8 Days Until Election Day

October 27, 2008

QUOTE OF THE DAY:

"Never give in–never, never, never, never, in nothing great or small, large or petty, never give in except to convictions of honor and good sense. Never yield to force; never yield to the apparently overwhelming might of the enemy."
-Sir Winston Churchill

MORNING UPDATE:

FINAL FULL WEEK…anyone who thinks it’s over, hasn’t paid attention to John McCain’s political career.  Yes, he’s the underdog…the press has written him off…Obama is measuring the curtains in the White House…and the Democrats and the left are giddy about their chances of winning the White House. Sarah Palin continues to draw huge crowds and excite our supporters. It isn’t over until it’s over…and Michigan Republicans aren’t giving up either!

MCCAIN WARNS AGAINST DEMOCRATS TAKEOVER…"Senator Obama’s tax increase would put even more people out of work," McCain said. "We’ve seen this before in other countries. It doesn’t work. The answer to a strong economy is not higher taxes.  But that is exactly what’s going to happen if the Democrats have total control of Washington. We can’t let that happen. Are you ready for Obama, Pelosi and Reid?"

HOW NOT TO HELP THE POOR…here is a great video produced by the Acton Institute that describes the dangers of the "Welfare State" and mindless "distribution of wealth".  A Christian perspective…awesome.

OBAMA RECESSION…STOCK MARKET ANTICIPATES…the various stock market indexes are starting to anticipate the effects of a possible Obama victory and pricing that possibility into the market.  Hence the nervous bouncing around of the various major indexes as investors fear higher spending, higher taxes, detrimental regulation and a sustained recession under the policies Obama has already promised.  The stock market and futures markets are good forward indicators of fear…and the markets clearly fear an Obama presidency…and rightfully so.

BIDEN DIDN’T LIKE  HIS TOUGH INTERVIEW….oh please…they get caught up in the details and reality…finally a reporter puts them on the defensive and they complain.  See the interview here.

JOIN US…DON’T BE FOOLED…IT’S CLOSER THAN THE PRESS IS PITCHING…GRASSROOTS VOLUNTEERS NEEDED…as we reorganize Victory Centers and Call Centers around the state, volunteers continue to make calls, knock on doors, and make contributions to fight for Republican candidates up and down the ticket.  Please check this link for a Victory Center near you.  We need you now, more than ever.

OAKLAND COUNTY CAN’T AFFORD GARY PETERS…Gary Peters, the former Lottery boss, is trying to fool Oakland County voters into taking a gamble on him. When he ran the lottery revenues went up, but the rates paid to school – you guessed it – went down. Now, Lottery Czar Peters wants to go to Washington and raise taxes. There’s a whole LOTTO reasons to vote against Gary Peters; his plans to hike our taxes is just one.  Gambling on Peters is far too costly. Oakland County voters need to send Joe Knollenberg to congress.

RAISE MARK SCHAUER AND HE’LL RAISE YOUR TAXES…Liberal Democrat Mark Schauer is trying to get mid-Michigan voters to decide he’s the best choice for congress; but Schauer was the deciding vote for the largest tax increase in Michigan’s history. Schauer’s rationale: the tax hike was necessary to fix the state budget and turn Michigan’s economy around. How’s that plan working out? Even more, Schauer recently defended his vote to send our taxes skyrocketing. He said if he had it to do over, he’d do the same thing again. Unbelievable. Schauer will raise our federal taxes if he goes to Washington. There’s no doubt. Liberal Mark Schauer will raise our taxes; Conservative Tim Walberg won’t.

TEAM "BRAIN DRAIN" ANNOUNCES  "GET OUT THE BRAIN DRAIN". …GOTBD is coming to your city…Please join Republican Youth from across Michigan SATURDAY NOVEMBER 1st and SUNDAY NOVEMBER 2nd in two convenient locations for our final push! All Party activists young and old are welcome to help us defend our most valuable natural resources: Our college graduates.

PLEASE JOIN US BOTH DAYS FROM NOON TO 8PM FOR CALLS, DOORS, and Conservative COMRADERIE.
 
In West Bloomfield: Amy Peterman’s Office
Near the corner of Maple and Orchard Lake
Address: 5640 Maple Road, #304
Candidates: Pat Dohany, Amy Peterman, Gail Haines, Shelly Taub, David Law
RSVP: Anthony Markwort: [email protected] 517-243-5961
 
In Downtown St. Joseph: Candidate Contact Center
Address: 513 State St., St. Joseph, MI 49085
Candidates: Sharon Tyler
RSVP: [email protected] 517-331-5631

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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.

Palin: Election isn’t over till it’s over

Oct 26 01:38 PM US/Eastern
By MITCH STACY

TAMPA, Fla. (AP) – Republican vice presidential nominee Sarah Palin has a pointed message for Barack Obama: This thing isn’t over yet. Speaking in Tampa, Fla., on Sunday, Palin sharply criticized Obama for acting as if he’s already won the election. Palin mentioned reports that the Democratic presidential nominee, who is leading in the polls, has already written his inaugural speech. That drew boos from the crowd of more than 5,000 gathered for a rally at the Tampa convention center. 

Palin said Obama’s campaign "thinks this whole election thing is just a formality." With just nine days to go before the Nov. 4 election, Palin was making another push in the swing state of Florida, where most polls show Obama leading Republican candidate John McCain.

McCain wants job creation

By BOB GROSS
October 26, 2008

Gerry Mason says there’s one overwhelming reason John McCain is the best presidential candidate when it comes to higher education. "John McCain believes one of the most important things we can do in the global economy and (to) create jobs is to have a highly educated, highly trained work force," Mason said.

Mason is a lawyer in St. Clair and a member of the Republican Party. He is McCain’s grassroots co-chairman in Michigan. He said McCain’s higher education policy has five main points:

Ex-mayor heads to jail Tuesday. Here’s his new home: Room 14J-4

George Hunter and Charlie LeDuff

DETROIT — Two months ago, he was living in a spacious, riverfront mansion. His next taxpayer-funded accommodation will be decidedly more cramped.   Kwame Kilpatrick is set to go to jail Tuesday, and former inmates say it can be difficult to adjust to life in a malodorous 15-by-10-foot cell.

He will trade his custom-tailored threads and monogrammed cuffs for a hand-me-down green jumpsuit — most likely a size 5-X — and the fancy fare he’s become accustomed to will be replaced by boxed lunches and a foodstuff known as "mystery meat."

And though he’ll be insulated from the media, he’ll have other bugs to fend off. "Jail is not a place you want to be," said Donald Gist, a 27-year-old Detroit resident who served three months in the jail last year on a drug charge.

Recall can still cost Andy Dillon, even if he wins re-election

BY DAWSON BELL
October 27, 2008

For Andy Dillon, one of Michigan’s leading Democrats, next Tuesday’s election won’t exactly be a cakewalk as he seeks re-election to what’s considered a safely Democratic seat in what promises to be the best year for Democrats since the Watergate scandal. The problem for Dillon, speaker of the Michigan House of Representatives, is that he’s on the ballot twice: for re-election to his Redford Township-based House seat and for recall because of the role he played in raising taxes in 2007.

Amazingly, he could win and lose. If more voters say yes than no to recalling him, Dillon will be removed from office until the new representative is sworn in — even if it’s him. His challenge, he said last week, is tougher than his first re-election bid in 2006, but not as daunting as in 2004, when he narrowly escaped a crowded and competitive Democratic primary to first win his seat.

At the U.N., Many Hope for an Obama Win

By Colum Lynch
Sunday, October 26, 2008; A17

UNITED NATIONS — There are no "Obama 2008" buttons, banners or T-shirts visible here at U.N. headquarters, but it might be difficult to find a sliver of territory in the United States more enthusiastic over the prospect of the Illinois senator winning the White House. An informal survey of more than two dozen U.N. staff members and foreign delegates showed that the overwhelming majority would prefer that Sen. Barack Obama win the presidency, saying they think that the Democrat would usher in a new agenda of multilateralism after an era marked by Republican disdain for the world body.

Obama supporters hail from Russia, Canada, France, Britain, Germany, the Netherlands, Sierra Leone, South Africa, Indonesia and elsewhere. One American employee here seemed puzzled that he was being asked whether Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) was even a consideration. "Obama was and is unstoppable," the official said. "Please, God, let him win," he added. "It would be hard to find anybody, I think, at the U.N. who would not believe that Obama would be a considerable improvement over any other alternative," said William H. Luers, executive director of the United Nations Association. "It’s been a bad eight years, and there is a lot of bad feeling over it."

Businesses Wary of Details in Obama Health Plan

By KEVIN SACK

AGAWAM, Mass. – Dave Ratner, owner of Dave’s Soda and Pet City, is pretty sure he is about to get "whacked" by the new state law that requires employers to contribute to health care benefits for their workers or pay a $295-per-employee penalty. In order to avoid thousands of dollars in fines, Mr. Ratner is considering not adding part-time workers at his four pet supply stores in Western Massachusetts.

But the penalty in Massachusetts is picayune compared with what some health experts believe Senator Barack Obama, the Democratic presidential nominee, might impose as part of his plan to provide affordable coverage for the uninsured. Though Mr. Obama has not released details, economists believe he might require large and medium companies to contribute as much as 6 percent of their payrolls.

That, Mr. Ratner said, would be catastrophic to a low-margin business like his, which has 90 employees, 29 of them full-time workers who are offered health benefits. "To all of a sudden whack 6 to 7 percent of payroll costs, forget it," he said. "If they do that, prices go up and employment goes down because nobody can absorb that."

27 vying to oversee public colleges

BY CAROL CAIN
October 26, 2008

Think you’re busy? Consider the lives in recent months of the 27 folks running for governing board positions at the three public universities. Voters statewide will be asked to decide two seats each on the boards at the University of Michigan, Michigan State University and Wayne State University.

The positions are unpaid and most candidates are already busy with careers and families. Some are small-business owners as well.But they know that education is vital as our universities prepare students for a new world.

Those three university boards also collectively control more than 8% of the state’s $9.7-billion general fund budget and select leaders for the schools.

‘Rednecks’ cracks may cost Murtha

By JOSH KRAUSHAAR
10/26/08 9:20 PM EDT  
 
Rep. John Murtha (D-Pa.) is in an unexpectedly tight race for an 18th term after effectively calling the constituents of his southwestern Pennsylvania district racists and rednecks.

Earlier this month, he told the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette’s editorial board that "there’s no question Western Pennsylvania is a racist area" in response to a question about Barack Obama’s prospects in his district. A week after apologizing, he told a local Pittsburgh TV station that "this whole area, years ago, was really redneck."

Both comments were captured on videotape, and replayed constantly on local and cable news. Even "Saturday Night Live" got in the act, airing a parody of Murtha at a rally with a Joe Biden character making offensive comments.

Democrats Carrying Anti-Abortion Banner Put More Congressional Races in Play

By RAYMOND HERNANDEZ
Published: October 25, 2008

The political advertisement that aired in Montgomery, Ala., spoke plainly to conservative voters’ values. As an image of three toddlers in diapers flashed across the screen, a narrator intoned that Mayor Bobby Bright, who is running for Congress, "supports their right to life." The anti-abortion pitch is standard fare in Alabama’s Second Congressional District, a deeply conservative area that President Bush carried twice and that has been represented in Washington by a Republican for four decades.

What makes the spot unusual is that Mr. Bright is a Democrat. And that the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, which has been pushing hard for Mr. Bright’s election, paid for it. In fact, Mr. Bright is one of a dozen anti-abortion Democratic challengers the party has recruited to run for the House this year and has aggressively supported with millions of dollars and other resources in culturally conservative districts long unfriendly to the party.

Conservatives poised to win Lithuanian ballot 
 
By LIUDAS DAPKUS
2008-10-27

A conservative party critical of Russia appeared headed for a victory in the second round of Lithuania’s parliamentary election Sunday, signaling the return of a center-right government to the Baltic country. With nearly half the vote counted in 68 run-off races, the conservative Homeland Union was leading in 24 districts, the Central Election Committee said.

Combined with the 18 seats the party won in the first round two weeks ago, the conservatives were poised to gain over 40 seats in the 141-member parliament, giving it the mandate to form a center-right government. "Now we can only state the arithmetic fact: we more or less won 20 more seats in the Parliament," said Homeland Union leader Andrius Kubilius. "We will take the responsibility to form a coalition." Kubilius, a former prime minister and strong critic of Russia, has been stuck in the opposition for nearly a decade.

But Lithuanian voters, exasperated with scandals surrounding the ruling Social Democratic Party and fearing rising energy dependence on Russia, have demonstrated their desire for change.