State Convention Kicks Off…Romney does Michigan…Candidates make the Rounds…75 days of Broken Promises hits the street…A Great start of the Convention!
Thousands of Michigan Republicans gathered last night in Oakland County as we kicked off our State Convention. Michigan Republicans smell blood!
Governor Mitt Romney, who chairs the Republican Governors Association, hosted a “pizza and politics” party for all the attendees. He took the time to talk with many as he thanked all for their work and stressed how important it was to elect Dick DeVos as our next Governor. Governor Romney was clearly the “hit” of Friday night. He worked the convention hall and his tent reception like a classic “candidate”.
While participating in the “round robins” with all our statewide candidates, Romney pitched his role as the Republican Governors Association chair and the importance of electing Dick DeVos our next Governor. Here is where “we Republican Governors” stand on the issues and this is why it’s important that you elect Dick DeVos as your next Governor…and with out saying a word, his “signal” for ’08 was lout and clear.
Congressional Districts held their caucuses last night. SOS Terri Lynn Land and AG Mike Cox along with Sheriff Michael Bouchard and Betsy DeVos on behalf of Dick made the rounds with our other statewide candidates. Everyone shared their excitement and vision for what Michigan could be with new leadership!
We ended up the evening at a party hosted by our Congressional District Chairs. Senator Lott delivered a taped message thanking the grassroots activists for their time and efforts.
This morning, we will be delivering our 75 days of Broken Promises calendar to all the delegates and alternates attending the convention. We distributed thousand this weekend and mailing more to activists around the state. This calendar documents 75 promises that Governor Granholm has made as a politician and hasn’t kept as Governor. Surprise?
Governor Granholm has made many promises on the most important issues that the people of Michigan face today, such as the economy, education and public safety.
No one forced her to make these promises. The fact is, she did…and she hasn’t come close to coming through. Granholm…nothing more than politics as usual.
Today we will formally nominate our slate of candidates to help turn Michigan around. We have one of the strongest tickets the Republicans have ever put forth…giving the people of Michigan a clear choice…the failed policies of the past or new leadership for the future.
The plan is finish off our convention with a bus tour around the state over the next few days. Statewide candidates will be joining Dick DeVos and Mike Bouchard on a tour throughout Michigan.
This afternoon, Dick DeVos, LG Ruth Johnson, Sheriff Mike Bouchard, Speaker Craig DeRoche and yours truly, the state party chairman, will be leading a “Biker for DeVos” ride through Downriver Michigan. We anticipate a group of bikers from the metro Detroit area to join us and visit a number of cities and stops…as Michigan Republicans send a signal to the voters of Michigan that this is not “your fathers Republican party”.
The future of the Republican party is bold, innovative and committed to help turn Michigan around. Our party is diverse, invigorated and ready to lead!!!
Join us in this battle to help turn Michigan around. Together, we can make every day count!!!
Saul Anuzis
STATE STORIES
http://www.detnews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060826/POLITICS01/608260365/1022/POLITICS
Saturday, August 26, 2006
Decision 2006
Confabs firm up parties' tickets
Republicans stress harmony, Dems spoil for fight over lineup during conventions.
Charlie Cain and Mark Hornbeck / Detroit News Lansing Bureau
Republicans are planning a love-in and Democrats are hoping to avoid a nasty, public squabble as the two political parties wrap up their slate of candidates for the November election this weekend.
The state Republican Party convention officially kicks off this morning at the Rock Financial Showplace in Novi, to anoint already chosen candidates for lieutenant governor, attorney general, secretary of state, Michigan Supreme Court and four education boards.
http://www.mlive.com/news/grpress/index.ssf?/base/news-31/115651739342400.xml&coll=6
GOP leader rallies troops for November election
Friday, August 25, 2006
By Ed Golder
The Grand Rapids Press
Despite low approval ratings, President George W. Bush won't be a drag on the fortunes of Republicans in Michigan this fall, the Republican National Committee Chairman said Thursday.
"What matters is the choice between the candidates on the ballot," said Ken Mehlman, at a rally-the-troops appearance at Kent County Republican Party headquarters. "When I was political director in '02, I had candidates who would come in and say -- when the president's approval was 70 percent -- 'I'm talking about winning one for Bush.' It's not about Bush. It's about you and your opponent."
http://www.mlive.com/news/grpress/index.ssf?/base/news-31/1156573435116020.xml&coll=6
Ford is recovering well, says brother
Saturday, August 26, 2006
By Pat Shellenbarger
The Grand Rapids Press
After his second heart-related medical procedure in a week, former President Gerald Ford is "doing extremely well," his brother, Richard, said Friday.
Three days after Ford had a cardiac pacemaker implanted, doctors at the Mayo Clinic on Thursday performed an angioplasty, inserting stents in two coronary arteries to increase the blood flow to his heart.
"I think his overall condition improved enough that they could go ahead with the angioplasty," Richard Ford said, adding he received a call from the former president's son, Steve, telling him the operation went well.
http://www.freep.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060826/BUSINESS01/608260326/1014
Nasser shows interest in different Ford role
Fired CEO may eye Jaguar, Land Rover
August 26, 2006
The saga of Ford Motor Co.'s latest turnaround -- which seemed to reach a fever pitch this week with reports that Ford might go private, has talked to Renault-Nissan about an alliance and is considering offering buyouts to all of its hourly workers -- hit a dramatic climax Friday with this bit of news:
Jacques Nasser wants a piece of Ford's Premier Automotive Group, which he formed while CEO from 1999 to 2001. It is composed of Aston Martin, Jaguar, Land Rover and Volvo.
http://www.mlive.com/business/grpress/index.ssf?/base/business-4/115651650410040.xml&coll=6
Autodie workers expect big changes
Friday, August 25, 2006
By Chris Knape
The Grand Rapids Press
GRAND RAPIDS -- Gary Wohlford sat outside Autodie International on his lunch break Thursday, a dirty shop apron still strapped on from a morning's hard work, safety shields still on his glasses.
News had begun to spread about the huge tool and die shop's impending sale or closure, but Wohlford, a 12-year employee, was optimistic.
"We knew this was coming," he said. "We're in the process of being sold. We're thinking it might be Chrysler or a subsidiary of Chrysler who may be buying us."
http://www.mlive.com/news/jacitpat/index.ssf?/base/news-18/1156521945201080.xml&coll=3
Jobless rate hits 8 percent
Friday, August 25, 2006
Staff and wire reports
Unemployment in Jackson County climbed to 8 percent in July, the highest monthly rate in two years.
The county's unemployment rate was 6.7 percent in June and 7.3 percent in July 2005.
Payroll jobs in Jackson County fell by 1,500 between June and July, said Leonidas Murembya, a Jackson-based labor market analyst for the Michigan Bureau of Labor Market Information.
http://www.mlive.com/news/sanews/index.ssf?/base/news-20/1156512050226300.xml&coll=9
Jobless rate rise across state typical for July
Friday, August 25, 2006
THE SAGINAW NEWS
Saginaw County's unemployment rate jumped to
8.7 percent in July, up from 7.2 percent in June.
The increase is typical for the summer months with temporary layoffs in the auto industry, including Fourth of July holiday shutdowns at General Motors Corp. and Delphi Corp. facilities.
http://toledoblade.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060825/COLUMNIST17/608250336/-1/NEWS07
Article published Friday, August 25, 2006
Rough-and-tumble Michigan politics anything but simple
DETROIT - There's still a whiff of the old smoke-filled rooms in Michigan politics, and a couple key races in which convention delegates and party bosses, not primary voters, call the tune.
For a full demonstration, tune in this weekend, when Michigan Democrats hold their state convention in Detroit's Cobo Hall. Incumbent Gov. Jennifer Granholm was unopposed in this month's primary, and the convention is certain to ratify her choice of Lt. Gov. John Cherry for another term.
GOP's Engine Sputters in Michigan
President Bush needs to meet with beleaguered automakers, frustrated officials in the state say.
By Richard Simon and Tom Hamburger, Times Staff Writers
August 26, 2006
WASHINGTON — Michigan has been shaping up as one of the few bright spots for Republicans in the coming elections, with the GOP hoping to strip Democrats of the governor's office and a U.S. Senate seat.
But in an unusual development, prominent Republicans there are complaining that President Bush needs to become more engaged in a top issue driving the election: the declining fortunes of the state's auto industry.
http://www.washtimes.com/national/20060825-121835-6166r.htm
GOP told to ignore Detroit at its peril
By Charles Hurt
THE WASHINGTON TIMES
August 25, 2006
DETROIT -- Republicans here say that their national party's dismissive attitude toward the Big Three automakers could doom the party's hopes of capturing the governor's mansion and Senate seat in a large blue state this November.
Republicans in Congress have belittled Detroit's woes in recent weeks, and President Bush has been less than sympathetic to their plight, saying that they should focus on building more "relevant" vehicles.
But no slight has been more insulting here than the much-delayed meeting between Mr. Bush and the heads of Detroit's automakers to discuss U.S. trade policies and domestic issues such as health care costs, expensive pensions and other obligations to the federally protected autoworker unions.
"The administration is wrong on this issue," said Republican Dick DeVos, a longtime Bush supporter who has a good shot at unseating Gov. Jennifer M. Granholm, who was a superstar among Democrats just two years ago. Since the summer, polls have shown the two swapping leads by a handful of points.
http://www.centredaily.com/mld/centredaily/business/15363195.htm
Posted on Fri, Aug. 25, 2006
Big Three-White House meeting taking on political overtones
KEN THOMAS
Associated Press
WASHINGTON - A delayed meeting between President Bush and the leaders of the Detroit-based domestic auto industry has turned into a hot political issue in Michigan, where the state's struggling economy remains the top concern for voters.
Democrats, including Gov. Jennifer Granholm, have repeatedly urged Bush to meet with Big Three leaders to discuss problems facing the industry. On Wednesday, Republican gubernatorial candidate Dick DeVos made his own pitch, telling reporters, "We're being ignored here by the White House, and it has got to stop."
http://www.lsj.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060825/OPINION01/608250315/1086/opinion
Published August 25, 2006
[ From the Lansing State Journal ]
Fuel economy: Auto, political leaders fought fuel rules; see the result
A Lansing State Journal editorial
Public policies do matter, as Michigan is learning to its economic detriment.
This week, Republican gubernatorial candidate Dick DeVos joined the chorus calling for a meeting between President Bush and the execs of the Big 3 U.S. automakers. "We're being ignored here in Michigan by the White House, and it has got to stop," DeVos said.
How times have changed. Fifteen years ago, the Big 3 execs had a face-to-face meeting at the White House, with President Bush's father. They were there to lobby against increases in fuel economy standards, reported Common Cause Magazine in 1991.
http://www.mlive.com/news/grpress/index.ssf?/base/news-31/1156573054116020.xml&coll=6
State beating economic woes, Granholm says
Saturday, August 26, 2006
By Elizabeth Piet
The Grand Rapids Press
COOPERSVILLE -- Michigan's economic future lies in diversifying its industries and educating its children to fill skilled jobs, Gov. Jennifer Granholm told a crowd of about 50 people Friday.
Granholm spoke for a half-hour at the West Michigan Plumbers, Fitters and Service Trade Union No. 174, in a town that is anticipating the loss of the Delphi Corp. fuel injector plant next year.
http://www.woodtv.com/Global/story.asp?S=5328668&nav=0Rce
Debate talks move ahead in Gov race
Updated: Aug 25, 2006 10:35 PM EDT
GRAND RAPIDS - Negotiations for gubernatorial debates in Michigan continue, and today the Granholm for Governor campaign agreed to three debates, including one at WOOD TV-8.
Granholm's camp agreed to debates in Grand Rapids, East Lansing and Detroit in October.
In May, the DeVos campaign proposed five debates - including one at WOOD TV-8 - but has not yet accepted any specific proposal. They want more negotiations between the two sides.
http://releases.usnewswire.com/GetRelease.asp?id=71276
Republican Governors Association Makes Significant Commitment in Michigan
8/25/2006 3:07:00 PM
WASHINGTON, Aug. 25 /U.S. Newswire/ -- The Republican Governors Association announced today that it is making a $750,000 commitment to run issue advertisements in the state of Michigan.
"Michigan is undergoing a single-state recession," said RGA Chairman Mitt Romney (MA). "This initial commitment is being made by the RGA in order to talk about creating jobs and other important issues facing the people of Michigan."
Romney added, "Michigan, under the current administration in Lansing, is losing on average one job every ten minutes. It is time for a new business-friendly and job-friendly approach to Michigan's economy."
http://www.freep.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060826/NEWS06/608260310/1008/NEWS
Connerly: DeVos is scaring off money
Ballot measure is at issue
August 26, 2006
California businessman Ward Connerly said Friday that Republican gubernatorial candidate Dick DeVos' opposition to a ballot proposal to end race- and gender-based affirmative action for Michigan government and schools has dried up potential contributions.
Speaking at a taping of the public television program "Off the Record," Connerly said, "People don't want to get on the bad side of Dick DeVos."
http://www.weeklystandard.com/Check.asp?idArticle=12624&r=ztzus
Grand Old Preferences
Michigan Republicans undercut Ward Connerly.
by Henry Payne
8/26/2006 12:04:00 AM, Volume 011, Issue 47
THIS YEAR, Michigan was supposed to be the latest victory in conservative activist Ward Connerly's state-by-state battle to enforce the language of the 1964 Civil Rights Act and end racial discrimination in government hiring. Instead, Michigan may well be his movement's graveyard, thanks to strong opposition from an unexpected corner: Republicans.
Connerly's Michigan Civil Rights Initiative (MCRI) is a near carbon copy of his successful ballot initiatives in California (1996) and Washington (1998). According to its original ballot language, the initiative would not permit state discrimination "against, or grant preferential treatment to, any individual or group on the basis of race, sex, color, ethnicity, or national origin." In California, for example, this has meant an end to minority set-asides in government contracting, as well as a shift in minority enrollment within the state's university system away from elite universities and into lesser-known schools.
Which is where the trouble begins. Republicans here see an opportunity: Michigan is the only state other than hurricane-ravaged Louisiana and Mississippi to have lost jobs in the current economic boom. So, intent on exploiting Michigan's weak economy to capture the governor's office and perhaps even Debbie Stabenow's Senate seat, the state GOP has jettisoned controversial elements of its platform. Opposition to racial preferences isn't the only thing the party has abandoned. In their rush to the squishy middle, Michigan Republicans have also spearheaded drives to hike the minimum wage by 35 percent and condemn oil company greed.
"I'm opposed because I fear the unintended consequences," says state GOP chairman ...
http://www.freep.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060826/NEWS06/608260303/1008/NEWS
Elections board says education proposal's cost belongs on Nov. ballot
August 26, 2006
When Michigan residents step inside the voting booth in November, they will see the estimated price tag of a ballot measure that would guarantee funding increases for public education.
The Board of State Canvassers approved a 99-word summary Friday of the proposal that says current funding would rise by about $565 million.
That drew criticism from backers of the measure, who said the figure should be left out of the ballot language.
http://www.mlive.com/news/bctimes/index.ssf?/base/news-7/1156518972127930.xml&coll=4
All but four Bay County schools make adequate yearly progress
Friday, August 25, 2006
By PATTI BRANDT
TIMES WRITER
Eleven schools across Bay County earned a grade of A and all but four schools made adequate yearly progress in accordance with the state's accountability system.
Grades were released Thursday for the 31 K-12 public schools in Bay County for the 2005-06 school year.
Another 16 schools earned a B grade, and only one school - Bay City's Wenona Center for alternative students - earned a D alert, which is a warning for the school.
http://www.mlive.com/news/jacitpat/index.ssf?/base/news-18/1156521982201080.xml&coll=3
10 schools miss the mark
Friday, August 25, 2006
By Chad Livengood
clivengood@citpat.com -- 768-4918
Ten Jackson County schools, including the county's two largest high schools, failed last year to meet federal standards for improvement on standardized test scores.
According to report cards released Thursday by the state, Jackson and Northwest high schools didn't meet Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP) guidelines under the federal No Child Left Behind Act. Both, however, received overall grades of "C."
It was the second year in a row for Northwest, the first for Jackson.
http://www.mlive.com/news/muchronicle/index.ssf?/base/news-9/1156518987127850.xml&coll=8
Most county schools get good grades
Friday, August 25, 2006
By Lynn Moore
CHRONICLE STAFF WRITER WITH CHRONICLE LANSING BUREAU REPORTS
Muskegon County schools, for the most part, performed well on report cards issued Thursday by the state, though charter schools and three Muskegon Heights schools failed to make adequate academic progress.
The reports included letter grades for each school building as well as indicators attached to the federal No Child Left Behind Act, including whether the schools met "adequate yearly progress, or AYP, and what phase of sanctions they are in.
http://www.mlive.com/news/sanews/index.ssf?/base/news-20/1156512011226301.xml&coll=9
More schools fall short
Friday, August 25, 2006
COREY MITCHELL
THE SAGINAW NEWS
State-issued report cards for schools are out, and like tough yet loving parents, board of education members in some mid-Michigan districts are demanding explanations and better effort next time out.
It's a scenario likely playing out across the state as the number of Michigan schools failing to meet standards under the federal No Child Left Behind Act jumped by nearly 25 percent this year.
With one Saginaw School District middle school and three of its four high schools falling short of federal standards, Board of Education President Norman Braddock is "very concerned" about the results.
http://www.freep.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060826/NEWS01/608260384/1003/NEWS
Talks between Detroit schools, union fall apart as strike vote looms
August 26, 2006
With a strike vote looming, negotiations between Detroit Public Schools and its teachers dissolved Friday as both sides filed charges with the state, accusing each other of illegal labor practices.
School district officials filed a charge with the Michigan Department of Labor and Economic Growth, complaining that the Detroit Federation of Teachers threatened an illegal strike. The union also filed a charge, alleging the district has failed to provide it timely and accurate budget information.
http://www.lsj.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060825/NEWS05/608250344/1313
Published August 25, 2006
[ From the Lansing State Journal ]
22 local schools fail to meet standards
Waverly Middle, E.L. join Lansing, Holt high schools
By Nicole Geary and Susan Vela
Lansing State Journal
Twenty-two mid-Michigan schools failed to meet federal improvement standards last year, according to state reports issued Thursday.
East Lansing High School and Waverly Middle School were new additions to the list of schools - almost exclusively high schools and alternative programs - that did not make adequate yearly progress.
They joined Lansing's three high schools and Eaton Rapids and Holt high schools, which also were on the list last year.
http://www.wzzm13.com/news/local/grmetro_article.aspx?storyid=60011
Grand Rapids Public Schools Report Card
Created: 8/25/2006 7:22:57 AM
Updated: 8/25/2006 7:23:29 AM
List of Schools in District - Grand Rapids Public Schools
http://www.mlive.com/news/grpress/index.ssf?/base/news-2/115651714542400.xml&coll=6
Backward toward the property tax
Friday, August 25, 2006
Arenewed effort in Lansing to widen use of the property tax for schools is a wrong turn that ought to be headed off. The proposed move would carry schools to greater funding inequities and push homeowners back toward millage elections and excessive property tax burdens.
A better alternative for the schools and taxpayers is readily available: Lawmakers should adopt long-pending health insurance and pension reforms that will modernize school employee benefits and help school boards reduce needlessly high payroll costs. Bills advancing those changes have been stuck in the House for months. The inaction is discouraging but isn't an excuse for reverting to a failed school-tax mechanism of the past.
http://www.mlive.com/news/grpress/index.ssf?/base/news-31/115651752542400.xml&coll=6
Dying prisoner must wait a month for hearing
Friday, August 25, 2006
The Grand Rapids Press
LANSING -- The state Parole Board has scheduled a Sept. 25 hearing on a Montcalm County woman's request for a medical commutation of her prison term.
"She'll never make it," said Michele Perrin, of Comstock Park, Carla Ringleka's stepmother. Ringleka is terminally ill with cancer.
The decision to hold the hearing came after Gov. Jennifer Granholm asked the parole board to reconsider its earlier vote against releasing Ringleka. The board set the hearing in September, Granholm spokeswoman Liz Boyd said, because someone objected to the governor's request that it waive the usual 30-day waiting period.
NATIONAL STORIES
Wrong-track polling barks up wrong tree
By Donald Lambro
Thursday, August 24, 2006
There are enough anomalies and contradictions in the polls to suggest the forecasts of steep GOP election losses could be a tad premature.
For one thing, polls tell us that whatever the voters think of Republicans, they aren't that crazy about Democrats, either. Moreover, some polls have found that a large percentage of Democratic voters say they could change their minds.
http://www.detnews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060826/OPINION01/608260308/1008
Saturday, August 26, 2006
Revelations put candidate, writer under scrutiny
Nancy Kruh
O n the heels of Mel Gibson's drunken tirade, two more public figures have put themselves in hot water with their words, and the pundits are letting them simmer.
Eugene Robinson and Kathleen Parker find their subject matter in Sen. George Allen's campaign-trail gaffe.
During a recent stump speech, the Virginia Republican called a young volunteer for his Democratic opponent "Macaca," considered a racial slur in some French-speaking African countries. The senator, considered a presidential aspirant, has since said he made up the word and didn't intend it to be derogatory.
http://blog.washingtonpost.com/thefix/
Posted at 06:11 AM ET, 08/25/2006
The Friday Governors Line: And Then There were 15
With 36 governor's races on the ballot this November, we've struggled with limiting ourselves to naming just the top 10.
So, with less than 80 days before the 2006 election, we are expanding our Friday Governors Line to 15 races in an attempt to keep you, gentle reader, informed of all the goings-on in the most important contests across the country.
Look for the writeups in each race to be a be a bit shorter, however, as The Fix seeks to preserve his sanity down the home stretch. As always the race ranked number one is the most likely to switch parties this fall.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/08/25/AR2006082501167.html
In R.I., a Feisty Conservative Challenges Sen. Chafee
Washington Post Staff Writer
Saturday, August 26, 2006; Page A05
COVENTRY, R.I. -- It was getting dark, but Stephen Laffey removed his cap, wiped his sweaty brow and sprinted across the lawn to greet one more voter.
Glenn Myers, stocky and middle-aged, opened the screen door to shake hands with the 44-year-old Cranston mayor. "I believe in you," he told Laffey, who was barnstorming the neighborhood with his wife and five kids and various high school friends. "And I hope you beat the pants off of Lincoln Chafee."
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/08/25/AR2006082501640.html
Rep. Harris Condemns Separation of Church, State
By Jim Stratton
Orlando Sentinel
Saturday, August 26, 2006; Page A09
ORLANDO, Aug. 25 -- Rep. Katherine Harris (R-Fla.) said this week that God did not intend for the United States to be a "nation of secular laws" and that the separation of church and state is a "lie we have been told" to keep religious people out of politics.
"If you're not electing Christians, then in essence you are going to legislate sin," Harris told interviewers from the Florida Baptist Witness, the weekly journal of the Florida Baptist State Convention. She cited abortion and same-sex marriage as examples of that sin.
http://www.freep.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060826/NEWS07/608260336/1001/NEWS
KATRINA | ONE YEAR LATER: A city in ruins, then and today
August 26, 2006
NEW ORLEANS -- This is New Orleans a year later:
Fewer than half the city's hospitals are open.
More than 85 million gallons of drinking water are leaking into the ground each day.
Mangled cars, mounds of debris and broken traffic lights mar a city with half the population that lived there Aug. 29, 2005 -- the day Hurricane Katrina struck.
Thousands of homes stand deserted.
"Everybody that goes down there says the same thing: 'My God, it's just so empty, so devastating,' " Sen. Mary Landrieu, a Louisiana Democrat, said recently. "The most important thing the federal government could have done is to just come to terms with how bad it was, to come to terms more quickly with the magnitude of it, and respond appropriately."
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/08/25/AR2006082501481.html
Katrina's Damage Lingers For Bush
Many See Storm as President's Undoing
By Jonathan Weisman and Michael Abramowitz
Washington Post Staff Writers
Saturday, August 26, 2006; Page A01
For Rep. Patrick T. McHenry (R-N.C.), three images define George W. Bush's presidency: Bush throwing out the first pitch of the 2001 World Series at Yankee Stadium, Bush with a megaphone atop the rubble of the World Trade Center -- and Bush staring out the window as Air Force One traversed the Gulf Coast thousands of feet above the devastation of Hurricane Katrina.
The first two images epitomize strength and resolution, the image the Bush White House likes to cultivate. But in one year's time, the last one -- of the president as aloof, out of touch, even befuddled -- all but erased the memory of the others, according to pollsters, pundits and Republican politicians who say they have suffered in the wake of the president's decline.
http://www.csmonitor.com/2006/0825/p01s02-uspo.html
from the August 25, 2006 edition
Immigration bill sticker shock
A government study puts the cost of the Senate's version of reform at $127 billion over 10 years.
| Staff writer of The Christian Science Monitor
WASHINGTON – The price tag for comprehensive immigration reform was not a key issue when the Senate passed its bill last May. But it is now.
One reason: It took the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) - the gold standard for determining what a bill will cost - until last week to estimate that federal spending for this vast and complex bill would hit $127 billion over the next 10 years.
http://www.csmonitor.com/2006/0825/p10s01-ussc.html
from the August 25, 2006 edition
Why illegal immigration is one of the hot topics of 2006
At hearings, including one in Houston, concerns over budget costs and national security have given the issue prominence.
| Staff writer of The Christian Science Monitor
HOUSTON – When the US House of Representatives announced its latest round of hearings on illegal immigration, taking place across the country this month, many critics saw them as simply political theater - a way to appeal to the GOP's conservative base in an election year.
But the fact that so many citizens, on both sides of the issue, have shown up in large numbers is proof that the issue is no longer confined to Texas' Rio Grande Valley or California's San Joaquin Valley.
http://www.opinionjournal.com/weekend/hottopic/?id=110008850
Apocalypse Not
Welfare reforms's success is a lesson in modesty.
Saturday, August 26, 2006 12:01 a.m. EDT
Welfare reform turned 10 this week, and more remarkable than its near-total success is the near-total amnesia that seems to have gripped its one-time opponents. The results and the history are both worth revisiting today because they offer some useful political and policy lessons for the future.
When Bill Clinton signed the bill ending a federal entitlement to welfare, a leading liberal newspaper called it "nasty," "atrocious" and "odious"--adding with typical nuance that "the children will suffer the most." Three Clinton Administration officials resigned over the bill. Georgia Congressman John Lewis not too subtly raised the specter of fascism as he literally screamed on the House floor, "They're coming for the children. They're coming for the poor. They're coming for the sick, the elderly and the disabled." Even as sensible a social scientist as Senator Daniel Patrick Moynihan lost his head and called it "something approaching an apocalypse."
http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/M/MORNING_AFTER_PILL?SITE=MIDTN&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT
Access to Plan B may have limited effect
WASHINGTON (AP) -- Wider but still restricted access to the morning-after pill may not have the dramatic effect on unintended pregnancy and abortion rates touted by some advocates, reproductive health experts say.
Expanded access should spur increased sales of the pills, called Plan B, but it probably won't have a major public health impact, they said Friday.
"That doesn't mean zero, but it will be hard to measure because it will be so small," said James Trussell, director of the Office of Population Research at Princeton University. "If you look at the number of acts of unprotected intercourse on one hand, and the use of Plan B on the other, it's like a cork on the ocean."
Planned Parenthood hailed Thursday's decision by the Food and Drug Administration on Thursday to allow nonprescription sales of the pills to adult women, saying expanded access could prevent up to 1.5 million unintended pregnancies and 800,000 abortions a year.
http://www.csmonitor.com/2006/0825/p03s03-usgn.html
Bush's first energy rule: efficient enough?
The proposal for transformers would save $9 billion. Efficiency advocates say it should do more.
| Staff writer of The Christian Science Monitor
Long accused of dragging its feet on raising energy-efficiency standards for products, the Bush administration has proposed its first such standard.
Its proposal attracted little attention, since it didn't mean better dishwashers or more fuel-efficient cars. Instead, it deals with transformers - those ubiquitous gray canisters that hang from utility poles and could save the nation billions of dollars if they were upgraded.
http://www.mlive.com/columns/aanews/index.ssf?/base/news-1/115651727613800.xml&coll=2
EPA standards must not be diluted
Friday, August 25, 2006
Flint's rich industrial history includes a hard-fought battle against pollution, which began in the 1970s and continues to this day. But the fight faces a major setback, as the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency lays plans to take away a key weapon: knowledge.
The EPA would do so by cutting back Toxic Release Inventory reports from an annual requirement to every two years, while at the same time allowing companies to release 10 times more of a toxic chemical than is now allowed before reporting was required of them. One major nefarious effect would be to reduce reporting demands for persistent bioaccumulative toxins, or PBTs, which include lead - one of the potentially deadliest pollutants.
http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/B/BUSH_NATIONAL_PARKS?SITE=MIDTN&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT
Bush calls for national parks makeover
WASHINGTON (AP) -- There's nothing like a big birthday bash on the horizon - even if it's a decade away - to make you want to look your best.
So, President Bush on Friday directed the National Park Service on Friday to set "performance" goals for itself for the next 10 years. The idea is to have as many bragging rights as possible when the park service turns a century old in 2016.
"As havens of enjoyment, recreation, learning and personal renewal, national parks must endure," said Interior Secretary Dirk Kempthorne, while opening a new visitor education center Friday at Yellowstone National Park in Wyoming, Idaho and Montana.
To the Park Service, the presidential nudge is tantamount to President Kennedy's call to put a man on the moon.
http://www.detnews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060826/OPINION03/608260304/1008/OPINION01
Saturday, August 26, 2006
Charles Krauthammer:
Bush's diplomacy may buy acceptance of military strikes
T he cowboy has been retired. Multilateralism is back. Diplomacy is king. That's the conventional wisdom about Bush's second term: Under the influence of Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, the administration has finally embraced "the allies."
This is considered a radical change of course. It is not. Even the most ardent unilateralist always prefers multilateral support under one of two conditions: (1) there is something the allies will actually help accomplish, or (2) there is nothing to be done anyway, so multilateralism gives you the cover of appearing to do something.
Security incidents disrupt U.S. flights
HOUSTON (AP) -- U.S. and Argentine authorities were investigating how a stick of dynamite in a college student's checked luggage ended up on a Houston-bound flight, one of seven security incidents that disrupted U.S. flights in a day.
There was no indication terrorism was involved in any of the incidents, which caused two flights to be diverted, others to be delayed and passengers to be questioned.
The dynamite was discovered during a baggage search in an inspection station at Bush Intercontinental Airport shortly after Continental Airlines Flight 52 from Argentina landed early Friday.
Guard, Reserve Iraq death toll declines
WASHINGTON (AP) -- The death toll among National Guard and Reserve troops in Iraq has plunged this year as citizen soldiers play a smaller combat role against an insurgency that increasingly targets Iraqis.
Thus far in August, five members of the Guard and Reserve have died in Iraq, compared with 44 at this point in August 2005, the deadliest month of the war for the Guard and Reserve.
The number of Guard and Reserve deaths for the year totals 54 - less than one-third of the 189 recorded at this point last year. In the comparable period in 2004, the death toll was 92, according to Defense Department casualty records.
http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/I/IRAQ_CONTRACT_BRIBES?SITE=MIDTN&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT
Guilty plea in kickback scheme
WASHINGTON (AP) -- A former U.S. Army Reserve officer admitted Friday that he steered millions of dollars in Iraq-reconstruction contracts in exchange for jewelry, computers, cigars and sexual favors.
Bruce D. Hopfengardner, 46, of Fredericksburg, Va., pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit money laundering and wire fraud.
Hopfengardner served as a special adviser to the U.S.-led occupation forces, recommending funding for projects on law enforcement facilities in Iraq.
He admitted conspiring with Philip H. Bloom, a U.S. citizen with businesses in Romania, Robert J. Stein Jr., a former Defense Department contract official, and others to create a corrupt bidding process that included the theft of $2 million in reconstruction money.
http://www.opinionjournal.com/editorial/feature.html?id=110008849
Star Warrior
If Reagan had his way on SDI, threats form North Korea and Iran would loom smaller today.
BY MELANIE KIRKPATRICK
Saturday, August 26, 2006 12:01 a.m. EDT
ARLINGTON, Va.--In his 1983 "Star Wars" speech, Ronald Reagan famously asked, "What if free people could live secure in the knowledge . . . that we could intercept and destroy strategic ballistic missiles before they reached our own soil?"
Fast forward to this summer. On July 4 North Korea test-fired a long-range ballistic missile believed capable of reaching the continental U.S. The launch was a flop--the Taepodong 2 fizzled before it got off the ground--but to echo Reagan's question, what if? What would have happened if Pyongyang's missile had been heading toward Los Angeles? Could we have shot it down? "I'm confident that we could have," states Lt. Gen. Henry "Trey" Obering III, director of the Missile Defense Agency. "If that missile had proceeded to threaten Hawaii or the continental United States, then we would have had the ability to shoot it down. I'm confident the system would have worked."
http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/V/VISA_BRIBERY?SITE=MIDTN&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT
Diplomat faces visa bribe charge
WASHINGTON (AP) -- A veteran U.S. diplomat will spend the weekend in jail on charges he traded work visas for lavish dinners, New York City hotel rooms, jewelry and Las Vegas trips with exotic dancers.
Michael John O'Keefe, the deputy nonimmigrant visa chief at the U.S. Consulate in Toronto, was indicted on bribery and conspiracy charges Friday. International jewelry executive Sunil Agrawal, a native of India, also was charged but remains at large.
Since the terrorist attacks of 2001, authorities have worked to tighten controls over nonimmigrant visas like those granted to students, tourists and workers. Friday's indictment, however, describes a scheme in which O'Keefe fast-tracked applications for Agrawal's company, New York-based STS Jewels.
O'Keefe personally handled STS applications, going so far as to approve some that had been rejected, even when a subordinate noted that terrorists use jewelry to raise money, the indictment says. O'Keefe awarded 21 visas to STS employees, according to the indictment.
