167 Days until Election Day
May 21, 2008
MORNING UPDATE:
HARRY TRUMAN'S...thought for the day:
Work hard.
Do your best.
Keep your word.
Never get too big for your britches.
Trust God.
Have no fear.
And never forget a friend.
SCHAUER VOTES AGAINST TOUGHER CHILD PORNOGRAPHY LAWS...Mark Schauer, candidate for Michigan's 7th Congressional District, showed that he is out of touch with the values and interests of Michigan families when he voted against strengthening restrictions on the distribution of sexually explicit materials to minors during his tenure as a State Representative. (Source: Roll Call No. 234, 4/15/99)
HOUSE DEMOCRATS SAY NO TO LOWER GAS PRICES...House Democrats on Tuesday blocked a Republican plan to suspend the sales tax on gasoline until Labor Day. The Detroit Free Press reports the state has collected 35 % more in sales taxes on gas this year, while the legislative fiscal agencies say the state will have a surplus of over $150 million left at the end of this year. This money should be refunded to Michigan's struggling middle class families as they pay $4 per gallon for gas.
FORD MOTOR'S MOST ADVANCED AUTO PLANT...we need a few of those here in Michigan..check it out here.
2008 CAMPAIGN MANAGEMENT ACADEMY...we have announced our MRP / HRCC Campaign Management Academy. This three-day intensive is open to any current, and potential campaign managers (trainings for candidates themselves are forthcoming). The dates for the academy are June 5- 7, to be held at the Holiday Inn West in Lansing (Delta Township). For information contact Rob Macomber at rmacomber@migop.org.
AN INTERESTING ANALYSIS...of why Hillary Clinton is still in the race. It makes the most sense of what I have heard. Read the clip below.
ARTICLES OF INTEREST 2.0...The new Articles of Interest gets an upgrade and becomes more streamlined. The popularity of my AOIs has grown to the point that we need to knock down a wall and expand. Each day you will receive via e-mail my MORNING UPDATE and REST OF THE STORY along with the Top 10 hottest news stories and commentary from across Michigan and around the country.
IN ADDITION we are providing an expanded and continually updated Articles of Interest on the Web at , where you can read the latest and most up-to-date stories on current events, politics, campaigns and other important news. Make sure to add my Articles of Interest to your Favorites on your Web browser so you can visit the Articles of Interest anytime of the day for the latest in news, politics and commentary.
WILLIE CHILDS...a friend and long time Republican activist from Dearborn Heights passed away this weekend. Please keep her family in your prayers.
MARGO ASELTINE'S HUSBAND...passed away this week. Margo is a state committee member from the 7th District. Please keep Margo and her family in your prayers.
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Visit my Articles of Interest on the Web.
Check...out...our...online Articles of Interest.........News...you...can...use.........
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THE REST OF THE STORY:
WHY HILLARY IS STLL IN...Rich Cohen writes, "In the end, no one begrudges a bitter-ender. Robert E. Lee is not vilified because he fought on too long, wasting lives and all of it, mind you, in the cause of slavery." When all is said and done, and "Obama is crowned king," Clinton "will throw her arms around him and the music will swell and the crowds will cheer -- and everything will be forgotten. And when that happens, Hillary Clinton -- who will be only 65 in 2012 and four years after that still younger than John McCain is now --will be positioned to run for President, not as someone's wife, but as a gritty fighter who just would not quit." (The Washington Post, 5/20/08)
TODAY'S TOP STORIES
The following stories and more online at my Articles of Interest
Editorial: Mayor presses the limits of all decency
Detroit Free Press
The extraordinary is becoming tragically ordinary in Detroit, thanks to Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick, an accused felon who refuses to act like one. With city government paralyzed because of the mayor, he jetted off to Texas last weekend on "city business" (Right! Receipts, please?) and skipped a Tuesday court hearing.
Mich. feels impact of fewer police: Economy forces cuts, leads to fewer arrests, some spikes in crime
Tim Martin
Associated Press
Michigan's law enforcement agencies are fighting crime with about 1,800 fewer police officers than in 2001, and the consequences are showing up on city streets and country highways. Violent crime is up in some areas, but arrests are down in part because police departments - with about 21,300 positions statewide, an 8 percent drop - can't keep up with the increased workload. During the same time frame, the state's population has stayed roughly the same.
Obama Takes In More Than $31 Million in April
Political Punch/ABC NEWS
Sen. Barack Obama, D-Ill., hauled in $31.9 million in April (including $600,000 for the general election) to continue his battle for the Democratic nomination against Sen. Hillary Clinton, D-NY, ABC news was first to report tonight. Obama out-raised Clinton -- who raised close to $22 million -- by almost $10 million.
'Iran's nuke program may spur arms race'
Jerusalem Post
Iran's disputed nuclear program has sent a wave of interest in atomic energy across the Middle East, a think tank said Tuesday, warning that it risked setting the scene for a regional nuclear arms race. At least 13 Middle Eastern countries either announced new plans to explore atomic energy or revived pre-existing nuclear programs between February 2006 and January 2007, the London-based International Institute for Strategic Studies, or IISS, said in a report. While the flurry of interest in nuclear power is still tentative, the report said countries such as Saudi Arabia, Algeria or Egypt could soon feel the need to match Iran's nuclear ambitions.
Det. mayor scandal goes before governor
BY ZACHARY GORCHOW
FREE PRESS STAFF WRITER
LANSING -- The meeting lasted just 20 minutes, and it was all business. But over a cup of coffee in the state's capital, the Detroit City Council's attorney handed over a historic request Tuesday to Gov. Jennifer Granholm's legal counsel asking that the governor remove Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick from office for official misconduct.
Fieger admits he funded employees' donations to Edwards for President campaign in '04
Paul Egan / The Detroit News
High-profile Southfield attorney Geoffrey Fieger told jurors at his criminal trial Tuesday that he carefully researched federal law before reimbursing his employees for political donations and was confident the transactions were legal. Fieger, whose testimony is to resume this morning, spent nearly three hours on the witness stand in what legal observers see as a high-risk strategy to win acquittal on conspiracy, campaign finance and obstruction of justice charges.
Clinton calls victory in Kentucky a vote of confidence
By SARA KUGLER, Associated Press WriterTue May 20, 11:24 PM ET
Hillary Rodham Clinton cast her victory in Kentucky as an overwhelming vote of confidence Tuesday and said she's still running for president not to demonstrate that she's tough but to ensure that Democrats retake the White House...In her lopsided Kentucky victory, Clinton defeated Obama among voters of all age groups and incomes, the college-educated and non-college-educated, self-described liberals, moderates and conservatives, according to interviews with voters. Obama did far better in Oregon, where a majority of voters called themselves liberal. He was winning nearly six in 10 whites, and he and Clinton were were evenly dividing the votes of working-class whites.
Obama all but declares victory
By: Ben Smith and Carrie Budoff Brown
Politico.com
Barack Obama all but declared victory in Des Moines, Iowa, Tuesday night even as Hillary Clinton buried him in Kentucky-a juxtaposition that placed the Illinois senator's great strengths and electoral weaknesses on dramatic display.
Controversial Rev. Wright to return for expo, prayer
Oralandar Brand-Williams / The Detroit News
DETROIT -- The Rev. Jeremiah Wright, the former pastor of Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama, returns to Detroit in two weeks to speak at a prayer service and a business expo. It will be Wright's second public visit to Detroit in just over a month. Wright, whose sermons have been at the center of controversy in the presidential campaign, was the keynote speaker at last month's Fight for Freedom Fund dinner, the biggest fundraiser for the Detroit branch of the NAACP.
Presidential hopefuls must acknowledge state's woes
The Oakland Press
Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama was in Michigan last week, and it's about time. His boycott of the state because Michigan held its primary early was uncalled for, as we've said in past editorials.
-Saul Anuzis
