Articles of Interest 1-27-07
647 Days until election day.
Governor Granholm issues “directives” for state agencies to cut spending. How about issuing a directive to herself to stop hiring political cronies who lost elections when so many long term state employees and programs are being cut.
First, State Senate candidate Andy Levin gets a “labor” job….then Democratic Congressional nominee Nancy Skinner becomes the First Gentleman’s Chief of Staff….Granholm for Governor campaign manager Howard Edleson gets one of Michigan’s “international” travel jobs and then Granholm’s recruited failed Attorney General candidate Scott Bowen gets a “newly created” job as “state employer”.
With this kind of leadership, attitude and cronyism…is there any wonder we have financial problems in our state???
The state allows “sweet heart” bidding on teacher’s health coverage that costs hundreds of millions EXTRA in taxpayer dollars…they push “prevailing” union bidding for construction as we try and save every TAXPAYER’s dollar…they allow state employees to “retire” and collect their full pension while getting hired back the next day…the Governor’s 21st Century Fund provides “corporate welfare” to get “new” companies to locate in Michigan while we let employers like Pfizer slip away…Honda never even look…Toyota expand elsewhere.
Before “we” start raising taxes, shouldn’t we address some of these blatant abuses of taxpayer dollars. I know some Democrats believe these are part of their “quality of life” standards…I can’t wait to see Howard’s expense report for his first overseas junket??? So when the Governor starts talking about education cuts, meal on wheels cancelled or some other scare tactic…ask her about her own hiring tactics and spending habits.
We can’t tax ourselves out of a recession…the Democrats continue to live in a state of denial.
On a happier front, I just wanted to share the good news with everyone that Matthew (Washtenaw County Chair) and Rebecca Schneider had a baby girl last Sunday evening at 8:24 PM. Her name is Ava Lila Schneider. She weighs 7 pounds 7 ounces and is 21 inches long.
Saul Anuzis
STATE STORIES
http://www.freep.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070127/BUSINESS01/701270325
Ford cuts day care, too
Analysts say company must do more
January 27, 2007
As if to underscore the depth of financial distress at the 103-year-old Ford Motor Co., the automaker heralded for its family-friendly policies told the parents of 900 infants, preschoolers and kindergarteners Friday that it was closing seven child-care centers in three states.
The centers are operated jointly with the UAW, and the union shared in the decision.
http://www.mlive.com/news/jacitpat/index.ssf?/base/news-1/116982938558060.xml&coll=3
Eaton plant closing: A net plus or minus?
Friday, January 26, 2007
Reaction to Eaton Corp.'s decision to close one plant in Jackson and leave a second one open was on both ends of the spectrum -- some hailing it as a victory for Jackson and others questioning how the loss of almost 200 jobs could be anything to cheer about. For our part, we are simply grateful that the company will invest $1 million in its East Avenue plant, and preserve up to 380 employees there. As a community, let's make the best of it.
It's now official that Eaton Corp. will close its Argyle Street plant by the end of March 2008. The larger East Avenue plant was spared that fate after the Michigan Economic Development Corp. approved a $5.5 million Single Business Tax credit over seven years. Earlier, the city of Jackson approved a 15-year Renaissance Zone designation that could be worth up to $2.4 million over 15 years.
http://www.mlive.com/columns/aanews/index.ssf?/base/news-1/1169826264194290.xml&coll=2
Lights, camera, economic action
Michigan needs to pitch itself to filmmakers
Friday, January 26, 2007
Michigan made its fame on the motorcar, but movies can offer the state a different brand of stardom. New tax breaks for filmmakers, which go into effect this year, will help draw producers, actors and directors - and the considerable economic activity they generate - to locations throughout the state.
Incentives alone won't do the work. The state's film office, overseen by Janet Lockwood, should now aggressively market these sweeteners to Hollywood moguls searching for a different backdrop.
Movies are big business, and they generate spinoff economic activity that benefits construction trades, restaurants, hotels and others in a local community where filming occurs.
http://www.mlive.com/news/muchronicle/index.ssf?/base/news-10/1169896545196050.xml&coll=8
Economy signs still look good for Muskegon
Saturday, January 27, 2007
By Dave Alexander
CHRONICLE BUSINESS EDITOR
Despite the downward drag of the Michigan economy, Muskegon County's financial outlook continued to surpass the nation through last summer.
But then an unexpected downturn in mid-2006 was recorded in the state-reported local employment figures. That indicates a mixed bag for the local economy in 2007, said George Erickcek -- senior regional economist for the W.E. Upjohn Institute in Kalamazoo, in town Friday for his annual economic outlook.
Erickcek told an overflow Muskegon Area Chamber of Commerce Early Bird Breakfast audience his optimistic 2006 forecast will be followed by a more sober assessment for 2007.
http://www.freep.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070127/NEWS05/701270356
PARKS FOR SALE?
Governments consider selling open spaces
January 27, 2007
To Jim Coolican, the woodland along Wise Road in Commerce Township is a place to relax, where he and his dog Red Wing can take walks past the headwaters of the Huron River.
"It's a unique piece of property," Coolican said. "I would think the state would be frothing at the mouth to have 600 acres in an area that's growing so fast."
http://www.freep.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070127/NEWS06/701270331
Idea offers home buyers deal
House Democrats pushing for a tax break
January 27, 2007
LANSING -- House Democrats want to give home buyers a property tax break to help spur Michigan's slumping home sales.
But city officials and real estate agents fear the plan could strain communities' budgets or even suppress future home sales.
The Democrats' plan would allow home buyers who purchase within an 18-month window to inherit the typically lower property tax assessment of the seller.
Under current law, much higher taxes often follow a home's sale because the state caps property tax assessments at the rate of inflation. But when a house is sold, the assessment changes to reflect actual market value, which can be much higher.
http://www.wlns.com/Global/story.asp?S=5996906&nav=0RbQ
Granholm picks Bowen to lead state employer agency
LANSING, Mich. A lawyer who unsuccessfully sought to become Michigan's attorney general has landed a job in Governor Jennifer Granholm's administration.
M. Scott Bowen was appointed director of the Office of the State Employer.
He will oversee collective bargaining, labor-management relations and other employee services for state workers.
http://www.mlive.com/news/grpress/index.ssf?/base/news-34/1169883602212910.xml&coll=6
Bowen tapped to oversee state contracts
Saturday, January 27, 2007
By Ted Roelofs
The Grand Rapids Press
A former Grand Rapids city commissioner derailed by organized labor in his bid to be state attorney general now will sit across the negotiating table from state labor unions as director of the Office of the State Employer.
Scott Bowen, 43, was appointed to the $129,842 post Friday, perhaps a signal all is well again with Gov. Jennifer Granholm.
Granholm spokesperson Liz Boyd proclaimed Bowen as just the right fit for the post, in what is sure to be a tough negotiating climate given the state's bleak fiscal picture. Bowen will oversee collective bargaining, labor-management relations and other employee services for more than 50,000 state workers.
http://www.detnews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070127/OPINION01/701270307/1008
Saturday, January 27, 2007
Editorial Quick Hits: Ours
Invest in Nathaniel Abraham now
The Detroit News
The Oakland County attorneys who have raised a stink about the possible state investment in rent and college education in Nathaniel Abraham's new post-prison life are short-sighted and wrong. Abraham faces every imaginable obstacle to becoming a working, socially responsible adult. He's a kid who was raised by prison guards since he was 11. He has little education or skill base.
http://www.detnews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070126/UPDATE/701260465
Friday, January 26, 2007
New laws to help Crime Stoppers with funding, protect tipsters
Norman Sinclair / The Detroit News
LANSING -- Crime Stoppers can expect a boost in funding this year and the anonymity of its tipsters protected from subpoenas under laws signed by Gov. Jennifer Granholm late last year.
John Broad, president of Crime Stoppers of Michigan said the new laws will strengthen the organization's efforts to help communities fight crime.
"Basically it means even further protection that our information can't be discovered as it is now formal written law that the tipster's identity will be protected -- there is now no ambiguity in the laws protecting anonymous tips," Broad said.
http://www.detnews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070127/OPINION03/701270373/1348
Saturday, January 27, 2007
Laura Berman
Fashion sense is power statement
F or most of my adult life, I've been waiting for women to rise to political power.
And now here we are, plunked into a golden age of women in politics: A two-term female governor in Michigan, Madame Speaker in Washington, Condoleezza Rice as the nation's secretary of state, and Hillary Clinton contending as a quasi-candidate for a Democratic Party nomination.
I'm not sure what I expected, but probably better times than these are proving to be -- and less attention to the clothes and appearance of the women making policy.
http://www.mlive.com/news/muchronicle/index.ssf?/base/news-10/1169896563196050.xml&coll=8
Hoekstra gets behind Romney for president
Saturday, January 27, 2007
By Steve Gunn
CHRONICLE STAFF WRITER
U.S. Rep. Peter Hoekstra, R-Holland, already has made clear his choice for president in 2008: former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney.
Hoekstra announced this week that he's not only endorsing Romney, but is becoming his "intelligence adviser" and co-chairman of his Michigan presidential exploratory campaign.
Hoekstra served for several years as chairman of the House Intelligence Committee, before the Democrats took control of Congress this year and inherited all committee chairmanships. Hoekstra, who has developed a reputation as a foreign policy heavyweight in Washington, D.C., remains the senior Republican on the committee.
http://www.mlive.com/news/fljournal/index.ssf?/base/news-41/116990225954430.xml&coll=5
Soldier's extended duty puts wedding on hold
Two Tales of War
FLUSHING
THE FLINT JOURNAL FIRST EDITION
Saturday, January 27, 2007
By Beata Mostafavi
bmostafavi@flintjournal.com • 810.766.6210
FLUSHING - The wedding gown design is called "candlelight" for its glow. It hangs in Jennifer Dearing's closet like a hopeful light at the end of a dark tunnel.
It had been a long countdown to Thursday, the day Dearing's fianc, U.S. Army Spc. Nicholas Popovits, was scheduled to come home from Afghanistan.
But about 3 a.m., just hours before she was to get on a plane to Fort Drum, N.Y., to meet him, he called to tell her his nearly yearlong tour in Afghanistan had been extended.
http://www.mlive.com/news/fljournal/index.ssf?/base/news-41/116990226954430.xml&coll=5
Fenton teacher's son killed in Iraq
Two tales of war
FENTON
THE FLINT JOURNAL FIRST EDITION
Saturday, January 27, 2007
By Marjory Raymer
mraymer@flintjournal.com • 810.766.6325
FENTON - The son of a Fenton High School teacher was killed in Iraq Thursday after being shot in the neck by a sniper while serving at a dangerous checkpoint, his family said.
Cpl. Mark D. Kidd, 26, was a Marine on the equivalent of his fourth tour in Iraq. Kidd's mother, Janet, is an art teacher at the high school, where he had spoken to several classes about his war experiences.
Kidd was a member of the Marine Reserves, serving at a volatile checkpoint between Fallujah and Baghdad in the Al Anbar province.
http://www.mercurynews.com/mld/mercurynews/news/special_packages/iraq/16556319.htm
Posted on Fri, Jan. 26, 2007
Granholm orders flags lowered to honor Marine
Associated Press
LANSING, Mich. - Gov. Jennifer Granholm has ordered that U.S. flags be lowered Tuesday to honor a Marine from Michigan who died in Iraq.
The order issued Friday honors Lance Cpl. Luis J. Castillo of Lawton, who died Jan. 20 from wounds received while conducting combat operations in Al Anbar province.
NATIONAL STORIES
http://www.angus-reid.com/polls/index.cfm/fuseaction/viewItem/itemID/14522
Angus Reid Global Monitor : Polls & Research
No Clear Leader in Most 2008 U.S. Match-Ups
January 27, 2007
(Angus Reid Global Monitor) - The 2008 United States presidential election remains highly contested in the early stages, according to a poll by Princeton Survey Research Associates released by Newsweek. In six different head-to-head contests, no prospective Republican or Democratic candidate reaches the 50 per cent mark.
Former New York City mayor Rudy Giuliani holds a one-point lead over New York senator Hillary Rodham Clinton and a two-point edge over Illinois senator Barack Obama, but trails former North Carolina senator John Edwards by three points.
http://www.angus-reid.com/polls/index.cfm/fuseaction/viewItem/itemID/14515
Angus Reid Global Monitor : Polls & Research
Obama, Edwards Now Lead McCain in U.S.
January 27, 2007
Angus Reid Global Monitor) - Republican John McCain trails two prospective Democratic presidential nominees in the United States, according to a poll by Rasmussen Reports. 47 per cent of respondents would vote for Illinois senator Barack Obama in 2008, while 44 per cent would support the Arizona senator.
In a contest pitting McCain against former North Carolina senator John Edwards, the Democrat holds a three-point advantage. In December, McCain held leads over both Obama and Edwards in presidential trials.
Giuliani starts New Hampshire visit, invokes Sept. 11
By PHILIP ELLIOTT
Associated Press Writer
January 26, 2007, 10:02 PM EST
BRETTON WOODS, N.H. -- Rudy Guiliani's visit to New Hampshire began Friday as he repeatedly returned to memories of Sept. 11 and joked that he might return to the presidential battleground to "do some politics."
Giuliani, a Republican who is mulling a White House run, renewed his mantle, "America's Mayor" and reminded business leaders in New Hampshire's North Country that he shepherded New York through the aftermath of Sept. 11. Over 400 people attended the event at the Mount Washington Hotel, organizers said.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/01/26/AR2007012601286.html
Huckabee to Set Up '08 Exploratory Panel
By ANDREW DeMILLO
The Associated Press
Friday, January 26, 2007; 9:08 PM
LITTLE ROCK, Ark. -- Republican Mike Huckabee, the former Arkansas governor and a favorite of conservatives, will take the first step in a 2008 presidential bid, an official told The Associated Press on Friday.
Huckabee, 51, plans to file papers on Monday establishing an exploratory committee that will allow him to raise money and hire campaign staff, said the official, who spoke on condition of anonymity to avoid pre-empting a formal announcement.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/01/26/AR2007012600922.html
Biden to Kick Off Presidential Campaign
By BETH FOUHY
The Associated Press
Friday, January 26, 2007; 9:09 PM
NEW YORK -- Democratic Sen. Joe Biden, who has made no secret of his plans to run for president in 2008, says he'll make it official next Wednesday. The 64-year-old Delaware lawmaker said he will file paperwork with the Federal Election Commission and launch a campaign Web site, http://www.joebiden.com
He joins a crowded Democratic field dominated thus far by New York Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton and Illinois Sen. Barack Obama. Other candidates include former North Carolina Sen. John Edwards, the 2004 vice presidential nominee; Connecticut Sen. Chris Dodd, New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson, former Iowa Gov. Tom Vilsack, and Ohio Rep. Dennis Kucinich.
http://www.boston.com/news/local/articles/2007/01/26/with_kerry_out_key_aide_shifts_to_obama/
With Kerry out, key aide shifts to Obama
By Brian C. Mooney, Globe Staff | January 26, 2007
One of John F. Kerry's chief fund-raisers, Alan D. Solomont , said yesterday he has signed on to help the presidential campaign of Illinois Democrat Barack Obama despite his longstanding ties to another Democratic hopeful, Hillary Clinton of New York.
Solomont, who led a group that raised $35 million in New England alone for Kerry's unsuccessful presidential campaign in 2004, called Senator Clinton "an enormous talent who would be a terrific president," but said Obama, her Senate colleague, is "the sort of person America wants right now in the White House."
http://blogs.suntimes.com/sweet/2007/01/sweet_column_universal_health.html
Sweet column: Universal health care emerges in Obama, Clinton, 2008 race. Plus, the Sharpton primary. Obama on African-American support.
WASHINGTON -- Radioactive for more than a decade, universal health insurance emerged Thursday as a 2008 Democratic presidential primary issue for chief rivals Barack Obama and Hillary Rodham Clinton.
Obama delivered an ambitious first campaign pledge: health care coverage for everyone by the end of 2012.
"I am absolutely determined that by the end of the first term of the next president, we should have universal health care in this country,'' Obama told a health care group dealing with the problems of the millions of uninsured in the United States.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/01/26/AR2007012601488.html
In Race for Iowa, Clinton Has to Make Up Ground
With Caucus a Year Away, Polls Show She's Behind in the State
By Anne E. Kornblut and Dan Balz
Washington Post Staff Writers
Saturday, January 27, 2007; Page A02
DES MOINES, Jan. 26 -- When New York Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton arrives here for her first presidential campaign events this weekend, she will encounter unfamiliar terrain -- a landscape where she is not the perceived front-runner for the Democratic nomination.
Although Clinton appears formidable at the national level, she has not built up a lead in Iowa, home of the first caucuses of the 2008 campaign next January. Most recent polls of Iowa Democrats have shown former senator John Edwards of North Carolina in the lead, with Clinton in a pack that includes Illinois Sen. Barack Obama and former Iowa governor Tom Vilsack.
http://www.detnews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070127/OPINION03/701270320/1008/OPINION01
Saturday, January 27, 2007
Clarence Page
Mudslinging rears head in Obama-Clinton clash
"A lie can travel halfway around the world," Mark Twain is said to have said, "while the truth is putting on its shoes." What an optimist he was. In this Internet age, lies go around the globe many times before the truth can even find its shoes.
Just ask Democratic presidential hopeful Barack Obama. Even as Illinois' rising superstar senator announced his White House bid just after Martin Luther King Jr.'s birthday, an anti-Obama smear campaign was percolating in cyberspace and popping up in countless e-mail boxes, including mine.
http://www.detnews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070127/OPINION01/701270303/1008
Saturday, January 27, 2007
State of Union: Bush and Webb please allies
Nancy Kruh
P resident Bush's State of the Union address Tuesday night is earning predictably mixed reviews.
John Podhoretz is delightfully surprised by the president's performance. "It was a genuine effort to seek a middle ground on domestic policy, and to offer a plain-spoken explanation for his new war-fighting policy in Iraq that took into account the displeasure of many in the chamber with the idea of expanding the number of forces there. And it was far more successful at both than I would have expected."
http://www.detnews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070127/OPINION03/701270315/1008/OPINION01
Saturday, January 27, 2007
Froma Harrop
Tax health benefits, but keep tax breaks for mansions?
T he president has finally found a tax increase he likes -- on workers' "gold-plated" health benefits. The new-found tax revenues would supposedly offset the cost of helping Americans buy their own coverage. This weird plan won't go anywhere politically -- even though elements of it have merit.
The tax system can't fix the health system. Bush has this idea that fiddling with the tax code will meet most every social need. It won't, and that goes double in the very complex world of health care.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/01/26/AR2007012601588.html
Health Plan's Impact Debated
Critics Say Bush's Insurance Proposal Would Favor the Wealthy
Washington Post Staff Writer
Saturday, January 27, 2007; Page A08
President Bush likes to say that his health-care proposal would "level the playing field" between people who get health coverage through their job and those who buy it on their own.
But experts said yesterday that it would tilt that field toward a kind of health insurance that Bush has long favored -- a high-deductible plan paired with a special tax-exempt health savings account, or HSA.
http://www.detnews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070127/OPINION03/701270317/1008/OPINION01
Saturday, January 27, 2007
Charles Krauthammer
Want energy? Tax gas, drill and go nuclear
I s there anything more depressing than yet another promise of energy independence in yet another State of the Union address? By my count, 24 of the 34 State of the Union addresses since the oil embargo of 1973 have proposed solutions to our energy problem.
The result? In 1973 we imported 34.8 percent of our oil. Today we import 60.3 percent.
And what does this president propose? Another great technological fix. For Jimmy Carter, it was the magic of synfuels. For George Bush, it's the wonders of ethanol. Our fuel will grow on trees. Well, stalks, with even fancier higher-tech variants to come from cellulose and other (literal) rubbish.
http://www.opinionjournal.com/weekend/hottopic/?id=110009587
Very, Very Big Corn
Ethanol and its consequences.
Saturday, January 27, 2007 12:01 a.m. EST
President Bush made a big push for alternative fuels in his State of the Union speech Tuesday night, calling on Americans to reduce gasoline consumption by 20% over 10 years. And as soon as the sun rose on Wednesday, he set out to tour a DuPont facility in Delaware to tout the virtues of "cellulosic ethanol" and propose $2 billion in loans to promote the stuff. For a man who famously hasn't taken a drink for 20 years, that's a considerable intake of alcohol.
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/01/27/opinion/27sat3.html
Mr. Bush’s Oil Security Blanket
Published: January 27, 2007
One of the stranger and so far unexplained items in President Bush’s energy program is his proposal to double the capacity of the Strategic Petroleum Reserve, to 1.5 billion barrels, over the next 20 years. The proposal carries a $65 billion price tag — one of several reasons Congress should question Energy Secretary Samuel Bodman closely when he comes looking for the money.
The reserve’s purpose is to provide an emergency supply of oil in the event of, say, a terrorist attack somewhere along the global oil supply chain or a natural disaster that sharply limits imports for a short time. The United States is highly vulnerable to such interruptions. It has only 3 percent of global oil reserves but accounts for 25 percent of consumption — more than 20 million barrels a day, about 60 percent of it imported. The reserve now holds 55 days worth of net oil imports. After the increase, there would be an estimated 97 days of protection.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/01/26/AR2007012601630.html
Bush's Climate Remarks Weighed for Policy Shift
By Peter Baker and Steven Mufson
Washington Post Staff Writers
Saturday, January 27, 2007; Page A01
It was just a couple of dozen words out of more than 5,000, uttered so fast that many in the audience missed them at first. But President Bush's commitment to fight global warming in his State of the Union address this week has echoed around the world and provoked debate about whether he is shifting his view of climate change.
The words themselves were not radically different from what he has said in the past in other settings. As he addressed Congress and a national television audience, Bush forecast energy breakthroughs that will reduce U.S. dependence on oil. "These technologies," he said, "will help us become better stewards of the environment, and they will help us to confront the serious challenge of global climate change."
http://www.detnews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070127/OPINION03/701270323/1008/OPINION01
Saturday, January 27, 2007
George Will
House Democrats try to counterfeit votes
"The House of Representatives shall be composed of members chosen every second year by the people of the several states ..."
--Constitution of the United States, Article I, Section 2.
"What's the Constitution between friends?"
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/01/27/opinion/27sat1.html?_r=1&oref=slogin
The Bait-and-Switch White House
Published: January 27, 2007
We often wonder whether there is a limit to the Bush administration’s obsession with secrecy, its assault on the rule of law, its disdain for the powers of Congress, its willingness to con the public and its refusal to heed expert advice or recognize facts on the ground. Events of the past week suggest the answer is no.
In his State of the Union speech, Mr. Bush stuck to his ill-conceived plans for Iraq, but at least admitted the situation was dire. He said he wanted to work with Congress and announced a bipartisan council on national security.
http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/C/CIA_LEAK_TRIAL?SITE=MIDTN&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT
Jan 27, 5:43 AM EST
Lawyers probe Fleischer's immunity deal
WASHINGTON (AP) -- Attorneys for former vice presidential aide I. Lewis "Scooter" Libby want more information about an unusual immunity-from-prosecution deal that government lawyers gave former White House spokesman Ari Fleischer in the CIA leak case.
Special Prosecutor Patrick Fitzgerald says that in early 2004, as his investigation was heating up into who revealed CIA operative Valerie Plame's name to reporters, Fleischer stepped forward with an offer to prosecutors: Promise no prosecution and he would help their case.
Fleischer acknowledged being one of the leakers, but he wouldn't say a word without a promise of immunity.
http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/G/GINSBURG_SPEECH?SITE=MIDTN&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT
Jan 26, 11:53 PM EST
Ginsburg laments solitary role on court
BOSTON (AP) -- U.S. Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg said Friday that she dislikes being "all alone on the court" nearly a year after the retirement of Sandra Day O'Connor.
Ginsburg, who spoke to an assembly at Suffolk Law School, said she sees more women in law school, arguing before her court and sitting as federal judges. But there is not enough female perspective on the nine-member high court, she said.
http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/M/MILITARY_GIVEAWAYS?SITE=MIDTN&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT
Jan 26, 8:54 PM EST
U.S. military donates surplus to police
WASHINGTON (AP) -- The military's trash is treasure for local police around the country. Cash-strapped law enforcement agencies are lining up to take advantage of the Pentagon's generosity: a tranquilizer gun to shoot bears in Pennsylvania, a van for crime scene investigations in Michigan and boats for water patrols in Virginia.
The Defense Department is giving the items away. About 16,000 local agencies obtained more than 380,000 pieces of equipment in the 2005 budget year, according to an analysis of data provided by the Pentagon at the request of The Associated Press.
http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/W/WORLD_FORUM_KERRY?SITE=MIDTN&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT
Jan 27, 5:46 AM EST
Sen. Kerry blasts U.S. foreign policy
DAVOS, Switzerland (AP) -- Massachusetts Sen. John Kerry slammed the foreign policy of the Bush administration on Saturday, saying it has caused the United States to become "a sort of international pariah."
The statement came as the 2004 Democratic presidential nominee responded to a question about whether the U.S. government had failed to adequately engage Iran's government before the election of hard-liner Mahmoud Ahmadinejad in 2005.
Kerry said the Bush administration has failed to adequately address a number of foreign policy issues.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/01/26/AR2007012600389.html
Pelosi, Maliki Discuss Timing of Drawdown
4 Slain GIs Were Abducted, U.S. Says
Washington Post Staff Writer
Saturday, January 27, 2007; Page A10
BAGHDAD, Jan. 26 -- Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki told Rep. Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.), visiting Baghdad on Friday in her new capacity as House speaker, that he would like to see 50,000 U.S. troops leave by the end of the year, Iraqi officials said.
Pelosi's primary concern in meeting Maliki appeared to be to determine how soon he thought the United States could withdraw its soldiers from Iraq, said Ali Dabbagh, the prime minister's spokesman.
http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/P/PELOSI_IN_IRAQ?SITE=MIDTN&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT
Jan 26, 8:58 PM EST
Analysis: Pelosi Iraq trip is symbolic
WASHINGTON (AP) -- House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's visit to Iraq is a clear sign the newly empowered Democratic Congress is not going to abide by the notion that foreign policy is the sole province of the White House.
While President Bush met with military leaders in the Oval Office Friday, she and anti-war Rep. Jack Murtha turned up in Baghdad.
The timing of the trip, from the Bush administration's point of view, couldn't have been worse. It came just days after the president asked Congress in his State of the Union address to give his revised Iraq strategy a chance to work.
http://www.detnews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070127/OPINION03/701270321/1008/OPINION01
Saturday, January 27, 2007
Thomas Sowell
Iraq War critics can't admit their past mistakes
C ritics of the Bush administration's conduct of the war in Iraq have long demanded that he admit his mistakes. But they have not admitted their own past mistakes, much less admit the potentially catastrophic mistake they will make in the future if they make it impossible to sustain military operations there.
Critics have been proved wrong repeatedly in their claims that elections could not be held in Iraq or a government formed there. Iraqi voter turnout, even in the face of terrorist threats, has exceeded voter turnout in the United States.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/01/26/AR2007012600653.html
Bush Defies Lawmakers To Solve Iraq
Gates Says Doubts Bolster Enemy
By Michael Abramowitz and Jonathan Weisman
Washington Post Staff Writers
Saturday, January 27, 2007; Page A01
Declaring "I'm the decision maker," President Bush yesterday challenged congressional efforts to formally condemn his Iraq plan, while Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates warned that a proposed Senate resolution criticizing the deployment of additional troops would embolden the enemy.
"Any indication of flagging will in the United States gives encouragement to those folks," Gates told reporters at the Pentagon. "I'm sure that that's not the intent behind the resolutions, but I think it may be the effect."
http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/B/BUSH?SITE=MIDTN&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT
Jan 27, 5:47 AM EST
Bush: 'I'm the decision-maker' on Iraq
WASHINGTON (AP) -- President Bush, on a collision course with Congress over Iraq, said Friday "I'm the decision-maker" about sending more troops to the war. He challenged skeptical lawmakers not to prematurely condemn his buildup.
"I've picked the plan that I think is most likely to succeed," Bush said in an Oval Office meeting with senior military advisers.
The president had strong words for lawmakers on both sides of the aisle who are lining up to support resolutions opposing his decision to send 21,500 troops to Iraq. He challenged them to put up their own ideas.
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/01/27/opinion/27wills.html
At Ease, Mr. President
By GARRY WILLS
Published: January 27, 2007
WE hear constantly now about “our commander in chief.” The word has become a synonym for “president.” It is said that we “elect a commander in chief.” It is asked whether this or that candidate is “worthy to be our commander in chief.”
But the president is not our commander in chief. He certainly is not mine. I am not in the Army.
http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/I/IRAQ_GENERAL?SITE=MIDTN&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT
Jan 26, 8:56 PM EST
Senate OKs new U.S. commander in Iraq
WASHINGTON (AP) -- The Senate on Friday voted unanimously to confirm the nomination of Army Lt. Gen. David Petraeus to command U.S. troops in Iraq at a time when President Bush is building up American forces there.
Petraeus' 81-0 approval was in contrast to the widespread public and congressional opposition to Bush's plan to send 21,500 more troops to Iraq. Congress is moving toward votes in coming weeks on nonbinding resolutions opposing the troop build up.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/01/26/AR2007012601494.html
U.S. Plan for Iraqi Force Surprises Senator
Washington Post Staff Writer
Saturday, January 27, 2007; Page A12
Army Lt. Gen. David H. Petraeus, the new top U.S. commander in Iraq, told Congress that he might supplement efforts to secure Baghdad using the Iraqi Facilities Protection Service, a 150,000-man force that guards Iraqi government agencies. But that service is widely considered unreliable, and elements were described in July by Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki as "more dangerous than the militias," according to Sen. Jack Reed (D-R.I.).
"The prime minister said he wanted to get rid of the FPS as fast as possible," Reed said this week, recalling his meeting with Maliki in Baghdad last summer. There are "bad elements" in FPS units that "are carrying out murders and kidnappings . . . [and] attacking the infrastructure that they are supposedly protecting," Reed said in his trip report about what Maliki had told him. "Because of the FPS," Reed wrote, Maliki said that "some governmental ministries' guards are more dangerous than the militias."
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/01/26/AR2007012601208.html
Gates Working to Accelerate Deployment
Washington Post Staff Writer
Saturday, January 27, 2007; Page A14
Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates said yesterday that he was working to accelerate the deployment of 21,500 additional U.S. troops to Iraq, suggesting that the influx of American troops is no longer contingent upon the Iraqi government fulfilling its commitments for Baghdad security operations.
Lt. Gen. David H. Petraeus, confirmed yesterday by the Senate as the senior U.S. commander in Iraq, testified this week that he needs all of the troops -- and possibly more -- for the mission to quell sectarian violence in Baghdad. "As long as he feels he needs them, they're all going to flow," Gates told reporters at his first Pentagon news conference.
http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/U/US_IRAQ?SITE=MIDTN&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT
Jan 27, 6:02 AM EST
Gates: Iraq resolution 'emboldens' enemy
WASHINGTON (AP) -- A congressional rebuke of President Bush's troop buildup in Iraq would undercut American commanders in a way that "emboldens the enemy," Defense Secretary Robert Gates says.
At his first Pentagon news conference since taking office Dec. 18, Gates was asked whether a congressional resolution criticizing Bush's plan would offer the insurgents new hope.
"It's pretty clear that a resolution that in effect says that the general going out to take command of the arena shouldn't have the resources he thinks he needs to be successful certainly emboldens the enemy and our adversaries," Gates said Friday.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/01/26/AR2007012601050.html
Lethal-Force Order Justified, Bush Says
President Says Iran Poses Threat in Iraq
By Dafna Linzer and Ann Scott Tyson
Washington Post Staff Writers
Saturday, January 27, 2007; Page A12
President Bush yesterday defended a Pentagon program to kill or capture Iranian operatives inside Iraq, saying that U.S. troops would use all necessary measures to protect themselves and Iraqi civilians from harm.
"It makes sense that if somebody's trying to harm our troops, or stop us from achieving our goal, or killing innocent citizens in Iraq, that we will stop them," Bush said in response to a question about the program, the details of which were first reported in yesterday's Washington Post.
http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/U/US_IRAN?SITE=MIDTN&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT
Jan 27, 5:40 AM EST
Bush OKs countering Iranians in Iraq
WASHINGTON (AP) -- President Bush has authorized U.S. forces in Iraq to take whatever actions are necessary to counter Iranian agents deemed a threat to American troops or the public at large, the White House said Friday.
"It makes sense that if somebody's trying to harm our troops, or stop us from achieving our goal, or killing innocent citizens in Iraq, that we will stop them," Bush said. "It's an obligation we all have ... to protect our folks and achieve our goal."
Jan 27, 6:24 AM EST
4 troops abducted, killed in Iraq attack
BAGHDAD, Iraq (AP) -- In perhaps the boldest and most sophisticated attack in four years of warfare, gunmen speaking English, wearing U.S. military uniforms and carrying American weapons abducted four U.S. soldiers last week at the provincial headquarters in the Shiite holy city of Karbala and then shot them to death.
The U.S. military confirmed a report earlier Friday by The Associated Press that three of the soldiers were dead and one was mortally wounded with a gunshot to the head when they were found in a neighboring province, about 25 miles from the compound where they were captured. A fifth soldier was killed in the initial attack on the compound.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/01/27/AR2007012700479.html
Car Bomb Kills 13 in Baghdad Shiite Area
By SINAN SALAHEDDIN
The Associated Press
Saturday, January 27, 2007; 8:02 AM
BAGHDAD, Iraq -- Two car bombs in quick succession struck a market in a mainly Shiite district in Baghdad on Saturday, killing at least 13 people and wounding more than 40, police said.
Elsewhere, U.S. airstrikes killed 14 terror suspects and destroyed a safe house for foreign fighters during a raid south of Baqouba that also led to the capture of two other suspects, the military said.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/01/26/AR2007012601497.html
Sheiks Help Curb Violence in Iraq's West, U.S. Says
Others See Peril in Tribal Confederation
Washington Post Foreign Service
Saturday, January 27, 2007; Page A13
RAMADI, Iraq -- Before tribal sheiks aligned themselves with U.S. forces in the violent deserts of western Iraq, the number of people willing to become police officers in the city of Ramadi -- the epicenter of the fight against the insurgent group known as al-Qaeda in Iraq -- might not have filled a single police pickup.
"Last March was zero," said Maj. Gen. Richard C. Zilmer, the Marine commander in western Iraq, referring to the number of men recruited that month.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/01/26/AR2007012601773.html
Iran to Start Assembling Centrifuges, IAEA Says
Underground Facility Would Enrich Uranium
By George Jahn
Associated Press
Saturday, January 27, 2007; Page A15
DAVOS, Switzerland, Jan. 26 -- Iran plans to begin work next month on an underground uranium enrichment facility, as part of a plan to create a network of tens of thousands of machines turning out material that could be used to make nuclear arms, U.N. officials said Friday.
"I understand that they are going to announce that they are going to build up their 3,000-centrifuge facility . . . sometime next month," Mohamed ElBaradei, head of the U.N.'s International Atomic Energy Agency, told reporters at the World Economic Forum here.
http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/U/US_AFGHANISTAN_NATO?SITE=MIDTN&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT
Jan 26, 8:57 PM EST
U.S. asks NATO to boost Afghan presence
WASHINGTON (AP) -- The United States has been making progress with NATO allies in a "continuing battle" over restrictions on their troops deployed in Afghanistan, a top State Department official said Friday.
Undersecretary of State Nicholas Burns said troops from Canada, Britain and the Netherlands, along with the United States, have been doing most of the fighting in Afghanistan, and he said it is time for the other 22 allied countries to do more.
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/01/27/opinion/27nunez.html
One NATO Is Not Enough
By JOSEPH NÚÑEZ
Published: January 27, 2007
IN international relations, leadership often involves getting allies and friends to do things they have not done but need to do. For example, one challenge facing America is to get more European countries to do heavy lifting in Afghanistan, where British, Canadian, Dutch and American troops are bearing the brunt of battles with Taliban forces. This needs to happen if NATO is to make good on its commitments in Afghanistan, which rightly have wide international support and legitimacy.
But the larger issue stemming from that overstrained mission is that NATO is not enough. Like the one strong horse that carries load after load, NATO is getting tired of having to serve as the proxy both for the United Nations and feeble regional organizations. While I am not, of course, authorized to speak in an official capacity, I have some thoughts, based on personal experience, on how to ease NATO’s burden.
http://www.opinionjournal.com/editorial/feature.html?id=110009586
The Other Russia
The man who would checkmate Vladimir Putin.
BY MELANIE KIRKPATRICK
Saturday, January 27, 2007 12:01 a.m. EST
NEW YORK--As the longtime world chess champion, Garry Kasparov was a famously aggressive player. His latest game is politics, and his style is equally aggressive. "Our goal is to dismantle the regime," he says, speaking of the political coalition he leads to bring down Vladimir Putin.
Mr. Kasparov's Putin antipathy is well known to readers of this newspaper, of which he is a contributing editor. "I Was Wrong About Putin," was the headline on his Jan. 9, 2001, op-ed article for this page. One year into Mr. Putin's presidency, Mr. Kasparov sounded an early warning about a man whose "KGB roots have informed a style of governance that is neither reformist nor particularly democratic." Since then, Mr. Kasparov has scarcely let up, retiring from chess in March 2005 in part to devote himself to politics.
http://www.opinionjournal.com/extra/?id=110009588
'I Know Who My Comrades Are'
China plays cat-and-mouse with the Internet.
BY EMILY PARKER
Saturday, January 27, 2007 12:01 a.m. EST
Out of China this week came two telling news items. One is that Internet users hit 137 million, putting them on track to surpass their U.S. counterparts in a couple of years. The other is President Hu Jintao's plea that officials further regulate the Web and "actively and creatively nurture a healthy online culture."
There you have it: The Chinese cat-and-mouse game. This all raises an old, unsettling question of whether the spread of the Internet will actually help lead to China's democratization. Sure, the Web has pried open doors to free speech and information on the mainland. But if Beijing is always just a few paces behind, dispatching the censors to slam those doors shut--then ultimately, does the Internet reallymatter?
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/01/26/AR2007012601552.html
Venezuela's Satellites
A year of elections has left democracy and free markets flourishing in most of Latin America. Pity the exceptions.
Saturday, January 27, 2007; Page A18
AREMARKABLE year of democracy in Latin America has left the region generally stronger. Presidential elections were held in 11 countries in the past 13 months, and political moderates won seven of them, including those in the four largest countries: Brazil, Mexico, Colombia and Peru. Throughout most of the hemisphere, the elections reinforced a consensus that continued growth must depend on free markets and free trade but that governments should concentrate on narrowing the large gap between rich and poor.
MIRS Capitol Capsule, Friday, January 26, 2007
John Reurink (517) 482-2125
Michigan's Bond Rating Dropped
Michigan's sinking economy and deteriorating state budget isn't going unnoticed on Wall Street.
The state's once-sterling AAA bond rating was kicked down another peg today when Fitch Ratings downgraded Michigan's credit rating from AA with a negative outlook to AA- with a stable outlook. Moody's rating service dropped Michigan's AA2 credit rating from stable to negative.
Michigan's struggles with the auto industry, a relatively high unemployment rate, shaky budget picture and an unstable business tax future contributed to today's action, according to the opinions that accompanied both announcements.
"The action by these respected agencies signals to the world the depth of the fiscal crisis Michigan is facing," said state Treasurer Bob KLEINE. "Wall Street recognizes that many tough questions remain amid the continuing struggles of the domestic auto industry, which are having devastating affects on Michigan's economic and revenue picture."
In announcing the downgrade, Fitch said it "reflects Michigan's economic decline and the state's resulting deteriorated financial condition, both of which have accelerated over the past few months …" Fitch analysts did cite the state's "strong management, lower moderate debt levels and still-considerable economic resources."
However, in discussing budget difficulties, Fitch said the Fiscal Year (FY) 2008 budget is "complicated" by the sunset of the Single Business Tax (SBT) and that "delays in reaching an agreement on replacing the tax would lead to further credit uncertainty."
Fitch Ratings noted that the state has responded to the deteriorating budget picture with cuts in spending and fee hikes, but with state facing a $800 to $900 million budget gap for the current fiscal year, the prognosis for more cuts isn't good.
"With five austere budgets leading up to fiscal 2007 and no reserves, the options beyond a major revenue increase appear limited," the Fitch analysis read.
Moody's listed the state's strengths as a history of conservative financial management including mid-year spending adjustments, restrained spending growth, a moderate debt burden and manageable benefit obligation.
Among it's challenges are an economic reliance on domestic auto manufacturing and related industries, depleted financial reserves, reduced likelihood of reserve rebuilding given continued weak revenue performance and the elimination of an existing business tax after this year with a successor tax not yet enacted.
Kleine said today's credit rating actions are clear proof Michigan must address its structural budget problems and work to stimulate economic growth in the midst of what has become a competitive, global economic environment, the likes of which the state has never experienced.
"The state has demonstrated a willingness to manage the downturn and remedy budgetary imbalances through prompt corrective actions. Fitch expects this willingness will hold true as policymakers debate remedies for the fiscal 2007 and 2008 shortfalls and the replacement of business tax revenues."
A Quick Fix Or A Long Fix?
When the idea of privatizing the state Lottery came up this week, the basic knock on such a proposal followed quickly in its wake. To sell the Lottery would be a "quick-fix. It would be a one-time, short-term solution.
But would expanding the Sales Tax to more services, which so many people in town believe will be part of the plan Gov. Jennifer GRANHOLM comes up with, really be a long-term fix?
Tom CLAY, state director of the Citizens Research Council, said he sees spreading the Sales Tax base as a pretty reliable approach to longer-term revenue stability, while Economist Patrick ANDERSON of the Anderson Group, said he doesn't.
MIRS asked them both about how much of a "long-term" fix expanding the Sales Tax base would be.
Clay said answering the question of how long-term the "fix" would be was virtually impossible, because there are so many variables involved. However, he said tapping the growth area of the economy should provide a solid revenue stream on, into the future.
"Spreading the Sales Tax base will allow revenues to grow more in line with the economy," Clay told MIRS. "The service sector has been the fastest-growing portion of the economy for the last 20 years or so. It just makes sense to have more of that in the tax base."
But what about the concept that increased taxation potentially slows the economy and ultimately lowers revenues?
"Pure economics tells us that if you raise taxes, while spending a like amount it will tend to stimulate the economy," Clay said, adding that at least one study showed the last drop in the state Income Tax rate combined with lower government spending actually had a negative economic effect.
Clay not only sees expanding the Sales Tax base as a long-term fix, he said selling the Lottery might not be as short-term a fix as some people are saying.
"While it's perceived as a short-term fix, if done properly it could pay off for some time," Clay commented.
Meanwhile, Anderson said that if the state simply relies on spreading the Sales Tax base, its "fix" would likely be short-term.
"No tax plan alone will be a long-term fix," Anderson said. "Any conceivable tax adjustments must be balanced by changes in government spending and management or we'll find ourselves right back in the soup again fairly quickly."
As an example, Anderson points to what he said was a huge increase in revenues for schools after Proposal A passed during the Gov. John ENGLER administration that ultimately didn't keep up with political spending pressures.
Anderson also drifted outside economics region and said he doesn't believe any plan to expand the Sales Tax base to services can be sold to the public unless it includes lowering the Sales Tax rate constitutionally. Of course, if that ends up being the route the state takes, that would take too long to play out for it to effect the current budget cycle.
Bowen To Be State Employer
Former Democratic Attorney General candidate Scott BOWEN was named director of the Office of State Employer today, where he will oversee all collective bargaining, labor management relations efforts and other employee services for more than 50,000 state workers in Michigan.
Bowen, the former Grand Rapids District Court judge, was encouraged by Gov. Jennifer GRANHOLM's team to step down from the bench to run for Attorney General however, he was ultimately passed over for the Democratic nomination by Amos WILLIAMS, presumably in the name of balance on the Dem ticket.
Bowen will replace David FINK, who stepped down to return to his private practice and be closer to his new family.
"Scott has dedicated his life to serving others, and his integrity and enthusiasm will carry over into his new role as the state employer," Granholm said. "His extensive legal background will provide a strong foundation to help him represent the state of Michigan on a variety of labor-management issues."
Bowen, 43, of Wyoming, is a practicing attorney and served as judge of the 62-A District Court in Wyoming until July 2005. Prior to his judicial appointment, Bowen was a partner at McInerney & Bowen and was a founder and partner of Bowen, Distel & Haynes P.L.C.
In addition to his judicial appointment, Bowen's previous government experience includes two terms on the Grand Rapids City Council, serving as president in 1999. A former Michigan State University (MSU) football player, Bowen was also a special assistant attorney general for the Department of Transportation and an assistant city attorney for the cities of Kentwood, Lowell and Rockford.
GONGWER- Volume #46, Report #18 --Friday, January 26, 2007
Larry Lee (517) 482-3500
WALL STREET DOWNGRADES STATE BECAUSE OF ECONOMY
Michigan's ongoing economic struggles has resulted in two of the top Wall Street rating agencies taking negative action against the state, and Treasurer Robert Kleine said the announcement reflects the "devastating" effect that the automotive industry problems have on the state.
Fitch Ratings downgraded the state's bond rating for its general obligation and school loan bond funds to AA- from AA.
Moody's Investors Services did not change the state's AA rating, but gave Michigan a "negative" outlook.
Standard & Poor's made no changes in its rating of the state on Friday, but given how closely the three agencies rate companies and institutions will likely make a change soon.
If there is anything positive in the developments, it is that both agencies praised the state's overall management and specifically point to the automotive industry's woes as a threat to the state being able to maintain a balanced budget.
Not coincidentally, the rating changes were announced the day after Ford Motor Company announced it had lost $12.6 billion in 2006. That situation was mentioned in both agency's announcements.
Also mentioned was the action announced on Monday by Pfizer to close its research operations in Ann Arbor and Kalamazoo.
Also on the agency's mind was the elimination of the Single Business Tax on December 31 and that effect on state revenues.
Ironically, at a time the state can least afford it, the changes will clearly mean the state will have to pay more money to investors when it has to borrow money.
In making their announcements, both Fitch and Moody's said the state has relatively low debt levels and strong overall economic management. But the economy, as reflected by the troubles of the automotive manufacturers (in the last year the agencies essentially downgraded the debt of both General Motors and Ford to near or at junk bond status), has hammered the state's overall finances, they said, making any hope of rebuilding its financial reserves in the near-term nearly impossible.
"Michigan's economic downturn is not only remarkable because it is among the longest-running in the state's history, but also because it has occurred, in large part, during an expansion of the national economy," Moody's said in its statement, but still emphasized its confidence that the state will maintain balanced budgets for this 2006-07 fiscal year and the 2007-08 fiscal year.
And Fitch said: "The state has demonstrated a willingness to manage the downturn and remedy budgetary imbalances through prompt corrective actions."
In his statement, Mr. Kleine said the actions show the state must deal with the structural problems in its budget and step up efforts to promote economic growth, "in the midst of what has become a competitive, global economic environment, the likes of which the state has never experienced."
GRANHOLM ISSUES DIRECTIVES TO CUT SPENDING
State departments and agencies were put on notice by Governor Jennifer Granholm this week to drastically cut spending on rent, materials, telecommunications, travel, publications and energy to help keep the state's budget balanced.
Ms. Granholm issued nine directives on Wednesday in which she said the objective is "across-the-board restrictions on spending by departments and agencies within the Executive Branch of state government."
Ms. Granholm had issues similar restrictions and directives in previous years, but this is the most extensive series of spending restrictions ordered.
"I recognize that resources are already scarce, and that greater efficiencies already have been achieve in the administrative operations of state department and agencies, it is critical to implement additional efforts to reduce costs and curtail spending," Ms. Granholm said in the directives.
A total dollar figure on savings has not been set, said Liz Boyd, Ms. Granholm's spokesperson, but the directives "really reflect the budget crisis we are facing."
Past directives have resulted in some savings, Ms. Boyd said, "and we are trying to build on those." But she also said the effort comes at a "grim" time because of the ongoing fiscal problems.
The directives all require the Department of Management and Budget and the State Budget Office to enforce the requirements set by Ms. Granholm.
Directive 2007-1 dictates that for the rest of the fiscal year all contracting for supplies, materials, equipment, outside printing and other products "shall be deferred and limited to only the most essential requirements." That limitation includes furniture and computer hardware and software.
Directive 2007-2 orders that contracts for services or the use of temporary workers shall be deferred, unless temporary or contractual workers are needed to protect the state's health and safety or are legally required.
Directive 2007-3 imposes a moratorium on out of state travel with state funds for the rest of the fiscal year, unless, again it is needed to protect the state health and safety or is required by law or to meet specialized training needs. Ms. Granholm's out-of-state travel has been largely paid with non-state funds, Ms. Boyd said.
Directive 2007-4 requires that "effective immediately and continuing until September 30" no agency may purchase or lease a vehicle, and by February 9 each department will determine which vehicle orders can be cancelled without penalty. Exceptions are allowed for emergency vehicles.
The directive also requires each department by March 16 to conduct a review of mileage reimbursements, and by April 18 requires the DMB director to present Ms. Granholm with a plan to reduce overall vehicle expenditures, including cutting mileage reimbursements.
Directive 2007-5 orders the state to analyze telecommunications use, finding unused or underused lines, find alternatives technologies for telecommunications, cut and eliminate pager use, sell used equipment and re-bid telecommunications contracts.
Directive 2007-6 orders the state to cut overall energy use by 10 percent for the remainder of the year, including reducing the use of heating and cooling equipment at nights and on weekends, using energy-efficient lighting and "enhanced use of natural lighting."
Directive 2007-7 sets limits on memberships on organizations unless the state is assured that that membership can help boost the acquisition of federal funds or help protect the state's health and safety.
Directive 2007-8 requires departments to save 15 percent in the cost of their publications, including clipping services. If possible, departments should use subscriptions through the Library of Michigan or electronic publications.
And Directive 2007-9 requires the state to review all existing contracts for leased facilities. The directive also orders the Department of History, Arts and Libraries to develop by February 15 a plan to close the state law library in the G. Mennen Williams Building and relocate it to the state library building.
REPORT TO GRANHOLM WILL CALL ON INVESTING FOR FUTURE
The financial emergency panel will turn over a report to Governor Jennifer Granholm next week that likely calls for the state to invest in its future, but will not make specific tax or spending proposals.
Sources said the report will also likely call for increased efforts to inform the public on the extent of the state's fiscal problems and how they occurred.
Drafts of the proposed report have been circulated amongst the panel's members, chaired by former Governors William Milliken and James Blanchard, over the last week.
Because members of the group are not all in Michigan at the moment, they may not all be able to come together to present the report to Ms. Granholm, but the report will be received by her no later than February 2, sources said.
Ms. Granholm had called for the group to report back to her before her State of the State address on February 6.
Ms. Granholm and the panel had been blasted by critics as a front for her to call for tax increases. Sources said the report will talk about the state's revenue shortfalls and needs, but will not discuss a specific tax proposal.
But the report will say that to build the state's future economy, the state needs to invest in programs and policies that will make it more competitive, such as education.
