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MONDAY, NOVEMBER 19, 2012
NKY
Future for
McConnell
rides on
next move
‘Fiscal cliff’ decision could
alienate factions of the GOP
SCOTT
WARTMAN
@ScottWartman
I cover how the actions of Congress and the
Kentucky General Assembly impact you. Read
my blog at Cincinnati.com/blogs/nkypolitics or
reach me at swartman@nky.com.
U.S. Sen. Mitch McConnell is walking a political tightrope as the country approaches the
U.S. budget deadline
dubbed the “fiscal cliff.”
Many conservatives
and members of the tea
party in Northern Kentucky said their support
for the U.S. Senate minority leader and Kentucky’s
senior senator hinges on
whether he stands firm
on spending cuts and
staving off tax increases.
President Barack Oba- McConnell
ma has said he will not
sign any deal to avoid the fiscal cliff unless it
includes an increase in taxes for Americans
making $250,000 or more.
The fiscal cliff is shorthand for the mandatory tax hikes and government spending cuts
set for Jan. 2 and precipitated by Congress’
2011 agreement to increase the government’s
debt ceiling.
McConnell said in an interview with Louisville’s Courier-Journal that GOP lawmakers
are “open to new revenue” created by changing the tax code and perhaps capping deductions for upper-income taxpayers.
“I will concede that the president’s argument that upper-end taxpayers ought to pay
more plays well with voters,” McConnell said
in the interview. But, he said, “you can’t tax
your way out of the problem.”
Whatever McConnell decides could have an
impact on what opposition he faces in 2014 for
re-election, many believe.
“He’s in a unique spot in his role as minority
leader,” said Trey Grayson, director of Har-
Ed York, a volunteer with Defender Direct, helps load a box full of dinner items into Lisa Dragoo’s work truck on
Sunday. Crossroads Church, Brighton Center and Defender Direct are helping folks in need. THE ENQUIRER/AMANDA DAVIDSON
Compassion fills
Thanksgiving tables
Food banks and volunteers work to provide more meals for more families
By Mark Curnutte
mcurnutte@enquirer.com
D
NEWPORT —
efender Direct Inc. is
a new business in
Northern Kentucky,
but it already has begun living out its corporate creed of giving
back.
The object of its volunteerism is
Brighton Center, a private social
services agency that serves more
than 74,000 individuals annually
through 35 programs in eight
Northern Kentucky counties.
On Sunday, a dozen Defender
employees left the company’s call
center to help distribute the first
of 500 Thanksgiving meals out of
the Brighton Center parking lot at
741 Central Ave., Newport.
“We have so much to be thankful for, even in this challenging
economy,” said Brian Crittenden, a
sales center trainer at Defender,
which has 60 employees in Newport and serves as an inbound call
center selling television dish and
home security systems.
Hundreds of volunteers, tens of
thousands of needy households
and several tons of food are again
mixing this week in the region’s annual Thanksgiving recipe of compassion.
In Northern Kentucky, Crossroads Church Florence, which
opened in August, is providing
Thanksgiving meals for 500 households.
In Ohio, the Freestore Foodbank expects to give out Thanksgiving meals for as many as 10,500
area households beginning today
through Wednesday. St. Vincent de
Paul, Cincinnati, will distribute
Thanksgiving dinner for 1,000
families during a three-hour rush
on Tuesday morning at its Bank
Street headquarters in the West
End.
“We realize life is a struggle for
many, many people, and during the
holidays, when families can spend
time together and hopefully enjoy
each other, we hope the Thanksgiving meal provides a little respite
from the stress,” said Brian MacConnell, Freestore vice president
See FOOD BANKS, Page A3
See MCCONNELL, Page A4
Arsenals improved since last war
Israel limits killing many civilians; Hamas unveils greater firepower
oped munitions, has carried out
hundreds of surgical airstrikes
in a campaign meant to hit militants hard while avoiding the
civilian casualties that have
marred previous offensives.
Hamas, meanwhile, has not
been stopped from firing its
new longer-range rockets that
shocked Israelis by reaching
the areas around Tel Aviv and
Jerusalem for the first time,
and it has revealed a variety of
new weapons.
By Aron Heller
Associated Press
A man outside an Israeli military prison on the West Bank waves
a Palestinian flag Sunday to protest Israel’s operations in Gaza. AP
Portions of
today’s
Enquirer were
printed on
recycled paper
$1.00 retail
JERUSALEM — With pinpoint
airstrikes on targets in the Gaza
Strip and Iranian-made rockets
flying deep into Israel, the current conflagration between Israel and Hamas reflects the
vast changes that have taken
place on the battlefield in just
four years.
Israel, armed with precise
intelligence and newly devel-
INDEX Three sections, 172nd year, No. 224
Advice...............C3
Copyright 2012,
The Kentucky Enquirer
History ..............A2
NKY Life ............C1
Puzzles..............C3
Comics ..............C5
Legal ads...........B9
Obituaries .........C2
Sports ................B1
Football .............B4
Lotteries............A2
Opinions ...........A5
TV .....................C3
WEATHER
High 59°
Low 40°
Clouds and sun
See GAZA, Page A6
TAKE THE NEXT STEP
Complete
forecast:
A2
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This battle zone is the result
of meticulous efforts by both
sides to beef up their abilities
since a three-week Israeli offensive in Gaza that ended in
January 2009.
High-flying Israeli drones
constantly hover above Gaza,
providing a live picture of
movements on the ground. Other technological means used to
avoid collateral damage include
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