Party Leaders to Detroit: "No Plan, No Money"

OhioNewsBureau

with John Michael Spinelli

Columbus, Ohio: Ohio and Michigan senators teamed up Thursday to announce a bi-partisan plan that would provide a $25 billion bridge loan to Detroit car makers if they present a plan with their application that shows they can achieve financial viability if Congress lends them the money they say the need to stay out of bankruptcy and keep millions of workers employed. Ohio Senators Republican George V. Voinovich and Democrat Sherrod Brown joined Michigan Democratic Sen. Carl Levin in Washington, where they announced a path to funding they say is necessary to prevent the disastrous results that would happen if one or more of Detroit's Big Three car makers folds and disappears, as Americans, fearful of job losses and shrinking retirements funds, stop spending and hunker down for the gloomy times that lie ahead.

Columbus, Ohio: Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin, the popular but polarizing understudy to Republican presidential nominee John McCain, repeatedly asked voters this fall to elect the Republican ticket so the duo of so-called mavericks cold "shake up Washington," a wish that didn't come true. But it's a good thought nonetheless for what Washington ought to do now with Detroit, as America's Big Three automakers make a case that another draw-down of bailout money is needed to prevent millions more workers from receiving pink slips.

Bronxdem reviews the "Bradley Effect" -- so called because of discrepancy between the polling that said Tom Bradley would win the California governorship and the actual outcome where he lost. Many attributed this to voters responding dishonestly to the polling. Bronxdem takes another look and analyzes the sociological processes behind the interaction of questions, questioners, and those who answer.

In cooperation with the Department of Labor, Office of Workers' Compensation, the Loyola Law School of New Orleans held a two-day conference in Washington D.C. on October 23 and 24, 2008. The conference coincided with the publication of a unique guide, Defense Base Act and War Hazards Compensation Act Handbook from Lexis Nexis. Susie Dow reports from the conference for ePluribus Media.