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| Stage set for pension reform Wed, 11 Jun 2008 02:03 EDT After months of on-and-off negotiations, House and Senate leaders finally shook hands Tuesday on a package of changes to Kentucky's public employees' retirement system that are aimed at staving off financial ruin. The agreement paves the way for Gov. Steve Beshear to call lawmakers to Frankfort for a five-day special session starting June 23 so they can perform triage on the hemorrhaging pension fund. But more invasive surgery could be in store as early as next year, legislators warned. The deal's key tenets include raising the required age and years of service for state workers hired after Sept. 1, 2008, limiting the cost of living increase for all retirees to 1.5 percent each year and laying out a timeline for the legislature to make full payments by 2025 into these systems that have been short-changed in recent years. The soon-to-be drafted bill wouldn't alter eligibility for current employees or retirees. |
| Monkey doll named for Obama called racist Sat, 14 Jun 2008 16:37 EDT A Utah company offering online a sock monkey named for Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama says it didn't mean to anger anyone with a "cute and cuddly" toy that some are calling racist. "We simply made a casual and affectionate observation one night, and a charming association between a candidate and a toy we had when we were little," according to a statement issued Saturday by Sock Obama LLC. Jeanetta Williams, president of the local chapter of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, called the toy "pure racism at its extreme." |
| McCain cancels fundraiser with controversial Texan Sat, 14 Jun 2008 19:42 EDT Questions from the media prompted Republican John McCain to cancel a fundraiser at the home of a Texas oilman who once joked that women should give in while being raped. The Texan, Republican Clayton "Claytie" Williams, made the joke during his failed 1990 campaign for governor against Democrat Ann Richards. Williams compared rape to the weather, saying, "As long as it's inevitable, you might as well lie back and enjoy it." He also compared Richards to the cattle on his ranch, saying he would "head her and hoof her and drag her through the dirt." Williams' comments made national news at the time and remain easy to find on the Internet. Even so, McCain's campaign said it hadn't known about the remarks. "These were obviously incredibly offensive remarks that the campaign was unaware of at the time it was scheduled," McCain spokesman Brian Rogers said. "It's positive that he did apologize at the time, but the comments are nonetheless offensive." The campaign said it would not return money Williams had raised for McCain because the contributions came from other individuals supporting McCain and not from Williams. Williams told his hometown newspaper, the Midland Reporter-Telegram, that he had raised more than $300,000 for McCain. |
| Obama hits McCain, oil companies Sat, 14 Jun 2008 21:47 EDT Democrat Barack Obama told voters Saturday he would push an aggressive economic agenda as president: cutting taxes for the middle class, raising taxes on the wealthy, pouring money into "green energy" and requiring employers to set up retirement saving plans for their workers. Campaigning in Pennsylvania, a key battleground in the fall campaign, Obama said he would take a much more hands-on approach than would Republican John McCain. He again criticized McCain's proposal for a temporary halt in the federal gasoline tax. It would "actually do real harm," Obama said, by reducing revenue for road and bridge construction even as oil companies make record profits. Obama visited the flooded Midwest later Saturday, stopping in Quincy, Ill., to help fill sandbags. Speaking to about 200 people in Wayne, a Philadelphia suburb, Obama made no new proposals but emphasized earlier ones in light of rising gas prices, inflation and job losses. They include a $1,000 tax cut for most working families; a new Social Security tax on incomes above $250,000; a "windfall profits" tax on oil companies; a $4,000 annual college tuition credit for those who commit to national or community service programs; and an end to income taxes for elderly people making less than $50,000 a year. Obama said he could pay for his programs by eliminating the Bush administration's tax cuts for the wealthy, winding down the Iraq war and spending more on alternative energy programs that eventually will save money. |
| Black conservatives conflicted on Obama campaign Sat, 14 Jun 2008 21:42 EDT Black conservative talk show host Armstrong Williams has never voted for a Democrat for president. That could change this year with Barack Obama as the Democratic Party's nominee. "I don't necessarily like his policies; I don't like much that he advocates, but for the first time in my life, history thrusts me to really seriously think about it," Williams said. "I can honestly say I have no idea who I'm going to pull that lever for in November. And to me, that's incredible." Just as Obama has touched black Democratic voters, he has engendered conflicting emotions among black Republicans. They revel over the possibility of a black president but wrestle with the thought that the Illinois senator doesn't sit beside them ideologically. "Among black conservatives," Williams said, "they tell me privately, it would be very hard to vote against him in November." Perhaps sensing the possibility of such a shift, Republican presidential candidate John McCain has made some efforts to lure black voters. He recently told Essence magazine that he would attend the NAACP's annual convention next month, and he noted that he recently traveled to Selma, Ala., scene of seminal voting rights protests in the 1960s, and "talked about the need to include 'forgotten Americans.'" |
| Hard week, soft landing for Obama's wife Fri, 13 Jun 2008 19:04 EDT It has been a rough 10 days for Michelle Obama. Internet rumors claimed there was a videotape of her criticizing "whitey" from a church pulpit. A Fox News analyst suggested that her affectionate on-stage knuckle bump with her husband, on the night he locked up the Democratic presidential nomination, might have been a "terrorist's fist jab." Fox also labeled her a "baby mama," a term some use for unwed mothers. The rumors and innuendo reached the point that Barack Obama's campaign launched a new Web Site this week, fightthesmears.com. The first allegation it denied was the "whitey" claim, stating, "No such tape exists." On Friday, Michelle Obama made her first public appearance since these hubbubs arose, and the campaign made sure she had a nice, soft landing. She introduced her husband to about 40 elderly people at the Oakleaf Village retirement center in Columbus, Ohio. The potential first lady quickly had the roomful of grandparents chuckling and applauding as she managed to praise them along with her husband and their two daughters. |
| McCain, Obama fail to agree on town halls Fri, 13 Jun 2008 19:04 EDT Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama on Friday rejected Republican rival John McCain's proposal for 10 joint town-hall appearances, offering instead to have just one on the July 4 holiday. Obama campaign manager David Plouffe said he offered to meet McCain in five joint appearances between now and the Nov. 4 election. But only one of those was a town-hall meeting, plus three traditional debates and an in-depth debate on foreign policy. The McCain campaign said Obama's offer was to hold the single town hall on Independence Day - which likely would have resulted in less attention while Americans are on holiday. McCain told reporters traveling with him in New Jersey that was "a very disappointing response." McCain had said the more intimate town-hall format, a give-and-take between a candidate and the audience, would allow real interaction with voters and would be more revealing than formal televised debates. Town halls are also McCain's favorite style of campaigning and would allow him to get free media attention alongside the better-funded Obama. When a McCain adviser first floated the idea last month, Obama said it was a great idea. But the Illinois senator told reporters Tuesday that it's not realistic to have 10 town halls with all the other campaigning he needs to do after just clinching the Democratic Party's nomination months after McCain wrapped up the GOP nod. |
| Obama wants payroll tax on incomes above $250,000 Sat, 14 Jun 2008 12:23 EDT Democratic Sen. Barack Obama on Friday called for higher payroll taxes on wage-earners making more than $250,000 annually, a step that would affect the wealthiest 3 percent of Americans. The presidential candidate told senior citizens in Ohio that it is unfair for middle-class earners to pay the Social Security tax "on every dime they make," while millionaires and billionaires pay it on only "a very small percentage of their income." The 6.2 percent payroll tax is now applied to all wages up to $102,000 a year, which covers the entire amount for most Americans. Under Obama's plan, the tax would not apply to wages between that amount and $250,000. But all annual salaries above the quarter-million-dollar amount would be taxed under his plan, Obama said. Obama also said his rival, John McCain, has indicated in the past he was willing to consider higher payroll taxes. But Douglas Holz-Eakin, the Republican candidate's senior economic policy adviser, said that as president, McCain would not consider an increase "under any imagineable circumstance." |
| Town-hall series rebuffed Sat, 14 Jun 2008 02:02 EDT Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama on Friday rejected Republican rival John McCain's proposal for 10 joint town-hall appearances, offering instead to have just one on the July 4 holiday. Obama campaign manager David Plouffe said he offered to meet McCain in five joint appearances between now and the Nov. 4 election. But only one of those was a town-hall meeting, plus three traditional debates and an in-depth debate on foreign policy. The McCain campaign said Obama's offer was to hold the single town hall on Independence Day -- which likely would have resulted in less attention while Americans are on holiday. McCain told reporters traveling with him in New Jersey that was "a very disappointing response." McCain had said the more intimate town-hall format, a give-and-take between a candidate and the audience, would allow real interaction with voters and would be more revealing than formal televised debates. Town halls are also McCain's favorite style of campaigning and would allow him to get free media attention alongside the better-funded Obama. When a McCain adviser first floated the idea last month, Obama said it was a great idea. But the Illinois senator told reporters Tuesday that it's not realistic to have 10 town halls with all the other campaigning he needs to do. |
| Obama calls for higher taxes on wealthiest 3% Sat, 14 Jun 2008 02:02 EDT Democratic Sen. Barack Obama on Friday called for higher payroll taxes on wage-earners making more than $250,000 annually, a step that would affect the wealthiest 3 percent of Americans. The presidential candidate told senior citizens in Ohio that it is unfair for middle-class earners to pay the Social Security tax "on every dime they make," while millionaires and billionaires pay it on only "a very small percentage of their income." The 6.2 percent payroll tax is now applied to all wages up to $102,000 a year, which covers the entire amount for most Americans. Under Obama's plan, the tax would not apply to wages between that amount and $250,000. But all annual salaries above the quarter-million-dollar amount would be taxed under his plan, Obama said. Obama said his plan "allows us to extend the life of Social Security" without raising the retirement age or cutting benefits. He said McCain "a few years ago" stated that he might consider a higher cap on incomes subject to the tax, "but today he's attacking me for holding the very same position." Obama also criticized McCain for being open to letting taxpayers invest part of their Social Security payments in private investment accounts. |
| Obama attempts to quash rumors Fri, 13 Jun 2008 02:04 EDT As Barack Obama launched a Web site to debunk rumors about himself and his wife, his campaign said Thursday that Michelle Obama never used the word "whitey" in a speech from a church pulpit. The rumor that Michelle Obama railed against "whitey" in a diatribe at Chicago's Trinity United Church of Christ has circulated on conservative Republican blogs for weeks and was repeated by radio talk-show host Rush Limbaugh. It included claims of a videotape of the speech that would be used to bring down Obama's candidacy this fall. "No such tape exists," the campaign responds on the site, fightthesmears.com. "Michelle Obama has not spoken from the pulpit at Trinity and has not used that word." Obama, a relative newcomer to national politics, has been the target of persistent misinformation campaigns online. E-mails about Obama rank No. 2 on the list of "Hottest Urban Legends" on snopes.com, an Internet rumor-debunking site. |
| Free-trade support has risks for McCain Fri, 13 Jun 2008 02:04 EDT The public isn't bullish on free trade. Yet John McCain doesn't miss many opportunities to reproach Democratic presidential rival Barack Obama's emerging opposition to international trade deals. McCain is scheduled to address the Economic Club of Canada next week in Ottawa to assert his support of the North American Free Trade Agreement. Such appearances help McCain burnish his foreign-policy credentials. But trade can also carry great risks, especially in election battlegrounds such as Ohio and Pennsylvania, where many voters blame trade deals for job losses. Obama, who four years ago declared NAFTA had been beneficial, recently talked about reopening NAFTA to strengthen enforcement of labor and environmental standards. McCain has been thumping Obama on that, arguing that such a step not only would hurt trade, but undermine the credibility of the United States abroad. |
| Proposed bill allows slots at racetracks Fri, 13 Jun 2008 02:04 EDT State Rep. Greg Stumbo, D-Prestonsburg, said he'll propose legislation to at least temporarily legalize slot machines at racetracks, a plan he argues is more politically palatable than the governor's earlier bid for full casinos. Stumbo said he will pre-file a bill in the coming weeks to kick off debate before the 2009 General Assembly convenes in January. "Maybe one of the things the legislature should consider is a trial -- authorizing a limited number of slots just at tracks and let's see what kind of a response it gets," he said. "Then we'll know after a year." Stumbo, a former state attorney general, said he doesn't believe the state's constitution must be changed to allow slots at horse tracks -- a factor that also could simplify the debate in the General Assembly. Earlier this year, Democratic Gov. Steve Beshear proposed allowing casinos with slot machines and table games during his first legislation session in office. But his constitutional amendment crumbled after a House committee changed the bill so that horse tracks weren't guaranteed a certain number of licenses. |
| Obama plans trip to boost foreign policy credibility Sun, 15 Jun 2008 02:02 EDT Barack Obama may depart this summer from his road-warrior tour of election-battleground states to take a trip around the world, one intended to shore up his credentials on foreign policy. With a foreign trip under discussion in the Obama camp, any itinerary almost certainly would include a stop in Iraq. That would be his first trip to the war zone since early 2006. It would be designed to answer Republican presidential candidate John McCain's criticism that antiwar Obama can't talk credibly about withdrawing U.S. forces since he hasn't been on the ground there since the 2007 troop buildup brought some military success. While he's at it, Obama may extend his journey to other parts of the globe, especially Western Europe, where his racial mix, youth, optimism and themes of anti-Bush, multilateral diplomacy have generated impassioned interest in his candidacy. Obama advisers are eager to find a way to harness his popularity overseas to boost his appeal to undecided voters back home, and to show that the 46-year-old freshman senator from Illinois can compete with McCain on foreign policy. While the Arizona senator is a veteran of war and Washington -- and 25 years Obama's senior -- his support for the Iraq war puts him on the losing side of public opinion. Susan Rice, Obama's senior foreign-policy adviser, said Friday that "no decisions have been made" yet about whether Obama will travel abroad this summer, and if he does, where he'll go. However, she did confirm that the matter is under consideration and "I can't rule anything out." |
| Budget cuts slice family services Sun, 15 Jun 2008 02:02 EDT Last year, Brooklawn Child and Family Services in Louisville helped the parents of 268 kids do a better job. The children had been identified as at-risk for being taken from their homes because of abuse or neglect. With the help of a two-year, $300,000 state grant, Brooklawn sent social workers into homes to help the parents become more successful. "You kind of re-parent the parent," said Mike Schultz, vice president for development at Brooklawn. But on June 30, the program -- which went two years without having a child taken from his or her home -- will lose its funding. To comply with its share of the $179.9 million in cuts ordered by the General Assembly as part of the budget that begins July 1, the Cabinet for Health and Family Services cut $7.6 million from programs designed to help social workers keep kids with their biological parents or reunite them with their families. |
| McCain hits Obama on windfall profits tax Tue, 17 Jun 2008 18:00 EDT Republican Sen. John McCain called for a clean break from Bush administration energy policies on Tuesday, then promptly pivoted to accuse campaign rival Barack Obama of supporting recycled measures that failed in the past. "Tax relief just isn't change he can believe in," said the Republican presidential nominee-in-waiting, mocking his opponent's campaign slogan. McCain's bid to chart a middle course on a major issue hit a bump, though, when he criticized Obama for proposing a windfall profits tax, despite saying last month he would consider the same proposal. In a speech in energy-producing Texas, McCain said the United States needs more oil than during the Arab oil embargo of the 1970s, yet produces less. Now, he warned, a single successful terror attack at an oil installation could plunge the country into an "economic crisis of monumental proportions." With President Bush's poll ratings at historically low levels, McCain often emphasizes his differences with the current administration, and he coupled his speech with the release of a new television commercial stressing an issue that appeals to environmentalists. |
| Obama promises tuition tax credit Tue, 17 Jun 2008 16:57 EDT Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama recalled paying off his own mountain of student loan debt and promised struggling college students Tuesday he would help them pay for school. Obama said he would give students a $4,000 tax credit to help pay tuition and fees in exchange for 100 hours of community service. The campaign said the program would cost $10 billion a year. "You get a hand living your dreams, and then you help your fellow citizens live theirs," the Illinois senator told a small group of students in a courtyard at Wayne County Community College. He listened as they told stories of balancing family demands, high fuel prices and school costs. The event combined a couple of campaign goals, stressing Obama's plans to help Americans struggling in a tough economy while showing voters in the critical swing state of Michigan more about his modest roots. Michigan Republicans have been trying to portray him as an elite senator out of touch with the daily struggles in the state, which has the nation's highest unemployment rate. "His two biggest accomplishments in the U.S. Senate are becoming a millionaire and running for president," GOP Rep. Mike Rogers told reporters in a conference call as Obama began a two-day visit to the state. |
| DNC wants McCain investigated Tue, 17 Jun 2008 18:00 EDT Democratic Party officials plan to file a new lawsuit to compel federal regulators to investigate whether Sen. John McCain violated election laws by withdrawing from public financing. The Democratic National Committee announced Tuesday it will sue next week in U.S. District Court. It will ask the court to order the Federal Election Commission to examine, within 30 days, the legality of McCain's decision to reject $5.8 million in taxpayer funds. By turning down the money, the presumed Republican nominee was able avoid strict spending limits between now and the GOP's national convention in September. At issue is a $4 million line of credit the McCain campaign obtained late last year. While the loan was not secured by the promise of public funds, his agreement with the bank required McCain to reapply for public funds if he lost early primary contests and to use that money as collateral. The DNC filed a complaint with the FEC in February, arguing that the bank arrangement violated federal regulations. But the six-member FEC has been unable to act because it doesn't have a quorum. Four nominees are awaiting Senate confirmation. |
| Obama to seek AFL-CIO, labor backing in meetings Tue, 17 Jun 2008 19:00 EDT Democrat Barack Obama is moving quickly this week in hopes of uniting the labor movement behind his candidacy. The presumed presidential nominee is scheduled to meet with AFL-CIO leaders on Wednesday, followed by a meeting with leaders of the AFL-CIO and other unions on Thursday at a closed-door economic forum. The AFL-CIO, the nation's largest labor organization, has yet to endorse Obama, although its eventual support is all but certain. The AFL-CIO already has started its campaign against Republican presidential candidate John McCain, and its biggest rival, the Change to Win labor organization, has endorsed the Democratic senator from Illinois. Change to Win leaders will meet privately with Obama on Thursday evening. Obama still needs to make amends with many in the labor movement; at least a dozen AFL-CIO unions, including the powerful American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees and the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers, backed his Democratic rival, Hillary Rodham Clinton. The AFL-CIO allowed its unions to make their own endorsements during the primaries. |
| McCain, Obama offer different visions on taxes Tue, 17 Jun 2008 12:26 EDT Make more than $250,000 a year? Watch out. Barack Obama wants to raise your income taxes. Social Security taxes, too. Run a corporation? Lucky you. John McCain wants to cut your business taxes. Those positions illustrate pieces of two vastly different approaches to the economy, an issue at the forefront of voters' minds given that the country is teetering on the brink of - if not already in - a recession as gas prices soar and layoffs rise amid a credit crisis and a housing slump. Obama, the Democrat, seemingly has a traditional liberal outlook of taxing the rich more while having the government help people of more modest means through tax breaks. McCain, the Republican, advocates a classic conservative vision of cutting taxes - many geared toward businesses - to promote competition within a free-market system. Neither plan is cheap. |
| Poll: Obama leads McCain nationally by small margin Tue, 17 Jun 2008 12:21 EDT THE RACE: The presidential race nationally --- THE NUMBERS Barack Obama, 48 percent John McCain, 42 percent |
| Bush and McCain: Alike or different? Wed, 18 Jun 2008 02:05 EDT The Democrats like to say that electing Sen. John McCain would usher in the third term of George W. Bush, and they do not mean that as a compliment. The Republicans counter that calling the senator "McBush" is political spin and that the candidate is his own man. A look at McCain's 25-year record in the House and Senate, his 2008 campaign positions and his major speeches over the last three months indicates that on big-ticket issues -- the economy, support for continuing the Iraq war, health care -- his stance is indeed similar to Bush's brand of conservatism. They also have nearly identical positions on abortion and the types of judges he says he would appoint. On the environment, U.S. diplomacy and nuclear proliferation, McCain has strikingly different views from Bush. And although he shares the president's goals in Iraq, he was at times an outspoken critic of the way the war was managed. McCain would bring a different style, background and world view to the White House. But when it comes to the issues, here is how he and Bush match up. Although he once held very different views, McCain's biggest similarity to Bush is on the economy. Not only does the senator support making permanent the large Bush tax cuts he once opposed -- 2001's $1.35 trillion tax reduction and 2003's $320 billion tax cut -- he has proposed four major new tax cuts. |
| Obama discusses his student loan plan Wed, 18 Jun 2008 02:05 EDT Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama recalled paying off his own mountain of student loan debt and promised struggling college students Tuesday he would help them pay for school. Obama said he would give students a $4,000 tax credit to help pay tuition and fees in exchange for 100 hours of community service. The campaign said the program would cost $10 billion a year. "You get a hand living your dreams, and then you help your fellow citizens live theirs," the Illinois senator told a small group of students in a courtyard at Wayne County Community College. He listened as they told stories of balancing family demands, high fuel prices and school costs. The event combined a couple of campaign goals, stressing Obama's plans to help Americans struggling in a tough economy while showing voters in the critical swing state of Michigan more about his modest roots. Michigan Republicans have been trying to portray him as an elite senator out of touch with the daily struggles in the state, which has the nation's highest unemployment rate. "His two biggest accomplishments in the U.S. Senate are becoming a millionaire and running for president," GOP Rep. Mike Rogers told reporters in a conference call as Obama began a two-day visit to the state. |
| Obama names senior advisers Tue, 17 Jun 2008 07:56 EDT Barack Obama's campaign named new senior advisers on Monday, including former Hillary Rodham Clinton campaign manager Patti Solis Doyle as chief of staff to the presidential candidate's yet-to-be-chosen running mate. Also heading the list of new top aides are Jim Messina, former chief of staff to Democratic Sen. Max Baucus of Montana who will be Obama's chief of staff, and Stephanie Cutter, communications director to Sen. John Kerry's 2004 presidential campaign who will be a senior adviser to Obama and chief of staff to Obama's wife, Michelle. The campaign is beefing up for the general election. Other posts being filled include a national field director, which went to Jon Carson, who was director of voter contact during the primaries. Another post -- battleground states director -- will be filled by Jen O'Malley, who directed John Edwards' Iowa operation. |
| Obama gets Gore's backing Tue, 17 Jun 2008 02:07 EDT Al Gore made his debut in the 2008 presidential campaign Monday night, encouraging voters to back Barack Obama because "take it from me, elections matter." The former vice president's speech at the Joe Louis Arena was part endorsement and part blistering attack on the man who denied him the White House eight years ago. "After eight years of incompetence, neglect and failure, we need change," Gore said. "After eight years when our Constitution has been dishonored and disrespected, we need changes." In 2000, Gore won the popular vote but lost the disputed election to George W. Bush, who captured Florida and its electoral votes after a divided Supreme Court ended the recount of ballots. Since then, Gore has made combatting global warming his signature issue, and has been recognized worldwide for his effort -- from an Academy Award to the Nobel Prize. Obama stoked the lasting anger of Democrats over 2000 when he recognized Gore as "the winner of the popular vote for president." |
| McCain speaks on offshore oil drilling Tue, 17 Jun 2008 02:06 EDT Sen. John McCain said Monday the federal moratorium on offshore oil and gas drilling should be lifted, and individual states given the right to pursue energy exploration in waters near their own coasts. With gasoline prices rising and the United States chronically dependent on foreign oil, the Republican presidential contender said his proposal would "be very helpful in the short term resolving our energy crisis." McCain also suggested giving the states incentives, including a greater share of royalties paid by companies that drill for oil, to permit exploration. Asked how far offshore states should be given control of drilling rights, he said that was a matter for negotiation. He offered no other details for his proposal, which he is expected to describe more fully on Tuesday in an energy speech. |
| Obama stresses role of fathers Mon, 16 Jun 2008 02:02 EDT In a Father's Day address, Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama told worshipers at a Chicago church Sunday that government must do more to help families --but he also exhorted parents, especially fathers, to do their part. America needs more than jobs and opportunities in its communities, the presidential candidate told the hometown congregation. "We also need families to raise our children," he said. "We need fathers to realize that responsibility does not end at conception. We need them to realize that what makes you a man is not the ability to have a child. It's the courage to raise one." His words came in the aftermath of a painful separation from the Rev. Jeremiah Wright Jr., who, as Obama's longtime pastor, played a crucial role in his spiritual maturation. A few weeks ago, Obama publicly broke with Wright after controversy about the minister's strident sermons. As the first stop in Obama's quest for a new religious home, Chicago's the Apostolic Church of God offered a symbolic new beginning. "Of all the rocks upon which we build our lives, we are reminded today that family is the most important," Obama said. "And we are called to recognize and honor how critical every father is to that foundation." |
| 9 people indicted in abuse case Wed, 18 Jun 2008 02:05 EDT Nine people have been indicted in connection with a pattern of abusive behavior against adult residents of Community Presence Inc., an adult-care facility in Carter County, Attorney General Jack Conway said Tuesday. Each of the nine is charged with abuse of an adult, unlawful imprisonment, and wanton endangerment in the first degree. Each of the defendants could face up to 20 years in prison if convicted. Investigators with the attorney general's Medicaid Fraud and Abuse Control Division started an investigation in cooperation with the Grayson Police Department after the suspicious death of a resident at the facility. In addition to charges relating to the resident's death, the investigation uncovered an alleged dangerous pattern of abuse endangering the lives of various residents at the facility. Those indicted were Earl Pelfrey, 29; Glada Miller, 28; Regina Stevens, 33; Todd Gribbin, 38; Ira Griffith, 27; Karl King, 45; Matthew Wilburn, 22; Michael Yates, 37; and Robert Thompson, 52. |
| Substitute offered for vetoed road projects list Tue, 17 Jun 2008 02:07 EDT Kentucky Transportation Secretary Joe Prather released a substitute road construction plan Monday night containing all proposed transportation projects for the state through 2014. But Senate President David Williams said Prather has "no constitutional authority" to issue such a plan. Williams, R-Burkesville, sued Gov. Steve Beshear last month, contending that Beshear improperly vetoed a list of road projects the legislature approved in the waning hours of the General Assembly session in House Bill 79. Beshear said he vetoed the legislature's action because of the unprecedented limitations it would have placed on his ability to administer transportation funds, and he said that his veto was issued properly. Chuck Wolfe, a spokesman for the Transportation Cabinet, said Monday that the latest highway plan has no effect on Williams' lawsuit. |
| Budget cuts slice into family services Sun, 15 Jun 2008 02:02 EDT Last year, Brooklawn Child and Family Services in Louisville helped the parents of 268 kids do a better job. The children had been identified as at-risk for being taken from their homes because of abuse or neglect. With the help of a two-year, $300,000 state grant, Brooklawn sent social workers into homes to help the parents become more successful. "You kind of re-parent the parent," said Mike Schultz, vice president for development at Brooklawn. But on June 30, the program -- which went two years without having a child taken from his or her home -- will lose its funding. To comply with its share of the $179.9 million in cuts ordered by the General Assembly as part of the budget that begins July 1, the Cabinet for Health and Family Services cut $7.6 million from programs designed to help social workers keep kids with their biological parents or reunite them with their families. |
| Subplots likely to spice up session Mon, 16 Jun 2008 02:02 EDT On the last day of this spring's General Assembly session, Gov. Steve Beshear explained to a class of children touring the Capitol how he was about to sign into law a bill requiring tykes to ride in booster seats. "This," he told them, "is the good part." As it turned out, that was about the only bright spot for the rookie governor and the lawmakers, who saw most other key bills tank along with the public approval ratings of both branches of government. Now legislators and Beshear's administration are on the brink of meeting again this month to conclude one piece of unfinished business: a bill aimed at clotting the financial bleeding of the state worker pension system. The topic of the special session expected to begin June 23 is rather dry and complicated. But two potential subplots with far-reaching effects could begin to unfold when lawmakers convene. |
| Obama rebukes McCain camp on terrorism criticism Wed, 18 Jun 2008 00:35 EDT A defiant Barack Obama said Tuesday he would take no lectures from Republicans on which candidate would keep the U.S. safer, a sharp rebuke to John McCain's aides who said the Democrat had a naive, Sept. 10 mind-set toward terrorism. "These are the same guys who helped to engineer the distraction of the war in Iraq at a time when we could have pinned down the people who actually committed 9/11," the presumed nominee told reporters aboard his campaign plane. "This is the same kind of fear-mongering that got us into Iraq ... and it's exactly that failed foreign policy I want to reverse." The debate between the rival camps echoed the 2004 presidential campaign in which President Bush, Vice President Dick Cheney and other Republicans argued that Democratic nominee John Kerry was soft on terror, a claim that resonated with voters and helped propel Bush to re-election. Democrats complained that the GOP was using the politics of fear. The Republican argument proved less effective in 2006 when then Bush adviser Karl Rove said the Democrats had a pre-Sept. 11 view of the world and Republicans had a post-Sept. 11 terror attacks perspective. In November of that year, Democrats captured enough congressional seats to seize control of the House and Senate. On his campaign plane, Obama told reporters that Osama bin Laden is still at large in part because Bush's strategy toward fighting terror has not succeeded. |
| McCain criticizes Obama's oil plan Wed, 18 Jun 2008 02:05 EDT Republican Sen. John McCain called for a clean break from Bush administration energy policies on Tuesday, then promptly pivoted to accuse campaign rival Barack Obama of supporting recycled measures that failed in the past. McCain's bid to chart a middle course on a major issue hit a bump, though, when he criticized Obama for proposing a windfall profits tax despite saying last month he would consider the same proposal. In a speech in energy-producing Texas, McCain said the United States needs more oil than during the Arab oil embargo of the 1970s, yet produces less. Now, he warned, a single successful terror attack at an oil installation could plunge the country into an "economic crisis of monumental proportions." With President Bush's poll ratings at historically low levels, McCain often emphasizes his differences with the current administration, and he coupled his speech with the release of a new television commercial stressing an issue that appeals to environmentalists. "John McCain stood up to the president and sounded the alarm on global warming -- five years ago," the ad states. "Today, he has a realistic plan that will curb greenhouse gas emissions. A plan that will help grow our economy and protect our environment." Aides said the commercial would run in several battleground states and on cable television over the next several days. |
| Special session called; agreement seems likely Wed, 18 Jun 2008 02:05 EDT Confident that he has an agreement with House and Senate leaders to overhaul the state's retirement systems, Gov. Steve Beshear called state lawmakers into a special session to begin at high noon June 23 at a daily cost of $60,000 to taxpayers. The Democratic governor attached to his call a 179-page agreement House and Senate leaders reached last week after negotiations. Senate President David Williams, R-Burkesville, and House Speaker Jody Richards, D-Bowling Green, said they do not expect any problems in the session that is expected to last five days, the minimum amount of time it takes a bill to wind through the legislative process. But Williams said he is concerned that "the measure doesn't go far enough" and that Beshear and the Democratic-controlled House will be reluctant to enact more pension reforms in the 2009 General Assembly. "Until the governor and the Democratic majority in the House have the public courage to stand up to public-employee unions, we are not likely to see any more action on this issue," Williams said. |
| Hagel says he'd consider VP offer from Obama Fri, 20 Jun 2008 21:19 EDT Republican Sen. Chuck Hagel said Friday he would consider serving as Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama's running mate if asked, but he doesn't expect to be on any ticket. Hagel's vocal criticism of the Bush administration since the 2003 invasion of Iraq has touched off speculation that if Obama were to pick a Republican running mate, it might be Hagel. Hagel said in an interview with The Associated Press that after devoting much of his life to his country - in the Senate and the U.S. Army - he would have to consider any offer. "If it would occur, I would have to think about it," Hagel said. "I think anybody, anybody would have to consider it. Doesn't mean you'd do it, doesn't mean you'd accept it, could be too many gaps there, but you'd have to consider it, I mean, it's the only thing you could do. Why wouldn't you?" In a book published this year, Hagel said that despite holding one of the Senate's strongest records of support for President Bush, his standing as a Republican has been called into question because of his opposition to what he deems "a reckless foreign policy ... that is divorced from a strategic context." Hagel wrote in "America: Our Next Chapter" that the invasion of Iraq was "the triumph of the so-called neoconservative ideology, as well as Bush administration arrogance and incompetence." |
| Play of the Day: Obama debuts new seal Fri, 20 Jun 2008 16:14 EDT For anyone trying to picture Barack Obama as president, his campaign offered a visual aid. A new seal made its debut on Obama's podium Friday as he held a round-table discussion with Democratic governors. The seal, with a blue background and an eagle in the center clutching arrows and an olive branch, might remind some of the presidential version. But on closer look, the seal is full of symbols representing Obama's campaign of change. The presidential seal has the Latin phrase "E pluribus unum" - "Out of many, one." In place of that, Obama's seal says, "Vero possumus" - a rough Latin translation of his slogan of "Yes, we can." On podiums at the White House, the seal is encircled with the words, "Seal of the President of the United States." Obama's Internet-driven campaign lists his Web site address in that place. |
| Michelle Obama discusses experience as working mom Fri, 20 Jun 2008 18:19 EDT Michelle Obama on Friday drew from her experience as a working mother to emphasize the importance of fairness in the workplace and her support for family friendly policies. "It's time for the leaders of this country not only to champion these causes, but to fight for the issues every single day," Obama told about 1,000 people at the National Partnership for Women and Families' annual luncheon. The nonprofit group advocates for equality in the workplace, access to health care and policies that help Americans balance work and family. Obama, wife of Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama, said the group's work "is a cause that I carry deep in my heart. It's a cause that I have championed and will continue to champion no matter what the outcome of this election." She spoke for about seven minutes, reading from notes. The crowd applauded and gave her three standing ovations - when she entered the banquet room, when she approached the microphone to speak and when she concluded her remarks. |
| Analysis: Will McCain's Carter link ring true? Fri, 20 Jun 2008 15:05 EDT Jimmy Carter has been among the country's most active retired presidents, but even the peripatetic Georgian might not have anticipated having his name bandied about in a presidential campaign 28 years after leaving the White House. Sen. John McCain, who will carry the Republican presidential flag in this fall's campaign, has repeatedly invoked the former president's name on the campaign trail, and with it the less-than-stellar memories of his White House years. Some high-profile allies, including Texas Gov. Rick Perry and former GOP presidential contender Mitt Romney, have done so as well. The goal: linking Barack Obama to Carter, another Democratic newcomer elected on the promise of hope and change but whose presidency was marred by economic turmoil, high energy costs and a foreign policy widely derided as weak. More subtly, McCain and other Republicans have criticized Carter for his criticism of Israel and meeting with Hamas leaders. This line has allowed the GOP to question Obama's support for Israel as he has struggled to win over some Jewish voters and donors, unnerved by the anti-Semitic views expressed by his former pastor, the Rev. Jeremiah Wright. The Illinois senator has disavowed Wright's remarks. Welcome back Carter. |
| Critics say Fla. gov. flip-flops for McCain Fri, 20 Jun 2008 14:45 EDT A year ago, Florida Gov. Charlie Crist tried to influence the Republican presidential candidates who paraded through his office seeking an endorsement. He told them he wanted a national catastrophe fund, a commitment to Everglades restoration and a promise to protect Florida's coast from offshore drilling. But now that Crist is mentioned as a potential running mate for likely Republican nominee John McCain, critics say it is McCain who is influencing him. This week, Crist stunned many when he said he is now open to the idea of expanding oil drilling in the Gulf of Mexico, a reversal that's in step with McCain. Crist said Friday that he is not running for vice president and his recent comments weren't made to mirror the Arizona senator's. "It's born out of a concern for the people of Florida and their pocketbook. I hear it all the time, that $4 a gallon gasoline is hurting families," Crist said, emphasizing that he only supports a study on expanded drilling. Critics say it's the most striking example of Crist's positions shifting to meet McCain's. |
| Obama criticizes McCain on offshore drilling Fri, 20 Jun 2008 18:44 EDT Barack Obama on Friday dismissed rival John McCain's proposal to allow offshore drilling as an election-year conversion, arguing that it will not lower gas prices for families "this year, next year, five years from now." The likely Democratic nominee pledged to keep in place the federal government's 27-year moratorium on offshore drilling, and criticized McCain on changing his position on the matter. Said Obama: "The politics may have changed but the facts haven't." In McCain's 2000 campaign, the Republican said he favored the moratorium. This week, he said he supports lifting it to give states the option to drill, and cited as a reason alleviating the pressure on consumers facing high gas prices. McCain spokesman Tucker Bounds responded that Obama is rejecting measures needed to lower gas prices. "The American people cannot afford Barack Obama's do-nothing, out-of-touch energy policy," Bounds said. |
| McCain criticizes Obama's opposition to NAFTA Fri, 20 Jun 2008 21:09 EDT In a cross-border political attack, John McCain said Friday that Barack Obama's opposition to the North American Free Trade Agreement is "nothing more than retreating behind protectionist walls." The Republican presidential nominee-in-waiting added that if he wins the White House, "have no doubt that America will honor its international commitments - and we will expect the same of others." McCain did not mention Obama by name as he spoke before the Economic Club of Canada, a business organization whose membership cheered his remarks. Obama, on the campaign trail in Florida, shot back: "What's interesting to me is that he chose to talk about trade in Canada instead of in Ohio or Michigan. ... I think Senator McCain should have shared some of his views there to American voters." McCain's trip to Canada was unusual if not unprecedented for a presidential candidate, one that his campaign paid for yet aides insisted was not political. |
| Obama: Terrorist won't be martyr Thu, 19 Jun 2008 02:05 EDT Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama said Wednesday he would bring Osama bin Laden to justice in a way that wouldn't allow the terrorist mastermind to become a martyr, but he might not be taken alive. "First of all, I think there is an executive order out on Osama bin Laden's head," Obama said at a news conference. "And if I'm president, and we have the opportunity to capture him, we may not be able to capture him alive." He said he wouldn't discuss what approach he would take to apprehend bin Laden. But he said the Nuremberg trials for the prosecution of Nazi leaders are an inspiration because the victors set a tone for the creation of an international order. Obama was questioned about bin Laden after he met with a new team of national security advisers. The meeting came after rival John McCain's campaign said Obama had a pre-9/11 mindset for promoting criminal trials for terrorists. |
| Beshear's chief of staff resigns Thu, 19 Jun 2008 02:05 EDT Gov. Steve Beshear's chief of staff, Jim Cauley, is resigning to pursue his own political consulting business and will be replaced by Adam Edelen, a Lexingtonian who heads the state Office of Homeland Security. Beshear said in a statement Wednesday that Cauley "has been an integral part of my team and will be sorely missed," and would continue to be an adviser to the governor. "Jane and I and the entire staff were lucky to bring this Kentucky boy back home for my political campaign," Beshear said of his campaign manager in last year's race for governor. After winning a landslide victory last year against Republican Gov. Ernie Fletcher, Beshear's administration has struggled to maintain momentum in the face of deep budget cuts and a disagreeable legislature. By May, Beshear's job-approval rating had plummeted to 39 percent in a Herald-Leader/ WKYT Kentucky Poll. |
| Obama raises $22 million in May Fri, 20 Jun 2008 21:04 EDT Democrat Barack Obama raised $22 million in May for his presidential campaign, his weakest fundraising month this year, and ended the month with $43 million cash on hand, the campaign reported Friday. Though Obama has been the fundraising leader in the presidential contest, his May totals are just slightly above Republican rival John McCain's fundraising for the month. Overall, Obama has raised more than $287 million during the past 17 months, while McCain has raised a total of $115 million. Obama, who is bypassing the public financing system in the general election, reported that nearly $10 million of his cash on hand was exclusively for the general election. McCain and Obama have almost equal amounts in the bank to spend during the months between now and their party conventions in late summer - a level of parity between the two candidates that would have been unfathomable just a few months ago. Obama reported spending $26.6 million in May, a month where he moved to end his Democratic contest with Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton. Obama and Clinton traded primary victories during the month but Obama continued to build his delegate advantage. He secured the nomination June 3, winning that day's Montana primary but losing to Clinton in South Dakota. Clinton ended her campaign June 7. |
| Obama to forgo public financing Fri, 20 Jun 2008 02:06 EDT Barack Obama is abandoning public financing for his presidential campaign, reversing his earlier stance in bold certainty he can raise millions more on his own as the first major-party candidate to bypass the tax-checkoff system that was hurried into place after the Watergate scandal. Obama has shattered fund-raising records during the primary season, and he promptly showed off his financial muscle Thursday with his first commercial of the general election campaign. The ad, a 60-second biographical spot, will begin airing Friday in 18 states, including historically Republican strongholds. Though it opens him to charges of hypocrisy, Obama's fund-raising decision was hardly a surprise, given his record in raising money from private sources. Some $85 million in public money is available to each major party nominee during the fall campaign if they agree to forgo other contributions. McCain told reporters in Minnesota on Thursday, "We will take public financing." As for his opponent, McCain said Obama "said he would stick to his word. He didn't." Obama has proved himself to be a prodigious fund-raiser who could easily raise more than the public fund supplies. Although he and his advisers know McCain and other Republicans will criticize his decision, they understand that issues of campaign finance do not rank high in most voters' minds. |
| Paul supporters fall short in Montana Sun, 22 Jun 2008 10:25 EDT Sen. John McCain may be the presumptive Republican presidential nominee, but supporters of Ron Paul in Montana refused to abandon their candidate. The group led an impassioned fight Friday at the Montana GOP convention, shaking things up in a failed effort to secure the state's 22 national convention delegates for Paul - who suspended his presidential bid earlier this month. While the battle jazzed up a normally dull delegate selection process, Paul supporters could not muster enough votes to trump McCain's backers. In the end, McCain received all 22 delegates despite a close vote, party officials said. Earlier in the evening, Paul told the crowd that his support in Montana was the best he had received anywhere. "Montana's been treating me quite well," he said. "The spirit is alive here." |
| Ohio Democrats get pro-Obama message Sun, 22 Jun 2008 10:30 EDT Ohio Gov. Ted Strickland received a standing ovation Saturday night when he predicted the state will again tip the race for the White House - this time, delivering it to Democratic presidential nominee-in-waiting Barack Obama. Strickland, noting that he had backed Hillary Rodham Clinton for the Democratic nomination, said she would want him to deliver a message. "Barack Obama is the nominee of our party. He is a bright, committed, energizing young leader," Strickland said at the Ohio Democratic Party's annual dinner. "I met with him yesterday in Chicago and I pledged to him then, as I had previously, that I will work my heart out for him and that Ohio will work her heart out for him." "Aren't you glad to be a Democrat?" Strickland shouted. "Aren't you really, really, really angry with George W. Bush and Dick Cheney?" Democratic governors who won election in states that twice backed Bush have lessons to offer Obama, one of those governors said. |
| Obama raps McCain on flood prevention programs Sun, 22 Jun 2008 18:19 EDT With communities in the Midwest still under water, Democrat Barack Obama on Saturday criticized Republican John McCain for opposing federal spending on flood prevention programs and opened a new debate in the White House race. McCain's campaign said Obama was confusing the facts and engaging in typical political attacks that the Democrat rejects in his speeches. Both candidates have visited the flood zones in the past two weeks, since tornadoes hit and heavy rains sent rivers surging over their banks. At least 24 people were killed, the majority in Iowa. Obama, an Illinois senator, canceled a visit to eastern Iowa last week at the request of state officials and instead went to fill sandbags in Quincy, Ill. McCain, an Arizona senator, toured flood damage in Iowa Thursday. "I know that Sen. McCain felt as strongly as I did," Obama said, "feeling enormous sympathy for the victims of the recent flooding. I'm sure they appreciated the sentiment, but they probably would have appreciated it even more if Sen. McCain hadn't opposed legislation to fund levees and flood control programs, which he considers pork." |
| Analysis: McCain hampered by campaign missteps Sun, 22 Jun 2008 10:20 EDT Call it campaign growing pains. Or bad luck. Or a combination of the two. By any name, Sen. John McCain is hampered by missteps and self-generated controversy in the early days of the general election campaign for the White House. Take his most recent trip through several states and the Canadian capital, a five-day span during which he courted conservatives and independents alike, raised more than $10 million and began detailing his considerable differences with Sen. Barack Obama on energy policy. Still, on Tuesday, he criticized his rival for proposing a windfall profits tax on the oil industry. The attack was complicated by McCain's earlier statement that he would consider the same thing. The following day, he met with a group of Hispanics in Chicago. Aides who had kept word of the event secret were placed on the defensive within hours after one participant criticized some of McCain's comments. |
| Details of May presidential fundraising Sun, 22 Jun 2008 10:20 EDT Fundraising figures for May as released by the presidential candidates. DEMOCRAT BARACK OBAMA Total receipts to date: $295.52 million, including $10.72 million for general election. Total contributions to date: $287.5 million. |
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