September 20, 2006

September:   Sept. 29, 2006   Sept. 28, 2006   Sept. 27, 2006   Sept. 26, 2006   Sept. 21, 2006   Sept. 20, 2006   Sept. 19, 2006   Sept. 14, 2006   Sept. 13, 2006   Sept. 12, 2006   Sept. 07, 2006   Sept. 06, 2006 JULY:   Jul. 28, 2006   Jul. 27, 2006   Jul. 26, 2006   Jul. 25, 2006   Jul. 24, 2006   Jul. 20, 2006   Jul. 19, 2006   Jul. 18, 2006   Jul. 17, 2006   Jul. 13, 2006   Jul. 12, 2006   Jul. 11, 2006   Jul. 10, 2006 JUNE:   Jun. 29, 2006   Jun. 28, 2006   Jun. 27, 2006   Jun. 26, 2006   Jun. 22, 2006   Jun. 21, 2006   Jun. 20, 2006   Jun. 19, 2006   Jun. 16, 2006   Jun. 15, 2006   Jun. 14, 2006   Jun. 13, 2006   Jun. 12, 2006   Jun. 9, 2006   Jun. 8, 2006   Jun. 7, 2006   Jun. 6, 2006 MAY:   May 25, 2006   May 24, 2006   May 23, 2006   May 22, 2006   May 19, 2006   May 18, 2006   May 17, 2006   May 11, 2006   May 10, 2006   May 4, 2006   May 3, 2006   May 2, 2006 APRIL:   Apr. 27, 2006   Apr. 26, 2006   Apr. 25, 2006   Apr. 6, 2006   Apr. 5, 2006   Apr. 4, 2006 MARCH:   Mar. 30, 2006   Mar. 29, 2006   Mar. 28, 2006   Mar. 16, 2006   Mar. 15, 2006   Mar. 14, 2006   Mar. 9, 2006   Mar. 8, 2006   Mar. 7, 2006   Mar. 2, 2006   Mar. 1, 2006 FEBRUARY:   Feb. 28, 2006   Feb. 16, 2006   Feb. 15, 2006   Feb. 14, 2006   Feb. 8, 2006   Feb. 1, 2006 JANUARY:   Jan. 31, 2006 DECEMBER:   Dec. 16, 2005   Dec. 15, 2005   Dec. 14, 2005   Dec. 13, 2005   Dec. 8, 2005   Dec. 7, 2005   Dec. 6, 2005 Archives

Don’t get caught flat-footed in front of the press!  Below is a quick rundown of today’s “must reads.” – John T. Doolittle, House Republican Conference Secretary

The Morning Murmur –  Wednesday, September 20, 2006

1. Tehran Lunatic Spreads His Vile Poison in NYC - New York Post
In a showdown of ideologies at the United Nations yesterday, Iran's hard-line leader took to the podium eight hours after President Bush - and went on a nutty tirade, blaming the United States for the world's problems and arguing that Israel has no right to exist.

2. Big tax haul signals strong profits - Reuters
Record high U.S. corporate tax receipts in the third quarter signal stronger-than-expected corporate profits for the period and the likelihood of a smaller budget deficit than forecast for 2006 and possibly 2007.

3. Thai leader deposed in military coup - Washington Times
Troops from Thailand's U.S.-trained military seized power in a bloodless coup yesterday, ousting Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra while he was in New York. The Military Reform Council said its rule would be temporary and that power would soon be returned to civilians.

4. Speaking Up for America - New York Sun Op-ed
Whatever the American people are, they are not dumb. Yesterday, they watched President Bush state in a straightforward way that what America wants for itself and the other people of the world is peace, and they are going to appreciate someone willing to put in a good word at the United Nations for the country they love.

5. Wake up call for GOP or snooze alarm for Dems - The Hill
With the Gallup Poll showing a spike in Bush's approval ratings and a narrowing of the gap between Democrats and Republicans in party congressional preferences, a looming question is how enduring the change is. Will it last until November?

For previous issues of the Morning Murmur, go to www.GOPsecretary.gov

FULL ARTICLES BELOW:

1. Tehran Lunatic Spreads His Vile Poison in NYC - New York Post

By CLEMENTE LISI and ANDY SOLTIS

September 20, 2006 -- In a showdown of ideologies at the United Nations yesterday, Iran's hard-line leader took to the podium eight hours after President Bush - and went on a nutty tirade, blaming the United States for the world's problems and arguing that Israel has no right to exist.

Mahmoud Ahmadinejad also used his long-awaited moment on the world stage to claim Third World nations should be given more power on the 15-nation U.N. Security Council, which he alleged was a rubber-stamp for U.S. and Israeli "aggression and occupation."

U.S. and Israeli delegates snubbed the speech by leaving the General Assembly even before he began his 32-minute rant.

Even as he faces worldwide condemnation for pursuing nuclear weapons, Ahmadinejad claimed it was countries that currently have nuclear weapons - such as the United States - that pose real danger to other nations.

Ahmadinejad called his country's atomic program "transparent" and said it was "under the watchful eyes of IAEA inspectors" - a reference to the U.N. nuclear watchdog.

He gave no indication of any willingness to comply with the United Nations' call to halt uranium enrichment.

Last night, foreign-policy leaders from the United States, Russia, China, Great Britain, Germany and France agreed to give European Union foreign-policy chief Javier Solana more time to explore a possible deal with Iranian negotiator Ali Larijani, although no deadline was set.

The ministers reaffirmed their support for sanctions if Tehran did not suspend its most sensitive nuclear work, Nicholas Burns, the U.S. undersecretary of state, told reporters.

Hours earlier, Bush had called on Iran to "abandon its nuclear-weapons ambitions."

Meanwhile, Ahmadinejad repeated his claim that the World War II Allies created a Jewish state "at the expense of millions of rightful" occupants - a reference to Palestinians.

"Can any logic or law justify this tragedy?" Ahmadinejad asked.

He then turned to another favorite subject when he voiced doubts that the Holocaust happened, saying the arguments used for the creation of Israel "are so weak" that its supporters "want to silence" the doubters.

Without ever naming the United States, Ahmadinejad said the Security Council was "practically incapacitated by some powers to even call a cease-fire."

He didn't mention Israel by name - but repeatedly referred to it as "the occupiers" and "the Zionist regime."

Ahmadinejad also charged that in Iraq, "the occupiers are incapable of establishing security" - even making the wacky claim that the United States and new Iraqi government had freed captured terrorists.

He said America wants instability in Iraq because it "serves as the pretext" for continued occupation.

Again and again, he returned to the theme that the Security Council had failed to stop "tragedies," like this past summer's Lebanese war.

Earlier in the day, speaking from the same podium, Bush - who never crossed paths with the Iranian leader yesterday - charged that Mideast hard-liners like Ahmadinejad are slandering the United States with "propaganda and conspiracy theories" that claim America is waging war with Muslims.

"My country desires peace," Bush told the General Assembly. "Extremists in your midst spread propaganda, claiming that the West is engaged in a war against Islam."

Bush added, "This propaganda is false and its purpose is to confuse you and justify acts of terror. We respect Islam."

Bush also singled out Iran and Syria as sponsors of terrorism - throwing down the gauntlet before Ahmadinejad got his own chance to address the delegates.

Bush directed an appeal to Ahmadinejad's citizens, urging them to "determine your own future."

"The greatest obstacle to this future is that your rulers have chosen to deny you liberty and to use your nation's resources to fund terrorism and fuel extremism and pursue nuclear weapons," Bush said.

He never mentioned Ahmadinejad by name.

Ahmadinejad was not present during Bush's speech, when the president said Iran "must abandon its nuclear weapons ambitions."

For months, Ahmadinejad has been trying to debate Bush, directly or indirectly - and getting a cold shoulder in return.

In May, he wrote a bizarre letter to Bush in which he said the world was being consumed with "ever-increasing global hatred of the American government."

The Bush administration called the letter a failed bid to change the subject of Iran's drive toward nuclear weapons. But Ahmadinejad complained again yesterday that Bush never wrote back.

Last month, Ahmadinejad upped the ante, calling on Bush to join him in a live, televised debate to discuss world peace. The White House called that another "diversion."

The two leaders avoided one another while separate groups of protesters took to the streets outside U.N. headquarters.

Several hundred of them, chanting, "Ahmadinejad is a terrorist," lined up near Dag Hammarskjold Plaza in Midtown. A few blocks away, others denounced Bush and the war in Iraq.

At midday, Ahmadinejad, a strict Muslim, did not attend a farewell luncheon for Kofi Annan, where Bush lavishly praised the U.N. secretary-general.

"We need to toast the fact that you're a hard worker. For those of you who've had the honor of taking a phone call from Kofi Annan, you know that he's not always calling from the same address," Bush said, to laughter.

After the luncheon Bush ran into his predecessor, Bill Clinton, who was attending an AIDS funding conference elsewhere at the United Nations.

Bush put his arm around Clinton's shoulders and pulled Iraqi President Jalal Talibani over for a three-way chat.

"It was unplanned - unexpected. When you see another president standing nearby, the proper thing to do is to go over and say hi," said White House spokesman Tony Snow.

He called it a brief, but "very nice, very pleasant conversation."

Experts said Bush's carefully crafted speech to the delegates left little doubt the United States would be alone in its condemnation of Ahmadinejad.

"By not calling on the Security Council to act, the president has accepted that there will be no Security Council action," said former Bush aide David Frum, a resident fellow at the American Enterprise Institute and author of the book "An End to Evil: How to Win the War on Terror."

Ted Carpenter, a foreign-policy and defense expert at the libertarian Cato Institute, said Bush's tough-talk made clear that a U.S. "military option remains very much on the table."

Carpenter said Bush's highly public unveiling of the go-it-alone approach is the latest shift in the White House's constantly evolving tactics for dealing with the increasingly defiant Ahmadinejad.

If the United States is, in fact, left alone in its approach to solving the Iranian nuclear crisis, Carpenter suggested a diplomatic olive branch: Offer to restore normal diplomatic relations with Iran in exchange for a peek at its nuclear program.

"At a minimum, it would smoke out the Iranian regime. Right now, we're speculating about Tehran's goals and motives," he said.

"If they turned down the grand bargain, then we would know that the regime is unalterably determined to become a nuclear-weapons state."

Sen. George Voinovich (R-Ohio) compared Ahmadinejad to Adolf Hitler and poked fun at his name.

"I call him Ahmad-in-a-head. I think he's a Hitler type of person," Voinovich said. "He's made it clear that he wants to destroy Israel. He has made it clear that he doesn't believe in the Holocaust. He's a, he's a - we all know what he is!" With Post Wire Services

http://www.nypost.com/news/regionalnews/tehran_lunatic_spreads_his_vile_poison_in_nyc_regionalnews_clemente_lisi_and_andy_soltis.htm
 

2. Big tax haul signals strong profits - Reuters

Mon Sep 18, 2006 7:54 PM ET

By Mark Felsenthal - ANALYSIS

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Record high U.S. corporate tax receipts in the third quarter signal stronger-than-expected corporate profits for the period and the likelihood of a smaller budget deficit than forecast for 2006 and possibly 2007, analysts said on Monday.

Corporate tax receipts reached $71.8 billion in the third quarter, making Friday's gross receipts of $85.8 billion the largest in a single day in history, the Treasury Department said on Monday.

Tax receipts for the year are running 11.7 percent higher than last year, Treasury Undersecretary Randal Quarles said in a statement. Even so, analysts expected corporate tax receipts for the quarter to be in line with or lower than the $63 billion collected in September 2005 because of a one-time bump from a temporary repatriation of foreign earnings last year.

"In fact, we seem to have beat it by something on the order of 10 percent," said Lou Crandall, chief economist with Wrightson-ICAP in Jersey City, New Jersey.

"That means, significantly larger revenues in general, and it's something that carries forward to a certain extent to next quarter," he added.

A strong quarter for businesses suggests the federal budget deficit for fiscal 2006, which ends September 30, is likely in line with or lower than the $260 billion forecast by the Congressional Budget Office, analysts said. The White House Office of Management and Budget projects a $296 billion budget gap for fiscal 2006.

"You're beating the OMB numbers -- a slam dunk," said Ed McKelvey, senior economist at Goldman Sachs. "And the CBO number looks like it's a pretty good guess," he said.

September's strong corporate performance may also signal that despite expectations of subpar economic growth ahead analysts may trim deficit forecasts for next year as well, Crandall said.

"The rally in profits isn't over," he said.

The Congressional Budget Office expects a deficit of $286 billion in fiscal 2007, which begins October 1. Corporate tax receipts from the third quarter may lower expectations for the next fiscal year to between $200 billion and $250 billion, Crandall said.

Strong corporate profits and a lower-than-projected budget deficit this year could help Republicans dispel voter doubts about President George W. Bush's handling of the economy as they seek to retain control of Congress in November's congressional elections approach.

Poll respondents identify the economy as second only to the war in Iraq, and on par with terrorism, among their leading concerns.


http://today.reuters.com/news/articlebusiness.aspx?type=ousiv&storyID=2006-09-18T235431Z_01_N18317729_RTRIDST_0_BUSINESSPRO-ECONOMY-RECEIPTS-DC.XML&from=business

3. Thai leader deposed in military coup - Washington Times

By Richard Ehrlich
Published September 20, 2006

BANGKOK -- Troops from Thailand's U.S.-trained military seized power in a bloodless coup yesterday, ousting Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra while he was in New York to address the U.N. General Assembly and proclaiming their loyalty to the king.

With more than a dozen tanks ringing the prime minister's office, a self-appointed Military Reform Council took to the airwaves to declare a state of martial law and the suspension of the constitution.

The broadcast did not identify the members of the council, but army spokesman Col. Akara Chitroj told reporters that army commander Gen. Sonthi Boonyaratkalin would serve as acting prime minister.

Deputy Prime Minister Chitchai Wannasathit and Defense Minister Thammarak Isaragura na Ayuthaya -- both Thaksin loyalists -- were reported to have been arrested.

Thailand did not seem in immediate danger of ending its close military alliance with the United States, or Bangkok's robust capitalist policies.

"We look to the Thai people to resolve their political differences in a peaceful manner and in accordance with principles of democracy and rule of law," said Frederick Jones, a spokesman for President Bush's National Security Council.

The coup follows months of political turmoil sparked by charges of corruption on the part of Mr. Thaksin, a wealthy businessman, and came on the eve of a mass rally to demand his resignation.

The Military Reform Council said its rule would be temporary and that power would soon be returned to civilians.

It also declared that it was acting in defense of the nation's revered King Bhumibol Adulyadej, who holds enormous moral authority in Thailand and on June 9 marked the 60th anniversary of his coronation. Troops patrolling on a drizzly evening tied yellow ribbons to their weapons in a sign of loyalty to the monarch, who is understood to be personally close to Gen. Sonthi.

"There has been social division like never before," said the council's televised statement. "Each side has been trying to conquer another with all possible means, and the situation tends to intensify with growing doubts on the administration, amid widespread reported corruption."

"The revolutionary body thus needs to seize power. We have no intention to rule, but to return the power to the people as soon as possible, to preserve peace, and honor the king who is the most revered to all Thais."

Crucially the king, born in Cambridge, Mass., did not immediately speak out for or against the coup. Many Thais will wait for his blessing, or criticism, before deciding how to react to the military takeover.

Thailand has suffered more than a dozen coups and coup attempts since the 1930s. Some coups initially appeared to be successful, but crumbled when the king declined to support the new regime.

In the 1970s, and in 1992, military coup leaders remained in power until popular uprisings forced them to cede power.

As news of the coup first broke, Mr. Thaksin issued a statement from New York warning against "illegal" military movements and announcing a "serious emergency law." The prime minister canceled his scheduled address to the U.N. General Assembly last night.

The prime minister has still to decide whether to return to Thailand from New York after the overnight military coup, his spokesman said.

"Prime Minister Thaksin is now in New York and he has not yet made up his mind where he will go. But he will have to make a decision soon," government spokesman Surapong Suebwonglee said.

The billionaire politician still has an official plane at his disposal. He has a private residence in London, where one of his daughters is studying.

Mr. Thaksin's wife, Potjaman, reportedly left Bangkok for Singapore late yesterday as the coup was announced.

A senior Thai official in New York said earlier that Mr. Thaksin planned to leave the United States overnight but that his destination was unknown.

Mr. Thaksin's woes began in February when his family sold its stake in its Shin Corp. telecommunications empire to Singapore's government-owned Temasek Holdings investment group for $1.9 billion.

The Thaksin family did not pay taxes on the deal, insisting it was done offshore and therefore exempt.

Huge crowds took to the streets in protest, prompting Mr. Thaksin to hold a snap election in April to reaffirm his mandate. His solid victory in that poll was thrown out by the courts because of irregularities.

The election was to have been repeated in mid-November, with Mr. Thaksin still favored to be re-elected.

Though despised by much of Bangkok's wealthy elite and middle class, including press, business leaders, students, intellectuals and others, the prime minister was very popular in the countryside where most people live, because of his cheap health care, debt cancellations, and other government give-aways that benefited the poor.


http://washingtontimes.com/world/20060920-121708-1396r.htm

4. Speaking Up for America - New York Sun Op-ed
 

New York Sun Staff Editorial
September 20, 2006

President Bush's speech to the General Assembly of the United Nations was an eloquent articulation of a simple point. "My country," he said, "desires peace." He went on at some length, seeking to encourage and inspirit those in other countries who are looking for America to stand fast in the struggle against oppression or who have already taken great risks for reform. He spoke to the people of Iraq, Iran, Afghanistan, Israel, Darfur, to the Palestinian Arabs, to the Syrians. But what he did most of all is state in a straightforward way that, despite what America's enemies are insisting, what America wants for itself and the other people of the world is peace.

The thing that struck us is why so few other American politicians are saying this. No Democrat seems prepared to assert this simple proposition. Senator Kerry doesn't speak up for America; he speaks up for those who are complaining about America. Senator Clinton has refrained from attacking Mr. Bush on foreign policy and the war. But when it comes to a lively defense of America's intentions in this war, the cat has her tongue. Senator Schumer's, too. Vice President Gore spends his days plumping for the environment. President Clinton, the most unifying figure on the Democratic side, is building his international forum around the gliterrati of Hollywood and the fashion world.

Only Mr. Bush seems prepared to wade into this fray with a good word for America's intentions in a war that America didn't start and that Congress has repeatedly, despite all the controversy, underwritten. He spoke yesterday of "a more hopeful world . . . a world beyond terror ... where the voices of moderation are empowered . . ." Speaking directly to the people of the Middle East, he said from the podium at Turtle Bay: "Extremists in your midst spread propaganda claiming that the West is engaged in a war against Islam. This propaganda is false, and its purpose is to confuse you." What is it about this truth that the opposition political figures in America have a hard time seconding? Why are they not rushing to beat Mr. Bush to the point?

It's not a question of smart speechwriting, though Mr. Bush certainly has that. What one hears from those who have helped craft speeches for Mr. Bush is that this particular president - like, incidentally, Reagan before him - is himself an extraordinary editor. He knows what he's doing. Listening to him, we couldn't help but wonder whether when he gets back home after a long day like yesterday he doesn't sit down and ask himself how he got so lucky - to emerge as the only politician standing up for America. One never knows how an election is going to come out, but it's not surprising that he's surging in the latest polls (USAToday Gallup has his approval rating suddenly up to 44%). Our conviction has long been that whatever the American people are, they are not dumb. They, in their millions, are watching this situation, and they are going to appreciate someone willing to put in a good word at the United Nations for the country they love.

Frontlash

One of the little-noticed things that Mr. Bush did at the United Nations yesterday was to convene a meeting with the leaders of 23 established and emerging democracies to hear from the directors of non-governmental organizations from six countries where democracy is under attack. The backsliders are Russia, Belarus, Uzbekistan, Zimbabwe, Egypt, and Venezuela. Also present was a former American deputy envoy at the U.N., Carl Gershman, who heads America's own National Endowment for Democracy, which grew out of the visionary leadership of President Reagan and Lane Kirkland of the American Federation of Labor-Congress of Industrial Organizations. The NGO leaders warned of a new backlash against civil society and international democracy assistance , a backlash fed by alarm over the Orange Revolution in Ukraine. Mr. Bush, very much in a leadership role in this behind-the-scenes group, nursed the idea of creating a common voice from the democracies aimed at reversing the backlash. President Karzai of Afghanistan voiced lively support, as did others. Someday people will be calling it a frontlash. Lane Kirkland would have been proud.


http://www.nysun.com/article/40009

5. Wake up call for GOP or snooze alarm for Dems - The Hill

With the Gallup Poll showing a spike in Bush's approval ratings and a narrowing of the gap between Democrats and Republicans in party congressional preferences, a looming question is how enduring the change is. Will it last until November?

Presidential-support scores and party ballot preferences are notoriously fickle, often swinging one way or another in a matter of weeks. I recall vividly how Clinton felt that his ratings had improved after his orchestration of a Mideast peace accord between Jordan and Israel one week before the 1994 elections. He returned home buoyed by the uptick and determined to campaign for deserving Democrats. But his campaigning backfired and made the newly minted statesman seem like a party politician and his ratings dropped again, paving the way for the '94 debacle for the Democrats.

The growth in Republican fortunes is not based on any real change in either the economy or the war on terror. Very little is different in September than in June or July. The growth in Bush's ratings and in Republican chances is entirely due to a change in voter perceptions brought about by the confluence of three events:

1. The thwarting of a serious al Qaeda plan to blow up airplanes over the Atlantic.

2. The renewed national debate on imprisonment and interrogation of terror suspects.

3. The anniversary of Sept.11, the Bush speech on that day, and the ABC-TV docudrama exposing the failure of Clinton's efforts to get bin Laden.

These three events have not only served to rivet public attention on the war on terror, but they have also severed the domestic effort to protect our homeland security from the War in Iraq. It is no longer necessary to approve of the war in order to want to keep Republicans in power to avoid dilution of our anti-terror initiatives.

The problem for the Republicans is that the voters of this country badly want the Democrats to win when it comes to almost every issue other than domestic terror. Despite the good economy, they trust Democrats more on jobs. The deficit is shrinking, but they still trust Democrats more on the budget. And on issues like Social Security, Medicare, drug costs, education, climate change, and the environment, they trust Democrats more and always have.

Only on immigration do the Republicans battle successfully, but their ability to cite their efforts is fatally undermined by their failure to get together and pass immigration reform when they controlled both houses and the White House.

So, with the underlying situation not much changed, it is probable that the mood will pass and that the Democrats will resume their domination of the 2006 election.

The problem for the Democrats is that we really do face a huge terrorist threat and there really is a key difference between the parties in how they would handle it. A Democratic victory giving them control of both houses would, in fact, undermine our efforts to keep America safe. The need for the Patriot Act and NSA wiretapping and the need to resist Democratic attempts to undermine them is never more apparent than in the 9/11 Commission report as highlighted in the ABC mini-series.

Americans have been far too cavalier in dismissing the chances of another major terror strike, and the Democrats have gone much too far out on a limb in opposing Bush's efforts to interrogate terror suspects and to wiretap international phone calls. (By the way, Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) may be in the process of killing his chances for the GOP nomination and Sen. Lindsay Graham (R-S.C.) may be in midst of destroying his reelection chances over the same issue). The reality of these threats may well be clearer as the election approaches, kindled by the fifth anniversary reminders of 9/11.

So, did Americans wake up to the need to keep Republicans in office to defend against terror? Or was it just a snooze alarm and will they go back to sleep? The polls in the next weeks will tell the story.

Morris and McGann, husband and wife, have written several books together, including Rewriting History, a rebuttal to Living History by Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton (D-N.Y.).


http://thehill.com/thehill/export/TheHill/Comment/DickMorris/092006.html