Google Press Center: Press Release

Having trouble deciding how to vote tomorrow? Google can help!

Google Releases 2006 Google Earth Election Guide

Combination Will Create New Opportunities for Users and Content Owners Everywhere

MOUNTAIN VIEW, Calif. - October 23, 2006 - Google (NASDAQ: GOOG):

WHO: Google Earth

WHAT: Google Releases 2006 Google Earth Election Guide

WHERE: Available in Google Earth (download at www.google.com/earth)

WHEN: Monday, October 23, 2006 - Countdown to the 2006 US elections

WHY: Today Google Earth celebrates the election season with the launch of the 2006 Google Earth Election Guide.

Conceived by Google Earth engineers who found it difficult to find aggregated election information online about races country-wide, the 2006 Google Earth Election Guide serves as an easily accessible resource for users to find information about candidates, voter registration, and campaign financing for the November 7th elections.

"We’re excited to connect voters across the country to timely and locally relevant information about the upcoming elections and the candidates," said John Hanke, director of Google Earth and Maps. "We continue to believe that Google Earth can serve as the ultimate tool for organizing and sharing similar geo-based information."

The 2006 Google Earth Election Guide includes clickable place marks for all 435 Congressional districts. Each place mark includes:

• The slate of candidates running for office in that district, with live feeds from Google Web, Image, and News Search for each candidate
• Campaign finance information from the Federal Election Commission (FEC) and Center for Responsive Politics (www.opensecrets.org) for the district’s candidates
• A link to voter registration and voter information sites, localized to each state

The 2006 Google Earth Election Guide is available under the Layers tab of the Google Earth sidebar.

Google Earth combines satellite imagery, maps and the power of Google Search to make the world's geographic information easily accessible and useful. There have been over 100 million downloads of Google Earth since the product’s launch in June, 2005.

About Google Inc.
Google's innovative search technologies connect millions of people around the world with information every day. Founded in 1998 by Stanford Ph.D. students Larry Page and Sergey Brin, Google today is a top web property in all major global markets. Google's targeted advertising program provides businesses of all sizes with measurable results, while enhancing the overall web experience for users. Google is headquartered in Silicon Valley with offices throughout the Americas, Europe, and Asia. For more information, visit www.google.com.

Press Contact: Megan Quinn
Google Inc.
meganq@google.com

http://www.google.com/press/pressrel/earth_election_guide.html

Election Day is Tomorrow - Tuesday, November 7th, 2006

Reminder - Election Day is tomorrow. Remember to vote tomorrow, Tuesday, November 7th.  Billy Graham said it best, "If America is to survive, we must elect more God-centered men and women to public office - individuals who will seek Divine guidance in the affairs of state."  This statement is directly backed by scripture and is vital for us to recognize.  "When the righteous thrive, the people rejoice; when the wicked rule, the people groan."  -Proverbs 29:2  Let's get informed, participate in the electoral process and choose Godly leaders!  Many churches all across Indiana will be gathering tomorrow morning to pray for the election.  If your local church or a church near you is offering such an activity, please take part in this vital ministry.  If Godly men and women are to be elected tomorrow, we must ask God to stir the hearts of Hoosiers.  To view the 2006 IFI Voter Guide and learn more about where the candidates stand on key issues please click here.  To find your legislative districts click here.      Holding Government Accountable Congressman Mark Souder represents Indiana's 3rd congressional district in Washington D.C.  In Washington, Congressman Souder is the Chairman of the Subcommittee on Criminal Justice, Drug Policy and Human Resources, under the House Committee on Government Reform.  The committee has been working hard to investigate and hold government agencies accountable.  To that end, the committee has held numerous hearings, written letters and compiled reports on a number of issues important to the public. The committee has even put out an index of links on the web so the public can track what the committee has done in its investigations and oversight of issues like the drug culture, RU-486, Plan B drug sales to minors, ultrasound keepsake images, post-abortion depression, condoms and even human cloning.  Please take a moment to review the hard work of Chairman Souder and his committee by visiting the Social Register posted on the committee’s Web site. Election Night Invitation Friends of the Indiana Family Institute have been invited to attend election festivities at the Indiana GOP headquarters, downtown Indianapolis.  Governor Mitch Daniels and Senator Richard Lugar will kick the evening off at 5:45 pm.  If you do not have election night plans, mark this event on your calendar. To find out more about IFI or to contribute to Hoosier families visit us at www.hoosierfamily.org Indiana Family Institute 55 Monument Circle, Suite 322, Indianapolis, IN, 46204 Phone: (317) 423-9178  Toll Free: (800) 259-2959  Fax: (317) 423-9421 ifi@hoosierfamily.org www.hoosierfamily.org

Issues: Healthcare and the Minimum Wage

Two of the major issues each campaign -- and this year is no exception -- are Healthcare and the Minimum Wage.

HEALTHCARE:

It seems no one anywhere is happy with either the quality or the cost of healthcare they receive. I've griped about it here several times myself. That doesn't mean I think anyone can do anything about it. Remember the Clinton Healthcare Charade? Then First Lady Hillary Clinton headed up the initiative for her Presidential husband. And what did we really get from it? Nothing but a bunch of mindless doublespeak. What has the current Administration done for healthcare? Medicare prescription reform. As confusing as it may be for seniors, they are paying less for most prescription drugs. But that doesn't much benefit the rest of us.

So what's the issue here? Can any candidate for office actually effect significant changes to healthcare? I think not. The quality of healthcare is driven down by the unaffordability of it. Bring the cost down and the quality will go up. And there are several things driving the cost up.

* It costs our medical professionals tens and hundreds of thousands of dollars to earn their Doctorate.

* The ease with which a patient can file and win a frivolous malpractice lawsuit makes malpractice insurance both necessary and nearly cost prohibitive.

* In order to prevent false claims of malpractice many Doctors will order unnecessary testing and treatment just to be sure, resulting in increased healthcare costs.

* The rigorous testing required for new medications to gain approval inflates the cost of prescription drugs.

There's more of course, but you get the picture.

So how do we improve the quality of healthcare? Reduce the cost. And how do we reduce the cost of healthcare? Control the cost of higher education; reduce the cost of (and need for) malpractice insurance by stopping frivolous lawsuits; make prescription drugs more affordable by introducing foreign competition.

MINIMUM WAGE:

There hasn't been an increase in the Federal minimum wage in several years. Why? Because the majority of Americans earn more than minimum wage. And it doesn't take any special schooling or training to get there. Anyone both able and willing to work can do it.

I'm no great success story. A year after high school I enlisted in the Active Duty Army, where I served for eight years. At the age of twenty-six, six months before leaving the military, I attended a job fair in Wurzburg, Germany. With no skills, experience, or training in retail, sales, or electronics, I secured a position as a Retail Store Manager with a major electronics retailer. Seventeen months later, barely knowing the proper way to operate a washing machine, I accepted a position as an appliance salesperson with another major national retailer. Fifteen months later, with no experience in distribution or delivery, I was promoted to Assistant Home Delivery Manager in a major metropolitan area. Within a year I was promoted twice more: to Customer Service Manager, then to Home Delivery Manager in another major city. To make a long story short, if it's not already too late, I was promoted four more times over the next three years -- once to a multi-unit Loss Prevention position with no related training or experience -- and I have since been hired by four separate companies to run retail store locations for them. I am now considered among the top Managers in my Region and eligible for promotion again.

The bottom line is, I had no special qualifications for most of those positions, but I did possess some of the most important qualifications: the drive, desire, and determination to succeed. I succeeded, and you can, too. Anyone can.

Minimum Wage had a purpose in it's day, but that day is past. I can't remember the last time I had an employee who didn't earn at least 50% above the minimum wage, and that's the low end of the scale. Even McDonald's pays more than minimum wage.

Both of these issues are non-issues. Don't get distracted by them when you vote tomorrow. And don't forget to vote.

Joe
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Reactions to the Saddam Verdict, Sentence

IRAQI PRIME MINISTER NOURI MALIKI

The justice handed out to him is a response to the call from thousands of sons and sisters of those sentenced and executed by Saddam...

Maybe this will help alleviate the pain of the widows and the orphans and those who have been ordered to bury their loved ones in secrecy, and those who have been forced to suppress their feelings and suffering, and those who have paid at the hands of torturers, and those who have been deprived of the basic human rights, like education and profession.

IRAQI PRESIDENT JALAL TALABANI

I think the trial was fair. Those people had the full right to say what they intended.

I must respect the independence of the Iraqi judiciary. Until the end I must be silent... because my comments could affect the situation.

IRAQI PARLIAMENT DEPUTY SPEAKER KHALID AL-ATTIYAH

We expected the maximum penalty against the criminal Saddam Hussein and his henchmen because they committed horrible crimes against the Iraqi people, the Arabs, Muslims and the entire international community.

Because of this, we are not surprised at this verdict, quite the contrary; this verdict was a long time in coming.

IRAN FOREIGN MINISTRY SPOKESMAN MOHAMMAD ALI HOSSEINI

The Islamic republic of Iran welcomes the death sentence.

Even if Saddam and his accomplices are the agents who carried out these crimes, we cannot forget the Western protectors of Saddam who by supporting him prepared the ground for the execution of his crimes.

KONSTANTIN KOSACHEV, FOREIGN AFFAIRS COMMITTEE CHAIRMAN OF RUSSIAN DUMA

Today's ruling was quite predictable, given the attitudes to Saddam Hussein's regime that exist both in and beyond Iraqi society.

The punishment was deliberately chosen to be the harshest. It is another matter that the death sentence will clearly split Iraqi society still further.

On the other hand, I think that the death sentence on Saddam Hussein is unlikely to be carried out. It will be stopped one way or another, either at the level of the Iraqi president or by other means.

This is more of a moral ruling, revenge that modern Iraq is taking on the Saddam Hussein regime.

FRENCH FOREIGN MINISTER PHILIPPE DOUSTE-BLAZY

France notes the sentence made by the Iraqi court at the end of the Saddam Hussein trial. This decision belongs to the Iraqi people.

In the climate of violence Iraq is currently experiencing, I hope this decision will not lead to new tensions and that the Iraqis will show restraint, whatever community they belong to.

IRISH FOREIGN AFFAIRS MINISTRY

The minister welcomes the end of this long legal process.

Ireland and its EU partners have made it clear in the past to Iraqi authorities that we are opposed to courts applying the death sentence.

Ireland is also opposed to it being applied as a penalty in this case.

SPANISH PRIME MINISTER JOSE LUIS RODRIGUEZ ZAPATERO

Saddam Hussein, like any other citizen or political leader, has to answer for his actions, for what he has done in his government task.

It is well known that for a long time the EU has not been in favour of the death penalty. Obviously it is a penalty which is not provided for in any legal system in the EU or, of course, in our country.

MALCOLM SMART, DIRECTOR OF AMNESTY INTERATIONAL'S MIDDLE EAST AND NORTH AFRICA PROGRAMME

Obviously we deplore the verdict of the death penalty against Saddam and one of his co-accused.

We don't consider it was a fair process. The court was not impartial. There were not adequate steps taken to protect the security of defence lawyers and witnesses...

Every individual has a right to a fair trial, even people accused of the crimes of the magnitude that Saddam Hussein faced, and this has not been a fair trial.

SOURCE: BBC

I am amazed at the number of International dignitaries whose comments seem to express more sympathy for Saddam Hussein in light of his death penalty than they do to the million of people whom Saddam sentenced to death with not even a chance at justice. Saddam has had his day in court. He was tried by a jury of his peers (hopefully, he doesn't really have any peers) and sentenced by a judge of his own land. Was the trial completely fair? Maybe not. Were the judge and jury impartial? Again, maybe not. But if you go into a courtroom prepared to convict a known murdered, and you come out of the courtroom having convicted a known murderer, then justice has been served, whether the trial was fair and impartial or not.

The world at large knows that Saddam Hussein and his regime was a band of murderous thugs. It doesn't take an impartial trial to determine that fact. There was only one true purpose of this trial: to mete out justice. That purpose has been accomplished.

Joe

President Bush's Weekly Radio Address

20061104.a.mp3 (audio/mpeg Object)

In his weekly radio address President Bush said, "But the Democrats are still determined to raise taxes. And if they gain control of the Congress they can do so without lifting a finger. Under current law, many of the tax cuts we passed have to be renewed by Congress or they will expire. In other words, if Congress fails to act your taxes will automatically go up. If Democrats take control of the House, the committee in charge of all the tax legislation would be chaired by a Democrat who recently said he can't think of one of our tax cuts he would extend. And if there's no legislation to renew and extend the tax cuts, every tax rate will go back up to its old higher level."

Headline Alert - Saddam Guilty!

Iraq's High Tribunal on Sunday found Saddam Hussein guilty of crimes against humanity and sentenced him to die by hanging.

Joe