Articles of Interest 7-26-07
468 days until election day.
MORNING UPDATE:
Senate moves Presidential Primary bill to “Third Reading”, ready to pass.
More Edward’s hypocrisy…huge holdings in sub-prime lenders? Money talks?
Ban Taxes on internet access for good…call your member of Congress.
Democrats continue to “jam” up Congressional work with political maneuvers. Fired District Attorneys “served at the pleasure of the President”…for whatever reason.
Complete information, resolution and rules passed by the 2008 Presidential Committee are now posted on the web for easy access and review:
http://www.migop.org/default.asp
THE REST OF THE STORY:
- The Senate Tuesday advanced the Presidential Primary Bill to “Third Reading” which is the last step before consideration of the full Senate.
The vehicle bill set the Presidential Primary date for Feb. 5 or Jan. 29, depending on where the Democrats ultimately decide. Our goal is to have a state run jointly held primary with the Democrats to maximize participation by Michigan residents.
However, if these bills do NOT pass, the Republicans will revert back to a State Convention and the Democrats will hold Caucuses to determine their presidential nominees. Rules and final dates will be passed at the August State Committee meeting.
Proposed rules and resolution are available online at:
http://www.migop.org/default.asp
- So John Edwards, the $400 a hair cut guy who lives in a 28,000 sq ft house (yes, I’m jealous), worked as a “Senior Advisor” and a big investor in Fotress Investments.
The irony…Edwards has lashed out at subprime lenders, saying they are "pulling a fast one on hardworking homeowners." Fortress, based in New York, owns subprime lender Nationstar Mortgage, formerly Centex Home Equity. The Dallas company calls itself "one of the nation's leading mortgage lenders offering nonprime mortgages and home-equity loans."
So it’s OK for him to make millions - make millions off “hardworking homeowners” and huge payouts for lawsuits...where he takes 30% of the take from the “injured”...but now that he’s made all that money from the “other America” he says he is ready to “represent” the “other America”.
Almost as ironic as Governor Granholm being appointed by the National Governors Association to Chair the Committee on Economic Development and Commerce J
- National Taxpayers Union reports: The movement to protect the Internet from predatory taxes began back in 1998, when farsighted lawmakers enacted a three-year moratorium on new taxes targeted at Internet access services. They knew that the attempts of sticky-fingered politicians to levy taxes on the Internet would likely "strangle the baby in its cradle." Based on the ban's success in creating a thriving online environment and keeping the Internet's entry costs low, members of both political parties voted to extend the tax moratorium in 2001 and 2004.
The current ban that stops taxes expires on November 1, 2007, and opponents are wasting no time in preventing a continuation of the ban. Government and union officials recently testified in front of Congress about the need for opening up additional revenue sources -- in other words, being able to tax your Internet service. Interestingly, they were almost silent about state spending, which increased by 8.6 percent over the last fiscal year. Why do they need even more of our money?
Past research has shown that consumers have consistently shouldered higher tax burdens on telecommunications products when compared to taxes on other goods and services. One report found that the effective tax rate on telecommunications was 14.17 percent in 2005, while general business taxes totaled 6.12 percent. We don't want this super-high tax rate to prey on our DSL, cable modem, and wireless Internet services.
The Permanent Internet Tax Freedom Act of 2007 (H.R. 743 and S. 156) would make the soon-to-expire moratorium on Internet access taxes permanent. It's common sense that any nation seeking to remain technologically and economically competitive shouldn't punish the very citizens who are reaching out into the digital realm. Taxpayers need long-term protection from state and local authorities seeking to add taxes to the various routes we use to access the Internet, and the Permanent Internet Tax Freedom Act would provide such a safeguard.
- The House Judiciary Committee, in a straight party-line vote, approved a contempt resolution against White House Chief of Staff Josh Bolten and former White House Counsel Harriet Miers, setting up a constitutional battle between the Bush administration and Congress over executive privilege.
After several hours of skirmishing over whether to send a contempt resolution to the House floor, the committee voted by a 22-17 margin to approve the measure.
Why, because the President “fired” some District Attorneys that “serve at the pleasure” of the President? I just don’t get it.
The Democrats and their friends in the media are making a mockery of our system. Who cares why they fired them…they are political appointments and the President has the right to hire and fire them for reason, no reason and just because. And I would argue, politics of any kind is a legitimate reason.
I suspect the Democrats would fire every political appointment the Republicans made if they take over the White House??? Wouldn’t that be “political”. Or are they now arguing that they will NOT fire political appointees and replace them with “their” political appointees?
Please…the Democrats in Congress are an embarrassment!
Saul Anuzis
STATE STORIES
http://www.detnews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070715/OPINION01/707150315/1008
Sunday, July 15, 2007
Michigan should pass earlier primary bills
Michigan's Republicans and Democrats should come to an agreement on an early, unified presidential primary that would give state voters real influence in selecting which candidates are nominated for president.
Bills pending in the state Senate would set a unified primary for Feb. 5. That date would move to Jan. 29 if other states push up their primaries.
It is critical that Michigan, a state suffering more economically than any other, have a voice in picking the nominees. By Feb. 5, nearly 60 percent of the nominating delegates will have been selected. If Michigan waits too long, the races will already be decided.
http://www.freep.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070725/COL10/707250339/1081/COL
Put Michigan at starting line for picking presidents
July 25, 2007
It should come as no surprise that Oakland County contributed more than half of the $3.5 million that the top three presidential candidates of either political party have raised in Michigan. I mean, c'mon: The county is among the 10 richest in America.
But when will Michigan put its money where its clout should be?
http://bconservatives.blogspot.com/2007/07/grumbling-over-primary.html
McCaniacs Discouraged by MIGOP State Committee
As many of you know, the Republican State Committee agreed to have a semi closed, state run primary in conjunction with the Democrats by February 5th. A bill to reflect this is currently in the Senate and expected to be passed onto the House tomorrow.
If it does not pass through the House; or is passed through the House and not signed by the Governor, that will bring us to option two. Option two is a state convention toward the end of January.
http://theoaklandpress.com/stories/072507/loc_20070725188.shtml
PRISON LABOR
Web-posted Jul 25, 2007
Local governments say state cutbacks are just shifting burden
By CAROL HOPKINS
Of The Oakland Press
Keego Harbor officials are in a quandary after the state announced it would end the practice of providing prison work crews to communities.
"It is a substantial loss for the city and basically unfair," said Dale Stuart, Keego's city manager, who said crews mowed lawns, trimmed trees and took care of other park maintenance.
House OKs versions of budgets for DNR, DEQ
7/25/2007, 8:31 p.m. EDT
The Associated Press
LANSING, Mich. (AP) — The state House on Wednesday continued to pass versions of budget bills for state government departments, despite uncertainty about how much money will be available for the fiscal year that begins in October.
The Democrat-led House, mostly along party lines, approved versions of budgets for the Department of Natural Resources and the Department of Environmental Quality.
http://www.mlive.com/news/grpress/index.ssf?/base/news-2/118537123241080.xml&coll=6
A $37,000 junket
Wednesday, July 25, 2007
How many West Michigan pension board members can you fit in a Waikiki tiki bar and what will it cost?
Sounds like the set-up for a bad joke.
But the joke was on taxpayers and retired public employees. In May, public pension boards from Kent County and the City of Grand Rapids sent 10 members -- yes, 10! -- to an "educational" conference in Hawaii.
http://www.detnews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070726/POLITICS01/707260350/1022/POLITICS
Thursday, July 26, 2007
State will help clerks execute photo ID law
State says rule to take effect for Nov. 6 balloting
Associated Press
LANSING -- State election officials will help local clerks implement a requirement that mandates voters show photo identification at the polls.
The requirement is expected to start with this year's Nov. 6 election, according to an advisory sent out Tuesday by the state Bureau of Elections.
The Michigan Supreme Court ruled last week in a 5-2 decision that the Michigan law, passed in 1996 and amended in 2005, is valid and constitutional. The law -- which had never taken effect -- requires voters to show a photo ID or swear to their identity before being allowed to cast a ballot.
http://www.livingstondaily.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070725/OPINION01/707250327/1014/OPINION
Supreme Court correct in upholding state law requiring photo ID
Despite the cries of Democrats who evoke images of poll taxes and intimidation, the state Supreme Court was correct when it upheld a 1996 state law that requires voters to present pictured identification, such as a driver's license, at polling places.
Although we agree with the ruling, we are most troubled by the apparent partisanship that has gripped the state Supreme Court. The vote on this case was 5-2 on strictly political lines.
http://www.mlive.com/news/muchronicle/index.ssf?/base/news-1/118537832780710.xml&coll=8
'Voter ID' law is for a problem that doesn't exist
Wednesday, July 25, 2007
The Michigan Supreme Court ruling late last week upholding the GOP's "Voter ID" law addresses a non-existent problem. Where is the "voter fraud" that it allegedly will contain? Therein lies the mystery.
A few words about the law itself, which on the surface doesn't appear to many to be a restriction even worth bothering about. You're ready to vote and one of the pollwatchers challenges you to identify yourself. The new law requires you to show a photo ID card such as a driver's license or swear in an affidavit that you are who you say you are.
No problem for most. Yet there are hundreds of thousands of state residents who don't carry state-issued photo identification, according to the Secretary of State. Furthermore, in the event of long voting lines, such as might be seen in next year's presidential elections, the burden of meeting each challenge would slow things considerably in some districts, causing -- perhaps -- some to leave without casting a vote.
http://www.mlive.com/columns/aanews/index.ssf?/base/news-1/1185374433236560.xml&coll=2
Proceed with caution on voter IDs
Top job for officials: Ensure that no eligible person is denied access to ballot
Wednesday, July 25, 2007
Now that requiring voters to show photo identification at the polls apparently will be a fact of life in Michigan, it must not become an obstacle, intentionally or otherwise, to anyone exercising his or her franchise.
Every appropriate consideration should be extended to the poor and the elderly, who seem most vulnerable to this Republican-sponsored law that the Michigan Supreme Court upheld last week. Not surprisingly, that ruling also reflected the justices' partisan differences, which ideally would never influence the mechanics of elections.
Whether or not this has happened, the onus now is on every election official - starting with Secretary of State Terri Lynn Land - to make the necessary preparations so that no one with a right to vote loses it because of this new requirement.
http://www.monroenews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070725/NEWS01/107250040/-1/NEWS
Smoking ban
clears first hurdle
By: Charles Slat story updated July 25. 2007 11:30AM
Some Monroe County restaurants already have voluntarily banned smoking, but a state House committee on Tuesday approved legislation that would outlaw smoking in all workplaces, including bars and restaurants.
The House Commerce Committee's 12-4 vote is considered a major step by health groups and other members of a coalition who favor the smoking ban. But the proposal has to pass both the full House and Senate before it could be forwarded for Gov. Jennifer Granholm's signature.
http://www.livingstondaily.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070725/NEWS01/707250326/1002
Bar owners mixed over smoking ban
By Kristofer Karol
Some Livingston County business owners are reluctantly accepting a proposed ban on smoking in the workplace — including bars and restaurants — that a state House panel approved Tuesday.
The House Commerce Com-mittee's 12-4 vote is considered a major step by health groups and other members of a coalition who favor the smoking ban. But the proposal still has a long way to go before it could become state law.
http://www.mlive.com/news/aanews/index.ssf?/base/news-23/1185374492236560.xml&coll=2
Proposed smoking ban gets mixed response Bar and restaurant owners see both sides
Wednesday, July 25, 2007
From News staff and wire reports
Ann Arbor area bar and restaurant owners appear split as to whether a state government-imposed ban on smoking in their establishments would hurt or help business.
A state House committee on Tuesday approved legislation that would ban smoking in the workplace, including bars and restaurants. The House Commerce Committee's 12-4 vote is considered a major step by health groups and other members of a coalition who favor the smoking ban.
http://www.detnews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070726/OPINION03/707260382/1022/POLITICS
Thursday, July 26, 2007
Laura Berman
Michigan casinos still need smokers
The premiere of the smart new AMC show "Mad Men" last Thursday riffed on smoking: "Smoke Gets in Your Eyes," it was titled.
In the world of the 1960 advertising man the show depicts, smoke-filled rooms were still cool, and tobacco companies were clients paying big bucks to pitch their big lie. In TV magazine ads, they sold the idea that smoking was glamorous, sexy, appealing and even healthy.
Today, those pitches have been mostly junked, along with the freedom to advertise cigarettes on television. Down to their last pack, the vestiges of the once-mighty tobacco lobby like to spin smoking as a symbolic last gasp of civil liberty.
http://www.miningjournal.net/stories/articles.asp?articleID=17898
Published: Wednesday, July 25, 2007
Minimum wage hike affects workers, employers
MARQUETTE — The second phase of Michigan’s new minimum wage law went into effect July 1, giving more than half a million workers in the state a raise from $6.95 to $7.15 per hour.
Even the modest 20-cent hike has meant changes for some area businesses and residents.
Linda Stabile, owner of the Superior Oasis business group, which includes the Comfort Suites and Days Inn motels and the Perkins and Hudson’s restaurants in Marquette, said the initial wage hike — which took effect in October of 2006 — along with the newest increase have cost her business group an estimated $60,000.
http://www.detnews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070726/OPINION01/707260317/1008
Thursday, July 26, 2007
Charter-killing bills should be defeated
The Detroit News
A misguided group of Michigan House Democrats are pushing legislation that could derail the state's charter schools, despite the demand of urban parents for better educational options.
Rep. Tim Melton, D-Pontiac, is sponsoring a bill that would prohibit a school district from operating a program in another school district without the home district's approval. The bill's creation was spurred by a neighboring school district that wanted to open an alternative education program in Pontiac and Southfield -- without those districts' consent.
But Melton's bill, which passed the House, could go much farther than that. The bill is written so broadly that charter school backers worry it could be used to interpret charter schools as school districts, since they operate as self-contained institutions with independent boards.
http://www.detnews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070726/POLITICS/707260315/1022
Thursday, July 26, 2007
Affirmative action supporters continue fight to overturn ban
Paul Egan / The Detroit News
Proponents of affirmative action continued their court fight Wednesday to overturn a Michigan ban on use of the practice in the public sector.
The pro-affirmative action group By Any Means Necessary made arguments before the U.S. 6th Circuit Court of Appeals in Cincinnati, Ohio.
The group is appealing U.S. District Judge Arthur J. Tarnow's Aug. 29 decision in which he refused to remove a referendum on affirmative action from Michigan's November 2006 ballot, despite finding there had been widespread fraud in collecting required petition signatures.
http://www.detnews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070726/POLITICS/707260370/1022
Thursday, July 26, 2007
House bill would give state transportation, housing $44M
Half to go to Kalamazoo airport; Oakland, Metro airstrips on list
Deb Price / Detroit News Washington Bureau
WASHINGTON -- Michigan would get $43.8 million for transportation and housing projects under the fiscal 2008 transportation-housing bill passed by the U.S. House.
The total amount earmarked for Michigan in the bill passed late Tuesday night was calculated by Taxpayers for Common Sense, a nonpartisan budget watchdog.
Nearly half of the money -- $22.6 million -- would go to upgrade air traffic control facilities in Kalamazoo.
President Bush requested that funding, and the second-largest amount, $1.2 million, for air traffic control facilities in Traverse City, states the group's analysis.
http://www.detnews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070726/OPINION03/707260318/1008/OPINION01
Thursday, July 26, 2007
Manage Michigan's water for widest benefit
Proposals for overly restrict laws could stifle growth of the state
Water is Michigan's most marketable asset, particularly as the nation's population and economic activity shifts to the thirsty Southwest. So protecting and well managing that asset is essential to the state's future.
But legislation introduced in the state House Wednesday to bring Michigan in line with the Great Lakes Compact, a proposed agreement between states bordering the lakes, could turn water into a liability if protections become so restrictive they choke off economic growth.
The bills would establish a new regime of legal protections governing how water is withdrawn from the Great Lakes and how it is used, and by whom. The laws are particularly burdensome on water bottling and mining companies, and would extend to the entire Great Lakes watershed or, in effect, the entire state.
http://www.detnews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070726/POLITICS/707260388/1022
Thursday, July 26, 2007
Nestle wins fight over water
Michigan high court says families, group can't challenge pumping on land they don't own or use.
Ronald J. Hansen / The Detroit News
The Michigan Supreme Court effectively upheld the right of the bottler of Ice Mountain spring water to pump from four wells in Mecosta County in a decision that may make it harder to raise environmental claims generally.
The 4-3 ruling held that two families and an environmental group, Michigan Citizens for Water Conservation, cannot challenge Nestle's pumping operations on waterways the groups don't own or use.
The court held that the families were affected by the pumping near Thompson Lake and the Dead Stream. But they were not directly affected by the same type of pumping near Osprey Lake and three nearby wetlands, and can't challenge the pumping there, the majority decided.
House urges review of permit letting BP dump more in Lake Mich.
7/25/2007, 8:36 p.m. EDT
By DENNIS CONRAD
The Associated Press
WASHINGTON (AP) — The House voted Wednesday to urge Indiana to reconsider its approval of a permit allowing an expanded BP Amoco refinery to dump more pollutants into Lake Michigan.
The resolution passed 387-26 on a roll call vote.
"This Congress will not simply stand by while our Great Lakes are treated like a dumping zone," said Illinois Rep. Rahm Emanuel, chairman of the House Democratic Conference and the bill's chief sponsor.
http://www.detnews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070726/POLITICS/707260338/1022
Thursday, July 26, 2007
House blasts BP plan to dump more waste in Lake Michigan
Deb Price / Detroit News Washington Bureau
WASHINGTON -- The U.S. House on Wednesday overwhelmingly passed a resolution condemning a plan by oil giant BP to greatly increase the amount of ammonia and other industrial waste it dumps into Lake Michigan.
"These toxic chemicals can be a serious threat to humans, fish and wildlife throughout the Great Lakes habitat," U.S. Rep. Mike Rogers, R-Brighton, said after the vote.
"This is the first expansion of hazardous dumping into the Great Lakes in nearly 20 years. We cannot allow an increase of this magnitude to go forward without a serious challenge," Rogers said.
http://www.detnews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070726/POLITICS/707260383/1022
Thursday, July 26, 2007
Convertino: Charge was a payback
Former prosecutor says feds indicted him because of his testimony to U.S. Senate about Detroit terrorism case.
Paul Egan / The Detroit News
Indicted former federal prosecutor Richard Convertino believes the Justice Department brought bogus criminal charges against him in retaliation for his testimony in 2003 before a U.S. Senate committee, according to court records unsealed Wednesday.
The 46-page brief provides the first comprehensive look at Convertino's defense strategy since he was indicted in March 2006 for his handling of a high-profile Detroit terrorism case, accused of conspiring to obstruct justice and lying to a federal judge.
http://www.detnews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070726/POLITICS/707260385/1022
Thursday, July 26, 2007
State growers hope to reap federal funds
Congress' bill may boost funding to help Michigan fruit, vegetable farmers.
Deb Price / The Detroit News
Making a profit growing apples is no easy feat, says farmer David Rabe, who owns a 175-acre orchard with his two brothers in western Michigan.
There's always the fear of freezing temperatures in the spring. Add worry about whether U.S. immigration rules will dry up the migrant labor pool. Finally, the Rabe brothers face bills for costly fertilizers, fuel and farm vehicles, and fret over the price they'll get in a market flooded with cheap apple concentrate from China.
"There's always the threat of losing the farm because we can't make enough money on it," said Rabe, of New Era in Oceana County. "I'm not saying we need handouts. But we need a fair playing field, and there's things the government can do that could greatly help us."
http://www.mlive.com/news/sanews/index.ssf?/base/news-23/1185375107275810.xml&coll=9
A 'slap to all veterans'
Wednesday, July 25, 2007
DEAN BOHN
THE SAGINAW NEWS
MOUNT PLEASANT -- Police are offering a reward today for the capture of the vandals who, the day after Independence Day, shredded and burned the U.S. flag that fluttered over the Island Park monument to fallen soldiers in Iraq, police say.
Adding insult to injury, the flag burned on the monument at the 50-acre park in the center of town.
Then Monday, police suspect, the same culprit bent the flagpole and stole the brass eagle from its top.
NATIONAL STORIES
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/07/24/AR2007072402260.html
Poll: Republicans Like Giuliani's Electability
Washington Post Staff Writers
Wednesday, July 25, 2007; Page A04
With many Republicans increasingly pessimistic about holding on to the White House in 2008, electability has become former New York mayor Rudolph W. Giuliani's most appealing attribute.
A new Washington Post-ABC News poll of the GOP field shows Giuliani with a sizable lead over his three principal rivals. The former mayor was the choice of 37 percent of Republicans and Republican-leaning independents, well ahead of Sen. John McCain (Ariz.) and former senator Fred D. Thompson (Tenn.). McCain and Thompson, who has not officially declared his candidacy, are virtually tied at 16 and 15 percent, respectively. Former Massachusetts governor Mitt Romney came in fourth, with 8 percent.
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB118539592996077778.html?mod=home_whats_news_us
McCain Campaign Is Dealt
New Blow as Media Team Resigns
By JACKIE CALMES
July 26, 2007; Page A4
WASHINGTON -- Sen. John McCain's media team has resigned, an indication that a campaign shake-up two weeks ago is continuing to backfire and further imperil the Arizona Republican's presidential candidacy.
Political ad-makers Russ Schriefer and Stuart Stevens, veterans of President Bush's 2000 and 2004 campaigns, on Monday emailed the new campaign manager -- lobbyist and longtime McCain adviser Rick Davis -- to say that they were quitting. The two men told friends they had considered leaving for days, as they hadn't been paid and the campaign's financial straits raised questions of when and how much they would be.
http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0707/5101.html
F. Thompson shakes up pre-launch campaign
Though he has not yet even declared he is running for president, Fred Thompson shook up his team Tuesday amid fears he was losing momentum and needed an injection of talent.
Top advisers to the “Law & Order” actor and former U.S. senator from Tennessee had soured on Tom Collamore, the operations chief for the Republican presidential campaign in waiting.
Collamore, a former executive at Altria (nee Philip Morris), was moved to an advisory role Tuesday, advisers said.
Thompson replaces campaign manager, raises some eyebrows
July 25, 2007
Rep. Zach Wamp (R-Tenn.) Tuesday said former Sen. Fred Thompson’s (R-Tenn.) decision to replace his campaign manager — even though the campaign is not yet official — is indicative of an impending announcement that he will run for president.
Wamp said the decision to replace acting campaign manager Thomas Collamore with former Energy Secretary Spencer Abraham and strategist Randy Enright is further evidence the lawmaker-turned-actor is “preparing to pull the trigger.”
“It’s the logical move when you’re preparing to go from ‘testing the waters’ to the next phase,” Wamp told The Hill.
Representatives for Thompson could not be reached by press time.
A tempest over despots
Clinton digs into Obama for saying he'd hold talks with rogue leaders
Wednesday, July 25th 2007, 4:00 AM
It's finally on!
After months of sniping through surrogates, Hillary Clinton directly skewered rival Barack Obama yesterday, calling him "irresponsible and frankly naive" for saying he'd meet with leaders of rogue nations as President.
Obama's response to a diplomacy question during Monday night's Democratic debate set the stage for a war about peace, with Clintonistas moving quickly to capitalize on what they call his lack of experience.
Obama models campaign on Reagan revolt
Awash in money and publicity but behind in the polls, Barack Obama, advisers say, is planning a classic insurgent's campaign to wrest the Democratic nomination from Hillary Rodham Clinton -- one that relies on a surge of momentum from early-state victories and faces a make-or-break test in the South Carolina primary.
Obama is touting a new and unconventional brand of grass-roots politics, but his strategy borrows from precedents set by a previous generation of Democrats such as Jimmy Carter and Gary Hart. His advisers also invoke as inspiration a surprising Republican: Ronald Reagan.
Edwards talks issues, borrows salve on RAGBRAI
JENNIFER JACOBS
REGISTER STAFF WRITER
July 25, 2007
Dumont, Ia. — Democratic presidential candidate John Edwards squeezed into a pair of Spandex bike shorts today and pedaled on the RAGBRAI route with champion cyclist Lance Armstrong.
After riding from just north of Dumont to Kesley, Edwards wrapped his arms around a several riders from Team Killer Bees for a photo, but declined be held aloft in their traditional sideways pose. "You'd drop me, then I couldn't be president," he joked.
Then he sat down in Kesley for a diet soda and a pork chop. "My second," he said.
How John Edwards makes his millions grow
Investments in limited partnerships, an offshore hedge fund and subprime-mortgage lenders have made this wealthy presidential candidate even richer.
The presidential candidate one newspaper has labeled "Richie Rich in bib overalls" is a remarkably sophisticated investor.
Former Sen. John Edwards has exploited the middle of his famous three H's -- his $400 haircuts, his hedge-fund consulting and his new 28,000-square-foot home -- to spread his fortune around a maze of trusts and accounts that total something between $29.5 million (his campaign's estimate) and $62 million (the high end of ranges described in his federal disclosure).
http://www.city-journal.org/html/17_3_mayoral_control.html
Grading Mayoral Control
Lauded in the press, Bloomberg’s education reforms are proving more spin than substance. Parents are losing patience.
Mayoral control, the hot new trend in urban school reform, began in Boston and Chicago in the 1990s. Now it’s the New York City school system, under the authority of Mayor Michael Bloomberg, that’s become the beacon for education-mayor wannabes like Adrian Fenty of Washington, D.C., and Antonio Villaraigosa of Los Angeles. Influential philanthropic foundations, such as the Los Angeles–based Broad Foundation (headed by Bloomberg friend and fellow billionaire Eli Broad) and the Gates Foundation, are investing in Bloomberg as the model big-city mayor who uses his new executive powers over the schools to advance a daring reform agenda. Meanwhile, the national media’s positive coverage of mayoral control in Gotham is adding to the luster of a possible Bloomberg presidential run.
For New Yorkers, though, the original appeal of mayoral control was entirely parochial. The old Board of Education—with seven members, appointed by six elected city officials—offered a case study of the paralysis that sets in when fragmented political authority tries to direct a dysfunctional bureaucracy. New Yorkers arrived at a consensus that there was not much hope of lifting student achievement substantially under such a regime. The newly elected Bloomberg made an offer that they couldn’t refuse: Give me the authority to improve the schools, and then hold me accountable for the results.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/07/24/AR2007072402263_pf.html
Disfavor for Bush Hits Rare Heights
In Modern Era, Only Nixon and Truman Scored Worse, Just Barely
By Peter Baker
Washington Post Staff Writer
Wednesday, July 25, 2007; A03
President Bush is a competitive guy. But this is one contest he would rather lose. With 18 months left in office, he is in the running for most unpopular president in the history of modern polling.
The latest Washington Post-ABC News survey shows that 65 percent of Americans disapprove of Bush's job performance, matching his all-time low.
In polls conducted by The Post or Gallup going back to 1938, only twice has a president exceeded that level of public animosity -- Harry S. Truman, who hit 67 percent during the Korean War, and Richard M. Nixon, who hit 66 percent four days before resigning.
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/07/25/business/25tax.html?_r=1&oref=slogin
Paulson Says U.S. Hurt by High Tax Rates
Published: July 25, 2007
WASHINGTON, July 24 — Treasury Secretary Henry M. Paulson Jr. wants people to know that the corporate tax code is hurting American competitiveness. But corporate lobbyists are not expecting him to do anything about it.
On Thursday, Mr. Paulson will convene a conference to drive home the point that American corporate tax rates are higher and more complex than in Europe, Japan and most industrialized countries.
July 26, 2007
Leading America Toward Energy Independence
America needs to become energy independent.
We should have started to move toward energy independence back in the 1970s, when oil prices spiked and there were the long lines at gas stations. Presidents Nixon and Carter talked about energy independence, but not a lot got done. The next President of the United States is going to have to make it a major goal of their administration. Most people will say it's impossible, we've tried before. I'm running for president because I know how to get things done.
I will move America toward energy independence. It will require setting goals, sticking to them and energizing the American people to achieve them. It will require expanding our reliance on a much more diverse range of energy sources that America can control.
Thursday, July 26, 2007
Why is trashing a black's SUV a symbol of liberalism?
James L. Martin
ARLINGTON, Va. -- Not all of the nation's mindless eco-terrorists are hunkered down in Oregon forests preparing to sally