Articles of Interest 10-4-07
400 Days until election day.
Quote of the Day:
“The tarot card readers and psychics should have seen this coming.”
(referring to the Granholm/Democrats massive service TAX increase)
MORNING UPDATE:
Michigan Republicans have a new radio ad “We Told You So” that goes on statewide this morning. To hear it go to:
With our NEW, higher TAXES, is Michigan now in the “mainstream”??? Our friends at RightMichigan help figure that out…see below.
The Democrats are “taking credit” for the TAX increase…give it to them:
http://migop.blogs.com/blog/2007/10/democrat-speake.html
The Wall Street Journal laid out the facts as well...see below.
Great idea: The Delta County Republican Party will be holding a "Michigan Tea Party" (in the spirit of the Boston Tea Party) to draw attention to the insanity of the Democrats in Lansing.
So, how does YOUR tax burden compares to the rest of the country:
http://migop.blogs.com/blog/2007/10/your-tax-burden.html
Senator “We’ve Lost” Reid took to the floor of the Senate to attack Rush Limbaugh, trying to distort his line about a “phony soldier”…busted and embarrassed should be the Senator. See the stories below.
Rush Limbaugh was even talking about Michigan!?!…See script below
THE REST OF THE STORY:
- Responding to the fact that Granholm and the Democrats passed the largest tax increase in Michigan’s history, State Treasurer Bob Kleine said Tuesday, "We're certainly not out of the mainstream here."
As Right Michigan pointed out: “Not out of the mainstream, Bob? A national unemployment rate of 4.6%. Michigan's, 7.4%. But we're not out of the mainstream Only state to have lost jobs last year. But we're not out of the mainstream. Only state to have had a net job loss since 2001 (six years now). But we're not out of the mainstream. Tops in the US in out-bound moves. But we're not out of the mainstream. Leading the nation in poverty and foreclosure rates and leading the nation in rates of increase in both. But we're not out of the mainstream. Tops in crime, dangerous big and medium sized cities and with thousands of fewer cops on the street since the Governor first took office. But we're not out of the mainstream.”
If you don’t visit RightMichigan regularly…you should. Great daily commentary on what’s happening in Michigan…from the “right” perspective:
- The recent Wall Street Journal editorial “Hail to the Taxers” said it best:
“Ms. Granholm argues that the combination of new taxes to balance the budget, and to finance such new public "investment" as job retraining and education, will reinvigorate Michigan.
She should check her history books. In the past 25 years, the only period when Michigan's growth has exceeded that of the national economy was in the mid-1990s after then-Governor John Engler's tax cutting and welfare reform. For a time, Michigan became the unlikely national leader in job creation. Now the total tax burden is returning to where it was before the Engler years.
Michigan last went on a taxing binge in 1983, and voters were outraged enough to mount a successful recall campaign against two state Senate ringleaders. This time, two of three Michigan voters have told pollsters they want budget cuts, not new taxes. It may be that the only way to get jobs back into Michigan is to make sure the taxing politicians in Lansing lose theirs.”
- WSJ Opinion Journal reported: Liberals continue to step up their Hush Rush campaign. First, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid spent hours urging Clear Channel, Rush Limbaugh's syndicate, to repudiate him over what Mr. Reid claimed were comments that American soldiers who seek to end the war in Iraq were "phony soldiers."
That didn't work when Clear Channel pointed out Rush's long-standing support for and visits with U.S. troops and suggested that Mr. Reid's interpretation of his remarks was strained at best. Mr. Limbaugh notes that his broadcast referred to the specific case of an anti-war veteran whose exploits on the battlefield were found to have been fabricated.
- From the Rush Limbaugh show, on October 1, 2007:
Hey, folks, if you want to see what the country would be like with today's liberals in charge, not the JFK liberals and Democrats, but today's liberals, take a look at Michigan. They had a government shutdown or close to it for a few hours over budget problems, and the governor up there came up with the last-minute solution to solve the problem. The last thing the state of Michigan needs is a tax increase, and they got one, a sizeable, healthy tax increase to, on paper, shut the budget deficit or close it. It's just going to continue to stifle economic activity throughout the State of Michigan. I feel for you people, I really do.
But you know something? You people in Michigan, you are great patriots, you are doing something very valuable and you need to take pride in your own suffering and pain, because what you are doing is demonstrating to the rest of the country, the other 49 states, what will happen to this country if people like Jennifer Granholm and the Democrats and your legislature up there get control of the United States government and the Department of Treasury. So while I know it's tough and I know you're irritated, I know you've got to be spitting, fuming, mad up there, understand that you are providing a visible laboratory; you are doing a great service. Please don't leave the state just yet, especially going into the election next year. Your suffering, your poverty will be a dynamic example for people like me to illustrate for the rest of the country just what will happen if today's modern liberals end up in total control of the US government.
Prior to the Debate there will be a Pre-Debate Luncheon at the Henry Ford Estate. Tickets to the luncheon are available for purchase. At the luncheon supporters will receive one complementary debate ticket, there will also be shuttle services available from the Henry Ford Estate to the Debate site. Space is limited and on a first-come, first-serve basis.
If you are interested in attending the Pre-Debate Luncheon, please email Erin Meteer, Major Donor Program Manager, at emeteer@migop.org, or call her at (517) 487-5413.
Saul Anuzis
STATE STORIES
Recall voices unite against Granholm
October 4, 2007
LANSING -- The campaign to recall members of the Legislature who supported last weekend's sales and income tax hikes may be expanded to target the one person most closely identified with the effort -- Gov. Jennifer Granholm.
Recall organization leaders said Wednesday that the people contacting them to volunteer in the antitax recall effort are most upset with the governor.
Leon Drolet of the Michigan Taxpayers Alliance said that just this week, he has received messages from 1,000 people volunteering to collect signatures to recall Granholm. Drolet, whose group planned to first target up to five lawmakers who voted for the increases, said, "It's amazing how angry people are about the governor."
http://www.detnews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20071004/POLITICS/710040381/1022
Thursday, October 04, 2007
Granholm's legacy tied to economy
Voters blamed Bush for state's woes in 2006, but now her tax changes will shape Michigan's future.
Mark Hornbeck / Detroit News Lansing Bureau
LANSING -- Gov. Jennifer Granholm got pretty much all she wanted in the state budget deal finalized in the dark of night earlier this week. Whether the agreement ultimately delivers for her and for Michigan is far less certain.
Will Granholm be seen as a strong leader who stood her ground, won the big battle and pulled the state out of the economic dumper? Or will she be known as the governor who raised taxes, hurt her party and booted a struggling state when it was down?
Fairly or unfairly, this governor's legacy will be branded by the performance of Michigan's economy over the remaining three years of her second and final term, capital watchers say.
http://www.nysun.com/article/63921
Michigan's Crisis
By MICHAEL LaFAIVE
October 4, 2007
In the early hours on October 1, the Michigan Legislature wrapped a bow on the state's fiscal 2008 budget, which included $1.48 billion in new taxes. Technically, state government had shut down at midnight because the new fiscal year had begun without a budget.
In the months leading to the shortlived shutdown, the atmosphere in the state Capitol turned theatrical. Legislators, party leaders, and the governor tried to out-politic each other, partly in response to a new anti-tax group known as the Michigan Taxpayer Alliance. The MTA mascot, a 10-foot fiberglass pig named Mr. Perks, frequently stood on the capitol grounds, lording over budget negotiations and mortifying legislators. The backdrop for this circus-like environment was the Michigan economy, wallowing in an effective one-state recession.
http://www.mlive.com/news/saginawnews/index.ssf?/base/news-1/119133488269380.xml&coll=9
State image damaged
Tuesday, October 2, 2007
MICHIGAN'S SHUTDOWN was four hours old Monday when legislators sent emergency spending bills and a $1.35 billion increase in income and sales taxes to Gov. Jennifer M. Granholm for her signature.
It brought a long, long overdue halt to a partisan budget brawl and, depending on who you're listening to, avoided eternal injury to the state's image and credit rating.
Although there's a month ahead of dealing with the details, the political back-patting and damage control has started. They've already said it was a historic vote, that they did it for the good of the people, that everyone had to give, to feel some pain.
http://www.mlive.com/news/grpress/index.ssf?/base/news-2/1191419188239060.xml&coll=6
A (temporary) budget fix
Wednesday, October 03, 2007
The state budget deal was an ugly solution to an ugly problem -- a $1.75 billion shortfall that followed successive years of shortfalls. The compromise rested heavily on tax increases, and not heavily enough on changing the costs of governing. Reducing those expenses must be a continuing task for lawmakers. So should separating essential from nonessential spending, and diminishing the latter.
The solution struck in the wee hours of Monday morning raises and expands taxes, makes cuts to some government services and institutes some too-long-in-coming reforms.
All this was done after lawmakers actually shut down state government for a few hours, a juvenile dereliction of legislative duty.
http://www.petoskeynews.com/articles/2007/10/03/news/news01.txt
Readers: Budget plan a bust
By Steve Zucker News-Review staff writer
Story updated: Wednesday, October 3, 2007 11:02 AM EDT
Now that more details are emerging about the last-minute deal the state legislature and Michigan Gov. Jennifer Granholm made to end a short-lived state government shut-down earlier this week, people in break rooms, coffee shops and dining rooms are weighing-in on the tax increase at the heart of the deal.
The News-Review asked three members of its reader panel to share their thoughts about the plan which will increase the state's income tax from 3.9 percent to 4.35 percent and extends the state's 6 percent sales tax to a long list of services.
http://www.detnews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20071004/OPINION01/710040317/1008
Thursday, October 04, 2007
Willy-nilly service tax is unfair, unpredictable
The Detroit News
The sales tax on certain services that was adopted as part of the state budget deal early Monday morning is one of the most unfair and foolishly crafted pieces of legislation ever to come out of Lansing.
By now, the arbitrary nature of the tax has been well publicized. Lawn mowing won't be taxed, but flower planting will. Haircuts won't be taxed, but bikini waxes will. Accounting services won't be taxed, but consulting contracts will. And so on.
http://www.freep.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20071004/NEWS06/710040429/1008/NEWS06
Plan might close school money gap
Legislators debate equity payments
October 4, 2007
The gap between Michigan's lowest- and highest-funded school districts would gradually be eliminated if the Legislature approves a plan to make equity payments to schools, the chairman of the House education committee said Wednesday.
Details still must be worked out, but state Rep. Tim Melton, D-Pontiac, said a formula would be created that would be based on how much a district receives per pupil in state funding. An additional equity payment would be made to all but the highest-funded district.
http://www.detnews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20071004/OPINION01/710040310/1008
Thursday, October 04, 2007
School boards must exploit chance to cut health costs
Kyle Olson and Dick Morris
Without a doubt, the Michigan Legislature sold out earlier this week in approving Gov. Jennifer Granholm's tax increases. Not only were they unnecessary, but she won her case by the most obvious kind of blackmail -- refusing to pass the continuing budget resolution so there could be reasonable negotiations while state government stayed open. Instead, she melodramatically threatened to close state agencies to force an ill-considered vote approving the increases.
But Republican legislators managed to insist on at least one sane reform: sweeping legislation to end teachers unions from ripping off taxpayers by requiring that we pay extra high premiums to provide teachers with the health insurance we know they deserve.
http://www.petoskeynews.com/articles/2007/10/03/news/news03.txt
Area educators cautious about "reforms"
Amount of state aid to K-12 education still unknown
By Fred Gray News-Review Staff Writer
Story updated: Wednesday, October 3, 2007 11:02 AM EDT
Char-Em Intermediate School District Superintendent Mark Eckhart says some of the provisions in Monday's budget settlement designed to save costs in the state's K-12 education system may end up costing more money than they save.
And, he says, they do not necessarily benefit the children.
"All this language in the school portion of the legislation is about adults, not kids," Eckhart told the News-Review. "Good public policy should be about what's in the best interest of kids. In Lansing it's more about party than about policy."
http://www.detnews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20071004/POLITICS/710040356/1022
Thursday, October 04, 2007
Michigan lobbyist spending rises
MEA spent the most among interest groups in first 6 months of the year, says watchdog group.
Gary Heinlein / Detroit News Lansing Bureau
LANSING -- Lobbyists spent $17.8 million influencing decision-making in state government during the first half of this year -- 4 percent more than during the first six months of 2006.
The Michigan Campaign Finance Network, a watchdog group, said Wednesday its analysis of lobbyist reports also showed the Michigan Education Association, the state's largest teachers union, spent $454,140 pushing its agenda -- tops among interest groups. But MEA lobbying costs were down 14 percent from the same period last year.
http://blog.mlive.com/citpat_opinion/2007/10/courts_step_aside_on_prison_cl.html
Courts step aside on prison closing
Posted by Jackson Citizen Patriot October 02, 2007 09:27AM
Categories: Editorial
The most telling part of last week's legal ruling that hastens the closing of a Jackson prison was the reaction. Prison guards and their union representatives were resigned to defeat and seemingly relieved the time had come. The Southern Michigan Correctional Facility will shut its doors, likely in a few weeks.
The entire Jackson area should be saddened when that happens, but the inevitable closing at least ends the painful uncertainty for 300-plus employees and their families.
Nearly eight months have passed since state officials said they'd shut down this facility. In that time, federal courts effectively took over the prison's fate and treated prison employees like rag dolls.
The Southern Michigan prison for years has drawn significant attention from the legal system, and that's a reason why it's closing. Former U.S. District Judge Richard Enslen took on the issue of inmates' medical care in a case that spanned two decades, often ruling that state corrections officials needed to do more and more. It got to the point that the state looked at this facility first when the time came to save millions in prison costs. And there's no arguing that state government needed to cut its spending.
http://www.freep.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20071004/NEWS06/710040406/1008
Falling Superior puts damper on business, tourism
October 4, 2007
BIG BAY -- Harbormaster Kim Bourgeois has watched the wavy waterline on rusty pilings in Big Bay Harbor plunge a foot in the past year and 2 feet in the last decade. She wasn't surprised at the announcement this week that Lake Superior hit a record low for September.
This summer, shallow water kept all but six pleasure boats out of the harbor. In a good year, 65 to 100 dock there, she said.
"We were barely open," Bourgeois said. No boats meant less business for restaurants, campgrounds and motels.
http://www.freep.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20071004/NEWS06/710040441/1008
Some think nature's not solely to blame for falling lake levels
October 4, 2007
MARQUETTE -- Lake Superior has fallen so far so fast that many people doubt it's Mother Nature at work.
"I think they're letting it out to help Lakes Michigan and Huron," which also suffer from low water, said Rodney Markham of Markham's Marina in Houghton.
Conspiracy theories abound. Some suspect water diversions to Chicago; some say it's the fault of dredging in the 1960s that scoured the bottom of the St. Clair River, effectively enlarging the bathtub plug.
Small amounts of water are diverted from Lake Superior at the St. Marys River at the Sault Locks, said Scott Thieme, hydrology chief for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers in Detroit. The water is for hydropower at two nearby power plants. But as Superior dropped, so did the diversion.
"It's at its most minimal level," he said.
http://www.mlive.com/news/flintjournal/index.ssf?/base/news-46/1191419402260920.xml&coll=5
Mayor blasted over suits
Williamson says appeals protect taxpayers' money
FLINT
THE FLINT JOURNAL FIRST EDITION
Wednesday, October 03, 2007
By Marjory Raymer
mraymer@flintjournal.com • 810.766.6325
FLINT - Mayor Don Williamson's critics say his free-wheeling style and ego have cost the city millions of dollars in lawsuits.
But Williamson says he's simply been keeping an eye on taxpayers' money, and that's why he continues to fight some verdicts.
Some cases had unusually high profiles, such as Williamson's banning of a Flint Journal carrier from City Hall, which is one reason the city's legal fights have become a major issue in the Flint mayoral campaign.
So what's the truth?
The city has paid $2.3 million to settle lawsuits since Williamson came into power July 1, 2004, according to city records obtained by The Flint Journal through a series of Freedom of Information Act requests.
http://www.politico.com/news/stories/1007/6186.html
Suite Talk: The bosses are taking over
FROM ONE WOLVERINE TO ANOTHER
Rep. Thaddeus G. McCotter (R-Mich.) has a new chief of staff. Andrew Anuzis assumed the position on the first of the month, but he is no stranger to McCotter’s office.
He has previously worked for McCotter as deputy chief of staff and as a senior policy adviser.
Before returning to McCotter’s office, Anuzis founded the New Centurion Project, a grass-roots movement for conservative young adults. He also has been the executive director of the Associated Builders and Contractors of Michigan and executive director of issue advocacy for the Michigan Chamber of Commerce. He is a member of the Michigan GOP state committee, and his brother is Saul Anuzis, the chairman of the Michigan Republican Party.
http://www.detnews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20071004/AUTO01/710040352/1022/POLITICS
Thursday, October 04, 2007
Dingell: Expand emissions trade plan
He wants auto industry included in federal cap-and-trade program.
David Shepardson / The Detroit News
WASHINGTON -- U.S. Rep. John Dingell, D-Dearborn, chairman of the House Energy and Commerce Committee, said the automobile industry should be included in a cap-and-trade program to help reduce greenhouse gas emissions, but did not outline specific goals.
Dingell and U.S. Rep. Rick Boucher, D-Va., chairman of the subcommittee of air quality, said in a white paper released Wednesday that the United States should reduce its greenhouse gas emissions 60 percent to 80 percent by 2050. Carbon dioxide accounts for about 84 percent of greenhouse gas emissions, which largely comes from burning fossil fuels.
http://www.mlive.com/news/flintjournal/index.ssf?/base/news-46/1191423013108610.xml&coll=5
Soldier 'couldn't ask for a better family'
GRAND BLANC TOWNSHIP
THE FLINT JOURNAL FIRST EDITION
Wednesday, October 03, 2007
By Beata Mostafavi
bmostafavi@flintjournal.com • 810.766.6210
GRAND BLANC TWP. - On a computer screen in Iraq, Pfc. Michael Farrington watched the blue-eyed newborn he said goodbye to in January, now old enough to take steps, smile and say his first word: "dada."
They were among the moments Farrington missed seeing in person since January, when just weeks after marrying wife Ashley and becoming a father to son Ethan Michael, he left his bride and baby for training.
In Army greens scrawled with the word "dada" in place of his name, the 24-year-old soldier rushed into the arms of his family at Flint's Bishop Airport on Tuesday - at least temporarily stepping back into his interrupted life.
NATIONAL STORIES
http://apnews.myway.com/article/20071003/D8S20EK81.html
Giuliani Compares Clinton to '72 Nominee
Oct 3, 5:17 PM (ET)
By HOLLY RAMER and LIZ SIDOTI
MANCHESTER, N.H. (AP) - Republican Rudy Giuliani compared Hillary Rodham Clinton to 1972 Democratic nominee George McGovern on Wednesday and chided his rival for adding a Southern lilt to her voice as he intensified his criticism.
Adding to the perception that she's unstoppable, Clinton picked up the endorsement of the 1.4 million-member American Federation of Teachers, increasing her union nods to six.
Other candidates trying to topple the two national front-runners courted voters in early voting states.
Three months before voting begins, polls show Clinton solidifying her months-long advantage for the Democratic nomination while the Republican race remains fluid. Giuliani, the former New York mayor, leads in national surveys, but GOP rivals Mitt Romney, Fred Thompson and John McCain are in strong contention in various key states.
October 3, 2007
Subdued Thompson Stirs Few Sparks on Stump
NEVADA, Iowa, Oct. 3 — Twenty-four minutes after he began speaking in a small restaurant the other day, Fred Thompson brought his remarks to a close with a nod of his head and an expression of thanks to Iowans for allowing him to “give my thoughts about some things.”
Then he stood face to a face with a silent audience.
“Can I have a round of applause?” Mr. Thompson said, drawing a rustle of clapping and some laughter.
“Well, I had to drag that out of you,” he said.
http://apnews.myway.com/article/20071003/D8S21AFO1.html
McCain Says Money Not All That Important
Oct 3, 6:16 PM (ET)
By JIM DAVENPORT
CAMDEN, S.C. (AP) - Republican John McCain says he's "not overjoyed" by his recent fundraising but that it's not that big a deal.
"If money mattered, I think (Nelson) Rockefeller would be president - would have been president - of the United States," the Arizona senator said in an interview with The Associated Press Wednesday.
McCain said he wouldn't talk about financial details for the just-ended third quarter.
"Honestly I have no idea. They told me they're still opening mail," McCain said. "I don't have a final number yet, but I'm pleased with them - not overjoyed but pleased with them."
McCain said the campaign finished the quarter with money in the bank, and Republicans familiar with his fundraising say he will report more than $5 million for the quarter. He's still facing the prospect of running a publicly financed campaign.
http://apnews.myway.com/article/20071003/D8S227LO0.html
Ron Paul Raises $5 Million for Bid
Oct 3, 7:18 PM (ET)
By JIM KUHNHENN
WASHINGTON (AP) - Long-shot Republican presidential candidate Ron Paul raised a surprising $5 million during the past three months, capitalizing on his stance as the only anti-war contender in the GOP field.
Paul, a Texas congressman who once ran for president as a Libertarian, also will report having $5.3 million cash on hand, campaign spokesman Jesse Benton said.
The amount places Paul well ahead of all but the Republican front-runners in the race. His fundraising for the quarter almost matches what Sen. John McCain is expected to report. His total is half the amount that former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney is reported to have raised.
http://www.nypost.com/seven/10042007/news/nationalnews/clinton_has_33_point_lead.htm
CLINTON HAS 33-POINT LEAD
By GEOFF EARLE
October 4, 2007
WASHINGTON - Hillary Rodham Clinton has jumped to an astounding 33-point lead over Barack Obama, topping her main rival among every major slice of the electorate and widening a dominating advantage she has held all summer.
Clinton got support from a full majority for the first time in any national survey about the Democratic presidential field. She is backed by 53 percent in the latest Washington Post/ABC News poll.
Obama follows far behind, with 20 percent, and John Edwards has 13 percent.
http://www.detnews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20071004/POLITICS/710040339/1022
Thursday, October 04, 2007
Kids health bill vetoed
Bush kills proposal to add about 4M to insurance program
David Espo / Associated Press
WASHINGTON -- President Bush cast a quiet veto Wednesday against a politically attractive expansion of children's health insurance, triggering a struggle with the Democratic-controlled Congress certain to reverberate into the 2008 elections.
"Congress will fight hard to override President Bush's heartless veto," vowed Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid of Nevada.
Republican leaders expressed confidence they have enough votes to make the veto stick in the House, and not a single senior Democrat disputed them. A two-thirds majority in both houses of Congress is required to override a veto.
http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/C/CHILDRENS_HEALTH?SITE=MIDTN&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT
Oct 4, 3:17 AM EDT
Analysis: Veto fight exposes GOP split
WASHINGTON (AP) -- In backing President Bush's veto of a children's health bill, many Republicans feel their party has picked the wrong issue to try to regain its long-lost reputation as guardian of prudent federal spending.
Democrats gleefully concur and are pouring money, time and energy into efforts to make GOP leaders pay dearly for the decision.
Bush and most congressional Republicans say they support an expansion of the State Children's Health Insurance Program, known as SCHIP. But they want something considerably smaller than the $35 billion, five-year increase approved by the Democratic-led House and Senate and vetoed Wednesday by Bush.
http://www.detnews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20071004/OPINION01/710040316/1008
Thursday, October 04, 2007
Congress should fix children's health plan
Veto offers opportunity to pass an affordable bill
The Detroit News
President George Bush dusted off his too-rarely used veto pen Wednesday and killed the overly expansive federal children's health insurance bill. That gives Congress a chance to go back and pass a more realistic measure that sticks to the mission of providing health care to the nation's needy children.
The president had supported increasing funding to the State Children's Health Insurance Program (SCHIP) by $5 billion to ensure that more kids whose parents can't afford health insurance get coverage.
http://article.nationalreview.com/?q=NzQzZGJkM2E1NWI5NmNjMTAzNTQ4YTk1ZDRhZTMyNWY=
Limbaugh Makes His Case
He’s got the story on the “phony soldiers” controversy — if anyone will listen.
By Byron York
On Monday evening, September 24, Rush Limbaugh was struck by a story that appeared on ABC’s World News with Charles Gibson. “A closer look tonight at phony heroes,” Gibson said in his introduction to the report, which was about men who claim to be veterans but are not. In the story, reporter Brian Ross discussed two men who claimed to have served in wartime, possibly to receive free veterans’ hospital and other benefits.
And then this: “Authorities say the most disturbing case involves this man, 23 year-old Jesse Macbeth,” Ross continued. “In a YouTube video seen around the world, Macbeth became a rallying point for anti-war groups, as he talked of the Purple Heart he received in Iraq and described how he and other U.S. Army Rangers killed innocent civilians at a Baghdad mosque.” Ross played video of Macbeth saying, “Women and men, you know — while in their prayer, we started slaughtering them.”
http://www.dailynews.com/breakingnews/ci_7077404
1,300 immigrants deported by feds
Agents raided sites in 5 Southland counties in 2 weeks
BY RACHEL URANGA, Staff Writer
Article Last Updated: 10/03/2007 09:36:27 PM PDT
In what federal authorities are calling the largest sweep of criminal and fugitive immigrants, federal agents over the past two weeks have arrested more than 1,300 Southland immigrants in their homes, in jails and at work, officials announced Wednesday.
As part of a stepped-up national crackdown on illegal immigrants, five teams of Immigration and Custom Enforcement agents raided homes in Los Angeles, Orange, Riverside, San Bernardino and Ventura counties from Sept. 19 through Tuesday.
Some arrests were easy, while others involved agents peering into clothes dryers or squeezing deep into crawl spaces to find hidden suspects. Most of those arrested were from Mexico, El Salvador and Guatemala.
Oct 4, 3:21 AM EDT
Senate panel takes up press shield bill
WASHINGTON (AP) -- The Senate Judiciary Committee is trying again to tackle a bill that would shield reporters from being forced to reveal their sources in federal court.
The Bush administration opposes the bill on grounds it would make it harder to trace the source of leaks.
A bipartisan compromise, the measure to be considered by the committee Thursday would create the first federal shield law for reporters. The panel could not finish considering all amendments a week earlier.
In an objection echoed by some Republican senators, the Justice Department and Bush's intelligence officials say that leaked reports of intelligence activities have been a valuable source of information to the nation's adversaries. Sen. Jon Kyl, R-Ariz., touted Justice Department statistics that show that 19 subpoenas have been issued for source-related material since 1992, and only four have been approved since 2001.
http://www.detnews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20071004/AUTO01/710040353/1022/POLITICS
Thursday, October 04, 2007
Fed agency may tout fuel-saving U.S. vehicles
David Shepardson / The Detroit News
WASHINGTON -- The Department of Health and Human Services said it may send its 67,000 employees detailed information about fuel-efficient American-made vehicles in the wake of a flap over a government newsletter that touted foreign-made automakers.
In a letter dated Sept. 25 that Rep. Joe Knollenberg, R-Bloomfield Township, received Wednesday, Joe Ellis, the assistant secretary for administration and management, said his "staff is researching what this department is doing to support American manufacturers while increasing the number of fuel-efficient or hybrid fuel vehicles that are made by American companies. I think that is good information to share with our employees."
http://www.detnews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20071004/OPINION03/710040308/1008/OPINION01
Thursday, October 04, 2007
Thomas Sowell
University presidents evade responsibility
On page 28 of last Sunday's New York Times, at the bottom was a news item almost the size of a 3-by-5 card.
It was a fraction of an Associated Press dispatch about Richard Brodhead, president of Duke University, apologizing for "not having better supported" the Duke lacrosse players last year when they were accused of rape.
When this story first broke last year, it was big news on the front page of the New York Times and the editorial page as well.
The issue was never his failure to "support" the students or their families. Universities are not equipped to determine guilt or innocence. That is why trials are held in courts instead of on campus.
http://www.detnews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20071004/POLITICS/710040334/1022
Thursday, October 04, 2007
Prison keeps lid on worst inmates
In Colorado, America's most secure federal facility confines 475 to isolation 23 hours a day.
Karl Vick / Washington Post
FLORENCE, Colo. -- The most secure federal prison in America has the polished tile corridors of a modern regional high school and the empty stillness of summer break.
The marquee inmates -- including Zacarias Moussaoui, the so-called 20th hijacker; "shoe bomber" Richard Reid; Ted Kaczynski, the Unabomber; FBI agent-turned-traitor Robert Hanssen; and Terry Nichols, convicted of the Oklahoma City bombing -- wait out their days in cellblocks the warden leads reporters quickly past on the first media tour since the Florence "supermax" opened 13 years ago.
http://www.detnews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20071004/POLITICS/710040318/1022
Thursday, October 04, 2007
Panel urges more cash for veterans
Associated Press
WASHINGTON -- Veterans' disability payments should be increased immediately by up to 25 percent as part of a sweeping overhaul designed to compensate for a wounded warrior's lost "quality of life," a special commission recommended Wednesday.
The 2 1/2 -year study released by the Veterans' Disability Benefits Commission offers the most comprehensive look yet at the ailing government benefits system that provides millions of injured veterans with a total of about $30 billion a year in payments.
http://www.detnews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20071004/POLITICS/710040436/1022
Thursday, October 04, 2007
U.S. Senate approves $459 billion Pentagon spending bill
Associated Press
WASHINGTON -- The Senate passed a huge $459 billion budget for the Pentagon Wednesday, after adding $3 billion to try to gain control over the U.S. border with Mexico.
The Pentagon spending bill, passed by voice vote, does not include President Bush's almost $190 billion request for military operations in Iraq and Afghanistan. The bill does, however, award the Pentagon a 10 percent increase of $43 billion, much of which would be devoted to procuring new and expensive weapons systems.
October 4, 2007
Secret U.S. Endorsement of Severe Interrogations
By SCOTT SHANE, DAVID JOHNSTON and JAMES RISEN
WASHINGTON, Oct. 3 — When the Justice Department publicly declared torture “abhorrent” in a legal opinion in December 2004, the Bush administration appeared to have abandoned its assertion of nearly unlimited presidential authority to order brutal interrogations.
But soon after Alberto R. Gonzales’s arrival as attorney general in February 2005, the Justice Department issued another opinion, this one in secret. It was a very different document, according to officials briefed on it, an expansive endorsement of the harshest interrogation techniques ever used by the Central Intelligence Agency.
The new opinion, the officials said, for the first time provided explicit authorization to barrage terror suspects with a combination of painful physical and psychological tactics, including head-slapping, simulated drowning and frigid temperatures.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/10/03/AR2007100302464_pf.html
Iraqis to Pay China $100 Million for Weapons for Police
Experts Fear More Will Go to Insurgents
By Robin Wright and Ann Scott Tyson
Washington Post Staff Writers
Thursday, October 4, 2007; A12
Iraq has ordered $100 million worth of light military equipment from China for its police force, contending that the United States was unable to provide the materiel and is too slow to deliver arms shipments, Iraqi President Jalal Talabani said yesterday.
The China deal, not previously made public, has alarmed military analysts who note that Iraq's security forces already are unable to account for more than 190,000 weapons supplied by the United States, many of which are believed to be in the hands of Shiite and Sunni militias, insurgents and other forces seeking to destabilize Iraq and target U.S. troops.
"The problem is that the Iraqi government doesn't have -- as yet -- a clear plan for making sure that weapons are distributed, that they are properly monitored and repeatedly checked," said Rachel Stohl of the Center for Defense Information, an independent think tank. "The end-use monitoring will be left in the hands of a government and military in Iraq that is not yet ready for it. And there's not a way for the U.S. to mandate them to do it if they're not U.S. weapons."
http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/S/SOLDIERS_BENEFITS?SITE=MIDTN&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT
Oct 3, 10:13 PM EDT
Minnesota soldiers' benefits fall short
WASHINGTON (AP) -- Nearly half the members of one of the longest serving U.S. military units in Iraq are not eligible for a more generous military educational benefit, with some falling one day short of eligibility.
The Army has agreed to review the status of the Minnesota National Guard's 1st Brigade Combat Team of the 34th Infantry Division, with an eye toward improving their educational benefits.
All 2,600 of the soldiers, who returned this year from Iraq, are eligible for money for school under the GI Bill. But nearly half discovered they weren't eligible for a more generous package of benefits available to other soldiers.
The Army Board for Correction of Military Records, which says its mission is "to correct errors in or remove injustices from Army military records," will be reviewing the cases.
Oct 4, 3:25 AM EDT
Idea raised of 2 capitals in Jerusalem
WASHINGTON (AP) -- Five former State Department and Pentagon officials are proposing Israeli and Palestinian capitals in Jerusalem and excluding Arab refugees from returning to Israel as part of an Middle East accord.
In a six-page policy statement submitted to Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, they also suggested a series of peace conferences following the one she hopes to convene next month, probably in Annapolis, Md.
The militant Hamas group, which controls Gaza and about one-third of Palestinian-held land, has not met U.S. terms for attending. Those conditions are recognizing Israel's right to exist and abandoning violence against the Jewish state.
http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/C/CONGRESS_DARFUR?SITE=MIDTN&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT
Oct 3, 9:04 PM EDT
State opposes new action against Sudan
WASHINGTON (AP) -- The State Department asked Congress on Wednesday to defer action on proposed legislation designed to pressure Sudan to end suffering in its Darfur region by blacklisting companies that support the African country's oil and energy sectors.
"It would send the wrong message to the regime at a time when it is actually being helpful with peace talks" scheduled later in the month in Libya and with the African Union/United Nations peacekeeping force, Acting Assistant Secretary of State Elizabeth Dibble told the Senate Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs Committee.
Legislative measures can try to spur progress, "but we are concerned about the negative impact of an actual new law at this delicate juncture," she said.
http://apnews.myway.com/article/20071004/D8S23ERG2.html