267 Days until Election Day
MORNING UPDATE:
McCain sweeps Virginia, Maryland and the District of Columbia!
Obama sweeps the same! Some believe he’s ready to be Commander in Chief?!
WSJ reports: An old adage says high taxes don't redistribute income, they redistribute people. For new evidence look no further than migration patterns within the United States, as documented in a new survey by the moving company United Van Lines.
The United Van Lines study finds that the biggest population loser last year was Michigan, where two families moved out of the state for every new family that moved in.
http://online.wsj.com/public/article_print/SB120277561232960623.html
Michigan Democrats are “creating” excuses to file recalls against Republican legislators, blaming Republicans…we are NOT involved…be careful what you wish for…see below.
U.S. SENATE RACE: Rep. Jack Hoogendyk (R-Texas Twp.) is expected to make an announcement on whether he will run for the Republican nomination to take on U.S. Sen. Carl Levin (D-Detroit) at the state Republican Party convention and committee meeting this weekend in Lansing. The event is being held Friday and Saturday at the Lansing Center.
Here is Newt Gingrich’s speech to CPAC…very powerful, very direct:
http://townhall.com/blog/g/43e8475b-2cd1-4d0a-8d80-96947e54d02d
Also, check out the new Platform for America:
THE REST OF THE STORY:
- RECALL UPDATE – I WILL REPEAT MYSELF: Recalls have been filed against several legislators – both Republican and Democrats. Efforts are substantially underway to recall Democrat Speaker of the House Andy Dillon, Democrat Robert Dean, Democrat Steve Bieda, Democrat Martin Griffin and Democrat Marie Donigan for their support of the massive and devastating tax hikes passed last fall. Efforts are continuing to approve recall language against Democrat Mike Simpson in the Jackson area.
I think these Democrats, or others, should pay with their jobs for having supported these huge tax increases – either by being booted from office this November, or a primary this August, or in a recall. Recalls are a wise safeguard placed into our state constitution that enable citizens the right to play a trump card between elections if they are truly upset with the course of their representatives in Lansing. Only two legislators have ever been recalled (coincidentally over votes for massive tax increases), so I think it is safe to claim that citizens have in no way “abused” this option they hold.
The Michigan Republican Party is not actively engaged in the organization or funding of these recalls, while the Michigan Democrat Party has filed a recall against Republican House Leader Craig DeRoche. The Democrats are clearly worried about losing their members due to their following Governor Granholm into the tax-hike abyss, so they are trying to up the ante, or cause a distraction, among the GOP ranks by targeting DeRoche.
We’ll leave these recall games to Granholm and Mark Brewer, the Democrat Party Boss. The Michigan Republican Party will focus on electing more Republicans (read – defeating more Democrats) this November. We’ll keep our eyes on the citizen group recall efforts, but we’ll keep our sights set on the November elections.
Saul Anuzis
STATE STORIES
http://www.detnews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080213/AUTO01/802130347/1022/POLITICS
Wednesday, February 13, 2008
Bush asserts faith in GM
White House forecasts hope in face of record loss; Obama to visit plant in Wis. today.
David Shepardson / Detroit News Washington Bureau
WASHINGTON -- The White House expressed confidence in the long-term prospects for General Motors Corp. despite the Detroit automaker's announcement of a $38.7 billion loss in 2007 and its decision to extend some form of buyout or retirement offer to all of its 74,000 hourly employees.
"The report from GM reflects what we've known for a long time, which is that the automotive industry in the United States is having some difficulties, and they are trying to work through those," White House spokeswoman Dana Perino said Tuesday. "They're trying to restructure. They have a changing marketplace; buyers have different tastes, and there are issues regarding how high their cost of business is.
"The president believes strongly, the long-term health of the U.S. automotive industry is strong," she said.
http://freep.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080213/BUSINESS04/802130342
Wayne County led nation in '07 foreclosures
February 13, 2008
By GRETA GUEST
FREE PRESS BUSINESS WRITER
Wayne County ended 2007 at the top of a list it would rather avoid.
It had the highest foreclosure rate among the nation's 100 largest metro areas for the year, according to RealtyTrac Inc. of Irvine, Calif.
It beat out Stockton, Calif., and Las Vegas, which held second and third place on the list.
But unlike the two western metro areas, metro Detroit's foreclosure problem is a bit more intractable, said James J. Saccacio, chief executive officer of RealtyTrac.
RealtyTrac defines metro Detroit as Wayne County.
http://blog.mlive.com/citpat/2008/02/sewer_bills_to_hit_17.html
Sewer bills to hit $17
Posted by Kristin Longley | Jackson Citizen Patriot February 12, 2008 09:04AM
Categories: Top Stories
The new rate was released at a press conference to announce that the state-required expansion likely will be financed with a low-interest state loan, saving the project millions in interest payments. Construction is tentatively set to start this fall.
Ballast was joined in the announcement by state Rep. Mike Simpson, D-Liberty Township; state Sen. Mark Schauer, D-Battle Creek; and Amy Butler, who represented the state Department of Environmental Quality.
http://www.mlive.com/news/kzgazette/index.ssf?/base/columns-3/120283143187840.xml&coll=7
If it's down to the wire, state Dems should caucus
Tuesday, February 12, 2008
Here we go again.
When we last left our Michigan Democrats, they had just held an unauthorized presidential primary in January with only half the candidates on the ballot.
Not that it mattered. The Democratic National Committee informed Michigan Democrats that if they persisted in holding an early primary, the DNC wouldn't seat delegates from Michigan at the Democratic National Convention in August.
http://www.detnews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080213/POLITICS/802130367/1022/POLITICS
Wednesday, February 13, 2008
Capitol report
Business groups oppose recall drives
Mark Hornbeck / Detroit News Lansing Bureau
The Detroit Regional Chamber of Commerce and Detroit Renaissance boards came out Tuesday against recalls of state lawmakers who voted for tax increases last year.
In an open letter to voters, the two business groups said that while they opposed a service tax that was OK'd and then repealed by the Legislature they don't believe recall elections are in the best interest of the state.
"Recalling legislators simply because of a vote they have cast undermines our representative democracy and the electoral process," the letter says. "The ability to recall an elected official is a constitutional right that should only be exercised in circumstances involving fraud, wrong-doing or dereliction of duty by an elected official. It should not be used as a weapon in partisan politics, or as a means to protest a vote of an elected official."
http://www.detnews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080213/SCHOOLS/802130393/1022/POLITICS
Wednesday, February 13, 2008
State OKs 5-year graduation plan on case-by-case basis
Shawn D. Lewis / The Detroit News
The State Board of Education voted unanimously Tuesday to allow students in alternative education programs and schools to take five years to graduate, on a case-by-case basis.
Board spokeswoman Jan Ellis said the recommendation now must go before the U.S. Department of Education by Friday for approval.
"This allows flexibility for schools to say, for example, this kid is really trying, and if we don't provide this flexibility in allowing a fifth year to graduate, they may drop out and the school may be unfairly penalized by No Child Left Behind because of the new graduation formula, which only takes into consideration students who take four years to graduate," said Ellis.
http://blog.mlive.com/grpress/2008/02/school_chiefs_to_teachers_pay.html
Is it time for teachers to pay?
Posted by Dave Murray | The Grand Rapids Press February 12, 2008 05:40AM
Categories: Top Stories
GRAND RAPIDS -- Kent County superintendents are banding together to call for all employees -- even teachers -- to contribute to their health insurance costs.
No county teachers are required to contribute toward their premiums, but Grand Rapids administrators engaged in an increasingly hostile labor battle are pushing to become the first.
Superintendents wrote in a "citizens' action agenda" that such "divisive bargaining battles" could be avoided if lawmakers required every school employee to pay a percentage of their premiums, as they do for their pension plans.
http://www.detnews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080213/OPINION01/802130318/1007/OPINION
Wednesday, February 13, 2008
Editorial
Use Web to make government more transparent
Cox correctly urges state to post all expenditures online
The Detroit News
Want to know how much the state of Michigan paid to pave the highway through your town, and who it hired to do the work? As a taxpayer, that information belongs to you. But good luck finding it.
Public information isn't always readily accessible by the public.
Michigan Attorney General Mike Cox argues that in the Internet age, there's no reason that the details of every dollar spent by the state shouldn't be at the fingertips of the people who provide the revenue.
http://www.detnews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080213/METRO/802130384/1022/POLITICS
Wednesday, February 13, 2008
Food stamp fraud sting targets 27
Dozens charged with ties to trafficking ring accused of over $1.5M in bogus transactions.
Mark Hicks / The Detroit News
DETROIT -- Following a collaborative state investigation, 27 people associated with eight local stores are facing charges for alleged ties to food stamp trafficking totaling more than $1.5 million, Attorney General Mike Cox announced Tuesday.
"We not only want to arrest those who are allegedly responsible," said Rusty Hills, a spokesman for Cox, "but send a signal to others that we are going to continue being vigilant across the state in prosecuting this crime."
The Attorney General's Office partnered with several entities, including the FBI, Michigan State Police, the U.S. Department of Agriculture and the state departments of Human Services and Treasury for the investigation, which continued for more than a year, Hills said.
http://www.freep.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080213/NEWS06/802130344/1008
25 arrests made in raid targeting food card fraud
February 13, 2008
By DAN CORTEZ
FREE PRESS STAFF WRITER
An intricately coordinated raid 18 months in the making resulted in the arrests Tuesday of more than two dozen business owners and employees involved in a fraud that costs the state about $55 million annually.
At least 25 people were arrested when about 200 state, federal and local officials descended on the stores, mostly in Dearborn and Detroit.
http://www.detnews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080213/OPINION01/802130313/1007/OPINION
Wednesday, February 13, 2008
Editorial
Foster care reforms need more urgency
The Detroit News
New reports continue to raise concerns about the adequacy of Michigan's child welfare system. The state has made improvements during the past year, but more remains to be done.
An advocacy group called Children's Rights is suing the state in a class-action case, calling for court-ordered improvements in the foster care program. A research paper that is part of the group's complaint contends that the state's standards for investigating child abuse are imprecise and case workers are overwhelmed and inadequately supervised. The report attributes at least five deaths of children to the problems in the system.
A previous report by a different group issued earlier this month, this time commissioned by the federal court hearing the case, also made damaging findings. They include the department's placement of children with relatives without investigating their fitness; a lack of physical exams and dental care for large percentages of children in the foster care system, and a lack of adequate follow-up by caseworkers in visiting the children.
http://www.detnews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080213/METRO/802130361/1022/POLITICS
Wednesday, February 13, 2008
Lansing
Mich. weighs water deal
Leaders seek compromise as 4 states and 2 Canadian provinces OK compact to protect Great Lakes.
Gary Heinlein / Detroit News Lansing Bureau
LANSING -- Legislatures in four of the eight surrounding states and two Canadian provinces have approved a compact to prevent outsiders from swiping Great Lakes water. Now Michigan, the state with the most at stake, is on the bubble.
Lawmakers here have the compact before them, along with bills containing rules to govern pumping of water from the lakes, streams and the ground. But Republicans and Democrats don't agree on how that should be implemented and are trying reach a compromise before partisan differences heighten during the presidential election race.
"It's coming to a head hopefully within the next few weeks," said James Clift, policy director for the Michigan Environmental Council.
http://www.detnews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080213/OPINION01/802130316/1007/OPINION
Wednesday, February 13, 2008
Opinion
Governments fight to keep invasive species out of lakes
Collister Johnson Jr.
The governments of the United States and Canada and the shipping industry are working hard to protect the Great Lakes from nonindigenous species. More effective ballast water management practices, cutting-edge research into new treatment technologies and strengthened enforcement are dramatically reducing the risk of introducing these species into the Great Lakes.
Since 2006, Canadian law has required Canada-bound ships to conduct saltwater flushing in all their ballast tanks before entering the St. Lawrence Seaway. Transport Canada, the U.S. Coast Guard and the Canadian and U.S. Seaway corporations collaborate to inspect the salinity levels of these ships' ballast tanks in Montreal, catching potential invasives before they enter the Great Lakes.
http://www.detnews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080213/METRO/802130310/1022/POLITICS
Wednesday, February 13, 2008
House bill would give military families unpaid time off
Associated Press
LANSING -- Family members of military personnel called up to active duty could take up to 10 days off work without pay under a bill advancing in the state Legislature.
The House unanimously passed the bill Tuesday. It now goes to the Senate.
The bill would allow the spouse or parent of military personnel preparing for deployment to take time off under certain conditions.
http://www.detnews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080213/POLITICS/802130383/1022/POLITICS
Wednesday, February 13, 2008
High Court pushed to diversify juries
Activists clamor for action to attract more minorities; initiatives are under way in circuit court.
Doug Guthrie / The Detroit News
DETROIT -- Days after Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick reiterated complaints about the racial makeup of juries in Wayne County Circuit Court, activists gathered Tuesday to criticize the state's top court for failing to fix what they claim is a broken system.
The Circuit Court is working on reforms to attract more minorities to juries. It has drawn flack -- and legal challenges -- because 26 percent of jurors are black, even though they comprise 41 percent of the county's 2 million residents. The Michigan Supreme Court waded into the issue Friday but didn't directly address whether the lack of diversity violates constitutional guarantees to trial by juries of peers.
"Lawyers, labor, religious and civil rights leaders all have been at odds with what we see as a biased system," said Ron Scott, executive director of the Committee to Restore Justice, who joined activists and union leaders who gathered Tuesday to protest the ruling.
http://www.mlive.com/flintjournal/index.ssf/2008/02/flint_students_try_to_silence.html
Flint students try to silence 'n word'
by Joe Lawlor | The Flint Journal
Tuesday February 12, 2008, 8:53 AM
FLINT -- Flint Southwestern Academy students are on a campaign to ban the "n word" among black students and young adults.
But they say not everyone understands the effort.
"I lost friends over this," Maurice Hood, 17, told the Flint City Council on Monday.
http://www.freep.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080213/NEWS06/802130302/1008
Today's decisions
February 13, 2008
COUNTY-WIDE: Macomb County commissioners are to consider giving the Prosecutor's Office an additional $25,000 to help fund the growing costs in the murder case against Stephen Grant. The meeting is at 10 a.m. on the ninth floor of the County Administration Building, 1 S. Main, Mt. Clemens.
WARREN: A church is to ask the city's Zoning Board of Appeals to approve a new electronic sign. The sign would include an electronic message center in front of Warren Woods Baptist Church, 14251 Twelve Mile. The meeting is at 8 p.m. in the auditorium of the Warren Community Center, 5460 Arden Road.
http://www.freep.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080213/NEWS06/802130403/1008
Steelworkers to grill Levin on trade
February 13, 2008
By KATHLEEN GRAY
FREE PRESS STAFF WRITER
As Valentine's Day messages go, this is one that Sen. Carl Levin probably would just as soon not get.
The United Steelworkers are to target 11 senators Thursday to draw attention to trade policies they call "sweetheart deals" and say are bad for the public and their members.
In Levin's case, the union members are to gather at 4 p.m. outside his Detroit office at the Patrick V. McNamara Federal Building, 477 Michigan Ave.
Their Valentine's Day card bears the message: "Senator Levin: Stop Unfair Trade From Breaking U.S. Hearts."
NATIONAL STORIES
http://www.abcnews.go.com/Politics/Vote2008/story?id=4279122&page=1
Obama, McCain Sweep Potomac Primaries
Obama's Eighth Straight Win; McCain Builds on His Huge Delegate Lead
By JENNIFER PARKER
Feb. 13, 2008
On a primary winning streak, Sen. Barack Obama, D-Ill., swept the so-called Potomac primaries last night, overwhelmingly defeating Sen. Hillary Clinton, D-N.Y., in Democratic contests in Maryland, Virginia and Washington, D.C.
For the first time, the Illinois senator has taken the lead over Clinton in the ABC News overall delegate estimate.
This is the eighth straight victory for Obama, who is increasingly taking on the mantle of Democratic frontrunner.
http://news.columbian.com/news/state/APStories/AP02122008news276761.cfm
McCain still winner in updated WA GOP caucus results
Feb 12, 2:16 AM EST
By RACHEL LA CORTE
Associated Press Writer
OLYMPIA, Wash. (AP) -- The Washington state Republican Party released additional results late Monday from last weekend's presidential caucuses, and declared Arizona Sen. John McCain the winner once again.
"It's clear to me that Sen. McCain was the winner of the precinct caucuses," state party Chairman Luke Esser said in a conference call with reporters late Monday night. "Now let me clarify about that that the precinct caucuses are the first step of a three-step process and it's not clear at all yet how many Washington State delegates he'll end up with."
http://politicalticker.blogs.cnn.com/2008/02/12/limbaugh-im-mccains-most-valuable-asset/
February 12, 2008
Limbaugh: I'm McCain's 'most valuable asset'
Posted: 05:10 PM ET
(CNN) — He's aggressively targeted John McCain ever since the Arizona senator began his meteoric rise in the polls, but conservative talk-radio host Rush Limbaugh said Tuesday he may actually be the Arizona senator's "most valuable asset."
Commenting on the mainstream media's fixation with his feelings about McCain, Limbaugh said there may be more to his criticisms than meets the eye.
http://apnews.myway.com/article/20080212/D8UOFJ0O0.html
Huckabee Brushes Off Calls to Bow Out
Feb 11, 8:39 PM (ET)
By TOM RAUM
WASHINGTON (AP) - Against overwhelming odds, Mike Huckabee keeps brushing off calls to drop his presidential bid for the good of the Republican Party. The former Arkansas governor and ordained Baptist minister is following in the footsteps of past spoilers such as Republican Ronald Reagan in 1976 and Democratic Sen. Edward M. Kennedy in 1980, who both pressed uphill primary challenges to the limits.
Some GOP sages suggest it's hard to quit while you're still winning races, as Huckabee is doing, despite the mathematical reality of the delegate count. But then Huckabee likes to brag that he "didn't major in math, I majored in miracles," and he asserted anew on Monday his intention to stay in the race.
http://www.humanevents.com/article.php?id=24955
Harassing Huckabee
by George Neumayr
Posted: 02/12/2008
The GOP's "Big Tent" looks more and more like a Circus Tent, and the barkers inside it never wanted Mike Huckabee under its spotlight. To his success, he has ignored them, picking up victories even as they instructed him to "get out of the race."
Usually party operatives tell a candidate to drop out of the race because he is likely to do badly; in Huckabee's case, they told him to get out because they feared he would do well. On the weekend before Super Tuesday, prominent GOP operatives called Huckabee "selfish" for staying in the race. He then proceeded to sweep much of the South.
http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/washington/2008/02/ron-paul-scalin.html
Ron Paul scales back hopeless effort, refuses to back McCain
He's not really quitting. He's not really suspending his campaign for the Republican presidential nomination. He's not promising victory, just to keep on keeping on. But, in effect, Rep. Ron Paul, at 72 the oldest candidate for president and the only GOP candidate to oppose the Iraq war, is facing reality.
In a statement to supporters on his website, first mentioned here early Saturday, Paul admits, "With Romney gone, the chances of a brokered convention are nearly zero. But that does not affect my determination to fight on, in every caucus and primary remaining and at the convention for our ideas, with just as many delegates as I can get." In a new 14-minute campaign video, Paul says he wants to clarify some confusion
http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0208/8451.html
The superdelegate race
By: Avi Zenilman and Josephine Hearn
Feb 12, 2008 02:49 PM EST
With Sens. Hillary Rodham Clinton and Barack Obama virtually tied in delegates from early-primary states, the race for the Democratic presidential nomination now hinges on the party’s nearly 800 superdelegates, the political insiders who are free to make up their own minds at the convention.
With so much riding on those votes, Politico is inaugurating a running tally of the announced endorsements of superdelegates, which we will update and maintain on the Web with the help of our reporters and readers.
http://www.detnews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080213/POLITICS01/802130391/1022/POLITICS
Wednesday, February 13, 2008
Decision 2008
Sweep pushes Obama to front
Ill. senator now leads delegate count; McCain also takes 3 primaries.
David Espo / Associated Press
WASHINGTON -- Barack Obama powered past Hillary Rodham Clinton in the race for Democratic convention delegates Tuesday on a night of triumph sweetened with outsized primary victories in Maryland, Virginia and the District of Columbia.
"Tonight we're on our way," Obama told cheering supporters in Madison, Wis. "But we know how much further we have to go," he added, celebrating eight straight victories over Clinton, the former first lady now struggling in a race she once commanded.
The Associated Press count of delegates showed Obama with 1,210. Clinton had 1,188, falling behind for the first time since the campaign began. Neither was close to the 2,025 needed to win the nomination.
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB120287407307064647.html?mod=opinion_main_review_and_outlooks
The Phenom
February 13, 2008
The rise and rise of Barack Obama is a remarkable political event, and to judge by last night it is only gaining speed. With three more victories in the "Potomac primary," including a crushing rout in Virginia, the Illinois Senator must now be judged the favorite for the Democratic nomination.
Let that one sink in for a moment. The rookie candidate from Illinois, whose policy views most Americans still know little about, is leading the most successful Democratic machine of the last generation. Less than a year ago we recall sitting down with a Democratic power broker on Capitol Hill, an African American who supported Hillary Clinton and told us that Mr. Obama was a talented young man with a bright future -- in 2016. With eight victories following the draw on Super Tuesday, Mr. Obama has put Team Clinton into a position where it desperately needs victories next week or March 4 in Texas and Ohio.
http://www.detnews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080213/POLITICS01/802130407/1022
Wednesday, February 13, 2008
Clinton loses deputy campaign manager
Beth Fouhy and Jim Kuhnhenn / Associated Press
EL PASO, Texas -- Democratic Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton's deputy campaign manager resigned Tuesday, the latest departure in a staff shake-up following a string of losses to Barack Obama.
In an e-mail message to staffers obtained by The Associated Press after Clinton lost the Virginia primary Tuesday, Mike Henry said he was stepping down to allow campaign manager Maggie Williams to build her own staff. Williams replaced Patti Solis Doyle during the weekend. Solis Doyle had recruited Henry to join the campaign last year.
"Out of respect for Maggie and her new leadership team I thought it was the best thing to do," Henry wrote. "As someone who has managed campaigns, I share the unique understanding of the challenges that the campaign will face over the next several weeks. Our campaign needs to move quickly to build a new leadership team, support them and their decisions and make the necessary adjustments to achieve the winning outcome for which we have all worked so hard for over a year now."
http://www.washingtontimes.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080213/EDITORIAL/381006128
Hillary's audacious hope
By Tony Blankley
February 13, 2008
Every political season has its pleasures. With the accelerated metabolism of the frenzied fight for Super Tuesday now behind us, the two parties are settling in for the more discrete political pleasures of late winter and early spring.
Republicans are entering the teeth-gnashing stage as they come to reluctant terms with their ideologically cross-dressing ancient mariner nominee. Sen. John McCain is condemned to wander about with the albatross of his former conservative apostasy around his neck. I suppose he hopes that he will be excused just as in the poem (Rime of the Ancient Mariner). Eventually, the Mariner's curse was lifted when he sees sea creatures swimming in the water. Although earlier in the poem he had called them "slimy things," he eventually sees their true beauty and blesses them: "a spring of love gush'd from my heart and I bless'd them unaware."
http://politicalticker.blogs.cnn.com/2008/02/12/clinton-still-no-congratulations-for-obama/
February 12, 2008
Clinton: Still no congratulations for Obama
Posted: 10:30 PM ET
EL PASO, Texas (CNN) – For the second election night in a row, Hillary Clinton failed to acknowledge or congratulate Barack Obama after he won the day in dominating fashion.
On Tuesday in El Paso, hours after Virginia had been called for Obama, she stuck to her “Texas campaign kickoff” message and did not stray from an energetic, Lone Star-themed stump speech. She did mention Obama by name, only to chide his health care plan.
On Saturday night in Richmond, Virginia, Clinton spoke to a crowd of thousands at the state’s annual Jefferson-Jackson dinner, but she ignored Obama’s quartet of blowout primary and caucus wins that day as well (Obama also won the Maine caucuses the next day).
http://www.detnews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080213/OPINION01/802130314/1007/OPINION
Wednesday, February 13, 2008
Opinion
Campaign hides Democratic divisions
Centrists and liberals would fight about Iraq withdrawal, spending if Clinton or Obama win
David Brooks
There's a big difference between the Republican and Democratic campaigns: The Republicans have split on policy grounds; the Democrats haven't. There's been a Republican divide between center and right but no Democratic divide between center and left.
When you think about it, the Democratic policy unity is a mirage. If the Democrats actually win the White House, the tensions would resurface with a vengeance.
The first big rift would involve Iraq. Both Sens. Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama have seductively hinted that they would withdraw almost all U.S. troops within 12 to 16 months. But if either of them actually did that, he or she would instantly make Iraq the consuming partisan fight of the presidency.
When Obama, Clinton and McCain Decisively Agreed
By Terence Jeffrey
Wednesday, February 13, 2008
One thing Barack Obama, Hillary Clinton and John McCain all have in common is that they voted to give retroactive Social Security benefits to illegal aliens who committed document fraud.
Indeed, McCain voted for it before he was against it.
On May 18, 2006, when the immigration reform proposal advocated by McCain was on the Senate floor, Sen. John Ensign of Nevada offered an amendment.
http://washingtontimes.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080212/NATION/504804903/1001
Running mate guessing game begins
By Joseph Curl
February 12, 2008
It's too early — way too early, ridiculously early — but like it or not, the sweepstakes for the Republican veep nomination already has begun.
With Sen. John McCain quickly becoming the apparent Republican presidential nominee, talk among his supporters is already shifting to whom he would pick — could pick, should pick — as his vice-presidential running mate.
http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0208/8470.html
Should journalists vote? Yes, no, sometimes
By: Mike Allen and Jim VandeHei and John F. Harris
Feb 12, 2008 06:07 PM EST
Ever since I was a journalistic sprout covering town-council races in rural Virginia, I’ve had an Election Day ritual of going to the polls — but not to vote. I talk to voters to get a sense of their mood and passions, then head off without going inside.
I’m part of a minority school of thought among journalists that we owe it to the people we cover, and to our readers, to remain agnostic about elections, even in private. I figure that if the news media serve as an (imperfect) umpire, neither team wants us taking a few swings.
http://www.humanevents.com/article.php?id=24950
A Conservative Declaration of Independence and the Democrats' Dilemma
by Newt Gingrich
Posted: 02/12/2008
This weekend, I had the opportunity to address CPAC -- the Conservative Political Action Conference. This is the same group to which Ronald Reagan delivered his historic "bold colors, not pale pastels" speech in 1975, sparking a new center-right coalition that would become the ground troops of the Reagan Revolution.
In my speech, I called for a conservative "declaration of independence" from the Republican Party.
By a "declaration of independence" I don't mean a third party. I mean a renewed willingness among center-right Americans to criticize Republicans when they are wrong as vigorously as we criticize Democrats when they are wrong.
http://online.wsj.com/public/article_print/SB120277561232960623.html
States of Opportunity
February 12, 2008; Page A16
An old adage says high taxes don't redistribute income, they redistribute people. For new evidence look no further than migration patterns within the United States, as documented in a new survey by the moving company United Van Lines.
A record eight million Americans -- some 20,000 people every day -- relocated to another state last year. So where are these families headed and why? The general picture is this: Americans are continuing to flee the Northeast and Midwest, while the leading destinations continue to be Southern and Western states.
http://www.detnews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080213/POLITICS/802130373/1022/POLITICS
Wednesday, February 13, 2008
Bush bashes 'disturbing' noose displays
Deb Riechmann / Associated Press
WASHINGTON -- President Bush said Tuesday that recent displays of nooses are disturbing and indicate that some Americans may be losing sight of the suffering that blacks have endured across the nation.
"The era of rampant lynching is a shameful chapter in American history," Bush said at a Black History Month event at the White House, which began with serious comments about prejudice and ended with music performed by the Temptations.
"The noose is not a symbol of prairie justice, but of gross injustice," the president said. "Displaying one is not a harmless prank. Lynching is not a word to be mentioned in jest."
February 12, 2008
Arizona Seeing Signs of Flight by Immigrants
By RANDAL C. ARCHIBOLD
PHOENIX — The signs of flight among Latino immigrants here are multiple: Families moving out of apartment complexes, schools reporting enrollment drops, business owners complaining about fewer clients.
While it is too early to know for certain, a consensus is developing among economists, business people and immigration groups that the weakening economy coupled with recent curbs on illegal immigration are steering Hispanic immigrants out of the state.
The Arizona economy, heavily dependent on growth and a Latino work force, has been slowing for months. Meanwhile, the state has enacted one of the country’s toughest laws to punish employers who hire illegal immigrants, and the county sheriff here in Phoenix has been enforcing federal immigration laws by rounding up people living here illegally.
http://apnews.myway.com/article/20080212/D8UOH1CG2.html
Mexican Prez Decries Anti-Immigrant Tone
Feb 11, 10:18 PM (ET)
By STEVE LEBLANC
CAMBRIDGE, Mass. (AP) - Mexican President Felipe Calderon on Monday decried anti-immigrant perceptions in the United States and argued that Mexican immigrants complement American workers.
On his first trip to the U.S. as Mexico's president, Calderon said he is working to combat anti-Americanism in Mexico and to improve job prospects there to reduce migration. He said he hopes that Americans resist anti-Mexican sentiments.
"The worst thing that happened in this country is this anti-Mexican or anti-immigrant perception of people. We need to contain this," Calderon said after a speech at Harvard's John F. Kennedy School of Government.
http://www.nysun.com/article/71103
Mayor Compares Threat of Global Warming to Terrorism
By BENNY AVNI
Staff Reporter of the Sun
February 12, 2008
UNITED NATIONS — While he acknowledged that scientists are unable to predict its consequences, Mayor Bloomberg yesterday compared the scourge of global warming to the threat of terrorism and the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction. Although it is a "long-term" fight, he said, reducing gas emissions may save the life of "everybody" on the planet, the same way that fighting terrorism and its proliferation saves lives in shorter terms.
Addressing a U.N. climate change conference, the mayor also announced a new plan to reduce the use of tropical hardwoods by New York City and told delegates that the city plans to host a meeting in June of leaders from 20 major world cities to discuss ways for the largest municipalities to reduce global warming. Other participants in the conference called for a "war" against climate change, in which the United Nations would serve as a front-line combatant.
http://www.detnews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080213/OPINION01/802130309/1007/OPINION
Wednesday, February 13, 2008
Opinion
It's time for clarity on saving human lives
Bjørn Lomborg
Terrorism and global warming loom, in many people's minds, as the greatest threats to the planet. In the United States, the Bush administration wants to increase funding for border security and immigration enforcement by nearly 20 percent. More than $150 million is being spent to help transit systems in New York, New Jersey, and Connecticut prevent and respond to terrorist attacks.
But international terrorism kills about 400 people in total each year. How much should we be willing to pay to reduce that death toll by, say, 25 percent -- a billion dollars, a hundred billion?
Meanwhile, in Hawaii, policymakers gathered to discuss a climate change treaty to replace the Kyoto Protocol. The environmental lobby groups want the next treaty to go much further than Kyoto, which is already setting the world back $180 billion a year. Indeed, efforts to slow global warming through the Kyoto Protocol or a similar treaty will make a miniscule difference, delaying temperature rises by just seven days by 2100.
http://www.detnews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080213/POLITICS/802130377/1022/POLITICS
Wednesday, February 13, 2008
Senate OKs immunity for eavesdropping telecoms
Pamela Hess / Associated Press
WASHINGTON -- The Senate on Tuesday approved new rules for government eavesdropping on phone calls and e-mails, giving the White House much of the latitude it wanted and granting legal immunity to telecommunications companies that helped in the snooping after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks.
Protection for the telecom companies is the most prominent feature of the legislation, something President Bush had insisted on as essential to getting private sector cooperation in spying on foreign terrorists and other targets. The bill would give retroactive protection to companies that acted without court permission.
The House did not include the immunity provision in a similar bill it passed last year. House Republicans now want to adopt the Senate bill, which would avoid contentious negotiations to work out differences between the competing legislation.
What We Need Next in Iraq
By Condoleezza Rice and Robert Gates
Wednesday, February 13, 2008; Page A19
Over the past year, we have seen that Iraqis are committed to affirming their own sovereignty. The Iraqi army and police are taking the lead in providing security over much of the country. Iraq is building relationships with other nations in the Middle East. The Iraqi people want to meet their own needs and control their own destiny. And they desire a more normal relationship with the United States.
Our troops and diplomats have made untold sacrifices to help put Iraq on the path to self-sufficiency. A crucial phase in this process will unfold in the coming months, when our ambassador in Baghdad, Ryan Crocker, begins negotiating a basic framework for normalized relations with the Iraqi government -- to include what is known as a "status of forces" agreement. We encourage Congress and the public to support the efforts of our senior diplomats and military officers as they forge ahead with these talks -- which we believe are essential to a successful outcome in Iraq and, by extension, the vital interests and security of the United States.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080212/ap_on_re_mi_ea/israel_iran_nuclear
Israel: Iran seeking nuclear weapons
By GEIR MOULSON, Associated Press Writer
Tue Feb 12, 8:45 AM ET
BERLIN - Israel's prime minister on Tuesday brushed aside suggestions that the threat from Iran's nuclear program has receded, saying he remains convinced that Tehran is "moving forward" with plans for an atomic weapon.
A U.S. intelligence report in December found Tehran had halted its program in 2003. However, Prime Minister Ehud Olmert told reporters that "nothing that we know has changed our attitude on this issue."
"Tell me, why does Iran need enriched uranium at a time when they are supplied by (the) Russians the nuclear fuel for the civilian projects? ... What else do they plan for which they need the most sophisticated ballistic missiles?"
http://biz.yahoo.com/ap/080212/venezuela_us_oil.html?.v=9
Venezuela Halts Oil Sales to Exxon Mobil
Tuesday February 12, 9:27 pm ET
By Fabiola Sanchez, Associated Press Writer
CARACAS, Venezuela (AP) -- Venezuela's state oil company said Tuesday that it has stopped selling crude to Exxon Mobil Corp. in response to the U.S. oil company's drive to use the courts to seize billions of dollars in Venezuelan assets.
Exxon Mobil is locked in a dispute over the nationalization of its oil ventures in Venezuela that has led President Hugo Chavez to threaten to cut off all Venezuelan oil supplies to the United States. Venezuela is the United States' fourth largest oil supplier.
http://www.breitbart.com/article.php?id=080212152128.8rnfh1q4&show_article=1
Russia, China propose new treaty to ban arms in space
Feb 12 10:21 AM US/Eastern
Russia and China have proposed a new treaty to ban the use of weapons in space, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said Tuesday, amid concerns of growing anti-satellite missile rivalry.
"Without preventing an arms race in space, international security will be wanting," Lavrov told a conference on disarmament in Geneva.
"The task of preventing an arms race in space is on the conference's agenda. It's time... to start serious practical work in this field," he said.
