Articles of Interest 10-29-07
374 Days until election day.
MORNING UPDATE:
The Republican Women’s Federation of Michigan held its convention in Clare this weekend. They put together a program to go over campaign techniques and get ready for 2008. I was scheduled to address the group at lunch on Saturday and didn’t make it…my apologies to all who attended. Thanks for all you do!
Jack Kirksey is running for Mayor of Livonia. Jack is one of the most committed and honorable public servants I’ve ever met, and he’s running against a Granholm crony who is trying to set herself up for future office. Check out this ad:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y4pnShLcM-c
Democrats nationally push the largest tax increase in the country’s history…taking lessons from Granholm and the Michigan Democrats?
Here are the 10 things Democrats don’t want you to know about their latest tax increase:
http://migop.blogs.com/blog/2007/10/ten-things-demo.html
Michael Legg asked me to mention that he will be coordinating online activities for Fred Thompson known as “FredHeads”. If your interested in getting involved you can email him at FredHeads@gmail.com .
Chetly Zarko on his new site, OutsideLansing.com provides an hour long video of Leon
Drolett speaking about the MTA and recalls. Leon's discussion uses superb imagery and is entertaining.
http://www.outsidelansing.com/showDiary.do?diaryId=73
THE REST OF THE STORY:
- Recall efforts start & grow….see “Tax Hiker Portraits” by RightMichigan:
Robert Dean: http://www.rightmichigan.com/story/2007/10/2/105439/416
Steve Bieda: http://www.rightmichigan.com/story/2007/10/3/10332/0059
Mike Simpson: http://www.rightmichigan.com/story/2007/10/4/92924/1118
Marc Corriveau: http://www.rightmichigan.com/story/2007/10/8/93248/2721
Terry Brown: http://www.rightmichigan.com/story/2007/10/10/101539/45
Mary Valentine: http://www.rightmichigan.com/story/2007/10/9/6253/0133
Kate Ebli: http://www.rightmichigan.com/story/2007/10/11/55455/873
Marty Griffin: http://www.rightmichigan.com/story/2007/10/15/94238/961
Kathy Angerer: http://www.rightmichigan.com/story/2007/10/16/14040/296
Aldo Vagnozzi: http://www.rightmichigan.com/story/2007/10/17/103640/75
Saul Anuzis
STATE STORIES
http://noise.typepad.com/election_countdown/2007/10/today-could-be-.html
October 28, 2007
Today could be the day
Conference committees are scheduled to meet on much of the budget, meaning by the end of today we could have a very good idea of what the final budget deal will look like.
From talking to several people around the Capitol, there seems to be absolutely no will toward shutting down government again. Something about political suicide...
The general expectation is that each bill will be signed and sealed sometime early Wednesday. Should that not happen, we're looking at another continuation budget.
http://www.detnews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20071029/POLITICS/710290340/1022
Monday, October 29, 2007
Voters without ID card can still cast ballot
They will need to sign form to vote when Mich. law takes effect Nov. 6.
Mark Hornbeck / Detroit News Lansing Bureau
A Michigan law requiring voters to present picture identification will take effect for the first time in next week's local elections -- but registered voters who show up at the polls that day without ID will be allowed to cast their ballots anyway.
They will, however, need to sign a document saying they have no picture ID with them. This permanent provision will apply to voters who don't possess the proper identification as well as those who just left their wallets at home.
"We are unique among the states with voter ID laws," said Kelly Chesney, spokeswoman for Secretary of State Terri Lynn Land. "Our law recognizes that not all voters will have photo ID. And unlike other states, those who sign affidavits will not have their ballots set aside. They are counted that day."
http://www.detnews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20071029/AUTO01/710290364
Monday, October 29, 2007
UAW-GM Contract
Hard work remains for GM, Locals Tough issues unresolved by national deal must be solved at each factory.
Sharon Terlep / The Detroit News
Local contract talks at dozens of General Motors Corp. factories nationwide are being held up over thorny issues left unresolved by the automaker's new labor pact with the United Auto Workers.
The landmark deal ratified by the UAW on Sept. 10 laid the groundwork for massive fundamental changes in compensation and employment practices for GM's 74,000 hourly workers.
But the complex agreement didn't spell out exactly how to put those changes in place. Many of those details are yet to be hammered out in local negotiations taking place at factories from Detroit to Delaware.
http://www.detnews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20071029/OPINION03/710290307/1007/OPINION
Monday, October 29, 2007
Paul W. Smith:
Toyota car show feels heat from China
On the road again
First stop was Shanghai, China. This was my first visit to this exciting cosmopolitan city, which is different from Beijing. The growth here seems monstrous, the potential, seemingly endless.
Shanghai seems so much less, well, communist, than Beijing. I was there with Lear Corp.'s Bob Rossiter, Lou Salvatore and Dave Mullin, and congratulated the Lear Shanghai team for its 45 percent increase in business in the last year.
http://www.detnews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20071029/OPINION01/710290312/1007/OPINION
Monday, October 29, 2007
State's prevailing wage law ensures fair pay
Michigan's Prevailing Wage Act ensures workers who build our roads, bridges and schools are paid a fair wage so they can contribute to the economy and provide for their families.
However, lately it's become open season on workers here in Michigan. The latest episode was Chris Fisher's guest column in The Detroit News ("Killing wage law helps budget and creates jobs," Oct. 11).
When you pay Michigan workers measly wages with little to no benefits, everybody loses.
http://www.detnews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20071029/BIZ/710290365
Housing bust takes big toll on Realtors
3,500 left real estate industry in Michigan in the last year alone.
Nathan Hurst / The Detroit News
STERLING HEIGHTS -- Thousands of Michigan real estate agents -- some with decades of experience -- are getting squeezed out of the business, casualties of one of the worst housing slumps in state history.
Agents who prospered a few years ago, when consumers' appetite for real estate seemed insatiable, now are struggling or switching careers.
Michigan agents say a lack of home buyers for the glut of houses on the market is driving them from the business. Those who do manage to move a property are realizing lower commissions as a result of dampened real estate prices.
http://www.lsj.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20071029/NEWS01/710290329/1001/news
Published October 29, 2007
[ From Lansing State Journal ]
Mortgage reform bill gets mixed reactions
Some say measure would hurt those with low incomes
Mara Lee
State Journal correspondent
WASHINGTON - Lansing Realtor Nancy Denny has lost a third of her potential buyers this year because stricter lending standards adopted in the wake of the nation's foreclosure crisis won't allow them no-down-payment loans.
Still, she supports a bill introduced last week in Congress that critics say will hurt homebuyers with spotty credit by making loans even harder to get.
In fact, Denny thinks it doesn't go far enough.
http://www.detnews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20071029/OPINION01/710290311/1007/OPINION
Monday, October 29, 2007
Editorial
Local deficits demand better management
Overspending in Macomb County has cost taxpayers roughly $31M
The Detroit News
The budget problems facing Macomb County haven't snuck up in the dark. On the contrary, county commissioners have made them worse by avoiding tough decisions during the past few years and allowing fiscally irresponsible practices to continue.
Macomb County faces an estimated deficit this year of $12 million, but some commissioners say it could be closer to $16 million. Since 2004, when the county began accumulating operating deficits, it has overspent by $19 million.
That's not just fiscally irresponsible; it's dangerous because trimming a combined $31 million or more will require cuts to essential services.
http://macombdaily.com/stories/102907/loc_elected001.shtml
PUBLISHED: Monday, October 29, 2007
Need to get re-elected tests party loyalty
By Eric Freedman
Capital News Service
LANSING -- With Democrats running Congress, U.S. Reps. John Conyers Jr. and Carolyn Cheeks Kilpatrick of Detroit, Dale Kildee of Flint and Bart Stupak of Menominee are almost exactly as loyal to their party now as they were when the GOP held control.
So are Michigan Republicans Peter Hoekstra of Holland, Dave Camp of Midland and Thaddeus McCotter of Livonia.
But three other Republicans -- Vernon Ehlers of Grand Rapids, Joe Knollenberg of Bloomfield Hills and Candice Miller of Harrison Township -- are noticeably less likely to stick with their party on U.S. House votes in 2007 than they were in 2006.
http://www.detnews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20071029/POLITICS/710290413/1022
Monday, October 29, 2007
Some candidates court Arab-American vote
Gregg Krupa / The Detroit News
DEARBORN -- Arab-Americans said Sunday they are feeling estranged from the Republican presidential field because the GOP's policies are hostile to them, and just one candidate, dark horse Ron Paul, attended their three-day national leadership convention.
None of the top three Democratic candidates for the White House attended in person.
"On the Republican side it says that their debate is moving in such a negative direction that they simply are not, most of them, in a position to come before this audience," said James Zogby, founder and president of the American Arab Institute, which sponsored the National Leadership Conference in Dearborn.
Richardson touts foreign policy experience to Arab-Americans
10/28/2007, 3:06 p.m. EDT
By DAVID EGGERT
The Associated Press
DEARBORN, Mich. (AP) — Democratic presidential hopeful Bill Richardson told Arab-Americans Sunday he has the most diplomatic experience to work for peace throughout the Middle East.
The New Mexico governor and former United Nations ambassador said "solutions imposed from outside almost always fail," and added that he would talk with Iran, Syria and Iraqi leaders to try to stabilize the region. Richardson routinely touts his foreign policy experience, which he says far exceeds that of his rivals.
"Have faith in this country. We're a good country," Richardson said at the Arab American Institute's National Leadership Conference in Dearborn. The Detroit suburb is widely considered the center of Arab America, anchoring a community of about 300,000 in southeastern Michigan who trace their roots to the Middle East.
http://www.detnews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20071029/POLITICS/710290341/1022
Monday, October 29, 2007
Dems try to settle primary
National party chairman works with state to resolve date dispute
Gordon Trowbridge / Detroit News Washington Bureau
FARMINGTON HILLS -- The nation's top Democratic Party official said Sunday he believes the state and national parties can work out a solution to the sometimes bitter standoff over Michigan's Jan. 15 presidential primary.
"Whatever differences there are, we continue to work to see if there's a solution," said Howard Dean, chairman of the Democratic National Committee, before a fundraising dinner for Oakland County Democrats.
"There are ways of working this out."
http://www.freep.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20071029/NEWS06/710290403/1008
Dean urges state to push back primary
October 29, 2007
The Democratic National Committee understands the point Michigan legislators are trying to make by moving the state's presidential primary to Jan. 15.
"But if they would move it back, it would be enormously helpful," said DNC chairman and former Vermont Gov. Howard Dean, before a speech to the Oakland County Democratic Party on Sunday night.
http://www.detnews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20071029/OPINION01/710290310/1007/OPINION
Monday, October 29, 2007
Let's end Bush's war before he leaves
U.S. Rep. John Dingell
Recent news regarding the war in Iraq has made it increasingly clear that a change of strategy is desperately needed. The cost of the war is increasing at an unbearable rate, but the president has yet to announce any plan that would bring our troops home before his term ends.
As the Bush presidency enters its final year, it is increasingly likely that the difficult job of redeploying 140,000 troops from Iraq will be left to the next president. This is irresponsible. In an effort to address this issue, I recently introduced legislation that would require our troops be out of Iraq before President George W. Bush leaves office.
NATIONAL STORIES
http://www.detnews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20071029/OPINION01/710290306/1007/OPINION
Monday, October 29, 2007
Flaws, strengths emerge in GOP hopefuls
What The News' syndicated and wire columnists say about GOP presidential hopefuls:
Romney draws the pros
James Pinkerton, Newsday: Interestingly, GOP presidential front runner Rudy Giuliani is fourth in Iowa and second in New Hampshire. For all his strength across the country, he's having trouble among close-in, hard-core Republicans. So who's ahead in those two states? It's former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney, according to the RealClearPolitics.com site.
In fact, Romney always has been a favorite among many Republicans, especially professional Republicans. Why? Because he looks like a president -- or, more precisely, he looks like Hollywood's idea of a president. And, oh yes, it doesn't hurt that he has the most money to spend and doesn't mind spending it.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20071028/ap_po/giuliani_1
Giuliani blasts Clinton
By PHILIP ELLIOTT, Associated Press Writer Sun Oct 28, 3:22 PM ET
PETERBOROUGH, N.H. - Republican presidential candidate Rudy Giuliani on Sunday blasted Hillary Rodham Clinton for talking about what she would do on the diplomatic front between her possible election and inauguration.
Clinton has told crowds she would send "distinguished Americans of both political parties to travel around the world on my behalf with a very simple message to the governments and the people alike: The era of cowboy diplomacy is over."
Giuliani is GOP's best shot against Hillary, said Ford
Sunday, October 28th 2007, 4:00 AM
WASHINGTON - Jerry Ford wasn't sure Hillary Clinton could be elected President, but he was absolutely certain which Republican had the strongest shot at stopping her: Rudy Giuliani.
"That would be a great contest between Hillary and Rudy," the 92-year-old former President told a reporter in May 2006.
"I think Giuliani is an electrifying guy," he added. "He's a great speaker. He's had a good record of winning in New York City, and he can be tough."
Ford had gotten to know the former mayor at various political and corporate events over the years - both were members of the World Trade Center Memorial Foundation, for example - and often spoke admiringly of Giuliani's performance in the aftermath of the 9/11 attacks.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/10/28/AR2007102801707.html
Iowa Democrats Set Earlier Caucus Date
By MIKE GLOVER
The Associated Press
Monday, October 29, 2007; 12:01 AM
DES MOINES, Iowa -- Iowa Democrats voted Sunday to move their leadoff precinct caucuses to Jan. 3, the same date Republicans picked earlier this month, letting both parties continue the tradition of meeting on the same night.
The state's precinct caucuses had been scheduled for Jan. 14, but the parties decided to move them up under pressure from other states rushing to the beginning of the primary calendar.
http://www.detnews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20071028/UPDATE/710280353/1022
Sunday, October 28, 2007
Dem presidential candidates promise Iraq troop pullout
Gregg Krupa / The Detroit News
DEARBORN -- Two Democratic candidates for the presidency pledged Sunday to immediately start withdrawing troops from Iraq, if they are elected, as a way of allowing Iraqis to end the disputes among them that have led to a civil war in the wake of the American invasion and occupation of the country.
New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson and U.S. Rep. Dennis Kucinich of Ohio both portrayed themselves as "the only candidate in the race" with clear positions of unalterable opposition to the war.
Both dark horse candidates spoke to about 200 people gathered for the third day of the National Leadership Conference of the Arab American Institute. U.S. Sen. Barack Obama, D-Illinois, and Democrat John Edwards, a former senator for North Carolina, addressed the conference on videotape and had stand-ins appear on their behalf -- former Michigan congressman David Bonior, who is Edwards' campaign manager; and Anthony Lake, a former national security adviser under President Clinton, who counsels Obama on foreign policy.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/10/28/AR2007102801466.html
In S.C., Obama Seeks a Spiritual Reawakening
Washington Post Staff Writer
Monday, October 29, 2007; Page C01
CHARLESTON, S.C. -- As a man not only of God but of politics, the Rev. Joe Darby is an outspoken observer of the campaign scene. Reclining in his cluttered office at Morris Brown AME Church here, he witnesses the union between the pulpit and the polls.
"Politics does come down to some degree of emotion . . . ," says Darby, one of this state's most prominent African American preachers, whose church is a magnet for Democratic presidential hopefuls. "The Democratic Party is just catching up to that. It's been nauseatingly safe in recent years."
http://www.concordmonitor.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20071026/FRONTPAGE/710260384
Edwards plans big for presidency
Candidate: Sacrifice must be priority, too
By LAUREN R. DORGAN
Monitor staff
October 26. 2007 1:25AM
John Edwards says if he's elected president, he'll institute a New Deal-like suite of programs to fight poverty and stem growing wealth disparity. To do it, he said, he'll ask many Americans to make sacrifices, like paying higher taxes.
Edwards, a former Democratic senator from North Carolina, says the federal government should underwrite universal pre-kindergarten, create matching savings accounts for low-income people, mandate a minimum wage of $9.50 and provide a million new Section 8 housing vouchers for the poor. He also pledged to start a government-funded public higher education program called "College for Everyone."
http://www.detnews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20071028/UPDATE/710280344/1022/POLITICS
Sunday, October 28, 2007
Edwards proposes tougher regulations on advertising for new drugs
Holly Ramer / Associated Press
LACONIA, N.H. -- Democratic presidential hopeful John Edwards said Sunday that prescription drug companies should wait two years to begin advertising their new products to consumers.
Outlining a plan to regulate what he views as misleading drug ads, Edwards noted that annual spending on such ads nearly has quadrupled to $4 billion in the decade since the government relaxed rules on advertising directly to consumers.
"You've seen these ads. You know who's paying for them, right? You are," said Edwards, who for years has derided ads that promise after one pill, "You'll be skipping through the fields holding hands with your spouse."
http://www.detnews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20071029/OPINION01/710290303/1007/OPINION
Monday, October 29, 2007
Opinion
Neoconservatives and their heirs
Jacob Heilbrunn
For several years, the conventional wisdom has been that neoconservatism is on the skids. Vice President Dick Cheney has been sidelined while Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice flexes her diplomatic muscles, and old neocon standbys such as Paul Wolfowitz, Richard Perle and Douglas Feith largely have disappeared from view. But the movement isn't dead yet. As shown by the announcement of former New York Post editorial page editor John Podhoretz's appointment to head the flagship neoconservative journal Commentary, the movement might be battered, but it is not going away. If anything, it is regrouping.
At the moment, the future of neoconservatism hangs on its unspoken system of dynastic succession, in which the top posts of the movement are handed off to the sons of its leaders. A second generation is taking over from the first to lead the crusade against the liberal traitors at home and the terrorists abroad.
http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/C/CHILDRENS_HEALTH?SITE=MIDTN&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT
Oct 29, 3:30 AM EDT
Compromises sought on kids' health
By KEVIN FREKING
Associated Press Writer
WASHINGTON (AP) -- President Bush and other critics of a $35 billion spending increase for children's health insurance say they'll support expanding coverage to families of four making as much as $62,000 a year, but they want to limit states' ability to go beyond that level.
About three dozen states ignore certain income when determining who can get government-subsidized health coverage. For example, many states exclude child support payments. Others deduct expenses for child care when determining who qualifies for the State Children's Health Insurance Program.
Homeland Security strikes deal with New York on driver's licenses
By DEVLIN BARRETT
Associated Press Writer
3:17 PM EDT, October 27, 2007
The Bush administration and New York cut a deal Saturday to create a new generation of super-secure driver's licenses for U.S. citizens, but also allow illegal immigrants to get a version.
New York is the fourth state to reach such an agreement on federally approved secure licenses, after Arizona, Vermont and Washington. The issue is pressing for border states, where new and tighter rules are soon to go into effect for crossings.
The deal comes about one month after New York Gov. Eliot Spitzer announced a plan whereby illegal immigrants with a valid foreign passport could obtain a license.
http://www.opinionjournal.com/diary/?id=110010795
'Fairness' Is Foul
Liberals vs. the First Amendment.
Monday, October 29, 2007 12:01 a.m. EDT
It wasn't that hard for Indiana's Rep. Mike Pence to build media and congressional support for his Free Flow of Information Act, which would protect the confidentiality of contacts between reporters and sources. It passed the House this month by an overwhelming vote of 398-21. His next battle will be a lot harder--to permanently ban the Fairness Doctrine, the regulation many liberals are now actively trying to revive in an effort to silence their critics.
Until the FCC scrapped the Fairness Doctrine in 1987, it required broadcasters to provide equal time to all sides of "controversial" issues. In practice, this led to what Bill Monroe, a former host of NBC's "Meet the Press," called "timid, don't-rock-the-boat coverage." On radio, Newsweek's Howard Fineman notes, it "effectively kept partisan shows off the airwaves," so that in 1980 there were a mere 75 talk radio stations. Today there are 1,800.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/10/28/AR2007102801146.html
A Push for Plain English
By Stephen Barr
Monday, October 29, 2007; Page D04
Gobbledygook. It's the stuff of government. Maybe its No. 1 export.
Now, a first-term House member, Bruce Braley (D-Iowa), wants to do away with the wordy, pompous and confusing forms and memos that spew out of the bureaucracy every day.
He has introduced legislation that would require the government to write in "plain language" -- simple words, short sentences and no jargon, so that people can understand tax forms, college aid applications and other documents distributed to the public.
"Unless there is aggressive or intensive oversight, no agency is going to change the way it does business," he said.
http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/D/DEATH_PENALTY_ABA?SITE=MIDTN&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT
Oct 28, 9:14 PM EDT
death penalty systems questioned
By MARK SHERMAN
Associated Press Writer
WASHINGTON (AP) -- Serious problems in state death penalty systems compromise fairness and accuracy in capital punishment cases and justify a nationwide freeze on executions, the American Bar Association says.
Problems cited in a report released Sunday by the lawyers' organization include:
-Spotty collection and preservation of DNA evidence, which has been used to exonerate more than 200 inmates;
-Misidentification by eyewitnesses;
-False confessions from defendants; and
-Persistent racial disparities that make death sentences more likely when victims are white.
http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/L/LAURA_BUSH?SITE=MIDTN&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT
Oct 28, 1:19 PM EDT
Laura Bush says policy role nothing new
By BEN FELLER
Associated Press Writer
WASHINGTON (AP) -- First lady Laura Bush, an increasingly prominent voice on matters at home and abroad, says the difference lately is not her policy role in the White House but rather the attention she gets for it.
"The fact is, I've been involved for a long time in policy, and I think I just didn't get a lot of coverage on it," she said in a rare Sunday talk show appearance.
"I mean, I really do think there's a stereotype. And I was stereotyped as being a certain way because I was a librarian and a teacher and, you know, had the careers that traditional women have," she said.
http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/A/ATTORNEY_GENERAL?SITE=MIDTN&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT
Oct 28, 3:32 PM EDT
Mukasey urged to answer torture question
WASHINGTON (AP) -- A Republican on the Senate Judiciary Committee said Sunday he might consider opposing Michael Mukasey's nomination for attorney general if the former judge says waterboarding is not torture.
Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., joined two top Senate Democrats in urging Mukasey to disclose his views. Mukasey so far has refused to say explicitly what his position is on the lawfulness of the interrogation technique, which simulates drowning.
"I am urging him that he needs to come forward. If he does not believe that waterboarding is illegal, then that would really put doubts in my own mind because I don't think you have to have a lot of knowledge about the law to understand this technique violates" the Geneva Convention and other statutes, Graham said.
http://www.detnews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20071029/OPINION01/710290316/1007/OPINION
Monday, October 29, 2007
Editorial
Iran sanctions necessary, but not the final answer
The Detroit News
The economic sanctions the Bush administration placed on Iran's Revolutionary Guard and other unsavory institutions in that country are an important symbolic gesture and may actually cause the terrorist elements in Iran some pain.
But let's be realistic. Sanctions applied by one nation against another rarely work to bring about dramatic change.
If Iran is to be brought into the fold of civilized-behaving nations, the economic pressure must be universally applied. Other nations, including Iran's important trading partners, must agree to join in the isolation of Iran's economy.
UN nuclear watchdog criticizes US, Levin urges caution on Iran
10/28/2007, 8:46 p.m. EDT
The Associated Press
WASHINGTON (AP) — The head of the U.N. nuclear watchdog said Sunday he had no evidence Iran was working actively to build nuclear weapons and expressed concern that escalating rhetoric from the U.S. could bring disaster.
Michigan U.S. Sen. Carl Levin also questioned the tone of the Bush administration's talk about Iran.
"We have information that there has been maybe some studies about possible weaponization," said Mohamed ElBaradei, who leads the International Atomic Energy Agency. "That's why we have said that we cannot give Iran a pass right now, because there is still a lot of question marks."
http://www.nypost.com/seven/10292007/postopinion/opedcolumnists/evil_exposed.htm
EVIL EXPOSED
HOLY LAND TRIAL SHOWS CHARITY'S HAMAS TIES
By STEVEN EMERSON
October 29, 2007 -- THE trial of four key figures with the Holy Land Foundation for Relief and Development ended last week with a hung jury. Holy Land's defenders and allies are trumpeting the mistrial as a huge victory. Yet the defendants remain in legal jeopardy, with a new trial almost assured - and the prosecution has, at a minimum, closed a lucrative funding channel for the Palestinian terror group Hamas.
Prosecutors in the Northern District of Texas deserve praise for bringing this case in the first place. The trial record conclusively demonstrated that Holy Land and several of its unindicted co-conspirators - including the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) - grew out of Hamas. Moreover, it showed that they spent the better part of 15 years deceiving government agencies and the media, hiding their true goals under a mask of work for charity and civil rights.
