Illegal Subsidies and more

Senators Evan Bayh and Susan Collins are both calling on the government to crack down on illegal subsidies.

“It is essential that American manufacturers, farmers and workers have all the tools at their disposal to deal with unfair trade practices in China,” the Senators wrote in the letter. “China’s trade surplus with the United States continues to explode, fueled in large part by subsidies provided by the Chinese government to favored industries in China. As Chinese exports have grown, the impact of unfair government subsidies on the U.S. economy has increased.”

Nebraska Senator Chuck Hagel is still considering the Republican nomination for president. Hagel is what one would call a maverick. He and the administration are both in disagreement over the way that the war has been handled so far.

Both parties have their Iraq war contrarians. For the Democrats, it is Sen. Joseph I. Lieberman of Connecticut, whose steadfast support for President Bush nearly cost him his seat last year and forced him to run as an independent. The Republican version is Hagel, a career maverick from Nebraska and the only GOP senator to call for an end to the war.

Hagel's sharp criticism of the war has placed him squarely in the mainstream of public opinion on Iraq and revived long-dormant speculation about his presidential ambitions. Hagel has been eclipsed by Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.), a leading contender for his party's presidential nomination who has vigorously endorsed the president's war policies.

But with McCain appearing increasingly isolated on the issue as public opinion has turned overwhelmingly against the war, Hagel is acting like a politician who believes his stock is climbing. In other words, he is considering a White House run.

Hagel would be a strong candidate if he were to be nominated by the Republican Party.

Haaretz reports that Iran may be about to launch a spy satellite into space.