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By saul anuzis Posted in Barack Obama | Domestic Drilling | Michigan Republican Party | Petition | Republicans | Saul Anuzis | Stealth — Comments (0) / Email this page » / Leave a comment »

144 Days until Election Day

June 13, 2008

MORNING UPDATE:

OBAMA + DEMOCRAT CONGRESS = DISASTER FOR MICHIGAN...look out domestic automakers & suppliers...manufacturing is toast...the cost of energy will rise as coal, nuclear, and domestic options get "nuked"...prices at the gas pump will continue to rise...government monopoly services dominated by unions will cost the taxpayers more. Change is coming...just NOT what many expect?

SICK OF HIGH GAS PRICES..DRILL, DRILL, DRILL...we have huge oil reserves in remote corners of Alaska and reserves larger than the Saudi's in various shale oil reserves throughout the western states. Our politicians have to get off their duffs and let us do what we can for ourselves. Drill Here...Drill Now...and Pay Less!

OBAMA GETTING HIS "BUMP" IN POLLS...as expected, Obama is getting a bump in the polls as he became the presumptive nominee. McCain Campaign Manager Rick Davis warned us weeks ago to be ready for shifting poll numbers as the Obama campaign swings into general election mode. It's a long road to November.

STEALTH PETITION DRIVE EXPOSED...a new petition is being circulated that completely re-writes the constitution. The YouTube video released yesterday cautioned voters about a stealth petition drive to wrest control of state's courts out of the hands of ordinary citizens and hand it over to ambulance-chasing injury lawyers...and more. We are in the process of getting an analysis done of all the details buried in pages of fine print. Please be careful and read it before you sign it.

STRYKER BACKING PETITION DRIVE...Right Michigan exposed some of the backers of this constitutional re-write to be Jon Stryker and his friends. Follow this link to Right Michigan and their write up.

SLATECARD...AN EASY WAY TO CONTRIBUTE TO OUR FRIENDS...Slatecard was designed to allow an easy, online way to contribute and support our candidates for federal office. Please take a minute to check it out...and hopefully help.

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Check...out...our...online Articles of Interest.........News...you...can...use.........

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THE REST OF THE STORY:

HIGH ENERGY COSTS OUR OWN FAULT!

A Wall Street Journal editorial points out the following:

Some portion of the current $4-per-gallon gasoline may be attributable to
the Federal Reserve's inflationary monetary policy or even speculators. But
we can wave goodbye to the $1.25/gallon gasoline that in 1990 allowed a
President Bush to airily lock away the nation's oil and gas jewels. This
isn't your father's world of energy. New world powers are coming online
fast, and they need energy. We need to get back in the game.

The goal shouldn't be "energy independence," a ridiculous notion in an
economically integrated world. It's about admitting the need to strike a
balance between the energy and security realities of the here-and-now and
the potentialities of the future. Some of our best and brightest want to
pursue alternative energy technologies, and they should be encouraged to do
so, inside market disciplines. But let's at least stop pretending the rest
of the world is going to play along with our environmentalist moralisms.

The Democrats' climate-change bill collapsed last week under the weight of
brutal cost realities. It was a wake-up call. This is the year Americans
joined the real world of energy costs. Now someone needs to explain to them
why we " and we alone" are sitting on an ocean of energy but won't drill
for it.

TODAY'S TOP STORIES

The following stories and more are available at my Articles of Interest online.

Granholm will veto ban on late-term abortions

David Eggert • Associated Press • June 13, 2008 • From Lansing State Journal

Gov. Jennifer Granholm said Thursday she will veto a proposed ban on partial-birth abortions.

The legislation was sent to the Democratic governor after the state Senate passed it Thursday.

The bill is designed to mirror a federal ban that was ruled constitutional by the U.S. Supreme Court last year.

Counties brace for budget shortfalls

Mid-Michigan officials seek to make ends meet; Ingham County could face deficit of $4 million
Christine Rook • Lansing State Journal • June 13, 2008 • From Lansing State Journal

All across mid-Michigan, county governments are bracing for the 2009 pinch - rising costs and diminished tax revenues.

Some counties are talking about cuts to services and even staff. The trickle-down, experts say, will hit every home differently.

"It will depend on where you are. How close are you to the nearest fire station? How good are the roads in your part of town? What are the schools like?" said Charles Ballard, an economics professor at Michigan State University. "Some people will do better than others."

Oakland to try out four-day workweek

Mike Martindale / The Detroit News

PONTIAC -- Rising gas costs have prompted the Oakland County Board of Commissioners to unanimously approve on Thursday a shorter workweek for some of the county's 4,000 employees.

Beginning next week, some employees, with the agreement of their supervisors, can voluntarily opt for a four-day, 10-hour-a-day week. Final approval will be contingent upon a review by the county human resources department and, in some cases, employee unions.

The purpose of the pilot program is to help combat climbing gasoline costs, now averaging more than $4 a gallon, said Oakland County Executive L. Brooks Patterson.

In the red, DPS may cut 800 teachers

District also looks to trim other services in an effort to balance budget this year and next.
Jennifer Mrozowski / The Detroit News

Detroit Public Schools officials are considering plans to lay off nearly 800 teachers in the next five months, outsource school social workers and psychologists, and make other budgetary cuts to reduce a projected $297 million budget shortfall for fiscal year 2009.

That information on the district's mounting fiscal problems, outlined in a draft budget document prepared by Chief Financial Officer Joan McCray as of Tuesday, gives a glimpse into how the district plans to address a multimillion-dollar deficit that came to light last month and an even larger shortfall expected next year.

With two weeks before the end of this fiscal year, administrators are first working to address a projected $63 million budget shortfall in its $1.2 billion budget for fiscal year 2008. Superintendent Connie Calloway said that deficit was uncovered as part of an independent review of the district's operations by the Washington, D.C.-based Council of the Great City Schools, an organization representing the nation's urban school districts.

Council rift grows over pro-Kilpatrick letter to Granholm

Link to mayor's aide discovered; Kenyatta furious
BY BEN SCHMITT and JOE SWICKARD • FREE PRESS STAFF WRITERS • June 13, 2008

Detroit City Council members learned Thursday that a letter by three council members opposing ouster hearings against Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick had been sent to the governor by Sharon McPhail, a key Kilpatrick aide.

The disclosure -- which seemed to imply that the mayor is orchestrating the council opposition -- embarrassed at least one council member who signed the letter and showed deepening schisms on the council over moves to unseat Kilpatrick.

"I think the letter was divisive. I'm sorry I signed it," Councilwoman Barbara-Rose Collins said.

Town Hall: McCain's Comfort Zone

Campaign Banks On Meetings to Give Best Forum for Republican

By Michael D. Shear and Juliet Eilperin
Washington Post Staff Writers
Friday, June 13, 2008; Page A06

NEW YORK, June 12 -- Microphone in hand and surrounded on all sides by friendly inquisitors, Republican Sen. John McCain called on a man in the back row of New York's Federal Hall on Thursday night and waited for another opportunity to demonstrate his mastery of the off-the-cuff answer.

"We've got to put our country first and not our party first, and too many people have that reversed," McCain told the man, who asked about how he would break Washington gridlock. "And by the way, this is not a cheap shot. It's a matter of record. . . . You put your finger on what has to be done. Yes, there's going to be a change in Washington, but will it be the right kind of change or the wrong kind of change?"

This is McCain's arena of choice -- the town hall -- where mixing serious answers with flip comments and the occasional sarcastic insult has become his trademark as much as the smartly crafted speech in front of thousands defines his rival, Sen. Barack Obama (D-Ill.). Now, the McCain campaign sees town halls as a necessity, hoping the old-style format will serve as a video-age counterweight to the rhetorical chasm between his stilted and sometimes awkward speechmaking and Obama's often rousing delivery.

Obama rally is at The Joe on Monday

It will mark the campaign's first large event in Metro Detroit; another will be at Kettering.
Gordon Trowbridge / Detroit News Washington Bureau

DETROIT -- Sen. Barack Obama will make campaign stops in Flint, Detroit and suburban Wayne County on Monday and Tuesday, including a rally at Joe Louis Arena likely to fill the home of the Detroit Red Wings.

The schedule, announced late Thursday, includes a rally at 11:45 a.m. Monday at Kettering University in Flint, an 8:30 p.m. rally at Joe Louis Arena and an event at a yet-to-be-determined Wayne County location on Tuesday. The arena, which seats about 20,000 for hockey, would be the latest in the massive rallies the Obama campaign has held across the country, and the first large-scale event in Metro Detroit. Obama staffers also scouted the even larger Ford Field, according to local officials.

So far, Obama's Metro Detroit visits have kept to small venues and crowds. Last month at Van Andel Arena in Grand Rapids, he held a larger event, where former candidate John Edwards announced his endorsement of Obama.

Obama Will Host Kettering University Event

Democratic Presidential Candidate Returning To Michigan

POSTED: 5:41 am EDT June 13, 2008
UPDATED: 6:12 am EDT June 13, 2008

DETROIT -- Democratic presidential candidate Sen. Barack Obama is returning to Michigan.

Campaign officials said the Illinois senator will host free events Monday at Kettering University in Flint and at Joe Louis Arena in Detroit. Obama also plans a Tuesday event in Wayne County, but details were not immediately released.

The stops are part of Obama's two-week tour focusing on the economy.

Obama Is Right, Words Matter

By KARL ROVE
June 12, 2008; Page A15

"Don't tell me words don't matter!" Sen. Barack Obama thundered at a Wisconsin Democratic Party dinner in February. He should have remembered that at the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) Policy Conference last week.

There, Mr. Obama defended the outrageous promise he made last July to meet, during his first year as president and without precondition, with the leaders of Iran, Syria, Venezuela, Cuba and North Korea. Mr. Obama's eagerness to undertake a "World Tyrants Tour" is both naive and foolhardy, and how he dealt with those concerns at AIPAC raises the question of whether he's done his homework.

Mr. Obama knew the audience was wondering what could come from such meetings, except propaganda victories for thugs and a loss of prestige for America. He tried to mitigate the damage of his promised meetings. But the man who criticizes George W. Bush for unilateralism ended up denouncing a multilateral approach to Iran, saying it would "outsource the sustained work to our European allies."

How candidates tap Michigan's pockets

Obama gets more young donors via Web, McCain more old strongholds
BY TODD SPANGLER and KRISTI TANNER • FREE PRESS STAFF WRITERS • June 13, 2008

Barack Obama may want to consider a Go Blue theme for thank-you notes he sends to his most generous Michigan donors -- those with Ann Arbor addresses.

John McCain, on the other hand, might want to keep Mitt Romney's address book close at hand when he gets around to his notes.

And both would want to remember to add the PS -- "Keep the love coming."