REAL Soccer Deal Dead
Monday, January 08, 2007
Romney starts dialing for dollars
Romney kicks off fundraising campaign
By GLEN JOHNSON, Associated Press Writer 41 minutes ago
Republican Mitt Romney began his drive for the presidency in earnest Monday, gathering his national fundraisers in Boston and relying on their network of friends and colleagues to raise more than $2.5 million in less than six hours.
The former Massachusetts governor hoped the glitzy event at the Boston Convention & Exhibition Center will help establish him as a credible challenger for the 2008 Republican nomination.
A four-screen projection TV system hung from the center of a ceiling, displaying pictures that included Romney in the Oval Office and at the presidential lectern.
"You guys today are my hope. I got to be honest with you. What you're doing is going to make all the difference in the world," Romney told the callers.
Besides the "National Call Day" event, Romney also sought over the weekend to shore up his support among evangelicals who have been dismayed to learn that he ran as a moderate for the U.S. Senate in 1994, as well as for Massachusetts governor in 2002.
He now is staunchly opposed to gay marriage, and says he supports a state-by-state approach to abortion rights.
"Now, I wasn't always a Ronald Reagan conservative. Neither was Ronald Reagan, by the way. And perhaps some in this room have had the opportunity to listen, learn, and benefit from life's experience — and to grow in wisdom, as I have," Romney said at a conservative gathering in Sea Island, Ga.
"My life experience convinced me that Ronald Reagan was right. I'm a conservative that gets the job done. And you don't just have to take my word for it, you can just look at my record," he added.
While Romney's presidential committee is still labeled "exploratory," he and his staff have made it clear they are in the race to win.
In e-mails sent last week, two of Romney's sons estimated he would need to raise $100 million to be among the "serious contenders" for the nomination. The stated goal on Monday was $1 million — some of which Romney will need just to pay for the event. Many of the callers, however, paid their own travel expenses.
By GLEN JOHNSON, Associated Press Writer 41 minutes ago
Republican Mitt Romney began his drive for the presidency in earnest Monday, gathering his national fundraisers in Boston and relying on their network of friends and colleagues to raise more than $2.5 million in less than six hours.
The former Massachusetts governor hoped the glitzy event at the Boston Convention & Exhibition Center will help establish him as a credible challenger for the 2008 Republican nomination.
A four-screen projection TV system hung from the center of a ceiling, displaying pictures that included Romney in the Oval Office and at the presidential lectern.
"You guys today are my hope. I got to be honest with you. What you're doing is going to make all the difference in the world," Romney told the callers.
Besides the "National Call Day" event, Romney also sought over the weekend to shore up his support among evangelicals who have been dismayed to learn that he ran as a moderate for the U.S. Senate in 1994, as well as for Massachusetts governor in 2002.
He now is staunchly opposed to gay marriage, and says he supports a state-by-state approach to abortion rights.
"Now, I wasn't always a Ronald Reagan conservative. Neither was Ronald Reagan, by the way. And perhaps some in this room have had the opportunity to listen, learn, and benefit from life's experience — and to grow in wisdom, as I have," Romney said at a conservative gathering in Sea Island, Ga.
"My life experience convinced me that Ronald Reagan was right. I'm a conservative that gets the job done. And you don't just have to take my word for it, you can just look at my record," he added.
While Romney's presidential committee is still labeled "exploratory," he and his staff have made it clear they are in the race to win.
In e-mails sent last week, two of Romney's sons estimated he would need to raise $100 million to be among the "serious contenders" for the nomination. The stated goal on Monday was $1 million — some of which Romney will need just to pay for the event. Many of the callers, however, paid their own travel expenses.
Why am I not surprised?
Senate torn over ethics panel measure
By JIM ABRAMS, Associated Press Writer1 hour, 8 minutes ago
Presidential candidates from both parties are urging the Senate to set up an independent office to probe ethical questions involving fellow senators. That could be a tough sell.
There is some "institutional resistance," said Sen. Barack Obama (news, bio, voting record), D-Ill., a potential candidate who has long championed the notion of an independent office of public integrity that would take over some of the self-policing duties of the Senate ethics committee.
"A lot of members are concerned about the use of an independent commission as a political club to beat them over the head," Obama said at a news conference Monday as debate on ethics legislation opened.
A possible rival in 2008, Sen. John McCain (news, bio, voting record), R-Ariz., is also pressing to amend the ethics bill, the first legislation Democrats are taking up in their new majority role, to include the office of public integrity.
The ethics legislation, based on a bill that stalled in the last Congress, would ban gifts and travel paid for by lobbyists, slow the movement of former senators to lobbying jobs, require lobbyists to provide more information on their activities and oblige senators to be more open about their special projects, or earmarks. The Senate is expected to spend up to two weeks on the legislation.
The House passed a rules package last week with tough bans on receiving gifts and travel from lobbyists and their employers and banning the use of corporate jets.
Obama and McCain argue that, after the lobbying and ethics scandals that contributed to the Republican defeat in the 2006 midterm elections, the Senate must create an independent office to ensure voters it is serious about enforcing its own ethics rules.
But Sen. Pat Roberts (news, bio, voting record), R-Kan., a member of the six-senator ethics panel, said the nonpartisan group has done its job, and the new office would simply add another step to the ethics process. He added that the office of public integrity was "in danger of becoming a backboard for political tennis balls" with each side filing partisan charges against the other.
"Our ethics process in the Senate works very well," said Sen. Mark Pryor (news, bio, voting record), D-Ark., another ethics committee member. "We have not broken down like the House has."
The House ethics committee, torn by partisan wrangling, was dormant for about 16 months until May of last year. It did carry out an extensive investigation of disgraced former Rep. Mark Foley, R-Fla., last fall.
Last year, led by ethics committee members, the Senate rejected a proposal for an office of public integrity by an 11-5 vote in the Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee and then by 67-30 on the Senate floor.
Asked how that result might change this year, Obama pointed to eight Democratic freshmen that also attended the news conference. "We've got a whole bunch of freshmen and I also think the election changed the dynamics," he said.
The independent office proposal that Obama and Sen. Russ Feingold (news, bio, voting record), D-Wis., will likely offer as an amendment is identical to the idea being put forward by McCain, Sen. Joseph Lieberman (news, bio, voting record), I-Conn., and Sen. Susan Collins (news, bio, voting record), R-Maine, in separate ethics legislation.
It would create an independent congressional agency that would audit financial disclosure and lobbying reports and investigate alleged ethics violations. It could refer cases of possible violations to federal and state authorities. It would report to the House and Senate ethics committees, which would retain the authority to determine violations and penalties against members.
Feingold said they also would push for changes to move the Senate closer to the House, which last week effectively barred lawmakers from traveling by corporate jets. "It is one of these things that really sticks in the craw" of voters, he said. "It also has a corrupting influence."
Sen. Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., said his office was working on various measures to expand the gift and travel ban to include companies that hire lobbyists, stop lawmakers from sneaking provisions into legislation at the last minute and strengthening the definition of what constitutes an earmark.
"This is just a start," he said of the bill he and Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., introduced on the Senate floor. "We're going to improve this bill."
By JIM ABRAMS, Associated Press Writer1 hour, 8 minutes ago
Presidential candidates from both parties are urging the Senate to set up an independent office to probe ethical questions involving fellow senators. That could be a tough sell.
There is some "institutional resistance," said Sen. Barack Obama (news, bio, voting record), D-Ill., a potential candidate who has long championed the notion of an independent office of public integrity that would take over some of the self-policing duties of the Senate ethics committee.
"A lot of members are concerned about the use of an independent commission as a political club to beat them over the head," Obama said at a news conference Monday as debate on ethics legislation opened.
A possible rival in 2008, Sen. John McCain (news, bio, voting record), R-Ariz., is also pressing to amend the ethics bill, the first legislation Democrats are taking up in their new majority role, to include the office of public integrity.
The ethics legislation, based on a bill that stalled in the last Congress, would ban gifts and travel paid for by lobbyists, slow the movement of former senators to lobbying jobs, require lobbyists to provide more information on their activities and oblige senators to be more open about their special projects, or earmarks. The Senate is expected to spend up to two weeks on the legislation.
The House passed a rules package last week with tough bans on receiving gifts and travel from lobbyists and their employers and banning the use of corporate jets.
Obama and McCain argue that, after the lobbying and ethics scandals that contributed to the Republican defeat in the 2006 midterm elections, the Senate must create an independent office to ensure voters it is serious about enforcing its own ethics rules.
But Sen. Pat Roberts (news, bio, voting record), R-Kan., a member of the six-senator ethics panel, said the nonpartisan group has done its job, and the new office would simply add another step to the ethics process. He added that the office of public integrity was "in danger of becoming a backboard for political tennis balls" with each side filing partisan charges against the other.
"Our ethics process in the Senate works very well," said Sen. Mark Pryor (news, bio, voting record), D-Ark., another ethics committee member. "We have not broken down like the House has."
The House ethics committee, torn by partisan wrangling, was dormant for about 16 months until May of last year. It did carry out an extensive investigation of disgraced former Rep. Mark Foley, R-Fla., last fall.
Last year, led by ethics committee members, the Senate rejected a proposal for an office of public integrity by an 11-5 vote in the Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee and then by 67-30 on the Senate floor.
Asked how that result might change this year, Obama pointed to eight Democratic freshmen that also attended the news conference. "We've got a whole bunch of freshmen and I also think the election changed the dynamics," he said.
The independent office proposal that Obama and Sen. Russ Feingold (news, bio, voting record), D-Wis., will likely offer as an amendment is identical to the idea being put forward by McCain, Sen. Joseph Lieberman (news, bio, voting record), I-Conn., and Sen. Susan Collins (news, bio, voting record), R-Maine, in separate ethics legislation.
It would create an independent congressional agency that would audit financial disclosure and lobbying reports and investigate alleged ethics violations. It could refer cases of possible violations to federal and state authorities. It would report to the House and Senate ethics committees, which would retain the authority to determine violations and penalties against members.
Feingold said they also would push for changes to move the Senate closer to the House, which last week effectively barred lawmakers from traveling by corporate jets. "It is one of these things that really sticks in the craw" of voters, he said. "It also has a corrupting influence."
Sen. Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., said his office was working on various measures to expand the gift and travel ban to include companies that hire lobbyists, stop lawmakers from sneaking provisions into legislation at the last minute and strengthening the definition of what constitutes an earmark.
"This is just a start," he said of the bill he and Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., introduced on the Senate floor. "We're going to improve this bill."
Everyone see's something different
How you see your own house
How your neighbors see your home
How your Bank Lender see's your house
How your appraiser see's your house
And finally how the IRS and Tax assessor see's your home.
The Spyglass
My Latest Book to Read for the Spyglass Report
Just picked this up at the Bookstore. I wonder if I will ever learn to spell?
Former Sen. George Allen got "Plutoed"
Pluto is finally getting some respect — not from astronomers, but from wordsmiths.
"Plutoed" was chosen 2006's Word of the Year by the American Dialect Society at its annual meeting Friday.
To "pluto" is "to demote or devalue someone or something," much like what happened to the former planet last year when the General Assembly of the International Astronomical Union decided Pluto didn't meet its definition of a planet.
"Our members believe the great emotional reaction of the public to the demotion of Pluto shows the importance of Pluto as a name," said society president Cleveland Evans. "We may no longer believe in the Roman god Pluto, but we still have a sense of personal connection with the former planet."
"Plutoed" won in a runoff against "climate canary," defined as "an organism or species whose poor health or declining numbers hint at a larger environmental catastrophe on the horizon."
Other words considered: murse (man's purse), flog (a fake blog that promotes products) and macaca (an American citizen treated as an alien).
Republican former Sen. George Allen was ahead in his re-election campaign when he said "macaca," which some regard as a racial slur, and "welcome to America" in referring to a U.S.-born man of Indian descent who was volunteering for Allen's opponent. Allen lost to Democrat Jim Webb.
The 117-year-old American Dialect Society comprises linguists, grammarians, historians and independent scholars, among others. Members conduct the vote for fun and not in an official capacity to induct words into the English language.
The society chose "truthiness" as its top word last year. The word is credited to Comedy Central satirist Stephen Colbert, who defined it as "truth that comes from the gut, not books."
Last month, an online survey by dictionary publisher Merriam-Webster declared "truthiness" the word of the year for 2006.
To "pluto" is "to demote or devalue someone or something," much like what happened to the former planet last year when the General Assembly of the International Astronomical Union decided Pluto didn't meet its definition of a planet.
"Our members believe the great emotional reaction of the public to the demotion of Pluto shows the importance of Pluto as a name," said society president Cleveland Evans. "We may no longer believe in the Roman god Pluto, but we still have a sense of personal connection with the former planet."
"Plutoed" won in a runoff against "climate canary," defined as "an organism or species whose poor health or declining numbers hint at a larger environmental catastrophe on the horizon."
Other words considered: murse (man's purse), flog (a fake blog that promotes products) and macaca (an American citizen treated as an alien).
Republican former Sen. George Allen was ahead in his re-election campaign when he said "macaca," which some regard as a racial slur, and "welcome to America" in referring to a U.S.-born man of Indian descent who was volunteering for Allen's opponent. Allen lost to Democrat Jim Webb.
The 117-year-old American Dialect Society comprises linguists, grammarians, historians and independent scholars, among others. Members conduct the vote for fun and not in an official capacity to induct words into the English language.
The society chose "truthiness" as its top word last year. The word is credited to Comedy Central satirist Stephen Colbert, who defined it as "truth that comes from the gut, not books."
Last month, an online survey by dictionary publisher Merriam-Webster declared "truthiness" the word of the year for 2006.
From Todays Utah Policy Daily
News Highlights
United Way of Salt Lake jumps into the political arena, encouraging legislators to pass bills promoting financial stability for Utah families, early learning opportunities for children and broader health care coverage (Salt Lake Tribune).
Majority of Utahns favor big tax cuts (Deseret Morning News).
Majority of Utahns no longer support the way Bush has handled the Iraqi war (Salt Lake Tribune).
United Way of Salt Lake jumps into the political arena, encouraging legislators to pass bills promoting financial stability for Utah families, early learning opportunities for children and broader health care coverage (Salt Lake Tribune).
Majority of Utahns favor big tax cuts (Deseret Morning News).
Majority of Utahns no longer support the way Bush has handled the Iraqi war (Salt Lake Tribune).
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