Articles of Interest 7-27-07
467 Days until election day.
MORNING UPDATE:
Presidential Primary bill held in the Senate…party process moves along.
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THE REST OF THE STORY:
The State Senate did not move the presidential primary bills out of the Senate today. There was an effort to bring the Democrats on board and firm up some Republican votes. I am optimistic we’ll have this finished by next week and over to the House.
We held a statewide leadership conference call and the Policy Committee met to consider the rules and procedures passed out of the 2008 Presidential Committee. There were discussions about several major items and some more minor rule “fixes” that should be easily worked out before the state committee meeting at the end of August.
The big issues still being discussed are the “fallback” position of a state convention vs party run primary which some want on the table. Then the question of whether the date of the “fallback” position should be “before” or “after” February 5th. And some are questioning the idea of a “precinct delegate preference” for those who want to be state convention delegates. Early declaration for presidential candidates was also discussed.
It was a productive evening and we will continue to work on options, amendments and finalization of these rules by our August state convention.
Saul Anuzis
STATE STORIES
http://marcambinder.theatlantic.com/archives/2007/07/rep_candace_miller_a_supporter.php
Michigan Republicans Fighting Over Primary, and Giuliani and McCain Are In Bed Together
In Michigan, proxies for three leading Republican candidates are fighting a back room battle over the state's 2008 Republican primary. Trying to mediate is the state party chair, Saul Anuzis, who must negotiate between his constituents -- the Republicans in Michigan -- and the presidential campaigns.
Yesterday, Rep. Candice Miller (R-MI), a supporter of ex-NYC Mayor Rudy Giuliani, wrote to members of the Republican state committee to protest rules changes that she claims will help a small cadre of conservative activists at the expense of other Republicans.
http://bconservatives.blogspot.com/
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://www.rightwingworld.com/2007/07/25/giuliani-campaign-interfering-with-michigan-primary/
Giuliani campaign interfering with Michigan primary
Posted by RWW Team · July 25th, 2007 · 1 Comment
The presidential campaign of former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani is trying to prevent Michigan’s primary election from moving up to February 5 or earlier, sources tell RightWingWorld.com.
Currently, the state Legislature is debating measures that would allow the Democrats and Republicans to hold a semi-open primary election as early as January 29, 2008, though there is growing speculation a deal won’t be reached bill won’t be passed or signed by the governor – which could result in a party-run caucus for the Democrats and an old-fashioned convention for the GOP.
http://www.hollandsentinel.com/stories/072607/local_20070726003.shtml
Thursday, July 26, 2007
Romney stopping in town
Presidential hopeful will speak in August
In mid-August, Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney plans to make a five-day, seven-state tour.
His last stop? Holland.
The former Massachusetts governor will visit the area on Aug. 15 for the Ottawa/Allegan County Republican's first Ronald Reagan tribute breakfast.
Romney will speak at the 8 a.m. breakfast at AlpenRose Restaurant, 4 E. Eighth St., for a local Republican fundraiser designed to celebrate former President Reagan's impact on the party.
http://www.usatoday.com/money/autos/2007-07-25-uaw-open-shop-laws_N.htm?csp=34
Open-shop laws threaten unions
By Sharon Silke Carty, USA TODAY
DETROIT — Edward Sioui has always been able to make a living in Michigan without a college degree. So in July 2001, when his mom had a heart attack in Arizona, he figured it would be easy to pick up, move near her, and maybe enjoy living in a warmer climate for a while.
Exactly 364 days later, frustrated by his meager paychecks and sweltering in the desert heat, he and his wife, Debbie, headed back to Michigan.
He blamed his family's inability to make a living in Arizona on the state's open-shop, or right-to-work, laws, which hinder union growth. Even with cheaper housing, he couldn't make ends meet on $12.25 an hour, and the work environment rankled him.
http://battlecreekenquirer.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070726/OPINION01/707260301/1014/OPINION
EDITORIAL
Expect to show photo ID when casting ballot Nov. 6
The years of controversy began when former Michigan Attorney Frank Kelley, a Democrat, ruled that the requirement violated the equal protection clause of the 14th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, which guarantees citizens the right to vote.
Supporters of the law say it is necessary to guard against election fraud. Opponents argue that it amounts to an illegal poll tax that would discriminate against the poor, elderly, minorities, those with disabilities and others who might have difficulty obtaining a photo ID.
http://www.mlive.com/news/bctimes/index.ssf?/base/news-1/1185463120239890.xml&coll=4
Michigan public's payroll is not
Thursday, July 26, 2007
Way too many state government employees just don't get it.
It doesn't matter if you're Michigan Supreme Court Chief Justice Clifford Taylor or a simple clerk down in Lansing, they say what the state pays most employees is a private matter.
Wrong.
It is public information.
All state employees are paid by their boss, the public, with money mostly raised through taxes and fees that the public imposes on everybody.
Yet, when the Lansing State Journal last month began posting the salaries, hire dates, positions and names of state workers, howls of protest arose from some quarters.
The Michigan House of Representatives didn't squawk.
But the Senate sure did.
http://freep.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070726/NEWS06/707260444/1008
House OKs budgets for state departments
July 26, 2007
LANSING -- 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.detnews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070727/POLITICS/707270350/1022
Friday, July 27, 2007
Internet tax pact a loser
State is out nearly $10M yearly on agreement to collect sales tax from buyers on Web, officials say.
Mark Hornbeck / Detroit News Lansing Bureau
LANSING -- Michigan signed a pact with other states three years ago to recoup a chunk of the $264 million a year it loses in uncollected tax revenue on Internet and catalog sales to state residents from out-of-state companies.
But so far, this state is losing $7 million to $10 million annually on the deal.
Dale Vettel, director of the Treasury's bureau of tax policy, told lawmakers Thursday that Michigan is gaining $8 million to $11 million from about 1,000 retailers that are voluntarily collecting the sales tax in the 22 states that belong to the so-called Streamlined Sales Tax Project.
http://www.publicbroadcasting.net/michigan/news.newsmain?action=article&ARTICLE_ID=1120428
Higher Jobless Rates Across Michigan
Steve Carmody (sgcarmod@umich.edu)
ANN ARBOR, MI (2007-07-26)
More people were unemployed in Detroit and several Michigan cities last month.
The Michigan Department of Labor and Economic Development reports Michigan's statewide unemployment rate in June rose 3 tenths of one percent to 7 point 2 percent.
In Detroit and Jackson, unemployment jumped nearly a full percentage point over the May monthly jobless numbers.
http://www.lsj.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070726/OPINION01/707260327/1085/opinion
Published July 26, 2007
[ From Lansing State Journal ]
GM's test: Contracts must reform benefits; firm must make good cars
Health care and other benefits will dominate the contract talks now under way between the United Auto Workers and General Motors.
But progress will hinge, in large part, on another issue - one highlighted here in Lansing.
GM announced this week it was again planning to open a third production shift at its Delta Township plant, which builds Buick Enclaves, GMC Acadias and Saturn Outlooks.
http://www.mlive.com/columns/fljournal/index.ssf?/base/news-3/1185457811243290.xml&coll=5
Smoking ban
House vote moves state toward majority
FLINT
THE FLINT JOURNAL FIRST EDITION
Thursday, July 26, 2007
By Journal Editorial Board
Is there enough steam behind a workplace smoking ban in Michigan to overcome remaining opposition to this healthful step?
Much depends on whether proponents can bring it to a vote in the full House and Senate, which at the moment is doubtful, particularly for the latter, where Republicans persuaded by business views on the subject are in control.
Yet there's reason to hope that putting an end to these fumes in public gathering spots is becoming more likely, following a state House committee vote this week to outlaw workplace smoking, including in heretofore exempt bars, restaurants and casinos. The House Commerce Committee's passage of the ban 12-4 is the furthest this measure has gotten in Lansing, which shows the influence of the bar and restaurant groups that contend it could turn off customers.
http://freep.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070726/OPINION01/707260368/1069/OPINION
Michigan, where America smokes ...
July 26, 2007
Why not become the Great Smokes State?
As long as the bar and restaurant lobby continues to strong-arm legislators into refusing to enact the kind of smoking ban that 30 other states and nearly 50 countries, including France and Albania, now have in place, Michigan ought to seize an economic opportunity.
http://www.mlive.com/news/grpress/index.ssf?/base/news-37/1185457939217060.xml&coll=6
Planned Parenthood groups to merge
Thursday, July 26, 2007
The Grand Rapids Press
Faced with cuts in government funding, rising health care costs and increased demand for services, the Planned Parenthood organizations of West and Northern Michigan will merge this fall.
"I absolutely believe this merger will make us stronger together and make us better able to weather the challenges we face, and there will be more challenges," said Katherine Humphrey, CEO of Planned Parenthood Centers of West Michigan, who will serve that role for the combined organizations.
Humphrey has been interim CEO of the Northern Michigan chapter, based in Traverse City, for 18 months since the previous director left.
http://freep.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070726/OPINION01/707260365/1068/OPINION
New system aims to cut abuses and costs of prison health care
July 26, 2007
Four years ago, Patricia Caruso became the first woman to be named director of the Michigan Department of Corrections. She leads a system that holds 50,271 inmates in 42 prisons and eight minimum-security camps, employs 17,782 people and spends $1.9 billion a year. Caruso recently announced that the department, working with consultant Robert B. Johnson, a former chief operating officer of Detroit Medical Center, expects to become the nation's first prison system to use health maintenance organizations to deliver inmate health care.
A Free Press editorial page series, "Neglect in Custody," blamed the current health care system for causing unnecessary suffering and deaths. Caruso talked recently with editorial writer Jeff Gerritt about changes in health care, controlling the number of inmates, and why she thinks the governor doesn't need to visit prisons.
http://www.mlive.com/news/bctimes/index.ssf?/base/news-1/1185463011239890.xml&coll=4
Official secrecy at EMU hurt family, placed students at risk
Thursday, July 26, 2007
Look to Eastern Michigan University for an unsettling lesson in official secrecy.
There, three top administrators were summarily dismissed several weeks ago after investigations found that the university violated the federal Clery Act requiring colleges and universities to disclose campus security information.
When an EMU student was found dead in her dorm room on Dec. 15, university officials said she died of asphyxiation. Only after EMU student Orange Taylor III was arrested in late February did they 'fess up to the dead student's parents and the public that she had been raped and killed.
http://www.mlive.com/news/fljournal/index.ssf?/base/news-45/1185461412148820.xml&coll=5
Latest crime stats show major drops
FLINT
THE FLINT JOURNAL FIRST EDITION
Thursday, July 26, 2007
By Bryn Mickle
bmickle@flintjournal.com • 810.766.6383
FLINT - Flint is making a case to shed its reputation as the most violent city in America.
New statistics released today by the Flint Police Department showed continued drops in most major crime categories during the first six months of 2007.
Homicide showed the biggest drop, down 40 percent over the same period last year.
Rape, auto theft and larceny also posted double-digit declines.
"It's not just the police department," Acting Flint Police Chief Gary Hagler said. "It's the community and their work."
Supreme Court says nonresidents don't have right to borrow books
7/26/2007, 6:49 p.m. EDT
By DAVID EGGERT
The Associated Press
LANSING, Mich. (AP) — Nonresidents of a community have no constitutional right to borrow books from its library, a divided Michigan Supreme Court ruled Thursday in a case watched by librarians around the state.
The 4-3 decision was a defeat for George Goldstone, who sued after Oakland County's Bloomfield Township Public Library refused to sell him a nonresident library card. Goldstone lives in nearby Bloomfield Hills, one of the nation's wealthiest communities, which does not have a library.
The 1963 state constitution says libraries "shall be available" to all Michigan residents but also gives libraries the authority to create rules.
http://macombdaily.com/stories/072607/loc_chalkart001.shtml
PUBLISHED: Thursday, July 26, 2007
Art debate rages on after teens ticketed for drawing chalk mural
By Mitch Hotts
Macomb Daily Staff Writer
Three young artists charged with vandalizing a water fountain after they used chalk to design colorful murals have again raised the issue of what constitutes art in public places in downtown Mount Clemens.
Police say the three were caught in the act of drawing figures on the fountain on Macomb Place late one night and ticketed with defacing public property, a 90-day misdemeanor.
While the trio acknowledges they composed the freestyle designs on the floor of the fountain, they did not use vulgar language or objectionable figures. Their goal was to make the fountain more attractive to passers-by.
http://www.mlive.com/news/grpress/index.ssf?/base/news-37/1185451534265380.xml&coll=6
Group can't sue over Nestle's land, court says
Thursday, July 26, 2007
By Nate Reens
The Grand Rapids Press
BIG RAPIDS -- In practical terms, a state Supreme Court decision doesn't change the amount of water drawn and bottled by Nestle Waters North America from Mecosta County lakes and streams.
But the right to raise environmental concerns could be altered forever, says an attorney for a conservation group.
The ruling came in a case involving Nestle's right to take groundwater for its Ice Mountain bottling plant. Local residents had sued the Greenwich, Conn.-based company in 2001 over potential damage to nearby waterways.
http://www.mlive.com/news/kzgazette/index.ssf?/base/columns-3/118546018631560.xml&coll=7
Dredging dollars are an economic boost
Thursday, July 26, 2007
From the Muskegon Chronicle
Congress has been fighting a lot of battles with the administration over the war, but we'd really need a little ``piece'' for a change -- a piece of the budget action so that state harbors can be properly dredged. It's a no-brainer economic boost for local economies. So keep your fingers crossed that long-awaited federal funds are on their way.
After years of a funding drought for harbor dredging, the U.S. House of Representatives last week finally passed the Energy and Water Development and Related Agencies Appropriations Act that will see an influx of funds to lakeshore communities. Yes, U.S. Rep. Pete Hoekstra, R-Holland, and U.S. Sens. Carl Levin, D-Detroit, and Debbie Stabenow, D-Lansing, are finally on the same page for once. Good for them.
Fortunately for Muskegon and its channel outlet to Lake Michigan, it is considered to be such a vital commercial port that it has made the cut for scarce federal dollars to maintain a bottom that's deep enough to be navigated by the heaviest of ships.
http://www.record-eagle.com/2007/jul/26edit.htm
07/26/2007
Editorial
Engler Majority mangling state environmental law
Former Gov. John Engler's Gang of Four has once again chipped away at your rights as a Michigan citizen. In the process, they have also pushed us closer to a time when water — the state's most precious asset — can be bought and sold like cornflakes.
At the urging of attorneys for Nestlé Waters North America, a four-justice majority of the state Supreme Court ruled Wednesday that Michigan's seminal Environmental Protection Act, which gave any citizen the standing to sue to protect the environment, doesn't actually mean any citizen.
http://www.record-eagle.com/2007/jul/26nga.htm
07/26/2007
Sunset soiree closes out event
TRAVERSE CITY — Barefoot dancing on the shores of Lake Michigan closed out the National Governors Association meeting.
Festivities Sunday night at Old Mission Peninsula wineries and on a beach served as the exclamation mark at the end of the four-day event that brought governors from about 35 states to Traverse City. The conference officially wrapped up Monday, as a shrinking crowd showed up for a final business session.
http://www.detnews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070727/POLITICS/707270343/1022
Friday, July 27, 2007
Lawmakers push to limit lake invaders
Sen. Levin co-sponsors bill to further regulate water ballast from overseas ships on Great Lakes.
Thomas J. Sheeran / Associated Press
Lawmakers promised bipartisan cooperation this week for a push for stricter rules to combat an influx of invasive species including the voracious goby and pipe-clogging zebra mussels that threaten the Great Lakes and its native fish.
Ohio's Republican Sen. George Voinovich said he and Sen. Carl Levin, D-Detroit, were co-sponsoring a proposal for stronger regulation of freshwater ballast from overseas ships.
http://battlecreekenquirer.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070726/NEWS01/707260334/1002/NEWS01
Walberg votes against Kellogg runway project
Stephanie Antonian Rutherford
The Enquirer
U.S. Rep. Tim Walberg worked for months to bring more funding to W.K. Kellogg Airport, but the Tipton Republican said he was forced to vote against it.
Tuesday, the U.S. House approved $500,000 for a new runway at W.K. Kellogg Airport, a Walberg-drafted earmark contained in a $104 billion Transportation and Housing and Urban Development bill.
http://theoaklandpress.com/stories/072607/loc_20070726191.shtml
OU prof indicted over Iraq embargo
Web-posted Jul 26, 2007
Rochester resident, sister accused of conspiring, shipping banned telecommunications equipment
By ANN ZANIEWSKI
Of The Oakland Press
An Oakland University professor and his sister have been indicted on charges of illegally shipping telecommunications equipment to Iraq during a U.S. embargo with the country, according to a release from the U.S. Department of Justice.
Darrin Hanna, 29, and Dawn Hanna, 34, who both live in Rochester, were named in a 10-count indictment. Darrin Hanna is an assistant professor of engineering at OU. He is also an alumnus of the university.
Darrin Hanna is the founder and president of Rochester-based Technology Integration Group Services Inc., where his sister works as head of international sales and marketing.
NATIONAL STORIES
http://www.newsmax.com/archives/articles/2007/7/26/82548.shtml?s=al&promo_code=37A2-1
Grover Norquist: Republicans Could Take Back Congress
Ronald Kessler
Thursday, July 26, 2007
Republicans may be poised to retake Congress in 2008 because the Democrats are "over-reaching," Grover Norquist, president of Americans for Tax Reform, tells NewsMax.
Few people know as much about what is going on in Washington as Norquist. The White House and members of Congress trust him with their secrets. As outlined in the NewsMax article Washington's Big Secret, Norquist's Wednesday morning meetings of conservatives draw presidential candidates, key members of Congress, and White House aides like Karl Rove and Ed Gillespie.
Hillary On The Clinton/Obama Name Calling: "This Is Getting Silly"
Why can't our presidential candidates stop calling each other names?
Senator Clinton taped an interview with CNN’s John King today (the interview will air later this afternoon on CNN) and she was asked to react to Barack Obama referring to her as “Bush-Cheney Lite.”
Here is what she said:
SEN. CLINTON: “Well, this is getting kind of silly. I’ve been called a lot of things in my life but I’ve never been called George Bush or Dick Cheney certainly. We have to ask what’s ever happened to the politics of hope?
“I have been saying consistently for a number of years now, we have to end the Bush era of ignoring problems, ignoring enemies and adversaries. And I have been absolutely clear that we’ve got to return to robust and effective diplomacy. But I don’t want to see the power and prestige of the United States President put at risk by rushing into meetings with the likes of Chavez, and Castro, and Ahmadinejad.”
http://www.detnews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070727/POLITICS/707270345/1022
Friday, July 27, 2007
Illegal-immigrant laws struck down
Pennsylvania city passed strict statute last year after two illegal immigrants were charged in a fatal shooting.
Michael Rubinkam / Associated Press
HAZLETON, Pa. -- A federal judge Thursday struck down Hazleton's tough anti-illegal immigration law, ruling unconstitutional a measure that has been copied around the country.
The city's Illegal Immigration Relief Act sought to impose fines on landlords who rent to illegal immigrants and deny business permits to companies that give them jobs.
Another measure would have required tenants to register with City Hall and pay for a rental permit.
U.S. District Judge James Munley voided the law Thursday based on testimony from a trial held in March.
Hazleton Mayor Lou Barletta called the decision bizarre and said he intends to file an appeal.
http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/C/CONGRESS_GLANCE?SITE=MIDTN&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT
Jul 27, 12:07 AM EDT
Actions as Congress works toward recess
GONZALES-CONGRESS
FBI Director Robert Mueller publicly contradicted Attorney General Alberto Gonzales' sworn testimony to senators. Senate Democrats called for a perjury investigation of Gonzales. At issue is a 2004 confrontation over a domestic wiretapping program. Gonzales says he was talking to then-Attorney General John Ashcroft about something else. Mueller told the House Judiciary Committee the wiretapping program was the subject.
ROVE-DEMOCRATS
Senate Judiciary Chairman Patrick Leahy, D-Vt., subpoenaed top White House adviser Karl Rove and political aide J. Scott Jennings. The Judiciary Committee is investigating whether the firing of U.S. attorneys was done for political reasons. The White House has said nothing improper was done. The administration has declared executive privilege to keep former and current staffers from talking to Congress.
http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/F/FARM_BILL?SITE=MIDTN&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT
Jul 27, 6:30 AM EDT
House Dems try to unite on farm bill
WASHINGTON (AP) -- House Democratic leaders have beaten back a challenge from their own party as they debate a multibillion-dollar farm bill that would continue subsidies for U.S. crops.
Now they must unite to pass it.
The House began debate on the bill Thursday and defeated an amendment by Rep. Ron Kind, D-Wis., to scale back government payments for farmers. Democrats must overcome Republican opposition to the bill, which would extend agriculture and nutrition programs for the next five years, as they attempt to pass the bill Friday.
Republicans who previously supported the legislation have said they would oppose it because of a tax on certain foreign-owned companies with U.S. subsidiaries. Those taxes would finance food stamps and other nutrition programs.
http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/C/CONGRESS_GONZALES?SITE=MIDTN&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT
Jul 27, 5:34 AM EDT
FBI chief contradicts Gonzales testimony
WASHINGTON (AP) -- The head of the FBI contradicted Attorney General Alberto Gonzales' sworn testimony and Senate Democrats requested a perjury investigation Thursday in a fresh barrage against President Bush's embattled longtime friend and aide.
In a third blow to the Bush administration, the Senate Judiciary Committee issued subpoenas to compel the testimony of Karl Rove, Bush's chief political adviser, in connection with its investigation of the firings of federal prosecutors.
"It has become apparent that the attorney general has provided at a minimum half-truths and misleading statements," four Democrats on the Senate Judiciary Committee wrote in a letter to Solicitor General Paul Clement calling for a special counsel to investigate.
"I'm convinced that he's not telling the truth," added Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev.
The developments marked a troubling turn for Gonzales as well as the administration, which has been on the political defensive since congressional Democrats opened an investigation seven months ago into the firings of U.S. attorneys.
http://www.detnews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070727/POLITICS/707270346/1022
Friday, July 27, 2007
Perjury probe requested
FBI chief contradicts Gonzales; Senate panel subpoenas Rove
Laurie Kellman and Lara Jakes Jordan / Associated Press
WASHINGTON -- The director of the FBI contradicted the sworn testimony of his boss, Attorney General Alberto Gonzales, on Thursday by telling Congress that a prominent warrantless surveillance program was hotly debated within the Bush administration.
Robert Mueller's testimony appears to mark the first public confirmation from a Bush administration official that the National Security Agency's Terrorist Surveillance Program was at issue in an unusual nighttime visit by Gonzales to the hospital bedside of then-Attorney General John Ashcroft, then under sedation and recovering from surgery. It prompted Senate Democrats to request a perjury investigation.
In a third blow to the Bush administration, the Senate Judiciary Committee issued subpoenas to compel the testimony of Karl Rove, Bush's chief political adviser, in connection with its investigation of the firings of federal prosecutors.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20070726/ap_on_go_pr_wh/congress_gonzales_17
White House defends Gonzales
By JENNIFER LOVEN, Associated Press Writer Thu Jul 26, 10:49 AM ET
WASHINGTON - The White House defended Attorney General Alberto Gonzales on Thursday against accusations he gave misleading testimony to Congress. A key Republican senator critical of Gonzales said there was no sign that President Bush's support for the attorney general was weakening.
Sen. Arlen Specter, the top Republican on the Senate Judiciary Committee, accompanied Bush on an Air Force One on a trip to Philadelphia. At a hearing on Tuesday, the Pennsylvania Republican had told Gonzales, "I do not find your testimony credible, candidly."
http://thehill.com/leading-the-news/leahy-issues-subpoena-for-rove-2007-07-26.html
Leahy issues subpoena for Rove
July 26, 2007
Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.) Thursday issued a subpoena for top White House adviser Karl Rove to compel him to testify about the firing of several U.S. attorneys.
“The evidence shows that senior White House political operatives were focused on the political impact of federal prosecutions and whether federal prosecutors were doing enough to bring partisan voter fraud and corruption cases,” Leahy said. “It is obvious that the reasons given for the firings of these prosecutors were contrived as part of a cover-up and that the stonewalling by the White House is part and parcel of that same effort.”
http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/H/HOMELAND_SECURITY?SITE=MIDTN&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT
Jul 27, 4:26 AM EDT
Senate approves national security bill
WASHINGTON (AP) -- The Senate on Thursday night approved a package of security measures recommended by the 9/11 Commission, shifting more federal money to high-risk states and cities and requiring more stringent screening of air and sea cargo.
The measure passed by a 85-8 vote.
The House was expected to pass the bill as early as Friday, sending it to the president and giving Democrats a much-needed legislative victory just a week before Congress adjourns for its August recess.
Along with a boost in the minimum wage, which went into effect on Tuesday, the 9/11 Commission bill would be at the top of the Democratic majority's achievement list if President Bush signs it into law.
The White House has expressed opposition to several provisions in the bill, particularly a requirement that within five years all ship containers be scanned for nuclear devices before they leave foreign ports for the United States, but it has not issued a veto threat.
http://www.detnews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070727/POLITICS/707270324/1022
Friday, July 27, 2007
U.S. upset at Saudis' role in the Iraq war
An estimated 30 to 40 foreigners enter the fight monthly through the nation, officials say.
Helene Cooper, Mark Mazzetti and Jim Rutenberg / New York Times
WASHINGTON -- During a high-level meeting in Riyadh in January, Saudi officials confronted a top American envoy with documents suggesting Iraq's prime minister could not be trusted.
One purported to be an early alert from the prime minister, Nouri Kamal al-Maliki, to the radical Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr warning him to lie low during the coming American troop increase, which was aimed in part at al-Sadr's militia. Another document purported to offer proof that al-Maliki was an agent of Iran.
The American envoy, Zalmay Khalilzad, protested to King Abdullah of Saudi Arabia, saying that the documents were forged. But, said administration officials who gave an account of the exchange, the Saudis remained skeptical, adding to the deep rift between America's most powerful Sunni Arab ally, Saudi Arabia, and its Shiite neighbor, Iraq.
http://uk.eurosport.yahoo.com/070726/2/u7ua.html
Iraqis ready to defy bombs to back football team
Thu 26 Jul, 02:58 PM
BAGHDAD (Reuters) - Iraqis, brought together in a rare moment of unity by their soccer team's success in the Asian Cup, said defiantly on Thursday that bombs would not deter them from supporting their country in Sunday's final.
Thousands of them poured onto the streets after Iraq beat South Korea on Wednesday to reach the Asian Cup final for the first time, but suicide bombings that killed 50 people in Baghdad cast a pall over their jubilation.
The bombings were a sharp reminder of Iraq's unrelenting cycle of sectarian violence between majority Shi'ites and minority Sunni Arabs.
http://www.detnews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070727/POLITICS/707270327/1022
Friday, July 27, 2007
Retired Army general faces demotion in death of Pat Tillman
Lolita C. Baldor / Associated Press
WASHINGTON -- Army Secretary Pete Geren is expected to recommend demoting a retired three-star general for his role in providing misleading information to investigators about the friendly-fire shooting of Pat Tillman in Afghanistan, military officials say.
In what would be a stinging and rare rebuke, Lt. Gen. Philip Kensinger, who headed Army special operations, is one of seven high-ranking Army officers expected to receive official reprimands for critical errors in reporting the circumstances of the Army Ranger's death in April 2004.