MI Morning Update: L Brooks Patterson new accomplishments video, Have a Happy 4th of July
By saul anuzis Posted in John McCain | L Brooks Patterson | Michigan Republicans | Republicans | Saul Anuzis — Comments (0) / Email this page » / Leave a comment »
124 Days until Election Day
July 3, 2008
MORNING UPDATE:
REMINDER...no commentary for the 4th of July weekend...enjoy!
HAVE A GREAT 4th OF JULY WEEKEND...as this will be the last commentary before the weekend. Take a minute to reflect on the freedoms we have...and why.
God Bless America!
L.BROOKS PATTERSON...is widely recognized and one of Michigan's best public servants as Chief Executive of Oakland County...one of the few counties that has had continued economic growth. Brooks is up for re-election and has put together a great video that talks about his story and the county's success. See it here.
FACEBOOK...MICHIGAN McCAIN SUPPORTERS...join this group to get the latest on what's happening in our region.
FACEBOOK...MIGOP SUPPORTERS...join this group to get the latest on what's happening with the Michigan Republican Party...share your thoughts...give us some input.
NO COMMENTARY OVER THE 4th OF JULY WEEKEND...we'll be back on Monday July 7th.... we will NOT have commentary July 4, 5 and 6th.
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FOR THE LATEST NEWS, COMMENTARY & INFORMATION:
Check...out...our...online Articles of Interest.........News...you...can...use.........
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THE REST OF THE STORY:
No further commentary today.
TODAY'S TOP STORIES
The following stories and more are available at my Articles of Interest online.
7/2/2008, 6:49 p.m. EDT
By LARRY LAGE
AUBURN HILLS, Mich. (AP) - Bill Davidson chatted with somebody in Israel and ate his favorite Chinese lunch. In between, the owner of the Detroit Pistons and Michigan's richest resident did a rare interview with The Associated Press.
Davidson blamed the mortgage crisis for the nation's sagging economy, the United Auto Workers for the state's woes and endorsed Republican presidential candidate John McCain.
New group shouldn't stall Constitutional Convention
The Oakland Press
Thursday, July 3, 2008
A group has surfaced in Michigan supposedly seeking to place on the November election ballot proposals for sweeping changes in state government.
Among the changes being proposed by Reform Michigan Government Now, the Legislature would remain full-time and term-limited, but it would shrink. The Senate would be reduced from 38 seats to 28, while the House would go from 110 to 82. The pay raise lawmakers gave themselves in 2002 would be rolled back. Lawmakers also would have to disclose personal financial information and be out of office for at least two years before they could become lobbyists.
A nonpartisan panel would be appointed to handle legislative redistricting, a task now dominated by whichever political party happens to be in control at the time.
Push is on to lift stem-cell research ban
Mich. voters may see issue in fall
BY DAWSON BELL
July 3, 2008
An amendment to the Michigan Constitution authorizing the destruction of human embryos in research aimed at curing chronic and debilitating illness appears headed for the November ballot after supporters collected more than 500,000 petition signatures. Stay tuned for an expensive and highly visible in-your-face campaign.
The Stem Cell Ballot Question Committee will submit between 500,000 and 550,000 signatures on Monday's deadline, well over the 380,000 needed to put the issue before voters, campaign director Mark Burton said Wednesday.
Speed limit idea said to save gas
BY MATT HELMS and DAWSON BELL
July 3, 2008
State officials have floated an idea tossed out a few years ago like bad 1970s bell-bottoms: reducing speed limits to conserve fuel. Now, in this age of unbearably high gas prices, could 55 be the new 70?
Gov. Jennifer Granholm didn't embrace or rule out the notion Wednesday. A fellow Democrat, state Rep. Aldo Vagnozzi of Farmington Hills, introduced a resolution calling on Congress to reinstitute the national 55-m.p.h. speed limit implemented during the 1970s oil crisis.
Michigan AG sues Blue Cross over for-profit deal
7/2/2008, 5:56 p.m. EDT
By DAVID EGGERT
LANSING, Mich. (AP) - Attorney General Mike Cox on Wednesday sued Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan and accused the state's largest health insurer of breaking the law when it shifted $125 million to help buy a workers' compensation insurance company.
The lawsuit filed in Ingham County alleges that nonprofit Blue Cross, based in Detroit, illegally helped the Accident Fund, its for-profit subsidiary in Lansing, purchase a California insurance company in November.
Lawyer says Kilpatrick is willing to talk to FBI; probe concerns Granholm
BY BEN SCHMITT and DAWSON BELL
July 3, 2008
Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick will cooperate with federal authorities, if necessary, in the Synagro Technologies scandal, one of the mayor's lawyers said Wednesday. "If they call, sure," attorney James Parkman III said of FBI investigators talking to the mayor.
The federal probe also was on the mind of Gov. Jennifer Granholm, who bemoaned the investigation, on top of the text message scandal enveloping the mayor and the dire finances of Detroit's public schools.
Kilpatrick renews attack on texts
His team of lawyers aims to prove scandalous messages 'not authentic'
BY JOE SWICKARD and JIM SCHAEFER
July 3, 2008
Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick's lawyers have taken aim at the explosive text messages, hoping to shoot them down in motions to be filed today, the attorneys said at a news conference Wednesday. They say they can discredit the messages at the heart of the perjury charges against Kilpatrick and his former aide Christine Beatty.
How they'll challenge the messages remains a secret. In other developments Wednesday, a Court of Appeals ruling allowed a Detroit 36th District judge to continue to hear the early stages of the Kilpatrick-Beatty perjury cases -- and deal with the crucial defense motions.
Dire outlook sends GM shares to 54-year low
Analyst sees a cash crisis, but company says it's OK
BY KATIE MERX
July 3, 2008
General Motors Corp. stock closed below $10 per share Wednesday -- its lowest level since Dwight Eisenhower was president, power brakes were new and the Bel Air was the automaker's hot new car -- after dreadful June auto sales led one analyst to write that "bankruptcy is not impossible."
The analysis sent GM shares tumbling to a $9.98 close, down 15.06% for the day and its lowest close since Sept. 13, 1954, according to the Center for Research in Security Prices at the University of Chicago.
Can Barack Buy the Presidency?
By KARL ROVE
July 3, 2008
On the money front, how do Sens. Obama and McCain stack up? No contest, it seems. Since the campaign began, Mr. Obama has raised a staggering $295-plus million, versus Mr. McCain's almost $122 million. But that's misleading.
Mr. Obama spent a lot to win the nomination. So how much cash did he and his rival have when the general election effectively began in June? As of May 31, Mr. Obama had $43.1 million on hand while Mr. McCain had $31.6 million - a significant but not overwhelming advantage.
Thursday, July 3, 2008
Barack Obama's announcement that he would change the title of the White House Office of Community and Faith-Based Initiatives - which President Bush created in 2001 - to the White House Council for Faith-Based and Neighborhood Partnerships, gives an indication of how different his approach will be. Mr. Obama said "leaders in both parties have recognized the value of a partnership between the White House and faith-based groups."