370 Days until election day.
MORNING UPDATE:
Repeal of the sales tax on services is a top priority. How to replace the “lost revenues”…your tax dollars is being debated. FOUR options: 1) reforms 2) cuts 3) other taxes 4) combination. I like 1 & 2…Democrats want 3…and so goes the debate?!?
Do You Know What's 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".
"I have no desire to increase taxes again," Granholm said. Where have we heard that before? Opposing structural reforms in the state’s budget is leading us right back here.
The budget is growing…need the facts…go to:
http://migop.blogs.com/blog/2007/11/estimated-bud-1.html
Democrats are acting like teenagers who get their first credit card and haven’t figured out they have to pay it back!?! Granholm in Michigan and Rangel in Washington.
Recall movement growing…look at all the Democrat tax hikers under a citizen’s tax revolt. Is your Representative on the list?
The folks at Michigan Liberal wrote up a nice summary on “how a recall works”. You can see it posted here:
http://migop.blogs.com/blog/2007/11/how-to-run-a-re.html
Politics as usual is a luxury we can no longer afford.
THE REST OF THE STORY:
- Do You Know What's In The Law Of The Sea Treaty?
In a nutshell, LOST 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!
According to the U.S. Constitution, if the Senate ratifies LOST, it becomes law.
That's why Ronald Reagan blocked it so many years ago. He knew exactly what it contained and said, "Over my dead body!"
According to Carrie E. Donovan of the Heritage Foundation, Reagan had three major objections.
First , he objected to the International Seabed Authority (ISA), an organization designed to shake-down United States mining and maritime companies by requiring an application fee of $500,000, an annual fee of $1 million, and a percentage of profits -- up to 7 percent. These companies will be required to share their mining and navigational technology. And, oh yes, the ISA would effectively have the power to tax American citizens and U.S. companies.
Second, Reagan understood the true purpose of restricting the world's supply of minerals by limiting access to the sea floor. It was to force nations to buy from land-locked, third-world countries.
And third, he objected to the establishment of a United Nations-style court to rule the waves and rule against the USA.
Reagan regarded himself as President of the United States rather than Savior of the Third World. He wasn't willing to surrender an inch of American sovereignty and would never condone forcing American corporations to kneel and pay tribute to a bunch of third-world despots.
We know today what President Reagan knew then. If this treaty is approved by the Senate, Americans will surrender freedoms they can never regain.
Even presidential candidates Fred Thompson, Rudy Giuliani, John McCain and Mike Huckabee have since spoken out against LOST!
Call Senator Levin and Senator Stabenow's offices and encourage them to oppose the "LOST Treaty".
- 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
How does a recall work: http://migop.blogs.com/blog/2007/11/how-to-run-a-re.html
Saul Anuzis
STATE STORIES
Granholm signs more budget bills, rejects some items
11/1/2007, 7:21 p.m. EDT
The Associated Press
LANSING, Mich. (AP) — Gov. Jennifer Granholm has signed most of the new state budget bills, but she also has rejected portions through several line-item vetoes announced Thursday.
Granholm vetoed more than $800,000 set aside for various projects in the state's Department of Human Services budget, saying they "cannot be supported during these tight fiscal times."
The funding affects items ranging from a school-based crisis intervention program in Pontiac to a social services program in Newberry.
http://freep.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20071102/NEWS06/711020418
Senate OKs delay in services tax start
Repeal campaign seeks signatures
November 2, 2007
LANSING -- A campaign to repeal the controversial new sales tax on services started at warp speed Thursday.
The state Senate passed a bill to delay the Dec. 1 start of the tax to Dec. 20 just hours after Oakland County Executive L. Brooks Patterson kicked off a petition drive to repeal the tax.
http://detnews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20071102/METRO/711020367/1409/METRO
Friday, November 2, 2007
Senate votes to delay sales tax
It's the first salvo from Lansing in a battle against the state's new levy on select services.
Charlie Cain and Mark Hornbeck / Detroit News Lansing Bureau
LANSING -- The Senate took the first step toward blocking the scheduled Dec. 1 implementation of the new tax on services Thursday when it passed a 20-day delay to allow time for lawmakers to come up with a replacement levy.
The law to expand the 6 percent sales tax to a strange array of services would be postponed to Dec. 20, a move that would cost the state about $50 million in revenue, under a bill approved by the Senate, 22-14. The measure is linked to another bill that would repeal the tax. During debate, some senators said the sales tax expansion was cobbled together too hastily, and without sufficient public input. It is roundly criticized by business groups, who call it a job-killer.
"I think it's important we take this step forward and buy some time to craft a better solution," said Sen. Valde Garcia, R-Howell, one of three Republicans who voted in favor of the unpopular levy.
http://www.lsj.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20071102/NEWS01/711020349/1001/news
Published November 2, 2007
[ From Lansing State Journal ]
'Ax the tax' rally pushes for repeal
Critics of state's service tax begin petition drive
Chris Andrews
Lansing State Journal
To public relations executive Barbara Lezotte, Michigan's new tax on services is a punch in the gut.
Her small Lansing consulting company, Lezotte Miller, has had to retrench during Michigan's prolonged economic downturn, cutting jobs and health care benefits. She recently added employees to bring her staff up to five people, for the first time since 2001.
The sales tax on services could force her to cut back again, and could force some service companies to leave the state altogether, she warned Thursday.
http://detnews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20071102/OPINION01/711020349/1008
Friday, November 2, 2007
Editorials: Our Opinion
Keep State Police crime labs open
One result of the new state budget has law enforcement officials from Marquette to Mount Clemens scratching their heads. The budget calls for the closing of two State Police crime labs. It's a poor choice.
Crime labs in Sterling Heights and Marquette would be shuttered. Under the plan, six workers in Marquette would be laid off and 19 employees in the Sterling Heights lab would be reassigned.
The move would leave five other labs across the state, but only one in Metro Detroit -- in Northville. The closings would save $2 million in the state's General Fund budget.
http://www.lsj.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20071102/OPINION01/711020314/1085/opinion
Published November 2, 2007
[ From Lansing State Journal ]
Bus ads: Legislature should alter law to allow exterior ads
A Lansing State Journal editorial
The Michigan Legislature just approved a 2008 budget that calls for an average 1 percent increase in K-12 funding.
Meanwhile, spending pressures on public schools rise about 5 percent a year, according to the Citizens Research Council of Michigan.
School districts, not surprisingly, are eager to close that gap. And one way they could is by selling advertising space on the exterior of school buses. Unfortunately, a 1990 state law bars that very practice.
http://battlecreekenquirer.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20071102/NEWS01/711020315/1002/NEWS01
Susan J. Demas: Can fringe GOP conjure up a clue?
After months of stunned silence, House Republicans are finally ready to rumble on the budget.
And they're not about to let pesky details — like the fact that final budgets passed on Halloween with near-unanimous consent — stop them.
It was the Senate that voted Thursday to delay the new service tax. But House Minority Leader Craig DeRoche & Co. want to slay it completely, unraveling nine months of anguished compromise.
Recall efforts keep running into hurdles
11/1/2007, 7:25 p.m. EDT
The Associated Press
LANSING, Mich. (AP) — A Wayne County election panel has ruled that petitions calling for the recall of several state lawmakers aren't clear and should not be approved.
It mirrors a ruling in Macomb County earlier this week.
A group that wants to recall some state lawmakers who recently voted for tax increases says it will appeal the rulings.
http://detnews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20071102/AUTO01/711020339/1148/AUTO01
Friday, November 2, 2007
Economic pain will get even worse
Brian J. O'Connor / The Detroit News
Word that even more auto workers and executives will lose their jobs at Chrysler LLC is yet another blow to southeast Michigan's struggling economy -- and probably not the last.
"We are in the later stages of restructuring in the Michigan auto sector, but we're not done," said Dana Johnson, chief economist for Comerica Bank in Detroit.
As Chrysler pares down to a size that matches its reduced market share, more job cuts could be necessary, analysts say. The situation likely will repeat itself at Ford Motor Co., which already has announced plans to close more plants as part of its restructuring.
http://detnews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20071102/OPINION03/711020331/1148/AUTO01
Friday, November 2, 2007
Daniel Howes
Harsh business reality sets in
The partial dismemberment of Chrysler LLC, coming less than a week after ratification of its new union contract, may enrage the automaker's hourly and salaried employees.
Who could blame them?
But the folks in Auburn Hills and in plants around the country shouldn't be surprised that the privately owned Chrysler is taking out another 10,000 union jobs, dropping shifts at five plants, cutting 1,000 salaried heads, dumping 1,100 contractors and killing four models.
http://detnews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20071102/POLITICS/711020381/1022/POLITICS
Friday, November 2, 2007
Capitol report
Bill aims to reform insurance policies
House Democrats want to end 'credit scoring' used by auto insurers to set individual rates.
Gary Heinlein / Detroit News Lansing Bureau
LANSING -- With the state budget behind them, House Democrats are pushing a package of bills empowering Michigan's insurance boss to order insurance refunds and eliminate so-called "credit scoring" to determine the rates.
The rates Detroit consumers pay for auto insurance coverage, which is mandated under Michigan law, are among the nation's highest. As many as 60 percent of Detroit drivers are uninsured -- in violation of the law -- because they can't afford it, reform proponents claim.
"It's outrageous that consumers who have been overcharged by their insurance companies have no clear right to a refund," said state Rep. Marc Corriveau of Northville, one of the bills' sponsors.
http://detnews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20071102/SCHOOLS/711020332
Friday, November 2, 2007
Prop 2 impact is slight at U-M
Marisa Schultz / The Detroit News
The percentage of underrepresented minorities in the University of Michigan's freshman class declined slightly this fall, the first signal of the impact of Proposal 2, which forced the university to stop considering race when admitting students this year.
The drop comes at a time when the state's other 14 public universities -- which said they had not previously used affirmative action -- saw an increase in the number of black, Latino and Native American students on their campuses, according to a Detroit News analysis of fall admissions records at all 15 institutions.
The numbers suggest that the ballot initiative barring race from admissions decisions didn't significantly impact the number of the three groups -- considered underrepresented minorities -- at public universities overall. But it may have contributed to smaller percentages of minorities admitted at the highest levels -- at the state's most prestigious university and top professional schools -- where the impact was most feared.
http://freep.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20071101/NEWS04/71101026/1006
Warren officials to meet with Granholm about charter school
November 1, 2007
Warren city leaders are scheduled to meet with Gov. Jennifer Granholm next week to share their concerns about a controversial charter school on the city’s north side.
The state issued a stop-work order over the weekend, just days after the Michigan Department of Education granted permits to Conner Creek East Academy to build a school at 13 Mile and Ryan roads. Conner Creek operates a grade school, middle school and high school in Roseville but has planned to consolidate the middle school and high school students in one building in Warren.
http://www.lsj.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20071102/OPINION02/711020330/1085/opinion
Published November 2, 2007
[ From Lansing State Journal ]
Tim Skubick: Yob kept politics lively
Powerful GOP insider is out of key party post
Love him or hate him, the Michigan political stage is losing a guy you can't ignore: Chuck Yob.
Beloved by the Capitol press corps for sometimes engaging his mouth before his cranium, Yob has cut a wide path in state Republican politics since 1970.
Since then, Yob has either single-handedly tarnished the grand in the Grand Old Party or elevated it to an even grander status. It depends on who you are and how you interpret his record.
http://detnews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20071102/OPINION01/711020353/1008
Friday, November 2, 2007
Baby Jesus tops eclectic Oakland ballot
Nativity scene, library bond and spending limits at issue
A nativity display dispute and a library bond proposal are among the most talked about issues on Oakland County community ballots this Tuesday, but they're not standing alone among topics that deserve careful consideration by voters.
A number of charter amendment proposals are on the ballots and the outcomes will have significant impact on city finances and governance. In general, voters should maintain provisions that require accountability of their elected officials.
http://freep.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20071102/OPINION01/711020336/1068/OPINION
Macomb needs a county exec
November 2, 2007
A group pushing for an elected executive to head Macomb County government appears to have more than enough signatures to put the issue before voters in May. That's good news for the county.
Commissioners opposing the proposal should not interfere again by pushing another county executive plan that would make the change by state statute.
http://detnews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20071102/AUTO01/711020390/1148
Friday, November 2, 2007
Cheney meets with Ford, Chrysler CEOs
Reported gatherings latest sign White House is taking active role in fuel economy debate.
David Shepardson / Detroit News Washington Bureau
WASHINGTON -- Vice President Dick Cheney met with the CEOs of Ford Motor Co. and Chrysler LLC in recent days in the wake of a push on Capitol Hill for dramatically higher fuel economy requirements.
Cheney met Wednesday with Chrysler Chairman and CEO Robert Nardelli and on Oct. 24 with Ford Motor Co. president and CEO Alan R. Mulally, officials told The Detroit News.
The meetings are the latest sign the Bush administration is taking a more active role in the fuel economy debate.
http://detnews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20071102/METRO/711020384/1409/METRO
Friday, November 2, 2007
Levin backs shipwreck haven
U.S. senator drafts bill to expand a Lake Huron marine sanctuary to shelter 178 sunken ships.
Gordon Trowbridge / Detroit News Washington Bureau
WASHINGTON -- A Lake Huron marine sanctuary that protects the remains of more than 100 shipwrecks would grow eight times larger under legislation introduced Thursday by Sen. Carl Levin.
Levin's bill would expand the Thunder Bay National Marine Sanctuary, which now covers 448 square miles of the lake off the coast of Alpena County, to more than 3,700 square miles, and more than double the number of shipwrecks the sanctuary now protects.
The new boundaries would extend to the water off Alcona and Presque Isle counties, and east to the water boundary with Canada. Michigan's other U.S. senator, Debbie Stabenow, is co-sponsoring the bill.
NATIONAL STORIES
http://campaignspot.nationalreview.com/post/?q=OGI0N2FiYmJmODUyYTczNWNmMTViMjFhYzZkODRlNDM
Newt Gingrich: Hillary's Nomination Chances Just Dropped From 80 to 50 Percent
Newt Gingrich called in to Sean Hannity's radio program to discuss Hillary Clinton's debate performance. Highlights:
“Her performance in that debate was so bad, on issues that matter so much, she may not be able to recover from it… This issue of Spitzer trying to give out d l to people at a time when your driver’s licenseallows you to vote – for her to trap herself into saying that creates a big wound…
The fact that she said she’s basically sympathetic with Rangel’s trillion dollar tax increase – that’s going to arouse some deep opposition. The huge Democratic tax increase allowed us to win in 1994… Then, I saw in a ticker on Fox News, when Sen. Edwards said nominating her would be ‘a victory for a corruption machine’… it brings back a lot of memories of the Chinese funding scandals of 1996… It takes her winning the nomination from an 80 percent likelihood to a 50 percent. It’s even money. If she doesn’t turn this around quick, I may have to call back in and take it even lower.”
Feel the Love
By DAVID BROOKS
Published: November 2, 2007
BRIAN WILLIAMS: Welcome to Drexel University, the site of tonight’s Democratic presidential debate. Let’s get started with Senator Barack Obama. Senator, you’ve vowed to spend this entire debate standing on Senator Clinton’s windpipe while reducing her to a quivering mass of jelly. How do you plan on doing that?
http://article.nationalreview.com/?q=MzJmZmMwYjFjNmRlZDA0ZmM3NDFkMjQ3NzY0MzE3YmU
November 1, 2007 6:45 AM
Hillary, Under Lock and Key
Trying to get to the bottom of her executive experience.
By Stephen Spruiell
A trove of unreleased documents from Hillary Clinton’s years as First Lady became an embarrassing land mine for Clinton as she plodded through what felt like the eight-hundredth Democratic presidential debate Tuesday night. Moderator Tim Russert asked Clinton:
RUSSERT: Senator Clinton, I’d like to follow up, because in terms of your experience as first lady, in order to give the American people an opportunity to make a judgment about your experience, would you allow the National Archives to release the documents about your communications with the president, the advice you gave? Because, as you well know, President Clinton has asked the National Archives not to do anything until 2012.
http://www.washingtontimes.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20071101/NATION/111010046/1001
Hillary draws fire for aliens answer
By Christina Bellantoni
November 1, 2007
Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton yesterday declined to clarify her position on enabling illegal aliens to get driver's licenses despite sharp attacks from both Democrats and Republicans.
Democrats called her debate answer evasive, and Republicans rebuked her for saying New York Gov. Eliot Spitzer's policy of enabling illegals' licensing "makes a lot of sense."
In the Tuesday night debate, Mrs. Clinton, in response to a question, said Mr. Spitzer approved granting the driver's licenses to "fill the vacuum left by the failure of this administration to bring about comprehensive immigration reform." She called it a public-safety issue.
http://thepage.time.com/bush-41-backs-away-from-clinton/
Bush 41 Backs Away From Clinton
George H.W. Bush on FOX News Sunday’s “American Leaders” series with Chris Wallace.
“Well, look, if she’s the nominee, I obviously will be for her opponent. I thought a few weeks ago that she was almost a ‘gimme’, as we say in golf, for the nomination. I’m not sure I feel that way now. Well, there seems to be more kind of internal — in her own party there seems to be more willingness to take her on and to argue about stuff. But she’s a formidable opponent and she’s done very well, in my view. Now would I be for her? No.”
http://www.iht.com/articles/2007/11/01/america/obama.php
Obama would engage Iran if elected, he says
By Michael R. Gordon and Jeff Zeleny Published: November 1, 2007
CHICAGO: If elected president, Senator Barack Obama would meet with Iran's leaders and offer economic inducements and a possible promise not to seek "regime change" if Iran stopped meddling in Iraq and cooperated on terrorism and nuclear issues.
In an hour-long interview on Wednesday, Obama made clear that forging a new relationship with Iran would be a major element of a broad effort to stabilize Iraq. And he vowed to engage in "aggressive personal diplomacy" with Iran and other regional powers as he withdrew American combat forces in Iraq.
http://detnews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20071102/POLITICS/711020356/1022/POLITICS
Friday, November 2, 2007
Analysis
Iacocca backs another Democrat in '08
Gordon Trowbridge / Detroit News Washington Bureau
Former Chrysler chief Lee Iacocca, a former President Bush supporter who apparently has soured on Republicans, has endorsed Democrat Bill Richardson for president.
In a video announcement on the New Mexico governor's campaign Web site Thursday, Iacocca calls Richardson the only candidate in either party with the executive experience and policy proposals to lead the country.
"If you're like me, I'll bet you're fed up with how our country is being run right now," Iacocca says in the video. He calls Richardson the only candidate "with experience creating jobs, and with the guts to lead."
http://www.humanevents.com/article.php?id=23162
Could the Immigration Issue Upset Democrats in ’08?
by John Gizzi
Posted: 11/01/2007
“The illegal immigration issue cut well for Jim Ogonowski. If he had had the money and resources to put an ad on TV, he would have been the new congressman from the 5th District of Massachusetts. The only thing that kept him from winning was not having money to put an illegal immigration ad on TV, period.”
Those remarks came from Ron Kaufman, Republican National Committeeman from Massachusetts and White House political director under the elder George Bush, a few days after the stunning photo-finish in his state’s special U.S. House election October 16. In a result that few expected, Republican Jim Ogonowski, a retired U.S. Air Force officer, came within a few percentage points (51% to 45%) of defeating Democrat Niki Tsongas, widow of revered Massachusetts Sen. and 1992 Democratic presidential hopeful Paul Tsongas. Pundits and pols agree that Ogonowski’s stronger-than-thought-possible showing was directly related to his sharp difference with Tsongas on the issue of illegal immigration -- particularly whether illegal immigrants should have driver’s licenses.
http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/P/PASSPORT_FEES?SITE=MIDTN&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT
Nov 2, 7:04 AM EDT
Congress questions passport fees
By LARRY MARGASAK
Associated Press Writer
WASHINGTON (AP) -- First, Americans endured exasperating delays and ruined vacations from passport processing backlogs. Now, a congressional investigation indicates they may have been overcharged, too - perhaps by more than $100 million a year.
Sens. Byron Dorgan, D-N.D., and Charles Schumer, D-N.Y., said the State Department and Postal Service quietly gouged U.S. citizens over the government's $97 passport fees, even as new anti-terrorism laws require more travelers to carry passports. They are asking the Bush administration for an accounting of where the passport profits go.
http://www.politico.com/news/stories/1007/6613.html
Mega-donors prepare for '08 battle
The wealthy Democrats and giant organizations that spent $135 million to make John F. Kerry president in 2004 are reaching into their pockets for another round.
Sources involved in the nascent effort said representatives of Democratic powerhouses like MoveOn.org and the Service Employees International Union, along with super-wealthy individuals like the fund manager George Soros, are hashing out the details of a planned independent effort that could finance tens of millions of dollars of television advertisements.
http://www.politico.com/news/stories/1107/6676.html
GOP declares war on Dem pet projects
First they took on the hippie museum. Now, they’re gunning for Los Angeles’ Fashion District and tennis player Andre Agassi’s prep school.
Senate Republicans are launching a new offensive next week on earmarks and spending, the latest chapter in a GOP effort to recapture the mantle of fiscal conservatism the party lost amid bribery scandals, deficits and the infamous “bridge to nowhere” in Alaska.
Buoyed by their success in removing a $1 million earmark for a Woodstock museum in upstate New York, Senate Republican leaders plan to attack a wide variety of what they believe are “egregious” earmarks, including $200,000 for the Andre Agassi Preparatory Academy and $100,000 for street sign improvements in the L.A. Fashion District.
Nov 2, 4:46 AM EDT
Bush strategy: Bash Democratic Congress
By BEN FELLER
Associated Press Writer
WASHINGTON (AP) -- President Bush's agenda these days is not subtle: Blast Democratic lawmakers for ineptitude. Then find a way to do it again.
Even with the factors working against him - record-low approval ratings, fading public attention and dwindling time in office - Bush still talks like a leader whose hand has never been stronger. Backed by a veto power that's hard to override, Bush has taken to blistering Congress in a remarkably relentless fashion.
The latest scolding came Thursday. Bush accused Democrats of forgetting the lingering terrorist threat and putting the nation at risk. Then he prodded Congress to give him what he wants - confirmation of his attorney general, a revamped government surveillance law and defense spending bills he can support.
http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/C/CHILDRENS_HEALTH?SITE=MIDTN&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT
Nov 2, 2:27 AM EDT
Congress passes kids health bill again
By DAVID ESPO
AP Special Correspondent
WASHINGTON (AP) -- A defiant Democratic-controlled Congress voted Thursday to provide health insurance to an additional 4 million lower-income children, and President Bush vowed swiftly to cast his second straight veto on the issue.
The legislation cleared the Senate on a vote of 64-30. It passed the House last week, but supporters were shy of the two-thirds majority needed to override Bush's threatened veto.
"We're convinced that the president has undermined an effort to protect children," Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., said shortly before the vote.
http://online.wsj.com/article_print/SB119396545319580007.html
Got $500,000? The U.S. Awaits
Government's EB-5 Program
Offers Foreign Investors
Green Cards for Job Creation
By MIRIAM JORDAN
November 2, 2007; Page B1
An obscure immigration program is pumping millions of dollars from foreign investors into dilapidated inner cities and employment-starved rural areas across the U.S. These investors aren't focused on financial returns, however: They're in it to get green cards.
In recent years, a growing list of enterprises -- in agriculture, tourism, renewable energy, education and transportation -- have benefited from a little-known federal program known as EB-5, or the immigrant-investor visa. It offers a tantalizing trade-off for foreigners who want to establish residency in the U.S.: For a $500,000 investment in a distressed area, a foreigner and his immediate family become eligible for conditional green cards. They become permanent a few years later upon evidence that the investment has created at least 10 jobs for U.S. workers.
http://biz.yahoo.com/ap/071101/foreclosure_rates.html
Jump in Foreclosure Could Hurt Prices
Thursday November 1, 5:06 pm ET
By Alex Veiga, AP Business Writer
LOS ANGELES (AP) -- The number of U.S. homes in foreclosure more than doubled in the third quarter, a surge that analysts said will likely drive already weak prices even lower in the hardest-hit areas.
While that amounts to good news for would-be buyers, it spells trouble for builders with projects languishing on the market and for other homeowners desperate to unload property to avoid foreclosure.
"A wave of foreclosures is not going to be good for the broader market, and it will contribute to the weakness in pricing," said Raphael Bostic, associate director of the Lusk Center for Real Estate at the University of Southern California.
http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/S/SENATE_MUKASEY?SITE=MIDTN&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT
Nov 2, 2:32 AM EDT
Bush: No attorney general if not Mukasey
By LAURIE KELLMAN
Associated Press Writer
WASHINGTON (AP) -- President Bush sought to save Michael Mukasey's troubled nomination for attorney general Thursday, defending the retired judge's refusal to say whether he considers waterboarding torture and warning of a leaderless Justice Department if Democrats don't confirm him.
"If the Senate Judiciary Committee were to block Judge Mukasey on these grounds, they would set a new standard for confirmation that could not be met by any responsible nominee for attorney general," Bush said in a speech at the Heritage Foundation, a conservative think tank.
"That would guarantee that America would have no attorney general during this time of war," the president said.
http://article.nationalreview.com/?q=MTU3MGZhNzQ2YTkxMmIzOTNhZjUxOTM2MzBiYTRhYzA
November 1, 2007 4:00 AM
Missing in Colorado
Your $910 stays with the government.
By Michael J. New
Colorado residents are enjoying some good times economically these days. Unemployment is down, income growth is up, and tax receipts are soaring. In fact, tax receipts grew by a whopping 13 percent in fiscal 2006. During the 1990s, Colorado taxpayers could look forward to tax relief during such times of prosperity. This is because the Colorado’s Taxpayer’s Bill of Rights (TABOR) required that all surpluses over its tight revenue limit be immediately rebated to taxpayers.
http://article.nationalreview.com/?q=M2QwZjNlYWQ0NjI3ODAwNWVmZTcwMDEwMjY2MjFiYzU
November 1, 2007 4:45 AM
Money Train
Another subsidy, no real reforms for Amtrak.
By David Freddoso
It was the winter of 1999 when my train arrived at Penn Station about 24 hours late. All flights had been grounded because of a major blizzard, and so I figured that an overnight train ride from South Bend, Ind., would be easier than an eleven-hour drive through the ice and snow.
Boy, oh boy — was I ever wrong.
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Nov 2, 2:30 AM EDT
Bush tells Dems war denial is dangerous
By JENNIFER LOVEN
Associated Press Writer
WASHINGTON (AP) -- President Bush compared Congress' Democratic leaders Thursday to people who ignored the rise of Lenin and Hitler early in the last century, saying "the world paid a terrible price" then and risks similar consequences for inaction today.
Bush accused Congress of stalling important pieces of the fight to prevent new terrorist attacks by: dragging out and possibly jeopardizing confirmation of Michael Mukasey as attorney general, a key part of his national security team; failing to act on a bill governing eavesdropping on terrorist suspects; and moving too slowly to approve spending measures for the Iraq war, Pentagon and veterans programs.
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Nov 1, 11:22 PM EDT
Rice answers anger over Iraq service
By MATTHEW LEE
Associated Press Writer
WASHINGTON (AP) -- Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice is trying to quell a revolt among U.S. diplomats angry over attempts to force foreign service officers to work in Iraq or face dismissal.
Rice plans to send a cable to all U.S. embassies and missions abroad explaining the decision to launch the largest diplomatic call-up since Vietnam, following a contentious town hall meeting on Wednesday where angry diplomats raised deep concern about the "potential death sentence" of being ordered to work in Iraq, the State Department said.
"The secretary is going to send out a cable worldwide to people talking about this decision as well as encouraging people to serve in Iraq," spokesman Sean McCormack told reporters, saying the message would be distributed Thursday.
