Articles of Interest 12-6-07
336 Days until Election Day
MORNING UPDATE:
Secretary of StateTerri Lynn Land proposes enhancing the security of driver’s licenses, by adding convenient optional “enhanced” drivers license…info below. Non-citizens must prove legal presence in U.S. for upgraded “standard” license.
Education Action Group (EAG) was recently cited in the Michigan Education Report for their database of school board members that have received financial support from one of the 20+ MEA PACs. The extensive article on union involvement in school elections can be found here: http://www.educationreport.org/pubs/mer/article.aspx?ID=9096
The list of union-supported board members can be found on their website, http://www.educationactiongroup.org/follow.html
I find it so ironic and hypocritical to listen to the Democrat candidates for President discuss the Iraq war and our fight on terrorism…why don’t we review…in their own words… what they said…then:
http://www.bercasio.com/movies/dems-wmd-before-iraq.wmv
As many of you had heard, Jane Abraham has had some serious health issues over the last few weeks. I talked with Jane yesterday and she is recovering just fine…but we’ll probably not see much of her over the holidays as she recovers. She expects to be back to 100% sooner, rather than later. Keep Jane in your prayers!
Democratic National Committeewoman Debbie Dingell and I proposed a “bipartisan” solution the presidential primary system for 2012 and beyond. This proposal will be offered to the Rules Committee of both the RNC and DNC this week for consideration. For more info, see my blog:
http://migop.blogs.com/blog/2007/12/dingell-anuzis.html
Newt Gingrich introduces his Platform for America and discusses America’s most widely held views…a blueprint for bipartisan action??? See the “Red, White & Blue Platform” in a .pdf format as well as the supporting polling information at:
http://www.americansolutions.com/general/?Page=92410b2c-4bee-4ed9-80d6-c6c7ade635a3
Congratulations to Jim Holcomb! The Michigan Chamber of Commerce announced that James R. Holcomb will join the statewide business organization as Vice President of Business Advocacy & Associate General Counsel in January, 2008.
Jim Holcomb comes to the Michigan Chamber from the office of State House Minority Leader Craig DeRoche, where he currently serves as chief of staff. From 2005-2006, Holcomb also served as chief of staff to Rep. DeRoche during his tenure as Speaker of the House. Previously, Holcomb was Director of Policy & Majority Legal Counsel for the Michigan House of Representatives (2001-2004); Associate Attorney with Howard & Howard Attorneys, P.C., Lansing/Bloomfield Hills (1998-2001); Vice President of Governmental Affairs and General Counsel for Governmental Policy Consultants, Lansing (1997-1998); Legislative Director, Office of State Senator Joanne Emmons (1995-1996); and Legislative Aide, Office of State Representative Bob Brackenridge (1993-1995).
More recalls are starting up…information below.
Give a Gift this Holiday Season that Will Last a Lifetime!
The Michigan Republicans moved their headquarters to the Secchia-Weiser Republican Center in 2006 and plan to install a legacy site to honor those who have served the party and the citizens of Michigan. The legacy site will create a well-deserved tribute to honor Michigan’s past, present, and future Republican leaders! Buy a brick to celebrate, to inspire, or to commemorate friends, family, or yourself this holiday season! They are a great way to honor others in memoriam, birthdays, anniversaries, or any special occasion. Your honoree will receive a certificate commemorating their personalized brick. Choose from our four different options and be a part of the Michigan Republican Party Legacy!
To order your personalized Legacy Brick please visit www.migop.org/legacy, or contact Erin Meteer, Major Donor Program Manager at emeteer@migop.org.
THE REST OF THE STORY:
- SOS issued the following release: Secretary of State Terri Lynn Land today announced an initiative to provide Michigan residents with another layer of protection by enhancing the security of driver’s licenses.
“Our world continues to change and Michigan must keep pace,” Land said. “This plan ensures the integrity of state-issued licenses and helps to secure America’s borders. Of course, our customers’ needs are always important to us. That’s why we crafted our initiative to provide residents with a convenient option depending on their travel needs. Bolstering the security of our licenses is good for families, good for Michigan and good for America.”
Land’s proposal contains two packages of bills. One deals with upgrading Michigan’s “standard” driver’s license and the other creates an optional “enhanced” driver’s license that is suitable for
- Recall efforts start & grow….see UPDATE “Tax Hiker Portraits” by RightMichigan:
Robert Dean: http://www.rightmichigan.com/story/2007/10/2/105439/416
Steve Bieda: http://www.rightmichigan.com/story/2007/10/3/10332/0059
Mike Simpson: http://www.rightmichigan.com/story/2007/10/4/92924/1118
Marc Corriveau: http://www.rightmichigan.com/story/2007/10/8/93248/2721
Terry Brown: http://www.rightmichigan.com/story/2007/10/10/101539/45
Mary Valentine: http://www.rightmichigan.com/story/2007/10/9/6253/0133
Kate Ebli: http://www.rightmichigan.com/story/2007/10/11/55455/873
Marty Griffin: http://www.rightmichigan.com/story/2007/10/15/94238/961
Kathy Angerer: http://www.rightmichigan.com/story/2007/10/16/14040/296
Aldo Vagnozzi: http://www.rightmichigan.com/story/2007/10/17/103640/75
John Espinoza: http://www.rightmichigan.com/story/2007/10/30/93255/658
Joel Sheltrown: http://www.rightmichigan.com/story/2007/10/31/103434/30
Mike Lahti: http://www.rightmichigan.com/story/2007/11/6/10250/0225
Kathleen Law: http://www.rightmichigan.com/story/2007/11/7/104242/595
Fred Miller: http://www.rightmichigan.com/story/2007/11/13/101018/55
Mike Sak: http://www.rightmichigan.com/story/2007/11/20/112958/68
Marie Donigan: http://www.rightmichigan.com/story/2007/11/28/10625/797
Pam Byrnes: http://www.rightmichigan.com/story/2007/12/5/112420/863
How do recalls 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=/20071206/POLITICS/712060360/1022/POLITICS
Gov: 'I'm never going to raise taxes again'
Charlie Cain / Detroit News Lansing Bureau
Thursday, December 6, 2007
LANSING -- After a brief state government shutdown and an all-night legislative session that produced whopping tax hikes of about $1.4 billion, Gov. Jennifer Granholm told reporters she had no intention of ever proposing another general tax hike. That was 2 ½ months ago. This week in an interview with the Associated Press, the governor expounded on those earlier comments. Asked the biggest lesson she learned in 2007, the governor told AP: "The most important thing I learned is I'm never going to raise taxes again. It's too hard. It's too impossible. Especially in light of our economy and what we've been through. I just don't think there's anybody who's interested in proceeding down that path again. And I'm the first at the head of that line."
http://www.mlive.com/news/grpress/index.ssf?/base/news-2/11968662713720.xml&coll=6
Taxing our patience
Grand Rapids Press
Wednesday, December 05, 2007
After the state Legislature found an eleventh hour replacement last weekend for its ludicrous tax on services, Gov. Jennifer Granholm brushed aside worries about the chaotic process that led to Michigan again dancing at the brink of tax-policy disaster. "Instead of looking in the rear-view mirror, I'm looking forward," she said. That's what politicians say when they want people to ignore a particularly bad stretch of road they've just dragged us over. Behind Ms. Granholm and lawmakers -- especially House Speaker Andrew Dillon, D-Wayne County, and Senate Majority Leader Michael Bishop, R-Rochester -- is a multi-car wreck of legislative procrastination, political gamesmanship and posturing.
http://www.livingstondaily.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20071205/OPINION01/712050319/1014/OPINION
How to hurt Michigan business
Mike Mallott
December 5, 2007
So OK, let's say you are a business person and you are trying to figure out what state to locate in. Maybe you're a business person looking to launch a new venture, and you are trying to calculate what you can charge customers and how much you have to make to be profitable. What's your opinion going to be of the prospects for success in Michigan these days? Two months ago, we were on the verge of a state government shutdown. The budget deficit was calculated at $1.7 billion and state lawmakers and the governor couldn't figure out how to balance the budget without a tax increase.
http://detnews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20071206/OPINION01/712060302/1007/OPINION
New Granholm chief can tame Lansing lions
Rev. Harry T. Cook
Thursday, December 6, 2007
Within two weeks after 9/11, Dan Krichbaum -- who starts soon as Gov. Jennifer Granholm's chief of staff -- brought together rabbis, imams, priests and ministers of every conceivable religious persuasion from all over Metro Detroit and dared them not to pray for peace. Before thousands of people in a standing-room-only downtown church, they prayed, all right, and behaved themselves with nary a hint of sectarian rivalry or resentment. Amazing. Krichbaum had been doing that kind of thing for a while as the head of the Michigan Roundtable for Diversity and Inclusion -- the name by which the organization is now known -- and has been doing so ever since with increasing effectiveness.
http://detnews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20071206/POLITICS/712060313/1022/POLITICS
Granholm makes energy trip to Washington
Governor will meet the cabinet secretary to discuss an Upper Peninsula fuel project.
Associated Press
Thursday, December 6, 2007
LANSING -- Gov. Jennifer Granholm is heading to Washington, D.C., where she will update federal Energy Department officials about a proposed venture that would turn pulp and paper mill waste into fuel. Granholm on Wednesday will meet with Energy Secretary Samuel Bodman and the assistant secretary for energy efficiency and renewable energy to give an update on current efforts to start a commercial black liquor gasification project in the Upper Peninsula. Swedish-based Chemrec AB and Ohio-based NewPage Corporation have formed a partnership to explore the potential of developing a plant that would produce renewable biomass-based fuels at the NewPage paper mill in Escanaba.
http://detnews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20071206/POLITICS/712060349/1022/POLITICS
Smoking ban gets House OK
Gary Heinlein / Detroit News Lansing Bureau
Thursday, December 6, 2007
LANSING -- A statewide ban on smoking in workplaces, including restaurants and bars, was approved by a 56-46 vote in the House of Representatives on Wednesday. House passage of the ban, from which cigar bars, tobacco specialty shops, casino game floors, bingo parlors and horse racetracks would be exempt, was hailed as historic. Individual lawmakers and organizations such as the National Lung Association of Michigan for years have sought a broad smoking ban here, but this is the first such measure to pass even one chamber of the Legislature.
http://theoaklandpress.com/stories/120507/opi_20071205155.shtml
Bill on chases would protect officers from frivolous suits
The Oakland Press
PUBLISHED: Wednesday, December 5, 2007
With the state Legislature budget wrangling possibly subsiding, it might be time to discuss some other pending bills. Even during financial debates, there were representatives and senators who drafted and submitted legislation. One bill that should now not only be reviewed but passed is House Bill 5398. Introduced by Rep. Fulton Sheen, R Plainwell, the legislation would bar drivers who were eluding police from suing for personal injury or property damage if the chase resulted in an accident. The proposal is intended to protect police officers and allow them to do their jobs, said cosponsor Rep. John Stahl, R-North Branch.
http://detnews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20071206/POLITICS/712060366/1022/POLITICS
Lansing moves to protect Lakes
House, Senate committees OK Great Lakes alliance
Jim Lynch / The Detroit News
Thursday, December 6, 2007
LANSING -- Michigan legislators moved a step closer to enacting a measure that could prevent states outside the region from raiding the area's most valuable resource -- the Great Lakes. Committees in the Senate and House approved the Great Lakes-St. Lawrence River Basin Water Resources Compact on Wednesday. The legislation, once approved by all eight of the Great Lakes states and the U.S. Congress, would put authority over water diversions in the hands of those states. "This is important in order to ensure the sustainable use of the Great Lakes waters in the future," said David Naftzger, executive director of the Council of Great Lakes Governors. "It protects against any long-distance, large-scale diversions."'
http://detnews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20071206/POLITICS/712060370/1022/POLITICS
Driver's license may get upgrade
Michigan's high-security licenses, ID cards could be used as passports; illegal immigrants ineligible.
Mark Hornbeck and Charlie Cain / Detroit News Lansing Bureau
Thursday, December 6, 2007
LANSING -- Reacting to pressure from the federal government over terrorism concerns, legislators and Secretary of State Terri Lynn Land are putting on the fast track a plan to upgrade driver's licenses and keep them out of the hands of illegal immigrants. Michigan is one of seven states that has not taken steps to comply with federal law. The plan also will allow Michigan drivers to use one of two new licenses instead of a U.S. passport for travel to Canada and the Western Hemisphere.
http://www.lsj.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20071205/NEWS01/712050345/1001/news
Rogers: Pressure halted Iran nuclear ambitions
Mara Lee
Published December 5, 2007
WASHINGTON - Three months ago, Rep. Mike Rogers, a Republican leader on the House intelligence committee, wrote a column warning about the dangers of Iran's nuclear ambitions. He wrote that his subcommittee issued a report in August 2006 declaring " 'Iran is seeking nuclear weapons.' Since then, the nuclear threat from Iran has strengthened, not diminished." But a new report from the nation's 16 intelligence agencies, including the CIA, concluded Iran stopped trying to build nuclear weapons in 2003.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/12/05/AR2007120502699_pf.html
In Shift, Dingell Steered Toward Fuel Standard
By Jeffrey H. Birnbaum and Steven Mufson
Washington Post Staff Writers
Thursday, December 6, 2007; D01
Congress is on the verge of approving an increase in fuel efficiency standards that automakers have fought for more than two decades, and a central player was the auto industry's fiercest champion, Rep. John D. Dingell (D-Mich.). Soon after last year's election, which handed control of Congress to pro-environment Democrats, Dingell warned auto industry executives that " 'no' is not good enough" an answer to lawmakers who have wanted for years to require cars to consume less gasoline, according to Dennis B. Fitzgibbons, a top Dingell aide and a former automobile lobbyist.
http://detnews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20071206/AUTO01/712060341/1022/POLITICS
House delays vote on energy bill
Lawmakers still working out details of legislation that increases fuel efficiency rules to 35 mpg by 2020.
David Shepardson / Detroit News Washington Bureau
Thursday, December 6, 2007
WASHINGTON -- House Democrats delayed a vote Wednesday on a massive energy bill that rescinds $21 billion in oil industry tax breaks and increases fuel efficiency standards by 40 percent as leaders struggled to ensure they had enough votes to approve the measure. Sen. Debbie Stabenow, D-Lansing, said late Wednesday that negotiators were still working out final details on a number of issues, including a requirement that utilities produce 15 percent of electricity from renewable sources such as wind and solar power.
http://detnews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20071205/OPINION01/712050328/1007/OPINION
Failing schools build case for tougher reform
The Detroit News
Wednesday, December 5, 2007
With more Michigan high schools failing to meet basic standards, state leaders are facing additional pressure to water down curriculum and testing reforms. They need to resist that pressure and stay with the tough-minded strategies. It won't be easy. Ninety more Michigan high schools scored so low on state achievement tests this year that they failed to make adequate yearly progress under the federal No Child Left Behind program. Michigan's reform strategy includes a rigorous new high school curriculum -- considered one of the best in the nation -- and the corresponding Michigan Merit Exam Assessment. The curriculum and assessments go hand in hand.
http://detnews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20071206/OPINION01/712060308/1007/OPINION
Go easy in surveilling students
Ann Arbor's school cameras raise Big Brother concerns
The Detroit News
Thursday, December 6, 2007
Most of the time, we consider the rights of school children to be limited pretty much to the right to come to class, the right to learn their lessons from a competent teacher and the right to behave themselves. But the students at Ann Arbor Pioneer High School who are claiming a right to privacy in objecting to the security cameras that cover nearly every inch of public space in the building have a compelling argument. The Washtenaw County school district installed the cameras in hallways and other common areas as a security measure, joining school districts across the state and country in trying to more closely monitor what goes on inside their buildings.
http://www.freep.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20071206/NEWS06/712060371/1008
Plan for new racetrack hits homestretch
As horsemen agree, county, developer work on land deal
December 6, 2007
BY KATHLEEN GRAY
FREE PRESS STAFF WRITER
A thoroughbred horse racing track in Huron Township is inching toward reality. After contentious negotiations threatened to scuttle the project, the Michigan Horsemen's Benevolent and Protective Association has agreed to significant concessions on winnings for the horse owners and approved the Pinnacle Race Course. The Wayne County Commission gave an enthusiastic reception to the proposal Wednesday. Gov. Jennifer Granholm and Wayne County Executive Robert Ficano are to join the developers of the new track at a news conference Friday to talk about the project. Once the land deal is done and all the necessary local and state permits granted, the $142-million project on 320 acres will be completed in three phases over the next three years. The first race is scheduled for July 18, 2008.
Tribe withholds new Michigan casino's first revenue payment
12/4/2007, 3:21 p.m. EST
The Associated Press
NEW BUFFALO TOWNSHIP, Mich. (AP) — The American Indian tribe that owns the new Four Winds Casino Resort in extreme southwestern Michigan is withholding its first revenue-sharing payments from local governments and school districts. The Pokagon Band of Potawatomi Indians says it has concerns about the organization of the board that is to oversee the distribution of the estimated $3 million a year in payments. The casino opened in August in Berrien County's New Buffalo Township.
Granholm urges Michiganians to lower flags for Pearl Harbor Day
12/5/2007, 8:07 p.m. EST
The Associated Press
LANSING, Mich. (AP) — Gov. Jennifer Granholm is asking Michiganians to follow the example of their public agencies and fly U.S. flags at half staff on Friday to mark Pearl Harbor Day. Granholm issued an order in 2005 directing that state offices lower the flag each December 7th to mark the anniversary of the 1941 Japanese attack on the Hawaiian naval base. The aerial attack on Pearl harbor killed 2,334 U.S. military personnel and wounded 1,143, leading to America's entry into World War II.
NATIONAL STORIES
http://detnews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20071206/POLITICS/712060369/1022
The values debate: Stance on divisive social issues defines GOP candidates
Gordon Trowbridge and Charlie Cain / The Detroit News
Thursday, December 6, 2007
A single issue will stand out when Stephanie Grinage walks into the voting booth in January's Republican primary. "There's a lot of important things going on," said the mother of six from Alto. "But I would have to say that abortion, for my husband and I, is the most important issue." That makes it a tough election campaign for Grinage and thousands of other Republican voters in Michigan who consider themselves social or religious conservatives: opponents of abortion, gay marriage, stem cell research and other questions of faith and politics. For the first time in memory, their party could hand its nomination to a candidate who supports abortion rights, former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani.
http://detnews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20071206/OPINION01/712060324/1007/OPINION
Religious faith shouldn't determine the presidency
The Detroit News
Thursday, December 6, 2007
Today's Mitt Romney speech on religion could be a watershed in his presidential campaign. That the Republican has to give such a talk speaks to the exaggerated role a candidate's personal faith plays in today's politics. Romney takes on the issue even though nothing in his career suggests Mormon doctrines or Mormon leaders will intrude on his responsibilities as president, should he win in November. His record as Massachusetts governor underscores the point. While governor, he took moderate stands in contrast to the Mormon Church on abortion and gay rights, positions that he has now moved away from, ironically, to appeal to conservative Christians. Criticism of Romney as a flip-flopper is fair game; judging him by his religion isn't.
http://detnews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20071206/OPINION01/712060303/1007/OPINION
Romney tests if voters less tolerant than Founders
GOP presidential hopeful shouldn't be afraid to echo Kennedy's argument
Gleaves Whitney
Thursday, December 6, 2007
Here is the paradox GOP presidential hopeful Mitt Romney faces. Americans tend to like presidential candidates who are religious. But a significant number of voters hedge their support when it comes to particular religions, and Romney's Mormonism is high among them. According to recent polling by the Pew Research Center, 36 percent of white, Republican, evangelical Protestants would be uneasy voting for a Mormon for president. To put that number in perspective, only 9 percent more of American voters would be uneasy voting for a Muslim. Perhaps Americans are uneasy because they have not had much experience eyeing Mormon presidential candidates.
http://article.nationalreview.com/?q=NTcyMTM5YzRiMzVjMjA3MGEwMjUwM2Y3NGJiMzM1YWY=
The Story Mike Huckabee Dreads
With his new success comes new attention to an old Arkansas crime.
By Byron York
December 5, 2007 4:00 AM
In August, I interviewed former Arkansas governor Mike Huckabee about the case of Wayne Dumond, the convicted rapist who was freed under Huckabee’s administration, only to rape and kill a woman in neighboring Missouri. The crime attracted enormous attention in Arkansas, but at the time of our interview, it had not made its way into much coverage of Huckabee’s presidential bid. “If [Huckabee] continues to rise in the polls,” I wrote, “it’s likely he’ll be talking about it a lot more.” Now Huckabee is rising in the polls, and sure enough, the Dumond case is attracting more attention. This morning, ABC News ran a report featuring the mother of the woman Dumond murdered, who blames Huckabee for her daughter’s death and vows to do everything she can to stop his campaign.
http://www.politico.com/news/stories/1207/7224.html
Do Democrats have the backbone to win?
By: Peter Fenn
Dec 5, 2007 07:44 PM EST
A confession: I have not endorsed any candidate in the Democratic primary. Strange for a political junkie, you say. Stranger, even, for someone who has had a political consulting firm for over 20 years. Stranger, still, considering I am passionate about this election year. The reason is quite simple: I like them all! And I know many of them well. While the Republicans are disenchanted with their field, the Democrats actually seem to like and respect their candidates. Now there’s a switch. The one concern gnawing at Democrats is the burning desire to nominate a candidate who can go head-to-head with the Republican nominee and pin him to the mat.
http://detnews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20071206/POLITICS/712060351/1022/POLITICS
Leading Democrats show consensus on social issues
Shared positions leave Clinton, Edwards and Obama less room to spar.
Gordon Trowbridge / Detroit News Washington Bureau
Thursday, December 6, 2007
Unlike Republicans, the Democratic presidential field has avoided divisive disputes over values issues. "They're going to haggle over some little details," said Laura Olson, a political science professor at Clemson University in South Carolina who studies religion in politics. "But they're not being torn apart in anywhere near the obvious ways that you see in the Republican Party." In part, Olson said, that's because there is widespread consensus among the Democratic contenders. Sens. Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama and former Sen. John Edwards staunchly support abortion rights, generally favor embryonic stem-cell research and would seek to expand the rights accorded to gays and lesbians.
Democrats Confront Immigration in Debate
By ADAM NAGOURNEY and JEFF ZELENY
Published: December 5, 2007
DES MOINES, Dec. 4 — If there is one issue that has challenged presidential candidates of both parties in Iowa this year, it is immigration, and the Democratic contenders were confronted with it again Tuesday, in a provocative way. Should American citizens, they were asked, turn in someone they know to be an illegal immigrant? In the end, the answer from most of the candidates was no. But the question, posed in various forms during a two-hour debate over National Public Radio, had the candidates struggling anew with a topic looming large both in the Iowa caucuses next month and in the general election.
Hillary Blames Wall Street for Home Foreclosures
By Amanda Carpenter
Wednesday, December 5, 2007
Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton blamed Wall Street for the increase in home foreclosures and called for a $5 billion-plus "home protection" plan and tighter housing market regulations Wednesday.“Wall Street not only enabled, but often encouraged, reckless lending," Clinton said at the NASDAQ MarketSite in Times Square.
In Manhattan, Clinton pitched a plan to protect borrowers who took out unaffordable home loans that are causing a $10 trillion upset in the domestic housing market. Low-interest “teaser” mortgage rates are scheduled to reset at higher rates through 2008, increasing payments for some by thousands of dollars, and more than 500,000 homeowners could lose their homes.
http://apnews.myway.com/article/20071205/D8TBIDE00.html
Clinton Volunteer Quits Over Obama Email
Dec 5, 5:29 PM (ET)
By NEDRA PICKLER
WASHINGTON (AP) - A volunteer Iowa county coordinator for Hillary Rodham Clinton's presidential campaign has resigned after forwarding a chain e-mail that suggests Barack Obama is a Muslim who wants to destroy the United States by being elected to its highest office. Obama is a member of the United Church of Christ and has never been a Muslim. A hoax e-mail that has been widely circulated suggests Obama is some sort of Manchurian candidate for Muslims. Judy Rose, a Clinton coordinator and Democratic Party official in Jones County, Iowa, forwarded it without comment to eight people on Nov. 21. Rose referred requests for comment to one of the recipients, Grace Zimmerman, who serves with her on the Jones County Democratic Central Committee.
http://www.observer.com/2007/obama-offers-way-out-dean-hart-and-kennedy-trap
Obama Offers Way Out of Dean, Hart and Kennedy Trap
Niall Stanage
December 4, 2007
Barack Obama is on the cusp of pulling off what no one in his party has achieved for years. If recent polls, together with the crowds at his events, are anything to go by, he is simultaneously appealing to strident Democratic activists and seducing floating voters and independents. The combination, if it proves durable, is electoral gold dust. The recent history of the Democratic Party is littered with compelling insurgent candidates—Howard Dean, Gary Hart and Ted Kennedy, for example—who rode a wave of grass-roots fervor before crashing to earth. Mr. Obama seems to offer a way out of the trap. On the one hand, he employs the lofty rhetoric that thrills the foot soldiers of his party, and he seems to share their basic values.
http://www.realclearpolitics.com/articles/2007/12/worst_mistakes_of_election_08.html
Worst Mistakes of Election 2008
By Tom Bevan
December 05, 2007
Over the course of the last year or more of campaigning, the candidates and their strategists have made thousands of decisions, both big and small, that have contributed to their current position in the race. With less than a month left until the caucuses, it's not too early to look back in hindsight and recognize which decisions didn't turn out so well. Here are the five biggest campaign mistakes to date:
5) Fred Thompson skipping the New Hampshire debate to appear on Jay Leno. At the time many folks thought Thompson did the right thing by staying out of the debate fray and launching his candidacy by reaching a broader audience. However, voters in the Granite State have punished Thompson with a vengeance, dropping him into a miserable sixth place at 3.2%. Even Ron Paul has twice the amount of support.
http://apnews.myway.com/article/20071206/D8TBKLOG0.html
Deal Reached on Mortgage Rate Freeze
Dec 5, 8:03 PM (ET)
By MARTIN CRUTSINGER and ALAN ZIBEL
WASHINGTON (AP) - The Bush administration has hammered out an agreement to freeze interest rates for certain subprime mortgages for five years to combat a soaring tide of foreclosures, congressional aides said Wednesday. The aides, who spoke on condition of anonymity because the details have not yet been released, said the five-year moratorium represented a compromise between desires by banking regulators for a longer time frame of up to seven years and mortgage industry arguments that the freeze should last only one or two years. Another person familiar with the matter said the rate-freeze plan would apply to borrowers with loans made at the start of 2005 through July 30 of this year with rates that are scheduled to rise between Jan. 1, 2008, and July 31, 2010.
http://detnews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20071206/OPINION03/712060306/1007/OPINION
Don't believe the worst about poor, elderly
Thursday, December 6, 2007
Thomas Sowell
When most of us look at income statistics, we are not just being numbers junkies. We want to find out something about actual flesh-and-blood human beings -- specifically what their standard of living is like. But you cannot always take statistics at face value -- or, worse yet, with the spin that politicians and the media put on them. Income, for example, is not the same as earnings, and neither is the same as the economic resources on which people's standard of living is based. Since most of us get our income by earning it, it might seem that any difference between income and earnings would just be some technicality that only economists or accountants would bother with. In reality, the difference can be huge, depending on the income bracket and the age of the individual.
http://townhall.com/columnists/KenBlackwell/2007/12/06/giving_the_gift_of_english
Giving the Gift of English
By Ken Blackwell
Thursday, December 6, 2007
One of the most unreported stories of the past month is Democrats in Congress refusing to protect the Salvation Army and other similar organizations from lawsuits for requiring their employees to be able to speak English on the job. This policy issue is also important politically, and Republicans will benefit politically by doing the right thing.
John Fund’s recent Wall Street Journal article reveals this absurd situation. Lawsuits have been brought by individuals and the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission against employers like the Salvation Army for requiring their employees to learn English within one year. The Salvation Army is only requiring English in performing work duties, not what language workers use in the break room, and gives them a full 12 months to learn the language. Yet the EEOC and certain groups are suing.
http://www.humanevents.com/article.php?id=23782
ICE Agent Unfairly Targeted
by Ross Kaminsky
Posted: 12/05/2007
US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (“ICE”) tagged agent Cory Voorhis as a future superstar while still in his 20’s. By the time he was in his mid-30’s, he was running a five-year investigation which led to the arrest of Pedro Castorena whose crime family had for two decades been providing forged documents to Mexican gangs and illegal migrants to help them get into the United States. One of Castorena’s deputies has already been convicted, but the kingpin awaits trial. In 2006, former Denver district Attorney Bill Ritter, a Democrat, was running against Republican congressman Bob Beauprez to replace Bill Owens as the next Governor of Colorado.
http://www.iht.com/articles/2007/12/05/business/labor.php
High income taxes in Denmark worsen a labor shortage
By Carter Dougherty
Published: December 5, 2007
COPENHAGEN: As a self-employed software engineer, Thomas Sorensen broadcasts his qualifications to potential employers across Europe and the Middle East. But to the ones in his native Denmark, he is simply unavailable. Settled in Frankfurt, where he handles computer security for a major Swiss corporation, Sorensen, 34, has no plans to return to the days of paying sky-high Danish taxes. Still, an unknowing headhunter does occasionally pass his name to Danish companies."When I get an e-mail from them, I either respond negatively but politely," Sorensen said. "Or I don't respond at all. "Born and trained at Denmark's expense, but working - and paying lower taxes - elsewhere in Europe, Sorensen is the stuff of nightmares for Danish companies and politicians searching for solutions to an increasingly desperate labor shortage.
http://dyn.politico.com/printstory.cfm?uuid=ACC4A5B6-3048-5C12-0024F0B4DF8C067A
Dems back off on Iraq demands
By: Martin Kady II
December 5, 2007 07:12 PM EST
Each day lately, Democrats inch closer to giving President Bush more money for the war in Iraq without any serious mandates for withdrawing U.S. troops. Democratic leaders are loath to acknowledge they’ve backed off, but lawmakers from both sides of the aisle, as well as congressional aides, say Democrats are trying to find a way to provide continued troop funding while searching for some compromises that show they’re still intent on challenging the president on the war. The possible conditions for troop funding include anti-torture rules and benchmarks for Iraqi political reconciliation, language sure to upset an impatient Democratic anti-war base that wants immediate troop withdrawals.
http://apnews.myway.com/article/20071206/D8TBKLHO0.html
Iran Leader Claims Win in Nuke Faceoff
Dec 5, 8:02 PM (ET)
By ALI AKBAR DAREINI
TEHRAN, Iran (AP) - President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad on Wednesday called the dramatic U.S. turnaround in a new intelligence review a victory for Iran's nuclear program, suggesting it shows the success of his hard-line stance rejecting compromise. But his more moderate opponents at home are hoping the assessment's conclusion that Tehran shelved its effort to develop atomic weapons will boost a diplomatic resolution of the nuclear stand-off with the West. The political rivalry in Tehran could have important implications for what happens next in the dispute over Iran's nuclear program, now that the report has likely weakened two of the threats Washington held over Iran - more U.N. sanctions and the possibility of military action.
http://article.nationalreview.com/?q=MDA2OWMzNjEyMzg5Y2Q4ZjRhOWU4OWY1MTA2NmRhM2Q=
Be Intelligent
By The Editors
December 5, 2007 3:00 AM
The Left isn’t wasting any time to portray recently declassified findings in the latest National Intelligence Estimate as evidence that Iran isn’t such a threat after all. The authors of the NIE assess “with high confidence” that Iran “halted its nuclear weapons program” in 2003 — and that’s about all you’re likely to hear from administration critics and the mainstream media. But it is a very small part of a very big picture — and when you look at that picture, the threat is as great as ever. Here are a few things to remember. First, the NIE says that Iran was indeed operating a covert nuclear-weapons program up to the fall of 2003. Until now, no NIE had held that such a program existed
http://www.csmonitor.com/2007/1206/p01s01-woam.html
Venezuela's Chávez defiant, despite defeat
President Hugo Chávez indicated Tuesday that he will not give up on plans to change the Constitution, even though voters rejected the idea this past Sunday.
By Daniel Cancel
December 6, 2007 edition
Caracas, Venezuela - Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez says the time has come for "profound reflection" following his first electoral defeat in nine years at the helm Sunday night. "Did I make a mistake in choosing the strategic moment to present [the proposal for sweeping Constitutional changes]?" Mr. Chávez asked on state television Monday. "It could be. We still aren't mature enough to adopt an openly socialist project." But Chávez's acceptance of the results has strengthened his democratic credentials, and analysts say he'll use that to push his socialist "revolution" just as fervently as he has been. "It is striking how quickly and shrewdly Chávez turned the defeat to his political advantage, claiming the high road and retaking the initiative," says Michael Shifter, the vice president for policy at the Inter-American Dialogue, a Washington think tank.
http://detnews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20071206/OPINION01/712060331/1007/OPINION
Fuses are set in Gaza
Jackson Diehl / Washington Post
Thursday, December 6, 2007
Watching the handshakes and arm-clutches of Ehud Olmert and Mahmoud Abbas at the Annapolis meeting last week, and listening to their sometimes soaring rhetoric about a Middle East peace, it was easy to forget that Israel is at war with the winners of the last Palestinian general election, that rockets fired by Palestinians are detonating in southern Israel nearly every day and that 1.5 million people of the future Palestinian state are living under what amounts to an Israeli military siege. The makers of the latest Middle East peace process would love to forget about the Gaza Strip -- at least for the next year, while they try to agree on settlement terms. But Gaza is unlikely to forget about them.
