks Patterson said that was a “cop out,” and called the tax’s $1.8 billion in revenues “heroin” to administration officials.
At a press conference on local community projects (see related story), Ms. Granholm was asked if she would support Mr. Patterson’s petition drive for an initiated act accelerating the phaseout of the SBT from the current date of 2009 to 2008.
Ms. Granholm said she would not support what could end up shifting $1.8 billion in revenues to consumers.