Articles of Interest 11-21-07

351 Days until Election Day

MORNING UPDATE:

Senate Republicans pass the repeal of the sales tax on services…see Senator Bishop’s statement below:

Big Red Tent launches a new on-line tool for Republicans.  Check it out…more below.

Congressman Thaddeus McCotter, Chair of the House Republican Policy Committee, declared the United Nations “a global Tammany Hall lethal to the liberty and dignity of our human family,” and called upon all free nations to create “The Liberty Alliance.”

Attorney General Mike Cox announced the 4th Annual "Support MI Troops" fundraising drive.  The "Support MI Troops" initiative raises funds to support Michigan soldiers, sailors, and Marines serving in Iraq and Afghanistan. The event is will be at Doc's Sports Retreat in Livonia on Nov. 28 between 5:00 and 8:00 p.m. 

Karl Rove publishes his first regular column in Newsweek:

http://www.newsweek.com/id/71000

On-line fundraising for Republicans at Slatecard.com has kicked off.  This is a great venue that I hope you will consider supporting our GOP candidates…we’re behind the Dems in online fundraising…help Walberg or Casperson…give to Knollenberg or McCotter…check out Michigan targets at:

http://slatecard.com/slatecards/migop

The Western Michigan University College Republicans are hosting ABC’s 20/20 Anchor John Stossel on their campus on Wednesday, November 28 at 7pm at the Shaw Theater.  Stossel’s speech is titled ‘Freedom and its Enemies: Why Greed is Good.’

Event is open to public, seating on a first come first serve basis.  With a donation to the 2006 ‘Best College Republican Group in the Nation’ ($50 per person/ $75 per couple) comes reserved seating and access to a private reception with a photo line and book signing.  Books will be available for purchase at the event.  RSVP to MeganBuwalda@hotmail.com. 

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:

- Senate Majority Leader Mike Bishop released the following statement: Core Republican principles have been proven to work in this state, and we need look no further than the 1990s as evidence of this fact. This was a time when Republicans led the state with a greater focus on economic development and lower taxes which gave birth to a robust economy. We saw headlines that read, 'Michigan leads U.S. in new business' or 'State tops U.S. in new job sites.'

The Democratic approach to governing this state has clearly failed. The headlines today read of economic doom and gloom. During the past few years, the Democrats’ economic plan has resulted in Michigan businesses like Comerica and Pfizer moving to other states, Michigan families moving to other states and even our young people – recent college graduates – moving to other states. That’s because the Democratic approach to government – higher spending, higher taxes, bigger government and a complete unwillingness to compromise – simply doesn’t work.

At some point we have to realize that the strategy isn’t working and change our tactics. This governor has been flip-flopping. She and her colleagues have insisted on higher taxes. Then they agree their beloved service tax was a monumental mistake. But they can’t unify behind a plan that would responsibly fix their mistake. It’s time to get back to a strategy that worked – lower taxes, smaller government and a focus on economic development. Simply stated, Democrats must understand we cannot continue to raise taxes on a shrinking tax base. It’s become increasingly obvious that the Democrats currently serving in state government are not in touch with the vast majority of voting Democrats in this state, let alone the balance the electorate.

They cannot continue to hold up moving this process forward by continuing to obsess about generating more revenue. Let’s get back to the principles that will grow our economy and keep people living and working in Michigan."

-  Big Red Tent, the Republican Online Community with Tools for Change, is your tool chest for Republican netroots fundraising and activism.  We are a Federal Political Action Committee that helps you raise money online for your favorite candidates nationwide. 

The launch of Big Red Tent TV on our website is at www.bigredtent.org.
 
On Big Red Tent TV, the host Jill Warren of The Patriot Group, will reach across the country to interview candidates and discuss issues that you care about.  Our first interview is with US Congressman Thaddeus McCotter (R-MI), Chairman of the Republican Policy Committee.  In this interview, Congressman McCotter gives his take on winning elections with core conservative values.  Tune in to find out for what issue he is willing to lose his seat in Congress.

- Congressman McCotter Calls for Creation of The Liberty Alliance in New York at a speech to the Hudson Institutie.

Congressman McCotter, Chair of the House Republican Policy Committee, declared the United Nations “a global Tammany Hall lethal to the liberty and dignity of our human family,” and called upon all free nations to create “The Liberty Alliance.”

In a keynote address at the Hudson Institute’s conference on the United Nations, McCotter also stated the free nations should stay in the U.N. to keep an eye on freedom’s enemies, but said our dues should be the same amount as paid by the UN’s tyrant states.

McCotter cited two statistics proving the UN’s dysfunction:  “Only 46% of the UN’s members are free nations; but the UN’s top ten financial contributors are all free nations.”

Read the full speech online at

http://mccotter.house.gov

The conference, titled the “Hijacking Human Rights:

The Demonization of Israel by the United Nations,” was held in New York City. The event was sponsored by the Hudson Institute, the American Association of Jewish Lawyers and Jurists Touro Institute on Human Rights and the Holocaust Hudson Institute, included speeches by professors, ambassadors, and members of Congress, coincided with the General Assembly's upcoming annual adoption of over 20 anti-Israel resolutions.

- Attorney General Mike Cox announced the 4th Annual "Support MI Troops" fundraising drive.  The "Support MI Troops" initiative raises funds to support Michigan soldiers, sailors, and Marines serving in Iraq and Afghanistan.

The public is invited to stop by Doc's Sports Retreat in Livonia on Nov. 28 between 5:00 and 8:00 p.m.  All proceeds go to benefit the Bob Woodruff Family Fund for Traumatic Brain Injury ($25.00 suggested donation at the door).

The "Support MI Troops" initiative raises funds to support Michigan soldiers, sailors, and Marines serving in Iraq and Afghanistan.  This year's fundraiser will benefit the Bob Woodruff Family Fund founded by Michigan native Bob Woodruff in order to raise funds for soldiers who are suffering from traumatic brain and head injuries.

Saul Anuzis

STATE STORIES

http://cqpolitics.com/wmspage.cfm?parm1=5&docID=cqmidday-000002631736

New Hampshire

Officials Waiting for

Michigan

Decision on Primary

CQ TODAY MIDDAY UPDATE

Nov. 20, 2007 – 2:22 p.m.

The early 2008 presidential primary calendar is riding on

Michigan

, where the state Supreme Court has to decide whether to allow the state to hold its Jan. 15 primary. Officials in

New Hampshire

must wait for the

Michigan

court to decide before setting that state’s primary date, which state law requires to be seven or more days before any other. The

Michigan

attorney general’s office is asking the court to set aside the Sept. 16 decision by a state appeals court blocking a law setting the early primary date. The court must decide by noon Wednesday to allow the primary to proceed as scheduled.

http://www.mlive.com/newsflash/michigan/index.ssf?/base/politics-1/119558545955630.xml&storylist=newsmichigan

Mich.

clerks say it's too late to get ready for Jan. 15 primary

11/20/2007, 1:56 p.m. EST

By KATHY BARKS HOFFMAN

The Associated Press   

LANSING, Mich. (AP) — Supporters of Michigan's Jan. 15 presidential primary still were waiting Tuesday to hear if the state Supreme Court would allow the election to be held. But the Michigan Association of County Clerks said it wants to pull the plug on the election, now less than 60 days away. The group said it's too late to guarantee that absentee voters — especially military members serving overseas, the elderly and disabled — will have enough time to apply for their ballots and return them on time.

http://detnews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20071121/OPINION01/711210329/1007/OPINION

Lawmakers, don't mess with election dates

Bill to fix primary election law would roll back reforms

The

Detroit

News

Wednesday, November 21, 2007

With the state of

Michigan

going broke, local election clerks have been strategizing on how to save millions of dollars while improving voter turnout. It seems a no-brainer: Save money, better serve voters. It would be, except for

Lansing

politics. The state Legislature is considering a presidential primary bill to which politicians tacked on language that would undermine cost-saving election consolidation efforts. The Legislature, if it decides to act on the presidential primary legislation, needs to make it a clean bill and cut out the school election language.

http://detnews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20071121/OPINION01/711210335/1007/OPINION

Stop stalling on services tax fix

The

Detroit

News

Wednesday, November 21, 2007

Michigan

businesses are nine days away from having to start collecting an onerous services tax that is ill-defined, confusing and expensive. Both houses of the Legislature have passed bills repealing the tax, and both have approved a replacement. Yet the services tax remains on the books. The state can't afford for lawmakers to shrug and say "well, we passed our repeal" and let this disaster stand. The state House and Senate have to reconcile their bills and send something to the governor to sign. And they need to do it now. The services tax is supposed to raise more than $600 million in revenue as part of a $1.4 billion total tax hike adopted last month.

http://www.freep.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20071121/NEWS06/711210408/1008

State faces a battle of tax plans

Versions of bills quite different

November 21, 2007

BY CHRIS CHRISTOFF

FREE PRESS

LANSING

BUREAU CHIEF

LANSING

-- Yet another major tax and budget dispute may go down to the wire next week, this time to repeal a new, much-disparaged tax on services set to take effect Dec. 1. A sharply divided Senate on Tuesday passed its version of a plan to replace the service tax with a temporary, yet higher, Michigan Business Tax on larger businesses. The House won't return until next week to consider the Senate's revisions to its bill.

http://detnews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20071121/POLITICS/711210398/1022/POLITICS

Time running out to find alternative for service tax

Mark Hornbeck and Gary Heinlein / The

Detroit

News

Wednesday, November 21, 2007

LANSING

-- The repeal and replacement of the unpopular service tax will need a lot more work next week, as the final countdown to the effective date of the new tax continues. The Republican-dominated Senate passed a substitute for the despised tax Tuesday that will be opposed by the House, forcing the measure to a joint House-Senate conference committee. The Democrat-controlled House intends to reject the Senate alternative when it returns from a deer-hunting break and Thanksgiving recess Monday afternoon -- just five days before the Dec. 1 date the service tax is scheduled to go on the books.

http://www.mlive.com/newsflash/michigan/index.ssf?/base/business-14/1195582144223030.xml&storylist=newsmichigan

Senate passes replacement for service tax, but Democrats unhappy

By DAVID EGGERT

The Associated Press   

11/20/2007, 6:17 p.m. EST

LANSING

,

Mich.

(AP) — The state Legislature has a lot of work left but little time remaining to repeal an unpopular tax on services before it takes effect Dec. 1. Senate Republicans voted along party lines Tuesday to replace the service tax by adding a temporary surcharge to

Michigan

's main business tax. But Democratic Gov. Jennifer Granholm doesn't like the bill because she said it fails to bring in the same amount of revenue as the service tax, leading to what she called unacceptable budget cuts to education, health care and public safety.

http://www.mlive.com/news/statewide/index.ssf?/base/business-0/1195614303284600.xml&coll=6

Service tax dead; now what?

Tuesday, November 20, 2007

By Peter Luke

LANSING

-- Business groups will square off next week over who should bear the greater financial burden of replacing a generally reviled use tax on services scheduled to take effect Dec. 1. On a party-line vote Tuesday, the Republican-led Senate repealed the tax and replaced it with a surcharge on the new Michigan Business Tax that is half the surcharge rate approved by House Democrats on Nov. 8. Big companies, including General Motors, Kellogg's, Whirlpool and Dow, favor the House plan because it caps their additional liability at $2 million and keeps intact generous investment credits in the MBT. Medium-sized firms, among them car dealers, home builders and real estate companies, believe the Senate version is more fair because the lower surcharge limits their tax hike.

http://www.lsj.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20071120/OPINION02/711200311/1085/opinion

Service tax is price we pay to help others

Michael Hood:

Published November 20, 2007

When

Michigan

bleeds, so do I. It's a sad time for all of us here. Aside from the sadness, I am also grateful for many things here including our

Great Lakes

, our state parks, forests, natural resources and our dedicated state employees who safeguard them. I'm grateful for our schools, teachers, hospitals and our local emergency services that are there just in case and yes, even our roads.

http://detnews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20071121/OPINION03/711210392/1031

Automakers vexed by external forces

Call it the Motown curse.

Wednesday, November 21, 2007

Daniel Howes

Just when

Detroit

's automakers looked like they were getting some traction -- critically acclaimed products, lower cash burn, landmark contracts with the United Auto Workers that remove billions in health care liabilities and improved competitiveness -- the national economy downshifts, threatening turnarounds at all three companies. The Federal Reserve, in minutes released Tuesday of its Oct. 30-31 meeting, said it expects economic growth to slow next year, housing to remain soft (never a good thing for companies deriving meaningful profits from selling pickups to contractors) and oil prices to remain "appreciably higher."

http://detnews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20071121/OPINION01/711210336/1007/OPINION

School boards should use reform to save money

Districts won't cut health costs unless they seek competitive bids

Frank Webster

Wednesday, November 21, 2007

The Michigan Legislature recently threw school boards a lifeline by requiring that third-party administrators, such as the Michigan Education Special Services Association, disclose claims data that helps schools get competitive bids for health insurance. But to benefit from this policy change and help taxpayers, school boards must take steps to save money. MESSA is closely linked to the Michigan Education Association, the labor union that represents teachers and other school employees. MESSA is a third-party administrator that sells insurance packages to school districts.

http://www.mininggazette.com/stories/articles.asp?articleID=9516

Vote wisely

David Kaltenbach

November 20, 2007

The Democratic governor and Democratic legislature have once again determined that the only way to balance the state’s budget is with tax increase. However, the most appropriate way to solve the state’s budget problems are to evaluate all taxpayer-funded programs. Determine which programs are needed. Are these programs legal according to the state constitution? Are these programs duplicated? Are these programs over funded? Remember, government only has money from taxation! All government programs and salaries are paid for by taxpayers. How many more taxes will make the Democrats happy?

http://www.mlive.com/newsflash/michigan/index.ssf?/base/news-48/119560015636210.xml&storylist=newsmichigan

Democrats push Senate on bills repealing drug immunity law

11/20/2007, 6:03 p.m. EST

The Associated Press   

LANSING, Mich. (AP) — Democrats and other groups on Tuesday demanded that the Republican-led Senate take up legislation that would repeal Michigan's law protecting drug companies from product liability lawsuits. Whitehouse Station, N.J.-based Merck & Co. said earlier this month it will pay $4.85 billion to end thousands of state and federal lawsuits over its painkiller Vioxx in one of the largest drug settlements ever. But

Michigan

residents apparently can't join the settlement because of the state's drug immunity law. The Democratic-led House earlier this year passed legislation to repeal the law. But it has received no vote or committee hearing in the Senate.

http://www.lsj.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20071120/OPINION02/711200315/1085/opinion

Democrats pushing bills to protect

Mich.

waters

Vital natural resource under threat; state has to act now

State Rep. Mike Sak:

Published November 20, 2007

For as long as

Michigan

has existed, it has been defined by the

Great Lakes

and its many smaller lakes, streams and rivers. People come from around the country to visit

Michigan

's water wonderland. We are the

Great Lakes

State

. As speaker pro tem of the Michigan House of Representatives, I am joining with my colleagues to make sure we keep it that way. That's why I have drafted and co-sponsored the "Great Waters, Great Michigan" legislation (House Bills 5065-5073) that will protect the Great Lakes and Michigan water from being diverted to thirsty states and countries, and will keep it from being bottled up to be sold for profit.

http://www.thetimesherald.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20071119/NEWS01/711190306/1002

Bill aims to energize wind development

Plan would insist state pursue alternative power

By MOLLY MONTAG

Times Herald

November 20, 2007

Officials hope a bill proposing 10% of

Michigan

's energy be from non-renewable resources by 2015 can help stimulate wind development in

Michigan

's Thumb region. On Thursday, the newly-formed MI Energy Future coalition launched a public-relations offensive, hosting news conferences throughout the state. The group is supporting legislation in the

Michigan

legislature that would require the state to generate 10% of its power from renewable resources, such as wind, hydro-electric and solar energy.

http://battlecreekenquirer.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20071120/OPINION01/711200301/1014/OPINION

Alternative energy could be big job-maker for state

Battle Creek

Enquirer

November 20, 2007

Alternative energy no longer is just a pipe dream of the environmental movement. Our nation's dependence on an uncertain supply of foreign oil, concerns about carbon dioxide emissions and other factors gradually are boosting the economic viability of developing energy sources that utilize the sun, wind, water and other means. Gov. Jennifer Granholm wants

Michigan

to become a leader in alternative energy not so much because of the environmental benefits but rather for the tremendous potential to create jobs in the state.

http://detnews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20071121/OPINION01/711210334/1007/OPINION

Renewable energy can fuel

Michigan

's future

Stanley

Pruss

Wednesday, November 21, 2007

The Detroit News appears to be entrenched in old world thinking on how or whether Michigan can help end the nation's dependence on foreign oil, help reduce global warming and, in the course of doing so, create jobs ("Put electricity needs ahead of wants," Nov. 10 editorial short, and Nolan Finley's Nov. 18 column "Lot of wind in Granholm's energy plan"). A new jobs report from the nonprofit American Solar Energy Society shows that not only are there 8.5 million jobs in renewable energy industries across the country today, but by 2030 there will be 40 million jobs related to some aspect of the renewable energy industries. Gov. Jennifer Granholm wants those jobs in

Michigan

.

http://www.livingstondaily.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20071120/OPINION01/711200305/1014/OPINION

Legislature's 'hunting break' is irresponsible

Livingston

Daily Press

November 20, 2007

The Michigan Legislature has been in recess since Nov. 9, and the House and Senate aren't scheduled to meet again until today. The reason for the November vacation? App-arently, they need all this time off so that nine people can hunt. It's a time-honored tradition in

Lansing

for lawmakers to take a vacation every November during deer season. Legislative leaders aren't calling this a "hunting break," but that's essentially what it is. A Detroit newspaper did some checking, though, and it discovered that only nine lawmakers — nine out of 148 — took out hunting licenses this year. So the entire Legislature gets to take a vacation so that nine people can hunt.

Unbelievable.

http://detnews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20071121/OPINION03/711210407

Gov looks to hire operations deputy

Business executives pitch idea of chief operating officer as a way to better manage state.

Wednesday, November 21, 2007

Nolan Finley

Business leaders are urging Gov. Jennifer Granholm to hire a chief operating officer to help her run state government, and there are signs she's taking the idea seriously. Administration sources say the governor is looking for an operational No. 2 who is familiar with the business community, sensitive to its needs and comfortable with its issues. That person would have broader powers and responsibilities than a chief of staff, if the position is crafted the way business executives have advised, and the job would ideally go to a seasoned executive aloof from politics who could help the governor make management decisions, streamline government and put in place sound business practices.

http://detnews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20071121/POLITICS/711210429/1022/POLITICS

Medicinal pot gets ballot bid

Associated Press

Wednesday, November 21, 2007

LANSING

-- A group that wants to allow the use of marijuana for medical purposes has turned in nearly 500,000 signatures to put the issue on the November 2008 ballot. The Michigan Coalition for Compassionate Care says the 496,000 signatures it gave the secretary of state's office should easily contain 304,101 valid signatures, the minimum required. If approved by voters, the initiative would allow qualified, seriously ill patients to use and grow a limited amount of marijuana for medical purposes upon the recommendation of a doctor.

http://www.humanevents.com/article.php?id=23511

The

Liberty

Alliance

: Championing

Liberty

and Dignity in our Human Community

by Rep. Thaddeus G. McCotter

Posted: 11/20/2007

 

The poster-child of failed hopes, today’s United Nations (UN) is a global Tammany Hall lethal to the liberty and dignity of our human family. First, the UN’s membership is stacked against free people.  According to Freedom House, of 192 UN member states, 89 are “fully free” and 103 are not.  Thus, a solid majority (54%) of member states know liberty directly threatens their survival, which requires the suppression of their own peoples and, through their UN membership, the entire human community.

http://www.grandhaventribune.com/paid/298404650944378.bsp

Rep. Hoekstra to seek ninth term

Tue, Nov 20, 2007

BY LEN PAINTER

lpainter@grandhaventribune.com

U.S. Rep. Pete Hoekstra has heard the rumors that he's going to run for

Michigan

governor in 2010. For now, Hoekstra, R-Holland, is discounting any talk about his candidacy for governor.  Hoekstra does intend to seek a ninth term as state representative, a seat that includes representing the Grand Haven area. Talk of Hoekstra's foray into

Michigan

politics surfaced after a reporter asked the congressman if he ever thought about running for governor. "I told him yes, I thought about it," Hoekstra told the Tribune's Editorial Board Monday with a smile. "I also thought about winning the lottery." While Hoekstra is focusing his attention on another term in Congress, he admits he has been frustrated with the performances of Gov. Jennifer Granholm and the state Legislature.

http://www.livingstondaily.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20071120/NEWS01/711200322/1002

Rogers

: Mileage plan may kill jobs

By Dan Meisler

DAILY PRESS & ARGUS

November 20, 2007

Stricter gas-mileage rules proposed in Congress would put one of

Detroit

's Big Three automakers out of business, U.S. Rep. Mike Rogers, R-Brighton, said Monday. Speaking to an audience at a breakfast event sponsored by the Greater Brighton Area Chamber of Commerce, the four-term congressman said that if a 35-mile-per-gallon requirement on cars and trucks is implemented, Chrysler LLC "will go out of business." He said a standard, known as Corporate Average Fuel Economy or CAFE, that blends different types of vehicles would mean major trouble for Chrysler because 70 percent of the vehicles it sells are trucks or sport utility vehicles.

http://detnews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20071121/AUTO01/711210382/1022/POLITICS

Deal on fuel rules close, Dingell says

David Shepardson /

Detroit

News

Washington

Bureau

Wednesday, November 21, 2007

WASHINGTON

-- House and Senate staffers continued to negotiate behind closed doors Tuesday to try and reach agreement on the broad outlines of a deal to raise fuel economy mandates before Congress returns in December. U.S. Rep. John Dingell, D-Dearborn, the chairman of the House Energy and Commerce Committee, said in a letter to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., that a compromise is within reach. "It is my view that a compromise can be reached using the language passed by the Senate," Dingell said in a Nov. 13 letter posted Tuesday on the committee's Web site. "The differences between the House and Senate bills can be bridged."

http://macombdaily.com/stories/112007/loc_living001.shtml

County exempts mental health from living wage

2 years later, impact of policy -- if any -- hard to determine.

By

Chad

Selweski

Macomb

Daily Staff Writer

November 20, 2007

A panel of county officials voted Monday to grant a 3-year reprieve from paying a "living wage" at all 250 mental health agencies that operate in the county. The much-publicized policy mandated that companies which do business with the county must pay their workers a minimum of $9.59 an hour, or $12.09 hourly for workers who are not provided health insurance benefits. The intent was to lift wages above the poverty level. The move to grant a blanket waiver leaves in doubt whether the living wage policy adopted by the Board of Commissioners in 2006 has had any substantial impact on pay rates.

http://www.mlive.com/newsflash/michigan/index.ssf?/base/business-14/119560830346410.xml&storylist=newsmichigan

Justice Department asks to intervene in

Michigan

Stadium lawsuit

By JIM IRWIN

The Associated Press   

11/20/2007, 8:55 p.m. EST

ANN ARBOR

,

Mich.

(AP) — The U.S. Department of Justice on Tuesday asked to join a paralyzed veterans' group in its lawsuit demanding more wheelchair-accessible seating at the

University

of

Michigan

football stadium. The department wants to join a federal lawsuit filed by the Michigan Paralyzed Veterans of America claiming the current stadium design is inaccessible and the renovation plan will neither fix the problem nor bring the facility into compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). The department also filed a motion asking for permission to inspect 80-year-old Michigan Stadium, where a three-year, $226 million renovation is in its early stages.

http://blog.mlive.com/grpress/2007/11/west_michigan_soldier_killed_i.html

West Michigan soldier killed in

Iraq

Posted by The

Grand Rapids

Press

November 20, 2007 09:19AM

A Fruitport soldier was killed Sunday when a bomb exploded while he was on mounted patrol in

Baquabah

,

Iraq

. U.S. Army Cpl. Jason T. Lee was assigned to the 1st Battalion, 38th Infantry Regiment, 4th Stryker Brigade Combat Team, 2nd Infantry Division, in

Fort Lewis

,

Wash.

The Department of Defense announced the death this morning. Also killed by the improvised explosive device were Pfc. Marius L. Ferrero, 23, of

Miami

, and Cpl. Christopher J. Nelson, 22, of

Rochester

,

Wash.

, the government said.

NATIONAL STORIES

http://www.politico.com/news/stories/1107/6970.html

Young voters dig Giuliani's moderate views

By: Ben Adler

Nov 20, 2007 06:03 AM EST

Zachary Zhengyi Lim, a freshman at

Dartmouth

College

in

New Hampshire

, is a self-described political moderate. A 17-year-old who will turn 18 in time to vote in the

Granite

State

’s presidential primary, Lim said he registered Republican on a whim. For now, Lim plans to vote for Rudy Giuliani in the presidential primary, swayed in part by the GOP contender’s record and leadership during his tenure as

New York City

mayor, and his moderate views on social issues. (Lim supports abortion rights and civil unions for gay couples.)

http://article.nationalreview.com/?q=YjE4MmMyMzVkZjlhZGQzNzlhZjdmMDEzNjI3MzM4ZTA=

Mitt Romney: “I Changed My View. Is that So Difficult to Understand?”

The candidate talks about his efforts to convince voters that his pro-life conversion is real.

By Byron York

November 20, 2007 12:00 AM

The National Right to Life Committee’s decision to endorse Fred Thompson for president not only made a strong statement about Thompson; it also said something about Mitt Romney. The former

Massachusetts

governor has done everything he can to convince social conservatives that his conversion to the pro-life cause in late 2004 was genuine and that today he is the best candidate to represent social conservatives’ concerns. Yet National Right to Life officials chose someone else. “It shows that they have lingering doubts about Romney’s real commitment,” says an influential social conservative who has sometimes been allied with the committee.

http://www.weeklystandard.com/weblogs/CampaignStandard/2007/11/kristol_mccain_and_iowa_cont_1.asp

Kristol: McCain and

Iowa

, Cont.

November 19, 2007

By William Kristol

Paris

I shudder to differ with the esteemed Cardinal Richelieu. But, emboldened by writing from

France

, where I see how fleeting are all the achievements of glory, I raise this question: Could Richelieu be wrong in arguing that McCain should compete, at least for third place, in

Iowa

? The Cardinal argues that, given the

Iowa

bounce, a mild upset third-place finish for McCain in

Iowa

is the best path to a necessary victory in

New Hampshire

. In other words, "To win

New Hampshire

, McCain needs TV ads in

Iowa

."

http://www.cnn.com/2007/POLITICS/11/20/huckabee.iowa/index.html

Huckabee gains ground with

Iowa

evangelicals

By Dana Bash

Washington

Bureau

    

DES MOINES, Iowa (CNN) -- Every Sunday, Pastor Darran Whiting talks to his small yet devout flock in

Coggon

,

Iowa

, about faith and family values.  He's careful not to talk politics in his sermons, but as soon as he steps off the pulpit, Whiting is eager talk about the presidential candidate he thinks is practicing what he's preaching: Mike Huckabee. "Gov. Huckabee stands on the issues I stand for. Socially conservative as far as being pro-life, as far as being pro-family," said Whiting. Two polls out last week show Huckabee gaining ground -- second place in one and a statistical dead heat with front-runner Mitt Romney in another.

http://www.latimes.com/news/opinion/la-oe-goldberg20nov20,0,5666123.column?coll=la-opinion-rightrail

Ron Paul isn't that scary

It's that over-do-gooder Mike Huckabee who should be making conservatives nervous.

November 20, 2007

Jonah Goldberg:

As the hopeless but energetic presidential campaign of Rep. Ron Paul (R-Texas) builds momentum in name recognition, fundraising and cross-ideology appeal, media conservatives are beginning to attack Paul in earnest. Republican consultant David Hill condemns the candidate's "increasingly leftish" positions. Syndicated columnist Mona Charen calls Paul "too cozy with kooks and conspiracy theorists." Film critic and talk radio host Michael Medved looks over Paul's supporters and finds "an imposing collection of neo-Nazis, white Supremacists, Holocaust deniers, 9/11 'truthers' and other paranoid and discredited conspiracists."

http://www.breitbart.com/article.php?id=D8T1GUB80&show_article=1

Clinton

Ad Takes on Republican Attacks

Associated Press

Nov 20 12:43 PM US/Eastern

CONCORD, N.H. (AP) - Democratic presidential contender Hillary Rodham Clinton is pointing to her Republican critics as a sign of her own political strength in a new television that was to begin airing in New Hampshire on Tuesday. The 30-second ad, titled "Machine" begins with a screen showing brief cuts of anti-Clinton ads from Republican rivals John McCain and Mitt Romney. The clips play under the title "The Republican Attack Machine" and end with shots of McCain and Romney's faces. "Here they go again—the same old Republican attack machine is back. Why?" an announcer says.

http://abcnews.go.com/WN/Vote2008/story?id=3892297&page=1

Bush:

Clinton

Understands White House Pressure

Exclusive Interview Details President's Thoughts on 2008 Race, Last Year in Office

By RICK KLEIN and ED O'KEEFE

Nov. 20, 2007

Share President Bush and First Lady Laura Bush said Tuesday that Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton's experience as first lady has prepared her to handle the "pressure" of a presidential race and the White House, and the president said he believes

Clinton

will win the Democratic nomination but lose the presidency next year.  In an exclusive interview with Charles Gibson airing on Tuesday's World News, Bush acknowledged telling an author recently that he thinks Clinton, D-N.Y., will be the Democratic nominee in 2008 -- in part because of her experience living in the White House as first lady from 1993 through 2001.

http://www.suntimes.com/news/nation/659550,obmock112007.article

Clinton

mocks Obama's childhood experience

November 20, 2007

BY ASSOCIATED PRESS

SHENANDOAH, Iowa — Hillary Rodham Clinton ridiculed Democratic rival Barack Obama on Tuesday for his contention that living in a foreign country as a child helped give him a better understanding of the foreign policy challenges facing the U.S. ‘‘Voters will have to judge if living in a foreign country at the age of 10 prepares one to face the big, complex international challenges the next president will face,’’ Clinton said. ‘‘I think we need a president with more experience than that, someone the rest of the world knows, looks up to and has confidence in.’’

http://www.nydailynews.com/news/politics/2007/11/20/2007-11-20_barack_obama_raps_hillary_clinton_for_re.html

Barack Obama raps Hillary Clinton for resume jabs; poll has him pulling ahead

BY KENNETH R. BAZINET

DAILY NEWS

WASHINGTON

BUREAU

Tuesday, November 20th 2007, 4:00 AM

WASHINGTON

- Barack Obama charged Monday that Hillary Clinton acts as if she were a cabinet secretary instead of First Lady when she attacks his resume. "My understanding is she wasn't treasury secretary in the

Clinton

administration. I don't know exactly what experience she's claiming," Obama told reporters in

Iowa

, where a new poll shows he's now leading among Democratic contenders. "Rather than just assert experience, if she has specific differences with me in regard to economic policy, then let's have that debate," added the

Illinois

senator.

http://apnews.myway.com/article/20071120/D8T1EHB00.html

Poll: Obama, Giuliani Likable Candidates

Nov 20, 8:59 AM (ET)

By NANCY BENAC and TREVOR TOMPSON

WASHINGTON (AP) - Democrats and Republicans alike have strong opinions about who has the best chance of capturing the presidency in 2008 - Hillary Clinton and Rudy Giuliani, that is - but that's not necessarily the candidate they'd rather go bowling with, take along on a family vacation or even vote for. An in-depth survey of more than 2,000 people offers a window into the thinking of Americans as they look far beyond electability in making their choices for president - grappling with matters of personality, policy and religion in sorting through the candidates.

http://www.breitbart.com/article.php?id=D8T1IPAG0&show_article=1

Obama: I Tried Drugs As a Teen

Nov 20 02:49 PM US/Eastern

By PHILIP ELLIOTT

MANCHESTER

,

N.H.

(AP) - Presidential hopeful Barack Obama on Tuesday told high school students that when he was their age he was hardly a model student, experimenting with illegal drugs and drinking alcohol. Obama stopped by a study hall at

Manchester

Central

High School

and answered students' questions about the war in

Iraq

and his education plan. But when an adult asked about his time as a student, Obama spoke bluntly. "I will confess to you that I was kind of a goof-off in high school as my mom reminded me," said Obama, an Illinois Democrat who grew up in

Hawaii

http://www.realclearpolitics.com/articles/2007/11/bloomberg_a_man_without_a_part.html

Can Bloomberg Fill JFK-Sized Hole in American Politics?

By Mort Kondracke

November 20, 2007

Michael Bloomberg is back in the 2008 presidential picture, and one thing is for sure: There is a statesman-sized hole to fill in the center of American politics. It would fit a figure who is strong on national security, unlike all the Democratic candidates, yet fiscally responsible and socially moderate to liberal, unlike the Republicans. It's a Franklin Roosevelt-, Harry Truman-, Dwight Eisenhower-, John F. Kennedy-sized hole that's currently occupied by no one except perhaps Sen. Joe Lieberman (ID-Conn.), a man without a party.

http://www.nytimes.com/2007/11/20/us/politics/20debate.html?_r=1&oref=slogin

Panel Picks 4 Debate Sites, Angering Excluded

New Orleans

By KATHARINE Q. SEELYE

November 20, 2007

The Commission on Presidential Debates has picked

Oxford

,

Miss.

;

St. Louis

;

Nashville

; and

Hempstead

,

N.Y.

, as the sites of the presidential and vice-presidential debates in the general election campaign next year.

New Orleans

took offense at its omission, with a leader of one

Louisiana

advocacy group saying she had been told that the city had not recovered sufficiently from Hurricane Katrina to act as host of such an event.

New Orleans

was one of 16 finalists and has attracted major conventions since the hurricane devastated much of the city more than two years ago.

http://www.gallup.com/poll/102829/Congress-Approval-Rating-20-Bushs-Approval-32.aspx

Congress’ Approval Rating at 20%; Bush’s Approval at 32%

by Joseph Carroll

November 20, 2007

PRINCETON

,

NJ

--

Gallup

's latest poll finds only one in five Americans approving of the job Congress is doing at this time. The public's rating of Congress had shown slight improvements in recent months, but the current rating is down again and is among the lowest that

Gallup

has ever measured dating back to 1974. Americans' assessment of the job President George W. Bush is doing is also quite negative and has shown little change over the past two months, with about one in three Americans expressing approval of him.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2007/11/20/pelosi-and-gingrich-two-_n_73539.html

Pelosi and Gingrich: Two Very Different Profiles in Leadership

Thomas Edsall

November 20, 2007 02:52 PM

They could not be more different. One took huge risks, capitalized on a modest win to claim ideological victory, and turned a slim House majority into an unprecedented power base - only to self-immolate by wildly overestimating his public support. The other lost her opening bid to install her key ally as House Majority Leader, has repeatedly failed to fulfill the central promise of her Speakership, to get American troops out of Iraq, and has yet to authoritatively command center stage -- but, strangely enough, has won enactment of more legislation than her flamboyant predecessor. Newt Gingrich, the architect of the 1994 Republican revolution, and Nancy Pelosi, a symbol of Democratic resurgence and the first woman to become Speaker of the House, are a strange duo to contrast and compare.

http://www.uschambermagazine.com/content/0711_10e.htm

PAYGO-Excuse for Higher Taxes?

Dr. Martin Regalia: ECON 101

November 2007

When the Democratic Congress took control last November, it adopted the principle of PAYGO or pay-as-you-go as its overarching guideline for fiscal policy. Simply put, PAYGO means that every spending proposal or change to the tax code that results in a loss of revenue must be "paid" for with an equivalent spending cut or tax increase. Now, on the face of it, this approach may not seem so bad and may even appeal to those who focus exclusively on the size of the budget surplus or deficit as a measure of sound fiscal policy. But this approach is, at best, an overly simplistic operational guideline and, when rigidly applied, is fraught with a number of problems.

http://www.politico.com/news/stories/1107/6987.html

Retirements push GOP to the right

By: Josh Kraushaar and Martin Kady II

Nov 19, 2007 07:30 PM EST

The unexpected retirement of Rep. Mike Ferguson (R-N.J.) marks the latest in an exodus of moderate Republicans that is pushing the caucus in a rightward direction and could potentially cripple the party’s chances of winning back seats in swing districts next year. Of the 17 Republican House members to announce their retirements this year — Ferguson joined the club on Monday — eight have built reputations on Capitol Hill as centrists willing to work with Democrats to get legislation passed. Political observers warn that those are exactly the type of candidates the GOP needs to regain its congressional majority.

http://www.cnn.com/2007/HEALTH/11/20/stem.cells.ap/index.html

'Milestone' stem cell advance reported

Associated Press

November 20, 2007

NEW YORK

(AP) -- Scientists have made ordinary human skin cells take on the chameleon-like powers of embryonic stem cells, a startling breakthrough that might someday deliver the medical payoffs of embryo cloning without the controversy. Laboratory teams on two continents report success in a pair of landmark papers released Tuesday. It's a neck-and-neck finish to a race that made headlines five months ago, when scientists announced that the feat had been accomplished in mice. The "direct reprogramming" technique avoids the swarm of ethical, political and practical obstacles that have stymied attempts to produce human stem cells by cloning embryos.

http://article.nationalreview.com/?q=NDVlNDBkYmE5YTUxODU2ZWFkOGUxMmY3NTNiNTk2ZmU=

The Future Is Now

Stem-cell debate changes.

By Father Thomas Berg

November 20, 2007 9:19 AM

It’s called “reprogramming.”

Another technical term for it is “somatic cell dedifferentiation.” Just get those terms into your vocabulary because they’ll be around for the foreseeable future. As reported in two scientific papers published today, reprogramming is now the future of stem cell research and renders ethically controversial therapeutic cloning obsolete. Ever since the debate of embryo-destructive stem-cell research began in earnest in 1998 when researchers at the University of Wisconsin first isolated human embryonic stem cells, we’ve known that the best overall answer to the ethical impasse would be a solution that both allows the search for stem-cell related cures to go foreword, while doing so without harming or destroying embryonic human life in the process.

http://www.nytimes.com/2007/11/21/science/21stem.html?_r=3&hp=&oref=slogin&pagewanted=print&oref=slogin&oref=slogin

New Stem Cell Method Could Ease Ethical Concerns

By GINA KOLATA

November 21, 2007

Two teams of scientists are reporting today that they turned human skin cells into what appear to be embryonic stem cells without having to make or destroy an embryo — a feat that could quell the ethical debate troubling the field. All they had to do, the scientists said, was add four genes. The genes reprogrammed the chromosomes of the skin cells, making the cells into blank slates that should be able to turn into any of the 220 cell types of the human body, be it heart, brain, blood or bone. Until now, the only way to get such human universal cells was to pluck them from a human embryo several days after fertilization, destroying the embryo in the process.

http://detnews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20071121/POLITICS/711210311/1022/POLITICS

Stem cell research breakthrough could be election plus for Bush anti-abortion allies

Laurie Kellman Associated Press

Wednesday, November 21, 2007

WASHINGTON

-- A breakthrough in stem cell research could give President Bush and his anti-abortion allies a political I-told-you-so in a debate Democrats have long been planning to use in next year's elections. Bush's twin vetoes of bills to put taxpayer dollars behind embryonic stem cell research, Democrats said, showed that he would let ideology block progress in finding cures to diseases that afflict millions of people. Bush insisted that medical advances could be made without destroying embryos.

http://detnews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20071121/POLITICS/711210400/1022/POLITICS

Justices accept handgun ban case

Supreme Court likely to hear arguments on D.C. law in March, rule on 2nd Amendment issue by June.

Detroit News wire reports

Wednesday, November 21, 2007

WASHINGTON

-- The Supreme Court announced Tuesday that it will decide whether the

District of Columbia

's ban on handguns violates the Constitution, a choice that will put the justices at the center of the controversy over the meaning of the Second Amendment for the first time in nearly 70 years. The court's decision could have broad implications for gun control measures locally and across the country, and will raise a hotly contested political issue just in time for the 2008 elections. The court will likely hear the case in March and a decision would come before it adjourns at the end of June.

http://www.slate.com/id/2178286/

Something To Give Thanks For

Good news from

Iraq

.

By Christopher Hitchens

Posted Monday, Nov. 19, 2007, at 10:47 AM ET

A few weeks ago, in Britain's Prospect magazine, the paper's foreign editor, Bartle Bull, published a bold essay saying that the high tide of violence in Iraq was essentially behind us and that the ebb had disclosed some interesting things. First, the Iraqi people as a whole had looked into the abyss of civil war and had drawn back from the brink. Second, the majority of Sunni Arabs had realized that their involvement with al-Qaida forces was not a patriotic "insurgency" but was instead a horrific mistake and had exposed their society to the most sadistic and degraded element in the entire Muslim world.

http://www.weeklystandard.com/weblogs/CampaignStandard/2007/11/barnes_herd_journalism_iraq_ed_1.asp

Barnes: Herd Journalism,

Iraq

Edition

November 20, 2007

By Fred Barnes

I think it was that great Democratic wit Gene McCarthy who described journalists and reporters as blackbirds on a telephone wire. When one flies to the telephone wire across the street, they all do. There's also a non-bird name for this phenomenon. It's called herd journalism. And just this week we've seen it pop up in stories about the pacification of

Baghdad

, crushing of Al Qaeda in

Iraq

, and almost complete end of the Sunni-Shia civil war. Taken together, these stories amount to a consensus that the surge of additional American troops and the counterinsurgency strategy adopted by General David Petraeus has worked - and worked brilliantly.

http://www.reuters.com/article/topNews/idUSL2057524920071120?feedType=RSS&feedName=topNews&rpc=22&sp=true

Saudi defends verdict against gang-rape victim

Reuters

Tue Nov 20, 2007 10:37am ES

RIYADH

(Reuters) -

Saudi Arabia

defended on Tuesday a court's decision to sentence a woman who was gang-raped to 200 lashes of the whip, after the

United States

described the verdict as "astonishing". The 19-year-old Shi'ite woman from the town of

Qatif

in the

Eastern

Province

and an unrelated male companion were abducted and raped by seven men in 2006. Ruling according to

Saudi Arabia

's strict reading of Islamic law, a court had originally sentenced the woman to 90 lashes and the rapists to jail terms of between 10 months and five years. It blamed the woman for being alone with an unrelated man. Last week the Supreme Judicial Council increased the sentence to 200 lashes and six months in prison and ordered the rapists to serve between two and nine years in jail.

http://www.breitbart.com/article.php?id=D8T1MMEG0&show_article=1

U.S.

Astonished by Saudi Rape Sentence

Nov 20 07:16 PM US/Eastern

By DESMOND BUTLER

Associated Press Writer

WASHINGTON (AP) - The State Department expressed astonishment Tuesday about a Saudi court's sentence of six months in jail and 200 lashes for a woman who was gang raped. Department spokesman Sean McCormack stopped short of stronger language against its close ally in the

Middle East

. On Monday,

Canada

said it would lodge a complaint and called the sentence barbaric. "I think when you look at the crime and the fact that now the victim is punished, I think that causes a fair degree of surprise and astonishment," McCormack said. "But it is within the power of the Saudi government to take a look at the verdict and change it."

http://www.breitbart.com/article.php?id=071120171847.ztwhdd8q&show_article=1

Conerns persist over Chinese anti-satellite test: US military

AFP

November 20, 2007

US

concerns about

China

's military buildup have only been heightened by a Chinese anti-satellite test in January that has yet to be explained, the top

US

military leader said Tuesday. Admiral Michael Mullen, the new chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said he raised the test with Chinese leaders when he visited the country in August, as have other senior

US

officials. "It speaks to a higher level of concern that many of us in the

United States

have about what is the strategic intent of the investment, the high tech investment the Chinese government is making with respect to its military capability in the future," Mullen said.