Added 8/22/08 -- 8/29/08

STATE AND LOCAL NEWS

His opponent -- DON COONEY -- says more focus needs to be on renewable resources.

DOWAGIAC — As members of the 110th Congress spend time in their districts this month, hoping to be part of the 111th Congress, many are talking about energy.

U.S. Rep. Fred Upton is certainly among them, and on Thursday he used this city's police department as an example of the strain caused by the soaring gasoline prices.

Upton, R-St. Joseph, addressed reporters in front of the city's fire station with Dowagiac police Chief Tom Atkinson and Cass County Sheriff Joe Underwood.

<SNIP>

Upton's fall opponent, Kalamazoo Democrat Don Cooney, said Upton's ideas are "a distraction."

"I think both the things that Fred suggested are really not going to do anything about the price at the pump," he said.

The United States should dedicate its strength to the pursuit of renewable energy sources, he said.

"We have to have like a Marshall Plan, a Manhattan Project, a man on the moon struggle to get renewable energy in there, wind and solar especially, because Michigan is so uniquely placed to do the wind thing," Cooney said.

He also wants to see a focus on energy conservation, improving automotive fuel efficiency and expanding public transportation.

THERE'S MORE -- GO TO THE SBT STORY     POSTED 8/25/08

COONEY: "We have to have like a Marshall Plan, a Manhattan Project, a man on the moon struggle to get renewable energy in there, wind and solar especially, because Michigan is so uniquely placed to do the wind thing."

The Coming Dutch Civil War in West Michigan:

(From the blog West Michigan Rising by: philgoblue)

Seems Pete "The Turtle Hater" Hoekstra is determined to run for governor even if it means going up against Dick DeVo$.

The gossip reported by MIRS two weeks ago is that Dick DeVos has been organizing a whisper-campaign against Pete Hoekstra trying to cut off his support and funding before the race really begins.  Apparently DeVos and his entourage have been running around to Republican insiders and essentially telling, "Psst, on between you and me, Hoekstra isn't really serious about running for governor" (or something very similar to that).

Now, The Turtle has come out against the whisper-campaign and even seems to give confirmation that he is running:

"I don't try to tell people what Dick is going to do. It doesn't bother me. It doesn't hurt me. [Depending on what happens, DeVos] could end up looking silly on this. [When I next talk with DeVos] I'll tell him, 'I am very serious about doing this and he can do with that what he wants.'"

Pete says he won't be scared off by Dick and Betsy and their even bigger mansions full of money:

Asked by MIRS if a second DeVos candidacy would scare him out of the race, Hoekstra quickly replied with a "no":
 

"A healthy primary could do a lot to energize the Republican Party."

But, today, The Grand Rapids Press reports that Hoekstra has backed off a bit from his earlier comments to MIRS, saying he hasn't made a decision. Hoekstra told The Press that a feud between Hoekstra and DeVos "makes for good table talk," and that all talk about what he'll in 2010 is mere speculation (oh, but what fun speculation -- phil).

Still ... maybe Dick ought to be secretly funneling wads of cash to help Fred Johnson knock of The Turtle before he comes out of his shell.

There's More...

POSTED 8/24/08

(From the South Bend Tribune and the AP)  LANSING — Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick's legal issues will cause Gov. Jennifer Granholm to miss some of the Democratic National Convention.

Granholm spokeswoman Liz Boyd said this week that the governor will remain in Michigan to weigh final motions from Kilpatrick and the Detroit City Council lawyers.

Granholm has scheduled a hearing for Sept. 3 on the council's request that Kilpatrick be removed from office. Final motions before the hearing are due by the close of business on Monday.

Boyd says Granholm intends to issue an order on those motions "very soon after the final motions are submitted."

The governor will then leave for Denver. The convention begins Monday and runs through Thursday, when Barack Obama will speak after formally winning the nomination.

Public land vs. private golf:

(From Michigan Messenger)   The final federal approvals have been granted for a controversial plan to turn Benton Harbor’s lakefront park into part of a privately owned golf course, and a citizen’s group that is trying to preserve the public park is anxiously awaiting a Friday court hearing that could either speed the project or stop it.

Harbor Shores, developers backed by the Benton Harbor-based Whirlpool Corporation (NYSE: WHR), is poised to begin work on developing 22 acres of Jean Klock Park, the city’s Lake Michigan dune park, for use as three holes of a Jack Nicklaus Signature golf course.

Friends of Jean Klock Park, which has filed suit in Berrien County circuit court, argues that the golf course violates the deed of the property, which was donated to the city in 1917 and that it also violates a 2004 settlement in which the city promised to preserve the park for public use forever.

The plaintiffs have asked the court for a preliminary injunction to stop the golf course development while their legal challenge is in progress. Developers have asked that the lawsuit be dismissed.

Former Detroit Mayor Dennis Archer of the firm Dickinson Wright is representing Harbor Shores developers.

In a separate lawsuit filed this month, another grassroots park advocate group, Protect Jean Klock Park, is suing Benton Harbor, the state Department of Natural Resources and the National Park Service in federal court for violating environmental regulations in their approval of the project.

More background on the controversy over Jean Klock Park can be found here.

POSTED 8/22/08

Public land vs. private golf

Voter alert:

In Benton Township voting machines in four precincts malfunctioned during the primary election. The County Clerk’s Office is aware of this problem and is working to correct this calamity. It is a serious concern to all voters of Berrien County if we cannot trust that our votes are properly recorded and counted. It makes the whole election process a farce. I will be making a protest to the Michigan Democratic Party and, looking ahead to November’s election, informing the Obama campaign that this has happened.

I am asking for a “poll-watcher alert” of all Democratic voters: If you have knowledge of any irregularities while voting in the last primary election, please notify me at once (my contact information is listed below at the end of this e-mail). Also I suggest that we all be very aware that this problem has occurred in Berrien County and be watchful to any irregularities during the November election.

POSTED 8/22/08

Hammel: New NWLB Funds to Build on First Year's Success

$15 million boost will train more workers, give community colleges more resources

— August 19, 2008

LANSING – State Representative Richard E. Hammel (D-Mt. Morris Twp.) said today that $15 million in state funding will be used to expand Michigan's No Worker Left Behind (NWLB) program, which is marking its first anniversary of training thousands of unemployed residents so they can land good-paying jobs available now in high-demand fields. Much of the funding will help community colleges meet the needs of these new adult learners.

"Our community colleges are doing a great job helping unemployed residents learn the new skills they need to get good-paying jobs that are available now," said Hammel, who oversaw the No Worker Left Behind budget plan as Chair of the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Economic Development.

"They are working with a wide range of folks – everyone from tool-and-die workers who went into the shop 20 years ago without finishing high school to people who just need a few courses to land a good job. We have to make sure our community colleges have the tools and resources they need to help this influx of workers get back on the job quickly so they can provide a good living for their families."

The $15 million in additional No Worker Left Behind funding is part of the Department of Labor and Economic Growth (DLEG) budget for 2008-2009 that Granholm Jennifer M. Granholm signed recently. In addition, the state has secured $44 million in new federal funding for NWLB to train more Michigan workers.

Through NWLB, eligible Michigan residents can attend a community college or university tuition-free for two years to upgrade their skills so they can get good-paying jobs available now. More than 31,000 residents have enrolled in NWLB since the state started the program with federal funding last year. While 11,000 have finished their training, almost 9,100 Michigan residents remain on waiting lists. The state NWLB budget:

• Designates up to $5 million for adult basic education, remedial education or other training that some workers need to prepare them for post-secondary work or new careers.
• Provides up to $5 million for community colleges and other public institutions that grant associate's degrees to increase their capacity, which may mean adding space, faculty or equipment. Colleges must make competitive bids for these grants based on their need to meet local, industry-specific needs.
• Adds at least $5 million in additional tuition assistance to reduce the number of residents on waiting lists.
• Requires DLEG to provide education and training to as many federal food stamp recipients as possible in order to obtain matching federal funds and to spend the training money in such a way as to maximize financial contributions from federal, private and local sources.

"Investing in our workers must be a top priority right now as we support our working families and get our economy moving in the right direction," Hammel said. "Supporting our community colleges ensures that while we work to attract more good-paying jobs, we also are moving workers into the good jobs available now and providing our businesses with the high-quality workers they need."

To find out if they are eligible for the No Worker Left Behind program, unemployed or underemployed Michigan residents should call their local Michigan Works Agency or visit www.michigan.gov/nwlb.        POSTED 8/22/08

Simpson: Senate Must Act on Plan that Puts Mich. Workers First

House passed legislator's plan to reward businesses that hire state workers in May

LANSING – One year after spearheading a bold plan to create more jobs by rewarding companies that hire Michigan workers and cracking down on those that hire illegal workers, State Representative Mike Simpson (D-Jackson) today called on the Senate to pass the "Hire Michigan First" plan that has been held up in that chamber for three months.

"Ever since I came to Lansing, I have made creating jobs now for mid-Michigan residents my top priority," said Simpson, a lead sponsor of the "Hire Michigan First" plan. "When our tax dollars create jobs, those jobs should go to Michigan residents – not out-of-state workers or illegal workers. We need to crack down on companies that hire illegal workers, not coddle them. It's time for the Senate to step up to the plate and protect our working families."

The "Hire Michigan First" plan will:

• Give preference for tax breaks and other economic development tools to companies that hire the most Michigan residents. This rule would apply to projects handled by the Michigan Economic Development Corp. and certain state-funded programs, including the Michigan Economic Growth Authority, the Renaissance Zone Act and several others.
• Encourage transparency and accountability by requiring companies that take economic development incentives to report on who they hire to ensure that Michigan residents are put first.
• Crack down on companies that hire illegal workers by canceling their state contracts and tax incentives. The plan would also require them to pay back incentives already received and bar them from future contracts.

Simpson sponsored a part of the package that gives preference in awarding renaissance zone incentives to recipients who promise not to hire illegal workers, to comply in good faith with federal legal-status verification requirements, and to hire only Michigan residents or contract with firms that promise the same.

"I have fought to protect the job of every Michigan resident, and it's long past time for the Senate to do the same," Simpson said. "Mid-Michigan is home to the hardest working residents anywhere. This plan will ensure that they get the first crack at these jobs created by taxpayer dollars that can't be outsourced, which will help get our economy back on track."        POSTED 8/22/08

(From the South Bend Tribune)  ST. JOSEPH — Harbor Shores development cleared a regulatory hurdle last week when the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers granted the $500 million project its final permit.

Congressman Fred Upton, R-St. Joseph, applauded the decision.

“The granting of the final permit not only culminates the end of an extensive permitting process over the last several years, but it also marks the beginning of a new chapter in the efforts to improve our community,” said Upton. “I commend the diligence of the Army Corps of Engineers to ensure that procedure is followed and by the book to preserve and protect our fragile ecosystem.”

The Harbor Shores project is a mixed-use development in Benton Harbor, Benton Township, and St. Joseph. The 530-acre site is expected to create hundreds of new jobs. Its marquee development is a Jack Nicklaus golf course, which some residents have fought because it incorporates part of Jean Klock Park into its landscape.

Upton said the project has already cleaned up the area.

THERE'S MORE -- GO TO THE SBT STORY     POSTED 8/22/08

NATIONAL NEWS

McCain's latest ad?

     POSTED 8/25/08

This commentary was written by John Nichols and appeared in The Nation magazine's online edition for Friday, August 22, 2008. Mr. Nichols, a pioneering political blogger, has written the Online Beat since 1999. His posts have been circulated internationally, quoted in numerous books and mentioned in debates on the floor of Congress. Nichols writes about politics forThe Nation magazine as its Washington correspondent. His commentary follows:

And the winner is: Joe Biden. It did not take a newfangled text message, just an old-fashioned leak, to identify Barack Obama's running mate.

Word of the Biden selection spread late Friday night, barely twelve hours before the event in Springfield, Illinois, at which the presumptive Democratic nominee for president was set to introduce the presumptive Democratic nominee for vice president.

Ultimately, Obama went with the guy who suggested most pointedly during the race for the Democratic nomination that Obama was not quite experienced enough for the presidency.

It was Biden who suggested in an August, 2007, debate that, "I think (Obama) can be ready, but right now I don't believe he is. The presidency is not something that lends itself to on-the-job training."

Challenged on that statement, the senator said he stood by it.

Expect to see those comments featured in an ad for Republican John McCain. (At 1:22 a.m. EST, the Republican's campaign released a statement that to theeffect that, "There has been no harsher critic of Barack Obama's lack of experience than Joe Biden. Biden has denounced Barack Obama's poor foreign policy judgment and has strongly argued in his own words what Americans are quickly realizing - that Barack Obama is not ready to be President.")

But don't expect McCain's attempts to use Biden against Obama to do much damage.

(THERE'S MORE -- CLICK HERE           From Free Internet Press        POSTED 8/25/08)

Increased premiums for low-income families are expected to put the program out of reach for many. A new Medi-Cal policy is also expected to cut enrollees, further weakening the health care system.

California's promising strides toward extending medical coverage to all its children, a longtime goal of Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger and one advocates believed was in reach by decade's end, has stalled - and thousands of kids are in danger of losing insurance.

The trend is likely to further destabilize California's already shaky health care system. Studies have found that children without insurance are less likely to go to the doctor for routine visits that allow early diagnoses and treatment for diabetes, obesity and other increasingly common ailments.

Uninsured children are more likely to end up in the hospital or in the state's clogged emergency rooms, where much of the cost of their care is passed along to insured people through higher premiums. Uninsured children tend to perform worse in school and miss more classes than those with coverage, several studies have found.

Between 2001 and 2005, the number of Californians younger than 19 who were uninsured at any given time decreased 25% to about 763,000, according to the UCLA Center for Health Policy Research.

Most of the drop came through aggressive enrollment efforts in state and private health care programs and despite the erosion of employer-based insurance, which was leaving more adults without coverage.

(THERE'S MORE -- CLICK HERE           From Free Internet Press        POSTED 8/25/08)

COPYRIGHTED BY INTERNET WEEKLY REPORT. PLEASE VISIT THEIR FINE WEBSITE TO PURCHASE POSTERS -- SOME EXCELLENT POLITICAL POSTERS.

Internet Weekly Report

McCain Flubs it Again!

(From Democratic Underground by Kagro X) Unbelievable! Those $500 loafers must taste like ambrosia, because McCain can't keep his feet out of his mouth!

What's the supposed money line in McCain's new ad?

"Celebrities don't have to worry about family budgets. But we sure do."

Hahahahaha!

Neither do kept men like John McNopoly!

Here's something most people with family budgets don't have to worry about, either:

The McCains increased their budget for household employees from $184,000 in 2006 to $273,000 in 2007, according to John McCain’s tax returns.

That's right. The McCains pay $270,000 per year for butlers and maids--that's $50,000 more than the median value of an American home.

Ohhhh, Johnny! A quarter mil on servants?

Let me guess? P.O.W.?

POSTED 8/25/08

Source: WaPo

A voting system used in 34 states contains a critical programming error that can cause votes to be dropped while being electronically transferred from memory cards to a central tallying point, the manufacturer acknowledges.

The problem was identified after complaints from Ohio elections officials following the March primary there, but the logic error that is the root of the problem has been part of the software for 10 years, said Chris Riggall, a spokesman for Premier Election Solutions, formerly known as Diebold.

The flawed software is on both touch screen and optical scan voting machines made by Premier and the problem with vote counts is most likely to affect larger jurisdictions that feed many memory cards to a central counting database rapidly.

Riggall said he was "confident" that elections officials through the years would have realized votes had been dropped when they crosschecked their tallies to certify final elections results and would have reloaded cards so as not to lose votes. Brunner has said no Ohio votes were lost because the nine Ohio counties that found the problem caught it before primary results were finalized.

Read more: http://voices.washingtonpost.com/the-trail/2008/08/21/o...

POSTED 8/25/08

Ohio Voting Machines Contained Programming Error That Dropped Votes

     POSTED 8/25/08

Source: Associated Press

(From Democratic Underground) Orlando, Fla. (AP) -- John McCain, the father of private school students, criticized Democratic rival Barack Obama on Friday for choosing private over public school for his kids.

The difference, according to the Arizona Republican, is that he — not Obama — favors vouchers that give parents more school choices.

... During a feisty question-and-answer sesssion, McCain drew gasps and grumbles from the mostly black crowd when he praised former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani. The one-time GOP presidential candidate was widely scorned by many civil rights leaders for permitting the city's police department to use overly aggressive tactics against black criminal suspects.

... McCain repeated his claim that "the best equal opportunity employer in the country is the U.S. military." However, an Associated Press study found that while blacks make up about 17 percent of the total force, just 9 percent of officers are black.

... McCain also apologized anew for voting against the enactment of a federal holiday honoring the birthday of Martin Luther King Jr. in 1983. "I was wrong," he said to applause.

Read more: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/n/a/2008/0...

POSTED 8/23/08

(From the Center for American Progress     POSTED 8/24/08)

A Justice Department plan would loosen restrictions on the Federal Bureau of Investigation to allow agents to open a national security or criminal investigation against someone without any clear basis for suspicion, Democratic lawmakers briefed on the details said Wednesday. The plan, which could be made public next month, has already generated intense interest and speculation. Little is known about its precise language, but civil liberties advocates say they fear it could give the government even broader license to open terrorism investigations.

Congressional staff members got a glimpse of some of the details in closed briefings this month, and four Democratic senators told Attorney General Michael B.Mukasey in a letter on Wednesday that they were troubled by what they heard.

The senators said the new guidelines would allow the F.B.I. to open an investigation of an American, conduct surveillance, pry into private records and take other investigative steps “without any basis for suspicion.” The plan “might permit an innocent American to be subjected to such intrusive surveillance based in part on race, ethnicity, national origin, religion, or on protected First Amendment activities,” the letter said. It was signed by Russ Feingold, of Wisconsin, Richard J. Durbin, of Illinois, Edward M. Kennedy, of Massachusetts, and Sheldon Whitehouse, of Rhode Island.

As the end of the Bush administration nears, the White House has been seeking to formalize in law and regulation some of the aggressive counterterrorism steps it has already taken in practice since the Sept. 11 attacks.

(THERE'S MORE -- CLICK HERE           From Free Internet Press        POSTED 8/23/08)

Source: AP

CARDIFF, Wales - Even at 50, the queen of pop just can't stop courting controversy.

As Madonna kicked off her international "Sticky and Sweet" tour Saturday night, she took a none-too subtle swipe at the presumptive Republican nominee for U.S. president.

Amid a four-act show at Cardiff's packed Millennium Stadium, a video interlude carried images of destruction, global warming, Nazi dictator Adolf Hitler, Zimbabwe's authoritarian President Robert Mugabe — and U.S. Sen. John McCain.

Another sequence, shown later, pictured slain Beatle John Lennon, followed by climate activist Al Gore, Mahatma Gandhi and finally McCain's Democratic rival, Barack Obama.


Read more: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/26369350 /

American Family Association launches protest against Hallmark.

Today, the right-wing American Family Association (AFA) announced a protest of Hallmark for its decision to start selling gay marriage greeting cards. AFA wants Hallmark to “stop promoting a lifestyle that is not only unhealthy, but is also illegal in 48 states.” From the protest site:

We’ve all given or received Hallmark Cards – remember their slogan – “when you care enough to send the very best.” But promoting same-sex marriage for profit is not the very best for families or our nation.

Hallmark is a private company obviously driven by greed. Let them know you do not appreciate Hallmark promoting a lifestyle which is illegal in 48 states. American Greeting Cards, Hallmark’s competitor, does not offer same-sex marriage cards.

AFA also criticized Hallmark for having the secret purpose of “pushing[ing] same-sex marriage.” More on AFA’s previous boycotts here.

Fox News: “Is Obama Bashing ‘American Dream’ By Bashing McCain’s 7 Homes?”

On Fox News’ Your World, host Neil Cavuto defended John McCain’s inability to recall the number of homes he owns by attacking critics who have sought to highlight McCain’s failure. He opened the segment by asking, “Well, instead of slamming McCain, is Obama really bashing the American Dream?”

Fox News has it backwards. McCain’s remark is symbolically important because it suggests McCain is unable to relate to “the mortgage foreclosure crisis that has upended the American dream of owning even one home.” It also serves to highlight the fact McCain is running a campaign of the rich, by the rich, and for the rich.

Added 8/16/08 -- 8/22/08

STATE AND LOCAL NEWS

POSTED 8/16/08

(From Blogging for Michigan by: johncherry)

I spent my morning walleye fishing in the Tawas Bay with Dave Dickman, a local insurance agent and city councilman. It was a beautiful morning. Great sunshine and the water had a low chop which is not the best condition for walleye fishing. Because walleyes have such great visual acuity, fishing for them is generally better at night or on overcast days. Rough water also tends to break up light penetration into water so walleye fishing can be more productive when the water is a little more choppy than was the case on Thursday. "Walleye" chop is a popular term among those who seriously pursue walleye.

Consequently, we chose to go 'fishing' instead of 'catching'. That allowed Dick and I to spend most of our time speculating on why the sports fishery on Lake Huron has become so challenged. Most of the discussion rests on a reduced population of forage fish. Various explanations are offered for that ranging from the zebra mussel disrupting the food chain to the voracious appetite of the cormorants who have made a startling comeback in recent years.

There's More... ::                   POSTED 8/16/08

NATIONAL NEWS

 POSTED 8/16/08

REPORT: IRAN'S NUCLEAR FACILITIES COULD NOT BE EFFECTIVELY DESTROYED BY STRIKE:

A study to be released today by the nonpartisan Institute for Science and International Security has found that "Iran's uranium facilities are too widely dispersed and protected -- and, in some cases, concealed too well -- to be effectively destroyed by warplanes."

This study comes just a day after the Associated Press reported that "Israel is building up its strike capabilities" and "appears confident that a military attack would cripple Tehran’s atomic program, even if it can’t destroy it." The study notes that "any damage to [Iran's] nuclear program could be quickly repaired," and that "an Israeli or U.S. attack would result in broader popular support for Iran's ruling clerics and could lead Tehran to sever ties with the U.N. nuclear watchdog."

David Albright, the principal author of the report and a former U.N. weapons inspector, explained that in response to a strike, "Iran would likely launch a 'crash' program to quickly obtain nuclear weapons." "An attack would likely leave Iran angry, more nationalistic, fed up with international inspectors and nonproliferation treaties, and more determined than ever to obtain nuclear weapons," he said.

REPORT: IRAN'S NUCLEAR FACILITIES COULD NOT BE EFFECTIVELY DESTROYED BY STRIKE

ROVE BASELESSLY CLAIMS DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY SAID OFFSHORE OIL DRILILNG WOULD LOWER PRICES:

On Wednesday on Fox News, former top Bush adviser Karl Rove discussed gas prices and energy policy. Co-host Alan Colmes noted that conservatives like Rove just want to drill for more oil with the "hope that seven years from now we bring down the price which President Bush's Energy Department says it wouldn't do."

Rove then became agitated, arguing with Colmes: "The EIA does say that drilling would bring down prices. You're wrong on your facts." But it's actually Rove who is wrong -- or misleading at best.

The group Rove cites to back up his "facts" -- the Energy Information Administration -- reported that new drilling couldn't likely start until 2018, and won't ever have much impact on oil prices. "Because oil prices are determined on the international market, however, any impact on average wellhead prices is expected to be insignificant," the agency noted. In regards to drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, another idea championed by conservatives, the EIA observed that oil production there "is not projected to have a large impact on world oil prices."

Added 84/4/08 -- 8/10/08

STATE AND LOCAL NEWS

 (From the South Bend Tribune) BENTON HARBOR — Harbor Shores' recent victory over its contested plan to use part of Jean Klock Park for a Jack Nicklaus Signature golf course was short-lived.

On Tuesday opponents of the high-end golf course filed a federal lawsuit in Washington, D.C., against the National Park Service for its July 25 decision granting conversion of parts of the city-owned public park to Harbor Shores.

"The 91-year-old public park offers commanding views of Lake Michigan from the dunes — which would be off limits to all but golfers paying greens fees reported to be as high as $225 per round," said Julie Weiss, of the group Protect Jean Klock Park.

Weiss is one of seven Benton Harbor and Benton Township residents suing the park service saying the private development fails to disclose "the true scope of impacts to the environment and fails to present and analyze serious development alternatives as required under the law."

 (From the South Bend Tribune)  It's three strikes and out for Berrien Springs' Bill Baber.

The former small business owner said Wednesday, in the wake of his third unsuccessful attempt in four years to win the Republican nomination for the 78th District state House seat currently held by Neal Nitz, R-Baroda, that he won't bid for the post again.

"Three times is a lot," he said. "I ran three good races. The last two, I was real proud of. I just couldn't catch a break."

NATIONAL NEWS

 President Bush arrived in Beijing late today to begin his Olympics visit, even as the Chinese government reminded the world that it opposes interference from other countries on human rights issues. The stern warning from the Foreign Ministry came a day after Bush spoke out in Bangkok against China's detention of political dissidents and religious activists.

"We speak out for a free press, freedom of assembly, and labor rights not to antagonize China's leaders, but because trusting its people with greater freedom is the only way for China to develop its full potential," said Bush. "We press for openness and justice, not to impose our beliefs but to allow the Chinese people to express theirs ...

"The United States believes the people of China deserve the fundamental liberty that is the natural right of all human beings."

Hours later, China issued a statement saying its relations with the United States "has developed steadily in the last few years" and praising bilateral communication and cooperation between the two countries.

"As for the divergence on human rights and religions, we always advocate that both sides talk from a basis of mutual respect and equality, to enhance understanding and diminish divergence, and enlarge mutual consensus," the statement said, according to a translation provided by the Associated Press.

(THERE'S MORE -- CLICK HERE           From Free Internet Press        POSTED 8/8/08)

The number of newly laid off people signing up for jobless benefits last week climbed to its highest point in more than six years as companies cut back given the faltering economy.

The Labor Department reported Thursday that new applications filed for unemployment insurance rose by a seasonally adjusted 7,000 to 455,000 for the week ending Aug. 2. The increase left claims at their highest level since late March 2002.

A program to locate people eligible for jobless benefits played a role in the increase, said a Labor Department analyst. However, the analyst could not say how much of a role.

The latest snapshot of layoff filings was worse than analysts expected. They were forecasting new claims to drop to around 430,000.

The new layoff filings were distorted by the outreach program to notify people that they could qualify for additional benefits under a new law.

(THERE'S MORE -- CLICK HERE           From Free Internet Press        POSTED 8/8/08)

(From People For the American Way) In response to a question today in Lima, OH, Senator John McCain turned the subject to the Supreme Court and bragged about his support of George W. Bush’s nominees to the Supreme Court.

In response, People For the American Way president Kathryn Kolbert issued the following statement:

“It’s clear that John McCain is trying to polish his anti-choice credentials by highlighting his support for George W. Bush’s judges.

“By appointing more judges like President Bush’s, McCain wouldn’t just help undermine the right to choose, he’d make it harder for women victimized by workplace discrimination to find justice. He’d make it easier for polluters to poison the water our children drink. He’d protect giant corporations that injure and kill Americans with faulty products. John McCain is promising to give us not just four more years of George Bush’s policies, but 40.

“Americans don’t support the radical judicial philosophy of George Bush and John McCain. The Supreme Court is on the ballot in November. John McCain needs to support judges who support our rights.”

POSTED 8/8/08

U.S. Attorney Scandal Probe Enters White House Circle

(From Democratic Underground) The Justice Department investigation into the firings of nine U.S. attorneys has been extended to encompass allegations that senior White House officials played a role in providing false and misleading information to Congress, according to numerous sources involved in the inquiry.

The widened scope raises the possibility that investigators will pursue criminal charges against some administration officials, and recommend appointment of a special prosecutor if there is evidence of criminal misconduct.

....

People close to the investigation say that the investigators' final report will not only examine the reasons and circumstances behind the firings of the nine U.S. attorneys, but efforts by senior Justice Department and White House officials to mislead the public and Congress about the firings:

"It will be as much about the cover up as about the firings," said one former senior Justice Department interviewed at length because of his personal role in the firings. This source believes the investigators "are going to tell a narrative, and they have taken their investigation right into the White House."

If the IG and OPR believe that there is evidence of potential criminal wrongdoing, or evidence of wrongdoing by officials outside its jurisdiction altogether, they can recommend that the Justice Department initiate a criminal investigation.

....

One senior Bush administration official told me that White House staffers talk about their "nightmare scenario" in which any one of the three currently internal DOJ probes "spins out of control" and leads to the appointment of a special prosecutor with broad authority.

Read more: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2008/08/07/white-house-ni...

POSTED 8/8/08

(From Democratic Underground via NBC) Despite adamant denials by both the White House and the CIA, journalist Ron Suskind Wednesday stood by his allegation that the Bush administration concocted a fake letter purporting to show a link between Saddam Hussein’s regime and al-Qaida as a justification for the Iraq war. “It's all on the record,” Suskind told Meredith Vieira on TODAY.

Two former CIA officers denied that they or the spy agency faked an Iraqi intelligence document, as they are quoted as saying in Suskind’s book “The Way of the World,” published Tuesday. “I never received direction from George Tenet (CIA director at the time) or anyone else in my chain of command to fabricate a document … as outlined in Mr. Suskind’s book,” said Robert Richer, the CIA’s former deputy director of clandestine operations.

...

Confronted with the denials by Vieira on TODAY Wednesday, Suskind said: “It’s one of these instances where you’ve got a few people whose testimony could mean impeachment, ostensibly, of the President. There’s enormous pressure on both men.

“Look, I’m sympathetic to them: They’re good guys,” Suskind added. “I’ve spent a lot of time with them. Their interviews are taped.”

“Are you concerned if they don’t come forward and stand by your story, that no one’s going to buy anything in this book?” Vieira pressed.

“I’m actually not concerned, and there are a variety of reasons,” Suskind replied. “One, they talked to me length, hour after hour, about not just what occurred, but the feelings about what occurred, what day it was, all of that. All of that is on the record, in the book ... it’s all on-the-record comments.

 POSTED 8/7/08

SEVEN YEARS AGO TODAY [8/6/08], BUSH RECEIVED 'BIN LADEN DETERMINED TO STRIKE IN U.S.' MEMO:

Today marks the seventh anniversary of the day President Bush received a President's Daily Brief entitled "Bin Laden Determined to Strike in U.S." (See the memo here.)

At the time, Bush was vacationing at his ranch in Crawford, TX; he stayed on vacation fpr the rest of August 2001. According to the 9/11 Commission report, Bush "did not recall discussing the August 6 report with the Attorney General" and there was "no indication" that there was "any further discussion before Sept. 11 among the President and his top advisers of the possibility of a threat of an al Qaeda attack in the United States" after Bush received the memo. 

The day after he received the memo, "Bush seemed carefree as he spoke about the books he was reading, the work he was doing on his nearby ranch, his love of hot-weather jogging, his golf game and his 55th birthday," the Washington Post noted. The President has since admitted that he "didn't feel that sense of urgency, and my blood was not nearly as boiling" in the months before 9/11. Today -- 2,557 days later -- bin Laden still remains free and "determined to strike in U.S."

HAMDAN FOUND GUILTY, FACES LIFE IN PRISON:

The Department of Defense announced today that a six-member military panel has found Salim Hamdan, Osama bin Laden's former driver, guilty of "providing material support for terrorism." He was acquitted of a related conspiracy charge. Hamdan "now faces up to a life sentence after the 10-day trial, which provided the first demonstration of a special tribunal system for prosecuting alleged terrorists."

The sentence, however, will be set in a separate proceeding later today. The New York Times writes, "the conviction was a singular victory for the [Bush] administration not only because it was the first in a legal system that has been the subject of bitter debate for years, but also because a case brought on behalf of the same accused detainee reached the Supreme Court in 2006."

Yesterday [8/5/08], Pentagon spokesperson Geoff Morrell revealed that Hamdan would have been detained by the United States, regardless of the verdict. "Even if he were acquitted of the charges that are before him, he would still be considered an enemy combatant and therefore would continue to be subject to continued detention," said Morrell. 

HOUSE CONSERVATIVES TRY TO CREDIT POLITICAL STUNTS FOR DROP IN GAS PRICES:

Yesterday [8/5/08], as House conservatives engaged in a third day of political stunts on the floor of the House, they claimed that gas prices across the nation had dropped in response to their offshore oil drilling theatrics. "I think the market is responding to the fact that we are here talking," said Rep. John Shadegg (R-AZ) in a press conference. 

Shadegg claimed that "gas prices have gone down" because of the "pressure" coming from pro-drilling conservatives talking in the dark. But actual experts don't believe the political stunts have anything to do with the drop in prices. In fact, oil and gas prices are down because of simple economics as the high energy prices and the weak economy are "curbing consumer demand" for gas. One analyst told the Los Angeles Times that demand had "finally hit a wall," while another put it more bluntly to the AP: "$4-a-gallon gasoline has clearly killed demand."

As evidence of this decreased demand, the Transportation Department recently reported that Americans drove nearly 10 billion fewer miles in May 2008 than May 2007. Conservatives have previously tried to give credit for lower prices to President Bush's call for offshore drilling, but even the White House rejected that logic. Though they're crediting their theatrics for the drop in prices, conservatives refused to "answer questions about whether they would take the blame if gas prices go up again," The Hill reported yesterday.

Added 7/26/08 -- 8/1/08

STATE AND LOCAL NEWS

Winner to meet Niles' Truesdell in fall election.

(From the South Bend Tribune) Will the third time be the charm for Bill Baber?

Will Sharon Tyler appeal to enough voters outside Niles to become the first Niles woman to receive the GOP nomination for a state House seat?

Will Gary Campbell's background in education and chairmanship of the Berrien County Republican Party give him an edge?

Will Bruce Hipshear be able to attract votes outside Buchanan?

These questions will be answered Aug. 5, when Republicans in the 78th state House District choose a nominee to square off in the fall general election against Niles Democrat Judy Truesdell. Truesdell has no primary opposition.

(From the South Bend Tribune and the AP)  GRAND HAVEN, Mich. (AP) — Researchers say they hope technology long used to predict dangerous weather conditions will help them warn Lake Michigan swimmers about dangerous rip currents.

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration recently installed an Acoustic Doppler Profiler near the south pier at Grand Haven State Park. The device uses sonar to measure the strength of currents along the beach and pier.

Rip currents draw water near beaches away from the shore and into deeper areas of the lake, creating a vacuum-like effect that can prevent swimmers from swimming back to safety. The currents can be present at any time, but are most severe when there are strong west winds.

Grand Haven is the first location where the Doppler device is being used to measure the strength of currents along Great Lakes beaches, The Muskegon Chronicle reported Saturday.

NATIONAL NEWS

Barack Obama's electoral rival is John McCain, but Obama's overseas trip this week has given heartburn to another Republican - President Bush.

In stop after stop across the Middle East and Europe, Obama was embraced as the man whose promise of change meant a change from Bush: on Iraq, Mideast peace, the treatment of terrorism suspects, climate change, alliance relations and more.

The tour has brought into focus how world leaders already are positioning themselves for a new American president.

Obama's debut appearance on the international stage was the most vivid demonstration yet that the world is moving beyond the Bush era, even while the White House works frantically in its last six months to salvage what it can of its foreign policy agenda.

The trip had to come as a jolt for administration officials, said Wayne White, a senior State Department intelligence official in Bush's first term. "I'm sure it was a bit rattling for the administration to see someone treated with such deference," he said.

(THERE'S MORE -- CLICK HERE           From Free Internet Press        POSTED 7/28/08)

Even as a huge bipartisan majority in the Senate voted Saturday to send a sprawling housing bill to the White House, economists, consumer advocates and other analysts said the package of programs for struggling homeowners and shaken mortgage lenders is unlikely to relieve the foreclosure crisis that is driving the nation toward recession.

"This is not the end of the housing crunch," said Jared Bernstein, a senior economist at the Economic Policy Institute. "Housing prices have already fallen 15 percent and they need to fall 10 percent more. This bill isn't going to change that equation."

The Senate voted 72 to 13 to approve the bill, which seeks to halt the steepest slide in house prices in a generation, rescue hundreds of thousands of families from foreclosure and restore confidence in the nation's largest mortgage-finance firms. White House officials said President Bush is likely to sign it by midweek, despite his opposition to nearly $4 billion in aid to local communities.

During Senate debate, Christopher J. Dodd (D-Connecticut), chairman of the Senate Banking Committee and one of the bill's lead sponsors, cited a litany of grim statistics about the mortgage crisis, including that an estimated 8,500 families a day are falling into foreclosure and that one in every eight homes is projected to enter foreclosure over the next five years.

"This legislation will not perform miracles. I want the American people to have realistic expectations about what we're about to do," Dodd said. "But as others have said, it is a step, and an important step, towards putting our nation on th