Articles of Interest 4-26-07
558 Days until election day.
MORNING UPDATE:
Senator John McCain formally announces his candidacy for the Republican nomination for President.
House Democrats proposed the SIXTH Democrat tax increase…Governor calls it a “good compromised”…because she compromised with herself and other Democrats?
Last night I drove back and forth to the Leelanau County GOP Lincoln Day Dinner…great event with a record crowd…and excited activists!
THE REST OF THE STORY:
Senator John McCain joined the “official” field of Presidential candidates seeking the Republican nomination. Senator McCain has been a frequent visitor in Michigan and helped our state and local parties, not to mention specific candidates, in both financial and campaign assistance.
Attorney General Mike Cox is chairing the Senator’s efforts here and Michigan and has assembled an impressive team of operatives and fundraisers. Jim Nicholson is chairing the finance effort and has some our state’s top fundraisers as part of their team including Ambassador Ron Weiser, Harvey Gainey and others.
Governor Granholm endorsed a House Democratic replacement plan for the expiring Single Business Tax on Wednesday as the Tax Policy Committee scheduled a hearing on a number of bills in the package for Thursday.
Are we really convinced we need a “replacement” tax?
The Democratic plan incorporates a 6.95 percent business income tax coupled with a .488 percent tax on net worth. The “revenue-neutral” plan would also provide about $700 million in credits for Michigan-based companies. Should the tax bring in 10 percent or more than expected revenues, a rebate would be triggered for the subsequent tax year to businesses that claimed credits for things such as compensation, investment and research and development.
A “net worth” tax is full of possible complications, incentive to mislead and under many circumstances, could be very punitive. Many farmers have a high net worth because of the land and equipment they own, but often times have very tough cash flow situations. Again, we’ll have to see the details.
Overall and interesting approach…funny that the Democrats had to compromise with each other to come up with a proposal….the good news is NOW Republicans have a shot at it and maybe we can make it workable. The key is in the details…lets wait and see.
I would argue we should continue to force substantial, real reforms before we “replace” or increase any revenues to the state. We need to make Michigan competitive again…a Democrat’s proposal for a “revenue neutral” tax is ALWAYS suspect…it probably means there is a tax increase hidden in there if we don’t catch it.
Leelanau County GOP Lincoln Day Dinner had a great event with a record crowd…and lots of excited activists and volunteer. We had a group of Young Republicans from the local High School and many longtime activists from around the state that tend to end up “north”. Congratulations on a great event!!!
Saul Anuzis
STATE STORIES
Democrats discuss details of their business tax plan
LANSING, Mich. (AP) -- A new business tax plan detailed Wednesday by House Democrats would reward companies that create jobs in Michigan, but could shift more of the burden to those headquartered out of state and insurance companies.
The long-awaited House plan got support from Democratic Gov. Jennifer Granholm, who called it a "good compromise" that incorporates some of her own ideas. Senate Republicans didn't rush to embrace the plan but didn't shoot it down, either.
It could take at least a few more weeks for Granholm and the Legislature to figure out how Michigan will replace its current Single Business Tax, which expires at the end of this year. There are several competing plans, and a key issue in the negotiations may be how much revenue the new tax should bring in.
http://www.freep.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070426/NEWS06/704260368
Business groups get behind Dems' tax plan
April 26, 2007
BY CHRIS CHRISTOFF
FREE PRESS LANSING BUREAU CHIEF
LANSING -- A new business tax plan from House Democrats picked up steam Wednesday with favorable reaction from two influential business groups and a thumbs-up from Gov. Jennifer Granholm.
House Speaker Andy Dillon, D-Redford Township, said that the plan, set for a committee hearing today in Lansing, would use tax incentives and deep cuts in personal property taxes to help create jobs.
Positive reaction to the proposal from the Michigan Chamber of Commerce and the Michigan Manufacturers Association may hint that the plan could move quickly.
Dillon said three-fourths of businesses would pay less taxes under the plan. Michigan-based companies would receive $700 million in tax credits, based on the number of people they employ and the value of facilities, such as warehouses and plants.
http://www.detnews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070426/OPINION01/704260323/1008
Editorial
House business tax plan is promising
Proposal could be adjusted to provide needed tax relief
The Detroit News
Michigan House Democrats have come up with a decent plan to replace the hated Single Business Tax. It's not a tax cut, but its broad outlines are reasonable and fair and could be the basis for a deal.
It wouldn't take much adjustment to make it a needed tax cut for business.
Perhaps the best thing about the proposed tax reform is that it takes a good whack out of the tax on business equipment, which ranks with the Single Business Tax as a disincentive to job creators.
The proposal cuts business equipment taxes, called personal property taxes, by nearly three-fourths on average for manufacturers and by nearly half for commercial firms. These reductions add up to $700 million to $800 million in reductions in the personal property tax.
http://www.fox28.com/News/index.php?ID=17401
Top Democrat Says Republicans will Vote for Tax Increase
A top Democratic lawmaker says a potential cut to Michigan's K-through-12 schools that could reach $125 a student will force Republicans to vote for a tax increase.
Senator Michael Switalski also says legislators are starting to approve higher spending in the next budget year, which increases the need for higher taxes.
Switalski says Senate Republicans are starting to talk privately about needing extra revenue, after they voted for spending reductions only to learn tax revenue may fall farther short of projections.
Republican Senate Majority Leader Mike Bishop has said Governor Granholm and Democrats who control the House need to first agree on a tax increase before he'd consider one.
http://www.ourmidland.com/site/news.cfm?newsid=18258873&BRD=2289&PAG=461&dept_id=472539&rfi=6
Our View: Leadership needed in Lansing, now
Michigan needs a fresh approach to solving its budget crisis.
How can anyone come to any other conclusion after what has occurred in Lansing not only in the past few months, but in the past few years?
A new national report suggests that Michigan’s state government budget problems are among the worst in the nation. While other states are reporting surpluses and some are even talking tax cuts, what are we talking about in Michigan? Budget deficits and tax increases. Other states are looking at ways to increase funding to education. What are we talking about in Michigan? More cuts and funding delays.
How in the world does the state expect to draw new business and industry with that type of message? We have a wonderful company just to the south – the Hemlock Semiconductor plant – that is considering additional expansion in Michigan, but right now Michigan lawmakers and Gov. Jennifer Granholm can’t even tell company officials how the Single Business Tax will be replaced. That question casts a huge shadow over Michigan and it needs to be answered now, not later.
http://www.freep.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070425/BUSINESS04/70425039/0/BUSINESS07
Detroit leads nation in first quarter foreclosure rate
1 in 51 households in default
April 25, 2007
BY JOHN GALLAGHER
FREE PRESS BUSINESS WRITER
Continuing a trend from 2006, metro Detroit posted the highest rate of real estate foreclosures during the first three months of 2007, with one foreclosure filing for every 51 households.
There was lots of pain elsewhere in the country, too.
RealtyTrac, an online marketplace for foreclosed properties, said Wednesday that more than 430,000 foreclosure filings — default notices, auction sale notices and bank repossessions — were reported nationwide during the first quarter of 2007.
That was up 27% from the previous quarter and up 35% from the first quarter of 2006.
The nation’s quarterly foreclosure rate of one foreclosure filing for every 264 households was the highest quarterly foreclosure rate since RealtyTrac began issuing its report 27 months ago.
http://www.detnews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070426/AUTO01/704260446
Thousands of drivers scrimp on insurance
More drop collision and theft coverage as economy takes toll.
Andy Henion / The Detroit News
Hundreds of thousands of motorists in financially beleaguered Michigan have downgraded their auto insurance -- a money-saving gamble that could leave them without a ride if their vehicle is stolen or smacked by another car.
The latest available data shows that nearly 300,000 comprehensive policies were dropped from 2000 to 2004 -- a trend that has continued, some large insurers say. Comprehensive covers vehicle theft -- Detroit has nearly 100 reports a day -- and deer-vehicle accidents, a growing suburban problem.
Another 28,500 got rid of their collision policy, which covers damage from another vehicle, while many more are reducing coverage or raising deductibles to save money, agents say. Collision and comprehensive policies are not mandated by law, although most bank loans require both in addition to liability -- which every vehicle owner must have. When drivers scale back on insurance to save money, other drivers are not affected. But those who reduce coverage could face sometimes costly repairs.
http://www.detnews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070426/LIFESTYLE03/704260395
State cuts may hurt Medicaid funding
Budget deficit could mean chopping from hospital aid to the poor to ease budget woes.
Sofia Kosmetatos / The Detroit News
Michigan hospitals say they'll have to slash services to the poor and cut jobs if the state legislature passes proposed budget cuts to Medicaid in an effort to close a $400 million budget deficit.
The House bill would make the deepest cuts to hospitals -- $28 million in the remainder of the fiscal year, which ends Sept. 30, compared with $13.4 million in the Senate bill and $5 million in Gov. Jennifer Granholm's budget proposal.
Hospitals were spared in last year's budget, but have seen more than $686 million in cuts since 1996, according to The Partnership for Michigan's Health, a coalition of organizations representing the state's doctors and hospitals. Further cuts would spell disaster on several fronts, and could mean more hospital closures, fewer doctors accepting Medicaid payments and less access to care for the poor and uninsured.
http://www.freep.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070426/BUSINESS06/704260369
Blue Cross gets rate hike OK
7 nongroup plans rising at least 10%
April 26, 2007
BY PATRICIA ANSTETT
FREE PRESS MEDICAL WRITER
Michigan's insurance commissioner has granted 10% to 19% rate increases to Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan for seven insurance policies purchased by people with no workplace coverage.
The increases take effect June 1 and run through May 31, 2008. Five individual Blue Cross plans that offer the fewest benefits are not affected.
About 60,000 Michiganders have these so-called nongroup plans. But enrollment in them is growing quickly as more employers stop offering benefits, more people retire early and more people are self-employed or work part-time.
Linda Watters, commissioner of Michigan's Office and Financial and Insurance Services, recently another Blue Cross rate increase.
http://www.detnews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070426/LIFESTYLE03/704260404
Group forms to help state's uninsured
Michigan Health Insurance Access Advisory Council plans to work on long-term health care goals.
Kim Kozlowski / The Detroit News
A group of business and healthcare leaders plans to announce today the creation of a new council that will work toward long-term solutions for Michigan's 1.5 million uninsured residents.
The Michigan Health Insurance Access Advisory Council will fill a void left by the term-limited Legislature, which lacks continuity and institutional knowledge of the problem, said Rob Fowler, president of the Michigan Small Business Association.
"This is a long-term problem; it's going to take long-term solutions," said Fowler, council chairman. "It's a big, complicated public policy issue that has to play out over a number of years to move the state toward a policy solution."
State officials are working to get federal permission to expand health insurance to those without coverage, but that effort, if approved, would only cover half of the state's uninsured. The group aims to address Michigan's uninsured problem regardless of the outcome of the state's efforts.
Phil Power: New thinking can solve budget woes
Know what that strange sound you are hearing in the background is? The vibration from increasingly frantic talks going on in Lansing about Michigan's financial future.
After what seems like months of talking at each other, Speaker of the House Andy Dillon, D-Redford Township, and Senate Majority Leader Mike Bishop, R-Rochester, have agreed to talk to each other.
Specifically, they'll be meeting daily to hash out what to do about the estimated $1 billion shortfall in this year's general fund budget and the $377 million deficit in the school aid fund.
Gov. Jennifer Granholm and her budget director, Bob Emerson, will be at the table, as well. They've got a rough row to hoe. The deficit numbers are very large. The economy is still slumping, and tax revenues are consistently falling below projections.
Partisan differences are wide, and time is running out — the fiscal year ends Sept. 30. That's a fast-approaching fact that will greatly intensifies the impact of any cuts.
Crunch time is clearly here.
http://www.detnews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070426/LIFESTYLE03/704260405/1003/METRO
State hospice checks among worst in U.S.
Federal report shows Michigan officials are overdue in inspecting Medicare programs.
Kim Kozlowski / The Detroit News
More than 12 years have passed since Michigan officials have inspected 12 Medicare hospice programs, and another 32 are also long overdue for certification, according to a federal report released this week.
The state's failure to inspect the quality and safety of 44 programs providing care to terminally ill patients made Michigan one of the three worst in the nation to provide timely oversight in 2005, according to the report from the inspector general's office of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.
California and Illinois also lagged behind in hospice certification, which ensures programs are in compliance with federal regulations aimed at quality, care and safety.
http://www.freep.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070426/BUSINESS06/704260466/1019
Michigan issues benefit from rise
April 26, 2007
Fast times on Wall Street put extra zip into some Michigan-related stocks.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average has shot up nearly 22% since summer. The Dow sat at 10,739.35 on July 14, 2006.
Employees and others who own DaimlerChrysler saw that stock climb 70% in the same time. The automaker closed at $81.14 -- up $1.84 a share -- Wednesday.
Stryker Corp. was another huge gainer, up 56% since July. Stryker closed at $66.72 a share -- down 4 cents -- Wednesday. Whirlpool Corp. did better than the Dow, gaining nearly 42% since summer. Whirlpool closed at $107.40 -- up $4.55.
Every stock, obviously, didn't get that wild and giddy, 13,000-on-the-Dow feeling.
http://www.freep.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070418/NEWS06/70418036/1008/NEWS06
Federal class action on foster care to go to trial
By JACK KRESNAK
FREE PRESS STAFF WRITER
A federal lawsuit filed on behalf of Michigan’s 19,000 foster children that could cost the state millions of dollars will proceed to trial next year, U.S. District Court Judge Nancy Edmunds has ruled.
In an opinion filed Tuesday and released Wednesday, Edmunds denied the state’s request to dismiss the class action filed by Children’s Rights, a New York-based advocacy group.
The organization argues that systemic failings in Michigan’s foster care system pose a risk of imminent harm to thousands of kids.
The group says, for example, that too many children age out of foster care without being adopted by other families and the state places 40% of its foster children with relatives who are not licensed to provide foster care.
http://www.freep.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070426/OPINION01/704260385/1069
IN OUR OPINION
Make prisoner move health safe
April 26, 2007
The Michigan Department of Corrections has appealed an order by U.S. District Judge Richard Enslen that prevents the department from transferring more than 600 chronically ill and disabled inmates from Southern Michigan Correctional Facility until Enslen approves a plan to assure their safety.
Whatever the outcome of the appeal, the judge is right. Past Corrections practices show a clear danger to the health of those inmates if they are moved without a sound plan for adequate staffing and support services at any prison to which they are sent. Even if the Appeals Court reverses Enslen's order, the department should not transfer those inmates until Enslen and his independent medical monitor agree that it is medically safe.
http://www.freep.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070426/OPINION01/704260387/1069
Approve fairer voting for SEMCOG
April 26, 2007
The Southeast Michigan Council of Governments won a lawsuit last year that charged SEMCOG was selling out the region's older cities in favor of the newer, far-flung suburbs. Because the regional planning organization approves nearly $1 billion a year in transportation projects, the suit by some transit advocates was troubling in its charges that SEMCOG policies promoted sprawl and shortchanged mass transit.
For that reason, SEMCOG Executive Director Paul Tait made the right move by voluntarily coming up with a plan to change SEMCOG's voting structure to include a fairer, population-weighted balloting system. SEMCOG's 51-member executive committee will consider the change on Friday and ought to approve it.
http://info.detnews.com/blogs/bloggers.cfm?id=payne&blogid=739
Wed, Apr 25, 2007 at 12:26 PM
Tech lessons: Dingell targets mental health records (from the Politics Blog)
Michigan Rep. John Dingell is teaming with fellow Democrat Carolyn McCarthy (NY) to tighten a national gun law that might have prevented last week's Virginia Tech massacre. The legislation gives states incentives to report criminals and the mentally ill to the FBI's National Instant Criminal Background Check database that every gun shop must consult before selling a weapon.
While the Tech incident has provoked the usual calls for more gun control, bipartisan experts agree that the best prevention measure would have been better enforcement of existing laws. In 2005, Cho had been flagged by a Virginia court as mentally unstable and an "imminent danger" and therefore should never have purchased a firearm.
http://www.detnews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070426/POLITICS/704260406/1022
Appellate judges agree to relinquish state cars
Associated Press
LANSING -- The state's appellate judges have officially joined Supreme Court justices in giving up their taxpayer-funded vehicles as the state faces a financial crisis.
Chief Judge William Whitbeck of the 28-judge Michigan Court of Appeals said Wednesday that appeals judges met Tuesday and agreed to voluntarily relinquish their cars. Several judges weren't at the meeting and will have to make their own decision, Whitbeck said.
State Supreme Court justices, appeals judges and some of their staff members get vehicles that can be driven for work and personal use, a perk dating to the 1960s. Because vehicles are part of judges' compensation, judges say they must be given up voluntarily.
http://www.detnews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070426/BIZ/704260393
Developer offers free rent to startups
Farbman creates Michigan Now! program to give space to new companies, but they must pay utilities.
Louis Aguilar / The Detroit News
In another sign of the region's tough economy, the largest commercial landlord in Michigan is offering free rent to startup companies and firms new to the state.
Southfield-based Farbman Group announced Wednesday that its new Michigan Now! program will subsidize office and industrial space. Rent would be free, for an undetermined amount of time, but the companies must pay for utilities and other operating costs, said Andrew Farbman, president of Farbman Group.
"We want to play a role in helping to spark the local economy," Farbman said. "Our goal is to get five to 10 companies. Some might be for 1,000 square feet and some might be 10,000 square feet."
http://www.freep.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070426/BUSINESS04/704260406
Developer to reveal big plans for old Kmart HQ
Village-like area in Troy to include condos, shopping
April 26, 2007
BY JOHN GALLAGHER and GINA DAMRON
FREE PRESS STAFF WRITERS
A Virginia-based real estate firm is to announce plans Monday to redevelop the 43-acre Kmart headquarters site in Troy into a village-style community of shops, condos and town houses.
The development would unlock Oakland County's prime commercial real estate site on Big Beaver Road at Coolidge, which has been empty since Kmart sold the property in 2005, and signal a dramatic development at a time when values and growth have lagged in metro Detroit.
Paul Welday of Renaissance Strategies, a Novi public relations firm, said Richardson Development Group of Reston, Va., plans a mixed-use project. All plans are subject to the approval of the City of Troy, whose council members previewed the plans this week.
http://info.detnews.com/dcblog/index.cfm
Gordon Trowbridge
Wed, Apr 25, 2007 at 3:36 PM
Taking out the (Canadian) trash
Lots of reaction the last couple days to our coverage of the Canadian trash issue.
Michigan's House delegation was, obviously, pleased with passage of a bill that would let the state limit imports of Canadian trash. You can read press releases praising the vote from Reps. John Conyers, John Dingell, Candice Miller, Sander Levin, Mike Rogers, Dale Kildee, Tim Walberg, Pete Hoekstra, Fred Upton and Dave Camp.
Readers reacted to. A sampling, from St. Clair County resident Fred Rouse: "I ... travel through Lenox Township and go past the landfill every weekday morning, heading south on Gratiot (M-19). I have had a little contest seeing how many Canadian garbage trucks that I can count heading north on the three mile stretch between 29 Mile Road (the landfill location) and where M-19 crosses 26 Mile road. So far the most has been 20 trucks in a matter of 5 minutes or so. This is outrageous, especially if this goes on all day long."
http://www.freep.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070426/BUSINESS01/70426003
Ford slashes 1st-quarter loss from $1.4 billion to $282 million
April 26, 2007
By SARAH A. WEBSTER
FREE PRESS BUSINESS WRITER
The Dearborn-based Ford Motor Co. reported a net loss of $282 million, or 15 cents per share, during the first three months of 2007 — a performance that Ford CEO Alan Mulally called “somewhat stronger than expected.”
In a statement, the former Boeing Co. executive added, “the basics of our business are improving, but we still have a lot of work to do.”
The January-March performance still puts the Dearborn-based automaker in the red more than a year after announcing its Way Forward restructuring plan, which aims to cut 44,000 jobs, close 16 plants and replace the entire Ford, Mercury and Lincoln lineup by 2010.
However, it is an improvement from the same period a year ago. During the first quarter of 2006, Ford posted a net loss of $1.4 billion, or 76 cents per share.
http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/M/MI_GM_TOYOTA_MIOL-?SITE=MIDTN&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT
Wagoner says GM will "fight hard for every sale"
WASHINGTON (AP) -- General Motors Corp.'s leader is vowing to "fight hard for every sale" after Toyota Motor Corp. said it sold more cars and trucks in a quarter than GM did for the first time ever.
GM Chairman and Chief Executive Rick Wagoner made the comment in an e-mail message to company officials only hours after the disclosure on Tuesday of Toyota's first-quarter sales results.
He said he "didn't welcome this morning's news, and I know you didn't either," but said GM's business strategies around the globe were working and would help the auto manufacturer succeed.
"We still have the majority of the year in front of us, and we will fight hard for every sale - all the while staying focused on our long-term goals as a global, growing company," Wagoner said in the e-mail obtained Wednesday by The Associated Press.
http://info.detnews.com/weblog/index.cfm
Wed, Apr 25, 2007 at 5:42 PM
Henry Payne
Is best-selling Toyota a Green victory?
Toyota overtook GM this quarter as the world's best-selling auto company. At the same time, the Union of Concerned Scientists has judged Toyota America's greenest auto company, just behind Honda. Enviros say that's no coincidence - Green is what put Toyota on top.
Think again.
Toyota became the world's top-selling automaker by significantly penetrating its largest auto market, the United States. And that doesn't happen without building big. Big cars. Big trucks.
Of Toyota's 7 million in global auto sales, a whopping 35 percent (2.5 million) are sold in the U.S. alone. To achieve that figure, Toyota has had to compete against the Big Three in every segment, most significantly in fuel-thirsty trucks and luxury autos.
http://info.detnews.com/danielhowesblog/index.cfm
Wed, Apr 25, 2007 at 3:23 PM
Wrong: UAW, CAW already do own Chrysler, right?
We had it all backwards. Here we'd been operating under the assumption that the Kuwaitis, a few key German banks, garden-variety institutions and individual shareholders mostly owned DaimlerChrysler AG. Until, that is, the presidents of the United Auto Workers and the Canadian Auto Workers told us they do, or may just as well have. They've reportedly informed Daimler CEO Dieter Zetsche that the only acceptable buyer for Chrysler -- would, they say, that it not be sold at all -- is Magna International Inc. of Canada. The private equity boys from Blackstone and Cerberus, the union thinking goes, would most likely "strip and flip" the Pentastar, from Brampton and Windsor to Toledo and Aubu. . .
Earth Day collection brings in ton of unwanted drugs
MARQUETTE, Mich. (AP) -- People turned in more than a ton of unwanted pills, powders and liquid medicines - including an estimated $500,000 worth of narcotics - during an Earth Day collection across the Upper Peninsula, organizers said Wednesday.
The annual Earth Keeper Clean Sweep, sponsored by a coalition of faith-based and environmental groups, gives people a place to bring hazardous household wastes for disposal.
The focus this year was on unused drugs, which scientists say are making their way into the nation's waters after being flushed down toilets or drains.
Dropoff stations were open last Saturday at 19 church parking lots - at least one in each of the peninsula's 15 counties.
http://www.detnews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070426/METRO/704260421
Faith, politics, civics top Freedom Weekend agenda
Santiago Esparza / The Detroit News
DETROIT -- Religion, politics, commerce and civic responsibility are key components of this year's Freedom Weekend that runs through Saturday night at Cobo Center.
The events lead up to the NAACP Detroit Branch's annual Freedom Fund Dinner on Sunday, at which former President Bill Clinton will speak.
The nonprofit Freedom Institute for Economic, Social Justice and Political Empowerment organized the weekend events. Based in Detroit, the institute is an urban think tank and sister group of the local NAACP branch, but is a separate entity. The Rev. Wendell Anthony founded it six years ago. Anthony is also the head of the Detroit Branch of the NAACP.
NATIONAL STORIES
http://www.detnews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070426/BIZ/704260392/1001
Dow shoots past 13,000: Can it keep climbing?
Economy, energy prices, housing market could derail bull market
Joe Bel Bruno | / Associated Press
NEW YORK -- Now that the Dow Jones industrial average has barreled past 13,000, analysts who track the stock market predict that the next thousand-point milestone won't come as easily.
Wall Street's best-known index surged past the record number in the first few minutes of trading Wednesday, just a little more than six months after it hit 12,000. There was little fanfare on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange, where optimism was eclipsed by a general feeling that the stock market is fragile, not on a roll.
Investors from retirees to money managers in charge of multimillion dollar funds viewed 13,000 as just another number. They know Wall Street remains susceptible to a host of ills that could send the market tumbling: uncertainty about the U.S. economy, higher energy prices and a housing market still in flux.
http://www.detnews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070426/POLITICS/704260457/1022
House OKs Iraq pullout
Members defy Bush veto vow, pass war bill requiring withdrawal to start Oct. 1; Senate passage likely today.
Carl Hulse and Jeff Zeleny / New York Times
WASHINGTON -- The House on Wednesday narrowly approved a $124 billion war spending bill that would require U.S. troops to begin withdrawing from Iraq by Oct. 1, setting the stage for the first veto fight between President Bush and majority Democrats.
Only hours after Gen. David H. Petraeus, the commander in Iraq, told lawmakers he needed more time to gauge the effectiveness of a troop buildup there, the House voted 218-208 to pass a measure that sought the removal of most combat forces by next spring. Bush has said unequivocally and repeatedly that he will veto it.
The Senate is expected today to approve identical legislation that provides more than $95 billion for combat operations in Iraq and Afghanistan through Sept. 30, conditioned on the administration's accepting a timetable for withdrawal and new benchmarks to assess the progress of the Iraqi government.
http://www.humanevents.com/article.php?id=20407
War Supplemental Sure to be Vetoed
by Amanda B. Carpenter
Posted: 04/25/2007
Vice President Dick Cheney singled out comments made by Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D.-Nev.) as “uninformed and misleading” increasing tensions over President Bush’s expected veto of the Iraq spending bill that mandates U.S. troops leave Iraq by a date certain.
In an April 23 address at the Woodrow Wilson Center, Reid said that “winning the war is no longer the job of the U.S. military.”
In his speech, Reid indicated that regardless what legislation the Democrat Congress passes for the war, Democrats would not be responsible for the outcome in Iraq. “Many who voted for change in November anticipated dramatic and immediate results in January,” Reid said. “But like it or not, George W. Bush is still the Commander in Chief -- and this is his war.”
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/04/25/AR2007042502410.html
One Choice in Iraq
By Joe Lieberman
Thursday, April 26, 2007; Page A29
Last week a series of coordinated suicide bombings killed more than 170 people. The victims were not soldiers or government officials but civilians -- innocent men, women and children indiscriminately murdered on their way home from work and school.
If such an atrocity had been perpetrated in the United States, Europe or Israel, our response would surely have been anger at the fanatics responsible and resolve not to surrender to their barbarism.
Unfortunately, because this slaughter took place in Baghdad, the carnage was seized upon as the latest talking point by advocates of withdrawal here in Washington. Rather than condemning the attacks and the terrorists who committed them, critics trumpeted them as proof that Gen. David Petraeus's security strategy has failed and that the war is "lost."
http://article.nationalreview.com/?q=NGI4ODY3ZGZmOGM1NGMwMWM3MjgwZDYxMWU5OTQ5ZTI=
Malik Daoud and Sheikh Abdul Sattar vs. al Qaeda in Iraq.
By Steve Schippert
Can Petraeus pull it off? Max Boot asks the question, in the latest Weekly Standard, in an article by that name. Certain American political leaders profess already to know the answer; they almost surely had their preconceived answer even when they were unanimously voting to confirm General David Petraeus as the new Multi-National Forces - Iraq commanding general.
Only last week, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid proclaimed that the current mission in Iraq was “lost.” He then couched his words by adding that the war “can only be won diplomatically, politically, and economically.” Senator Charles Schumer came swiftly to Reid’s defense, attempting to clarify by adding that the war would not be lost “if we change our mission and focus it more narrowly on counterterrorism, going after an al Qaeda camps that might arise in Iraq.”
http://thecaucus.blogs.nytimes.com/2007/04/25/the-supreme-courts-catholic-majority/
April 25, 2007, 10:45 am
The Supreme Court’s Catholic Majority
In her Web-only column today, Robin Toner takes a look at the debate taking place over the religion of the five Supreme Court Justices who voted to uphold the federal Partial-Birth Abortion Ban Act last week:
This discussion was probably inevitable: Catholics, for the first time, hold a majority of seats on the Supreme Court, after decades when there were, typically, only one or maybe two “Catholic seats” on the bench. Two of the Catholic justices, Chief Justice John Roberts and Justice Samuel Alito, were confirmed only in the past two years, in an ideologically charged environment in which all sides were eager for clues on how they might rule on abortion rights and other hot-button issues.
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/04/26/opinion/26thu4.html?_r=1&oref=slogin
Editorial
Guns and More Guns
By now, the logic is almost automatic. A shooter takes innocent lives, and someone says that if the victims had been armed, this wouldn’t have happened. The only solution to a gun in the wrong hands, it seems, is a gun in the hands of everyone.
That’s the state of the debate over gun control today. The National Rifle Association and the gun lobby have silenced every legislature in this country. Instead of stricter laws, tighter controls and better background checks, the gun lobby proposes more guns. And what the gun lobby proposes, lawmakers deliver.
Seung-Hui Cho bought his guns illegally, though with the appearance of legality. He slipped through a loophole, through a disconnect between the way Virginia defines a disqualifying mental incapacity and the way the federal government does. After the fact, the loophole is self-evident, and it’s tempting to believe that now political leaders will work harder to keep people who are dangers to themselves from becoming dangers to others by buying guns. But the laws are as fragile and imperfect as they are because that is how the gun lobby wants them — and it is paying good money to keep them that way.
News Analysis: Bipartisanship Disappears
WASHINGTON (AP) -- Those lofty promises of cooperation between the Bush White House and the newly Democratic Congress have been drowned out by acrid bursts of name-calling.
Amid open confrontation between President Bush and Congress over Iraq, the White House is branding Democrats defeatists and accusing them of pursuing a surrender strategy.
To Democrats, Vice President Dick Cheney is an "attack dog" and President Bush is guilty of more political abuses than Richard Nixon in the Watergate scandal.
Such heated rhetoric is fouling Washington's already tense political atmosphere. It is undercutting the pledges for greater cooperation that both sides made shortly after Democrats' victories last November that put them back in control of the House and Senate.
Dems Try to Lower Debate Expectations
WASHINGTON (AP) -- For presidential hopefuls, it's called the Expectations Game.
Here's how it's played: Before a debate, rival campaigns build up the skills of their opponents while downgrading their own candidate's verbal abilities. That way, any bright moments make a performance seem like a home run.
For the Democratic hopefuls, the first major round of the Expectations Game came ahead of Thursday night's debate at South Carolina State University in Orangeburg, S.C. The 90-minute event offers eight candidates their initial chance to distinguish themselves on the long road to the nomination next year.
"I've just got to make sure I don't trip walking on the stage," joked Delaware Sen. Joe Biden, who complained that the candidates get no opening or closing statements and that responses to questions are limited to 60 seconds.
http://www.opinionjournal.com/editorial/feature.html?id=110009989
What voters expect of would-be Presidents.
Thursday, April 26, 2007 12:01 a.m. EDT
When former Senator Fred Thompson announced this month that he has cancer, the disclosure got a lot of attention. Not so much because Mr. Thompson is a star of TV's "Law & Order." He's also thinking of running for the Republican Presidential nomination, and so, as he himself points out, the state of his health has become our business.
Mr. Thompson has indolent lymphoma, a historically incurable but often symptom-free and highly treatable form of cancer, so based o