U.S. To "Lead The World In Clean Car Development," Says Granholm

By Miles Wolf Tamboli
Talk Radio News Service

"I believe we need to seize the momentum following last month's historic new fuel economy and greenhouse gas emissions standards, and I believe President Obama's announcement today does just that," said U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood on Friday, following the President's announcement and signing of a memorandum pledging to place stricter regulations on auto emissions for medium and large-size trucks.

During a conference call with reporters, LaHood and Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Administrator Lisa Jackson advocated last year's National Fuel Efficiency Policy, which requires that cars and light trucks reach an average fuel economy of 35.5 gallons per mile by 2016. Michigan Governor Jennifer Granholm (D), who joined in the call, called the policy a "win-win-win" agreement, and attributed the recent economic recovery of her state - whose unemployment rates were, she said, "spiraling out of control" in 2008 - to the legislation which was just finally passed this April. The policy put forth by the administration one year ago is designed to potentially save the nation 1.8 billion barrels of oil in coming years.

Granholm applauded the President's endeavors to create a "national standard," by which she hopes that Michigan may, "produce the best fuel efficient vehicles in the world." Jackson asserted that the President's new memorandum, "sets our nation on the path to lead the world in the development of clean cars."

Added LaHood, "We are laying the foundation for a cleaner, greener transportation sector. This new and improved transportation sector will provide greater environmental benefits, reduce our dependence on foreign oil, and enhance America's competitiveness with a new generation of advanced electric vehicles."

House GOP’er Wants To Keep Gitmo Open

By Justin Duckham-Talk Radio News Service

Rep. Pete Hoekstra (R-Mich.), the Ranking Member of the House Intelligence Committee, decried the Obama administration’s plan to shut down the Guantanamo Bay detention facility, describing the decision as reckless.

“[President Barack Obama] hadn’t even had time to review the situation and classified information,” Hoekstra said during a press conference Friday. “He fired before he aimed.”

Hoekstra reiterated his opposition to moving the facility’s detainees into U.S. prisons, especially those in the Congressman’s state.

“Some of my colleagues have said this would be an economic stimulus package for Michigan. It is a really bad idea. I don’t care how cold it gets in the upper peninsula during the Winter.”

The Ranking Member also warned against trying Guantanamo detainees in the U.S. court system, arguing that it would be absurd to expect U.S. soldiers to imitate police by collecting evidence to charge combatants with.

No Terrorists In My Backyard...Except Maybe In Michigan

By Jonathan Bronstein, Talk Radio News Service

Senators Mitch McConnell (center) and James Inohofe (left)

Zacarias Moussaoui, a convicted conspirator in the September 11 attacks, was jailed in the suburban Alexandria, Virginia, during his trial beginning in 2002. The effect that he had on the city was immense, as busy thoroughfares were shut down when he traveled back and forth from the jail to the court, and the entire jail was placed on lock down anytime he left his cell.

The fear of many members of Congress is that this dilemma will be replicated in cities throughout America because of the imminent closure of Guantanamo Bay.

On January 22, 2009 Barack Obama signed an executive order that would close the detention center at Guantanamo Bay in one year. This means that all detainees need to be relocated, and this process must occur quickly.

Senate Republicans are firmly opposed to the closure, and are gaining support from Democrats.

“We (the Republicans) feel united in wanting to do something to make sure we keep that (Guantanamo Bay) resource down there since there is no alternative,” said Senator James Inohofe (R-Okla.) today at the Senate Republicans weekly press conference.

The alternatives, according to Inohofe, would be to place detainees in two prisons Afghanistan, Bagram and Kandahar. But those prisons only accept Afghan citizens and refuse to take in terrorists from other nations, such as Yemen and Pakistan.

“Guantanamo Bay is the perfect place for terrorists,” said Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.), who continued to say, “It has worked very, very well. No one has escaped from Guantanamo Bay since September 11, 2001.”

McConnell was pleased with the recent Democratic support for keeping Guantanamo Bay open, “They (the Democrats) are coming in the right direction.”

However, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) did not believe that the closure of Guantanamo Bay was necessary because he, along with Senator John McCain (R-Ariz.) and both Presidents Bush and Obama, believe that “Guantanamo makes us less safe.”

“The Senate overwhelmingly, does not want terrorists to be released in the United States,” said Reid vehemently.

Reid refused to divulge anymore information about the possibility of detainees being relocated to United States’s prisons, only saying “We (the Senate) do not want them around.”

However, Senator Carl Levin (D-Mich.) refused to state that Michigan would not accept Guantanamo Bay detainees, “If the governor and local government accept them then that ought to be considered.”

The acceptance of detainees would require the construction of a large, maximum-security prison that would help create jobs and stimulate the economy, which is the main reason why Levin believed that states would agree to accept detainees. But he reiterated that the local governments must make the decision.

Unemployment high in March, Officials say

By Michael Ruhl, University of New Mexico – Talk Radio News Service

A day after President Barack Obama's budget was passed by a Congress boiling with partisanship, the Bureau of Labor Statistics released a report showing unemployment at its highest since 1983. There are now 13.2 million Americans out of work.

The pouring rain in Washington mirrored the sobered mood in the room, as the Joint Economic Committee heard the testimony of Keith Hall, the Commissioner of the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

March was one of the worst Months on record for unemployment, and when asked outright, Hall told the committee that there were no "bright spots" in the report.

National unemployment climbed to 8.5 percent in March, rising from the level of 8.1 percent in February and 7.6 percent in January.

Hall said that two-thirds of the job loss has happened in the past 5 months. Every state is in recession for the first time in 30 years, according to Carolyn Maloney (D-NY).

Official unemployment numbers do not encompass underemployed Americans or those who have officially left the workforce. It is reported that 16 percent of the country is out of work or underemployed. One in four of those unemployed have been out of work for more than six months, and of those, half have been looking for work for over a year, Hall said.

Maloney highlighted that last month, 8,000 jobs were lost in the news publishing industry. Those losses total 70,000 job cuts since Dec. 2007, Hall said, adding that most job losses have been see in the manufacturing, construction, and temporary services industries. The only area to see any growth in March was the Healthcare industry, Hall said.

Ranking Committee member Senator Sam Brownback (R-KA) noted that the impact of the ongoing recession was not severe for almost a year after it began in December 2007. Brownback attributed recent dramatic jumps in job losses over the past five months to the lockup in the credit markets and the government bailouts that followed.

The Federal Reserve believes that unemployment will peak at 8.8 percent this year, but Ranking House Committee Member Kevin Brady (R-TX) said that the unemployment rate is already higher than what the administration anticipated for 2009. Brady said that the Obama Administration's "optimistic assumptions" would not get the country out of its current mess.

President Obama’s Economic Stimulus package was passed by Congress earlier this year, and saw an unprecedented amount of money placed into public works meant to put people back to work. Obama has pledged the legislation will save or create three to four million jobs over the next two years.

Read the report here: Bureau of Labor Statistics Report

Mitt Romney: Obama will not win Michigan

As the 2008 presidential election is in it's final stage, former Governor Mitt Romney put faith in the people of Michigan claiming that they will realize that the McCain-Palin ticket is the right one to vote for. "I'm convinced that Michiganders will take a good look at John McCain's position and contrast that with Barack Obama's," Romney said during a press conference call focusing on the Obama campaign's visit to the state. "Senator McCain's prescription for strengthening our housing-market and for strengthening our economy is right," Romney said.

According to Romney, Michigan will be a "winnable state" for Sen. John McCain, saying Obama's regular visits to the state shows his insecurity in wining Michigan. "I think it's a 'must-win' state for Barack Obama, and that's why he's gonna keep coming back and back, trying to nail it down," Romney said. Romney claimed that while Obama wants to expand government spending, McCain is a strong opponent to extensive government spending.

Romney highlighted that raising taxes during the current financial crisis on Wall Street, will not help recovering the economy. According to Romney, Obama's policies will guarantee that America will continue to spend billions of dollars on energy importation, stating it will potentially contribute to even higher gasoline prices.

"His policy saying no to clean coal, no to nuclear and no to drilling, is a policy doomed in my view," Romney said. According to Romney, the Michigan people just need to focus on the presidential candidates policies to find the candidate that will benefit Michigan the most