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http://www.newsmax.com/archives/ic/2006/10/26/100532.shtml?s=lh

Former Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan said Thursday the U.S. economy was pulling away from the shoals of a sharp housing-sector downturn and that the outlook for growth was "reasonably good."

"Most of the negatives in housing are probably behind us," Greenspan said at a conference sponsored by the Commercial Finance Association "The fourth quarter should be reasonably good, certainly better than the third quarter."

The government reports on third-quarter economic growth on Friday. After shooting ahead at a 5.6 percent annual clip at the start of the year, the economy advanced only 2.6 percent in the second quarter as home building took a dive.

Economists polled by Reuters expect the government report on third-quarter gross domestic product to show growth slowing further to a 2.2 percent pace.

However, many analysts think growth may revive in the current quarter as lower energy prices buoy consumers.

"There are early signs of stabilization," Greenspan said of the U.S. housing market, although he added: "It's not over."

"The evidence is that we're beginning to see a flattening in statistics for sales of new homes," he continued. "The rate of construction is well below the rate of purchases."

Greenspan, who retired from the Fed in January after more than 18 years at its helm, said the U.S. was "beginning to dig into the inventories of unsold new homes."

Bush Signs U.S.-Mexico Border Fence Bill

President Bush signed a bill Thursday authorizing 700 miles of new fencing along the U.S.-Mexico border, hoping to give Republican candidates a pre-election platform for asserting they're tough on illegal immigration.

"Unfortunately the United States has not been in complete control of its borders for decades and therefore illegal immigration has been on the rise," Bush said at a signing ceremony.

"We have a responsibility to enforce our laws," he said. "We have a responsibility to secure our borders. We take this responsibility serious."

He called the fence bill "an important step in our nation's efforts to secure our borders."

The centerpiece of Bush's immigration policy, a guest worker program, remains stalled in Congress.

The measure Bush put into law Thursday before heading for campaign stops in Iowa and Michigan offers no money for the fence project covering one-third of the 2,100-mile border.

Its cost is not known, although a homeland security spending measure the president signed earlier this month makes a $1.2 billion down payment on the project. The money also can be used for access roads, vehicle barriers, lighting, high-tech equipment and other tools to secure the border.

Backlash on N.J. Ruling May Help GOP

The New Jersey Supreme Court ruling Wednesday that ordered equal rights for same-sex couples was instantly hailed by gay-rights leaders, but it also energized their conservative adversaries, who predicted a backlash in their favor in the Nov. 7 congressional elections.

"This is a wake-up call for people who believe that marriage doesn't need constitutional protection," said Glen Lavy, senior counsel for the Alliance Defense Fund, which has opposed same-sex marriage in numerous court cases across the U.S.

Bill Donohue, president of the Catholic League, called the ruling "a plus" on the premise it would stir up resentment of "arrogant judges" and boost conservative election prospects.

Eight states — Arizona, Colorado, Idaho, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Virginia and Wisconsin — will be voting on constitutional amendments on Nov. 7 that would ban same-sex marriages and, in most cases, civil unions as well.

To conservative activists, the logic is that right-of-center voters, who may have felt alienated by events such as the teenage congressional assistants scandal involving former Rep. Mark Foley, will now be motivated to go to the polls. And those voters will be more inclined to pull the lever for Republican candidates in key races such as that of Republican Sen. George Allen in Virginia.

Gay rights leaders disagree, saying gay marriage is not as volatile an issue as it was in the 2004 election, which took place only months after the nation's first legal gay marriages in Massachusetts.

Joe Solmonese, president of the Human Rights Campaign, noted that the New Jersey high court had given the state legislature 180 days to decide whether to offer same-sex couples marriage or some other form of partnership such as civil unions.

"The ability of the radical right to whip their base into a frenzy is limited," Solmonese said. "Voters are angry — they're looking for their leaders to talk about issues like the war in Iraq, and aren't having any part of throwing a group of Americans out there as a wedge issue."

Evan Wolfson, a gay-rights lawyer who heads Freedom to Marry, said the eight anti-gay marriage amendments likely would have passed even without the New Jersey ruling.

"It's always been an uphill fight to defeat any of these attack measures," he said. "I don't think today's ruling will make much difference. If we see margins of defeat smaller than before, that will be sign of progress."

Twenty states have previously passed constitutional amendments aimed at blocking gay marriage, mostly by large margins. But gay-rights activists have nurtured hopes of breaking that streak in one or more of the eight states with marriage ballot measures this year.

Hopes for an upset victory have been particularly high in Wisconsin, where a broad coalition of unions, church leaders, students and others has been opposing the proposed ban.

Mike Tate, campaign leader for the anti-ban group Fair Wisconsin, was hopeful that voters would not overreact to the New Jersey ruling.

"I don't think this decision is going to help the other side mobilize its base," he said. "They will try, but I don't think today changes one iota and one vote in Wisconsin."

However, Julaine Appling, head of the campaign advocating the marriage ban, said the court ruling only helped what she already considered a winning cause.

"At the expense of the people of New Jersey, this is the very best example of what our amendment is trying to prevent," she said. "This is a court redefining marriage without any input directly or indirectly from the people."

Matt Daniels, who as head of the Alliance for Marriage has been seeking a federal constitutional ban on gay marriage, said the New Jersey ruling would re-energize his cause — even if Democrats gain seats in Congress and thus diminish the prospects for such an amendment.

"We're not going to fold up our tents and go home," Daniels said. "This is going to be settled at the national level, one way or the other. We can't have a cohesive society if it's left to the option of the states."

If the polls are to be believed, the Republicans who control the White House and Congress are in trouble.

Their problem?

People vote their pocketbooks, or wallets, the old adage goes.

But the economy is booming. Even gasoline prices have plummeted. Unemployment, the bogeyman of politicians, has shrunken to a record low point.

As for the security matter, since 9/11, the worst attack on American soil since the Civil War, the United States has been free of any significant terrorist attack. None. Zippo. Zilch.

Here are 10 good reasons why you should vote Republican come election day. You won't hear about them on ABCCBSNBC News.

Reason #1. The economy is kicking butt. It is robust, vibrant, strong and growing. In the 36 months since the Bush tax cuts ended the recession that began under President Clinton, the economy has experienced astonishing growth. Over the first half of this year, our economy grew at a strong 4.1 percent annual rate, faster than any other major industrialized nation. This strong economic activity has generated historic revenue growth that has shrunk the deficit. A continued commitment to spending restraint has also contributed to deficit reduction.

Reason #2. Unemployment is almost nil for a major economy, and is verging on full employment. Recently, jobless claims fellto the lowest level in 10 weeks. Employment increased in 48 states over the past 12 months ending in August. Our economy has now added jobs for 37 straight months.

Reason #3. The Dow is hitting record highs. In the past few days, the Dow climbed above 12,000 for the first time in the history of the stock market, thus increasing the value of countless pension and 401(k) that funds many Americans rely on for their retirement years.

Reason #4. Wages have risen dramatically. According to the Washington Post, demand for labor helped drive workers' average hourly wages, not including those of most managers, up to $16.84 last month -- a 4 percent increase from September 2005, the fastest wage growth in more than five years. Nominal wage growth has been 4.1 percent so far this year. This is better or comparable to its 1990s peaks. Over the first half of 2006, employee compensation per hour grew at a 6.3 percent annual rate adjusted for inflation. Real after-tax income has risen a whopping 15 percent since January 2001. Real after-tax income per person has risen by 9 percent since January 2001.

Reason #5. Gas prices have plunged. According to the Associated Press, the price of gasoline has fallen to its lowest level in more than 10 months. The federal Energy Information Administration said Monday that U.S. motorists paid $2.21 a gallon on average for regular grade last week, a decrease of 1.8 cents from the previous week. Pump prices are now 40 cents lower than a year ago and have plummeted by more than 80 cents a gallon since the start of August. The previous 2006 low for gasoline was set in the first week of January, when pump prices averaged $2.238. In the week ending Dec. 5, 2005, prices averaged $2.19. Today, gasoline can be found for less than $2 a gallon in many parts of the country.

Reason #6. Since 9/11, no terrorist attacks have occurred on U.S. soil. Since 9/11 the U.S. has not been attacked by terrorists thanks to such programs as the administration's monitoring of communications between al-Qaida operatives overseas and their agents in the U.S. and the monitoring of the international movement of terrorist funds -- both measure bitterly opposed by Democrats.

Reason #7. Productivity is surging and has grown by a strong 2.5 percent over the past four quarters, well ahead of the average productivity growth in the last 30 years. Strong productivity growth helps lead to the growth of the Gross Domestic Product, higher real wages, and stronger corporate profits.

Reason #8. The Prescription Drug Program is working. Despite dire predictions that most seniors would refrain from signing up to the new Medicare prescription benefits program, fully 75 percent of all those on Medicare have enrolled, and the overwhelming majority say they are happy with the program.

Reason #9. Bush has kept his promise of naming conservative judges. He has named two conservative justices to the Supreme Court, Chief Justice John G. Roberts and Justice Samuel Alito. In addition, he has named conservative justices who are devoted to the Constitution as it is written and not as activist liberal judges think it means. The strong likelihood that one or more justices will retire from the Supreme Court makes it mandatory for the Republicans to hold the Senate and have a chance to name new conservative justices.

Reason #10. The deficit has been cut in half three years ahead of the president's 2009 goal, with the 2006 fiscal year budget deficit down to $248 billion. The tax cuts have stimulated the economy and are working.

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