Articles of Interest 12-17-07
325 Days until Election Day
MORNING UPDATE:
I think we can now say winter is officially here.
Presidential politics is in full swing. There is plenty of coverage in all the papers and national publications. It’s almost impossible to keep up with them all.
Our options are fading to get another debate in Michigan. With the holidays approaching, we don’t have a lot of time to get everything done. We’ll know in the next two days.
Our youngest son was in a Christmas program at our Lithuanian Church after Mass in Southfield. We spent a long, slow Sunday driving back and forth…not to mention shoveling a bunch of snow, pushing a few cars and finally getting in front of the fireplace late at night.
I will be fading out the Daily Articles of Interest this coming week and taking a break over the Christmas Holidays and will be back after the New Year. There will be periodic updates on the blog at:
See our Christmas greeting at:
Merry Christmas.
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.
Saul Anuzis
STATE STORIES
http://www.detnews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20071217/POLITICS/712170332/1022/POLITICS
Monday, December 17, 2007
Decision 2008
Register today to vote on Jan. 15
Residents can sign up in person or print and mail form on Web site.
The Detroit News
Today is the last day that Michiganians can register to vote in the Jan. 15 presidential primary.
"The primary is the first opportunity Michigan residents have to affect the election of a new president," Secretary of State Terri Lynn Land, the state's chief election officer, said in a reminder to voters.
To register, you must be at least 18 years old by Jan. 15, a U.S. citizen and a resident of Michigan and of the city or township in which you wish to register.
http://www.detnews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20071217/OPINION03/712170324/1022/POLITICS
Monday, December 17, 2007
Daniel Howes
Lansing can chart hard path to revival
"It's easy to be a Monday morning quarterback," said the post on my blog forum by someone called LS, "but we would be far better off as a state and as people if we spent far less time complaining about the lack of leadership in others and far more time showing some of our own."
In other words, it's time to man up. And a good place to start would be with an accurate accounting from said leaders of where Michigan stands and what lies ahead for its battered economy instead of petty partisanship and a bunch of platitudes suggesting that the hardest part is over.
http://www.mlive.com/news/statewide/index.ssf?/base/news-0/119778986319180.xml&coll=6
No tax hikes? No progress
Sunday, December 16, 2007
By Peter Luke
On the ground floor of the Capitol on Tuesday, Michigan Republicans unveiled their new electronic sign that whacks Democrats by keeping a running tally of the tax increases passed to balance the 2008 state budget.
Pro-rated to the Oct. 1 start of the new fiscal year, the total had already surpassed $240 million.
GOP Chair Saul Anuzis said he intended to haul it around to Gov. Jennifer Granholm's public appearances and into the districts of House Democrats facing recall efforts from anti-tax forces or close general election contests next year.
http://www.detnews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20071217/POLITICS/712170328/1022/POLITICS
Monday, December 17, 2007
Drug law debate heats up
Mich. residents and Dem lawmakers intent on changing legislation after Vioxx settlement.
David Eggert / Associated Press
LANSING -- More than 1,000 Michigan residents could get part of a $4.85 billion national settlement if they or their loved ones took the painkiller Vioxx.
But that hasn't squelched a firestorm over the state's unique 1995 law shielding pharmaceutical makers from product liability lawsuits over drugs such as Vioxx.
Michigan's law is the toughest in the country, allowing legal damages only if plaintiffs prove a company withheld or misrepresented information about a drug that would cause the Food and Drug Administration to not give or to withdraw its approval.
http://www.thetimesherald.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20071216/OPINION02/712160312/1014/OPINION
Education has to start with the very young
Every year, about 2,000 babies are born in St. Clair County. Each of those children is in school for the next five years of their lives, with their parents and/or day-care providers acting as the teachers. Most of a child's first teachers want to do a good job; many just don't know how. Helping those parents is an important part of what the Regional Educational Service Agency does.
There should be no doubt about how significant these early years are to a child's future. A newly released national report by the Educational Testing Service - which develops and administers the SAT and other standardized tests - looks at the impact family support has on a child's achievement. Its conclusion is that children without the necessary home support are often irreparably harmed. According to a New York Times story on the report:
http://www.detnews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20071217/OPINION01/712170308/1007/OPINION
Monday, December 17, 2007
Editorial
Lawmakers, colleges must preserve access
But legislators can't force schools to deplete endowments for tuition
The Detroit News
A college education is the ticket to a middle-class life. Yet college is increasingly inaccessible because of rising costs, a problem that threatens the very idea of fair and equal opportunity America.
Harvard University made national headlines by announcing it would significantly increase the financial aid it offers to middle-class and upper-middle-class students. Leaders say they want to ensure their school is accessible not only to the rich but the best and the brightest of all income levels.
At a price tag of $45,600 per year, a Harvard degree can bankrupt even upper-middle-class families. So Harvard will charge students with household incomes between $120,000 and $180,000 tuition that amounts to 10 percent of their income -- and substantially subsidize student costs.
http://www.detnews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20071217/OPINION01/712170304/1007/OPINION
Monday, December 17, 2007
Editorial rebuttal
Proposed charter school doesn't measure up
The Dec. 1 editorial short hit ("Warren school fight wastes taxpayer money") criticizes the city of Warren for opposing the construction of the Corner Creek Academy charter school. The site, at 13 Mile and Ryan, on 19 acres does not meet state guidelines, which require 49 acres to accommodate the more than 1,000 new students expected.
Warren Mott High School, which is only a mile away, sits on a 53-acre site.
A city-commissioned traffic study by an outside engineering firm concluded that constructing a large charter school on such a small site will unduly burden residents with disruptive noise, traffic congestion and parking problems.
http://www.detnews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20071217/POLITICS/712170331/1022/POLITICS
Monday, December 17, 2007
Union political fund plan debated
State Civil Service Commission to discuss proposal; Cox, others say it is violation of the campaign finance act.
Gary Heinlein / Detroit News Lansing Bureau
LANSING -- A proposal to let state employees make political contributions through payroll deductions is drawing fire from opponents who say it violates the state campaign finance act and makes state government complicit with special interests.
The proposal, to be taken up by the state Civil Service Commission on Wednesday, is being pressed by state employee unions that for years have sought the right to raise money in this way for political action committees supporting their causes and candidates.
It comes from M. Scott Bowen, director of the Office of State Employer, who bargains with the unions over their wage and benefit contracts.
http://www.detnews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20071217/OPINION01/712170307/1007/OPINION
Monday, December 17, 2007
Editorial
Michigan can't delay water, road repairs
The Detroit News
The deterioration of Michigan's infrastructure doesn't stop just because the state is in economic hard times. Water lines continue to crack, and roads keep crumbling.
All that changes is the ability of the state and local communities to keep ahead of repairs.
It's understandable that suburban water customers are upset by water rate increases averaging 8.6 percent -- and topping 20 percent in at least a dozen communities. It's a tough blow to household budgets already strained by state tax hikes and declining incomes.
http://www.livingstondaily.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20071217/NEWS01/712170308/1002
Despite affluence, county income trailing inflation
By Dan Meisler
DAILY PRESS & ARGUS
Livingston County is the richest county in the state in terms of income, but it isn't immune to the trends identified in a recent report showing that working families are increasingly in a financial pinch.
In fact, the county's median household income hasn't kept up with inflation since 1999, and has even lost ground in absolute numbers since 2004.
In 2000, the county's median household income was $67,400, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. That's equal to the spending power of $81,599 in 2006, adjusted for inflation. But the actual household income in 2006 was $70,629. That essentially means that increases in income haven't kept up with inflation.
And the median household income actually fell from 2004 to 2006 — from $71,683 to $70,629.
http://battlecreekenquirer.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20071217/NEWS01/712170307/1002/NEWS01
Living wage proposal set for agenda appearance
Nick Schirripa
The Enquirer
Just as he did in 2005, Commissioner Ryan Hersha is proposing a living wage policy for Battle Creek.
Unlike his 2005 proposal, the at-large city commissioner wants to limit the living wage requirement to employers receiving any grant in the amount of $50,000 or more from the city in a 12-month period.
"It is based on the original proposal, which I thought was good and I'd support again," Hersha said.
The 2005 attempt proposed $10.19 as the minimum wage for companies and organizations that received more than $50,000 in contracts or $10,000 in grants, including tax abatements and federal Community Development Block Grant funds, in any 12-month period.
http://www.lsj.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20071217/OPINION02/712170334/1085/opinion
Published December 17, 2007
[ From Lansing State Journal ]
Opsommer: Treating people like cattle isn't a fix for passports
Separate passport issues from feds' push for ID chips
This year, we've seen more than a fair share of difficulties for the state.
Outside of jobs and the economy, passport snafus were one of the top problems many of my constituents faced.
First, the passport system was overwhelmed when new federal laws required more people to get the documents than the system was prepared to handle. This led to canceled vacations and business trips, not to mention significant aggravation and lost time.
http://www.detnews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20071217/OPINION03/712170301/1007/OPINION
Monday, December 17, 2007
Amber Arellano
Immigration's diversity should inspire, not instill fear
At the corner of Thomas Road and 35th Street in Phoenix, racist vigilantes who call themselves Minutemen scream in bullhorns: "Born in the U.S.A! Born in the U.S.A.! KKK!"
In San Francisco, a man named David regularly writes to tell me Mexicans may be good people, but he's convinced they'll never speak proper English and thus ruin his neighborhood.
In Iowa, the Republican presidential candidates out-macho one another with "get tough" stances on immigration, hoping to ride the anti-foreigner wave to victory in January's primary.
That wave hits Michigan next month, when the candidates leave the cornfields to join us for our primary here in the land of the one-state recession. You can bet they'll beat the anti-immigrant drum here, too.
http://www.detnews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20071217/POLITICS/712170339/1022/POLITICS
Monday, December 17, 2007
Hoekstra pushes probe
Mich. congressman vows to defy Bush administration and review destruction of CIA tapes.
Hope Yen / Associated Press
WASHINGTON -- Michigan Rep. Peter Hoekstra, the top Republican on the House Intelligence Committee, defied the Bush administration Sunday and pledged to investigate the destruction of CIA interrogation tapes.
"We want to hold the community accountable for what's happened with these tapes. I think we will issue subpoenas," said Hoekstra, R-Holland.
The Justice Department has urged Congress not to investigate and advised intelligence officials not to cooperate with a legislative inquiry.
http://www.detnews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20071217/OPINION03/712170305/1007/OPINION
Monday, December 17, 2007
Paul W. Smith: Monday Moanin'
Training pays off during White House visit
On Dec. 13, 1799, the first president of the United States, George Washington, was dying at his Mount Vernon, Va. home. He was 67.
On Dec. 13, 2007, my son Adam and I were lucky enough to be guests of the 42nd president of the United States (and Mrs. Bush) at the White House for one of their annual Christmas celebrations.
(Yes, technically, he is the 43rd president. But I'm using the "Washington Rule: How many times have you heard someone say, "George Washington was our first and second president." Me neither. Both Washington and Bush have served two terms.)
I have been a guest at the White House for many predecessors, and each time it is a once-in-a-lifetime thrill. Frankly, it almost doesn't matter who did the inviting; it's the president of the United States!
http://www.mlive.com/newsflash/index.ssf?/base/news-49/1197830652123080.xml&storylist=newsmichigan
Soldier with family in Michigan dies in Iraq
12/16/2007, 1:35 p.m. EST
By STEVE KARNOWSKI
The Associated Press
MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — A soldier with family in Michigan who lived for two years outside the northern Minnesota town of Bovey before he joined the Army and went to Iraq loved video games and comic books, his brother said.
Army Spc. Randy W. Pickering, 31, died Dec. 9 in Baghdad of "injuries sustained in a non-combat related incident," the Defense Department said in a news release. It said his death was under investigation.
"It's very unexpected," his brother, Chris Pickering, of Mason, Mich., said. "It's very shocking to anybody who knew him. That isn't something he would do."
NATIONAL STORIES
http://www.breitbart.com/article.php?id=071216204336.mrr2owf4&show_article=1
Republican hopefuls squabble over Bush foreign policy
Dec 16 03:43 PM US/Eastern
Republican White House contender Mike Huckabee refused to apologize Sunday after a rival accused him of insulting President George W. Bush by describing his foreign policy as "arrogant."
Huckabee butted heads with former Massachusetts governor Mitt Romney after publishing a foreign policy paper calling for American foreign policy to change its "tone and attitude, open up, and reach out."
"The Bush administration's arrogant bunker mentality has been counterproductive at home and abroad," the former Arkansas governor wrote in the journal Foreign Affairs.
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/12/17/us/politics/17repubs.html?_r=1&hp=&pagewanted=print&oref=slogin
December 17, 2007
Candidates Scrambling to Cope With Rise of Huckabee
By MICHAEL COOPER
This article was reported by Michael Cooper, Michael Luo, Marc Santora and Paul Vitello and written by Mr. Cooper.
Just one month ago, Mitt Romney’s supporters thought that they had Iowa fairly well in hand. But there was Mr. Romney last week, telling several hundred people at a high school cafeteria in Marion that he was the underdog and pleading for their help to keep him from being derailed at the caucuses by the rise of Mike Huckabee.
“You’re going to do something which people don’t expect,” Mr. Romney told them, “which is give me a victory.”
His campaign is working feverishly to right itself, zeroing in on Mr. Huckabee’s past moderate record on immigration with critical television advertisements, a mailing and recorded phone calls from a former Arkansas lawmaker who says, “I know Mike Huckabee’s a likable guy, but I also know what he did to our state.”
http://www.politico.com/news/stories/1207/7415.html
Mitt wept when church ended discrimination
By: Mike Allen
Dec 16, 2007 09:48 AM EST
Updated: December 16, 2007 02:16 PM EST
Former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney said on NBC’s “Meet the Press” today that he wept with relief when the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, the Mormon church, announced a 1978 revelation that the priesthood would no longer be denied to persons of African descent.
Romney’s eyes appeared to fill with tears as he discussed the emotional subject during a high-stakes appearance that he handled with no major blunders.
Watch video of Romney on "Meet the Press," courtesy of BreitbartTV.
http://apnews.myway.com/article/20071216/D8TI9RV00.html
Giuliani: Nation Needs Bold Leadership
Dec 15, 10:37 PM (ET)
By BRENDAN FARRINGTON
TAMPA, Fla. (AP) - Republican presidential candidate Rudy Giuliani's "bold" vision for the nation sounded a lot like the same ideas he's been talking about for months, but delivered in a new package Saturday.
Giuliani's address before about 200 people was billed by his campaign as a new speech that shows the former New York mayor's bold vision for the future of the country.
But the 30-plus minute speech hit on similar themes: a little Hillary Rodham Clinton bashing, some reflections on the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, a call to make energy independence as big a priority as landing on the moon was in the 1960s, and the need to fight terrorism so the United States can be safe and do more business in the Middle East.
And the theme throughout was that he has shown the leadership needed to be president.
http://www.detnews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20071217/OPINION03/712170303/1007/OPINION
Monday, December 17, 2007
Deb Price
Truth squad exposes Giuliani's gay policy shifts
Then: New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani signed a sweeping domestic partnership bill into law in 1998, explaining that he hoped it would "help to move society more in the direction of equal treatment for everyone."
Now: Republican presidential candidate Giuliani appeared on Oct. 17 on Fox News Channel's "Hannity & Colmes" and said any rights for gay couples "should just be contractual," parroting the buzzword of those social conservatives who absurdly claim that gay couples can essentially get the rights of marriage by signing a contract at a lawyer's office.
http://www.politico.com/news/stories/1207/7418.html
McCain snags endorsements; Rudy retreats
By: Mike Allen and Jonathan Martin
Dec 16, 2007 02:57 PM EST
Updated: December 17, 2007 07:11 AM EST
Sen. Joseph Lieberman (Conn.), who was on the national Democratic ticket in 2000, will cross the aisle to endorse Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) tomorrow, Republican sources said.
The two will appear together on Fox News on Monday, then at an 8 a.m. town hall meeting in Hillsborough, N.H. They will talk with reporters after the meeting. McCain is also scheduled to appear on NBC's "Today" program.
The move, which will help cultivate McCain's moderate status, is an effort to draw attention to the McCain campaign, which needs a splash. Otherwise, it does not make sense for McCain because it will only remind core Republicans why they distrust him.
http://apnews.myway.com/article/20071216/D8TIRDLG0.html
Lieberman to Endorse McCain
Dec 16, 6:35 PM (ET)
By GLEN JOHNSON
MANCHESTER, N.H. (AP) - Sen. John McCain, trying to build momentum toward a reprise of his 2000 New Hampshire primary victory, is piling up high-profile endorsements, including one from another political maverick, Sen. Joseph Lieberman.
The Connecticut senator, an independent who was the Democrats' 2000 vice presidential nominee, was scheduled to announce his support for McCain at a town hall meeting Monday morning in Hillsborough.
A Lieberman adviser said the senator decided to back McCain despite being a Republican because he believes his colleague from Arizona "has the best chance of uniting the country in its fight against Islamic terrorism."
http://www.breitbart.com/article.php?id=D8TJ04TG0&show_article=1
Paul Raises $6 Million in 24-Hour Effort
Dec 16 11:58 PM US/Eastern
COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) - Republican presidential hopeful Ron Paul's supporters raised over $6 million Sunday to boost the 10-term Texas congressman's campaign for the White House.
Called a "Money Bomb," the goal was to raise as much money as possible on the Internet in one day. The campaign's previous fundraiser brought in $4.2 million.
At midnight EST, donations were over $6 million, according to the campaign Web site. Those donations are processed credit card receipts, said Paul campaign spokesman Jesse Benton. Benton said the median donation is about $50 in the fundraiser, which was the idea of Paul supporters who are not officially connected to the campaign.
http://www.detnews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20071217/OPINION03/712170302/1007/OPINION
Monday, December 17, 2007
Froma Harrop:
Obama presidential run reflects audacity of hype
Barack Obama stands on stage with Oprah Winfrey and says he's in the race because of what Martin Luther King Jr. called "the fierce urgency of now." Does the Illinois senator's candidacy really mark a major advance for civil rights?
Obama isn't the first African-American with a good shot at the big job. That distinction goes to Colin Powell, whom many Republicans unsuccessfully had begged to run for office.
Is America ready for an African-American president? Sure. Is Obama ready to be president? That's another matter.
Four out of five voters say they'd happily support a black presidential candidate. It does not follow that they must choose Obama in '08. The Democrat will have more to offer in 2012 and 2016 than a mere three years in the U.S. Senate, which is what he has now. And if he's not the first African-American president, then someone else will be.
http://apnews.myway.com/article/20071216/D8TINQ780.html
Obama Describes Faith Amid False Rumors
Dec 16, 2:29 PM (ET)
By JIM KUHNHENN
MASON CITY, Iowa (AP) - Democrat Barack Obama on Sunday confronted one of the persistent falsehoods circulating about him on the Internet.
He went to church.
His attendance here at the First Congregational United Church of Christ, with the news media in tow, was as much an observation of faith as it was a rejoinder to the e-mailed rumors that he is a Muslim and poses a threat to the security of the United States.
Obama did not address the rumors, but described how he joined Trinity United Church of Christ in Chicago two decades ago while working as a community organizer.
December 17, 2007
Political Memo
In ’08 Race, the Other Clinton Steps Up Publicly
By PATRICK HEALY
DUNLAP, Iowa — When Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton’s campaign advisers laid out their new political strategy in a private conference call with allies last Tuesday, Bill Clinton was not on the line. He did not need to be. The message being delivered was his.
A day earlier, Mr. Clinton had unveiled the campaign’s new talking points at rallies in Iowa. His wife was “a change agent,” “a proven agent of positive change” and “a lifetime advocate of a change agenda.”
The “change, change, change” phrase, as some advisers call it, was coined by Mr. Clinton after he told campaign officials that the old strategy of running like an incumbent front-runner was not enough, advisers said. The Clintons had to wrest the message of change from Senator Barack Obama.
http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/C/CONGRESS_DEMOCRATS?SITE=MIDTN&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT
Dec 16, 12:45 PM EST
Democrats assess Hill damage, leadership
By CHARLES BABINGTON
Associated Press Writer
WASHINGTON (AP) -- Congressional Democrats will have plenty to ponder during the Christmas-New Year recess. For instance, why did things go so badly this fall, and how well did their leaders serve them?
Partisan players will quarrel for months, but objective analysts say the debate must start here: An embattled president made extraordinary use of his veto power and he was backed by GOP lawmakers who may have put their political fortunes at risk.
Also, a new Democratic leadership team overestimated the impact of the Iraq war and the 2006 elections, learning too late they had no tools to force Bush and his allies to compromise on bitterly contested issues.
http://www.azcentral.com/news/articles/1209pruitts1209.html?&wired
Outside Phoenix store, border debate rages on
Emotional protests at local battleground mirror national fight
Casey Newton
The Arizona Republic
Dec. 9, 2007 12:00 AM
On East Thomas Road in Phoenix, the national shouting match over immigration unfolds week by week in a neighborhood that has changed in the same ways Arizona has.
Sheriff's deputies patrol the parking lot at M.D. Pruitt's Home Furnishings each Saturday, ensuring that no day laborers trespass on the property. Day-labor advocates mount protests nearby, blaring Mexican folk music while children dressed in traditional garb dance on the sidewalk.
Pruitt's opened 57 years ago, but only recently did day laborers gather in large numbers to seek work on the sidewalks and parking lots of nearby businesses. The subdivisions that stretch back from Thomas Road have seen more and more Hispanic families arrive, changing the character of the neighborhood.
http://www.detnews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20071217/POLITICS/712170338/1022/POLITICS
Monday, December 17, 2007
Budget bill reverses Bush-sought cuts
Dems preserve heating subsidies and policing funds, yield on $27B for other domestic projects.
Andre Taylor / Associated Press
WASHINGTON -- Lawmakers unveiled a $500 billion-plus catchall spending bill Sunday, reluctantly sticking within President Bush's budget but still protecting politically sensitive domestic programs from White House cuts.
The bill wraps together the budgets for every Cabinet department except the Pentagon and is expected to pass Congress this week before lawmakers head home for Christmas. The result is a disappointing defeat for Democrats seeking to add $27 billion to domestic programs, an almost 7 percent hike.
Bush sought a less than 1 percent increase overall for domestic programs, which wouldn't have made up for inflation, much less population growth. His budget was layered with budget cuts and program eliminations that had been rejected in years past by GOP-dominated Congresses.
http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/G/GREENSPAN_ECONOMY?SITE=MIDTN&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT
Dec 16, 5:30 PM EST
Greenspan: Give homeowners financial aid
By KEVIN FREKING
Associated Press Writer
WASHINGTON (AP) -- Alan Greenspan, former chairman of the Federal Reserve, suggested Sunday that a tax break or other government financial help for homeowners facing the mortgage crunch would be the best political fix for the economy.
He cautioned against meddling with home prices or interest rates to address the housing problem.
Greenspan did not specifically call for a tax cut. Instead, he called for the government to apply money to the severe housing market slump. Such a cash infusion would typically come through a tax break or a new government spending program.
http://www.detnews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20071217/OPINION03/712170306/1007/OPINION
Monday, December 17, 2007
George Will:
Be wary of creating home entitlement
Bailing out people who lose housing bets eats away at idea of contracts
She who would be president excoriates, as Democratic presidential candidates must, the current president and almost all his works. But she and he largely agree regarding the subprime mortgage problem.
Granted, she greeted his response to it with the cri de coeur without which Democrats would be speechless: "More!" She upped his ante by proposing a moratorium, for 90 days, on foreclosures. But the crux of her proposal is the crux of his -- a selective five-year freeze on the rates of subprime adjustable-rate mortgages.
Hillary Clinton already is intimating that a seven-year freeze might be needed. Let the auction begin. Any freeze makes it likely that lenders will henceforth add risk premiums to the cost of money for less-than-prime borrowers.
http://opinionjournal.com/diary/?id=110011003
Here Dumbs the Judge
Sen. Jon Kyl joins a left-wing effort to censor seminars for federal judges.
Monday, December 17, 2007 12:01 a.m. EST
The Senate has failed to fill a slew of judicial vacancies, including 17 that have been declared "emergencies" by the Judicial Conference of the United States. Not satisfied with that, some senators are now trying to restrict the ways judges receive continuing legal education and how often they can visit private law schools such as Tulane or Emory. For all their talk about being in favor of education, it looks as if some senators want to dumb down the judiciary.
Wisconsin Democrat Russ Feingold has teamed up with Arizona Republican Jon Kyl of Arizona, the new Senate minority whip, on an amendment to a judicial pay raise bill scheduled for a Senate vote this week. The bill itself aims to make federal judicial service more attractive to the best lawyers: Federal judges haven't had a pay increase beyond inflation in more than two decades, and soaring private-sector legal salaries make it increasingly difficult to attract the best talent for the federal bench.
Floods of tears as climate change 'hard man' breaks down at summit
By MARTIN DELGADO - More by this author »
Last updated at 00:13am on 16th December 2007
He is known as the "hard man" of climate-change negotiation.
But after 12 exhausting days of trying to reach a worldwide agreement on reducing greenhouse gas emissions, it was suddenly all too much for Yvo de Boer.
As the 200-nation Bali conference wrangled over a minor procedural matter, the Dutch diplomat in charge of the talks burst into tears and had to be led away by colleagues.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/12/16/AR2007121601560.html
A Civilian Partner for Our Troops
Why the U.S. Needs A Reconstruction Reserve
By Richard G. Lugar and Condoleezza Rice
Monday, December 17, 2007; Page A21
It is unusual in Washington when an idea is overwhelmingly supported by the president, a bipartisan majority of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, the State Department, and both the civilian and military leadership of the Pentagon. But that is the case with the proposed Civilian Reserve Corps, a volunteer cadre of civilian experts who can work with our military to perform the urgent jobs of post-conflict stabilization and reconstruction.
Creating such an institution is essential for our national security, and the Senate should authorize the creation of the corps. Over the past decade and a half, the United States has learned that some of the greatest threats to our national security emerge not only from the armies and arsenals of hostile nations but also from the brittle institutions and failing economies of weak and poorly governed states.
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/comment/columnists/tim_hames/article3059926.ece
From The TimesDecember 17, 2007
Iraq - the best story of the year
Against all the odds, an optimistic prediction comes true
Tim Hames
Never make predictions,” said the American baseball manager Casey Stengel, “especially about the future.” Alas, I have never been able to resist an invitation to emulate Nostradamus, though without developing the flair for ambiguity and impenetrability that has enabled his enthusiasts to claim that he foresaw everything.
So when, for the January 1 edition of this newspaper, I was asked to write 100 words of predictions for 2007, I embraced the task with diligence and as many prophecies as possible were squeezed into the space available.
http://www.detnews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20071216/NATION/712160315/1022/POLITICS
Sunday, December 16, 2007
Troop reduction to focus on ouylying areas of Iraq
Peter Spiegel and Julian E. Barnes / Los Angeles Times
CAMP VICTORY, Iraq -- In a change of plans, American commanders in Iraq have decided to keep the bulk of their forces concentrated in Baghdad when the U.S. troop buildup ends next year, removing extra troops instead from outlying areas of the country.
The change represents the military's first attempt to confront its big challenge in 2008: how to reduce the number of troops without sacrificing security.
The shift in deployment strategy, described by senior U.S. military officials in Iraq and Washington, D.C., is based on concerns that despite recent improvements, the capital could erupt again into widespread violence without an imposing American military presence.
http://www.breitbart.com/article.php?id=D8TIRPLG1&show_article=1
Al-Zawahri Video: US Failing in Iraq
Dec 16 07:01 PM US/Eastern
CAIRO, Egypt (AP) - Al-Qaida's No. 2 Ayman al-Zawahri said in a new video posted Monday that the United States is trying to hide its failures in Iraq and warned that the mujahedeen there are increasing in strength.