Articles of Interest 11-14-07
358 Days until Election Day
Daily Quote:
"Nothing...is unchangeable but the inherent and unalienable rights of man."
-- Thomas Jefferson (letter to John Cartwright, 1824)
MORNING UPDATE:
The Attorney General filed an “appeal” over the “unconstitutionality” of the presidential primary. We will file our supporting motion today. We hope that the Court of Appeals acts quickly to allow the election process to move forward in a timely manner…so do all the local clerks!
I formally filed a letter with the Secretary of State notifying them that we intend on using the January 15th primary for the purpose of allocating our delegates and also notified them that if this was not to work, we would not use the February 26th option. This was little more than a formality.
Either the Appeals Court will reinstate the January 15h presidential primary or we anticipate the legislature will pass the “fix” bill, which is currently stuck in the Democratic House of Representatives.
Do You Know what is in The Law Of The Sea Treaty (known as the LOST Treaty)?
The LOST Treaty is an agreement that hands over control of the high seas and the ocean floor to a newly-created International Seabed Authority, a wholly owned subsidiary of the United Nations and the third-world, and signals the end of our right to sail the world in freedom!
Call Senator Levin and Senator Stabenow's offices and encourage them to oppose the "LOST Treaty".
Here is my vblog filed on www.RightMichigan.com with a quick update on the presidential primary:
http://migop.blogs.com/blog/2007/11/chairman-anuz-1.html
I did an interview for the ”Special Report with Brit Hume” on the FOX News Channel that will air from 6:00 – 7:00pm TONIGHT talking about the presidential primary.
On Detroit’s CBS Michigan Matters… I was able to get a commentary on about the tax and spend policies of Granholm and the Michigan Democrats:
http://migop.blogs.com/blog/2007/11/chairman-anuzis.html
Newt’s Fed Ex versus Federal Bureacracy video passed 1,200,000 views yesterday…with NO advertising…just from grassroots curiosity!!! Congratulations!!! Check it out:
http://migop.blogs.com/blog/2007/11/newt-fed-ex-vs-.html
Citizens for Traditional Values has a great “Leadership Academy” coming up…more in below.
Today (Wednesday) Congressman Thaddeus McCotter is scheduled to appear on C-SPAN's morning program called Washington Journal from 8:00 to 8:30AM.
More recalls are on the way…see links below.
Give a Gift this Holiday Season that Will Last a Lifetime!
The Michigan Republicans moved their headquarters to the Secchia-Weiser Republican Center in 2006 and plan to install a legacy site to honor those who have served the party and the citizens of Michigan. The legacy site will create a well-deserved tribute to honor Michigan’s past, present, and future Republican leaders! Buy a brick to celebrate, to inspire, or to commemorate friends, family, or yourself this holiday season! They are a great way to honor others in memoriam, birthdays, anniversaries, or any special occasion. Your honoree will receive a certificate commemorating their personalized brick. Choose from our four different options and be a part of the Michigan Republican Party Legacy!
To order your personalized Legacy Brick please visit www.migop.org/legacy, or contact Erin Meteer, Major Donor Program Manager at emeteer@migop.org.
THE REST OF THE STORY:
I Wanted to draw your attention to the Citizens for Traditional Values Political Leadership Academy. This is a GREAT opportunity for those seeking political office, as well as grassroots activists involved at the district or county level.
The class will be held in Lansing, November 30th - December 1st at a very reasonable cost of $75. National campaign trainer Mark Montini will be speaking, along with many distinguished Michigan legislative and political leaders. This will be a GREAT academy!
More information can be found at: http://www.ctvmichigan.org/events/pla/default.htm Space is limited -- contact CTV today if you're interested, and please forward this email to your lists as well.
- Recall efforts start & grow….see UPDATE “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
John Espinoza: http://www.rightmichigan.com/story/2007/10/30/93255/658
Joel Sheltrown: http://www.rightmichigan.com/story/2007/10/31/103434/30
Mike Lahti: http://www.rightmichigan.com/story/2007/11/6/10250/0225
Kathleen Law: http://www.rightmichigan.com/story/2007/11/7/104242/595
Fred Miller: http://www.rightmichigan.com/story/2007/11/13/101018/55
How does a recall work: http://migop.blogs.com/blog/2007/11/how-to-run-a-re.html
Saul Anuzis
STATE STORIES
http://www.detnews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20071114/POLITICS/711140397/1022
Wednesday, November 14, 2007
Cox asks for primary ruling
Mich. attorney general appeals decision against Jan. 15 vote, requests a hearing by Friday.
Gary Heinlein / Detroit News Lansing Bureau
LANSING -- Attorney General Mike Cox asked the Michigan Court of Appeals on Tuesday to save the state's Jan. 15 presidential primary election by quickly overturning a lower court ruling.
Cox filed documents asking the court to put last week's Ingham County Circuit Court ruling on hold, and hear an appeal no later than Friday.
Ingham County Judge William Collette ruled the law setting up the primary -- which would put Michigan nearly at the head of the 2008 nominating calendar -- is unconstitutional.
http://www.freep.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20071114/NEWS06/711140386/1008
State requests hurry on appeal to save primary
November 14, 2007
Michigan election officials asked the Court of Appeals on Tuesday for emergency consideration of a request to salvage the state's Jan. 15 presidential primary, indicating they need an answer by the end of the week to meet election schedules.
The appeal, along with a possibility the Legislature will fix next week the primary law that was found unconstitutional by an Ingham County judge last week, nurtured faint hopes among backers of the primary that the seemingly star-crossed election might yet happen.
http://www.freep.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20071114/NEWS06/711140303/1008
Voting absentee just got harder
Applications no longer automatic
November 14, 2007
Voters who use absentee ballots will have to make an extra effort to get their ballots for next year's elections, including the presidential election in November.
Clerks can no longer automatically mail applications to senior citizens and former absentee-ballot voters, under an appeals court ruling late last month. The ruling upheld a lower court decision in a case stemming from Detroit's 2005 election.
Legislature's November break draws bipartisan criticism
11/13/2007, 4:32 p.m. EST
The Associated Press
LANSING, Mich. (AP) — The state Legislature's November recess is drawing criticism from both Democrats and Republicans.
Democratic Gov. Jennifer Granholm wants lawmakers in session to deal with the repeal and replacement of a services tax scheduled to take effect next month.
Reps. Rick Jones and Paul Opsommer, two Republicans from the Lansing area, say lawmakers should be in session to vote on several bills affecting the budget.
http://www.lsj.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20071114/OPINION01/711140325/1085/opinion
Published November 14, 2007
[ From Lansing State Journal ]
Center for Michigan reaches out for solutions to state's woes
Our opinions
Where are the state's leaders who will shape our future? The question reverberates across the Michigan with increasing frustration almost daily. Examples of the problem are abundant, with Exhibit A being the ongoing inability of the Legislature and governor to address structural budget problems, much less agree on a vision for the future.
On the fringes of the fray, though, comes a sign of hope. Predictably, given the disappointing efforts of the elected delegation, the leadership is coming from analysts and advocates, in this case at the Center for Michigan. They are marshaling business leaders and decision-makers in a series of invitation-only conversations across the state. Their goal is to engage leaders from outside government to envision solutions to the problems that our elected leaders are failing to solve. And once they measure consensus on priorities, they plan to bring their list to Lansing to apply their influence on the politicians.
http://www.hollandsentinel.com/stories/111407/local_20071114011.shtml
Wednesday, November 14, 2007
Expert: Aim of business tax is broader reach
By PATRICK REVERE patrick.revere@hollandsentinel.com (616) 546-4280
Legislators got creative to construct Michigan's new business tax, a combination of an income tax and a modified gross-receipts tax, an area expert said Tuesday.
Lawmakers continue the process that has included efforts to protect in-state business and to more heavily tax out-of-state companies that market and sell here.
The new tax -- not to be confused with the new service sales tax -- is set to replace the Single Business Tax Jan. 1.
http://www.lsj.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20071114/NEWS04/711140331/1005/news04
Published November 14, 2007
[ From Lansing State Journal ]
MDOT: Software saves $28.5M
Per-year savings estimate based on reduced work time
Hugh Leach
Lansing State Journal
A computer software program created by a team of state employees is saving the state millions of dollars a year and even bringing extra income to the state coffers.
FieldManager is a suite of software that improves the management of Michigan's road, bridge and airport construction programs by computerizing inspection reports that formerly had to be completed by hand on paper and had to be duplicated as many as five times.
http://detnews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20071114/BIZ/711140386/1001
Wednesday, November 14, 2007
City pegs growth on Quicken
Detroit gives company four sites, one for its HQ
Louis Aguilar / The Detroit News
Quicken Loans Inc. has been offered not two, but four downtown sites to develop -- signaling just how much government officials are banking on the mortgage lender to spark a wave of entrepreneurs and young people moving downtown.
The city is giving Quicken up to one year to choose either the former J.L. Hudson's site or the former Statler hotel site as its new corporate headquarters when it moves from Livonia. On the site that isn't chosen for headquarters, "we want to see as a tech center, an incubator center where young companies can grow all together and share resources," said founder and chairman Dan Gilbert at a news conference Tuesday.
Quicken also gets a one-year option to develop office and retail space on two other city-owned sites: the former Lafayette Building at Michigan Avenue and Lafayette Boulevard, and two parking lots on Broadway and Library streets, according to the development agreement.
http://detnews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20071114/OPINION03/711140380/1001
Wednesday, November 14, 2007
Daniel Howes
This move's all about growth
Less than 24 hours after news broke that Quicken Loans Inc. is moving downtown from the suburbs, the whining has begun -- yet another reminder of what makes this region so special.
They say Quicken's move, even if it is at least three years away, is a zero-sum game that robs Livonia of precious tax dollars. Or it's yet another bad example of a governor playing favorites with Democrats in Detroit, pitting city against suburbs and using taxpayer money to do it.
http://www.detnews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20071114/OPINION01/711140337/1007/OPINION
Wednesday, November 14, 2007
Editorial: Make Quicken move pay by luring out-of-state firms
The Detroit News
Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick says the recruitment of Livonia-based Quicken Loans to the city is the "next direction for Detroit," and he's right. Downtown's future is made brighter, and progress in housing and commercial development gets a much-needed boost.
Quicken owner Dan Gilbert has made a major commitment to Michigan and its largest city. He joins Compuware's Peter Karmanos, the Ilitch family, Roger Penske and Dave Bing, to name a few, who are investing their energy and money in reviving Detroit.
But it comes at a cost, and that shouldn't be set aside. The move by Quicken and its 4,000 employees who will eventually work in Detroit will cost neighboring Livonia a major taxpayer and contributor to the suburban economy.
http://www.detnews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20071114/OPINION01/711140328/1007/OPINION
Wednesday, November 14, 2007
Reviving Metro Detroit
Region makes progress toward economic change
David A. Brandon
Accountability is a word that industry, government and education need to take to heart. Too often accountability is lost in the daily status quo of big business and politics. We need accountability to see where we've been, isolate problems, make improvements, and then move on.
Last year Detroit Renaissance announced a series of initiatives to transform the regional economy called the "Road to Renaissance," and accountability was an integral part of the plan.
Detroit 2nd nationally among metro areas with most foreclosures
11/14/2007, 5:00 a.m. EST
By ALEX VEIGA
The Associated Press
LOS ANGELES (AP) — Homeowners across the U.S. are increasingly having trouble making their mortgage payments on time, but borrowers in metro areas of California, Florida and other once-booming housing markets are accounting for the biggest spikes in foreclosure filings, according to a mortgage research company.
An analysis of foreclosure activity in the nation's largest 100 metropolitan areas during the three months ended Sept. 30 shows seven cities in California and five each in Florida and Ohio were among the top 25 metro areas with the highest foreclosure rates, according to the study being released Wednesday by RealtyTrac Inc.
http://www.freep.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20071114/NEWS06/711140406/1008
Teacher training expected to meet U.S. standards
November 14, 2007
Big changes are on the way for Michigan's 31 teacher preparation institutions. The State Board of Education cleared the way Tuesday for requiring that each earn national accreditation, a rigorous process that could end ineffective programs.
It's part of a broad approach pushed by State Superintendent Mike Flanagan to improve the quality of teacher programs in Michigan. The plan would affect nearly every aspect of teaching, from creating new standards for those who want to become teachers, to changes in the licensing system that would have teachers advance on the career ladder based on their performance and not so much on experience.
http://www.detnews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20071114/OPINION01/711140327/1007/OPINION
Wednesday, November 14, 2007
Opinion
Michigan must tackle dropout crisis
More money, reinvented schools could help retain more students
Kimberly Sams-Smith
As Chrysler, Ford Motor Co. and General Motors Corp. continue to cut white-collar and factory jobs and start two-tier wage structures, one thing is crystal clear: High-paying factory jobs requiring only a high school diploma are ancient history. That is why concentrating on ways to increase Michigan's high school and, ultimately, college graduation rates is critical.
The results of a recent study conducted by Johns Hopkins University is the latest cause for alarm. The study, which analyzed U.S. Department of Education enrollment data from 2003-2006, identified 78 Michigan high schools as "dropout factories," where no more than 60 percent of students who enter as ninth-graders make it to 12th grade.
http://www.livingstondaily.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20071114/OPINION01/711140314/1014/OPINION
Teachers showing community how little it matters
If the Brighton Area Schools district were a restaurant, its menu would only include those items that the cook wanted to prepare without any consideration as to whether the customers preferred other dishes.
The restaurant would be closed at lunch and dinner times because, after all, that's when the restaurant staff likes to eat. The opening and closing times of the restaurant would differ month-to-month, without any advance notice to changing times.
As customers started leaving to find more welcoming restaurants, the remaining staff would demand higher pay and benefits because, well, they want them.
An exaggeration? Perhaps. But this mythical restaurant resembles the continued antics by Brighton teachers who — in the name of wanting a labor contract — continue to let the Brighton community know how little they matter when it comes to public education.
http://battlecreekenquirer.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20071114/OPINION01/711140301/1014/OPINION
Drug makers lobby hard to keep 'reverse payments'
One of the most popular ways for American consumers to reduce their prescription-drug expenses is to opt for generic medications over name brands.
Name-brand drug manufacturers hold patents on their medications, which generally allow them exclusive rights to sell a particular drug for a specified length of time. Such exclusivity allows drug companies to recoup some of the costs involved in developing new medications before they are subject to competitive price pressures.
http://www.hollandsentinel.com/stories/111407/local_20071114012.shtml
Wednesday, November 14, 2007
DNR finds it doesn't own park
BY JEREMY GONSIOR jeremy.gonsior@hollandsentinel.com (616) 546-4269
The fate of Pigeon Creek Park is no longer in the hands of state government.
An online Michigan document currently shows the property on Stanton Street in northern Olive Township as state-owned land.
So after a recent land review, state officials decided they didn't want to manage the property anymore and were ready to give it to someone else -- another unit of government or a conservation group.
http://www.detnews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20071114/POLITICS/711140432/1022
Wednesday, November 14, 2007
Critics say state Senate plan would hurt rivers
John Flesher / Associated Press
TRAVERSE CITY -- A plan before the state Senate would let farms, factories and others pull enough water from some rivers and streams to reduce their flow rates significantly, environmentalists said Tuesday.
The bill's chief sponsor said its critics were exaggerating.
The plan is contained in a package of bills that would give Michigan's approval to a regional compact to prevent Great Lakes water from being sent to water-poor regions.
http://battlecreekenquirer.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20071114/NEWS01/711140308/1002/NEWS01
Your new mayor: Mark Behnke
He was elected by fellow commissioners to serve as Battle Creek's mayor for 2001, and on Tuesday, At-large Commissioner Mark Behnke was elected mayor again.
The commission's longest serving commissioner, Behnke replaces Ward 4 Commissioner John Godfrey, who has served as the city's mayor for the past four years.
http://www.detnews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20071114/POLITICS/711140409/1022
Wednesday, November 14, 2007
Kelly will end tenure as chief circuit judge
She has come under fire for acting too independently and trying to privatize the Friend of the Court
Kim Kozlowski / The Detroit News
DETROIT -- Mary Beth Kelly, the beleaguered chief judge of Wayne County Circuit Court, said Tuesday she will step down from the top job after her term ends in January because of a loss of collegial support and increasing attacks on her character.
"At this point there are a lot of distractions focused on me, as opposed to the court, that's getting in the way of progress to be made," said Kelly, who will preside over Wayne County juvenile court cases in 2008, when she will be up for reelection in November.
As the first woman and youngest person to reign over the state's largest circuit court, Kelly has come under fire in recent months for several decisions. Among the criticisms is her decision to be the sole person reviewing legal challenges to racial composition of juries and complaints that she has moved forward on issues without input from judges and employees.
http://www.freep.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20071114/NEWS06/711140355/1008
Judge has had enough
Calling rumors and threats a distraction, circuit court chief says she'll leave post in January
November 14, 2007
Mary Beth Kelly, the embattled chief judge of Wayne County Circuit Court, will relinquish the top position in January, she announced Tuesday.
"I've accomplished as much as I can in this role, and the court would be better served by someone else assuming leadership," Kelly, chief judge of the state's largest circuit court for the last six years, told the Free Press.
http://www.michigansthumb.com/site/printerFriendly.cfm?brd=2292&dept_id=476228&newsid=19015708
11/12/2007
Miller calls for governor to restore Great Lakes funding
Kate Hessling , The Huron Daily Tribune
WASHINGTON, D.C. — U.S. Rep. Candice Miller, R-Harrison Township, late last week called on Gov. Jennifer Granholm to restore the $250,000 the governor previously vetoed, that would have funded various water monitoring programs in Southeast Michigan.
“I was proud to vote this week to override the President’s veto of legislation that would help protect the Great Lakes because his veto was wrong,” Miller said in a statement released Friday. “Gov. Granholm is now also on the wrong side of protecting the Great Lakes.”
The congresswoman’s statement was in response to Granholm’s veto of section 1103 of Enrolled House Bill 4358.
Section 1103 provided $250,000 to further develop the comprehensive water monitoring program in the St. Clair River, Lake St. Clair, Clinton River and Detroit River watershed.
http://www.detnews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20071114/OPINION01/711140326/1007/OPINION
Wednesday, November 14, 2007
Opinion
Consensus builds to create limits on carbon emissions
Urgency on climate change stirs firms to demand change
Andrew Hoffman
Write this down: New federal regulations regarding carbon emissions will be on the books within the next five years, regardless of who occupies the White House in 2009.
This will happen not because the environmental movement is gaining strength, but because a sense of urgency about climate change has moved beyond the environmental community and into the minds of corporate leaders and geopolitical strategists. The politicians will follow.
Climate change -- and the vexing question about what to do about it -- is provoking a paradigm shift in the political alignments that have historically defined the issue.
http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/G/GUILTY_AGENT?SITE=MIDTN&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT
Nov 13, 11:18 PM EST
Former FBI, CIA agent pleads guilty
By COREY WILLIAMS
Associated Press Writer
DETROIT (AP) -- A former agent for the FBI and CIA pleaded guilty Tuesday to faking a marriage to win U.S. citizenship, clearing the way to being hired and given security clearances by the two intelligence agencies.
Nada Nadim Prouty, 37, emigrated to the United States from Lebanon in 1989. She was given U.S. citizenship five years later and began working as a special agent at the FBI's field office in Washington in 1999, according to a criminal information sheet filed in U.S. District Court in Detroit.
http://www.freep.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20071114/NEWS06/711140357/1008
Fake U.S. citizen got FBI secrets from files
Hiring missed La Shish, terror links
November 14, 2007
In an embarrassing breach of national security, a former metro Detroit woman whose family is suspected of having links to a Lebanese terrorist group got sensitive jobs at the FBI and CIA despite being an illegal immigrant, authorities said Tuesday.
Worse, they said, Nada Nadim Prouty, 37, of Vienna, Va., used her position at the FBI to access a classified computer system to find out whether she or her family members -- including fugitive La Shish restaurant chain owner Talal Chahine -- were being investigated for terrorist activities. She also took home classified FBI information.
NATIONAL STORIES
http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2007/11/13/opinion/polls/main3497993.shtml
Poll: Top Democrats Deadlocked In Iowa
Huckabee Catching Up To Romney Among Hawkeye State Republicans
NEW YORK, Nov. 13, 2007
(CBS) Democrats and Republicans are both headed toward heated showdowns in Iowa, where, according to a new CBS News/New York Times poll, Hillary Clinton holds a statistically insignificant lead over John Edwards and Barack Obama, and GOP hopeful Mitt Romney finds his long-held position as the state's front-runner challenged by a surging Mike Huckabee.
The situation in Iowa, where nominating caucuses are scheduled for Jan. 3, is in stark contrast to New Hampshire, where Clinton and Romney continue to hold large leads among those likely to vote in the state's first-in-the-nation primary, which could come only days after Iowa's contests.
http://www.cnn.com/2007/POLITICS/11/13/clinton.planted/index.html
Student describes how she became a Clinton plant
From Chris Welch and David Schechter
CNN
GRINNELL, Iowa (CNN) -- The college student who was told what question to ask at one of New York Sen. Hillary Clinton's campaign events said "voters have the right to know what happened" and she wasn't the only one who was planted.
In an exclusive on-camera interview with CNN, Muriel Gallo-Chasanoff, a 19-year-old sophomore at Grinnell College in Grinnell, Iowa, said giving anyone specific questions to ask is "dishonest," and the whole incident has given her a negative outlook on politics.
Gallo-Chasanoff, whose story was first reported in the campus newspaper, said what happened was simple: She said a senior Clinton staffer asked if she'd like to ask the senator a question after an energy speech the Democratic presidential hopeful gave in Newton, Iowa, on November 6.
http://www.freedomworks.org/informed/issues_template.php?issue_id=2911
Why I Think Hillary Will Win
The former House Majority Leader looks at the issues debate in the presidential campaign.
If the 2008 presidential election were held today, Hillary Rodham Clinton would win.
Hillary’s minor stumbles in the MSNBC debate notwithstanding, she is simply running the most disciplined and effective campaign. She’s one of the most able politicians in America, and no one should underestimate her desire to be President and her calculating focus.
What you need to understand is that Hillary Clinton is, quite simply, craftier and more aggressive than the rest of the field. I know this firsthand, having battled with the Clinton Administration throughout the 1990’s while serving as a leader in Congress.
She’s only gotten tougher since then.
OUT-OF-GAS ELIOT PUTTING THE BRAKES ON LICENSE PLAN
By KENNETH LOVETT - Post Correspondent
November 14, 2007 -- ALBANY - With his poll numbers collapsing, Gov. Spitzer will pull the plug today on his controversial plan to allow illegal immigrants to obtain driver's licenses.
The embattled governor will make the announcement as he meets today with the state's heavily Democratic congressional delegation, which grown increasingly critical of the plan, his aides confirmed last night.
http://www.detnews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20071114/OPINION01/711140329/1007/OPINION
Wednesday, November 14, 2007
Editorial
Congress must fix alternative minimum tax
If not patched again, 23 million taxpayers face hit
The Detroit News
Congress should stop its spending spree long enough to at least place a new patch on the dreaded Alternative Minimum Tax (AMT) before it ensnares millions of middle-class Americans.
If not fixed, the AMT will hit an estimated 23.4 million wage earners with sharply higher tax bills this year, compared with 3.5 million in 2006. Revenues from the tax could rise to $69.8 billion from $23.9 billion last year.
The free spenders in Washington don't deserve such a windfall, and the nation's strained middle class certainly doesn't deserve to be punished further by the federal tax code.
http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/B/BUSH?SITE=MIDTN&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT
Nov 13, 8:26 PM EST
Bush vetoes health and education bill
By JENNIFER LOVEN
Associated Press Writer
NEW ALBANY, Ind. (AP) -- President Bush, escalating his budget battle with Congress, on Tuesday vetoed a spending measure for health and education programs prized by congressional Democrats.
He also signed a big increase in the Pentagon's non-war budget although the White House complained it contained "some unnecessary spending."
The president's action was announced on Air Force One as Bush flew to New Albany, Ind., on the Ohio River across from Louisville, Ky., for a speech criticizing the Democratic-led Congress on its budget priorities.
http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/M/MEDICAID_BACK_TAXES?SITE=MIDTN&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT
Nov 14, 4:27 AM EST
Some Medicaid providers owe back taxes
By FREDERIC J. FROMMER
Associated Press Writer
WASHINGTON (AP) -- A Senate panel is asking why more than 30,000 Medicaid providers - doctors and others in the health care field - owe at least $1 billion in back taxes and still receive federal payments for their services.
Some of those identified in a government report even live in luxury, residing in million-dollar homes, driving high-dollar vehicles and withdrawing tens of thousands of dollars from casinos.
http://www.detnews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20071114/POLITICS/711140342/1022/POLITICS
Wednesday, November 14, 2007
Drug sentencing proposal debated
Panel grills Justice rep, who says retroactive easing would harm areas struggling with abuse.
Michael J. Sniffen / Associated Press
WASHINGTON -- A Justice Department representative drew hostile questions from some U.S. Sentencing Commission members Tuesday as she tried to persuade them not to make their recent easing of crack cocaine sentences retroactive.
Gretchen C.F. Shappert, U.S. attorney in Charlotte, N.C., told the independent panel that sets sentencing guidelines for federal judges that the Bush administration opposes retroactivity because it could release "large numbers of convicted drug offenders into communities."
The commission has estimated 19,500 inmates could apply for sentence reductions under the proposal.
http://www.detnews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20071114/LIFESTYLE04/711140348/1022/POLITICS
Wednesday, November 14, 2007
Congress wants to see records from six flashy televangelists
Jenny Jarvie / Los Angeles Times
ATLANTA -- In the Rev. Dollar's chapel last week, a man in jeans and a baseball jersey bowed his head and opened his wallet. In front of him, a woman in nursing scrubs leaned on her Bible to write a check. And when the congregation stood up in prayer, some -- speaking in tongues -- waved collection envelopes in the air.
Creflo A. Dollar, senior pastor of World Changers Church International, preaches that God will reward the faithful with material riches. It is a gospel that has won the flamboyant preacher a 25,000-strong congregation -- and a Rolls-Royce, a multimillion-dollar mansion and a private Gulfstream III jet.
Now a Senate committee is investigating whether Dollar and leaders of several other mega-churches have illegally used donations to fund opulent lifestyles.
http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/A/ATTORNEY_GENERAL?SITE=MIDTN&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT
Nov 14, 3:40 AM EST
New attorney general set to take oath
By LARA JAKES JORDAN
Associated Press Writer
WASHINGTON (AP) -- The nation's top judge prepared to issue a ceremonial oath of office to Attorney General Michael Mukasey, who in his short term at the Justice Department has promised to enforce laws fairly and independent of political pressure.
The White House said President Bush also was to speak Wednesday at the Justice Department ceremony, after which Mukasey would address his employees for the first time.
http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/L/LAURA_BUSH_AWARD?SITE=MIDTN&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT
Nov 14, 12:17 AM EST
Laura Bush honored for helping children
By CHRISTINE SIMMONS
Associated Press Writer
WASHINGTON (AP) -- First lady Laura Bush and seven others were honored Tuesday for their help in supporting the health, education and welfare of children.
America's Promise Alliance, founded by former Secretary of State Colin Powell in 1997, sponsored the awards that were created to commemorate the group's 10th anniversary. The alliance is based on a joint effort of nonprofit groups, corporations, community leaders, charities, faith-based organizations and individuals to improve children's lives.
http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/D/DOMESTIC_SPYING?SITE=MIDTN&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT
Nov 14, 6:24 AM EST
Domestic spying inquiry restarted at DoJ
By DEVLIN BARRETT
Associated Press Writer
WASHINGTON (AP) -- The Justice Department has reopened a long-dormant inquiry into the government's warrantless wiretapping program, a major policy shift only days into the tenure of Attorney General Michael Mukasey.
The investigation by the department's Office of Professional Responsibility was shut down last year, after the investigators were denied security clearances. Gonzales told Congress that President Bush, not he, denied the clearances.
http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/W/WAR_COSTS?SITE=MIDTN&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT
Nov 14, 6:23 AM EST
Report Puts Hidden War Costs at $1.6T
By JEANNINE AVERSA
AP Economics Writer
WASHINGTON (AP) -- The economic costs of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan are estimated to total $1.6 trillion - roughly double the amount the White House has requested thus far, according to a new report by Democrats on Congress' Joint Economic Committee.
The report, released Tuesday, attempted to put a price tag on the two conflicts, including "hidden" costs such as interest payments on the money borrowed to pay for the wars, lost investment, the expense of long-term health care for injured veterans and the cost of oil market disruptions.
http://www.detnews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20071114/POLITICS/711140350/1022
Wednesday, November 14, 2007
Dems tie Iraq funds, withdrawals
Associated Press
WASHINGTON -- Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid said Tuesday that Democrats won't approve more money for the Iraq war this year unless President Bush agrees to begin bringing troops home.
By the end of the week, the House and Senate planned to vote on a $50 billion measure for operations in Iraq and Afghanistan. The bill would require Bush to initiate troop withdrawals immediately with the goal of ending combat by December 2008.
If Bush vetoes the bill, "then the president won't get his $50 billion," Reid, D-Nev., said.
http://www.washingtontimes.com/article/20071114/EDITORIAL01/111140010/1013/EDITORIAL
Victory in Iraq
Tony Blankley
November 14, 2007
It has become obligatory for both pro- and antiwar commentators to never mention the possibility of victory in Iraq. The most that antiwar people will admit is that the surge has gained a temporary military advantage in a war that cannot be won militarily. The most pro-war commentators will claim is that they see the possibility of "success" perhaps, maybe, someday, somehow.
But as of Veterans Day 2007, I think one can claim a very real expectation that next year the world may see a genuine, old-fashioned victory in the Iraq War. In five years we will have over-turned Saddam's government, killed, captured or driven out of country almost all al Qaeda terrorists, suppressed the violent Shi'ite militias and induced the Sunni tribal leaders and their people to shun resistance and send their sons into the army and police and seek peaceful resolution of disputes. And we will have stood up a multisectarian, tribally inclusive army capable of maintaining the peace that our troops established.