365 Days until Election Day
MORNING UPDATE:
Republicans sweep municipal elections in Livonia…welcome back Mayor Jack Kirksey!
Saginaw City Council picks up 2 seats!
Victory ’08 programs tested in municipal elections…they worked great!!! Michigan Republicans made a difference at every level. Thanks to all that helped.
Photo id a big success…fair voting doesn’t upset the masses!?!
Livingston County Reagan Dinner was a huge success with former Senator Jim Talent. County GOP ready to be a battleground county…delivering Republican margins!
Blogger Chetly Zarko uncovered where the Stryker gay rights folks are funneling money into Michigan on behlalf of the stem cell fight and some self dealing. See more details here:
http://www.outsidelansing.com/showDiary.do?diaryId=87
http://www.outsidelansing.com/showDiary.do?diaryId=85
See the latest budget numbers, see how the budget has grown, check out the number of state employees:
http://migop.blogs.com/blog/2007/11/budget-numbersg.html
I just finished reading Chris Matthew’s “Life’s A Campaign”. It is very easy to read and straightforward description of “what politics has taught me.” There are no real “ah-ha” moments, but a good summary of those “I knew that” kind of tidbits from a life in politics.
THE REST OF THE STORY:
- GOP sweeps Livonia!!!
Michigan Republicans teamed up with the 11th District GOP, Wayne 11 GOP and Livonia Republicans to deliver a stunning victory against the Granholm machine. Governor Granholm and her cronies pumped in thousand of dollars, used corporate funds illegally, brought in their top guns to campaign…and lost!
Jack Kirksey led the ticket on his impressive victory to be Livonia’s next Mayor and swept in 4 city council members as well. Laura Toy is the new City Council President!
Michigan Republicans tested our “Victory ‘08” program, ran phone banks, GOTV efforts and poll watching to help make this victory possible. Truly exemplary team work at every level showed the best of what Republicans had to offer.
Special thanks to Attorney General Mike Cox and Congressman Thaddeus McCotter for their efforts!
Congratulations to Mayor Jack Kirksey, Council President Lora Toy and the rest of the team.
Vote Count:
Republican Jack Kirksey: 13,421 (54.8%)
Democrat Maureen Brosnan: 11,029 (45.2%)
Wayne 11 GOP Chair Chris Roosen sent out the following update last night:
The slate of candidates endorsed and supported by the Wayne 11th Congressional District Republican Committee has routed Democratic opposition in Wayne County's second most populous city, winning all seven races overall, six of them hotly contested.
Former Mayor and State Rep. Jack Kirksey led the way at the top of the ticket, defeating Governor Granholm's endorsed candidate, Maureen Miller Brosnan 55-45. Brosnan is Gov. Granholm's friend, former campaign spokesperson, and political appointee to MDOT. Kirksey's own campaign effort was supported by a strong television, direct mail, phone bank, and Election Day GOTV effort by the Wayne 11 CDRC and GOP grassroots volunteers. The Wayne 11th successfully tied Brosnan to Gov. Granholm and the unpopular tax increases passed by Lansing Democrats.
Livonia Businessman Dennis Wright, in his first run for elected office, defeated former city councilman and 2006 Democratic state House candidate Brian Duggan by racking up 65 percent of the vote. Duggan lost to state Rep. John Pastor by the same margin last year.
Former State Senator Laura Toy led all candidates in the City Council race, and will be President of the Livonia City Council. Three GOP backed incumbents were re-elected to the council, surviving a challenge by Democrat and UAW backed trial lawyer Eric Stempian.
- 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
How does a recall work: http://migop.blogs.com/blog/2007/11/how-to-run-a-re.html
Saul Anuzis
STATE STORIES
http://detnews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20071107/POLITICS01/711070420/1022/POLITICS
Ferndale, Livonia, Warren get new mayors
Berkley voters keep manger out of city hall; Dearborn to sell Florida retirement complex.
Jennifer Chambers / The Detroit News
Wednesday, November 7, 2007
Metro Detroit voters withstood blustery weather and a new law requiring voters to show ID at the polls to elect new mayors in Livonia and Warren and to keep baby Jesus and his creche away from Berkley's City Hall. And voters in Ferndale became the state's first to elect an openly gay mayor, while Dearborn residents became the latest to approve selling an asset -- a Florida retirement complex -- to help the city's budget. It was the mayoral races that dominated headlines in most communities.
http://detnews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20071107/POLITICS01/711070425/1022/POLITICS
Ex-Livonia mayor back in old job
Kirksey defeats Brosnan, former council member, for city's top post.
Christine Ferretti / The Detroit News
Wednesday, November 7, 2007
LIVONIA -- Jack is back. Livonia voters on Tuesday returned 78-year-old, former two-term Mayor Jack Kirksey to office. Kirksey was one of two familiar faces vying to lead the city of 100,000. His challenger, Maureen Miller Brosnan, 44, served nine years on the City Council and came out on top in the city's September primary. Kirksey earned 54 percent of the votes, defeating Brosnan 13,421 to 11,029, according to unofficial results Tuesday night. "I'm extremely proud and humbled and honored to be poised to be next mayor of Livonia," Kirksey said. "It means so much to me, it's so hard to describe in words. We're not only pleased that we won, but that it was a decisive win." Brosnan was not available for comment Tuesday evening, but campaign staffers released a statement on her behalf.
http://blog.mlive.com/flintjournal/newsnow/2007/11/fortner_elected_new_mayor_in_d.html
Fortner elected new mayor in Davison
Posted by James L. Smith
The Flint Journal
November 06, 2007 22:01PM
DAVISON -- For the first time in 27 years, the Davison City Council will not include Mayor Fred Rappuhn. The new mayor is Fred "Mac" Fortner, according to unofficial election results. Rappuhn was defeated by Fortner in a rare four-way contest for the office. Challengers James Hansen, a local funeral director; Charles Purdy, a restaurant manager; and Fortner, former owner of Davison Home Town Bakery, made this a lively contest. Rappuhn ran on his record as mayor or city council member since 1982 in seeking a second term as the city's mayor. Totals for the four mayoral candidates were: Fortner, 452; Hansen, 246; Rappuhn, 214; and Purdy, 10.
http://detnews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20071107/POLITICS01/711070422/1022/POLITICS
Fouts seals mayoral job
Moceri beats Steenbergh for treasurer; Wojno is clerk
Christina Stolarz / The Detroit News
Wednesday, November 7, 2007
WARREN -- A new slate of officials will join incoming Warren Mayor Jim Fouts at the helm of the state's third-largest city after voters showed a desire for "a complete cleansing" of city government, Fouts said Tuesday. City Council President Jim Fouts bested City Clerk Richard Sulaka after a contentious mayoral race,61.9 percent to 37.7 percent. Fouts replaces term-limited Mayor Mark Steenbergh, who served 12 years in office. "I'm very humbled by this experience," Fouts said. "I have a lot of work ahead of me. I have to live up to the hopes and desires of the residents who want a complete cleansing and not the needs of the special interest groups.
Last dry Michigan city goes wet: Hudsonville OKs alcohol sales
11/6/2007, 9:47 p.m. EST
The Associated Press
HUDSONVILLE, Mich. (AP) — Voters in Hudsonville have decided to end its status as the only dry city in Michigan, lifting a ban on alcohol sales. The final unofficial count of Tuesday's vote was 928-735 in favor of lifting the ban, the city clerk's office said. It said turnout was 34 percent. It was the third vote in seven years on the issue in the western Michigan city of 7,000, about 10 miles west-southwest of Grand Rapids and about 145 miles west-northwest of Detroit. Voters twice rejected an end to the alcohol ban. A proposal to do so in 2000 failed by seven votes.
http://detnews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20071107/POLITICS01/711070426/1022/POLITICS
Nativity proposal falters
Initiative would have compelled city to display crèche
Jennifer Chambers / The Detroit News
Wednesday, November 7, 2007
BERKLEY -- A nativity scene displayed outside Berkley city hall for decades will remain in the hands of local religious leaders after voters defeated a proposal to return the creche to government ground. In an unprecedented election, voters in this Oakland County suburb turned down by a 55 percent to 45 percent margin a proposed charter amendment that called for requiring the city to display the nativity at city hall. Last year the Berkley City Council elected to turn over the creche to the Berkley Clergy Association after the ACLU of Michigan said the city's holiday display violated the law. The clergy association agreed to display the nativity at churches across the city.
http://detnews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20071107/POLITICS01/711070427/1022/POLITICS
Dearborn to sell Fla. complex, alter charter
Darren A. Nichols / The Detroit News
Wednesday, November 7, 2007
DEARBORN -- City voters sent a resounding message to its leaders Tuesday: dump the Dearborn Towers. Voters overwhelmingly approved a ballot proposal allowing the city to sell the 88-unit retirement complex in Clearwater, Fla. The city bought the property for $1 million in 1967; it is appraised at $8.3 million. Proceeds would offset projected deficits in this year's budget, and Mayor John "Jack" O'Reilly argued the cash-strapped city can't justify owning it. The city has cut some 133 jobs in the past six years, he said. The proposal passed with 58 percent margin.
http://detnews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20071106/POLITICS01/711060301
Wayne County election results
http://detnews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20071106/POLITICS01/711060302
Oakland County election results
http://detnews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20071106/POLITICS01/711060303
Macomb County election results
http://detnews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20071106/POLITICS01/711060304
Livingston County election results
http://detnews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20071107/METRO/711070383/1022/POLITICS
Service tax loses ground
Senate committee approves repeal after earful from business owners
Gary Heinlein / Detroit News Lansing Bureau
Wednesday, November 7, 2007
LANSING -- The Senate Finance Committee approved a bill repealing the new 6 percent services tax Tuesday, continuing an effort by opponents to block implementation of the controversial new tax before it even goes into effect on Dec. 1. The move came after 2 ½ hours of testimony from a succession of business owners, like Port Huron-area landscaper Mike Sinda, who implored lawmakers not to tax them when they barely are getting by. "What in our history has taught us, when people are struggling, to tax them?" Sinda asked the seven-member panel.
http://detnews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20071107/OPINION01/711070378/1007/OPINION
Replace painful service tax before Nov. 15
Surcharge will hurt businesses unless state legislators repeal it
John "Mac" MacIlroy
Wednesday, November 7, 2007
The ill-conceived state services sales tax needs to be repealed and replaced with a special surcharge on the Michigan business tax that will end in 2011 -- along with serious reforms in state government spending. After evaluating the implications of the new services tax, the Michigan Manufacturers Association Tax Advisory Committee quickly recognized the devastating effect the business-to-business tax on management consulting would have on manufacturers. The tax was immediately dubbed a "headquarters tax" for its huge impact on companies that have headquarters here that buy services nationally or globally and that would be subject to the long reach of this tax, which is scheduled to take effect Dec. 1.
http://detnews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20071107/OPINION01/711070371/1007/OPINION
Repair services tax before 'hunting break'
Lawmakers plan 18-day vacation, but few will tramp the woods
Detroit News
Wednesday, November 7, 2007
Yes, a legislative break for deer hunting season is a Lansing tradition. But state lawmakers, confronting an urgent need to repair or replace an unwise services tax, ought to make sure that task is well in hand before decamping for the north woods or some other destination. The departure of lawmakers from the state capital for an 18-day break with serious tax reform left undone provides yet another argument for switching to a part-time legislature. If lawmakers are going to act like they've got a part-time job, they should be paid for a part-time job.
http://macombdaily.com/stories/110607/loc_budget001.shtml
Legislators take break; budget issues remain
But instead of deer hunting, many lawmakers vow they'll be working.
By Carol Hopkins
Journal Register News Service
PUBLISHED: Tuesday, November 6, 2007
As Michiganians wonder if they will be paying a new service tax beginning Dec. 1 and school districts struggle to pay bills because state funds are late, state legislators are readying for an important annual event. They're going on recess for 18 days. Starting Friday through Nov. 27, legislators will be on their annual fall recess, a hiatus that has occurred for decades. The disappearing act strikes some as odd, considering the unsettled business before the Legislature. "This is a most disgusting situation," fumed Betty Fortino, Waterford Township clerk. "They have put everybody in chaos, and they don't have anything in order while we sit here watching things go from bad to worse."
http://freep.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20071107/NEWS06/711070309
Deer season or services tax debate? Lawmakers may have to forgo break
Few of them hunt, anyway
Detroit Free Press
November 7, 2007
For many years the Legislature has taken two weeks off during deer hunting season -- a custom that's controversial this year because of pressure to repeal and replace the new sales tax on services before it takes effect Dec. 1. So lawmakers may or may not take the hiatus. Which begs the question: How many of the 148 House and Senate members actually hunt deer? So far, nine have purchased licenses for the firearms season that starts Nov. 15, according to the Department of Natural Resources. But expect more of them to purchase tags, DNR spokeswoman Mary Dettloff said. She said 20 legislators purchased licenses in 2006, almost all within 48 hours of the start of the season.
http://www.livingstondaily.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20071107/OPINION01/71107002/1014/OPINION
Governor, lawmakers let Michigan down
Livingston Daily Press & Argus
November 7, 2007
There is a finally a balanced state budget of sorts, but neither the governor nor the Legislature should be very pleased with their minimal performance for this most important of their job obligations. From the revenue side, the budget is balanced only because of a shameful middle-of-the-night standoff that ended with a indefensible additional of a 6 percent sales tax to a hodgepodge of randomly selected services. This source of revenue closed the gap caused because a proposed increase in the state income tax was not as high as supporters needed. But the 6 percent tax is in tenuous shape, challenged by a barrage of business groups and suggestions that it isn’t enforceable.
http://www.livingstondaily.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20071107/OPINION01/71107001/1014/OPINION
Citizens must craft vision for state
Phil Power:
November 7, 2007
It took months of wrangling, a four-hour shutdown and a monthlong extension — but our political masters have at last passed an officially balanced budget, as required by the state constitution. Yet nobody deserves any awards for valor. Tragically, the folks in Lansing almost completely missed the opportunity to use the budget crisis to force major changes in the structure, workings and costs of government. The visionary thinking this state needs so desperately was just not there. By focusing almost entirely on the short-term arithmetic of a balanced budget, our leaders failed to use this budget as a way to express and promote their long-term priorities for Michigan.
http://detnews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20071107/OPINION03/711070342/1148/AUTO01
Change is the most reliable vehicle
Wednesday, November 7, 2007
Daniel Howes
Ask almost any union autoworker to name the single most important item in this fall's contract talks and you'd probably hear two words -- job security. There are sections devoted to it in the United Auto Workers contract summaries prepared for local leaders and their members. Talk of job security peppers comments on message boards, e-mails in my inbox and the picket line chatter during the brief UAW strikes against General Motors Corp. and Chrysler LLC. They may mean commitments to invest in their plants, or to build a new car or truck there.
http://detnews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20071107/OPINION01/711070381/1007/OPINION
Expanding oil refinery fuels state
Forcefeeding too much ethanol use hurts nation
Clarence P. Cazalot Jr.
Wednesday, November 7, 2007
Energy literally fuels American prosperity; and with strong manufacturing, agricultural and research capabilities in the Wolverine state, Michigan has a vital role to play in the country's pursuit of enhanced energy security. Leaders in Michigan's local and state governments are taking positive strides to put energy to work and build competitiveness within the state's economy -- valuable steps that improve the nation's overall energy outlook. Marathon Oil Corp. has a role to play, too. We have based operations here for more than 75 years, and that's why we continue to see a promising future, working together, for the creation of highly skilled, highly paid jobs in Michigan.
http://www.lsj.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20071107/OPINION02/711070339/1085/opinion
Pier jumping bill will help save lives
Safety is priority for Senate; budget isn't only work
State Sen. Ron Jelinek:
Published November 7, 2007
Pier jumping in Michigan is a major issue that affects a great number of people and needs to be addressed. While it may not seem important for those who live in land-locked mid-Michigan, it is extremely important for those communities along Lake Michigan that deal with the consequences of pier jumpers. When a jumper needs rescuing, they endanger their own life, unnecessarily put their rescuer's life at risk, and cause thousands of dollars in search and rescue costs. Undertows and rip currents in Lake Michigan have caused more than 50 deaths from drowning since 2000.
http://detnews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20071107/BIZ/711070349/1022/POLITICS
Senate passes bills to fight rash of state foreclosures
Associated Press
Wednesday, November 7, 2007
LANSING -- The state Senate unanimously approved legislation Tuesday that supporters say could provide more accountability and responsibility in mortgage lending. The bills would require registration of individual loan officers with the state's Office of Financial and Insurance Services. Standards would be set for registrations and employers would have to do criminal background checks. The bills would specify prohibited loan officer conduct, including false advertising or misrepresentation in transactions. The legislation is one of several efforts in the Legislature aimed at fighting the rash of mortgage foreclosures in Michigan. The state, in large part because of its struggling economy, has one of the highest foreclosure rates in the nation.
http://www.lsj.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20071106/NEWS04/711060327/1005
Senate plan would cut benefits for future state lawmakers
Chris Andrews
Lansing State Journal
Published November 6, 2007
The state Senate this week is expected to consider legislation to reduce retiree health care benefits for future lawmakers in both the House and Senate. But it won't affect any current legislators. And those in the future will still have a pretty good deal - becoming eligible for a 90 percent health care benefit after 14 years of service. "That's reasonable, given the fact that they don't have the protection of tenure or the civil service protection which allows people to serve for 25 years and receive a certain pension at the end of it," Senate Republican spokesman Matt Marsden said Monday. "Fourteen years is the most a legislator can serve."
Senate panels votes to change lawmakers' health care, pay
11/6/2007, 3:57 p.m. EST
The Associated Press
LANSING, Mich. (AP) — A state Senate panel has voted to change health care benefits for future lawmakers when they retire. After working six years, current lawmakers qualify to get 90 percent of their health care covered for life once they turn 55. Bills headed to the Senate would set up a system where lawmakers elected after this year get a percentage of their health care paid for based on the number of years worked.
http://www.livingstondaily.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20071107/NEWS01/711070309/1002
GOP looks to past for path toward future success
By Dan Meisler
DAILY PRESS & ARGUS
November 7, 2007
Gathered at their annual Reagan Day dinner Tuesday, Livingston County Republicans talked about how to regroup from last year's national electoral loss by returning to their principles. Keynote speaker Jim Talent, a former U.S. senator from Missouri who lost his re-election campaign in 2006 in the Democratic congressional sweep, said GOP loyalists must remember the main distinction between the parties.
http://detnews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20071107/POLITICS/711070407/1022/POLITICS
State Dems rail against N.H. contest
Levin, Dingell press DNC's Dean on that state's vow to be first.
Gordon Trowbridge / Detroit News Washington Bureau
Wednesday, November 7, 2007
As Michigan Democrats prepared to gather in Lansing today for a crucial meeting on the state's Jan. 15 primary, two party leaders said Tuesday they are dissatisfied with what they call "incomplete and misleading" statements from the party's national chairman in the campaign calendar debate. Sen. Carl Levin and Democratic National Committee member Debbie Dingell of Michigan say that DNC Chairman Howard Dean is failing to fairly enforce the party's rules by threatening Michigan, which is poised to hold a primary earlier than allowed under party rules, with the loss of all its national convention delegates.
http://www.lsj.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20071107/NEWS04/711070331/1005/news04
Justices listen to same-sex benefits lawsuit
MSU, LCC, state among those to be affected by ruling
Chris Andrews
Lansing State Journal
Published November 7, 2007
To MSU office assistant Gary Lindsay, access to health care benefits for his same-sex partner is a matter of fairness. That's why he signed on to a lawsuit aimed at protecting domestic partner benefits for himself and other gay and lesbian workers at public institutions. "To deny domestic partner benefits to a couple that's been together for over 17 years to me does not support the image the university is trying to project," said Lindsay, 54, of Holt. "I have no option to be married in order to get my partner benefits the way that others do."
http://detnews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20071107/POLITICS01/711070431/1022/POLITICS
Photo ID requirement prompts few complaints
But NAACP, which opposed new law, says some voters were upset, confused by the change.
The Detroit News
Wednesday, November 7, 2007
State and local election officials say the first test of a new requirement that voters show a photo ID at the polls went smoothly Tuesday, but the NAACP -- which opposes the measure -- called the process "messy." Melvin "Butch" Hollowell, general counsel to the Detroit NAACP, said complaints to the organization's voter hotline and election monitors soared, many from voters who were upset or confused about how the ID requirement was being applied. "It's created a problem where none should exist," he said. "It's made voting more difficult and it's a big step in the wrong direction."
http://www.mlive.com/news/chronicle/index.ssf?/base/news-12/1194365742100890.xml&coll=8
Recall efforts stall against Van Woerkom, Valentine
Tuesday, November 06, 2007
By Steve Gunn
The effort to recall State Sen. Gerald Van Woerkom and State Rep. Mary Valentine failed to get off the ground Monday, but recall activists in Kent County got the green light to pursue State Rep. Robert Dean. The Muskegon County Election Commission voted unanimously to reject proposed petition language against Van Woerkom and Valentine, who were being targeted by the Michigan Taxpayers Alliance for their recent votes to raise taxes. But a Kent County panel approved the exact same language of a petition against Dean, D-Grand Rapids, opening the door for recall backers to collect 10,000 signatures in 90 days to get the issue on the ballot.
http://www.mlive.com/columns/aanews/index.ssf?/base/news-1/1194363826318870.xml&coll=2
Brutal campaign ahead
Ann Arbor News
Tuesday, November 06, 2007
Poor turtles. Until last week, their biggest problem was becoming road kill. Now they find themselves trapped in a hail of hostile words between U.S. Rep. Peter Hoekstra, R-Holland, and Gov. Jennifer Granholm - a possible opening salvo in the 2010 gubernatorial election. It all started when the Michigan Department of Transportation began installing a two-mile $318,000 fence near the highway to deter turtles from crossing the highway. The money came from a federal transportation fund dedicated for environmental and aesthetic improvements - not for road work.
http://detnews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20071107/POLITICS01/711070388/1022/POLITICS
Huckabee swings into state
Gordon Trowbridge / Detroit News Washington Bureau
Wednesday, November 7, 2007
Republican presidential candidate Mike Huckabee will make his first campaign appearances in Michigan on Thursday, hoping to build on momentum he is gathering in other early-voting states to raise money, and his visibility, in the Great Lakes State. Before Huckabee arrives, fellow GOP candidate John McCain kicks off a two-day swing through the state today. McCain will hold town hall meetings in Livonia today and Jackson on Thursday. Huckabee will appear at a $100-a-person fundraiser in Owosso and at Clinton County Republicans' annual Lincoln Day Dinner.
http://detnews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20071107/OPINION01/711070379/1007/OPINION
Ban water diversions, review large withdrawals
State Rep. Michael G. Sak
Wednesday, November 7, 2007
Michigan 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, and we are determined to keep it that way. That's why I have drafted and co-sponsored the "Great Waters, Great Michigan" legislation 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. Most important, our initiative bans the diversion of most water outside the Great Lakes Basin. This package closes the door on water-starved states and countries that want our water.
http://www.mlive.com/news/kzgazette/index.ssf?/base/columns-3/119436435930320.xml&coll=7
Congress must override veto of critical water projects
Kalamazoo Gazette
Tuesday, November 06, 2007
In a state like Michigan, surrounded by the precious fresh water of the Great Lakes, the Water Resources Development Act is hardly a frill. It includes building a permanent barrier to keep the invasive Asian carp, already a menace in the Mississippi River basin, from entering the Great Lakes and damaging the ecosystem here. It would provide $350 million to correct combined sewer overflows, one of the chief reasons Michigan streams and lakes become contaminated with untreated sewage.
http://blog.mlive.com/kzgazette/2007/11/appeals_court_rejects_roe_vs_w.html
Appeals court rejects "Roe vs. Wade for Men" case
Posted by Associated Press
November 06, 2007 11:47AM
LANSING -- A federal appeals court has upheld a lower court's decision to dismiss a lawsuit filed by a men's rights group on behalf of a man who said he shouldn't have to pay child support for his ex-girlfriend's daughter. The 6th Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals, in a decision released Tuesday, agreed with U.S. District Judge David Lawson in Bay City that Matthew Dubay's suit was frivolous and ordered him to pay attorney fees to the state. However, the three-member appeals court panel declined to award the state attorney fees for the appeal. Dubay, a 25-year-old from Saginaw Township, had said his ex-girlfriend, Lauren Wells, knew he didn't want to have a child and she assured him repeatedly she couldn't get pregnant because of a medical condition.
http://www.thetimesherald.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20071105/NEWS01/711050304/1002
Lawmaker throws support behind casino
Land-transfer bill had sat idle in Congress for six months
By MIKE CONNELL
Times Herald
November 6, 2007
A bill that would pave the way for a casino in Port Huron picked up a third sponsor last week when a Rhode Island congressman endorsed it. Rep. Patrick Kennedy, a Democrat, has signed on as a co-sponsor of H.R. 2176, which calls for federal approval of a 2002 land swap between the state of Michigan and the Bay Mills Indian Community of the Upper Peninsula.
http://battlecreekenquirer.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20071107/NEWS01/711070320/1002/NEWS01
Guard flies out to aid in Iraq war
Elizabeth Huff
The Enquirer
November 7, 2007
For about the next two months, Marty Birchmeier will be thousands of miles from his wife and four children. The 31-year-old technical sergeant from Battle Creek left Tuesday on a mission with Operation Iraqi Freedom as part of the Michigan Air National Guard's 110th Fighter Wing. It was the largest deployment in four years for the Battle Creek-based unit.
NATIONAL STORIES
http://detnews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20071107/POLITICS01/711070421/1022/POLITICS
Miss. gov to stay; Ky. chief loses seat
Mayors in Pittsburgh, San Francisco returned to office; Baltimore elects first black female mayor.
Chris Sundheim / Associated Press
Wednesday, November 7, 2007
Kentucky Gov. Ernie Fletcher, a Republican whose lone term was dogged by a hiring scandal, lost badly Tuesday despite an election-eve effort to woo conservative voters by displaying the Ten Commandments in the state Capitol. In Mississippi, Gov. Haley Barbour, practically the only politician to come out of Hurricane Katrina looking good, easily defeated a Democratic challenger Tuesday to win a second term. Democratic challenger Steve Beshear, a former attorney general and lieutenant governor, cruised to a 20-percentage-point victory in Kentucky after a campaign in which he repeatedly reminded voters of accusations that Fletcher directed the hiring of political allies for jobs protected by the state's merit system.
http://www.abcnews.go.com/print?id=3825609
Clinton Papers Won't Be Released Until After Election
Diane Blair Papers Detailing 1992 Clinton Campaign Won't Be Released Until 2009
By JAKE TAPPER
Nov. 6, 2007 —
Democratic frontrunner Sen. Hillary Clinton, D-N.Y., has been taking heat from her Democratic and Republican opponents for the reams of papers detailing her various activities as First Lady that the National Archives has yet to release from the William Jefferson Clinton Presidential Library. And now questions are being raised about why another set of papers relevant to her political career at yet another Arkansas library will not be available to the public until well after election day 2008, despite earlier indications that the papers would have been released by now.
http://www.examiner.com/blogs/Yeas_and_Nays/2007/11/6/Hillary-I-wasnt-at-my-best-the-other-night
Hillary: "I wasn't at my best the other night"
Jeff Dufour and Patrick Gavin
November 6, 5:21 PM
On today's "The Situation Room," Sen. Hillary Clinton opened up about her widely-discussed performance during last week's MSNBC debate. (You can watch the video here on Breitbart.tv) "I wasn't at my best the other night," Clinton told CNN's Candy Crowley. "We have had a bunch of debates, and you know, I wouldn't rank that up in my very top list." Following the debate, Clinton's opponents for the 2008 Democratic nomination (as well as Hillary detractors generally) criticized the New York senator for being dishonest and evasive, and for flip-flopping on several issues. But Clinton disagreed with some of the criticism:
http://www.breitbart.com/article.php?id=D8SOF9M01&show_article=1
Clinton: Licenses Depend on the State
Nov 6 07:10 PM US/Eastern
By BETH FOUHY
Associated Press Writer
NEW YORK (AP) - Pressed anew on whether she supports granting driver's licenses to illegal immigrants, Democrat Hillary Rodham Clinton said Tuesday it depends on the state. In a CNN interview, Clinton, a New York senator, reiterated her support for governors who must contend with large populations of undocumented workers in the absence of federal immigration reform. She then was asked whether she thinks it is a "good idea" for governors to allow illegal immigrants to obtain driver's licenses. "It depends upon what state they're in. It depends upon what they think the risks are," Clinton said.
http://detnews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20071107/OPINION03/711070305/1007/OPINION
A damsel causes distress
Wednesday, November 7, 2007
Clarence Page
Remember when being a woman was considered to be a liability in a presidential candidate? In an impressive display of political jiu-jitsu, Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton has turned her gender into a gem of an asset. First it helped to keep her all-male rivals at bay. Until last week's match-up in Philadelphia, the guys stayed mostly chivalrous toward front-runner Clinton to avoid the appearance of prep school bullies in neckties beating up on their team's only girl. Besides, a lot of Democratic voters have complained that they don't like to see Democrats beating up on each other. Save that for the Republicans, they say. Party loyalty is good politics, even if for us scriveners in the working press it makes boring debates.
http://www.breitbart.com/article.php?id=D8SOCCV00&show_article=1
Obama Rejects Bill Clinton's Criticism
Nov 6 03:52 PM US/Eastern
By NEDRA PICKLER
Associated Press Writer
WASHINGTON (AP) - Barack Obama said Tuesday that former President Clinton is making a leap to compare treatment of his wife in the presidential race to the "swift boat" criticism of John Kerry in 2004. The former president had encouraged an audience in Nevada Monday not to let "trivial matters" take away the election from the Democrats as they have in the past. He cited the television ads during the 2004 presidential campaign that questioned Kerry's patriotism and campaign commercials in 2002 suggesting that Sen. Max Cleland, D-Ga. was soft on terrorism. Both Kerry and Cleland won medals for their service in Vietnam, during which Kerry commanded a Navy "swift boat" and Cleland lost three limbs. Both were defeated after the ads aired.
http://thehill.com/leading-the-news/republicans-keep-cheney-impeachment-bill-alive-2007-11-06.html
Republicans keep Cheney impeachment bill alive
By Jonathan E. Kaplan
Posted: 11/6/07 4:35 p.m
House Republicans on Tuesday prevented Democratic leaders from blocking a resolution to impeach Vice President Dick Cheney. The vote to table the privileged resolution, offered by Ohio Democrat Dennis Kucinch, began as a largely party-line vote to kill the measure, but Republicans developed a strategy to force Democrats to debate the resolution by supporting Kucinich. GOP leaders felt as though it was in their interest to debate the measure because it would make Democrats look bad.
http://detnews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20071107/NATION/711070362/1022/POLITICS
Senate panel endorses Mukasey
Close 11-8 vote virtually guarantees that he will be confirmed as the next U.S. attorney general.
David Stout / New York Times
Wednesday, November 7, 2007
WASHINGTON -- The Senate Judiciary Committee on Tuesday endorsed the nomination of Michael B. Mukasey to be attorney general, virtually assuring his confirmation by the full Senate. The vote was 11-8, with two Democrats, Sens. Charles E. Schumer of New York and Dianne Feinstein of California, joining all nine Republicans on the panel in backing the nominee. Eight Democrats voted against Mukasey. The close vote in Mukasey's favor had been expected, given public statements by committee members leading up to Tuesday's vote. Sen. Herb Kohl, D-Wis., had been the one Democrat not to announce his decision before Tuesday, and he voted "no."
http://washingtontimes.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20071106/NATION/111050098/1001
Poll: 77% oppose illegals' licenses
By Stephen Dinan
November 6, 2007
Voters oppose driver's licenses for illegal aliens by a nearly five-to-one margin, a new Fox 5/Washington Times/Rasmussen Reports poll finds. As immigration politics explode into the presidential race, polls show Americans are taking a hard line on benefits for illegal aliens, including opposing driver's licenses and such taxpayer-funded benefits as scholarships at state colleges for illegal-alien students. The new poll found 77 percent of the adults surveyed opposed making driver's licenses available to illegal aliens, while just 16 percent supported the idea.
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/11/06/opinion/06brooks.html?_r=1&ref=opinion&oref=slogin
Present at the Creation
DAVID BROOKS
Published: November 6, 2007
What is Condi doing? This is the question that’s been floating around foreign policy circles over the past few months. It is then followed by more specific questions: Why is Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice spending her remaining time in office banging her head against the Israeli-Palestinian problem? Why has she bothered to make eight trips to the region this year? What can possibly be accomplished when the Israeli government is weak and the Palestinian society is divided? It took a trip to the region for me to finally understand that this peace process is unlike any other. It’s not really about Israel and the Palestinians; it’s about Iran.
http://detnews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20071107/OPINION03/711070306/1007/OPINION
Sometimes a picture if worth diddly
Wednesday, November 7, 2007
Kathleen Parker
JIDDAH, Saudi Arabia -- There's no substitute for being there, as has been illustrated by the reaction to an image of Laura Bush's alleged abaya-wearing incident during her recent visit to the Middle East. Unlike most who have commented, I was there -- one of three members of the American media invited to accompany Bush on her journey. The others were Greta Van Susteren of Fox News' "On the Record" and Robin Roberts of ABC's "Good Morning America." The controversial photo shows Bush donning a black headscarf decorated with the iconic pink bows signifying breast cancer awareness. It was the only time Bush covered her head during the trip and the episode lasted perhaps a minute.
http://www.thesmokinggun.com/archive/years/2007/1106071sam1.html
Jailed Terrorist: "I Want My Walkman"
Convicted al-Qaeda murderer complains about life in federal prison
The Smoking Gun
November 6, 2007
NOVEMBER 6--An al-Qaeda operative serving life in prison for his role in the bombing of American embassies in Africa contends that his rights are being violated by U.S. jailers who have denied him access to Arabic publications and religious books, limited his mail privileges, and no longer allow him to use a Walkman. Mohamed Al-Owhali, 32, claims that his incarceration at the "supermax" federal prison in Florence, Colorado has left him so severely depressed that he stopped eating for months, forcing Bureau of Prisons officials to feed him via a tube placed through his nose. In a new U.S. District Court lawsuit, Al-Owhali wants a judge to order prison brass to provide him with expedited mail services, expanded phone privileges, and access to radio and TV news broadcasts and English and Arabic newspapers and magazines.
http://www.breitbart.com/article.php?id=D8SO8FTO3&show_article=1
Pope Meets a Saudi King for First Time
Nov 6 11:25 AM US/Eastern
By VICTOR L. SIMPSON
Associated Press Writer
VATICAN CITY (AP) - Benedict XVI raised concerns about restrictions on Christian worship in Saudi Arabia on Tuesday in the first meeting ever between a pope and a reigning Saudi king. Benedict and other Vatican officials have often protested that Christians are unable to worship openly in Saudi Arabia and are barred from opening churches in the desert kingdom where Islam's holiest sites, Mecca and Medina, are located. King Abdullah, the protector of the holy sites, requested the audience during his European tour, the Vatican said. Benedict warmly greeted the king, grasping both his hands before heading into 30 minutes of private talks in his library.
